1/285 scale FoW

[Blackcloud6]

I have a bunch of 1/285 WWII miniatures. I used to play Command Decision but have not done so in years. I did get the WWII Battlefront a couple of years ago but they didn't grab me as they are the same scale as CD 1 tank = platoon.

Flames of War has always intrigued me a bit but when I see it played, but it looks like Napoleonics with tanks as everything seems jammed together due to the size of the models. That sort of turned me off from it.

Well, recently I found out that Battlefront Miniatures sells a small copy of the rulebook for $1-15 so that got me interested. Yesterday I discovered that they have an app for FoW on the iPad so I downloaded it and one can buy the rules for just $6.99, so I figured 'what the heck,' this way I can see if I will like the rules and can try it out with 1/285 scale stuff. (I'm a model builder and a WH40K player so I don't feel like starting out on another large money and time expenditure to build up to play FoW and I have stacks of 1/35 scale models and WH40K stuff as it is).

I scanned through the rules last tonight,; they don't seem that difficult. So maybe next week, after I clear my current solitaire board game from the table, I may try the rules out.

So, what are your opinions of FoW? What about playing it solitaire? What about using the 1/285 scale minis instead of 15mm?

[Cleon]

I'm quite into FoW at the moment, although certainly still learning.

I'm not sure on playing it Solitaire beyond working out small unit interactions as to me not knowing what the other side is planning is part of the fun, but if that's something you do I suppose it'll work as well as any other game.

Using 1/285 models I can think of two issues you might have to work around - firstly turret facing matters so that might get fiddly with the smaller models and secondly the army lists don't scale up beyond a certain point, you instead get into multiple formations.

If your intent is to play 'standard FoW' in smaller spaces I think it could work - read 1 inch as 1 cm on ranges so you get some extra shrink to avoid the clumping you dislike. If your plan is to allow you to play larger games you might find it slows down with so many more units involved.

[Blackcloud6]

Thanks.

I don't understand what you mean: "...and secondly the army lists don't scale up beyond a certain point, you instead get into multiple formations."

[Cleon]

Ah,

What I meant was the formations aren't as 'open-ended' as in many game systems, for example most German lists will only actually allow 3 or 4 basic tank platoons in a company (standard force) which is fine at 15mm unless you have acres of space, but if your intent is to play larger games you'd then need to take 2 companies to get more basic units, at which point you run into the multiple formation rules which are a lot harsher.

When you only have 1 Company you take a force morale check when you have lost more platoons than you have fighting and at every platoon loss after that and once failed the force is broken, game over.

When you have multiple companies you take a company morale check any time ANY of your companies has lost more platoons than it has fighting and if ANY of them fail the entire force is broken and it's game over.

Hope that makes sense.

[Blackcloud6]

Ah,

What I meant was the formations aren't as 'open-ended' as in many game systems, for example most German lists will only actually allow 3 or 4 basic tank platoons in a company (standard force) which is fine at 15mm unless you have acres of space, but if your intent is to play larger games you'd then need to take 2 companies to get more basic units, at which point you run into the multiple formation rules which are a lot harsher.

When you only have 1 Company you take a force morale check when you have lost more platoons than you have fighting and at every platoon loss after that and once failed the force is broken, game over.

When you have multiple companies you take a company morale check any time ANY of your companies has lost more platoons than it has fighting and if ANY of them fail the entire force is broken and it's game over.

Hope that makes sense.

Yep, that makes sense. I used to play Command Decision at 1/285 scale on a Ping Pong table using CMs instead of inches. Seems like, if I want to do larger formations in FoW, I could do the same.