Flames of War - A Review

- Paul Goldstone

After two years of intensive play testing and work, Flames of War has finally been released. And it was worth the wait.

Flames of War is marketed as a fast and fun wargame, set in World War Two, using 15mm high toy soldiers and tanks. And the game lives up to the hype. Turns seem to fly by, and the pace of the action is fast and furious. There is a lot of detail to the various armies and weapons, but the core rules are very simple indeed. Every tank or infantry team has two ratings - skill (veteran, trained or conscripts) and morale (fearless, confident or reluctant). Turns are alternate, and will be familiar to anyone who's played Warhammer. Movement is simple- infantry move 6", tanks move 12", but can bog down if they are crossing difficult terrain. For shooting you roll the number of dice equal to the rate-of-fire of the weapon - anything from 1 for a big gun, to 4 for a machine-gun. The dice score you need to hit is based on the target's skill rating. If the target are infantry in hard cover you have to then make a firepower roll, depending on the weight of the shell you fire, ranging from 2+ for a heavy howitzer shell, to 6 for a bullet. If the target is a tank the tank makes an armour save depending on its armour. If a platoon is reduced to half strength they have to start making morale tests or run away. That's pretty well the core rules, but there are lots of add ons to give flavour to different weapons and armies. The main thing is that the rules are easy to understand - that, and the thrill of commanding some really cool tanks, is why the game seems to be attracting quite a few younger recruits to the club.

The presentation is magnificent, and fully equal with anything Games Workshop has produced - and, indeed, the style of Flames of War owes a great deal to GW. Beginning the book is a section introducing the game, with loads of inspirational colour photos which show off the wonderful toys designed by Evan Allen, Battlefront's chief sculptor. The main body of the rules is beautifully laid out, though I find the photos and interest pieces keep detracting my eyes from the actual text. Nevertheless, the writing is admirably clear, and Phil Yates, the author, should be congratulated. Then there are the army lists (or Intelligence Briefings) for US, German, Red Army, British and Italians. These continue the extremely high standard of presentation. The lists are similar in style to Warhammer army books, and anyone familiar with 40K or Warhammer will be able to understand the armies very quickly indeed. The Intelligence Briefings look like they'll create reasonably "realistic" armies - a player can field a mighty Tiger tank if he wishes, but it costs a whopping 490 points!

I do have some criticisms of Flames of War. Air attacks are absolutely devastating yet don't pin the target down, which seems a bit strange to me - I'd prefer air attacks to be a little less destructive, but have the effect of forcing the enemy to take cover. Many low velocity howitzers seem to possess very high anti-tank factors (i.e. stubby 75mm guns have the same anti-tank factor and range as a Pak38 long barreled anti-tank gun). British players will wonder what they did to annoy the rules designers - the proud regiments of Yeomanry and gallant Hussars are rated as reluctant trained (oh the shame - even Italian tanks are better!). The legendary 25-pounder (regarded as one of the finest field artillery pieces ever made) is the worst field gun/howitzer in the game (bizarre but true - the pride of the British army is the worst field gun in service in Flames of War! I can hear the screams of rage from Steve Castle already!). Light AA guns (such as Bofors guns) are versatile, hard hitting, a good range and with a high rate-of-fire - especially for their points cost. Watch for British armies with lots of Bofors guns and no 25-pounders. But I'm being captious - these rules as a whole are very good.

The overwhelming feeling I get from Flames of War is that this is a fun, exciting game. A sense of enthusiasm and enjoyment with the hobby permeates every page of this book. I was pretty sceptical about Flames of War, but I've really enjoyed the games I've played, and now with these very cool rules, I have to admit I'm a convert.

Flames of War is available from Mack's Tracks in J'ville, or you can order over the internet. Models are also available at Mack's Tracks, and the rule book and a "normal" army of 3 infantry platoons, a platoon of tanks, an artillery battery and some supporting arms will set you back $250-$350. But even if you're not interested in World War Two, do have a look at Flames of War, if only to admire a superb set of wargames rules.