SCOPE Panzer Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Layout
• Components
  • Unit cards
• Basic Game - Setup
• Basic Game - How to Play
  • Concealment
  • Actions
    • 1. Movement (fully controlled quadrant)
    • 2. Exploration (partially controlled quadrant)
    • 3. Search for Target (and fire)
• End of the Game and Victory Conditions
• Advanced Rules
• Advanced Firing Rules
  • Firing Correction
  • Flank Attack
  • Rear Attack
• Advanced Tank Rules
  • Light Tanks
  • Medium Tanks
  • Heavy Tanks
  • Superior Armor
• Special Units
  • Stug III
  • M26 Pershing
  • Open Turret
• Advanced Terrain Rules
  • Terrain Cards
  • Deploying Terrain Cards
  • Movement with Terrain Cards
  • Exploration with Terrain Cards
  • Line of Sight
  • High Ground Bonuses
• Ambushes (game variant)

Layout

The play area consists of the battlefield (a grid of Forest cards), a Forest deck, the firing cards placed within reach of both players, and each player's pile of destroyed units. A quadrant is a group of 2x2 cards on the battlefield.

Components

The game includes 60 cards:

• 9 American unit cards: 1 M9 Bazooka, 1 M1 AT Gun, 1 M3 Stuart, 1 M18 Hellcat, 2 M4 Sherman, 1 M36 Jackson, 1 M4A3E2 Jumbo, 1 M26 Pershing
• 9 German unit cards: 1 Panzerschreck, 1 PaK 40, 1 Panzer II, 1 Panzer III, 2 Panzer IV, 1 Stug III, 1 PzV Panther, 1 PzVI Tiger
• 8 Firing cards: 3 Hit, 2 Miss (Range), 3 Miss (Armor)
• 30 Forest cards
• 4 Terrain cards: 2 Meadow/Hill cards, 2 Lake/Mountain cards

Unit cards

Each unit card shows: point value, name, army, armor and firepower. The back of unit cards shows a Forest card controlled by their army.

Basic Game - Setup

The card number and size of a game varies depending on the chosen scenario:

Scenario	Size (rows x columns)	Maximum units per squad	Points per squad
Skirmish	6x4	4	12 D
Battle	6x5	5	16 D
Great Battle	5x6	6	20 D

1. Set up the battlefield: place the forest cards forming a grid with as many rows and columns as indicated by the scenario. Then, place the cards of half of the rows of the battlefield with the German icon face up and the other half with the American icon face up. In Great Battles, set up the middle row with 3 cards of each army.
2. Squad formation: take all the unit cards of your army and secretly choose the units that make up your squad. You cannot choose more units than allowed by the scenario. The point total of the selected units cannot exceed the points per squad in the scenario. The remaining units are not used in the game.
3. Deploy units: take all the forest cards from the first row on your side of the field. Then, reposition the row by replacing the forest cards with all your squad's cards, hidden (forest side up), and in any position you want. Any excess forest cards are returned to the Forest card deck.
4. Prepare the firing deck: place all 8 firing cards by the battlefield within reach of both players.

The setup diagrams show the American and German players on opposite sides, each with a deployment row (Skirmish 6x4, Battle 6x5, Great Battle 5x6).

Basic Game - How to Play

During the game, the players alternate taking one turn each. The American player starts the game, followed by the German player, and so on until one player succeeds in destroying all enemy units or cutting the enemy's supply line.

Concealment

Unit cards remain hidden (forest side up) until they fire or are spotted by the enemy. Once revealed (unit side up) they stay in this position until they move and hide again.

Actions

In your turn you must perform 1 single action to choose from the following 3:

1. Movement (fully controlled quadrant)

Choose any quadrant (group of 2x2 forest or unit cards) fully controlled by your army, i.e., showing your army's icon face up on the 4 cards. Then, take those cards in your hand, look at them and place them back in the same quadrant, in any position you want and with the forest side showing your army's icon face up.

Forest cards represent terrain areas controlled by the infantry of each army. The face-up army icon indicates which army controls the area. You may always look to see if you have units on the back of the forest cards under your control.

2. Exploration (partially controlled quadrant)

Choose a quadrant with forest (or unit) cards controlled by both players, regardless of the number of cards of each army. Then, flip over only those forest cards controlled by the enemy in the quadrant:

• If there are no enemy units in the quadrant, you now control the quadrant and may immediately perform a movement action on that quadrant this turn.
• If there are any enemy units in the quadrant, you must flip the flipped forest cards (with no unit) enemy cards back to their original position before the exploration and your action ends with no movement.

3. Search for Target (and fire)

Flip 1 enemy forest card that is up to 2 cards away from a forest card or unit controlled by you. That is, the enemy forest card must be adjacent (range 1), or next to an adjacent card (range 2), of your controlled card.

Next:

• If the flipped card does not contain an enemy unit, return it as it was, with the enemy icon face up.
• If the card contains an enemy unit, the unit stays revealed and you may fire at it this turn. It is not mandatory to fire at the revealed unit.

E.g.: The American player searches for a target and finds a Panzer IV.

To fire at a revealed enemy unit, follow the 3 steps below:

1. Reveal the attacking unit: flip the card of the attacking unit. This unit must be at range 1 or 2 from the attacked unit. The attacking unit remains revealed after firing. The revealed units of each player will stay in this position until they move and hide again.

   E.g.: An M4 Sherman fires at the Panzer IV (at range 2 from the Sherman).

   You can also perform a search for target action in an area where an enemy unit is already revealed at the start of your turn. In this case, reveal the attacking unit and fire normally at the target unit, following the same steps.

2. Prepare the firing hand: take as many miss (range) cards as the distance between attacker and target. That is, 1 card if they are adjacent and 2 cards if they are at range 2. Also, add as many miss (armor) cards as the armor value of the defending unit and as many hit cards as the firepower value of the attacking unit.

3. Resolve the attack: the attacking player hides the selected cards in their hand and the defending player takes one of them at random to check the result of the attack:

   • If the card is a miss, the shot failed to destroy the target.
   • If the card is a hit, the shot has impacted and destroyed the target. Discard the destroyed unit to the pile of unit cards destroyed by the attacking player. The player whose unit was destroyed fills the gap on the battlefield with a forest card showing the icon of their army face up. In other words, destroying a unit removes it from the battlefield, but does not change who controls that forest area.

End of the Game and Victory Conditions

The game ends when any player meets one of these victory conditions:

1. Destroy the enemy squad: the first player to destroy all units of the enemy squad wins.
2. Cut the enemy supply line: if you control all the forest cards in the opposing player's deployment row and have at least one of your units in this row, you automatically win the game.

Advanced Rules

The following sections describe advanced rules that add nuances and rules to the basic game. Seasoned players can add these rules for a more comprehensive and challenging game experience.

It is recommended that rookie players start with the basic rules of the game. Once you have mastered the basic rules, it is advisable not to include all advanced rules at once, but to incorporate the different advanced rules progressively, one by one as you master them.

Advanced Firing Rules

Firing Correction

When one of your units fires at a unit it has already fired at in your previous turn, when you prepare the firing hand, remove 1 miss (range) card (not armor) per each consecutive turn your unit has already fired at this unit.

That is, 1 less card in the second consecutive attack and up to 2 less cards in the third consecutive attack. If either of the two units moves and changes position between attacks, the firing correction is lost.

Flank Attack

A flank attack occurs when one of your units fires at an enemy unit who fired at a friendly unit in the last enemy turn, if your two units (the one attacking this turn and the one attacked the previous turn) are not adjacent to one another.

In this case, you may remove a miss (armor) card (not range) from the firing hand before resolving the attack.

Rear Attack

A rear attack occurs when one of your units fires at an enemy unit who fired at a friendly unit in the last enemy turn, if all 3 units are perfectly aligned orthogonally or diagonally and the enemy unit is in between the other two.

In this case, you may remove up to 2 miss (armor) cards (not range) from the firing hand before resolving the attack.

The flank attack bonus cannot be applied if the rear attack bonus was applied, as they are not compatible.

E.g.: An M4 Sherman (1) fires at a Panzer III (2). In the following turn, a Stug III (3) fires at the Sherman (1) from the flank, since the Stug III (3) is not adjacent (range 1) to the Panzer III (2).

E.g.: A PzV Panther (1) fires at a M1 AT Gun (2). In the following turn, an M18 Hellcat (3) fires at the Panther (1) from the rear, since the three units are on the same diagonal with the Panther (1) in the middle.

Advanced Tank Rules

Light Tanks

Units with armor 1 are considered light tanks. Light tanks can move and attack in the same turn. After performing a movement action on a quadrant, you may reveal a light tank unit in that quadrant to search for a target and attack it with the light tank in the same turn.

Medium Tanks

Units with armor 2 are considered medium tanks. These vehicles have no special rules.

Heavy Tanks

Units with armor 3 are considered heavy tanks. These units cannot move the turn after firing. When a heavy unit fires, rotate its card 90º so that it is perpendicular to the rest of the playing cards. This indicates that it will not be able to move in its next turn. You may move (or explore) a quadrant that includes this unit, but the card remains on the table unable to move.

The blocked unit can fire normally. The next turn in which the unit does not fire, rotate its card 90º to remove the block.

Superior Armor

A unit can only fire at a unit with armor greater than its firepower if it is adjacent to it. In other words, units with an armor value higher than the attacker's firepower cannot be attacked at range 2. Consider the original armor value of the unit for this, without any flank or rear attack bonuses.

Special Units

Some units have an asterisk in their card values as a reminder that they have the following special rules:

Stug III

The Stug III is an assault gun with no rotating turret. This gives it the following special rules:

• Reduced firing angle: if a Stug III fires several consecutive turns, the second and successive turns it may only fire at the same card or any cards adjacent to the one it fired at in the previous turn. It may search for but not fire at any other cards.
• Low profile: if a Stug III is attacked at range 2, add an extra armor card to the firing hand. For game purposes this card is considered as a third miss (range) card, i.e., it can be eliminated by firing correction and is not considered for superior armor.

M26 Pershing

U.S. armored doctrine did not include the M26 Pershing until near the end of the war, in February 1945. In games depicting earlier periods of the war, the American player may not include this unit in their squad.

Open Turret

The M18 Hellcat and the M36 Jackson are open turret tank destroyers. Their crews are very exposed to attacks from high ground.

If you are playing with advanced terrain rules, the M18 and M36 units lose 1 armor point when attacked at range 1 from a hill, if they are not on another hill themselves.

Advanced Terrain Rules

Terrain Cards

This game mode adds terrain cards that represent geographical features on the battlefield: Meadow, Hill, Lake and Mountain.

• Meadow: flat, passable terrain.
• Hill: high ground, passable terrain.
• Lake: flat, impassable terrain.
• Mountains: high ground, impassable terrain.

Passable terrain: passable terrain cards can be occupied by units. See terrain card movement rules. Impassable terrain cards cannot be occupied or entered by units.

High ground: flat terrain cards do not block line of sight. High ground cards do block the line of sight of units. See line of sight rules.

Forest cards and forest cards occupied by units are considered flat terrain and do not block the line of sight.

Deploying Terrain Cards

Terrain cards are deployed during game setup, after setting up the battlefield and before deploying the units. To deploy terrain cards each player takes 1 meadow/hill card and 1 lake/mountain card.

Then, they remove a forest card from the battlefield that is not part of the deployment rows and replace it with one of their terrain cards, with the desired face up. Terrain cards cannot be moved or flipped, they remain in position for the rest of the game.

In a Skirmish type game (6x4) each player lays out 1 of their terrain cards, starting with the German player. If the German player places the card in their half of the battlefield, the American player does the same and replaces one of their forest cards. Similarly, if the German player deploys their card in American territory, the American player will deploy their terrain card in German territory.

In Battle (6x5) or Great Battle (5x6) games, the players take turns to deploy their 2 terrain cards, one by one, starting with the German player. Each player will deploy 1 of their cards on the territory controlled by their army and the other on the opposite side, in any order they wish.

Movement with Terrain Cards

To move a quadrant that has a terrain card, take only the forest or unit cards of the quadrant, and reposition them in the same quadrant. Terrain cards are never moved, they remain on the table during movement.

Entering a terrain card: A unit may enter a passable terrain card with a movement action performed on a quadrant that includes both cards. First, take all forest or unit cards of the quadrant into your hand. Next, place the unit card on top of the terrain card, overlapping so that the terrain card icon underneath remains visible.

The unit will be revealed and will remain so if it is on the terrain card, i.e., it can't hide in this position. Then take a card from the forest deck to replace the displaced unit.

Finally, reposition the cards in your hand in the remaining spaces of the quadrant, as usual.

E.g.: only the 3 forest/unit cards are moved in the right quadrant, the terrain card (Mountain) remains on the table. The same happens in the left corner quadrant, where a unit also advances over the hill.

Terrain cards are considered neutral and not controlled by any army. But when a unit enters a passable terrain card, it takes control of the area.

Exiting a terrain card: a unit on a passable terrain card can exit it with a movement action performed in a quadrant that includes it. First take all forest or unit cards in the quadrant, including the unit on the terrain card. Next, discard one of the forest cards from your hand to the forest deck and finally reposition the other cards normally in the quadrant spaces.

If there is no forest card to discard, the unit cannot leave the terrain card, as it has nowhere to go. On the other hand, the unit leaving a terrain card can be exchanged for another unit present in the quadrant, who would enter the terrain card in the same movement action. In this case, it is not necessary to replace or discard the forest card.

Exploration with Terrain Cards

To explore a quadrant with a terrain card, only consider the forest or unit cards in the quadrant. During exploration, terrain cards are considered neutral unless an enemy unit controls them. You can explore a quadrant with a terrain card occupied by an enemy unit. In this case the rest of the enemy forest cards in the quadrant can be revealed, but cannot be moved, since there are enemy units present in the quadrant.

Line of Sight

High ground cards (hills and mountains) block the line of sight and prevent units from firing through them. Thus, a unit adjacent to a high ground card cannot fire at any of the 3 cards immediately behind that high ground card.

E.g.: The left diagonal hill prevents the Panzer IV from attacking the 3 cards in the lower left corner. The mountain to the right of the Panzer prevents it from attacking the 3 cards on the right.

Similarly, you cannot search for targets and reveal enemy forest cards that are not within line of sight of at least one card controlled by the player performing the action.

In the above example, if the cards marked with an X are under American control, the German player cannot search and reveal the card marked by the arrow, because the hill blocks the line of sight to all forest and unit cards that are within range 2, so they cannot search for a target there.

High Ground Bonuses

A unit on a hill (high ground) receives the following attack modifiers:

• Units firing from a hill at another unit that is not on a hill take 1 single miss (range) card in their firing deck, regardless of whether they fire at range 1 or 2. This card can be removed with firing correction rules, as usual.
• When a unit on a hill is attacked (by another unit not on a hill), the attacking unit receives 2 miss (range) cards, regardless of whether it fires at range 1 or 2. These cards can be removed with firing correction rules, as usual.

Ambushes (game variant)

This minor game variant makes it more difficult for units to advance through enemy terrain, as they run the risk of being ambushed. This increases the tension and realism of the game.

This game mode slightly modifies the EXPLORATION action. If you find an enemy unit while exploring and flipping the cards under enemy control, you must also flip over all your cards in the quadrant, revealing all units currently in the quadrant. Then, only flip over the forest cards in the quadrant (not the unit cards), to return them to their original position before the exploration. That is, all units (of both armies) in the quadrant are revealed and the action ends without movement.