Pocket Armies: Red Storm (2012)

Pocket Armies combines the best of miniature gaming with the best of board gaming to create a fast-playing, rewardingly deep tactical battle system with museum-quality vehicle miniatures. Easy to learn for the casual gamer and difficult to master for the Grognard, pushing gorgeous tanks around the board has never been this much fun! Red Storm is the first entry in the Pocket Armies series. Featuring 20 scenarios chronicling the ascent of the Red Army during World War 2 - from the turning point at Stalingrad to the Korsun Pocket - Red Storm puts gorgeous T-34s, Panthers, Tigers and many more high-quality pre-painted miniatures at your disposal to achieve your objectives and outfight your opponent.

What will really make Pocket Armies stand out from the crowd is the unprecedented combination of a detailed hex and counter game with the ease and fluidity of a lightweight miniatures game. The combat system resolves odds of hitting, suppression, casualties, and detailed vehicle damage - all with a single dice roll. The ONLY dice modifiers are for terrain so no tedious to-hit calculations before every shot. It's as simple as counting the range in hexes, looking up the firepower on your unit card, and applying the pre-printed terrain modifier from the map, then rolling the dice. Your opponent compares that to his defense and armor and applies the damage result found directly on his card. There is an incredible amount of detail on each card but ALL the number crunching is done for you! It sounds too good to be true but you really need to see it in action to believe it! All you have to do is trust your plan and roll the dice. The focus is on developing real life tactics, not gaming the system.

Pocket Armies is not a perfect information game. You won't know how broken or suppressed units will perform until they are activated. Blocks store the orders for each unit and create uncertainty as to the exact disposition of your opponent. Hidden units and Fog of War events mean no plan survives contact with the enemy. But don't expect gamey situations like waiting for cards to activate units or your opponent playing cards like the Hand of God. Every event has been scrutinized to ensure players cannot influence the battlefield situation in ways that defy logic.

TENTATIVE COMPONENT LIST:
(24) 25mm wooden vehicle blocks (12 pre-painted miniatures in deluxe edition)
(30) 20mm wooden infantry blocks
(54) unit cards
(54) asset cards
(54) Fog of War cards
(4) 22"x34" double sided paper maps (mounted maps in deluxe edition)
(48) 3/4" counters
(1) 8-page rulebook
(8) 8.5x11" scenario cards containing 20 scenarios
(2) player aids / summary sheets
(9) six-sided dice

All components are linen or glossy full color / double-sided / euro-quality. Counters are punchboard style with rounded corners (not die-cut that requires clipping). Pre-painted miniatures will be sold seperately from the basic game. A LIMITED EDITION deluxe version of the game with mounted maps and 12 pre-painted minis will also be offered. Minis can also be purchased individually.

GAME SYSTEM DETAILS:
- Unit Scale: 1 Wooden Block = Infantry Squad or Team, 1 Miniature / Block = 1 Vehicle
- Map Scale: 50 Meters per 2 Inch Hex
- Turn Length: 30-60 Seconds
- Turn Sequence: Alternating platoon activations based on Orders
- Initiative: Momentum based
- Combat Resolution: Dice Pool
- Unit Quality: Conscript, Regular, Veteran, or Elite
- Morale: Suppressed and Broken units
- Vehicle Armor: Front, Rear, Sides, and Hull (Belly / Deck)
- Damage: Healthy / Reduced / Eliminated, Crew Injured / Gun Damaged / Immobilized / Unconfirmed Kill / Burning Wreck / Destructible Terrain
- Fog of War Deck: Ex. Friendly Fire, Tank Ammo Cooking Off, Buildings Collapsing, Radio Malfunctions...
- Assets: Cards secretly purchased before each scenario. Ex. Panzerfausts, APCR Ammo, Radios, Snipers, Dragon's Teeth, Infiltration, Air Strikes...
- Build Your Own: Point system for creating customized but realistic orders of battle. Campaign Rules with unit experience and linked scenarios.