INTRODUCTION Welcome to ACTION FRONT!, an exciting series of wargames detailing tactical combat during the Second World War! ACTION FRONT! games are designed to be fast and fun. The average scenario typically lasts less than an hour and still provides the players with the feel of command on the front lines of WWII. What’s In The Bag? The exact contents of your ACTION FRONT! game differ depending on which version of the game you’ve purchased. In general, your package should include: You’ll also need a standard, 52-card deck of playing cards to play this game. Remove any jokers from the deck before playing. The deck is used in lieu of the dice that are used in most games. Shuffle the deck at the end of each turn. Maps Scenario Cards A Combat Results Tables Card A Player Aid Card And this Rulebook A Special Rules Sheet Markers (non-unit counters) 40 Unit Counters (20 for each side) ACTION FRONT! takes advantage of a scenario system which streamlines the set-up and gameplay. These are battles in which you and your opponent have specific sets of forces with which you both must attempt to achieve certain objectives. There’s also a set amount of time for each scenario. The conditions for each scenario are listed on the Scenario Card. Special Rules: Any special rules that apply to the scenario. Victory Conditions: Requirements for winning the scenario. Duration: How long the scenario lasts. (This is also referred to as the Turn Record Track.) Name: The scenario name. Flavor: A brief, historical description of the circumstances leading up to the battle. Map: The map(s) on which the game is played and its/their orientation. This section also defines where the players should sit in relation to the map and the order in which they set up and move. Units: The unit counters each player gets in the game. Some units may start on the map while others may have an assigned entry turn. Support: The off-map fire support available to each side. This support may include ships, aircraft, or artillery located off the map. The Combat Results Tables Card The Combat Results Tables Card includes several tables that define the effects of cards drawn during the player’s combat action. The Player Aid Card The Player Aid Card contains tables describing the various movement classes of units and the effects of the terrains on each map. Unit counters represent groups of troops, vehicles, or guns that you command during the game. Some counters represent individual leaders. Each unit counter contains vital information about the respective unit. Rate of Fire: This indicates that the unit draws X extra cards when firing. If there’s no number, you draw no extra cards. Steps: This is the strength of the unit as a percentage of its original strength; it indicates how many cards the unit draws when firing. As the unit suffers step losses, rotate the counter so that the appropriate number of dots is on the side facing your opponent. (Fewer dots represent a smaller force that has taken casualties.) Units with one step that suffer a step loss are eliminated and removed from play. Silhouette: A representative picture of the unit. The color of the silhouette indicates the unit’s movement class. See the Player Aid Card. Hard Attack/Soft Attack: The effectiveness of the unit’s weapons against armored and unarmored targets, respectively. Armored targets have an armor value printed inside their silhouettes; all other units are considered unarmored. Units which have these values printed in red may fire during either the Indirect Fire Phase OR the Action Phase. Range: The maximum range at which this unit can attack enemy units. Training: Many things can affect how well a unit performs in combat: combat experience, training, special skills and morale. Each unit’s Training value takes all these “human factors” into consideration. The Training value determines how easily the unit can be suppressed by enemy fire, as well as how it performs in Assaults (hand-to-hand combat). Unit Name: The main type of equipment or troops of which the unit is made up. Transport: A “T” in this space indicates that the unit may carry one other unit. Only “Leg” and “Towed” class units may be carried. Armor: Indicates the thickness of the unit’s armor protection. Only Armored Units have this number. Many wargames are built to a specific “scale” (each counter represents a certain unit size and each hex is a specific distance). ACTION FRONT! is not built to any particular scale. Rather, each scenario is designed to recreate a small-unit action and present the players with the choices and consequences faced by the actual ground commanders. In general, each counter represents anywhere from a platoon to a company of troops or vehicles, or a section or battery of guns. SETTING UP THE GAME Select a scenario & choose sides The first step in playing ACTION FRONT! is to select a scenario to play. (You can also choose to play a scenario you design. See Creating Your Own Scenario). The most common methods are to have one player select a scenario and the other player choose the side, or to have the players cut the deck for the privilege of choosing the scenario and again to choose the sides. Any method may be used to pick a scenario, as long as it’s acceptable to both players. Place the map Place the map(s) - specified on the Scenario Card - on the playing surface between the players. Players should sit in the locations indicated on the Scenario Card. Select and place your forces Place the counters specified on the Scenario Card in the appropriate spaces that match the counters. Once all the spaces on the Scenario Card are filled, each player (in the order specified on the Scenario Card) places his units on the map in the locations indicated. DO NOT place units which appear in a later turn onto the map during the Setup Phase. Units placed during the setup phase may begin the game with a “Dug In” counter at the option of the owning player (unless otherwise indicated in the scenario’s special rules). Units may set up in the partial hexes at the map edges. Set up fire support Place one Artillery Marker of the appropriate color in each Fire Support box on the Scenario Card marked “Artillery” or “Naval”. Place one Air Support Marker in each Fire Support box marked “Air”. PLAYING THE GAME ACTION FRONT! is played in a series of game turns, each of which is divided into two player turns. The player whom the Scenario Card indicates “Moves First” is the “First Player” for the entire game. The Sequence Of Play First Player Turn 1. Indirect Fire Phase 2. Action Phase 3. Assault Phase 4. Marker Phase Second Player Turn 1. Indirect Fire Phase 2. Action Phase 3. Assault Phase 4. Marker Phase End of Game Turn Phase The Phases of the Player Turns The Indirect Fire Phase During your indirect fire phase, you may do the following: 1. Fire any of your units on the map that are capable of indirect fire. (Their Hard and Soft Attack ratings are printed in RED.) Units may fire in any order that the player desires. 2. Fire ONE off-map Artillery or Naval Fire Support mission. (Place one ARTILLERY marker--if you have any.) 3. Use ONE Air Support mission. (Place one AIR SUPPORT marker--if you have any.) Resolving Artillery and Naval Fire 1. Take an Artillery Marker from your Fire Support section on the Scenario Card. If you don’t have any Artillery Markers left on the Scenario Card, you can’t use off-map artillery support. On-Map Artillery If you’re firing a unit located on the map, you can use an Artillery Marker that’s not in play. On-map units can always fire as long as they’re not suppressed. Note that the procedure for resolving indirect fire for on-map units is identical to that for resolving off-map artillery attacks. 2. Place the marker in the hex you wish to attack. One of your units MUST have a line of sight to this hex. (See Line of Sight on page 19.) Note that indirect fire is used to attack a hex, NOT an individual unit. Any units within the hex in which the artillery lands will be attacked equally. You may even choose to attack an empty hex with artillery. 3. Draw ONE card and compare it to the Indirect Fire Table on the Combat Results Tables Card. This tells you whether the artillery attack hits the hex you designated, or misses that hex entirely and lands in another hex. 4. If the card draw results in a “Short” or “Over” result, move the Artillery Marker to the new hex indicated. Short Result: Place the Artillery Marker in a hex closer to YOUR edge of the map. The number behind the result indicates how many hexes to move the marker. Over Result: Place the Artillery Marker in a hex closer to YOUR OPPONENT’S edge of the map. The number behind the result indicates how many hexes to move the marker. If you could move the marker equally well into two different hexes, draw a card. If the card is a club or a spade, move the marker into the hex more to your LEFT. If the card is a heart or a diamond, move the marker into the hex more to your RIGHT. 5. Once you’ve determined the hex in which the artillery attack occurs, determine the effects of the attack on each of the units in that hex. Draw three cards for EACH unit in the hex. Note that the result is determined separately for each card; cards drawn may not be added together or divided. (If you’re attacking with a unit located on the map, draw a number of cards equal to the unit’s current step strength.) The Scenario Card shows each attack’s “Hard Attack/Soft Attack” ratings just as they’re listed on unit counters. (If you’re attacking with a unit on the map, use the Hard/Soft Attack values shown on the counter.) EXAMPLE:Bill chooses to fire during the Indirect Fire Phase and elects to use a marker from his Scenario Card representing a 5-inch naval gun. He places the Artillery Marker from the Scenario Card in a hex to which one of his units has a line of sight and draws the Queen of Diamonds. He looks on the Indirect Fire Table and sees that a diamond face card gives a result of Over 2. He moves the Artillery Marker two hexes closer to his opponent’s side of the map. Note that while a line of sight must exist to the original hex, NO line of sight is needed to the hex in which the artillery counter is finally placed. For each armored unit in the hex, add the hard attack value of the artillery unit to the value of the card (face cards are automatic misses). If the result is HIGHER THAN OR EQUALTO the armor value of the unit attacked, the unit suffers one step loss. Rotate the counter so the next lower step value is oriented toward your opponent. If the total is lower, it's a miss. For each unarmored unit in the hex, compare the card value to the soft attack value of the attacking unit. If the card is a face card, or if the card’s value is HIGHER than the soft attack value, the attack misses (has no effect). If the card’s value is equal to or lower than the soft attack value, the unit attacked suffers one step loss. Each attack that inflicts a step loss may also SUPPRESS the target unit. Compare the SUIT of each card that inflicts a hit to the target unit’s training value, using the SUPPRESSION table on the Combat Results Tables card. If the suit is shown, place a SUPPRESSED marker on the unit. Resolving Air Support Fire 1. Select a hex within the line of sight of any of your units and place one of your Air Support markers from the Scenario Card into that hex. If you don’t have any Air Support markers left, you can’t use Air Support. 2. Select any hex that is: a) along the map edge, and b) in a straight line of hexes from the hex containing your Air Support marker. This is the Entry Hex for the air strike. 3. Draw one card and compare it to the Air Support column on the Indirect Fire Table. This tells you whether the air strike hit the target hex. If not, it indicates where the air strike actually lands. 4. If the card draw results in a “Short” or “Over” result, move the Air Support marker to the new hex indicated. Short Result: Place the Air Support Marker in a hex CLOSER TO the Entry Hex, in the line of hexes between the marker and the entry hex. The number behind the result tells you how many hexes to move the marker. Over Result: Place the Air marker in a hex FARTHER FROM the Entry Hex. The number behind the result tells you how many hexes to move the marker. Again, move it in a direct line from the Entry Hex. 5. Resolve the results of the attack against any units in the hex. The same procedure is followed as for artillery attacks with the exception that only two cards are drawn for combat resolution in air strikes. (See Step 5 in Resolving Artillery and Naval Fire on page 10.) EXAMPLE OF AN INDIRECT FIRE PHASE Artillery Support It’s the American player’s Indirect Fire Phase. He decides to perform Indirect Fire with the M2A2 105mm Howitzer located in hex 0403. The USMC Engineer unit has a clear line of sight to the IJA infantry unit in hex 0602, so the US player takes an Artillery marker from the unused markers and places it in the hex. He draws one card to determine the accuracy of the shot; it’s the 8 of clubs. This gives a result of Over 1 on the Indirect Fire Table. The marker must be moved 1 hex toward the Japanese player’s side of the map, which could place it in either hex 0902 or 0903. The US player draws a card to determine which hex: the King of Diamonds (Red suit = Right). The marker is moved into hex 0903. The artillery unit attacks the USMC Raider unit in the hex. The artillery unit has two steps, so the US player draws two cards to resolve the attack. The Jack of Spades is an automatic miss, but the Five of Hearts inflicts one step loss. Since it had only one step remaining, the USMC Raider is eliminated. Air Support Next, the US player takes one Air Support marker from the Scenario Card and places it in hex 0803. He designates hex 0805 as the entry hex. One card is drawn to determine the accuracy of the attack: the Jack of Diamonds. This indicates a hit according to the “Air” column of the Indirect Fire Table. The Attack values of the air strike are -2/6 (Hard Attack = -2, Soft Attack = 6). The US player draws two cards to resolve the attack. The 10 of Hearts is a miss, but the 3 of Diamonds is a hit! The IJA Infantry is rotated to indicate a single step loss. According to the Suppression Table, a Diamond also suppresses the target, so a Suppressed Marker is placed on that unit as well. The Action Phase During your Action Phase, each of your units and leaders may perform ONE action, unless one of the following conditions applies: A unit which fired in the Indirect Fire Phase may not act during the Action Phase. A unit which is suppressed may not act during the Action Phase. A unit which STARTS the Action Phase in the same hex as, or adjacent to, one of your Leaders may perform TWO actions. However, it may not perform the same action twice. That is, such a unit may move and fire in the same Action Phase, but could not move twice or fire twice. MOVE: Each troop unit may move from one hex to another hex. Units use MOVEMENT POINTS to measure the distance they may move; the movement points available to each type of unit is determined by its MOVEMENT CLASS, and may be found on the Player Aid Card. The following rules apply to movement: A unit must have sufficient MP remaining to enter any hex. For example, a Tracked class unit with only 1 MP remaining may not enter a hex that requires it to cross a river hexside. In general, a unit may not enter a hex containing another unit, nor may a hex contain more than one unit. Exceptions to this rule include: Leaders. Leaders may freely enter hexes containing friendly units. A leader in the same hex as an enemy unit is eliminated unless there is also a friendly unit in the hex. Transport. A transport-capable unit may enter a hex containing a friendly Leg or Towed class unit. If a transport-capable unit and a Leg or Towed class unit begin the Action Phase together in the same hex, the transport unit may “carry” the transported unit (move the two units together) while it performs its normal move. Assault. Infantry units (units with the infantry symbol; see the Player Aid Card) may enter hexes containing enemy units. However, no more than one troop unit from each side may occupy the hex. Only Tracked class units may enter hexes containing Artillery markers (friendly or enemy). Units which are “Dug In” immediately lose that status if they move; remove the Dug In marker. FIRE: A unit may fire on one enemy unit in range to which it has a line of sight. If a unit attacks another unit at any range greater than three hexes in the Action Phase, subtract one from the appropriate attack strength. For example, an M2 HMG attacking at a range of four hexes would have effective attack strengths of -6/4. Indiret fire units on the board may fire during the Action Phase,if they did not fire during the Indirect Fire Phase; they are treated like any other unit when firing in the Action Phase. To resolve fire, draw a number of cards equal to the firing unit’s step strength: If the target is an armored unit, add the hard attack value of the attacking unit to the value of the card (face cards are automatic misses). If the result is HIGHER THAN OR EQUAL TO the armor value of the unit attacked, the unit suffers one step loss. Rotate the counter so the next lower step value is oriented toward your opponent. If the total is lower, it's a miss. For each unarmored unit in the hex, compare the card value to the soft attack value of the attacking unit. If the card is a face card, or if the card’s value is HIGHER than the soft attack value, the attack misses (has no effect). If the card’s value is equal to or lower than the soft attack value, the unit attacked suffers one step loss. Each attack that inflicts a step loss may also SUPPRESS the target unit. Compare the SUIT of each card that inflicts a hit to the target unit’s training value, using the SUPPRESSION table on the Combat Results Tables card. If the suit is shown, place a SUPPRESSED marker on the unit. Note that the terrain in which a target unit is located can affect the combat results; consult the Terrain Effects Chart on the Player Aid Card. Leg and Towed class units in the same hex as a transport unit may not fire; however, the transport unit itself may fire. TIP Note that the terrain in which a target unit is located can affect the combat results; consult the Terrain Effects Chart on the Player Aid Card. Leader Actions Like other units, Leaders may perform Actions during the Action Phase. Leaders may move, but they may not fire. In addition to moving, a leader may perform one of the following actions. RALLY: A leader may attempt to rally one suppressed unit in the same, or an adjacent, hex. To determine the result of the rally attempt, draw one card and compare its suit to the unit’s training value using the Rally table on the Combat Results Tables Card. If the rally attempt is successful, remove the Suppressed Marker from the unit. It may now act in the current Action Phase. DIG IN: A leader may direct a Leg class unit in the same, or an adjacent, hex to attempt to dig in. draw one card to determine the success of the attempt; compare it to the unit’s Training Value (including the leader’s training bonus if applicable). If the card’s value is equal to or lower than the unit’s modified training value, the attempt succeeds. Place a Dug In Marker on the unit. Units which dig in may not perform other actions in the same Action Phase. EXAMPLE OF ACTION PHASE It’s the US player’s Action Phase. He elects to fire the M2 HMG. The line of sight to the best target, the IJA Infantry in hex 0703, is blocked by the Artillery Marker and the line of sight to the unit in hex 0601 is blocked by the jungle hex. He elects to fire at the IJA Infantry in hex 0604. The M2 HMG has a Soft Attack of 5, which is reduced to 4 because it’s firing across a Hill hexside from a non-hill hex. The US player draws four cards (two for the M2’s two steps, two for the Rate of Fire rating of +2) and picks the Jack of Clubs, Ace of Hearts, 5 of Spades, & the 8 of Clubs. Only the Ace hits, causing one step loss to the IJA infantry. The IJA infantry is not suppressed. According to the Suppression Table, a Heart does not cause suppression to a unit with a training value of 2. None of the US player’s other units are in range to fire; he moves the Edson unit from hex 0402 to hex 0403 and ends his Action Phase. The Assault Phase During your Assault Phase, any of your units located in a hex with an enemy unit must each perform an Assault. Resolving Assaults 1. Each player draws a number of cards equal to his or her unit’s training rating plus its step strength. Infantry units draw one additional card. The player who drew more total red cards “wins” the assault and eliminates the loser’s unit. If both players draw the SAME number of red cards, the player whose turn it is wins. 2. If a transport unit carrying another unit is involved in the assault, draw cards as if the carried unit was not in the hex. However, if the transport unit loses the assault, both the transport and carried units are eliminated. The Marker Phase Remove all the Suppressed Markers from your units. Remove all of your opponent’s Artillery and Air Support Markers from the map. The End of Game Turn Phase CHECK VICTORY CONDITIONS: Check the Victory Conditions on the Scenario Card; if either player has fulfilled their Victory Conditions, they win the game. ADVANCE THE TURN MARKER: If either player has reinforcements available for the new turn, place them in the hexes indicated on the Scenario Card. RESHUFFLE: Return all the used cards to the deck and shuffle it. GAME CONCEPTS Line Of Sight Many of the operations in ACTION FRONT! require that a line of sight be established between a unit and a distant hex. In general, the existence of a line of sight means that the unit can see the target hex (and any enemy unit in that hex). Lines of sight are measured in a straight line from the center of the unit’s hex to the center of the target hex. (As previously mentioned, the dot at the center of the hex should be used for this measuring stage.) A line of sight is blocked if: It passes through two hexsides of the same hill. It passes through any portion of a hex containing a building or an Artillery Marker. Hexes containing an Air Support Marker do not block lines of sight unless they contain other blocking terrain. It passes through any portion of a forest or jungle hex. Note that lines of sight extend INTO building, forest, and jungle hexes, but they do not extend BEYOND them. Hex edges do NOT block lines of sight that pass exactly along them. Leaders Leaders in ACTION FRONT! represent single individuals who have an impact on the performance of other units. They have modifier effects in ACTION FRONT! and can be utilized to boost nearby units. A unit which STARTS the Action Phase in the same hex as, or adjacent to, one of your Leaders may perform TWO actions. However, that unit may not perform the same action twice. That unit may move and fire in the same Action Phase, but may never move twice or fire twice in the same phase. Note that Leaders are units with a step strength of 1; they suffer the effects of fire in the same way as any other unit. A Leader which finds itself alone in the same hex as an enemy unit is immediately eliminated. Leaders do not directly participate in Assaults; they provide their training bonus to friendly units in the same hex. Leaders may be carried by any Track or Wheel class unit in the same way that transport units carry Leg and Towed units. A unit in the same hex as a Leader, or an adjacent hex, adds the Leader’s training bonus to its training rating for all purposes. Status Markers SUPPRESSED: Units with a “Suppressed” status marker are considered to be taking cover as a first priority. Suppressed units may not fire (in either the Indirect Fire Phase OR the Action Phase), move, or be carried. They also suffer -1 to their training value for all purposes. Additional suppression results on a unit that is already suppressed have no effect. DUG IN: Units which are Dug In have prepared positions which partially protect them from the effects of hostile fire. Dug In units ignore the first step loss suffered in each attack and also draw an extra card when involved in an assault. Only Leg and Towed class units may dig in. If a unit with a Dug In Marker moves, it immediately loses that status and any benefits. OPTIONAL RULES Artillery Registration During WWII, the use of artillery on-the-fly was terribly inaccurate. It required firing several rounds to refine the aim of the cannon before “firing for effect”. Frequently, the targets were able to move before the bombardment could be fired. To combat this, commanders would select areas that had a high potential for enemy presence and set up “fire missions” where the settings for the guns had been established in advance. The field officers could call for the preset fire mission and the bombardment could begin without ranging. To replicate the effects of pre-registered artillery fire, add the following rule: Each player that has off-map artillery available may write down two hexes (before either side places any units on the map) for which his or her artillery is “registered”. If that player places an Artillery Marker (from either an off-map artillery attack OR an on-map artillery unit) in that hex during his or her Indirect Fire Phase, no accuracy card is drawn. Rather, the artillery attack automatically lands in the desired hex. Note that this applies to artillery attacks ONLY, not naval or air support attacks. Friendly Fire Commanders in WWII went to great lengths to avoid exposing their own troops to friendly fire. Nevertheless, thousands of soldiers were killed or injured by their own side. Use the following rule to show the effects of friendly fire in ACTION FRONT!: Draw a card whenever a unit is located in a hex along the line of sight from which a friendly unit is attacking during the Action Phase. If the card is a Spade, the unit suffers one step loss. CREATING YOUR OWN SCENARIOS One of the primary objectives of the ACTION FRONT! system is to allow you to fight battles from WWII that YOU choose and to design your own scenarios. In general, scenario design is pretty much up to you. The numbers of units you use, victory conditions, and so forth, often depend on the battle you want to recreate. Here are some guidelines to assist in their creation. Pick a Scenario Type In general, most scenarios fall into one of two categories: Point Defense or Meeting Engagement. A Point Defense scenario places one side on the attack, attempting to get to an objective. The other side must defend that objective. In a Meeting Engagement, neither side has a specific objective, other than inflicting the maximum damage on the other. For a Point Defense scenario, determine which player will be the defender and which the attacker. Set Victory Conditions POINT DEFENSE: The attacking player must exit at least one unit from the defending player’s side of the map before the 15th game turn. MEETING ENGAGEMENT: The side which has eliminated the largest number of enemy steps at the end of the 15th game turn wins. Pick A Map Select one or more ACTION FRONT! maps on which to play the scenario. At this time, you should also determine the orientation of the map and assign a side to each player. One way to do this is to have one player decide on the scenario type and player roles while the other selects the map and orientation. Pick Your Forces On the Special Rules sheet for each ACTION FRONT! game, there is a Unit Value Table that lists the point value of each unit included in that game. Each player should secretly select his force from these tables, using the following total force values. POINT DEFENSE (Points per Map): Defender: 80, Attacker: 160 MEETING ENGAGEMENT Each Side: 120 pts per map Set Up POINT DEFENSE: The defender sets up his or her forces first and can use any hex farther than four hexes from the attacker’s map edge. The attacker may then place up to five of his units. The remaining units arrive as reinforcements in the order desired by the attacker. No more than five units should enter per turn. The attacker moves first. MEETING ENGAGEMENT: Select one player to move first. The other player then sets up five of their units within three hexes of his or her map edge. The player who moves first then sets up five of his or her units within three hexes of their map edge. Each player then selects up to five units to enter as reinforcements in each game turn until no units are left.