Musing on Panzerblitz's Turn Sequence & Actions

 As promised, more analysis of the Panzerblitz game is here bringing the tenets of the older linear sequence of play a bit more into the 21st century while still trying to keep the (linear) spirit of the original alive and not make things too random or crazy.  Read on!  

The Original Turn Sequence

Panzerblitz's original turn sequence was novel for its day.  Bringing the "sharp end" of the battle into focus for the wargamer, you were now making the decisions for the battalion commander, staff officers, or the company commander.  Decisions on support-by-fire positions and flanking maneuvers all come into focus for the player, guided by a turn sequence that required the support-by-fire unit to remain stationary and forbade the flanking units from firing.  It certainly makes life a bit easier so we'll keep that aspect intact from the original.  Speaking of the original sequence, here it is in its glory:

• Mine Attacks
• German Player Direct Fire Attacks
• German Player Moves and conducts Armored Overrun 
• German Player conducts Infantry Close Assault Attacks
• Switch German/Russian Player
• Turn Complete

This sequence is very straightforward and I'm not going to stray too far from it.  While the 2011 (?) published version "Hill of Death" features a much more asymmetric turn sequence where players pull "Ops" chits from a container with "0" "1" or "2" on them.  These are hex radius that can be activated, thus initiating an almost "mini" turn within the overall turn sequence.  Units can do "stuff" are still limited to moving and assaulting or shooting for the most part.  Again, since MMP is doing it, I'm going to do it.

Dan Fraser's "Panzerblitz in Miniature" Turn Sequence

Dan pretty much perfected the turn sequence from Panzerblitz by accounting for things that weren't in the original and combining them.  While his wikipage (canuckcommander) is still available I couldn't find the rules to download on it anymore.  Here is his turn sequence from his Panzerblitz in Miniature rules:

• Recovery Phase
• Indirect Fire Phase
• Direct Fire Phase
• Air Phase
• Move Phase
• Switch Players

My Proposal - The Operations-Based Turn Sequence

I really liked the idea of pulling Ops chits but I dont like the randomness of it, preferring the ability to set up an attack and carry it through.  That being said, there should be some "fog of war" and you as the commander, should have to prioritize the tough decisions.  That's what they're paying you for!  Who do you reinforce?  Who gets the main effort for fires?  Where is the reserve element going to be placed?  I wanted all of those decisions to come into the game but in a way that forces a bit of uncertainty onto the player. 

Instead of "Ops Chits" I am going to try to introduce "Operations Points" or "OPs".  You as the commander roll 2D6 and that will tell you how many units you can activate, or what staff actions your battle staff will carry out.  In this way, your focus is task-oriented and prioritized towards the objectives of the mission.  Things that take more of the staff's time and coordination will cost more.  Units can do "stuff" at lower cost to represent unit initiative where they are at.  So with all that said, here is my proposed turn sequence and OP cost:

• Both Players Roll 2D6 for OPs (Simultaneous)
• Adjust OP Tracker 
• Roll Initiative for the Turn
• Player A Ops Phase
•     Stationary Fires (Free) /Place Units on Overwatch (1 OP) OW units may fire in the enemy turn
•     Movement (1 OP) & Overrun Attacks (2 OP) /Close Assaults (1 OP)
•     Player B Indirect Fire Lands (2 OP) from Last Turn
• Player B Ops Phase
•     Stationary Fires (Free) /Place Units on Overwatch (1 OP) OW units may fire in the enemy turn
•     Movement (1 OP) & Overrun Attacks (2 OP) /Close Assaults (1 OP)
•     Player B Indirect Fire Lands (2 OP) from Last Turn
• Recovery Phase (Joint Rally Attempts - Simultaneous)
• Adjust Time / Clear Unused OPs

So a few things on this need some explaining.  I'm clearly a fan of the stationary fires but am putting "overwatch" into the mix (think Fistful of TOWS or the "First Battle" turn sequence.  You sacrifice your own movement to shoot during the enemy Movement phase.  This costs you a single OP just as if you moved).  Also I'm instituting a delay for indirect fire.  This takes some time, even for Direct Support guns and that is factored into when the IDF lands vrs when it is called for (the phase prior - yes your IDF lands during your Opponent's turn, right after he moves - this should reward players for using their artillery to break up enemy attacks).

Summarized OP Cost

Most of these actions, save for direct fire attacks, cost OPs.  Here is a proposed, summarized list of OP cost for various actions:

• Direct Fire attack (Free)
• Movement (1 OP)
• Place a unit on Overwatch (1 OP)
• Close Assault (1 OP plus the cost of movement)
• Over Run Attack (2 OP plus the cost of movement)
• Rally 1 (1 OP)
• Fire IDF (2 OP)
• Call for Fire / Call for Aircraft (1 OP)
• Engineering (2 OP)
• Activate a Headquarters (2 OP) this is a cool rule whereby you activate a HQs unit or some kind of Command & Control node and it can then activate units within its radius for free.

The Passage of Time

I always loved Norm's use of the turn clock in his excellent "Into Battle" / (formerly Tigers at Minsk).  While I dont want to use that per se, I thought it would be a neat feature for players to tally up their used OPs during the turn.  Every 5 OPs used results in a 1D6 die roll towards the time clock.  This would matter for the game ending or for reinforcements arriving.  The defensive player could also be conservative with his OPs and slow down the clock if he knew there were allied reinforcements en route.

So What's Next?

All of these are my brainstorming and spit-balling ideas but so far I'm getting pretty excited.  Coupled with my proposed engagement system, I think these could be a really great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and even get "all the toys on the table" for a really huge battle.  My next step is to put together some kind of a quick reference sheet that will hold all of these ideas in a single space so I can playtest it (and document if of course).  I feel like there are some hidden trouble spots within this proposal, but overall I'm excited to try it out as I also feel it has much potential to bring back those nostalgic feelings for the original Panzerblitz, but with a bit more sophistication added.  Stay tuned!