Wargamers Digest WW2 Rules

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Wargamers Digest WW2 Rules
Wargamers Digest WW2 Rules.jpg
Unofficial Wargamers Digest WW2 Rules Cover
Publisher(s)Wargamers Digest
Years active1973-1975
Genre(s)Wargaming
Players2
Setup time1 hour
Playing time4-8 hours

Between 1973 and 1975 Gene McCoy printed a micro-armour rules[1] framework in his magazine, Wargamer's Digest.[2] The rules, as they existed, were scattered across a number of magazines, with the last being printed in Volume 3, Issue 12.[3] While by no means a finished product, these rules introduced a number of new figure-gaming concepts, which in the micro-armour world were well ahead of their time. An example was each base or figure represented more than one vehicle.

Overview

The Rules were originally designed for 1/87 or 1/72 scale figures, with a scale of 1 inch for each 100 yards. This changed in Volume 2 Issue 11 to 1 inch for each 50 yards. Each figure represented 9 vehicles, with the scale for infantry and artillery differing. By the last issue the scale had standardized to 4 to 6 vehicles or guns, although the infantry scale was not as clearly defined. The game-turn duration was never stated, but would have ranged from 15 minutes to 60 minutes a game-turn.

The rules allowed for combined movement and firing, as well as firing in the opposing players game turn. While the implementation of these rules concepts was basic, they represented a revolutionary step forward in micro-armour rules. The firing system consisted of cross referencing the gun and target armour to arrive at a penetration range. If the direct fire was at half this range or less two dice was used, other wise only one dice was used. No firing beyond penetration range was allowed. While not revolutionary the system was eligent and provided a surprising level of detail. Later version introduced a percentage to kill die roll as well.

Publication

By 1975 the rules had developed to the point Gene decided to publish them. An early type of crowd funding was used with an intended publishing date of 1978, but unfortunately the rules were never published. An unofficial version was created based on available source material and published on the Yahoo group and IO:Group site.

Wargamers Digest Magazine

Wargamer's Digest[4] was begun by Gene McCoy, a U.S. Army veteran, in 1973.[5] The magazine has been described as:

A digest of some of the best military thinking down through the ages, amplified by reports on current war gaming going on around the country, with an analysis of the military actions involved[citation needed]

Wargamers Digest is not longer in print and copies can only be obtained from existing owners, some copies have been converted into pdf format and are available on the internet.[6]

See also

References