Angriff! (German: "Attack!"), subtitled "A practical set of World War II Wargaming rules for use with the HO and MICRO scale enthusiast", is a set of rules for miniature wargaming set in World War II designed especially for use with HO scale and 1:285 scale micro armor. The booklet was released by Z&M Publishing Enterprises in 1968.
Tabletop wargaming using miniatures had been a popular hobby since the 19th century, mainly simulating battles from the Napoleonic era using various sets of rules for movement and combat. [1] Fifteen years after the end of World War II, toy companies such as Airfix began to manufacture plastic miniatures of modern soldiers and mechanized units in both HO scale and 1:285 scale. [2] In 1968, Richard Zimmerman and David Myers designed a booklet titled Angriff! that contained a set of rules for World War II tanks, artillery, and infantry in the European Theater. They formed Z&M Publishing Enterprises in order to publish it. [2]
The booklet proved popular, and Zimmerman and Myers released a second edition with expanded and revised rules in 1972, published this time by Lakeshore Press. [3] They published a third edition in 1982. [4]
In 1976, Z&M published Banzai!, which used the Angriff! rules set but included arms and armament used in the Pacific Theater. [2]
In 1984, Z&M published Total Conflict by Gary W. Blum, which again used the Angriff! rules set, but was designed for modern Cold War conflict between NATO forces (American, British and West German) and Soviet forces. [2]
The two players randomly determine who will move first. The order of movement and combat is:
Movement rates and artillery fire are provided for various vehicles and artillery pieces. Extensive appendices provide details of tank armor and the chances of hitting a target at a given range. [2]
Richard W. Knisely, in the November 1975 issue of Wargamer's Digest , compared various sets of modern-era wargaming rules, and said of Angriff! "these rules are somewhat simpler than Tractics and Wargame Rules — Armor and Infantry 1925–1950 but are almost as comprehensive." He liked that Angriff! could be used "without alteration for micro or HO scale", and concluded, "These rules are suitable for use at company level and up to about battalion level." [5]
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to study the nature of potential conflicts. Many wargames recreate specific historic battles, and can cover either whole wars, or any campaigns, battles, or lower-level engagements within them. Many simulate land combat, but there are wargames for naval and air combat as well.
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which military units are represented by miniature physical models on a model battlefield. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use abstract pieces such as counters or blocks, or computer wargames which use virtual models. The primary benefit of using models is aesthetics, though in certain wargames the size and shape of the models can have practical consequences on how the match plays out.
G.E.V. is a science fiction board wargame designed by the American game designer Steve Jackson as a sequel to his Ogre board game, and published by Metagaming Concepts in 1978 as the eighth microgame in its MicroGame line. When Jackson left Metagaming to form his own company, he took the rights to both G.E.V. and Ogre with him, and all subsequent editions have been produced by Steve Jackson Games.
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PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The game is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation (wargame). It also pioneered concepts such as isomorphic mapboards and open-ended design, in which multiple unit counters were provided from which players could fashion their own free-form combat situations rather than simply replaying pre-structured scenarios.
1:144 scale is a scale used for some scale models such as micro/mini armor. 1:144 means that the dimensions of the model are 1/144 (0.00694) the dimensions of the original life-sized object; this equates to a scale of 1/2 inch per 6 feet of original dimension. For instance, an airplane 30 feet (9.14 m) in length would be a mere 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) long as a 1:144 scale model.
Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies. These units are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. The first tactical wargames were played as miniatures, extended to board games, and they are now also enjoyed as video games.
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Fast Rules is a simple, playable ruleset for conducting table top wargames with H0 scale World War II miniatures using armor, artillery and infantry and classed as a "mid-level skirmish" wargame. The rules were developed by Mike Reese and Leon Tucker and published as a 24 page pamphlet in 1970 by the Armored Operations Society, an affiliate of the IFW. Guidon Games made a second printing in 1972 and a third printing at an unknown later date. Combat Rules released an full-color, authorized edition in 2021 with a few additions. Compared to the original 5.5x8.5" edition, it has 24 6.14x9.21" pages.
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Micro armour refers to scale models made of lead, pewter, die cast metal or plastic, usually used for wargaming purposes. Variations of the name include: mini armour, microscale, mini tanks, miniature armour, miniature tanks, micro tanks, minitanks, minifigs, armour figurines, tank figurines, etc. are also used. Micro armour is a sub-category of model military vehicle miniature figures used for military simulation, miniature wargaming, scale models, dioramas and collecting.
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Corps Commander, or "Corps Commander: Operational Manoeuvre Group" is a set of micro-armour Miniature wargaming rules designed by Bruce Rea Taylor and Andy Ashton and published in the UK by Tabletop games copyrighted by B. A. Rea Taylor, A. Ashton & Tabletop Games July 1986.
A wargame is a strategy game that realistically simulates warfare. Wargames were invented for the purpose of training military officers, but they eventually caught on in civilian circles, played recreationally.
Wargamer's Digest was a wargaming magazine created by Gene McCoy that was published from 1973 to 2000. It is notable as one of the earliest publications to publish the work of Gary Gygax, and for the high regard that military professionals and academics showed for its military scenarios and simulations.
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