Some Un-official Optional Rules for COH

Transcription

1 2/22/2009 Page1/10 Some Un-official Optional Rules for COH The Simplicity and Power of COH COH is the most recent small scale tactical board game of WWII warfare on the eastern front. It is easy to learn, setup, and play while still retaining many sophisticated battle features that make it a very intriguing and interactive game. Its graphics and quality of game components are beautiful, but its game system is even better. It uses a unique system of alternating unit activations and unit activation points that are spent one by one throughout the battle (firefight) into dozens of actions that take place one by one and create a very interactive and lively game. Both players are kept active at all times, because both are continually reacting to the others players actions and reactions. Furthermore, each battle and feature has being so finely divided into their constituent parts that additional optional rules can be easily added to allow advanced gamers to simulate almost any aspect of tactical warfare that they so desire. Each time that I read historical accounts of small unit battles, I wonder whether they could be modeled or incorporated into any existing board game, and recently COH has come up as the best contender for such a game. I have to take my hat off to the designer, Uwe Eickert at Academy Games, for creating such a new refreshing and relatively easy interactive tactical game. What follows is my attempt to incorporate some of my favorite tactical maneuvers into COH. [Designer s notes are in blue text] [RULES are in black text] Desired Enhancements to a game such as COH In my experience of tactical games (starting with PanzerBlitz in 1974) I have always wished to have a fairly clean and simple game that plays quickly and yet complicated enough to simulate many features of small unit tactics. That is a difficult task for any gamer to design. My ideal game would incorporate all the good features and none of the tedious book keeping time-consuming hassles of all the previous tactical games, but that may be asking too much. Or is it? Uwe Eickert has accomplished a great deal in COH, except for the following features, all of which could easily be incorporated through the inclusion of a few optional rules: Simultaneous Activation, Troop quality, Suppressing fire and Platoon Activation (or more generally Formation Activation). In designing the optional rules I would like to keep to Uwe s original intent (i.e. as clean and simple as possible) and I add my own proviso that a rule can be slightly more complicated only if its inclusion in the game makes for more interesting decisions to be made by either, or, better yet, both players. RULE: Simultaneous Activations I believe that there is no reason to have activations alternate between players. One optional rule that I have always used, even with beginners after only one game is that as soon as a player flips a unit to "used", he is free to choose to activate another unit, if he so chooses. That way, both players could be in the middle of activations at the same time. So the rule is that each player's action can be an opportunity action of any unit on the board or an action of his currently activated unit. With this rule, the game has a different feel, since situations arise frequently where units will chase each other in and out of LOS, and in and out of cover. Give it a try You'll like it! And it is also a better use of AP s, so that CAP S don't' have to be burned up moving units around in reaction to the other player. However, it might also mean that there should be fewer CAP s allotted to each firefight. Troop Quality: Experience, Leadership and Morale of Individual Units. In COH, there is no differentiating between troops or units with different experiences, leadership abilities or morale. These qualities are essential for commanders to recognize if they want to get the best out of a battle group. Another way to describe these qualities is Green, Seasoned or Veteran troops. At present the only way to represent the advantages of a seasoned or a Veteran unit would be to just add more tanks. So a

2 2/22/2009 Page2/10 tank platoon of green units would have five tanks, a platoon of seasoned units would have six and a platoon of veterans would have seven. But, you, the commander, would treat all units the same since they all have the same numerical strengths. But a real commander in a real battle would harness the different qualities of his units differently, giving the Veterans the more difficult or more important tasks. So it follows that the numerical strength (in some form or another) must differ for the different qualities. And COH lends itself so nicely to accommodate this feature; the design already incorporates the effects of a hit with a hit marker that modifies the various numerical strengths in a variety of ways. Implementing a feature to add Seasoned and Veteran units in COH is very easy; each unit has an additional marker accompanying it just like a hit marker. And it is hidden under the unit so that the opponent is initially ignorant of who is GREEN, SEASONED or VETERAN. The regular counters that exist are the GREEN units and hence require no markers (but just to keep up the Fog-of-war feel for the opponent, it should have a blank marker placed under it). The Seasoned and Veterans have markers as below: RULE: SEASONED (or the Plus ONE advantage) units have a marker similar to the BESERK marker which gives the unit any or all of the following advantages (depending on which features YOU feel would enhance your gaming experience): FP, The assumption is that Seasoned units are better at spotting and firing, DM, better at hiding and placing the tank in a hull down position to the range of the unit; better aim at longer ranges. 4. They can absorb +1 more hit than regular units, (i.e. 3 hits = destroyed); the assumption is that they can absorb more damage before becoming useless. 5. Rallying cost is now only 4 AP s (i.e. 5 minus 1). The assumption is that the leader is quicker to realize when his troops need some words of encouragement. 6. The rally dice roll gets a + 1 modifier. "We have been through worse than this, boys! Let's buck up and get back to killing!" 7. They get 1 more AP (i.e. 2D6+1) when they roll for activation. [In some firefights, we think it makes more sense to use t 1D6+5 AP s which is less variable and a slightly higher average number (8.5) than the average with 2D6 (7). You choose.] RULE: VETERANS (or the Plus TWO advantage): FP, DM, to the range of the unit, 4. Can absorb +2 more hits (i.e. 4 hits before dead!). This almost makes them invincible, which might be too much for some firefights, so you might have to decide how to re-balance the firefights. 5. Rallying cost only 3 AP s (5 minus 2). 6. Rally dice roll gets a + 2 modifier, and the player can choose which damage marker that they want to rally from in any order. 7. They get 2 more AP s (i.e. 2D6+2) when they roll for them. [Or, alternatively 1D6+6 AP s which averages 9.5 vs 7. You choose.] Most, if not all of the Russian units in the current game of COH, being in the early years of the war will be GREEN and thus without markers (or blank markers if you so choose to keep the fog-of-war feel). Most of the Germans will be SEASONED or VETERANS and thus require a marker. If you are making these markers yourselves (which you will have to do at this writing since no one else has published them yet) you can pick and choose which of the factors you want to incorporate. And remember that Seasoned and

3 2/22/2009 Page3/10 Veteran markers do not have to be the same for the Germans and Russians. They just have to make sense to you. You could also take this feature further still and create ELITE units with a Plus THREE advantage, but that would be going to extremes! RULE: Suppressing Fire Option Level 1 Whenever a unit fires on a unit (or on an apparently vacant hex suspecting that there might be a unit in it) the firing player can decide to fire as the standard rules call for, in which case everything is calculated as in the standard rules. We will call this type of firing Shoot to Kill. Alternatively, the firing player can choose to fire Suppressing Fire, in which case there is an additional +3 modifier to the dice roll, but any roll scored as a hit or better (i.e. 2D6 + Modified FP is greater than or equal to the modified DF) only results in the defending unit being temporarily suppressed (i.e. unavailable for fire or movement) for the next action or reaction of the player of the defending unit, and does not receive any type of regular hit marker. If you would like to make new Suppression markers for this type of result, I would suggest Temporary Suppressed and place it on top of the defending unit remembering to remove it as soon as the that player performs an action (or reaction) with another defending unit, or the attacker performs another action. RULE: Suppressing Fire Option Level 2 In this option the firing unit announces which type of firing he will perform, either Shoot-to-kill or Suppressing Fire. After the type of attack is announced, the defender then announces whether he will Take-Cover or Prepare for Action. The modifications to the dice roll and the results of it are explained in the table below. Attacker s Type of Offensive Fire Defender s Posture Take Cover - get down - get out of sight - let s wait it out -don t take risks Shoot-to-Kill -take careful aim -make every shot count -don t waste a shot Calculation of odds and Results are standard except that AV is modified by -1 FP Suppressing-Fire -Rapid Fire -Shoot anything that moves -Cover the other unit The defender is automatically (i.e. no dice rolled) and Temporarily Suppressed for the next Action/Reaction. Prepare for Action - They are coming! - Over the top! - Let s give m hell! Calculation of odds and Results are Standard. Calculations are standard except that AV is modified by +2 FP If the randomly drawn hit marker is a destroyed or killed marker, place it aside and draw another. The first time a damaged or immobilized marker is drawn, return it to the bin and redraw. This heuristic has the effect of increasing the odds of getting a suppressed marker, but still allowing the unit to perform an action immediately after.

4 2/22/2009 Page4/10 RULE: Suppressing Fire Option Level 3 In this option both players secretly document which type of Fire or Posture they will take and then simultaneously reveal their decisions and carry out the appropriate calculation and results. Designers notes: Using the suppressing fire option and the platoon activation option, one can now have one unit of a platoon (or section) suppress an enemy unit, so that another unit of the same platoon can approach to close range to take a better shot with little risk of being fired upon from the enemy. But the unit must be temporary suppressed for this to be effective. If it wears off before the approaching unit gets close enough to increase his odds, you could be killed instead. Timing is everything with this option. RULE: Platoon Activation (or more generally Formation-Activation) I started my investigation of platoon activity with the question: What can a tank platoon consisting of 5 tanks, that train together, communicates together and experiences battle together, do better than 5 individual tanks. The answer to this, of course, is why training, radios and experience are valuable and thus could be reflected in a game such as COH (or Advanced COH) by giving a platoon some special capabilities over and above the capabilities of 5 individual tanks. That special capability is to bring all their force together in time and space, to concentrate that power at one place, to strike at the strategic point in the enemy line than will allow the next wave to follow the initial success and begin to mop up the enemy. If trained sufficiently well, the tank platoon should be able to think and act as quickly and as efficiently as any one of its tanks. It is as though the well trained tank platoon in COH should be treated as ONE unit and activated as ONE unit. The other issue that I would like to overcome is that, in the current COH, a tank would be activated and moved to the maximum distance from its starting hex (and the rest of its platoon) and thus expose itself to the enemy without having its platoon s other tanks close by, which is something you obviously wouldn t do in real battles. There must be someway to move the platoon together and to stay in close support with one another. Instead of using up all the actions of one tank and then moving on to the next tank, a better way would be to move all tanks one AP, then move all tanks a second AP, and then a third AP and so on. So the platoon would move together, and could also fire more easily at the same target at the same time. So, in COH there should be a way to activate an entire platoon (or section or company) at once. I have tried designing this in several different ways following the model of TL (TANK LEADER, designed by John Hill), with many of the implementations being very messy and hard to keep track of the AP's spent. The one implementation that is simple is to allow up to 5 different units (all of which have been designated at the beginning of the game as belonging to the same platoon) to perform 1 command action (CA) each, BEFORE the enemy can react. [This is not COH's definition of Group actions] and the units need not be adjacent to one another as in regular COH, although German platoon units must be within 5 hexes of a central platoon hex otherwise they can not be activated with the rest of their platoon, and derive no advantage from the numbers printed on the platoon activation cards. The platoon must then pause and give the enemy time to perform ONE action (i.e. to react with any of its units, or groups, or platoons, and perform ONLY ONE action.). The platoon may then perform another 5 CA s, followed by ONLY ONE enemy Action. This series of CA s can be repeated up to X times with the enemy able to react with only ONE action between each series of CA s. I have designed a card (much like TL) that has the following on it (see examples of Platoon Activation Cards below and blank templates in another file from which you can design your own platoons).

5 2/22/2009 Page5/10 C Platoon Activation Leutnant Mann D Section Activation Sergeant Hausler 5 Maximum number of units 5 Command Actions Only 1 CA per unit 5 Repeats (including Reserve) 5 CA's x 5 repeats =25 CA's total/activation 1 Added to Rally dice rolls 1 Reserve Command Action 4 Maximum number of units 4 Command Actions 5 Repeats (including Reserve) 1 Added to Rally dice rolls 2 Reserve Command Action Units in Group: 2 x PzIV, 2 x PzIII, 1 x Pz II Units in Group: 2x 37 mm AT, 2 x trucks Explanation of Platoon Activation Cards: 1. C leadership quality (with possibilities ranging from A to F (see designers notes in TL). The lower the letter, the better the quality, and the more priority you have in activating platoons. Activation is everything in this game (as in COH) since it allows the first activated to kill the enemy before they have a chance to be activated and fire. The cards are played as in TL but will take effect only when the opposing players has platoon activation cards also (i.e. when only one side has platoon activation cards, then the Leadership quality on the top of the card has no significance for game play). 2. Platoon Activation and the rank and name of the leader (more for esthetics than game play). Possible Formations are: Section, Platoon, Company or Battle-group. For the Russians it may be troop, platoon, company and battalion. Each different group level could have a different number of units and leadership quality. 3. Maximum number of Units in the Platoon. The number of units in a formation could vary depending on whether it is a section, troop, platoon, company, battle-group, or battalion. 4. Up to 5 different units can perform 1 command action each. The number of command actions (CA s) could vary for play balance, depending again on your desired level of play. 5. A series of CA s can be repeated up to 5 times total (i.e. 5 times including the first and last (reserve) series of CA s. The number of repeats could vary with a better platoon able to perform more actions. 6. If any of the command actions are Rally, then add 1 to the dice roll for belonging to the platoon and in addition to any modifier as a result of being seasoned or veteran units. I assume that being in a platoon (as opposed to a unit by itself) would help Rallying. 7. The last command action of any or all of the units can be to place the unit into RESERVE or opportunity posture (i.e. that unit is now ON GUARD so that if need be, in the remaining time in the turn, it could be used at any time as a COMMAND ACTION for opportunity actions. The RESERVE command action is subtracted from the initial 5 allowed (i.e. perform 4 command actions and use the

6 2/22/2009 Page6/10 5 th to place into 1 Reserve command action). The Reserve Command action is introduced so that one can actually place a platoon into OVERWATCH, while another platoon or section moves. 8. At the bottom of the card, one should make a note of the units that are in that platoon. Later in the war when you have highly trained and motivated troops such as SS troops, a Platoon Activation Card might look like the following: A SS Platoon Activation OberLeutnant Dietrich 5 Maximum number of units 5 Command Actions 7 Repeats (including Reserve) 3 Added to Rally dice rolls 2 Reserve Command Action 1. A Best quality possible unit and can be activated before any other formation. 2. SS Platoon Activation, OberLeunant Dietrich. 3. Up to 5 units could be assigned to platoon. 4. Up to 5 units can perform 1 Command action each. 5. Can be repeated 7 times. 6. Rally's add 3 to the dice roll. 7. Could be placed into 2 Reserve Command Actions (if so, then during the activation it could perform only 5 actions) 8. Platoon has five PzKw IV s Units in Group: 5 x PzKw IV The Platoon Activation optional rule gives any player that uses it a real sense of platoon cohesion and purpose, which was exactly what I was looking for to simulate platoon fire and movement. When Platoon Activation optional rule is in play, any unit or units may still be activated the regular way without having to use Platoon Activation. Or, the owning player may decide that in one turn only 4 of his 5 units will be activated in the platoon with the last of the 5 units activating in the regular (non-platoon) way at another time in the turn. This comes in handy when some units in the platoon need a little more flexibility to mover faster, let s say. However, it allows the enemy to take an action between the last command action of the platoon and the first action of the individual unit, and thus you have lost a little of the Platoon s cohesion. However, if activated outside Formation Activation, the unit forgoes any benefits of the formation card such as better rally rolls or being placed in Reserve.

7 2/22/2009 Page7/10 From these Card Templates you can create your own Platoons, Sections, Troops, Companies or Battle-Groups.

8 2/22/2009 Page8/10 RULE: The Russian 3-Tank-Troop Using this option, a Russian Tank Company (nine tanks) now becomes a company with three troops of three tanks each (i.e. each Russian tank (there are 6 in MONSTERS firefight) in the original setup of the firefight gets another 2 identical tanks stacked with it, (in MONSTERS, a total of 18 tanks). These 3-tank troops must stay together and must fire as a group. If any of the tanks in a 3-tank troop are immobilized the others may leave that hex but then the immobilized tank(s) is assumed to be separated from its 3-tank troop and consequently becomes demoralized and is unable to shoot. The separated tank simply becomes a target for the Germans to kill to gather more points. The separated tanks must be mopped up by the Germans (i.e. killed) within two turns of becoming separated or they automatically rally and become regular units and may be activated again, following regular COH rules. With this optional rule, each Russian tank killed counts as one-third of a victory point, so that the entire 3-tank-troop counts as only one victory point. This option gives the Russian a slight advantage (over regular COH) in shooting, and a huge advantage in delaying the Germans who are continually trying to mop up the separated tanks. But it also gives the Germans the opportunity to make multiple hits on a single hex of tanks and so it gives the Germans a higher kill total, and leaves dead tanks all over the battle field. The timing of the game using this option is slightly slower than the original firefight due to the mopping up necessary and the game length may have to be one or two turns longer (see firefight redesign below). RULE: Unexpected Russian Troop Activation It is expected that in the first stages of the war (until the spring of 1942) the Russian tank troops were not as effective formations as the Germans formations. However, occasionally the Russians surprised the Germans with some very effective tank action. With this option in effect, every game turn the Russians would roll 2D6 and if the result was more than 11 (i.e. 11 or 12) then one of the 3-tank-troops on the board would be selected randomly with a die, and would become a troop with a Troop Activation Card (see below) and would be activated just like the German platoons. Once it obtains an activation card, the troop no longer has to remain together, but has to stay within one hex of a central hex or it becomes separated and disrupted (see above). F Troop Activation Lieutenant Kowalski 3 Maximum number of units 3 Command Actions 1 Repeats (including Reserve) 1 Added to Rally dice rolls 0 Reserve Command Action Units in Group: 3 x T26 (or BT7, or BA10) As the war progresses, the abilities on the Troop Activation Card would get better. Note that F leadership rating means that the Germans (presently with C and D) can activate first, if they so desire.

9 2/22/2009 Page9/10 Designer s note: I have never really thought that group actions in the basic COH rules have been an efficient use of resources (i.e. of AP s, and CAP s). I don't use group actions except in exceptional circumstances, and my fellow players feel similarly. The best use that I have found for group action, believe it or not, is in the above method for the new optional Russian 3-tank-troop rules for COH, and that is because a group action (with the additional condition that they MUST act together) handicaps the 3-tank-troops. I believe that this handicap balanced with the advantage of three times the number of tanks, better represents the early stages of the war, since a Russian commander would not be able to micro-manage his individual tanks (which had only one radio per ten tanks!) as easily as the German commander could (with a radio in each German tank). Incorporating Optional Rules into the Firefights With several of the above optional rules, many of the Firefights in COH can be redesigned so that the game play can have more of the features that you might like to see in a tactical game. I leave you one example below as to how I have incorporated some of the rules and re-jigged the setup to ensure play balance still exists (i.e. both sides can win if they play with real tactics). REDESIGN: The MONSTERS firefight with the optional rules The Germans initial set up is similar to the basic game except for the following: 1. Any two units can be Veterans (i.e. with a plus 2 advantage on all factors, including rally rolls and it takes 4 hits to destroy a veteran). 2. Any six other units are Seasoned (with a plus 1 advantage and three hits to kill). 3. All the units must setup within 1 hex of the basic firefight initial locations. This gives the Germans a little more flexibility to avoid Russian opportunity fire in the first few turns. 4. Two Platoons can be formed of up to 5 units each (see my example below). [5 CA's x 5 phases (i.e.repeats) in one Platoon activation] section can be formed of up to 4 units each (usually the AT's and transports). [4 CA's x 5 phases]. 6. Units do not have to activate when their platoon is activated, in which case the units roll 2D6 for AP s as in the basic game with variable AP s. When German units become separated (greater than 5 hexes from a central hex), they revert to individual units and can be activated as in the basic game. When Russian units become separated (not in the same hex as their troop) they become separated and demoralized (and hence useless for two turns). 7. If the Germans so wish, the platoons do not have to be activated every turn or any turn. I would advise them to activate them whenever the enemy is near and dangerous. Only activate individual units when they need to travel fast and without much chance of meeting the enemy. The Russians have no Platoon activation cards/options available to them (unless you use the optional unexpected Russian troop activation rule). However, the Russians have 3 identical tanks (or armored cars), instead of one, at each of the basic game's starting locations. They must stay together unless one or two is

10 2/22/2009 Page10/10 immobilized. They must fire and move as a group with variable group activation points, and they use the basic game's group rules. In addition, any immobilized tank that is separated (from the others of the troop that moves off) is considered demoralized and therefore useless (i.e. cannot fire) but can be activated again (only within 2 turns of becoming immobilized) if not destroyed by the Germans. Hence, the Germans spend a lot of energy mopping up separated tanks so they don't spring back to life and become dangerous. The T-34's that come in on turn 3 DO NOT get three times there original number as did the T-26's, BT-7's and BA-10's on setup. Supposedly all T-34 s have radios in their tanks and can more easily be micro-managed by a central player. In this firefight, the Germans are on a precipice for play balance: if they lose just one or two tanks with the armor piercing capabilities early in the game, they will most likely lose the firefight. For this reason I have three additional optional rules to prevent early loses of German tanks: 1) The Germans can lay 2 extra smoke hexes BEFORE the game begins. 2) The "Vehicle Destroyed" counter is ignored the first time it is drawn by the Germans, placed back in the bin and another marker is drawn. The second marker takes effect even if it is the Vehicle destroyed marker. But the next time it is drawn, it takes effect immediately. The "Vehicle Destroyed" markers are similarly ignored and replaced every second time they are drawn from then on. Sorry for the statistical rework, but it works. 3) Since the Germans need a little longer to gain the hill and do their killing, the Games starts one or two turns (your choice) before the original start, OR, the Russians have only two tanks per troop (instead of the three above). Interpreting Kill ratios (the wrong way and the right way): Just one more comment about my analysis of east Front tank kill ratios and the re-design of the firefight s initial conditions. One of my previous analysis in the MONSTERS firefight assumed that the kill ratio on the first hill had to be 6:1. Silly me! One thing that I probably assumed incorrectly was that the over all tank kill ratio of 6:1 on the eastern front could be interpreted as the average kill ratio in the average battle. It doesn t have to be this way, and in fact I am willing to bet that it does not represent the average battle. The most you could say is that in the average series of battles over several hours or days or weeks the kill ratio was 6:1. In the MONSTER firefight, it could be represented as 8 German tanks take over the first hill and kill 6 Russian tanks, then run into another 6 tanks on the next hill and destroy them, and then another 6 tanks in another mini battle, for a total German loss of only 3 German tanks. The overall kill ratio would be 6:1. Of course, in each mini battle, the Germans had a local superiority in tanks and were easily able to kill each group in turn. So another of my redesigns would be to put fewer Russian tanks on the first hill, another group of them on the second hill (still map 3) and the four single T-34 s on the last map. The Germans get to destroy each of them in detail before moving on to the next group. And that sounds like what I read in my WWII Eastern Front history books where the Russians would rush companies of tanks to the front with little or no coordination time and time again. Why? Either they didn t know any better (that is a good bet for many of their decisions) or that they were forced to in order to delay the Germans in getting to the next town, so that the next group of Russian units could take more time to dig in.