Flames of War

Flames of War

The World War II Miniatures Game
Cover of 2nd Edition Rulebook
Publisher(s)	Battlefront Miniatures Ltd
Publication date	2002
Years active	2002 - present
Genre(s)	table top wargaming
Players	2-4
Website	http://www.flamesofwar.com

Flames of War (abbreviated as FoW) is a World War II tabletop miniatures wargame produced by the New Zealand company Battlefront Miniatures Ltd. The 1st Edition set of rules was published in 2002.

Flames of War allows players to wargame company level battles from the European and North African Theatres of World War Two, using 1/100 scale miniatures (15 mm figure scale) and miniature armour. In the 1st Edition rulebook basic army lists were provided for the mid-war period (1942–1943), while Battlefront published early (1939–1941) and late war (1944–1945) army lists on their website (subsequently these early and late war lists were removed). The 2nd Edition of the rulebook was published in 2006.

Gameplay

Gameplay takes place over a series of turns, with players alternating movement, shooting and close assault. This simple sequence of play, often called "I-Go, You-go", helps people who are unfamiliar with wargames or who are familiar with other games with a similar structure to quickly learn the rules. The game is optimised for two players, although it can be played by a larger number of players playing against each other or grouped in teams.

Play revolves around company-level tactics, with each stand or element representing an infantry fireteam (half-squad/section), an artillery piece and its crew, or a single vehicle (such as a tank, jeep, or armoured car). Air support is also available, in the form of fighters (like the Hawker Hurricane) and ground attack aircraft (like the Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik"), to players wishing to use it, with aircraft generally being represented by 1:144 scale models.

The main rulebook has numerous scenarios players can use for their games, from a simple all-out battle scenario to objective-taking missions. Additional army sourcebooks contain further scenarios, usually centered around historical events relevant to that particular book. Game play utilizes six-sided dice to pass various skill tests used to shoot at enemies or pass motivation based tests. Movement distances and weapon ranges are provided in both inches and centimeters and are usually measured during the with tape measures or other measuring aides.

Current army sourcebooks are based on particular campaigns and include lists for the German Wehrmacht (including the Deutsches Afrikakorps, the Waffen SS and Luftwaffe ground troops), the U.S. Army (including Rangers and Airborne units), the armies of United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand), the Red Army of the Soviet Union, (including the Soviet 8ya Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Korpus), the Italian army (including elite Bersaglieri and Paracadutisti, regular Fucilieri, and fascist Blackshirts paramilitaries), as well as nations that played as smaller role such as the Poles, Hungarians, Finns, and Romanians. Sourcebooks have so far been restricted to the European theater and Mediterranean theater; Battlefront has indicated that future releases may include coverage of the Pacific theater, but only after army lists and campaign supplements covering the early and late periods of fighting in Europe have been released.

Flames of War provides players who are interested in World War II wargaming but lack an in-depth knowledge of the period with a "one-stop shop". The rulebook and sourcebooks provide not only the rules of the game and scenarios to play but also background material on historical forces and battles and simple guides to organising, assembling, and painting miniature armies.

Rules and sourcebooks

Battlefront divides World War II into three periods. Early-war (1939–41), mid-war (1942–43) and late-war (1944–45). There is speculation amongst the FoW community that when Battlefront releases rules and models for the Pacific theater, it will separate it from the European theater for game play reasons.

The current rules are found in the Second Edition Rule Book, which was printed in a hard cover and paperback edition. The paperback edition includes all of the rules found in the hard cover edition with the exceptions of the Fortifications and City fighting rules. Unlike the first edition, where individual nation army lists were included, the second edition rule book does not include any army lists. Army lists for each nation much be purchased separately and are required to play the game. Legal army lists for tournament play typically include only second edition source books and selected "Web Briefings" published on Battlefront's web site.

Second Edition sourcebooks

Early-War period

• Blitzkrieg, covering the Invasion of Poland and the Fall of France. includes Polish, French, British and German Lists.
• "Hellfire and Back", covering the early war battles in North Africa, it includes English, German and Italian Lists.
• "Burning Empires", a continuation of Early War battles in North Africa and Greece, it includes lists for Raiding Forces as well, including one American one.

Mid-War period

• Ostfront, covering all the armies that fought on the Eastern or Russian Front, both Axis (including their allies such as the Hungarians, Finns and Romanians) and Allied forces. Replaced by "Eastern Front" (see below).
• Afrika, this covers the war in North Africa and Italy. Again this sourcebook includes both Axis and Allied forces, including their various allies.
• Mid-War Monsters, this covers various experimental armoured fighting vehicles of World War Two, including the M6 Heavy Tank, the Boarhound Armoured Car, and the KV-5 Heavy Tank.
• North Africa, this updates and replaces the Afrika sourcebook. The specific organizations for the Deutsches Afrikakorps and Italian forces in Libya and Egypt have been included. Forces are split into North African, Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy briefings. New forces previously not found in Afrika, such as British Airborne or a Panzerspähwagenkompanie, are included.
• Eastern Front, this updates and replaces the Ostfront sourcebook similarly to the North Africa book. It was released January 9, 2010.

Late-War period

• Festung Europa, army lists for German, US, British and Soviet infantry, motorized, reconnaissance, and armoured forces.
• D Minus 1, army lists for the Allied paratroop and air-landing units active in the European theater during January 1944-August 1944.
• D-Day, containing rules for the Normandy campaign, including beach landings, fighting in the bocage.
• Bloody Omaha, army lists for German and US infantry divisions engaged in Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944.
• Villers-Bocage, army lists for German and British tank units fighting for control of the Normandy town of Villers-Bocage on 13 June 1944. Includes new heroes, new unit organisations, and new scenarios.
• Monty's Meatgrinder, army lists for German and British/Canadian forces fighting for Caen from June to August 1944. This book is the first to remove the number of support units limitation based on combat platoons.
• Cobra, the Normandy Breakout, army lists for SS and American troops fighting during Operation Cobra, the breakout from Normandy.
• Stalin's Onslaught, army lists for the initial assault in Operation Bagration focusing on the Soviet 8th Independent Penal Battalion, Soviet IS-2 heavy tank battalion and German 78. Sturmdivision. This is the first of three books to focus on Operation Bagration.
• Fortress Europe was released on 15 November 2008 and updates Festung Europa to make it consistent with the new style of army lists and includes options added by PDF.
• Hammer & Sickle, army lists for the drive on Minsk during Operation Bagration focusing on the Soviet Guards Divisions and German Sperrverband "Armoured Blocking Forces" and 505th German Tiger tank battalion. This is the second of three books to focus on Operation Bagration.
• Firestorm - Bagration, a Campaign box focused on Operation Bagration
• River Of Heroes, the last in the Bagration cycle, and focuses on the 3rd and 5th SS Panzer divisions, and the Soviet Sapper battalions.
• Hell's Highway, the first book in the Market-Garden series, covering German Fallshirmjagers, the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the British Guards Armoured Division.
• A Bridge too Far, the second and last book in the Market-Garden series, covering the battles for Oosterbeek and Arnhem.
• Firestorm - Market Garden, a Campaign box focused on Operation Market-Garden.
• Dogs and Devils, the first of two Italian front books, featuring the US 3rd Infantry Division, the 'Devils Brigade', and the Fallschirmpanzerdivision "Herman Goring".
• Stalin's Europe, army lists for the German, Soviet, Hungarian and Romanian troops involved in the Siege of Budapest, 1944-45.
• D-Day Slipcase, a case containing an expansion on many of the "Operation Overlord" source books. The box comprises: "Earth and Steel", containing a complement of German forces at the Atlantic wall; and "Turning Tide", the allied army lists of the operation.
• Cassino, released in June 2011, focusing on the battles around Monte Cassino.

First Edition sourcebooks

These books have been replaced with the sourcebooks listed above which reflect the current 2nd Edition rules. All of these supplements below are now out of print. Battlefront provides updates on their website that detail the changes between these old sourcebooks (but not the first edition rulebook) and the new mid-war army lists provided in Afrika and Ostfront. With these changes, players may continue to use these (corrected) sourcebooks for tournament play in the mid-war period.

• First Edition Rulebook - German, US, Soviets, British, and Italian basic force lists.
• Diving Eagles - German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) lists. Battlefront released a second edition of this book in March 2006.
• Old Ironsides - US armour and armoured infantry lists.
• Hitler's Fire Brigade - German armour and armoured infantry lists for the Eastern Front. Two editions of this sourcebook were printed.
• Desert Rats - British armoured squadrons and motor companies in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
• Desert Fox - German Afrika Korps panzer, motorized/armoured infantry and reconnaissance companies.
• Stalingrad - Soviet and German infantry lists on the Eastern Front. Includes rules for street-fighting in an urban environment, as well as snipers.
• Stars & Stripes - US rifle infantry, Rangers, parachute infantry, tank, armoured rifle and armoured reconnaissance lists. (All army lists from Old Ironsides are included in this sourcebook.)
• For King and Country - British commonwealth forces such as Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Canadian forces.
• Avanti Savoia - Italian infantry, tank and motorized infantry forces to the game.
• Za Stalina - Soviet armour and cavalry forces.

Web briefings

Battlefront publishes additional army lists on their web site. This lists are official Battlefront lists and are eligible to be played in many tournaments. Additionally, Battlefront will host "unofficial" briefings developed by fans, although such lists are generally not eligible for tournament play.

Models And availability

Battlefront Miniatures also has a line of multipart metal and resin models, at roughly 15mm scale, for use in playing Flames of War. This includes models for ground forces, such as infantry, vehicles and field guns, along with a limited range of 1/144 model aircraft. The models are sold in blister packs and assorted boxed sets.

Other manufacturers produce 15mm figures for wargaming World War II, which can be used in addition to or instead of Battlefront's figures, in either private or tournament play.

Tournaments

Battlefront supports the tournament scene that revolves around Flames of War. Flames of War tournaments are held across the world and through the Flames of War website players have access to listings of upcoming events through the Flames of War Events Calendar. Each area of the world has a specific events calender that players can look to to find events near them. In North America Battlefront promotes a National Tournament Season in which winners of regional tournaments are qualified to play in any of the three National Tournaments. Players winning an Overall Championship or Best General Award from the three Nationals receives an automatic invitation to the North America Masters tournament. Other spots on the Masters Tournament are filled by the top ranked players on the Rankings HQ website. Individuals, clubs, or shops wishing to run a Flames of War sponsored tournament can contact Battlefront through Battlefront's website.

Successor games

In November 2009, Battlefront announced Flames of War Vietnam - The Battle for la Drang. This rule set was released in Wargames Illustrated Magazine #266, and received a limited release of supporting models. In April 2011 Flames of War Vietnam was made a permanent rule set when the first sourcebook was added as a free addition to Wargames Illustrated Magazine #282, along with the re-release of the original miniatures (In new packaging) and several new box sets. This era will reportedly be updated annually by Battlefront.

• Tropic Lightning, the first sourcebook for Vietnam.

See also

• List of miniature wargames

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Flames of War official website

External links

• Flames of War at BoardGameGeek
• CWF Game Cast gaming blog and podcast focusing on War at Sea, Flames of War, historical and New England gaming.
• What Would Patton Do? gaming blog and regular podcast featuring numerous Flames of War After Action Reports, painting, and discussion.
• Model Dads Flames of War Painting and Basing, Modelling, Tutorials. Blog, Product Reviews, After Action Reports.
• Wargames Spain Spanish Flames of War community, competitions and challenges, tactics, army rosters, explained rules, after action reports, painting, modelling and scenery.
• Times of War e-zine Free electronic magazine focusing on Flames of War and other historical wargames: history, rules, tactics, after action reports and scenarios.