Patrol! Man-to-Man
Combat in the 20th Century
Patrol! was released in 1974
and expanded on the man-to-man combat themes introduced the year
before by
Sniper! The scale of the game was altered so that
each hex spanned five metres, and each game turn five seconds
instead of two metres and two seconds as in the original.
The rules were considerably more
complex, being issued in a proper 8.5" x 11" rules booklet of 32
pages. While the 6 map sections contained a relatively sparse
environment and few rules for terrain, the game included new
elements such as horses and pillboxes. In some ways the game was
simpler, having no facing requirements as in the earlier game, but
still employed a
Simultaneous Movement system.
From the online review
at boardgamegeek.com by Francois Charton:
As in Sniper!,
each player controls the equivalent of a squad of 5 to 15 men
depending on the period, the scenario, and whether you attack or
defend. One scenario corresponds to a few (one to five) minutes of
real time action. The scale is a little larger than in Sniper! (5
meters/hex, 5 seconds/turn vs 3 and 3 in Sniper!), and there is no
facing. The game system (though rated 7.1, ie pretty high, on SPI'
complexity scale), is quite straightforward and easy to learn.
In the beginning of each turn, players secretly "buy" actions for
all of their men. A normal man has 10 Movement Points to expend
per turn. Fire, direct or opportunity, consumes all MP, as
reloading one's weapon, or rearming (ie readying to use it after
throwing a grenade or shooting a rifle grenade). Standing up,
preparing a grenade, throwing it, cost 5MP. And movement costs MP
depending on terrain...
After all
actions have been plotted, players check for panic: a certain
percentage of all your men, depending on their hex number, have
their actions cancelled, or move randomly. (although very
annoying, this rule does wonders at simulating low level control
problems). Then, all remaining actions are performed: combat,
movement, and finally grenade and artillery impacts. Rules cover a
large variety of equipment: weapons like rifles, machine pistols,
machine guns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and
flamethrowers, but also barbed wire, pillboxes, artillery, mines,
and up to one vehicle (APC or tank) per side. Five kinds of combat
situations are covered: patrol, reconnaissance, ambush, raid and
assault. Some lend themselves quite well to solitaire play. A
large number of scenarios (from WWI to modern) are provided, and
you can easily design your own. A standard scenario plays in a
couple of hours. Altogether, I think the system is pretty good for
such a man to man combat situation. However, be warned that this
very detailed scale has a peculiar feeling, which not all
"tactical" game players (ie players used to ASL or Gamers Tactical
Combat System, which focus on company/battalion level units) will
like.
When the updated
2nd edition of Sniper! was released, elements of Patrol
were merged into it.
MOVES Magazine
No.19 |
Feb-Mar 1975 |
►Additional Weapons and
Vehicles for Patrol! (Variant by Mike Markowitz) |
No.22 |
Aug-Sep 1975 |
►Opportunity Fields of Fire
(Variant by Robert D. Zabik) |
No.27 |
Jun-Jul 1976 |
►Scenarios for Modern Games
(Scenarios by Phil Kosnett)
►Special Forces
Weapons for Patrol: (Variant by Thomas Hawkins) |
No.28 |
Aug-Sep 1976 |
►Patrol!: Tactics in the
Raw: (Analysis by Jon-Dane Lukas) |
No.30 |
Dec-Jan 76-77 |
►Focusing in on Sniper!
(Variant by Ray Thorne)
►New Terrain Features on Sniper! (Variant by Lloyd Eric Costen)
►Notes from the Polish Underground: (Critique by John Siscoe) |
No.34 |
Aug-Sep 1977 |
►The Long Patrol: A Campaign
Structure for Patrol (Variant by Steven M. Dickes) |
STRATEGY
& TACTICS Magazine
No. 45 |
Jul-Aug 1974 |
Simove Observations: (Critique by
Gordon P. Cavis) |
No. 46 |
Sep-Oct 1974 |
Patrol!: Modern Infantry Tactics,
1914-74 (Article by
David C. Isby) |
No. 47 |
Nov-Dec 1974 |
Combination Play System (Variant) |
FIRE & MOVEMENT Magazine
No. 18 |
|
Panorama: Sympathy for the Devil,
Viet Nam Wars,1965-1975: (Review of Viet Nam Games by
Rodger MacGowan with John Hill andJohn Prados) |
WARGAMER Magazine
Vol.2 No. 23 |
Nov 1990 |
The Grandfather of Modern War: The
Great
War, 1914-1918: World War One
Games
Anthology: Part 2 - Land Games
(Review by Eric Lawson) |
JAGDPANTHER Magazine
No. 8 |
|
Chaplain! (Variant by Rev John K.
Dalton ) |
No. 13 |
|
Sniper-Patrol (Variant by Michael
Forbes ) |
PHOENIX Magazine
No. 6 |
|
Modifying Sniper! (SPI) and
Patrol! (SPI) (Variant by Martin Thorne) |
No. 21 |
|
World War II Tactical Games Review
(Review by Geoff Barnard) |
|
Patrol! Man-to-Man Combat in the 20th Century |
Developer: |
James F. Dunnigan, Irad
B. Hardy, Edward Curran |
Publisher: |
Simulations
Publications, Inc. |
Date
of Release: |
1974 |
Scale: |
Man-to-Man |
Players: |
2 |
Campaign Type: |
None |
Components: |
► 6 map sections
► charts/tables
► 2 die-cut sheets of 1/2" counters
► 30 page plotting book |
|
All photos from the
webmaster's collection
|