First go at What a Tanker!

Saw this game in action at Hotlead, and thought it looked like it might be fun to play, and you know what it is! It is a game with a lot of random elements to it, so it could be frustrating for some, but I like the chaos, the fact that your best laid plans can be ruined by poor command dice rolls, just when you see the enemy in the open ahead of you, you fail to get the acquire or aim dice that you need or worse everything but the fire die!



We started small, two players, each with one tank. So in this case a Panzer IV vs a Cromwell. It was a tense game as the two opponents circled each other, seeking the chance to eliminate their opponent. Both commanders started unbuttoned, but after a couple of turns the Cromwell commander decided that discretion was the safer route, while the German commander boldly remained exposed.

The British came in on the South edge, moving north east along a road

The Germans moved in from the North, but found the going tough with no DRIVE dice for two turns!

The stare down across a field.

A game of two opposites, the Germans had a tough time finding a DRIVE die, while the British had a surplus of movement, but could not find a target. The Germans opened the firing, scoring a hit on the buttoned down turret of the Cromwell, causing optic damage, the permanent loss of one command die, and the temporary loss of 2 command dice.

The Germans finally got some movement, so after advancing and taking their first shot they then moved into and trough the village attempting to get a better shot on the Cromwell. The British reduced to 3 dice found command rolls to be a challenge!

The Cromwell finally got into gear again, and quickly raced off down the street. The German left town and continued to chase the back end of the British.

With the right mix of ACQUIRE and AIM dice, but no movement, the Germans found themselves unable to bring their gun to bear on the the British.

The British were able to move across the open field to find shelter behind a copse of trees. The Panzer IV were finally able to traverse their gun and send another round into the Cromwell, causing more temporary damage.

Then the circling game started again. The British player decided to back off a bit from the enemy, with the intention of finding shelter in a nearby farm.

The Germans sent another round into the British, but this time it bounced off the hull. Then the British finally lined up a shot on the panzer, and thanks in part to the Germans being unbuttoned, scored a decisive hit the destroyed the panzer!
 

However the German crew were able to escape to fight another day.
In the end, the players had reversed their starting locations, the British were now at the northern edge looking south, while the German wreckage was facing north.

I thought the game played well, it certainly was fun. Now that we have played it once, time to add a a few more players and 2 tanks per player!

This was the field of battle...

Looking west

South view

Looking east