Kriegspiel
Kriegspiel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game I Rules
- §1 Components
- §2 Starting the game
- §3 Victory conditions
- §4 Turn sequence
- §5 Control, occupation, and capture
- §6 Zone-of-Control (ZOC)
- §7 Preparation phase
- §8 Movement phase
- §9 Combat phase
- Game II: Optional rules
- §10 Map configuration challenge
- §11 Initial deployment
- §12 Victory conditions
- §13 Special units
- §14 Weather
- §15 Terrain effects
- §16 Replacements
- §17 Air support
- §18 Fortifications
- §19 Nuclear weapons
- §20 Supply
- §21 Prisoners of war
- §22 Peace negotiations
- §23 Step loss
- §24 Paratroopers
- §25 Invasions
- §26 Miscellaneous
- Game III: Solitaire rules
- §27 Starting the game
- §28 Combat resolution
- §29 Anti-Ballistic Missile defence
- §30 Peace negotiations
- Game IV: Scenarios
- §31 B aggression
- §A Order of Battle
- §B Example board configuration
Game I Rules
Kriegspiel (lit. wargame) is a small simulation of a hypothetical conflict between two hypothetical nations (or factions). The objective of the game is for either faction to gain dominance over the other faction by inflicting casualties.
The two sides of the conflict are the Red and Blue factions, R and B for short.
The game can be played at an introductory level, or, by means of optional rules, at a more advanced level. The optional rules can be found in Game II of this document.
§1 Components
The game consists of:
- Two half-maps that can be combined in a variety of ways to form one big map. One half-map represents the R nation, and the other the B nation. The R nation is delimited by a red line and coordinates are printed in the same colour. Likewise, the B nation is delimited by a blue line and coordinates are printed in the same colour.
- A number of chits representing ground and auxiliary units as well as installations for either faction.
- A number of counters and markers used in the game dynamics.
- A number of charts with tables that summarise the game dynamics.
- A game mat to track faction reinforcements, and the like.
In addition, some optional rules may require a six-sided die.
§1.1 The maps
Each half-map, and full map when combined, consists of hexagonal fields (hexes) which serve to capture terrain and troop movements in the game. The various kinds of terrain represented are:
- Clear — Clear hexes represent open terrain, such as fields and sparse vegetation. Troops can move relatively freely there.
- Woods — Woods hexes represent denser growth and troop movement is more limited.
- Mountains — These hexes represent mountainous or very hilly regions of the map. Troop movement is very limited in these areas.
- Cities — A hex, or combination of hexes, that represent densely populated areas on the map. Cities provide supply for troops as well as various other capabilities for the factions. They are therefore in and of themselves (sub-)objectives of the game.
- Seas — Larger bodies of water which are only accessible to specialised troops.
- Rivers — Bodies of water that provide natural obstacles to troop movement.
- Roads — Travelling along a road is much easier than travelling over open terrain, even for tracked units such as armoured units.
Terrain have different influences on the movement of troops and how easily a position is to defend against an attacker. These are summarised in Table 1.
Table 1: Terrain effects.
| Terrain | Units restrictions | MF cost (#) | Defender CF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear | 1 | ×1 | |
| City | 1* | ×2 | |
| Coastal city | 1* | ×2 | |
| Beach | 1 | ×1 | |
| Woods | not Armoured (AR) or Combined arms (CAR) | 2† | ×2 |
| Mountains | only SOF, Mountaineer (MTN), and the logistic-unit symbol | 2 | ×2 |
| River |
* Use lowest movement cost. † Use highest movement cost. ‡ Retreats are eliminations. # Logistic units always pay 1 MF.
§1.2 The units
Ground troops are represented by chits or counters in the game. Each unit is a single chit. An example of a unit is shown in Figure 1. Various parts of the unit chit give information about the unit.
Figure 1: A ground unit. [Unit chit diagram, not transcribed; its parts are described in the list below.]
- Parent identifier — This identifies the parent organisation unit (the corps). Units with the same parent identifier belong to the same organisational unit.
- Identifier — Identifies the unit uniquely.
- Size — The size (called echelon) of the unit. In Kriegspiel there are divisions (D) and, for some optional rules, brigades.
- Type — The NATO symbology (App6(D)) symbol for the unit type. The various unit types are shown in Table 2.
- Combat Factor (CF) — The fighting strength of a unit, both offensive and defensive. The higher the number the stronger the unit.
- Movement Factor (MF) — The manoeuvrability of the unit. The higher the number the faster and further the unit can move. One MF corresponds to moving through one clear hex, but different terrain may impose higher or lower costs.
Typically a unit will be identified by its identifier, followed by a slash, then the parent unit identifier, a space and then the unit type and echelon abbreviation. Thus the unit shown in Figure 1 will be designated R 12/II IND for the 12th infantry division of the II Corps.
In addition to ground units there are a number of other auxiliary units for each faction. These are used in various optional rules. See §A for a full Order of Battle summary of the available ground and auxiliary units.
Game I: Auxiliary units are not used and only R I, II, and III corps, and B A, B, and C corps are used.
Game II: Which auxiliary and additional units are used depends on the employed optional rules.
Table 2: Ground unit types.
| Symbol | Type & Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Infantry | IN |
| Combined arms | CAR |
| Armoured | AR |
| Airborne infantry | ABI |
| Special Operations Forces | SOF |
| Reconnaissance* | REC |
| Mountaineer* | MTN |
| Field artillery* | FA |
| Amphibious* | AM |
| Air assault* | AA |
| Echelon symbol | Echelon & Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Corps | – |
| Division | D |
* Optional.
§2 Starting the game
The two factions (players) must agree upon which optional rules to use in the game (if any).
Read the various optional rules carefully to determine any possible bias towards one faction or another, and then try to strike a balance.
The factions then agree how the two half-maps should be put together. Either join half-maps along the longer or shorter edges.
The different configurations have different challenges for the factions (individually and overall). Joining a long edge with a short edge does not make for good game play, and should not be done.
The configuration where the nation names and game logo faces the factions, i.e., where the B map is upside-down and to the right of the R map (B hex column AA joined with R hex column K) is a good candidate.
The R chooses any 14 units from the I, II, and III corps, and B chooses any 13 units from A, B, and C corps. These are the starting units. Remaining units are kept in reserve.
Both factions now place all their initial units on their respective half-maps. A temporary divider should be placed between the half-maps so that the specific deployment is secret. Units may not be deployed on hexes on the border (i.e., half-hexes).
Any remaining reserve units are placed in the respective reserve box on the game mat.
Finally, place the clear weather marker on the starting month of the turn track.
This finishes the initial set-up part of the game. The game now progresses in turns (§4) until the victory conditions (§3) have been achieved.
§3 Victory conditions
If, at the end of a full turn,
- either one faction has less than a total of 20 CF on the map, then the faction with the most CF wins,
- or a faction has captured and occupies all enemy cities, then that faction wins.
To determine the total CF on the map, add up all units' CFs.
A city is occupied by the enemy if that faction has at least one unit in any of the consecutive city hexes.
Note that it is not enough for victory to be the last unit in an enemy city. The faction must have unit in the city.
§4 Turn sequence
The exact steps in a turn (the turn sequence) is very much influenced by the optional rules used in the game. Please refer to the optional rules for more details.
At the start of each turn, the first thing is to determine which faction goes first. Decide this randomly (flip of a coin, roll of a die). The first faction then goes through the full turn sequence, and then the other faction does likewise.
The faction in turn is called the attacker and the other faction the defender. Once the attacking faction has gone through the full turn sequence, the roles are flipped and the attacker becomes the defender and vice versa.
The steps of the turn sequence are:
- Preparation phase. In this phase the following may happen, depending on the chosen optional rules.
- Reinforcements — Starting on the 4th turn, the attacker receives one reinforcement unit from its reserve pool. No reinforcement units are received once the reserve pool is empty. See also §7.1.
- Movement phase. In this phase the attacking faction may, in any order:
- Unit manoeuvres — The faction may move as many or as few units as desired, up to the maximum movement allowance of a unit and constrained by terrain (§8).
- Reinforcements — Bring reinforcement units from the reserve pool in to the faction's capital. If any capital hex is occupied by the opposing faction, then no reinforcements may be brought in (§7.1).
- Combat phase. The attacking faction resolves all combats in any desired order. Each combat must be fully resolved, including retreats and advances, before going on to the next combat.
Once a faction has completed the above procedure, the turn moves over to the opposing faction. That faction then becomes the attacker and the other faction the defender. The new attacker then goes through the above procedure. When both factions have gone through the above three phases, then the turn is over and a new turn is started until the end of the game (see §3).
§5 Control, occupation, and capture
Three important concepts are control, occupation, and capture of hexes by a faction. These are not the same thing and the rules are explicit in which concept applies.
A faction controls a hex if it was the last faction to have a unit in that hex. At the start of the game, each faction controls all hexes within its nation.
A faction occupies a hex if it has a unit in that hex at the end of its turn.
A faction has captured a hex if it has a unit in that hex at the end of the opponent's combat phase. That is, if a unit ended its own turn in a hex, and has not been displaced by the enemy in its following turn (the unit is still in the hex at the faction's preparation phase), then (and only then) is the hex captured.
§6 Zone-of-Control (ZOC)
Every ground unit exerts a zone-of-control in the hex it occupies and six neighbouring hexes (see Figure 2). This represents the area the unit can patrol and fire into.
Figure 2: Zone of Control (ZOC). [Hex diagram, not transcribed.]
Auxiliary units or counters (such as logistics or air support units, rocket or ICBM launch sites, or supply or POW camp sites) do not exert ZOC.
ZOC does not extend beyond the board edge or across seas (D3 is considered a sea hex). ZOC does extend into any other terrain, even if that terrain is prohibited for the unit exerting ZOC.
A few key points regarding ZOC:
- A unit must stop upon entering enemy ZOC.
- A unit cannot move from one enemy ZOC into another enemy ZOC directly — even if the target hex contains a friendly unit. The unit must first disengage completely before it can reengage.
- Defender units in attacker's ZOC must be attacked during the attacker's combat phase. Attacker units that are in enemy ZOC must conduct combat in the attacker's combat phase.
ZOC influences many aspects of the game, in particular movement and combat. The above three points makes it clear that proper observation of enemy ZOC and strategic use of own ZOC can be vital for success. For example, by placing units with one hex between them effectively blocks the opponent from advancing beyond that line, as long as the units in the line can hold the ground.
§7 Preparation phase
In the preparation phase the attacking faction receives new supplies, as summarised in Table 3. Precisely which supplies are received depends on the optional rules in use.
Table 3: Supply summary.
| Supply | # Received | Start Turn | Turn Freq. | Cost* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reinforcements | 1 | 4 | 1 | Until reserve empty | |
| Replacements | 1 CF / city | 1 | 1 | Control full city | |
| Air support | 3 | 3 | 1 | Full control of capital | |
| Logistics | 1 / supply installation marker | 1 | 1 |
* In air support or replacement factors.
§7.1 Reinforcements
Starting from turn 4, the attacking faction receives one reinforcement ground unit per turn, as long as the faction has units in its reserve pool. The attacker can freely choose between available units.
Reinforcement units arrive in the capital of the attacking faction. If the opponent occupies a hex in the capital, then no reinforcements can arrive in that turn, and the reinforcement unit must wait until a later turn when the enemy does not occupy the capital.
No more reinforcement will arrive for a faction once the faction's reserve pool is empty of ground units.
Figure 3: Engaging, disengaging, and reengaging the enemy. R 10/II SOFD is engaged with B 14/C IND. It cannot move into B2 nor D2. It can disengage by moving into B1 or D1. From B1 it can reengage B 14/C IND at B2, or engage B 4/A CARD at A1. Note that other moves than those shown are possible too.
[Figure 3: hex diagram, not transcribed.]
§8 Movement phase
The attacking faction may move as many or as few ground units as it wishes during its movement phase. Movement captures troop manoeuvres to put the attacker into a more advantageous position.
§8.1 Unit manoeuvres
A unit's movement factor (MF) determines how many hexes that unit may move during a single turn. A unit may move as many hexes as it has MF. Movement factors cannot be transferred between units nor can they be saved for later turns.
§8.1.1 Map edges
Half-hexes, that is hexes along the border of the map cannot be used by units, and units are not allowed to move off the map. The combined half-hexes where the two half-maps are joined are permissible hexes.
§8.1.2 Stacking
Only one ground unit may at any given point occupy a hex. Units cannot move through a hex occupied by another unit, whether it is friendly or not.
A friendly unit may never enter a hex occupied by an enemy unit.
This applies at all times, including initial deployment, arrival of reinforcements, replacements, and so on.
§8.1.3 Terrain
Armoured units (AR and CAR) are not permitted to enter woods hexes. This applies always including for advances and retreats.
Only specialised units can enter mountains or sea hexes. Mountain hexes can only be entered by SOF units (SOF). Sea hexes can only be entered as part of an invasion (§8.1.5) and only by SOF units (SOF). Any other unit type is prohibited from entering these hexes, including on retreats and advances.
§8.1.4 Enemy ZOC
A unit must stop upon entering a ZOC of an enemy unit. The unit is said to have engaged the enemy unit.
A unit cannot directly move from one hex in enemy ZOC to another hex in enemy ZOC. If it must first move out of any enemy ZOC (disengage) before it can move into another hex in enemy ZOC (reengage). An example of this is shown in Figure 3.
These rules allow a faction to set up an effective defensive line by placing units with one hex in between them. As long as the defending units can hold the ground, such a formation will block the attacker from further advances.
The rules can also be used offensively by surrounding a defending unit with attacking ZOC. This is illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Use of ZOC in attacks. B 14/C IND and B 4/A CARD attack R 10/II SOFD. On the left hand side the B units are positioned so that R 10/II SOFD can retreat to B2. On the right hand side, all retreat paths for the R unit are blocked because of the B units' ZOC.
[Figure 4: hex diagram, not transcribed.]
§8.1.5 Invasions
A special operations unit (SOF) may, if it starts its turn in a coastal city hex, invade on any beach hex on the map (even beach hexes that are not directly linked by rivers or seas to the starting coastal city hex). The unit is transported to a sea hex adjacent to the landing beach hex without limitations. That is, enemy ZOC, terrain, or the like, does not impede the unit in any way.
If the target beach hex is not occupied by an enemy unit, then the invading unit is moved on to the beach hex. The unit is then free to manoeuvre using its full MF afterwards. Of course, if the beach hex is in enemy ZOC, then the invading unit must stop its movement and perform combat against the enemy unit.
If the landing hex is occupied by the enemy, then the invading unit must attack the enemy in the following combat phase. Other ground units that can reach the enemy may participate in the attack.
If a hex adjacent to the landing hex is also occupied by the enemy, then the landing unit is not required to also attack that unit in the following combat phase. This is an exception to the forced combat rule (§9.1).
A unit can never end its turn on a sea hex. If it does, it is eliminated immediately.
An attacker can make as many invasions in a single turn as its coastal city hex available units allow. A SOF unit may invade as many times in a game as is possible, but only once per turn.
§8.1.6 Paratroopers
An airborne unit (ABI) may, if it starts its turn in a friendly city hex, perform an airborne assault or parachute drop on any allowed hex on the board.
The unit is transported by air immediately to the drop zone (DZ) hex. The drop zone hex may not be in enemy ZOC, and the hex may not be prohibited to the kind of unit being dropped (e.g., mountains). After the drop, the airborne unit may perform normal manoeuvres (movement and combat) that turn.
As many parachute drops as are possible may be performed in a single turn, and an airborne unit can be dropped as many times as possible during the game, though at most once per turn, and it must start its turn in a friendly city (including friendly cities in the opponent's nation).
§9 Combat phase
§9.1 Forced combat
A hex which contains defending units which are in any of the attacking unit's ZOC must be attacked. That is, any enemy unit that is engaged must be attacked. All units in a hex must be attacked as a whole and only once per turn. An attacker cannot first attack some defending units in a hex, and then in a later battle the remaining units.
Likewise, any attacking unit that has any defending unit in its ZOC must attack into at least one hex. That is, a unit that has engaged the enemy must conduct combat.
An attacking unit may attack into multiple hexes as long as
- it is adjacent to all hexes, and
- all defending units are in adjacent hexes.
Sometimes attacks may be divided amongst the attacking units in such a way that some attacks are performed at sub-optimal odds (1:1 or worse), in order to obtain better odds in some other, strategically more important, battle. This is called soaking off and is illustrated in Figure 5.
§9.2 Offensive and defensive CFs
To calculate the offensive and defensive CFs sum the combat factors of all attacking and defending units, respectively. Combat factors cannot be divided between attacks, and an attacking unit may only attack once per combat.
If more than one unit attacks into more than one hex, then all attacking units must be adjacent to all attacked hexes.
Units can attack into hexes in which they are not allowed to move into. That is, for example, an armoured (AR) or mechanised (CAR) unit may attack an enemy unit in a woods hex, and regular infantry (IN) unit may attack into a mountain hex.
Figure 5: Soaking-off attack. B is the attacker. Since all three R units are in enemy ZOC, they must all be attacked. Likewise, all B units have enemy units in their ZOC and therefore must attack. However, B has a choice. To the left, B chooses to attack R 6/I IND with B 2/A CARD and 6/A CARD, and attack both of R 1/I ARD and 2/I ARD with only B 7/A CARD. The odds are 16:4 and 8:16, respectively. On the right, the attacks are evenly distributed with odds 8:4, 8:8, and 8:8, respectively. On the left, using a soaking-off tactic, B has a much better chance of eliminating R 6/I IND (4:1 versus 1:1) than on the right, at the cost of sub-optimal odds in the other battle (1:2). On the right, all battles are a bit up in the air, and B risks imposing no casualties on R.
[Figure 5: hex diagram, not transcribed.]
§9.3 Combat odds and resolution
The combat odds can be calculated once the total of the attackers CFs and defenders CFs have been determined. Calculate the ratio of the attacker's total CF and defender's total CF and find the ratio on the combat resolution chart in Table 4 which is closest to the calculated ratio, rounding down to the defender's advantage.
An attacker with 20 CF which attack a defender with 8 CF is a 20:8, or 2.5 combat. Rounding down to the defender's advantage, we find the combat odds 2:1. Had the tables been turned then the odds would be 8:20 or 2⁄5. Rounding down to the defender's advantage we find the odds 1:3. Similarly odds 6:4 becomes 1:1, and 4:6 becomes 1:2.
Odds that are better than 3:1 are considered 3:1, and similarly odds worse than 1:3 are considered as 1:3.
The attacker then picks up the three offensive tactics counters and secretly selects which tactics to use. The tactics counter is put down face-down. The tactics are:
- Engage and hold. The attacker engages the enemy but will not follow up on the attack.
- Escalating assault. The attacker keeps on pressing on after the assault and may advance 2 MF after the combat.
- Blitzkrieg. The assault is swift and presses on long after the defender is been defeated. The attacker can advance 4 MF after the combat.
The defender picks up the four defensive tactics counters and secretly decides which defensive tactic to utilise. The tactics counter is put down face-down. The tactics are:
- Abandon position. The defender flees the incoming assault as fast as possible, and can be retreat 4 MF after the combat.
- Fighting retreat. The defender tries to prevent the attacker from escalating the assault by fighting back while retreating. The defender can be retreat 2 MF after the combat.
- Standfast. The defender will try to hold the ground. The defender cannot voluntarily retreat after the combat.
- Hold at all cost. The defender will fight to the bitter end to hold the position. The defender cannot voluntarily retreat after the combat.
The attacker and defender then simultaneously reveal their chosen strategies and cross index in the combat resolution chart (Table 4) under the calculated odds, to find the result of the combat. The results are:
- — No casualties on either side.
- AE or DE All attacking or defending units, respectively, are eliminated.
- A4 or D4 Attacker or defender, respectively, must eliminate units of at least 4 CF combined.
- A6 Attacker must eliminate units corresponding to at least 6 CF.
Eliminated units are moved from the map into the owning faction's dead pool on the game mat.
When asked to eliminate a specific number of CF the control faction must sacrifice at least that many CFs. That means that faction may sometimes take a hit.
For example of a 6 CF and a 3 CF unit both attack the same hex and result contains 'A4'. The faction is forced to eliminate the 6 CF unit since the 3 CF unit does not satisfy the requirement.
Table 4: Combat resolution chart. Rows are the odds and offensive tactic (the three offensive tactic icons under each odds heading: Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg); columns are the four defensive tactics.
| Odds | Offensive tactic | Abandon position | Fighting retreat | Standfast | Hold-at-all-cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:3 | Engage and hold | — | — | AE | AE |
| 1:3 | Escalating assault | — | AE | — | AE |
| 1:3 | Blitzkrieg | AE | AE | AE | AE/D4 |
| 1:2 | Engage and hold | — | — | AE | AE/D4 |
Here "—" means no casualties on either side. The legend AE, DE, A4, D4, A6 is as given under the chart above.
Figure 6: Examples of combat. Above are three examples of how the different tactics effect the outcome of the same battle (the tactics markers have been coloured to help identify the sides). R 2/I ARD and 3/I SOFD attack B B/9 SOFD at 12:6 or 2:1. On the left, the result is '—' meaning no casualties. However, R can retreat B B/9 SOFD 2 hexes in any desired direction. Since such a retreat would be through enemy ZOC, it would effectively eliminate the unit. In the middle the result is 'A4/DE'. The B unit is eliminated and to meet the 4 CF loss, R eliminates the SOF unit. On right, the result is the same as in the middle, but because R called 'blitzkrieg', it is now possible for the remaining armoured unit to advance 4 MF.
[Figure 6: diagrams, not transcribed.]
§9.4 Retreats and advances
If the defender chose a tactic that dictated a retreat, then the attacker may retreat none or all of the defending units the specified MF (hexes). A retreated unit can be moved in any direction the attacker desires, subject to limitations. A unit cannot be retreated
- into an enemy ZOC,
- over the board edge,
- into prohibited terrain (including sea), or
- in a way that would violate stacking limits.
The retreating unit is eliminated if no retreat route, of the specified length, that fulfils the above requirements, can be found.
Defence tactics that stipulate no retreat mean that the defending units may not be retreated, even if the attacker can advance.
Retreats are performed before advances, and thus an advancing unit cannot be positioned as to cut off a retreat.
If the attacker chose a tactic that involves the attacker to advance, then the attacker may advance any unit that participated in the combat the specified distance under the requirements that units cannot
- pass through enemy ZOC, and must stop upon reaching enemy ZOC,
- into prohibited terrain (including sea), or
- in a way that would violate stacking limits.
If an advance cannot be found that meets these requirements, it is not possible for the unit to advance.
Offensive tactics that stipulate no advance prohibit the attacking units from advancing after combat, even if the defending units are retreated.
Invasions: An attacker's unit that during an invasion is forced to retreat is eliminated instead. If the attacking units cannot advance onto the beach hex after combat, it is eliminated. Thus, the offensive tactic Engage and hold is of limited use to an invading unit.
Game II: Optional rules
In the following, all the optional rules are described one by one, and in full. The factions may choose any number of optional rules to employ in the game.
Optional rules always override the basic rules given in part I. Some optional rules may depend or work best with other optional rules, and some optional rules may be in conflict with one another. This will be noted in the description below as far as possible.
§10 Map configuration challenge
This optional rule modifies the rules in §2. One faction, e.g., R, places its half-map and indicates which edge the other faction should join up at. The second faction then places its half-map. Which faction goes first can be decided at random (roll of a die or coin flip) or mutually agreed upon.
§11 Initial deployment
These optional rules modify §2.
§11.1 Fixed deployment
R receives the I and II corps, and B receives A and B corps. The III and C corps are kept in reserve.
§11.2 Full deployment
This optional rule also modifies §7.1. Both R and B receive all available units. In this case, no reinforcements are later received.
§11.3 Deployment challenge
One faction, e.g., R, deploys all initial units first and then the other faction deploys its units. Which faction goes first can be decided at random or mutually agreed upon.
§11.4 Corps deployment
Units must be deployed no more than 4 (or 5) hexes away from other units of the same parent organisational unit (corps).
§11.5 Additional units
A number of additional units are provided. The factions can agree upon which of these should be used in the game and how they are deployed (initial, reinforcements, replacements).
Consider the game balance when introducing new units. As a rule of thumb, both factions should get the same total CF during the course of the game and within a reasonable period. A scenario designer may, of course, designate unequal strength to the two factions, and then modify the victory conditions (§3) accordingly.
Game I gives R 108 CF (21 units) and B 109 CF (18 units). If the factions enable the More armoured (see §A), then R gets 228 CF while B gets 264 CF, which would favour the latter faction. The factions may therefore want to exclude B corps F for a total of 215 CF for B.
Using all available units from the OOB (§A) yields 324 CF (63 units) for R and 327 CF (56 units) for B.
§12 Victory conditions
This is not rules per se but rather some considerations. The factions may decide upon other victory conditions, or limit the game to a certain number of turns. Examples could be:
- Turn limit. The factions decide to play for at most 12 turns (a year in game time). If the above victory condition has not been met by either faction before the last turn, then the game is a tie.
- Specific objectives. Certain features are designated as objectives and assign some number of victory points (VP). For example, each city hex could be worth 2 VP, ICBM and rocket launch sites 1 VP, an enemy prisoner or eliminated unit 1 VP, and so on. At the end of a fixed number of turns, each faction tallies the number of victory points and the one with the most VP wins.
- Specific territory. A line is agreed upon by both factions, and the game is played for a specific number of turns. At the end of the turns, each faction counts up how many units (in supply) it has on the opponent's side of the line. The faction with the most units on the opposing side of the line wins. The line could for example be the initial border between the two countries.
There really is no limit to how victory can be determined. One can design a game where one faction is the aggressor and has overpowered the opponent. Victory for the aggressor could then be to capture every important feature of the map, while the other faction wins if it can deny the aggressor that situation. In this way, one can use Kriegspiel to play out a variety of scenarios.
§13 Special units
These optional rules govern new unit types that can be introduced into the game, or modify specific unit types. This will affect many different parts of the core rules.
§13.1 Field artillery
Field artillery units (FA) are special ground units whose main task is to support other ground units in their attacks. Field artillery units are often positioned away from the front line since they have relatively poor defensive capabilities. Figure 7 shows an example of a field artillery unit. Most of the elements of a field artillery unit are the same as for other ground units (§1.2 and Figure 1), with some additional information:
- 1st combat factor. This combat factor (CF) is used only when the field artillery unit provides remote fire support to other ground units attacking the enemy.
- 2nd combat factor. This combat factor is used when the field artillery unit performs direct fire against an adjacent enemy unit, or when defending from attacks from adjacent enemy units.
- Range. This is the range in which the field artillery unit can provide remote fire support. The range includes the target hex but not the hex which the field artillery unit occupies. That is, with a range of 4 (as in Figure 7) there can at most be 3 intervening hexes between the field artillery unit and the target enemy unit.
Figure 7: A field artillery unit.
[Figure 7: unit chit diagram, not transcribed.]
§3 Victory conditions: Use the first CF when evaluating for victory conditions.
§9 Combat phase: An artillery unit can either support with remote fire or attack with close fire once per turn. Field artillery units that are attacked by other ground units use their second CF for defence.
Remote fire support. A field artillery unit not adjacent to an enemy unit may support other ground units (that are adjacent to enemy ground units) with remote fire. The defender in the combat supported must be within the range (in hexes) of the artillery unit, and the unit must be attacked by friendly, adjacent ground units. That is, field artillery units cannot attack enemy units with remote fire on their own.
The range of the field artillery unit is the number raised between the two CFs of the artillery unit. The range is counted from the artillery unit up to and including the defender's hex. Thus, if an artillery unit has a range of 6, then there can be no more than 5 intervening hexes between the artillery unit and the defending unit.
The first CF of the field artillery unit is added to the total CF of the attacking units. Field artillery cannot use remote fire to support defending units.
Field artillery units providing remote fire are not retreated as a result of combat, and cannot be taken as casualties.
Direct fire. A field artillery unit adjacent to an enemy unit cannot use remote fire, but can attack as a regular ground unit using direct fire. When attacking with direct fire the second CF is used as offensive CF. Field artillery units performing direct fire can be retreated or taken as casualties as a result of the combat.
§13.2 Amphibious units
Amphibious units (AM) can perform invasions like special operations units as described in §8.1.5.
§13.3 Armoured breakthrough
This modifies the movement rules (§8).
Armoured (AR) and mechanised (CAR) units need not stop when entering an enemy ZOC, unless that ZOC is exerted by an armoured (AR), mechanised (CAR), or dug-in infantry enemy unit (§18.2).
§14 Weather
This optional rule modifies the initial setup (§2), preparation phases (§7), as well as rules for movement (§8) and combat (§9).
§2 Starting the game. If the factions decide to simulate different weather conditions, then the factions must decide the starting month of the game. It is suggested that play is started in the game month of September, but the factions may decide on something else. Alternatively, roll two dice and the sum is then the starting month (meaning summer months are the most likely — a roll of 7 is six times more likely than 12 or 2).
§7 Preparation phase. In the months of November through March, the first faction rolls on the weather chart (Table 5) to determine the weather of that turn. The weather continues throughout the turn. The appropriate weather counter is then placed in the month box on the turn track on the game mat.
Table 5: Weather table. In the months of the November through March, the first faction rolls a six-sided dice and consults the table above to determine the weather for that month. Effects of the weather are summarised in the bottom of the table.
| Die | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clear | Clear | Clear | Clear | Clear |
| 2 | Clear | Clear | Snow | Clear | Clear |
| 3 | Clear | Mud | Snow | Mud | Clear |
| 4 | Clear | Mud | Snow | Snow | Mud |
| 5 |
Effects (bottom of Table 5):
- Clear: No effects.
- Mud: −2 MF. Enter mountain hexes prohibited. Units in frozen sea hexes are eliminated.
- Snow: −2 MF. Enter/leave mountain hexes prohibited. Road movement cost ½ MF. Frozen river hexes are treated as clear. R's sea closest to the freeze border is frozen, treat as clear. No invasions.
§8 Movement. The weather influences how well ground units may manoeuvre.
During mud months:
- All units lose 2 MF.
- Mountain hexes (mountain symbol) cannot be entered.
During snow months:
- All units lose 2 MF.
- Mountain hexes (mountain symbol) cannot be entered nor exited.
- River and sea hexes within a freeze border are frozen over and are treated as clear hexes. The sea in R's nation closest to the freeze border is also frozen and its hexes treated as clear.
- Movement along a road (road symbol) costs ½ MF.
- No invasions are possible.
In clear or mud months, if the previous month was a snow month, then any unit on a previously frozen sea hex is eliminated (they fall through the ice).
§9.2 Offensive CFs. Invasions are not possible during snow months, nor can air support factors be used, if the air support optional rule is in play (§17). However, air support factors are typically still accrued during snow.
§9.2 Defensive CFs. Hexes that are frozen during snow months are treated as clear for combat purposes. This means that a defender receives no CF multiplier for occupying e.g. a frozen river hex.
§15 Terrain effects
This optional rule introduces terrain effects on movement (§8) and combat (§9). It is highly recommended to use this optional rule. The effects introduced are summarised in columns 3 and 4 of Table 1.
§8 Movement. The terrain of a hex moved into determines the cost instead of a flat price of 1 MF per hex. The MF cost is summarised in the 3rd column of Table 1.
- Clear hexes cost 1 MF to move into.
- Beaches are like clear terrain and it costs 1 MF to enter.
- City hexes cost 1 MF to move into. This cost overrides any other cost that would otherwise be imposed (e.g., rivers or the like).
- It costs 2 MF to move into a woods hex. Armoured and mechanised units cannot move into a woods hex.
- It costs 2 MF to move into a mountain hex. Note, only specific types (SOF and MTN) of units may enter mountain hexes.
- It costs 3 MF to move into a river hex from a hex not connected directly to the via the same river. Once on the river, then movement along the river costs only 1 MF. Weather may affect these hexes.
- Sea hexes are only used as part of an invasion (§8.1.5). Logistic units may use these hexes as if clear. Weather may affect these hexes.
- To move into a road hex from another hex directly connected via the same road only costs ⅓ MF. Movement along a road always costs ⅓ MF regardless which kind of terrain the road passes through. To move into a road hex from a hex not connected directly via the same road costs the normal MF for the hex. Weather may affect these hexes.
The optional Weather rule (§14) further modifies these rules.
§9.2 Defensive CFs. A unit may have its defensive CF multiplied by a factor if it occupies advantageous terrain. Consult the fourth column of Table 1. Note that the river and mountain multiplier always applies, even if the attacker occupies hexes on the same river or mountain range.
The optional Weather rule (§14) further modifies these rules.
§9.4 Retreat and advance. When performing retreats or advances, treat all terrain as clear, though no unit may enter prohibited terrain. For example, an armoured unit cannot be retreated into a woods or mountain hex, nor can any unit be retreated into a sea hex (unless frozen as described in the weather optional rule §14). It also means that the low MF cost of moving along roads does not apply on retreats and advances.
§16 Replacements
A replacement unit is a previously eliminated unit that can enter the game again. There are two different optional rules for replacements and they are mutually exclusive.
If the step loss optional rule (§23) is in force, then replacement units must always be brought back in to the game at full force.
It is important to stress that replacements and reinforcements are not the same thing and should not be confused. Therefore rebuilt replacement units should be kept separate from reinforcement units in the reserve pool. Also, reinforcement units cannot be swapped for replacement points or units.
§16.1 Replacement factors
The factions receive replacement factors (RF) every turn, which may be spent to bring in replacements for previously eliminated units.
§2 Starting the game. Each faction places a marker in the "0" field of the replacement factors track on the game mat.
§7 Preparation phase. The attacker receives 1 RF per controlled city (in own and enemy nation). No more than 3 RF may be received in a single turn. The faction should use the RF track on the game mat to keep track of available replacement factors.
Replacement factors may be used to bring back units from the faction's own dead pile (units that previously have been eliminated). To bring back a unit, as many RFs as the unit's combat factors (CF) must be spent. For example, for R to bring back the 1/I armoured division (an 8-4 unit), 8 RF must be spent. See also Table 3.
Once a replacement unit has been built, place it in a cornered-off area in the reserve pool ready to be deployed during the faction's movement phase. Replacement factors cannot be borrowed from the future but can be accumulated over turns.
If the nuclear weapons optional rule (§19) is in force, then RF, possibly combined with air supply factors, can be used to build new nuclear weapons.
§8 Movement phase. Replacement units enter the game in any friendly city at any time in the movement phase. Note that replacement units cannot violate stacking limits (§8.1.2). If it is not possible for a faction to move other units out of city hexes to free up a replacement hex, then the replacement cannot enter the game that turn.
§16.2 Replacement units
§7 Preparation phase. The attacker receives one replacement unit from its dead pool. If there are no units in the faction's dead pool, then no replacements arrive this turn. The faction is free to choose any one of its units from the dead pool.
§8 Movement phase. The replacement unit enters the game in any friendly city at any time in the movement phase. Note that the replacement unit cannot violate stacking limits (§8.1.2). If it is not possible for a faction to move other units out of city hexes to free up a replacement hex, then the replacement cannot enter the game that turn.
§17 Air support
These optional rules introduce an abstraction of air combat and ground support. There are two mutually exclusive optional rules: one that only simulates ground support (§17.1), and one that simulates both ground support and combat air patrol, or CAP (§17.2).
§17.1 Ground support only
This optional rule requires the use of the optional rule on supply (§20).
§9.3 Combat odds and resolution. On each turn, the attacker may place an air support unit (AA) on a defending unit in combat. The attacker may only assign one air support unit per combat, up to a total equal to the number of supply centre installation units it currently has on the map.
An air support marker increases the combat odds (§9.3) by one column. Air support markers cannot be saved for later turns and are immediately discarded after the combat, to which it was attached, has been resolved.
§17.2 Ground support and CAP
This optional rule not only simulates air support to ground attacks, but also combat air patrol (CAP). It is more complicated than the previous optional rule, but provides more flexibility for the factions. The optional rule is based on air support factors (ASF) represented by air support units (AA). There are two mutually exclusive optional rules for how ASF are earned: unlimited (§17.2.1) and limited (§17.2.2). In both cases §17.2.3 governs the use of ASFs.
Air support or CAP missions cannot be flown during snow months if the weather optional rule (§14) is in effect. However, ASF are accrued during snow months, even if they cannot be deployed.
If the nuclear weapons optional rule (§19) is in force, then ASF, possibly combined with replacement factors (§16.1), can be used to build new nuclear weapons.
§17.2.1 Unlimited ASF
§7 Preparation phase. From the 3rd turn and onward, the attacking faction receives three air support factors (ASF) as long as the faction capital is fully controlled by the faction. Place the earned ASF in the faction's reserve box to be deployed in the current or some later turn.
Note that the faction does not earn ASF if the enemy controls one or more hexes in the capital of the faction. If the faction recaptures the full capital, then accretion of ASF will resume on the following turn.
§17.2.2 Limited ASF
This method of earning ASF relies on the supply (§20) optional rule to be in effect.
§2 Starting the game. The B and R factions start the game with six and three air support factors, respectively.
§7 Preparation phase. The attacker receives one air support factor per friendly supply installation currently on the map. Air support factors are placed in the faction's reserve pool and are ready for use. No more than nine air support factors may be accumulated at any given time.
§17.2.3 Use of ASFs
§9.2 Offensive CFs. The attacker may place as many ASF units (AA) as available in the reserve pool on top of a defending hex before resolving a combat. The defender then has the option to eliminate ASF units using its own available ASF units on a one-to-one basis. This simulates combat air patrol. The attacker cannot place any additional air support units at this or a later point.
Any remaining ASF units provide an additional +1 CF to the attacker's total combat factor. See also Figure 8 for an example.
Figure 8: Example of air support and CAP. R 10/II SOFD (4-4) attacks B 16/C IND (3-4) and adds two ASF to bring the odds to 6:3, or 2:1. B chooses to use one ASF in CAP (left). The result is that one R ASF is removed from the combat so that the final odds are 5:3, or 1:1 (right). By judicious use of B's air force, it stands a much better chance at getting out of the combat alive.
[Figure 8: hex diagrams, not transcribed.]
§17.3 Air lift
This optional rule requires the use of optional rule §17.2.
§8 Movement phase. Units that start their turn in a friendly city can be air lifted to another friendly city on the map by using air supply factors (ASF).
- One air supply factor may air lift 2 CF. Thus, to air lift a 4 CF unit two air supply factors must be expended.
- Air supply factors used for air lift are immediately discarded and cannot be used later in the turn.
- Units can air lift into any friendly city captured on a previous turn.
- Units cannot be air lifted into a city in enemy ZOC.
§18 Fortifications
There are two optional rules to simulate fortification of units. In one, the faction sacrifices a unit to build a fortified position (§18.1), while in the other an infantry unit can "dig in" for an improved defensive stance (§18.2). The two rules are mutually exclusive.
Whether a unit occupies a fortified position or is dug in, it has an improved defensive stance and gets ×2 CF on defence. However, the fortification provides no offensive benefit and the unit uses its unmodified CF for attacks.
§2 Starting the game. A unit may start the game as a fortified position or dug in, depending on which of the below rules are used.
§18.1 Fortified position
§8 Movement phase. At any point during an attacker's movement phase, the faction can sacrifice any ground unit to build a fortified position for other ground units to exploit. A ground unit may build a fortified position if
- it is not in enemy ZOC, and
- it does not move during that turn.
Place a fortified position marker on top of the ground unit building the fortified position.
A ground unit that is converted to a fortified position cannot move nor can it attack on its own.
A fortified position may be un-fortified if
- it is not in enemy ZOC, and
- the ground unit does not move during that turn.
The fortified position marker is removed from the ground unit. The ground unit cannot move during that turn, but may operate as normal starting the opposing faction's turn.
Other friendly ground units may move into the fortified position subject to normal movement rules.
§8.1.2 Stacking. Fortified positions do not count towards stacking. Thus, if the stacking optional rule (§26.2) is in force, then in that case up to two friendly units may occupy the fortified position.
§8.1.4 Enemy ZOC. If an attacking unit starts its movement phase or moves into a hex adjacent to an empty enemy fortified position, then that enemy unit is immediately unfortified, and the attacking unit must stop and conduct combat against that unit in the following combat phase. That is, an empty enemy fortified position exerts ZOC, and an attacker that moves into that ZOC causes immediate un-fortification.
§9.2 Defensive CFs. A regular ground unit that occupies a fortified position has its CF doubled for defensive purposes.
§9.4 Retreats and advances. If the combat result calls for a unit in a fortified position to retreat, then that unit must retreat, but the fortified position does not and can not retreat.
If the combat result calls for the attacker to advance after combat, and the attacker chooses to do so, then the attacking unit cannot enter the hex of the fortified position. The attacking unit may ignore the ZOC exerted by an empty fortified position. If the attacking unit ends its combat phase in a hex adjacent to the fortified position, then the fortified position is not automatically un-fortified.
The defending faction may move other, friendly ground units into the fortified position in the following movement phase, and must conduct combat against the attacking unit in the adjacent hex. If the defending faction does not occupy the fortified position in its following movement phase, then the attacking unit will start its turn next to an empty fortified position, which will automatically un-fortify the position.
§18.2 Dug-in infantry
The B faction is limited to 2 dug-in infantry units at any given point, while R may have up to 4 dug-in infantry units at any time.
§8 Movement phase. Infantry units (IN) only may form fortified positions, and instead of providing a fortified position for other friendly units, it fortifies its own position — it "digs in".
An infantry unit may dig in at any point during the movement phase, if
- it is not in enemy ZOC, and
- it does not move during the turn.
Place a Fortified position marker below the infantry unit. Dug-in infantry units may not move while it is dug in.
A dug-in infantry unit may un-fortify if
- it is not in enemy ZOC, and
- it does not move during the turn.
§8.1.2 Stacking. A dug-in infantry unit counts as two ground units for stacking purposes. That is, other friendly units may not move through a hex with a dug-in unit, nor occupy that hex (dug-in or not).
§8.1.4 Enemy ZOC. A dug-in infantry unit exerts normal ZOC, and an attacking unit that moves into the dug-in unit's ZOC must stop. If the armoured breakthrough optional rule (§13.3) is used, then armoured and mechanised units must stop when entering a dug-in infantry unit's ZOC.
§9.2 Defensive CFs. A dug-in infantry unit defends with a ×2 CF, but takes casualties and attacks with its normal CF.
§9.4 Retreats and advances. A dug-in infantry unit does not retreat under any circumstance. An attacker that can advance after combat may move through the dug-in ZOC as an exception to §8.1.4.
§19 Nuclear weapons
These optional rules simulate the case where the factions have nuclear capabilities, both tactical and strategic. Tactical nuclear arms are smaller devices with a shorter range and limited force. This is captured by means of rockets in the game. Strategic nuclear arms have a very large range (the whole map) and cause much more devastation. These are simulated by inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the game.
The use of this optional rule requires the optional rule on replacement factors (RF, §16.1) or air support factors (ASF, §17.2) or both.
A faction may voluntarily destroy its nuclear arsenal (wholly or in part) at any point during its turn. This can deny the other faction from capturing the faction's nuclear arsenal. The nuclear arms units are removed from the faction's reserve pool.
§2 Starting the game. Place the rocket and ICBM launcher installations as indicated on the markers and the OOB (§A).
Both factions begin the game with a stockpile of nuclear arms as shown in Table 6. Place these auxiliary counters in the respective reserve box on the game mat. Place a marker in the ICBM box next to the starting month on the turn track to indicate that new ICBMs cannot be built for another three turns.
Table 6: Starting nuclear stockpile.
| Faction | Rockets | ICBMs |
|---|---|---|
| R | 5 | 1 |
| B | 2 | 2 |
§7 Preparation phase. The attacker may choose to spend replacement or air support factors (or a combination of both) to acquire new nuclear weapons (rockets or ICBMs).
The factions can build new nuclear weapons during the game, starting from turn 2, with the following restrictions:
- One rocket per turn.
- One ICBM no more frequent than every third turn. That is, if B builds an ICBM on turn 3, then that faction can build a new ICBM at the earliest in turn 6.
To build a single rocket, 3 RF or ASF, or a combination of those, must be spent. To build an ICBM, 6 RF or ASF, or a combination, must be spent. See also Table 3.
Newly built nuclear weapons must be placed in the faction's reserve pool.
To spend ASF, remove the corresponding number of air support units (AA) from the faction's reserve pool. To spend RFs, move the marker on the RF track on the game mat correspondingly.
If a faction's capital has a nuclear strike marker in it, then no air support factors (ASF) are produced that turn. If a supply installation is in a hex with a nuclear strike marker in it, then no replacement factors (RF) are produced that turn by that installation, nor can logistic units be produced or deployed from that installation.
§8 Movement phase. Any hex with a nuclear strike marker in it can not be entered by any unit during the movement phase.
All nuclear strike markers are removed from the map at the end (i.e., after all manoeuvres) of the opponent's movement phase.
An attacker may capture a rocket or ICBM launch site by occupying the hex where the enemy's installation marker is placed. That is, the attacker must have a unit in the hex with the installation marker at the end of its turn to capture the site. The defender removes the installation marker from the map, and all corresponding nuclear arms of the appropriate type (rocket or ICBM) are transferred to the attacker's reserve pool, and thus available to the attacking faction on its next turn.
§9 Combat phase. As the first thing in the attacker's combat phase, the attacking faction may declare one or more nuclear strikes, limited only by nuclear weapons in the faction's reserve box. To make a nuclear strike the following conditions must be met:
Rocket (rocket launcher symbol)
- The rocket launcher installation marker must be on the map.
- There cannot be a nuclear strike marker on the same hex as the launcher marker.
- The target hex can be no more than 10 hexes (9 intervening hexes) away from the launch site.
- The attacker must have at least one rocket unit in its reserve pool.
ICBM (ICBM symbol)
- The ICBM launcher installation marker must be on the map.
- There cannot be a nuclear strike marker on the same hex as the launcher marker.
- The target hex can be anywhere on the map.
- The attacker must have at least one ICBM unit in its reserve pool.
The attacker secretly chooses the hex where the strike should happen, but states publicly which type of weapon is being used: Rocket or ICBM. The attacker then picks up the three suspected strike markers (§A), taking note of the marker that has the actual strike on the back side of it. The three markers are placed on the map:
- with the suspected strike side up,
- in random order,
- so that the marker with the actual strike on the flip side is in the intended target hex,
- and no more than 3 hexes (two intervening hexes) away from one another.
The defender then flips over one of the suspected strike markers.
- If the marker has the actual strike, then the defender's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system has caught the rocket or ICBM and the nuclear strike is a failure.
- If the marker is not the actual strike, then the ABM failed and the nuclear strike was a success.
In all cases, the attacker must remove the rocket or ICBM employed from its reserve pool. An example is shown in Figure 9.
If the strike was a success, then the result depends on which type of weapon was used:
- Rocket (rocket symbol): Place a single nuclear strike marker in the target hex.
- ICBM (ICBM symbol): Place a nuclear strike marker in the targeted hex and in 2 adjacent hexes (chosen by the attacker).
Any unit in a hex with a nuclear strike marker is immediately eliminated. If the struck hex contains a launcher installation, then the corresponding nuclear arms are not destroyed. No unit may enter a hex with a nuclear strike marker during the remainder of the attacker's combat phase, nor during the defender's following movement phase. Nuclear strike markers are removed from the map at the end of the defender's following movement phase.
Figure 9: Example of a nuclear strike. The attacker placed the three suspected strike markers. Above, we show the flipped side too for illustration purposes. If the defender chooses the top-right suspected strike marker and flips that, then the ABMs worked and the nuclear strike failed. If the defender chose any other of the suspected strike markers, then the nuclear strike was a success.
[Figure 9: hex diagram, not transcribed.]
Table 7: Nuclear pariah chart.
| # times nuclear used | Rocket RF | Rocket Reinf. | ICBM RF | ICBM Reinf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| > 3 | none | none | none | none |
Nuclear pariah chart. If the replacement factor optional rule (§16) is in use, then the opponent receives RF according to the above. If it is not in use, then the opponent receives the additional reinforcement units on its next preparation phase. For the # times used, it does not matter which kind of weapons was used in before, only that the weapon was a nuclear weapon.
§19.1 Nuclear pariah
The use of nuclear weapons is frowned upon by the international community, and the victim faction of a nuclear strike will immediately gain the sympathy of that community.
Therefore, a faction that uses a nuclear weapon early in the conflict suffers the adverse effect that the opponent will immediately gain some number of replacement factors (RF) or, if that optional rule is not in effect, may bring in additional reinforcements on the next turn. How many RFs or extra reinforcement units depend on how many times nuclear weapons have been used in the past and what type of weapon is being used. See Table 7.
§19.2 Alternative ABM
§7 Preparation phase. The attacker receives four ABM points as long as the faction is in control of its capital. These are stored in the faction's reserve pool and can later be used to deflect an opponent's nuclear strikes. ABMs are accumulated and does not disappear if the faction's capital is captured by the enemy.
§9 Combat phase. All of the above rules apply, except:
- The attacker places its nuclear arms unit on the map at the intended strike hex. That is, no suspected strike markers are placed, and the defender is aware of the strike site.
- The defender can then use 0 or more ABM points to try to deflect the attack. The defender can use as many ABM points as it has available in its reserve pool. The defender then rolls a six-sided dice and consults the ABM result chart in Table 8. If the result is a success, then the strike was a success. Otherwise, the ABM deflected the strike.
- The defender discards the used ABM points.
Table 8: Anti-ballistic missile system result. Rows give the number of ABMs used; columns give the die roll (1–6). A cell marked Success means the strike was a success.
| ABMs used | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 4 | Success | Success | Success | Success | Success | |
| 4 – 6 | Success | Success | Success | Success | ||
| 7 – 9 | Success | Success | Success | |||
| 10 – 12 |
§20 Supply
These optional rules simulate the importance of supply lines to troop manoeuvres and combat. This affects most parts of the game. For all the below rules, there are some common rules that must be established.
Supply line
A supply line is a consecutive set of hexes from a ground unit to a supply point (a supply centre installation marker or logistic unit) which does not pass through:
- hexes occupied by enemy units or in enemy ZOC,
- sea hexes,
- over the map edge, nor
- mountain hexes in snow months (§14).
The line does not need to be a straight line and can be as long as needed.
Supply point
A supply point can be either a city with a supply centre installation marker in it, or a logistic unit, depending on the optional rules used.
Isolation
A unit in the opponent's nation, that cannot trace a supply line to a supply point for two consecutive turns is said to be isolated. A unit cannot be isolated in its own nation.
The effect of isolation depends on the other optional rules used.
- If the prisoner of war (§21) optional rule is in use, then the isolated unit surrenders and is taken prisoner of the opposing faction.
- If the step loss (§23) optional rule is in force, then each turn of isolation the unit loses one step. When the unit has no more steps to lose it is eliminated.
- The unit is eliminated if none of these optional rules are used.
§9 Combat phase. Isolation is determined at the end of a faction's turn after the movement and combat phases.
§20.1 Supply cities
The cities in the faction's nation are supply centres. This rule conflicts with the logistic unit optional rule (§20.2).
§2 Starting the game. Place the supply centre installation markers in the cities as indicated on the counters and on the OOB (§A). Here CAP means any hex in the faction's capital. The supply centre in the capital is not in a specific hex of the capital.
If the enemy captures a city with a supply centre in it, it loses its supply point status, and the supply installation marker is removed from the city. In the case of the capital, it is enough for an enemy unit to occupy a hex in the capital for the capital to lose its supply status. The supply status can be reestablished by the faction by recapturing the city. The supply installation marker is then again placed in the city.
§20.2 Logistic units
This rule conflicts with the supply cities optional rule (§20.1).
This optional rule affects not only supply, but also the combat phase. It simulates how units that do not have logistic support are impeded in conducting combat.
A supply point is a logistic unit. A logistic unit does not need to be able to trace a line of supply, but has a limited lifetime.
§2 Starting the game. Place the supply installation markers (without an asterisk "*" in their set-up hex) on the map as indicated on the markers and on the OOB (§A). Logistic units are produced at these points.
As in the supply city optional rule (§20.1), a supply installation marker may be destroyed by the opponent by capturing the city it is in. The supply installation marker may be restored by recapturing the city.
§6 ZOC. A logistic unit does not exert a ZOC.
§7 Preparation phase. In the attacker's preparation phase the faction receives one logistic unit per supply installation marker currently on the map. Place the logistic unit in the faction's reserve pool. If a faction captures both enemy supply centres, then that faction may place a third supply installation in a friendly city and can thus produce 3 logistic units per turn.
§8 Movement phase. Any number of logistic units may be brought on to the map from the faction reserve pool at any point during the movement phase. The logistic units enter play at any friendly supply installation. Logistic units can be held in reserve as long as desired.
§8.1.2 Stacking. A logistic unit does not count toward stacking.
§8.1.3 Terrain. Logistic units ignore all terrain restrictions (including mountain and sea restrictions) and do not benefit from road movement. Thus, a logistic unit may move as many hexes as its MF per turn. It can not, however, end its turn on a sea hex. Logistic units cannot enter enemy ZOC. If it does, it is immediately eliminated.
§8.1.4 Enemy ZOC. Logistic units do not exert a ZOC. Thus, an attacking unit may freely move into a hex adjacent to one or more logistic units, or even into the hex itself, unless otherwise prohibited by terrain or other enemy ZOC. If that happens, the logistic units are immediately captured. The attacking faction can then either:
- choose to eliminate the logistic units, and the counters are returned to the defending faction in its dead pool, and the attacking unit can keep on moving if its MF allows, or
- choose to convert the enemy logistic unit(s) into own logistics units by replacing one or more of the units with logistic units of its own. The converted logistic unit cannot sustain attacks in the turn captured, but can otherwise manoeuvre. The attacking unit can not move any further that turn.
If there is a defender combat unit in the same hex as the logistic unit, then the attacking unit must attack as per normal rules.
If an attacking faction moves one of its logistic units into enemy ZOC, then the logistic unit is immediately eliminated. The defending faction cannot in that case convert the logistic unit into one of its own. Thus, the suicide move can deny the other faction the opportunity to gain an extra logistic unit.
§8.1.5 Invasions. An invading enemy unit may freely move into a beach hex occupied solely by logistic units, as they do not exert ZOC. The logistic unit(s) are immediately captured as outlined above.
§8.1.6 Paratroopers. Paratrooper units may be dropped directly on a hex containing only logistic units and thus capture them immediately.
§9 Combat phase. A ground unit that cannot trace a supply line of up to 3 hexes (two intermediate hexes) to a friendly logistic unit cannot attack during the turn. If a faction finds that a unit is in that situation, it must retreat that unit one hex away from the enemy unit it had otherwise engaged.
A logistic unit can support any number of battles within a 3 hex radius during a single turn. At the end of the combat phase, any logistic unit that sustained one or more attacks is removed from the map, and cannot provide supply for units.
Only one logistic unit is needed to sustain an attack. If multiple logistic units are in range, then the attacker can freely choose which logistic unit should be used.
Logistic units are not required for defence. A defending unit does not need to be within a three hex radius of a logistic unit to defend against an attacker. Logistic units in the same hex as a unit that is forced to retreat are retreated with it.
A logistic unit in the same hex as a defending ground unit is captured only if the defending unit(s) are eliminated in the combat. As described above, the attacker has the choice of eliminating the logistic unit or converting it into one of its own. If it is converted, then the logistic unit cannot move during this turn.
§21 Prisoners of war
To simulate the capture of units, the factions may agree to use this optional rule on prisoners of war (POW).
§2 Starting the game. Place the prisoner-of-war camp installations as indicated on the POW installation counters and the OOB (§A).
§8 Movement phase. Any POWs that were freed on the last turn (i.e., in a cornered-off section of the reserve pool) can be brought into play in the faction's capital. The released POW units can be brought in at any time during the movement phase.
§9 Combat phase. Before resolving a combat, the defender has the option to surrender. The defender does so by merely stating that the defending units surrender. All or none of the units must surrender; surrender cannot be partial.
If the defender surrenders its units, then the units are removed from the map and placed in the attacker's dead pool. These units are now POWs.
If an attacker captures (i.e., occupies the hex at the end of the opponent's next combat phase) the hex with the opponent's POW camp installation, then all POWs are released. Move the POW units from the opponent's dead pool into a cornered-off section of the reserve pool. These units are available as replacements at the start of the faction's next preparation phase.
§21.1 Prison break
§8 Movement phase. At the start of the movement phase, POW units may attempt a prison break, if the enemy has no unit occupying the POW installation hex. The faction rolls on the prison break chart in Table 9. A result marked Unsuccessful means that the prison break attempt was a failure, and the faction must eliminate one POW unit (i.e., move it from the enemy's dead pool to the faction's dead pool).
If the prison break was a success, then the POW units are freed as described above.
Table 9: Prison break. A cell marked Unsuccessful means that the prison break attempt was a failure, and the faction must eliminate one POW. Otherwise it was a success.
| # POW | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – 2 | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | |
| 3 – 4 | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | ||
| 5 – 6 | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | Unsuccessful | |||
| 7 – 8 |
Legend: Unsuccessful, eliminate one.
§21.2 Alternate POW rules
The rules for POWs follow what is specified in §21, except for the below rules. This optional rule requires the use of the step loss optional rule (§23).
§2 Starting the game. The POW installation may be placed in any clear hex within the faction's nation.
§8 Movement phase. If a POW installation is captured, then the POW units appear at that hex in the following movement phase. They reenter the game at half-strength. Freed POW units are free to move their full MF at the turn they are liberated (i.e., the turn after the hex was occupied by the faction).
POW units that succeed in a prison break (§21.1) also reenter the game at that hex and also at half-strength. POWs that escape via a prison break are free to move that turn.
§22 Peace negotiations
The use of this optional rule depends on optional rules on replacements (§16.1), air support (§17.2), nuclear weapons (§19), supply (§20), and prisoners of war (§21).
At any point during an attacker's turn the faction may call for peace negotiations. The faction can at most call for peace negotiations as many times during a game as it has peace tokens. However, the faction may do multiple calls during a single turn. One peace token is spent each time a peace negotiation is called.
§2 Starting the game. The faction places the available (4) peace tokens in its reserve pool.
§22.1 The negotiations
How the negotiations are resolved depends on the current relative strengths of factions. Sum all current combat factors (CF) on the map.
- The faction with the most CF is the stronger faction (abbreviated S). If the factions are of equal strength, then the attacker is designated the stronger faction.
- The faction with the least total CF is the weaker faction (abbreviated W).
The attacker then, in secret, selects a peace offer counter from the available offers. These are shown in the OOB (§A) and are:
- Nuclear ban
- Prisoner exchange
- De-escalation
The defender, in secret, then selects one of the four counter offers (A through D). Both factions then simultaneously reveal their picks and consult the peace talk chart in Table 10 for the result.
A withdraw. The attacker must begin to withdraw its troops from the defender's nation as expeditiously as possible — including using air lift (§17.3). Neither the attacker nor defender may conduct combat, including nuclear strikes, until the attacker is fully withdrawn.
X destroy (nuclear symbol): The faction in question immediately removes its nuclear weapons (rockets and ICBMs) from its reserve pool.
(nuclear symbol) cannot be produced. As long as the agreement is in effect, none of the factions can produce nuclear arms (rockets or ICBMs).
X create N (logistic symbol): Faction X immediately creates N logistic units even if faction X has no supply installation markers on the map. In that case, the logistic unit enters the game on any hex.
X:Y CF exchange. Every time the weaker faction gives back Y CF in POWs, the stronger faction must return X CF in POWs. The POW exchange continues until a faction cannot meet the exchange rate. For example, if the exchange ratio is 1:2, and the weaker and stronger factions have 50 CF and 20 CF, respectively, in POWs. The weaker faction would then return 40 CF and the stronger 20 CF. If the stronger faction instead had 30 CF, then the weaker faction would return all 50 CF and the stronger 25 CF.
W can do no landings nor drops for 2 turns. The weaker faction is barred from using SOF units to do invasions and cannot use airborne units to do parachute drops.
A get 0 RF/0 ASF for three turns. The attacker receives no replacement nor air support factors for three turns.
A get at least 1 (logistic symbol) per turn. The attacking faction will receive at least 1 logistic unit per turn, even if no friendly supply installation is on the map.
D removes all RF. The defending faction loses all accumulated replacement factors (RF) but will continue to accrue new RFs in the following turns.
A removes 1 unit/turn. On every turn, in the preparation phase, the attacking faction must remove 1 unit from the map. The unit is placed in the faction's reserve pool. The faction can freely choose between the units on the map.
D get 0 RF and 0 ASF per turn. The defending faction no longer accrues replacement nor air support factors.
Void all previous agreements. All previous agreements reached as a result of peace negotiations are made void. That is, the factions may break the previous agreements without adverse effects. For example, a faction may start to produce nuclear weapons even though production was banned, or an attacker can stop withdrawing its troops, break a cease fire, and so on.
Both factions are obliged to adhere to the terms of the peace deal for at least two turns. From the third turn after the agreement, a faction may break the deal.
A faction that breaks a deal will become the pariah of the international community and will suffer the consequences in terms of unit defections. A faction that breaks a peace agreement must eliminate troops corresponding to at least 8 CF.
Violation of the deal by one faction essentially voids the deal, and the opposing faction will suffer no negative consequences if that faction later also violates the agreement.
If a peace deal is voided, then normal rules apply for building nuclear weapons, replacement units, air support, accretion of RF and ASF, and so on. If two or more peace deals are in effect, the deals that have not been voided stay in full effect.
§22.2 Count nuclear arms
When determining which faction is the stronger, include the nuclear weapons available in each faction's reserve pool. A rocket counts as 1 CF, while an ICBM counts as 3 CF.
Table 10: Peace negotiation table. Columns are the attacker's peace offers (Nuclear ban, Prisoner exchange, De-escalation); rows are the defender's counter offers A to D. Legend: A = attacking faction; D = defending faction; S = stronger faction; W = weaker faction; nuclear symbol = nuclear arms (rockets and ICBMs); logistic symbol = logistic unit.
| Defender | Nuclear ban | Prisoner exchange | De-escalation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | A withdraw; D destroy nuclear arms; no combat until after A withdraws | 1:2 CF exchange; A create 2 or 1 logistic unit if S or W | Void all previous agreements |
| B | Nuclear arms cannot be produced; S & W destroy nuclear arms; A create 1 logistic unit; D create 1 logistic unit if S | 1:1½ CF exchange | 3 turn cease fire: S cannot attack; W cannot attack nor manoeuvre |
| C | Nuclear arms cannot be produced; faction with least nuclear arms destroys all; opponent destroys like nuclear arms | 1:1 CF exchange; W can do no landings or drops for 2 turns | A get 0 RF for three turns; A get 0 ASF for three turns if W; A get at least 1 logistic unit per turn; D removes all its RF |
| D | No deal | No deal | A remove 1 unit/turn; D get 0 RF and 0 ASF per turn |
Figure 10: Steps of units. Above are shown two units at full- and half-strength. The CF and MF of a half-strength unit is half, rounded down, and one less, respectively, than that of its full-strength.
[Figure 10: unit diagrams, not transcribed.]
§23 Step loss
All ground units have a full- and half-strength side. An example is shown in Figure 10. The units start the game on the full-strength side. A step loss consists of flipping a unit from its current side to a lower strength side. That is, a full-strength unit that suffers a step loss becomes a half-strength unit, while a half-strength unit that suffers a step loss is eliminated and placed in the faction's dead pool.
Step-wise losses can be incorporated into the game via two mutually exclusive optional rules. One (§23.1) uses the combat resolution table of the basic game, while the other introduces a completely new table with explicit step losses.
§23.1 Step loss by factors
§9.3 Combat odds and resolution. When the combat result calls for the loss of combat factors (CF), then these requirements may be met not only by eliminating units, but also by flipping a unit to its half-strength side. Of course, if the unit is already at half-strength, then another flip will eliminate the unit and thus free the half-strength CFs.
§23.2 New CRT
§9.3 Combat odds and resolution. Rather than using the standard combat resolution table (CRT, Table 4), a new CRT has been designed. Two new offensive tactics, Engage and Assault, are used, which however are not available at all odds. Odds lower than 1:4 and higher than 4:1 are resolved as 1:4 and 4:1, respectively. The new CRT is shown in Table 11.
Each result consists of either a two or three character alphanumeric code: XYZ. Except for the special result 'EX' (for exchange), the first character X specifies whether the following result is for the attacker (X = A) or defender (X = D). The next letter specifies the result type. If Y = A it means that the units can advance, and Z is the number of hexes it can advance. If Y = R then the unit may be retreated Z hexes. If Y = S it means that the side suffers one step loss, as explained in §23.1.
The special result 'EX' means exchange. The side with the fewest total CF loses all units, and the other side must match that loss in CFs. For example, an EX result between 18 CF and 12 CF means that the side with 12 CF is completely eliminated and the other side must take losses to cover at least 12 CF.
Table 11: Alternative combat resolution table. Each odds group lists its offensive tactic columns (icons as they appear in the printed chart: Engage and hold, Engage, Assault, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg); rows are the four defensive tactics (abandon position, fighting retreat, standfast, hold at all cost). Legend: XYZ; X = A: attacker; X = D: defender; Y = A: advance Z hexes; Y = R: retreat Z hexes; YZ = S1: one step loss; Y = E: eliminated; XY = EX: exchange, lower CF eliminates all, other matches (at least).
1:4 (offensive columns: Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | — | — | — |
| Fighting retreat | — | AE DR1 | AE |
| Standfast | AS DR1 | AS | AE |
| Hold at all cost | AE | AE | AE DS |
1:3 (offensive columns: Engage, Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | — | — | — | — |
| Fighting retreat | — | AS DR2 | AE | AE DR1 |
| Standfast | AR1 DR1 | AE | — | AE |
| Hold at all cost | AE | AR2 DA2 | AS DS | AE DS |
1:2 (offensive columns: Engage, Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | AA1 DS | — | AA2 DR2 | AR2 DR1 |
| Fighting retreat | — | AE DE | EX | AS DA1 |
| Standfast | AE | AR2 DA1 | AS DA1 | DE |
| Hold at all cost | AE DA2 | EX | AS DR1 | AE DS |
1:1 (offensive columns: Engage, Engage and hold, Assault, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage | Engage and hold | Assault | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | AR1 DR4 | AS DR3 | AA2 DS | AS DR2 | — |
| Fighting retreat | — | AS DS | AA1 DS | — | AE DS |
| Standfast | DE | AA1 DR1 | — | AA1 DS | AS DE |
| Hold at all cost | AE DR2 | DS | AE DE | AS | AA2 DS DR2 |
2:1 (offensive columns: Engage, Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | AA1 DR3 | — | DS | AA2 DR3 |
| Fighting retreat | — | AS DS | AA1 DR1 | EX |
| Standfast | AS DS | EX | — | AS DE |
| Hold at all cost | AR2 DS | AE DS | AS DE | AE DE |
3:1 (offensive columns: Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | — | — | AA2 DS |
| Fighting retreat | — | DE | EX |
| Standfast | DS | EX | AA1 DS |
| Hold at all cost | DE | AS DE | AS DE |
4:1 (offensive columns: Engage and hold, Escalating assault, Blitzkrieg)
| Defensive tactic | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Blitzkrieg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abandon position | AA1 DR2 | AA2 DR2 | AA3 DE |
| Fighting retreat | DE | DE | AA2 DR3 |
| Standfast | AA2 DS | AS DE | DE |
| Hold at all cost | — | — | — |
§9.4 Retreats and advances. Whether a unit can be retreated or advanced is dictated by the CRT, not the tactics employed in the combat. It is always the opposing faction that performs retreats, and the owning faction that performs advances. Thus a result of 'AR2/DA2' means that the current defender retreats the attacking units and advances its own units. Step losses are always managed by the owning faction.
§23.3 Hold ground
§9.4 Retreat and advances. A unit that is required to retreat may opt to lose a step instead of retreating one hex. Thus, a full-strength unit required to retreat say two hexes can instead retreat one hex (as per normal rules) and then take a step loss instead of retreating the final hex.
§23.4 R'n'R
This optional rule requires the use of the supply optional rule (§20).
§7 Preparation phase. A half-strength unit that
- is not in enemy ZOC,
- does not move nor attack during the turn, and
- can trace a supply line to a supply point (supply installation or logistic unit)
may be restored to its full strength by being expended as many replacement factors (RF) as the combat factors the unit is increased. So a unit with full-strength 3 CF which is at half-strength 1 CF can recover to full strength by being passive the full turn and by the controlling faction spending 2 RF. If the line of supply is traced to a logistic unit, then that logistic unit is "spent" and immediately removed from the map. The faction may freely choose between tracing supply to a supply installation or a logistic unit.
§24 Paratroopers
Below are some optional rules for paratroopers.
§24.1 Clear DZ
§8.1.6 Paratroopers. Paratrooper units may only drop on a clear or road hex.
§24.2 Limited movement of paratroopers
§8.1.6 Paratroopers. An airborne unit may be dropped into an enemy ZOC, but then cannot move on that turn. An airborne unit dropped outside enemy ZOC can move 1 hex (subject to normal restrictions) but not into enemy ZOC.
§25 Invasions
Below are some optional rules for invasions.
§25.1 Blocked invasion
§8.1.5 Invasion. If the landing hex is in enemy ZOC from more than one hex, and the attacker cannot fulfil the combat requirements of attacking all enemy units in its own ZOC, for example by other invading units or ground units, then the invasion fails and the invading unit is eliminated.
§25.2 Limited invasion
§8.1.5 Invasion. If the landing beach hex is not occupied by the enemy, then the invading unit may move one hex beyond the landing hex, subject to normal movement restrictions, but may not engage the enemy (move into enemy ZOC). If the landing hex is occupied by the enemy and the invading unit successfully clears the landing hex, then it may not advance after combat (but must move into the beach hex).
§25.3 Strict invasion
§8.1.5 Invasion. To invade on a beach hex, the invading unit must be able to trace a waterway (rivers and seas) from the landing hex back to the starting coastal city hex. The invading unit may then move an unlimited number of hexes along that waterway to a sea hex adjacent to the landing hex, ignoring enemy ZOC restrictions.
§26 Miscellaneous
These optional rules do not fit well into an overall category and change one or a few aspects of the game.
§26.1 (Semi) Fixed order
§4 Turn sequence. The factions may decide that the order of the factions within stays the same throughout the game. Which faction goes first may be decided upon randomly, or mutually agreed upon at the start of the game.
§26.2 Stacking
§8.1.2 Stacking. At most two friendly units may occupy a hex at any given point. A unit may move through a hex which contains a single friendly unit.
This applies at all times, including initial deployment, arrival of reinforcements, replacements, and so on.
§26.3 Strategic movement
§8 Movement phase. A unit that
- starts the turn not in enemy ZOC, and
- does not conduct combat this turn (i.e., does not move into enemy ZOC)
may add 2 MF to its movement factor.
§26.4 Command and control
§8 Movement phase. To reflect that command and control is best exercised when communication lines are short, any unit that begins in turn more than 3 hexes away from other units of its parent organisational unit (corps) loses 1 MF. That is, for example, if R 1/I ARD and R 4/I IND are within 3 hexes of each other (2 intervening hexes), then they suffer no MF penalty. Were they further apart (and not close to other R I units), they would be limited to 5 MF and 3 MF, respectively.
Table 12: Optional rules check list. Check boxes can be used to select optional rules in effect. The right-most column indicates other required (+) or conflicting (-) optional rules.
| Optional rule | Required (+) / conflicting (-) |
|---|---|
| §11.1 Fixed deployment | -§11.2 |
| §11.2 Full deployment | -§11.1 |
| §11.3 Deployment challenge | |
| §11.4 Corps deployment | |
| §13.1 Field artillery | |
| §13.2 Amphibious units | |
| §13.3 Armoured breakthrough | |
| §14 Weather | |
| §15 Terrain effects | |
| §16.1 Replacement factors | -§16.2 |
| §16.2 Replacement units | -§16.1 |
| §17.1 Ground support only |
Game III: Solitaire rules
Many aspects of Kriegspiel are centred around one faction making one choice and the other faction making another choice, both in secret to each other. This makes for exciting game play as factions try to figure out what the other faction is up to.
However, many grognards like to play wargames in solitaire — that is, they play all factions against themselves. The kind of rules outlined above works rather poorly in those circumstances since the sole player has all the information available.
Below are rules to be used when playing Kriegspiel against one's self. These rules should be considered optional, and if someone has other ideas, by all means use those.
§27 Starting the game
The rules in §2 stipulate that the factions should set up in secret. To simulate something like that in a solitaire game, follow the procedure below:
- Select the type of set-up wanted, and place each faction's starting units on the table or on the OOB (§A).
- (a) Select at random the next faction, e.g., by flipping a coin or rolling a die. (b) Select a unit from that faction and place it on the map. (c) Repeat until all units have been placed.
While it still allows the solitaire player to see how the set-up progresses, it does introduce an element of randomness and uncertainty.
§28 Combat resolution
The concept of combat resolution in Kriegspiel is that each faction appraises the situation and then selects a tactic not only based on what the situation looks like, but also on how the faction believes the other faction sees the situation. This cannot be done in a solitaire game. Instead, follow the procedure below:
- First the game odds are calculated as usual.
- If the POW optional rule (§21) is in use, roll a die to see if the defender would surrender. Assign the outcome of the roll based on how a defender would likely see the situation. For example, if the combat odds are 3:1 and it seems likely that the defender would not survive the attack, then die rolls of 1 to 4 could mean surrender. On the other hand, if the risk is very low, only surrender on a die roll of 1.
- Make a conscious choice of the offensive tactic to use. Alternatively, roll a die and cross index the combat odds in the bottom half of Table 13 to determine an offensive tactic.
- Roll a die and cross index the die roll with the combat odds in Table 13 to get a random (but weighted) defensive tactic.
- Resolve the battle per usual rules.
Table 13: Defensive tactic choice for solitaire. The upper block gives the defensive tactic, and the lower block the offensive tactic, for each die roll (rows) and combat odds (columns). Icons are as printed, read against the chart's icon key (§A, p. 28): the curved-arrow icons (abandon position and fighting retreat, which the printed chart shows with near-identical arrows), a sun icon (standfast), and a bar icon (hold at all cost); for the offensive block, the Engage and hold icon, the Escalating assault icon, and the Blitzkrieg (chevron) icon.
Defensive tactic (upper block)
| Die roll | 1:3 | 1:2 | 1:1 | 2:1 | 3:1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow |
| 2 | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow |
| 3 | sun | sun | curved arrow | curved arrow | curved arrow |
| 4 | bar | sun | sun | curved arrow | curved arrow |
Offensive tactic (lower block)
| Die roll | 1:3 | 1:2 | 1:1 | 2:1 | 3:1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engage and hold | Engage and hold | Engage and hold | Engage and hold | Engage and hold |
| 2 | Engage and hold | Engage and hold | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Escalating assault |
| 3 | Engage and hold | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Escalating assault | Escalating assault |
| 4 | Engage and hold | Escalating assault | Escalating assault | Escalating assault |
Table 14: Peace counter offer choice for solitaire.
| Die roll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counter | A | B | C | D | D+ | A+ |
D+: Best for defender, or re-roll. A+: Best for attacker, or re-roll.
§29 Anti-Ballistic Missile defence
With the nuclear weapons optional rule (§19) the defender is asked to make an educated guess as to where the nuclear strike will land. Instead, roll a die, and if the result is 5 or 6, then the defender has guessed correctly and the nuclear attack fails.
§30 Peace negotiations
If the peace negotiations optional rule is in force (§22), then the defender is asked to assess the best counter offer given an unknown peace offer. To simulate this, roll a die and consult Table 14 to select the counter offer.
Game IV: Scenarios
§31 B aggression
This scenario simulates a conflict in which B is far superior to R but has some logistics challenges. The odds are stacked against R, but with a bit of tactical thinking, it may just prevail.
§II Optional rules. See Table 15.
§2 Starting the game. The R faction starts with I and II corps, with III in reserve. B starts with A, B, and C corps, with nothing in reserve. R has no nuclear weapons and cannot build any (do not place rocket and ICBM launch sites). Note, the nuclear pariah optional rule is in force, which means B will pay a price for using its nuclear weapons. B initially has one supply installation at DD17. B may gain a second supply installation if it captures both of R's supply installations.
§4 Turn sequence. The B faction goes first every turn, since B is the aggressor in this scenario.
§3 Victory conditions. The game is played for a full year (12 turns) starting in the month of February. The game is won using the regular victory conditions, except B must have reduced R to less than 15 CF on the map to win. If, by the end of the 12th turn, R is not reduced below 15 CF, then R wins.
§7 Preparation. As B only has one supply installation, it will only receive one logistic unit per turn.
Table 15: Optional rules for scenario §31. The optional rules in effect for this scenario are: §14 Weather; §15 Terrain effects; §16.1 Replacement factors; §17.2 Ground support and CAP; §18.1 Fortified position; §19 Nuclear weapons; §20.2 Logistic units; §22 Peace negotiations; §23.1 Step loss by factors; §26.2 Stacking; and §26.4 Command and control. All other optional rules listed in Table 12 are not in effect.
§A Order of Battle
Unit entries are listed as chit number, unit type, and combat–movement factors as printed on the chit. Type codes: AR = Armoured; CAR = Combined arms; IN = Infantry; SOF = Special Operations Forces; ABI = Airborne infantry; AM = Amphibious; MTN = Mountaineer; FA = Field artillery; AA = Air assault. Parent corps are listed as printed; the Game I & II, Amphibious & Mountaineer, and More armoured groupings are as labelled on the printed chart.
Red (R) ground units
Game I & II
- I corps: 1 AR 8–6; 2 AR 8–6; 3 SOF 4–4; 4 ABI 4–3; 5 IN 4–4; 6 IN 4–4; 7 IN 4–4
- II corps: 8 AR 8–6; 9 AR 8–6; 10 SOF 4–4; 11 ABI 4–3; 12 IN 4–4; 13 IN 4–4; 14 IN 4–4
- III corps: 15 AR 8–6; 16 AR 8–6; 17 SOF 4–4; 18 ABI 4–3; 19 IN 4–4; 20 IN 4–4; 21 IN 4–4
Amphibious & Mountaineer
- IV corps: 22 AR 8–6; 23 AM 4–4; 24 MTN 4–4; 25 IN 4–3; 26 IN 4–4; 27 IN 4–4; 28 ABI 4–3
- V corps: 29 AR 8–6; 30 AM 4–4; 31 MTN 4–4; 32 IN 4–3; 33 IN 4–4; 34 IN 4–4; 35 ABI 4–3
- VI corps: 36 AR 8–6; 37 AM 4–4; 38 MTN 4–4; 39 IN 4–3; 40 IN 4–4; 41 IN 4–4; 42 FA 4 (4/2)–4 as printed
More armoured
- VII corps: 43 AR 8–6; 44 AR 8–6; 45 AR 8–6; 46 IN 4–4; 47 IN 4–4; 48 AA 4 (6)–3 as printed; 49 FA 4 (4/2)–4 as printed
- VIII corps: 50 AR 8–6; 51 AR 8–6; 52 AR 8–6; 53 IN 4–4; 54 IN 4–4; 55 AA 4 (6)–3 as printed; 56 FA 4 (4/2)–4 as printed
- IX corps: 57 AR 8–6; 58 AR 8–6; 59 AR 8–6; 60 IN 4–4; 61 IN 4–4; 62 AA 4 (6)–3 as printed; 63 FA 4 (4/2)–4 as printed
Blue (B) ground units
Game I & II
- A corps (JG): 1–8 CAR 8–5 (eight units)
- B corps (Elitegruppe): 9 SOF 6–4; 10 SOF 6–4; 11 SOF 6–4; 12 SOF 6–4; 13 SOF 6–4
- C corps (Blakbutte): 14 IN 3–4; 15 IN 3–4; 16 IN 3–4; 17 ABI 3–3; 18 ABI 3–3
More armoured
- D corps (Speer): 20–25 CAR 8–5 (six units); 26 IN 3–4; 27 IN 3–4; 28 FA 3 (4/2)–4 as printed
- E corps (Schwert): 30–34 CAR 8–5 (five units); 35 IN 3–4; 36 IN 3–4; 37 FA 3 (4/2)–4 as printed
- F corps (Dotch): 40–44 CAR 8–5 (five units); 45 IN 3–4; 46 IN 3–4; 47 FA 3 (4/2)–4 as printed
Amphibious & Mountaineer
- G corps (Adler): 50 ABI 3–3; 51 ABI 3–3; 52 AA 3 (6)–3 as printed; 53 AA 3 (6)–3 as printed
- H corps (Drachen): 60 MTN 6–4; 61 MTN 6–4; 62 MTN 6–4; 63 MTN 6–4
- I corps (Seelowe): 70 AM 6–4; 71 AM 6–4; 72 AM 6–4; 73 AM 6–4; 73 FA 3 (4/2)–4 as printed (the printed chart labels both the fourth AM unit and this FA chit "73")
Note: the printed Blue I corps artillery chit repeats number 73 and is transcribed as printed.
Other units and markers (printed icon key)
The printed chart shows these counters for each faction (red for R, blue for B) and the tactic icons used in Tables 4, 11, and 13.
- Air support — 1–0
- Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) — ∞–0
- Rocket — 10–0
- Logistic unit — 0–10
- ICBM launcher, Rocket launcher — installation markers
- Supply point — supply installation marker
- POW camp — prisoner-of-war camp installation
- Fortified position — fortified position marker
- Peace talk — peace token
- General marker — a plain red or blue marker
Offensive tactics: Engage and hold; Engage; Assault; Escalating assault; Blitzkrieg.
Defensive tactics: Abandon position; Fighting retreat; Stand fast; Hold-at-all-costs.
Other: peace offers (nuclear ban, prisoner exchange, de-escalation); counter offers A to D; nuclear strike; suspected impact; real impact.
§B Example board configuration
The printed rulebook closes with example board configurations (map diagrams, pp. 29, 39 and 41), a game mat (pp. 30 and 33), and counter sheets (pp. 35 and 37). These are component diagrams and are not transcribed. The printed check list of optional rules (p. 43) repeats Table 12.