What is an OPS?
“OPS” stands for Organised Play Seasons, and is the standard TANKS league format.  Each season is played over three months. Each month will have a league pack or as we call it, an OPS Kit. Each kit will include a story mission for that month, terrain and everything you need to keep track of your progress throughout the season.  Each month will also have cool participation prizes. At the end of the Season the overall winners will receive that season's Challenge Coin.
 

The first OPS Kits Arrive 
There are some aspects of this job that are just awesome; being able to create monthly content for TANKS is one of them. It is an interesting challenge to create monthly missions themed on history and creating new challenges for players to overcome. When we (Auckland Design Studio) were designing TANKS, we quickly decided we wanted to have a TANKS gaming league. We simply love the idea of league play, and with all things with TANKS we created the kind of league we really wanted to play in. With the first kits reaching the offices, we are getting excited to share this aspect of the game with you. A structured league play is something we have been wanting for a WWII game for some time and TANKS is the perfect game to support such a format. The league will focus on creating a historical themed narrative, allowing players to face some of the same challenges that actual tank commanders faced during the war. 

 

Season One: Normandy 
The Normandy Invasion is one of the most iconic campaigns of WWII, D-Day and the breakthrough battles are seared into our memories.  Following the story of the Normandy invasion the first OPS kit has players landing on the beach during D-day and fighting to secure a foothold on the beach. The second kit has a mission that will have players fighting though the lines of bocage that cross the French countryside. The first Seasons third and final mission is going to be a massive battle requiring all the league players to break into two teams and fight across a massive 9’ by 3’ table. 
   
Hit the Beach
The first month’s Normandy OPS kit focuses on the first few hours of the liberation of France, with Allied troops hitting the beaches. This kit will have players arriving on shore and fighting their way through bunkers and fortifications.  This kit includes the Hit the Beaches mission, some fortification terrain sheets. The terrain pack is not just used in the scenario, during each month players can add that month’s terrain to the missions found in the rule book. Rules for adding terrain to normal games will be found on the month’s mission rule sheet. 
   
D-Day Terrain 
In the D-Day terrain pack you will find Bunkers, Trench Lines and Anti-Tank Traps that can be added to the defenders lists. Some of the Fortifications actually cost points to add to your list. In a game with Fortifications the way you place terrain has changed, the Attacker gets to place both forests and the defender places the four Fortification terrain prices. The houses are removed from games using Fortifications. 

   

Full Color Printed Mats

For each month we have also created a limited print run mat that stores are able to purchase. This mat fits in with the theme of the month and can be used to enhance your gaming experience. Some of the mats are plain, waiting for you to add cardboard terrain from the OPS kit, whilst others already have terrain printed on them. Each month we will have information for event organizers on the best way to use the mats in conjunction with the particular OPS kit.

   
Prizes and Keeping Score
At the end of the month each player will receive participation prizes, during the first month players will get a set of exclusive red acrylic measuring arrows and an oversized Sherman card. During each month players earn points through a variety of means; these help calculate your overall score that can win you the coveted TANKS Challenge Coin. There are five Challenge Coins in the final month’s set for the tournament organiser to award. We’ve got some suggestions on how they can be awarded but letting the Organizer have the final decision on how to give out these coins allows the groups to excel at what aspects of the game they enjoy the most. If your local group is into painting your tanks then a coin may be giving to the best painted tank or platoon used during the League, or if your group is into history a coin may be giving to the player who has recreated the most interesting historical platoon. Of course winning the event overall is probably a feat worthy of picking up one of these Coins.
 
 
 
What’s coming next for the OPS Kits?
After landing on the beaches players will be fighting inland though the bocage, this will be a new terrain type that can even be used during tournaments moving by allowing a player to swap out a forest terrain piece for a piece of bocage. And that’s another cool aspect of the OPS kits, the game will grow with new terrain, rules and missions as more and more OPS kits are released. After the Normandy Season we plan to turn our attention to the Eastern Front as Stalin’s hordes push towards Germany.


  When can we expect these kits?
The first OPS kit is set to hit stores by July 18th, followed by the second kit hitting around August 15th and the third arriving on September 12th.  Each kit will have their own mission, terrain, prizes and everything else that you will need to run the OPS kit in your local store or club. Look out for this poster in your local gaming store, and if you cannot see it ask them to contact their Gale Force 9 representative to order their pack now.
 
Normandy Season OPS Kit Missions
Starts Ends
Month 1 - Hit the Beach July 18th  August 14th
Month 2 - Counter Attack
August 15th September 11th
Month 3 - Encounter September 12th October 14th