tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post11805552400045080..comments2024-03-27T20:12:05.513-04:00Comments on SOUND OFFICERS CALL!: CROSSFIRE - EASTERN FRONT!Disgruntled Fusilierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995610821904415726noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-72479573826033457422015-07-02T14:34:47.216-04:002015-07-02T14:34:47.216-04:00Paul,
First of all, Happy Belated Birthday!
Like I...Paul,<br />First of all, Happy Belated Birthday!<br />Like I said before - I love Crossfire - especially for the narratives it produces during battles. It plays out like a real battle and it used to be one of my favorite games.<br /><br />Once playing against a friend I crossed a linear danger area with an entire platoon of veteran SS Germans during a Bulge game - only to watch each squad wiped out one after the other in a really nasty crossfire by US HMGs and infantry in hidden positions. Point is, I've never had so much fun losing a game in my life!<br /><br />The Crossfire edition I have has rules for artillery, infantry guns, and for many of the popular WW2 vehicles along with penetration values for their weapons. Some people have bemoaned them for their simplicity but I tend to like the approach Arty Conliffe took in the design.<br /><br />I've played it in a modern setting and really think it would work well for late 20th and early 21st century battles.<br /><br />I have yet to try a Vietnam era game but trust me when I say that's in the works! I just need to rebase those guys in teams! I'm working on that! Thanks for commenting sir!<br /><br />Steve<br /><br />Disgruntled Fusilierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995610821904415726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-48519362737640700392015-07-02T13:15:10.384-04:002015-07-02T13:15:10.384-04:00Sorry Steve - seems my other comments never got po...Sorry Steve - seems my other comments never got posted. Here goes for third time lucky!<br /><br />Crossfire was an innovative system which never got its due IMHO. It is an excellent infantry combat system which really reflects a leader's risk/reward decision making. As such, its quite a different game to play. That plus the elastic timescale, and the point you make above that sometimes you just have to watch the breakthrough happen without being able to react, made it quite a quantum shift for 'traditional gamers'. But for that lower level game I think its great - it fits beautifully between a skirmish game and the medium/company size Battlegroup style game. And with 1 stand = 1 squad all those FoW players should be itching to use the figures that they already have.<br /><br />Sadly, I think this game's premature demise was its lack of artillery, heavy support weapons and vehicles/combat vehicles. I was very hopeful with talk a few years ago of Crossfire 2 but that never eventuated. You can only push rifle platoons around for so long before you want/need a bit more.<br /><br />I played a great mini-campaign using Crossfire adapted for a 15mm SF setting. Set in a heavily cluttered urban environment it was just excellent. I agree with you - adaptions for moderns using Fireteams instead of squads would be very good. In particular I'm thinking the infantry dominated battles in Vietnam. So I'm looking forward to seeing more from you on that one!<br /><br />Thanks for reminding me of another great game I own...sadly it too is in storage approximately 10,000 miles away!Paul O'Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08611720164170399684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-72704798089616614762015-07-01T21:28:04.042-04:002015-07-01T21:28:04.042-04:00Thank you for commenting, Darren. I am anxious to...Thank you for commenting, Darren. I am anxious to hear about Panzer Grenadier Deluxe. On Friday I'm supposed to play 3GW with a friend so I'll let you know my thoughts on that game.<br /><br />Crossfire is a wonderful and very intense game when played with another human being. Its brilliance lies in its ability to make you really regret bad decisions! Over time, I found as I stepped into the role of the commander, I was doing what I could do to retain the initiative as long as possible. Sometimes you just have to ignore the other things going on around you if you want those reserves to come up.<br /><br />By the way, if you search "Crossfire" on my blog, you'll find quite a few modern games played with these excellent rules.<br /><br />They work very, very well for modern combat - the only change (and it's a big one) is that your units must become fire teams as opposed to remaining whole squads.<br /><br />I gave modern fireteams with SAWS 4 fire dice and HMGs/MMGs would get 5 dice...<br /><br />I tweaked the M&M variant for 20th century conflict - the only issue I came up with were some problems with the sequence of play but other than that, I had a working prototype. More to come - watch this space!<br /><br />PS If you have Crossfire, I heartily recommend you dust if off and play it sometime, albeit with another human being. Much more fun that way.Disgruntled Fusilierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995610821904415726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-40722712712217120602015-07-01T16:17:09.437-04:002015-07-01T16:17:09.437-04:00An excellent game. I had completely forgotten abou...An excellent game. I had completely forgotten about crossfire and must have a look at it again.<br /><br />For some reason I was thinking of modern applications as I read your excellent AAR - and how crossfire might work for 'Falklands 82' fights and perhaps even cold war battles; 'Berlin 85' for instance. Also thinking about how an M&M variant - based on firing/casualties through the game turn mechanism, might work for these ...I am hunting for a modern set that allows these battles.<br /><br />Will also be trying Panzer Grenadier Deluxe with Steiner on Friday so will have a report on that.Duc de Gobinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10668407600014604176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-37409543590838004652015-07-01T08:39:36.417-04:002015-07-01T08:39:36.417-04:00Thanks Paul - this was a good game. I actually di...Thanks Paul - this was a good game. I actually didn't mean to take so many pictures, but there were lots of ones I liked! Next step is to add vehicles. Disgruntled Fusilierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995610821904415726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-23042751587114793322015-07-01T08:38:59.678-04:002015-07-01T08:38:59.678-04:00Thanks Barks - I plan on playing Crossfire more of...Thanks Barks - I plan on playing Crossfire more often. It's one of my favorite games and it's a shame I haven't played more of it! I love the "narrative" it produces - they sound like real battle reports. Disgruntled Fusilierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995610821904415726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-58745739531430413702015-07-01T07:15:29.512-04:002015-07-01T07:15:29.512-04:00Nice one Steven. Some great pics mate.Nice one Steven. Some great pics mate.Paul Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14624335534094164830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1194255716971534690.post-50722613322489622162015-07-01T05:48:23.368-04:002015-07-01T05:48:23.368-04:00Thanks for the report! It's been over ten year...Thanks for the report! It's been over ten years since I've played Crossfire. It is a superb game for infantry fights in dense terrain.Barkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04389368754759452544noreply@blogger.com