Posted on 2/22/2018 10:18 AM By Chris at Tanks HQ
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Spoiler Alert, 2018 is a new year which means we all have New Year’s Resolutions. Hopefully some of you have made a resolution to build, paint and play more TANKS. Ironically that’s one of ours too, except we are adding ‘hang out in our new Facebook Group more’ to the list.
Behind the scenes the TANKS team has been busy working on a pile of new content for this year but we have been so focused on the hidden stuff that we have not taken the time to get out and (virtually) catch up with the community enough so to help us we’ve created a new Facebook Group which will replace our forum on the TANKS website. |
| So, what is on our agenda for this year? |
- The Italian Army is joining TANKS, adding our first completely new nation to the game
- The British are getting reinforcements including the mighty Churchill
- A new Desert OP series focusing on the North Africa Campaign
- Community Partnered Initiatives (sounds fancy, but it really means we want to work with you on):
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- A comprehensive FAQ aimed and new and existing players
- An errata covering any issues that we’ve spotted
- Competitions so the community can show off their talents
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We also have plenty on the drawing board for the second half of the year with new releases for our Soviet players so hang on tight!
So where does this leave us now? Our first job is to hang out in the TANKS Group more, so head over there and tag one of the TANKS team with your thoughts and we will get back to you ASAP.
Head over to the new Facebook Group now...
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Posted on 2/22/2018 10:11 AM By Chris at Tanks HQ
Spoiler Alert, 2018 is a new year which means we all have New Year’s Resolutions. Hopefully some of you have made a resolution to build, paint and play more TANKS.
Ironically that’s one of ours too, except we are adding ‘hang out in our new Facebook Group more’ to the list.
Check out our full list of Resolutions here...
Posted on 2/21/2018 8:28 AM By Chris at Tanks HQ
Trucks, jeeps, and half-tracks had been scampering through the positions of the 17th/21st Lancers throughout the day, fleeing from the Germans coming through Kasserine Pass. Corporal Lorrigan flicked away a cigarette butt, then climbed aboard his Valentine tank. No more transports appeared as he settled into the turret, nudging the gunner, ‘Wakey, wakey lad. Rommel’s on his way.’
The flat crack of heavy cannon rounds passing nearby announced the arrival of the panzers on the next ridge. ‘Gunner, traverse left…steady…on! 1000, Tank…FIRE!’. The two-pounder slammed back, venting cordite into the cramped turret. The tracer arced into the panzer, then bounced, soaring into the evening sky, the range too long for their shot to have any effect against the bigger German tanks.
‘Advance and engage’, crackled through the radio. Lorrigan started forward, advancing with ...
Posted on 2/20/2018 3:31 PM By Chris at Tanks HQ
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| ‘Halt!‘ Caporale Valdreti called down to his driver. Through his sights he saw several British Crusader tanks rolling over the slight rise ahead. Adjusting his aim as the tank abruptly stopped, he fired, noting the almost flash of a direct hit on the front of the tank’s hull. Smoke and crew poured out the open hatch, then moments later the ammunition exploded, lifting the turret off the hull.
A blossom of fire and smoke erupted as the other Crusader fired back, yet the shot went wide. Valdreti changed his aim and fired again, breaking the right track. The Crusader ground to a halt. Almost immediately, a second shot from further along the Italian line streaked into view, penetrated the turret, and finished it off.
With a deafening clang, sparks exploded all around Valdreti. A glancing shot, hard enough to gouge the armour but not enough to penetrate. Sticking his head out the hatch, Valdreti looked around frantically to see where the shot had come from. Off to the right another Crusader burned, and one of the company’s M14/41 tanks was smoking, but nothing. Not a living British tank to be seen. Somehow the rest of them had vanished as quickly as they appeared.
One M14/41 had continued to advance through the fight. ‘Avanti! Stay in line!’ crackled the radio, Capitano Piccolo’s rough voice cutting through the sounds of battle and static alike. In their cramped iron coffins, the crews raced to catch up, forming a straggling line. The Italian advance
continued…
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This April will see the Italian Army join TANKS, bringing their own flavour as well as a dash of recklessness to the table top. With two new tanks; the M14/41 medium tank and the Semovente self-propelled assault gun players will be able to field a completely Italian force.
With Italians being a new Nation to choose from, they come with a new National rule, Avanti. Like all the National rules in TANKS, this one creates a new play style. For the Italian tanks their rule rewards you for swarming and keeping your tank numbers up. So the Italian tanks are all about banding together to survive.
Right now the Italians only have two releases so we opted to add more cards than normal into the Italians Expansions to give them a wider range of options. On top of this, all but one card in each pack will be Italian only, with the only exception being their new Allied Support card. For Italian players this will give you access to some of the heavier German designs to round out your force, for German players you can add some flair to your army with these cheap but effective Italian designs.
In addition the Italians get a cool new sub-theme card set, the Risky Crew. These cards reward players for being aggressive, they are relatively cheap crew cards but their abilities only work while they are within close range of an opponent’s tank.
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These Italian tanks, along with a themed dice set and Organised Play Kit will be available in stores from April 2018.
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Posted on 3/17/2017 3:00 PM By Chris at Tanks HQ
Across the sands of North Africa the Afrika Korps and 8th Army battle it out. German Panzers go head to head with British Grants, whilst the faster Honey and Crusader tanks rush the flanks. Prepare for the next wave of TANKS with new Heros and Equipment Cards, coming out in May/June 2017.
German Panzer III Tank Expansion...
German Panzer IV (Long) Tank Expansion...
German Tiger Tank Expansion...
British Grant Tank Expansion...
British Crusader Tank Expansion...
British Honey Tank Expansion...
Posted on 12/22/2016 9:16 AM By Chris at Tanks HQ
Merry Christmas everyone, thanks for sharing your enjoyment of TANKS over the past year. 2017 is looking even bigger with more tanks on the schedule and new Organised Play campaigns coming.
Have a safe time and hopefully Santa fills your homes with Tigers, Pumas, Shermans and T-34s.
~The TANKS team.
Posted on 9/26/2016 2:48 PM By Chris at Tanks HQ
The men and women back home are working their hardest to keep the good fighting boys in tiptop shape with more Ammo and Tanks for the war effort. Keep them coming. Remember one more tank may mean the difference between defeat or victory!
Get more news from the home front here...
Posted on 8/18/2016 3:45 PM By Chris at Tanks HQ
September (and Christmas) are coming up fast, here are the new releases you can expect to see in your local store next month!
| British Dice Set (6 dice) |
TANKS14 |
| German Dice Set (6 dice) |
TANKS20
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| Soviet Dice Set (6 dice) |
TANKS17
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US Dice Set (6 dice)
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TANKS19 |
| TANKS Terrain Pack (OPS 1) |
TANKS26 |
Caen Game Mat (36" x 36"
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TANKS22 |
Posted on 6/30/2016 1:55 PM By Chris at Tanks HQ
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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Normandy Season OPS Kit Missions
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Ends |
| Month 1 - Hit the Beach |
July 18th |
August 14th |
Month 2 - Counter Attack
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August 15th |
September 11th |
| Month 3 - Encounter |
September 12th |
October 14th |
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Posted on 6/2/2016 1:38 PM By Chris at Tanks HQ
TANKS is in stores now throughout America and Europe. The first print run has been completely shipped out to stores and whilst more is on the way you don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines whilst your friends take up the challenge to drive Hitler’s Panzers all the way back to Germany.
Grab your copy and join the fight!