This is my second attempt at a PzG scenario. The first - Orange Hero from Airborne IE - I did not finish as I did not find it conducive to intro play or soloing (I may be interested in trying it again at some point, but with so many scenarios to choose from I am not sure it is worth the effort - the map for Airborne IE did not help much either) As well as BofB, as of writing, I also have Cassino '44 - both of which I won on the FB play it forward group (which I recommend as an excellent group by the way) - and obviously Airborne IE (which I bought on Evil-Bay naively believing it was an introductory game, which it does not actually appear to be.)

Before the AAR - some comments on BofB itself from the perspective of someone totally new to PzG. The box art itself notwithstanding (I found it garish and oddly reminiscent of Action Man wallpaper I lusted after as a kid), the production is ok. The counters for PzGr are probably the best feature here - indeed some of the best looking unit counters out there - at least the ones I have seen thus far. The Bulge maps are also much better than AB IE (not a huge achievement I know) – if not up to Cassino ’44 standards (a high benchmark for any game to rival). The number of scenarios is impressive, but I find myself wondering at the quality of some of them and feel the sheer number may be a disincentive for replaying them and testing them fully. Personally, I would be happier with fewer and demonstratively better ones.

Anyway, the AAR...

This is not a blow by blow account as I did not keep records of the turns. I played the game over the course of a week, grabbing a move here and there as time allowed. I have to say that as the week progressed, I found the rules to be less puzzling (I still find them a bit badly organized) and the game itself more addictive (I found myself playing two turns at a time towards the end when I had only intended to play one.)

The scenario began with the US (who were organized into an infantry group and a supporting gun group) taking the initiative and all firing on the northern-most German position. This took a morale hit and the arriving Germans replacements headed for the NE woods to support it lest this probing action turn into a fully blown attack.

Subsequent opportunity fire from the US HMG eliminated a step from their German counterparts as the latter (along with the German infantry) moved to better support the Northern and Middle German positions. The US infantry group – which had moved to threaten the Middle German position – then swung south to the (leaderless) Southern enemy position.

The Germans headed south to support, with some units engaging the American HHG as it moved south down the road and/or fired harassing fire at the German units on the way.

The Germans took and recovered from some morale hits on the way – as did the US HMG team.

The main US infantry group positioned itself immediately south of the Southern German position and began softening it up with DF. The US HHG continued to head south to support/ alternating this movement with firing on the German HHG which was now struggling with morale issues as well as down a step.

This German HHG recovered morale-wise and ended up in the Middle German position, providing supporting fire to the now seriously threatened Southern Position.

The US HHG took up position adjacent this German southern position and continued to soften it up with the infantry group. By now the Germans had moved all their infantry reinforcements into this position but it was to prove too little too late. The Germans suffered step and morale losses and, by the last turn were reduced to two under-strength infantry units at this location. The US – who had won the initiative throughout most of the game – increasingly so as the Germans suffered step losses – opened the last turn firing on the besieged German position with their HMG group before the infantry group assaulted.

This assault was successful and the last two German units were eliminated. The US victory cost them no casualties, although the gun group did take morale hits they were able to recover from.

I made a few rule errors I was mainly able to correct. All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable little scenario that proved good for learning some basic rule elements. Replay may be in order when I know the rules better (or have a live opponent) but again, with so many scenarios to choose from, I am not sure the incentive is there. We will see.

Scenario is recommended by this PzG rookie (or 'sprog' as we say in the British army) with the caveat that the 3 score is based on someone learning the game and, I suspect, would likely fall to a 2 for someone more familiar with the system.