Idea for new wargame boardgame: Cold War Hot 1962 to 1989

[uk 75]

If any of you remember the old SPI boardgame type wargames and the more
recent versions still available with much nicer counters, I was thinking of an update
of the 1970s World War 3 game with counters showing key air forces and navy units
for the period 1962 to 1989 with what-ifs.

The original game was very American, so there was no provision for the British for example.

Counters representing Vulcans and Victors for a Cuba period game would be fun, also a what-f
option with Bomber Command using Avro 730s and SAC B70s.

Realise this is a bit off beam for a modelling site, but I am sure there are some old wargamers amongst
us.
A computer version would also be possible of course....
UK 75

[Nick]

In HobbyCraft I keep seeing those http://www.flamesofwar.com/ Flames of War miniature army sets for WW2 tabletop battles.
I can't help wishing for a set of Cold War tanks, APCs and troops to fight the battles of the German Plains etc.

[rickshaw]

In HobbyCraft I keep seeing those http://www.flamesofwar.com/ Flames of War miniature army sets for WW2 tabletop battles.
I can't help wishing for a set of Cold War tanks, APCs and troops to fight the battles of the German Plains etc.

You mean the ones in the first 24 hours before the nukes started flying? 

[NARSES2]

In HobbyCraft I keep seeing those http://www.flamesofwar.com/ Flames of War miniature army sets for WW2 tabletop battles.
I can't help wishing for a set of Cold War tanks, APCs and troops to fight the battles of the German Plains etc.

There has been some Vietnam War period stuff issued. It was in a recent issue of Wargames Illustrated (now part of the FOW group). FOW themselves have just about exhausted real WWII subjects and have moved into the world of projects and prototypes so once they are done it wouldn't suprise me to see them move into other periods.

I always liked 200 scale for this type of game. Still got most of my German/Russian stuff. Was a keen wargamer until the rules got soooooooo complicated. Still do some wargaming with some old style Featherstone rules.

[Caveman]

Dont normally admit to it but...
As a kid in school I used to watch others "playing" warhammer (though to me it seemed like they spent most of the time setting up their units) and I looked into getting some but the cost was too prohibitive for me.

So I ended up writing my own set of rules... though I think I cribbed the basis from a wargames book but I dont remember the title at all! (think it was a little light blue hardback affair)

One of my hobbies is also flight simming. My weapon of choice being x-plane. X-plane comes with a program which lets you design your own aircraft from scratch. So in my rules I tried to make it so that they were applicable to all aircraft and then by extension any aircraft that you could dream up would be able to be used in the game (with a cost of course!). My first attempts at whiffing!

I similarly cobbles a set of rules for a naval game, I was quite proud that I did away with dice on that one and it similarly could be used with any design you cared to come up with.

Both were WW2 era and I think that the original rules (hand written on paper) may still be in a box in my parents house.

[philp]

Still have my copy of Squad Leader which was one of the better games I played in college.  Haven't played it since, maybe I should bring it to the Nats?

Had an idea for a game while in college about Vikings.  Was going to call it Rape and Pillage.  Probably have to have a different name now.

[raafif]

Cold War -- neat !!

My uncle was in charge of all British airborne weapons in Europe for 4 yrs.

Have to ask my cousin about a ground scenario -- he was in Brixmis & chased Soviet Scuds across East Germany too.

[raafif]

Brixmis, on the ground in East Germany during the Cold War, confirmed that the Soviets could deploy a large exercise under total radio-silence or stay in barracks when Nato HQ thought a full-blown Ex was in progress due to the broadcasting of spoof radio messages from a previously recorded exercise (this was before satellite observation).

Soviet AF staged rapid turn-arounds from a section of Autobahn -- it took less than 1 hr to block the highway & set up a full service for their fighters with fuel-tankers, ammo resupply, landing radar, control, defense radar, AA missiles etc.

How do you allow for the realistic movement of troops on the board under cover of radio-silence or the broadcast of spoof exercises which may get a reaction from the opposing side ?? -- any actual troop movements should not be visible to the other player until they get confirmation from the front lines (nasty surprise time !). Does a player only tell the umpire what he is planning until the right score is rolled, so his troops are in place & unleashed ?  Does the board only cover the actual battlefield so that these "silent" movements are off the edge but dice must still be rolled ?

Could the opposition get a lucky throw of the dice & receive a tip-off ? (rather like a "Chance" or "get out of jail free" card in Monopoly).
Naturally this would all be easier to incorporate into a computer game than a board version.

Nuclear War is no fun -- it ends too soon after the start -- a real-time game over is in 10 minutes !!

Love painting some of those Warhammer figures -- 'specially Old One-eye (giant crab warrior) & Iron-Guts ogres.

[arkon]

it could be you move major forces, roll to see if you radio silent guys were heard  or observed, then if rs guys get the roll you get bonus , if not then they join major force in next turn. so it's a chance you get great force one turn and go on with your plans  or look again. but  ithink this woulod  only work in first few turns.

[BillSlim]

I used to have this when I lived in South Africa

I've still got a copy of that, in fact it's on a shelf behind me right now. I've only ever played it solo, but it's still quite good fun.

There are a lot of Cold War era miniatures available, here for example. There are also orbats, which might be helpful.

As an aside a good way of spotting where the Soviets were going to go next was by looking for their traffic directors. They were always sent out ahead of a route march, or advance as few maps. Needless to say that they were prime targets for NATO Special Forces and without them, as one SAS NCO who served with BRIXMIS has observed, the Soviets wouldn't have been able to find Western Europe, never mind invade it.