Panzer Leader (game)

Last updated
Panzer Leader (game)
Designers Jim Dunnigan
Publishers Avalon Hill
Players2
Setup time15 minutes
Playing time45–180 minutes
ChanceMedium
Age range10 and up
Skills Strategic thought

Panzer Leader is the sequel to Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz game.

Contents

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, it is a tactical platoon level hex and counter board wargame depicting World War II tank and infantry combat on the Western European front. It features 4 geomorphic map tiles, which can be put together in a variety of ways to play the provided scenarios (which are printed on cardstock, showing all the necessary information for a scenario) or home-made scenarios. The 20 provided scenarios cover various battles on the Western Front, with most of the scenarios involving the Normandy campaign or the Battle of the Bulge. Two scenarios cover the amphibious assaults on Omaha and Gold beaches and include special rules for naval fire. While based on PanzerBlitz, the rules were cleaned up and included additional mechanics such as for air attacks and engineers, as well new spotting rules to prevent "PanzerBush" tactics - units could no longer fire from concealment without revealing themselves to enemies. Several optional and experimental rules are provided, including one for opportunity fire to further nullify PanzerBush maneuvers. [1]

The Panzer Leader map boards are interchangeable with the PanzerBlitz maps, and one could combine the two sets to make a larger battlefield. The scale is the same with the two games. The German units are interchangeable, and if one wanted, players can try a "what if" scenario with American/British forces vs. Soviet forces.

An extension kit covering the tanks of 1940 was also published. This is for the France 1940 campaign, and is meant for play with the Panzer Leader game.

Anticipation

PanzerBlitz is considered to be revolutionary in the history of tactical war-games and brought many new players into the hobby. When it was released in 1970, the few war-games available for purchase were generally larger scale strategic war-games that did not delve into the same kind of unit detail. [2]

Beyond merely coming up with additional scenarios for the existing PanzerBlitz game, the idea of a new game featuring the Western Front was an obvious one and the merits of different approaches were debated outside of Avalon Hill during the early 1970s. As an example of this fervor, a proposal in Panzerfaust No. 51 inspired three different articles in response in No. 53.

In their time, PanzerBlitz and Panzer Leader were very popular among the war gamer crowd, but their popularity fell away to what is considered the next generation of tactical World War II games of Squad Leader and Advanced Squad Leader .

Reception

In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Nicholas Palmer called the dots in the middle of map hexes (to calculate line of sight) "useful." However, he noted "The opportunity fire rule, while more realistic, has a slight tendency to keep units' heads down in cover, so the game is not quite as fluid as [previously published Avalon Hill game] PanzerBlitz ." Comparing Panzer Leader and PanzerBlitz, Palmer said, "both games are excellent, and preference is largely a matter of taste." [3]

In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames , game designer Jon Freeman noted that "Panzer Leader follows in the footsteps of PanzerBlitz, but with four years' worth of improvements and additions." He also commented on another difference: "While units individually don't have quite the interest of some employed on the eastern front (in PanzerBlitz), there's a bit more variety overall and a bit more realism in this western-front version." Freeman concluded by giving the game an Overall Evaluation of "Very Good". [4]

In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion commented, "The rules show several improvements over those of PanzerBlitz, but are basically the same." [5]

Other reviews and commentary

Related Research Articles

<i>Richthofens War</i> 1973 WWI board wargame

Richthofen's War, subtitled "The Air War 1916–1918", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1973 that simulates aerial combat during World War I.

<i>PanzerBlitz</i> World War II board wargame published in 1970

PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame of the 1970s, is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation wargame. It also pioneered several concepts that would become industry standards.

<i>PanzerArmee Afrika</i> (board game) Board wargame

PanzerArmee Afrika, subtitled "Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the World War II North African Campaign that pitted the Axis forces commanded by Erwin Rommel against Allied forces. The game was revised and republished in 1984 by Avalon Hill.

<i>1776</i> (boardgame) 1974 board game

1776, subtitled "The Game of the American Revolutionary War", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1974 that simulates the American Revolutionary War. Its release was timed to coincide with the bicentenary of the Revolution, and for several years was a bestseller for Avalon Hill.

<i>D-Day</i> (game) Board game

D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the six months of the European Campaign of World War II from the Normandy Invasion to the crossing of the Rhine. It was the first wargame to feature the now ubiquitous hex grid map and cardboard counters, and was revised and re-released in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991.

<i>Arab–Israeli Wars</i> (game) Board game

The Arab-Israeli Wars, subtitled "Tank Battles in the Mideast 1956–73", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1977 that simulates various battles during the Suez Crisis, Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tactical wargame</span> Type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level

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.

<i>Alexander the Great</i> (board game) 1971 wargame

Alexander the Great is a board wargame first published by Guidon Games in 1971 that simulates the Battle of Arbela in 331 BCE, also known as the Battle of Gaugamela. A revised edition was published by Avalon Hill in 1974. Both editions of the game were notable for having what one critic described as "one of the ugliest maps ever to curse a war game."

<i>Stalingrad</i> (wargame) 1963 board wargame

Stalingrad is a strategic-level board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1963 that simulates the first 24 months of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. As one of the first board wargames it was extensively played and discussed during the early years of the wargaming hobby.

<i>Tobruk</i> (game) Board wargame that simulates tank combat

Tobruk, subtitled "Tank Battles in North Africa 1942", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1975 that simulates tank combat in North Africa during World War II.

<i>Panzergruppe Guderian</i> (game) 1976 WWII board wargame

Panzergruppe Guderian is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. in 1976 that simulates the 1941 Battle of Smolensk during World War II.

<i>KampfPanzer: Armored Combat, 1937–40</i> Simulation war game

KampfPanzer: Armored Combat, 1937–40 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the first battles involving battle tanks.

<i>MechWar 77</i> Board wargame

MechWar '77, subtitled "Tactical Armored Combat in the 1970s", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates hypothetical tank combat in the mid-1970s between various adversaries, using the same rules system as the previously published Panzer '44.

<i>Musket & Pike</i> Board wargame

Musket & Pike, subtitled "Tactical Combat, 1550-1680", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates combat in Europe during the transition from edged weapons to firearms in the 16th and 17th centuries.

<i>Desert War: Tactical Warfare in North Africa</i> Board wargame published in 1973

Desert War: Tactical Warfare in North Africa is a board wargame published in 1973 by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) that simulates combat in North Africa during World War II..

<i>October War: Doctrine and Tactics in the Yom Kippur Conflict, 1973</i> Board wargame published in 1977

October War: Doctrine and Tactics in the Yom Kippur Conflict, 1973 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates the Yom Kippur War.

<i>Panzer 44: Tactical Combat in Western Europe, 1944–45</i> Board wargame

Panzer '44: Tactical Combat in Western Europe, 1944–45 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates historical tank combat during World War II.

<i>Submarine</i> (wargame) 1976 WWII board wargame

Submarine is a board wargame published by Battleline Publications in 1976 that simulates submarine warfare during World War II. The following year, Avalon Hill bought the rights to the game, expanded the rules and republished it with new cover art.

<i>Red Star/White Star: Tactical Combat in Europe in the 1970s</i> 1972 Cold War board wargame

Red Star/White Star: Tactical Combat in Europe in the 1970s is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) at the height of the Cold War in 1972 that simulates hypothetical battles in West Germany between Warsaw Pact invaders and NATO defenders.

<i>Tank!</i> (wargame) 1974 board wargame

Tank!, subtitled "Armored Combat in the 20th Century", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publiucations Inc. (SPI) in 1974 that simulates tank versus tank and tank versus infantry combat set anywhere from World War II to the middle of the twentieth century.

References

  1. ↑ Harmon, Robert (1975). "The Fallacy of Panzerbush". The General . 12 (2): 24.
  2. ↑ "Panzerblitz TAHGC". www.wargameacademy.org. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  3. ↑ Palmer, Nicholas (1977). The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. London: Sphere Books. p. 167.
  4. ↑ Freeman, Jon (1980). The Complete Book of Wargames. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 181–182.
  5. ↑ Campion, Martin (1980). "Panzer Leader". In Horn, Robert E.; Cleaves, Ann (eds.). The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications. p. 507. ISBN   0-8039-1375-3.
  6. ↑ "Moves Magazine" (PDF). strategyandtactics.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Games and Puzzles magazine | Wiki | BoardGameGeek".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.