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The morning fog limits your sight across the field. But, as your tank sits quietly idling, you can hear the enemy moving to the right of your position. The battle is about to be engaged. You call down through the hatch to have your crew prepare themselves and the gun. You call the other tank commander to let him know you’re ready. The German tank is almost between your two Shermans and it is time to spring the trap. Hoping that single tank you hear is not the bait of a trap being set for you.
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Tank Brawl by David Gonsalves from Fantasy Realm Games (Facebook page) is a tabletop game for players looking for a military feel without the heavier overlays associated with military/historic games, giving it an easier learning curve. It moves the player from the tactical planning of the battlefield to the strategy of commanding a tank. Tank Brawl is still in development and I had the opportunity of playing a prototype at SaltCon (website and Facebook page) 2018.
Setting
Tank Brawl is set in World War II post D-Day Europe (or at least that is where we were). This worked well for the rounds I saw played and the one I was involved in. Scenarios are being developed for historical settings and balance of play. Having a limited scope of play based within a specified setting allowed players unfamiliar with strategy war games to quickly be involved in the action.
One of my convention spies, a hardline war gamer, confirmed David Gonsalves’s efforts to bring the player into the tank were successful. My spy was even getting another war gamer to take a look at Tank Brawl,who is retired cavalry and could recite tank statistics. Later, I got back word the game does a good job of presenting the facts within the game’s design to provide information about the different tanks.
Mechanics
Tank Brawl uses a dice pool as its main mechanic. David told me this came about after trying several other methods. Using dice allows each player a limited number of commands that can be used for the personnel inside the tank.
In turn order, each player takes three actions by giving orders to members of the crew or taking personal actions as the commander. The commander can attempt to spot a target or purchase cards that can be used later. They can also give orders to aim, load, and drive. Once the gun is loaded and aimed it can also be fired. Players have to create a balance of activity within their tank to be ready.
Every attack has the opportunity of creating another level of damage or complication. When the attack is made (dice rolled) success is determined if you hit hard enough to do damage to the armor. However, a card is also drawn that can add complications. Each card has a designated roll combination that can lead to another act of damage, even if you don’t do any damage to your opponent’s armor.
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| More art |
In the game I played, I was commanding a tank for the Allied forces and our team struck a German tank twice for additional damage. One of the hits damaged the gun, even though the shot failed miserably in doing damage in any other way. The other did damage to one of the opposing crew, which led to a loss of a die for that position.
Art
Even though Tank Brawl is still about a year out there is artwork by Shane Molina. The banner and concept art gave an immediate impression of what the game is about. Again, my military strategy friends were impressed.
Overall
Tank Brawl's easy learning curve allowed for a quick start. After a brief explanation we started our game. And, after the second round we were quickly moving through the actions.
I was able to watch a game played by a person who was a self-professed non war gamer who caught onto the game quickly and enjoyed the time spent at the table.
Tank Brawl looks to be a good light version of what most people expect of war gaming. Or, it could be used as a gateway game to determine the interest level for more complex strategy/military history games.
I look forward to seeing more of Tank Brawland how it turns out. As it was presented, this could be one we could use for some quick one-on-one or small skirmishes while waiting for the larger gaming group to arrive. Of course, once our group arrives I could also see them wanting to jump into a tank and head out into the fray.
David recorded comments my friend, Rob, and I made after the game at SaltCon and has it on his Facebook feed for May 5, 2018.
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The battle took only a few minutes and there was a toll taken by both sides. Although the Shermans are quicker, they are lighter and don’t have the same gun power. And, all those qualities came into play during the skirmish. Your tank moves closer to your lost companion, but the field is clear for the infantry.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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