Panzer Leader (game)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Panzer Leader'' is the sequel to
Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...
's ''
PanzerBlitz ''PanzerBlitz'' is a tactical wargames, tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front (WWII), Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame ...
'' game.


Gameplay

Like its predecessor, it is a tactical platoon level hex and counter
board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board game, board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military ...
depicting
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
tank and infantry combat on the Western European front. It features 4 geomorphic map tiles, which can be put together in a variety of ways to play the provided scenarios (which are printed on cardstock, showing all the necessary information for a scenario) or home-made scenarios. The 20 provided scenarios cover various battles on the Western Front, with most of the scenarios involving the Normandy campaign or the Battle of the Bulge. Two scenarios cover the amphibious assaults on Omaha and Gold beaches and include special rules for naval fire. While based on PanzerBlitz, the rules were cleaned up and included additional mechanics such as for air attacks and engineers, as well new spotting rules to prevent "PanzerBush" tactics - units could no longer fire from concealment without revealing themselves to enemies. Several optional and experimental rules are provided, including one for opportunity fire to further nullify PanzerBush maneuvers. The Panzer Leader map boards are interchangeable with the PanzerBlitz maps, and one could combine the two sets to make a larger battlefield. The scale is the same with the two games. The German units are interchangeable, and if one wanted, players can try a "what if" scenario with American/British forces vs. Soviet forces. An extension kit covering the tanks of 1940 was also published. This is for the France 1940 campaign, and is meant for play with the Panzer Leader game.


Anticipation

''PanzerBlitz'' is considered to be revolutionary in the history of tactical war-games and brought many new players into the hobby. When it was released in 1970, the few war-games available for purchase were generally larger scale strategic war-games that did not delve into the same kind of unit detail. Beyond merely coming up with additional scenarios for the existing ''PanzerBlitz'' game, the idea of a new game featuring the Western Front was an obvious one and the merits of different approaches were debated outside of Avalon Hill during the early 1970s. As an example of this fervor, a proposal in ''Panzerfaust'' No. 51 inspired three different articles in response in No. 53. In their time, ''PanzerBlitz'' and ''Panzer Leader'' were very popular among the war gamer crowd, but their popularity fell away to what is considered the next generation of tactical World War II games of ''
Squad Leader ''Squad Leader'' is a tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of the most complex war games of its time, ''Squ ...
'' and '' Advanced Squad Leader''.


Reception

In his 1977 book '' The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming'', Nicholas Palmer called the dots in the middle of map hexes (to calculate line of sight) "useful." However, he noted "The opportunity fire rule, while more realistic, has a slight tendency to keep units' heads down in cover, so the game is not quite as fluid as reviously published Avalon Hill game''
PanzerBlitz ''PanzerBlitz'' is a tactical wargames, tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front (WWII), Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame ...
''." Comparing ''Panzer Leader'' and ''PanzerBlitz'', Palmer said, "both games are excellent, and preference is largely a matter of taste." In the 1980 book '' The Complete Book of Wargames'', game designer Jon Freeman noted that "''Panzer Leader'' follows in the footsteps of ''PanzerBlitz'', but with four years' worth of improvements and additions." He also commented on another difference: "While units individually don't have quite the interest of some employed on the eastern front (in ''PanzerBlitz''), there's a bit more variety overall and a bit more realism in this western-front version." Freeman concluded by giving the game an Overall Evaluation of "Very Good". In ''The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training'', Martin Campion commented, "The rules show several improvements over those of ''PanzerBlitz'', but are basically the same."


Other reviews and commentary

* ''Panzerfaust and Campaign'' #72, #76, & #77 *''Campaign'' #83 *''
Fire & Movement ''Fire & Movement: The Forum of Conflict Simulation'' was a magazine devoted to wargames, both traditional board wargames and computer wargames. It was founded by Rodger MacGowan in 1975, and began publication the following year. In February 1 ...
'' #4 *''Variant'' Vol.1 #4 *'' Moves'' #24, p13-14 *'' Games & Puzzles'' #58


References

* A Western ''PanzerBlitz'' Trilogy, Paul Mills and Roy Easton, ''Panzerfaust'' No. 53 (Panzerfaust Publications, May–June 1972)


External links

* {{Avalon Hill Avalon Hill games Board games introduced in 1974 Tactical wargames Wargames introduced in 1974 European theatre World War II board wargames