The attitude was that short rules must mean a dumbed down game. I actually heard one person complain that the rules were too short, almost dismissing the game because of it. I wanted a game that was true to tactical WW2 combat, truer than other games on the market, but I also wanted it to be easy to play. Sometimes the word "elegant" is used in board gaming and that was one of my goals in designing this game. There are many tactical squad games and these are meant to highlight what sets this game apart. We hope you enjoy reading this:Īs we head toward the ship date (11/15/11) for Band of Brothers, I will try to post almost every day about some of the things that make the game different/better. Below is an article written by Jim Krohn in November 2011 on Why Band of Brothers vs other tactical game series. Other than minor adjustments for errata or clarification you should not need to learn any new rule sets.
With Old Breed South Pacific Jim has written what he is calling the “rulebook of the Apocalypse” meaning that this IS the series rulebook going forward for this and all future games in the series (more about the future of the series in an upcoming newsletter). These include SCREAMING EAGLES which follows the US 101st Airborne in Europe. In a similar fashion, the system rewards you for spreading your troops out and other realistic game play.Īlong with Old Breed South Pacific, we will be offering the first 4 games in the Band of Brothers series. The system itself forces this realistic play. Sections of the enemy force must be pinned down and eliminated from up close. You will never know for sure how your units will respond until they are needed.Īlthough casualties can be caused by artillery and heavy weapons (which makes them prime battlefield targets), squads will never cause significant casualties shooting at range at dug in, first line troops. This allows suppression to accumulate from multiple fire sources and means that the unit will not take a morale check until it is asked to do something. There are no longer two unique states for a unit, but varying degrees of suppression. The rules are very simple (no combat charts are needed) with very few exceptions to remember and yet the game is meant to be all encompassing and will include infantry, tanks, and artillery.īased on years of research, the game system uses a unique suppression mechanic. As someone who has never been or spent a lot of time around people in the military I found it difficult to figure out the rank and what things like “506th regiment” were really refereeing to.Band of Brothers is a fast-playing game of squad level combat in WWII. There were many times where I would have to stop and look up specific words to see if it was referring to a location, weapon, person, or military phrase. One of the aspects of this book that I did not like was the constant military jargon. Easy company was prepared to live, fight, and die for the man next to him without a second thought. They could tell each other apart in pitch black by the way someone coughed or the way their silhouette moved. Their mutual hatred for Sobels and there hours of training helped form an unbreakable bond between these men before they even left American soil. The men of Easy Company all had a common enemy in Captain Herbert Sobels before the war even began. By the time Ambrose had written Band of Brothers he already had a mountain of history and military books …show more content… The men of Easy Company form an untouchable bond in training. Stephen Ambrose a former history professor was nothing but a military history buff.
Band of Brothers is a book that entertains both military enthusiast and history aficionados alike.
The men of Easy Company exceed all expectation put on them with all while forming an unbreakable bond. Stephen Ambrose accounts the heroic tale of the paratroopers from Easy Company beginning with their time training in Toccoa with Sobels to D-Day, Holland, Battle of the Bulge, the failure of operation Market Garden, and to the end of the war by taking Hitler’s Eagles nest. The men of easy Company perform admirably and supremely through every grim task given to them. Show More Band of Brothers follows Easy Company of the 506th regiment of the 101st airborne from basic training to Hitler’s Eagles nest.