4 of us took Tanks to the Game Empire in Pasadena, CA yesterday. We were able to get a table amidst a group of 40 or so who were playing in a Warhammer tournament. Our games generated a little interest and many of the local players wondered why we were playing it instead of the FLames of War game they were already familiar with! I explained that the game was good for those seeking a quick diversion, because of limited time (perhaps while waiting between FOW games), or as an intro game for others new to war gaming.

In the first game, I took 5 T-34's against a Jagdpanther, Panther and a Panzer IV. We used the training mission with objectives and boy does objectives improve the game! I had some upgrades on 2 tanks, giving one T-34 a 6 initiative. The Germans all had upgrades, of course. I maneuvered for the objectives and used cover for my upgraded tanks on turn one. The Panther and Jagdpanther stayed stationary in nice lanes of fire and the Jagdpanther blew away a T-34. The Panzer IV moved up into woods and the Russians focused their fire on that tank. They were able to damage it and remove its pesky camo netting. The following turn, the Russians generally sought cover near the objectives. The Panther took out a T-34 near one objective and the lead Russian tank also took 2 damage. The Panzer IV succumbed to fire from 3 T-34's. The Germans stayed stationary to help their shooting, but now the Russians had one point from the objective. A T-34 charged the Jagdpanther for a side shot, but the Jagdpanther just backed up. Combat at range 1 gave the Jagdpanther some damage, but the T-34 was vaporized by the 88mm gun. The Panther maneuvered to shoot the lead T-34, but the +2 initiative paid off and the T-34 maneuvered to hide behind a building while collecting a VP for the objective. The next turn, the German Panther was unable to contest the objective and failed to do more than damage the lead T-34. The Jagdpanther whiffed on a shot at the other T-34 and the Russians won by getting their 3rd victory point. It was a costly victory, trading a T-34 for each VP won.

In game 2, two of my friends squared off with 4 Shermans (2 with 76mm guns) against a fan card Tiger I and 3 Panzer IV's. No subtle maneuvering by the Germans here. The Panzer IV's charged line abreast for the objective. Without cover, 2 Panzer IV's were destroyed by Shermans using a woods for cover. The Tiger was flanking, using buildings to cover its move. Next turn, the surviving Panzer IV used a building for cover and the Tiger set up using building cover on the other side of the objective. Two Shermans were heavily damaged in the crossfire, but they surged forward and controlled the objective. Next turn a Sherman moved to get in range 1 of the Panzer IV and killed it, taking heavy damage in return fire. The Tiger finally forced a Sherman crew to bail out. However, the Shermans still controlled the same objective and had 2 VP's. The game ended when it became clear that now there were still 4 Shermans left and they were in a position to control 2 objectives. The Tiger could only contest one, so would be unable to stop the American victory the next turn.

The third game featured the use of a couple hills, as well as buildings and woods terrain. We house ruled the hills to have them block line of sight like woods and to give a tank on the hill a +1 die in shooting (although I think it would be better to give it an extra defense die for hull down instead). 3 Panthers faced off against a Comet and 3 Cromwells. The German player put an objective on a large hill and the Brits put an objective in woods on the other side of the table. The Comet raced for the woods and the Cromwells climbed up the large hill. 2 Panthers went after the Cromwells and the 3rd Panther moved towards the Comet. Horrible defensive dice and an ammo explosion led to the Cromwells destroying a Panther and damaging the other. One Cromwell took 3 damage. The Comet damaged the remaining Panther. The Germans then contested the hill and woods objectives, but the Cromwells easily finished off the Panther on the hill and the Comet and final Panther traded damage. With a 1 VP edge from that turn, the Brits coasted to an easy win....never losing a tank. The German player stated that he made a big mistake putting the objective on the hill since the hill blocks LOS. He felt it would have been much better to put it in open terrain and use the terrain cover to make it easier to cover objectives with long range fire rather than engage a fast foe at close range. The British list was killer. Those high initiative speedy Cromwells are quite handy.