Table of Contents - GMT Games · Table of Contents 1.0 Components ...

Table of Contents

1.0 Components .................................................................................................................................................. 22. 0 Object............................................................................................................................................................ 23.0 The Map ....................................................................................................................................................... 24.0 The Playing Pieces ......................................................................................................................................... 35.0 Preparing For Play ........................................................................................................................................ 36.0 Sequence of Play ........................................................................................................................................... 47.0 Area Occupation Limits ................................................................................................................................ 48.0 Activation/Movement ................................................................................................................................... 49.0 Combat ......................................................................................................................................................... 510.0 Bridges ........................................................................................................................................................ 711.0 Reinforcements ........................................................................................................................................... 812.0 Victory Determination ................................................................................................................................ 813.0 Supply ......................................................................................................................................................... 914.0 German Special Forces ................................................................................................................................ 9Introductory Scenario: The 7th Army Attacks ................................................................................................. 10Scenario: The 5th Panzer Army vs: VIII Corps ................................................................................................. 10Scenario: The First Three Days ......................................................................................................................... 10The Campaign Scenario .................................................................................................................................... 11Examples of Play ................................................................................................................................................ 11Designer’s Notes ................................................................................................................................................ 13Play Strategy ...................................................................................................................................................... 15Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................... 15

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Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

1.0 Components

Tigers in the Mist contains the followingparts:

• 22” x 34” mapsheet

• One Rulebook

• Two sheets of counters and markers

• Four ten sided dice. A die roll of “0” oris always considered to be a 10.

• Five Scenario Cards

• One Player Aid Card.

2. 0 Object

Tigers in the Mist is a two-player game.One player commands the German forcesand the other player controls the Alliedforces. The object of the game is to controlsome or all of the victory point areas at theend of each turn, or for the Germans, tomove units into the perimeter zones thatscore victory points for exiting units. Thewinner is determined by the number ofvictory points the German has managed toobtain by the end of the last game turn.

The game simulates the early stages of theGerman offensive in the Ardennes sectionof western Europe (Germany, France,Belgium, and Luxembourg) in Decemberof 1944. Historically, the Germans plannedto break through the thin American defensesin this area, cross the Meuse River, and seizethe port of Antwerp in Holland. TheGerman high command hoped that successwould force a political settlement on theWestern Front, thus allowing Germany todirect its full attention to defeating theRussians. In order to win the game, theGerman player will almost certainly have toget some units across the Meuse River.

3.0 The Map

The mapboard portrays the criticalgeographical area where the actualcampaign took place.

3.1 Scale

The scale is approximately one inch equalsfour miles.

3.2 Map Components

3.21 Perimeter zones are locations aroundthe edges of the map which are identifiedby large capital letters. These are used tobring on reinforcements and act as supplysources. The Germans can score victorypoints by entering some of the Alliedcontrolled zones.

3.22 Areas are irregularly-shaped spaces onthe map. Each area represents a city, town, orcrossroads. Each area is named and identifiedby a unique number. The area numberingsystem may be used to facilitate PBM orPBEM play as well as to aid in locating aparticular area. The system is set up such thata numbered area is always adjacent toconsecutive areas in the numbering sequence,ie. 75 is adjacent to 74 and 76.

Areas are connected by roads. Brown linesare minor roads. Gray lines are major roads.Units move from area to area along roads.Units may not move to an adjacent areaunless it is connected to the area movedfrom by a road.

3.23 Significant rivers are shown on themap. Where a road crosses a river, a bridgeis shown. Except as noted under section 5.1,all bridges are intact at the start of the game.

3.24 National boundaries, woods,marshland, and towns are shown purely forinformational and historical purposes. Theyhave no bearing on the game.

3.25 The original Allied front line areashave their ID numbers circled in black.This was done to facilitate determinationof German artillery availability.

3.26 Some areas have victory point valuesprinted inside a circle. The German playerreceives these points at the end of eachgame turn that he controls a VP area.

3.27 Some areas result in the release ofreserve German Panzer divisions. Theseareas contain a printed tank silhouette.

3.28 Some perimeter zones have victorypoint multipliers printed inside a square.The German player receives victory pointsequal to the number of German strengthpoints present in the zone at the end of thegame multiplied by the victory pointmultiplier.

3.29 The Turn Record Track and theVictory Point Track are shown on themapboard.

How to Read the Counters

Unit Counter Summary

Engineer (Infantry Type Unit)Wheels Denote Motorized Unit

Armor

Artillery Counter Background Colordenotes nationality

Defense FactorAttack Factor

Mechanized Infantry

Motorized Infantry

Airborne Infantry(No Paradrop Capability)

Foot InfantryUnits w/o Unit ID are substitute counters.

German Special Forces Unit

Turns unit may be used

MovementRestriction

Set Up Area

Impulse of Entryfor Reinforcements

Unit ID

Strength Points

Unit Type(Armor)

Copyright © GMT Games, 1999

The Battle of the Bulge

4.0 The Playing Pieces

Included within the game are differentcolored die cut playing pieces. Most of thecounters represent combat units. There arealso numerous informational counters.

4.1 Combat Units

4.11 There are five basic types of combatunits in the game: armor, mechanized,motorized, engineer, and foot infantry.Each type of unit has a unique symbol inthe center of the counter to indicate itstype. Some of the infantry type units areairborne units, but they do not have anyairdrop capability.

4.12 There are several different colors ofcounters which distinguish unit nationality,or for the Germans, SS, Wehrmacht, orLuftwaffe units. SS units are black,Wehrmacht unit are grey, and Luftwaffeunits are light blue. American units aregreen. British units are khaki. Alliedgarrison units (99 Norwegian and V BelgianFusiliers) are dark blue.

4.13 Combat units present at the start ofthe game and reinforcements havebattalion, brigade, divisional, corps, or armyidentifiers to the left of their unit typesymbol. Unit counters without identifiersare substitutes used to represent units thathave lost strength due to combat casualties.All of the unit counters are backprinted.

4.14 Numbers to the right side of their unittype symbols are either set up locations forunits beginning the game on the board orimpulse of arrival for reinforcements.

4.15 Substitute counters have a white barover the unit symbol.

4.16 The large number in the bottom centerof each combat unit is its strength. A unitsstrength is the number of hits it can takebefore being destroyed and also is thenumber of dice it rolls when firing in abattle.

4.17 Each unit has an attack, defense, andmovement factor which varies by type ofunit. These factors are not shown on thecounters, but are shown on the chart below.The numbers are left to right: attack-defense-movement.

Armor 4-5-8

Engineer 3-4-8

Mechanized Infantry 3-4-8

Motorized Infantry 3-4-8

Foot Infantry 3-4-5

Artillery 3-5-X

4.18 When attacking, the left most numberis the basic to hit number used in combat.When defending, the center number is thebasic to hit number used in combat. Themovement allowance is always the same,except that infantry type units mayvoluntarily reduce their movement to thatof foot infantry in order to cross a river at ablown bridge.

4.2 Informational Markers

Informational markers are provided forturn record, battle location, victory points,blown bridges, bridge repair modifiers,entrenchments, Out of Supply status, andmovement completed indicators.

5.0 Preparing For Play

Perform the following steps to set up thegame.

5.1 Place Blown Bridges

The following bridges are blown at gamestart. Place a blown bridge marker on each.

• Wahlerscheid-Monschau (40-41)

• Dasburg-Marnach (51-70)

• Gemund-Holzhum (55-69)

• Nusbaum-Beaufort (19-20)

• Irrel-Echternach (10-11)

To aid in set-up, these bridges are indicatedon the map as Blown.

5.2 Place Units and Markers

5.21 Place the units that begin the game onthe board in their correct starting areas asindicated on the Order of Battle Cards.

5.22 Place “entrenched” counters on unitsthat are indicated to start the game inentrenchments.

5.23 Only those Allied units that have awhite triangle in the bottom right corner oftheir counter are eligible to move on the firstimpulse of December 16. No other Alliedunits may move on that impulse. Any Alliedunit (except armor or units in areas whereGerman units are present) may entrench onthe first impulse of December 16.

5.24 German units that have a red trianglein the bottom right corner of their countermay not move until the second impulse ofDecember 16.

5.3 Set Initial Track Values

5.31 Place the “Turn” counter on the 16-1space of the Turn Record Track located onthe mapboard.

5.32 Place the”VP” marker near the VPTrack. Starting VP level is always “0.”

Informational Marker Summary

Entrenchment

Turn/Impulse

Victory Points

Battle Location

Blown Bridge

Bridge Repair Modifier

German Stack has MovedCombat not Resolved

Allied Stack has MovedCombat not Resolved

German Stack has MovedCombat Resolved

Allied Stack has MovedCombat Resolved

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

6.0 Sequence of Play

I. Reinforcement/Replacement Phase: Bothplayers consult their respective Order ofBattle cards and place units scheduled toarrive in the current impulse in the entryzone listed for each reinforcing unit.

II. First German Impulse:

1. The German player may move as manyor as few of his units as he wishesincluding available reinforcements.

2. Eligible Allied units may attemptbridge demolition while the Ger-man player is moving.

Exception: The Allied player maynot attempt bridge demolition on anyimpulse of December 16.

3. After the German player has com-pleted his movement for the impulse,both players resolve all battles whichresult from the German movement.

4. Eligible German Engineer units mayattempt to construct bridges.

III.First Allied Impulse:

1. The Allied player may move as manyor as few of his units as he wishesincluding available reinforcements.

2. Eligible German units may attemptbridge demolition while the Alliedplayer is moving.

3. After the Allied player has com-pleted his movement for the im-pulse, both players resolve all battleswhich result from the Allied move-ment.

4. Eligible Allied Engineer units mayattempt to construct bridges.

IV-VII. Steps II and III above are repeateduntil each player has completed three move-ment/combat impulses. This constitutes afull turn which represents a 24 hour period.

Exception: Each player is allowed onlyone movement/combat impulse on theDecember 22 turn.

VIII. Attrition Phase: Determine Supply[13.11] for all units (of each side). Re-move one strength point from each unitthat is Out of Supply [13.21].

IX. Victory Detemination Phase: Victorypoints (VPs) are determined at the end ofeach turn. Adjust the VP counter on the

VP Track. Move the turn counter to thenext space on the Turn Record Track afterboth sides have completed their movementand combat for the impulse.

7.0 Area Occupation Limits

7.1 Each player may have a maximum of 4unit counters with a maximum total of 10strength points occupying an area at theend of any movement impulse.

Important Exception: During set up,there are two locations where the Germanplayer exceeds the stacking limits. At theend of the 3rd impulse of the December 16turn, rule 7.2 will apply to these two areas.During the December 16 turn, Germanunits may not be moved so as to create newstacks or add to existing stacks such that thenumber of strength points exceeds ten or thenumber of units exceeds four.

7.2 If at the end of any movement impulsea player has more units and/or strengthpoints occupying an area than is allowedunder rule 7.1, he must eliminate sufficientunits (not strength points) of his choice tobring the total down to the maximumallowed.

7.3 Any number of units and strengthpoints may occupy a perimeter zone.

8.0 Activation/Movement

8.1 Impulses

Each daily turn is divided into six playerimpulses, a total of three for each side.Each impulse in shown on the Time RecordChart on the map and is labelled 16-1,16-2, etc. The first number is the day, thesecond the impulse. These impulses arealternated between players with theGerman player always moving first. Referto the Sequence of Play in section 6.0.

8.2 Movement

Units move from area to area along roads.Units may not move to an adjacent areaunless it is connected to the area movedfrom by a road.

8.21 Units may move as stacks orindividually. Only units beginning the turntogether in an area may move as a stack.

8.22 Units must stop upon entering anarea containing enemy units, and theymay move no further that turn.

8.23 When units of one side enter an areacontaining units of the other side, the movingunits must attack all enemy units present.

8.24 Once a unit or stack of units hascompleted its movement for the turn, itshould be marked with a “movementcompleted” counter. Units that moved,but did not enter an enemy occupied area,place the movement completed counterwith the nationality symbol up. Unitsthat moved into enemy occupied areasplace the movement completed counterwith the arrow and the nationality symbolface up. As each battle is resolved, flip themovement completed counter to the sidewithout the arrow.

8.25 Units which moved in an earlierimpulse of the turn may not move againduring the turn or join in any combat asattackers.

8.26 Entering a zone, whether occupied ornot, costs only the MP for the road.

8.27 Units may not move from one enemyoccupied area directly to another enemyoccupied area.



8.28 Units may not move so as to placethemselves Out of Supply (OoS). [13.0]

8.29 OoS units may move only one area.

8.3 Movement Allowance/Costs

8.31 Armor, Mechanized, Motorized, andEngineer units may spend eight (8)movement points per turn.

8.32 Foot infantry units may spend five (5)movement points per turn.

8.33 Movement Costs to move from areato area:

8.34 Mechanized, Motorized, or Engineermoving as foot infantry have may spend 5MPs per turn. There is no road cost inaddition to the 3 MP cost for crossing anunbridged river.

8.35 An infantry type unit with 8 MPs mayvoluntarily reduce its MPs for a turn to 5 inorder to cross a river at a blown bridge. Unitsthat exercise this option must continue tomove at a rate of 5 MP per turn until theycan trace a line of supply back to a friendlysupply source without the supply line crossinga blown bridge. Once this is achieved, theunits revert to their normal MPs.

8.36 Additional costs (cumulative)

8.37 It costs one additional movement pointto enter an occupied area; whether theoccupying units are enemy and/or friendly.

8.38 If a unit does not have sufficientmovement points to move to an area, itmay not make that move.

8.39 After the moving player has finishedmoving his units, both players resolve allbattles which result from the movingplayer’s movement for that impulse.

8.4 Bridge Demolition

8.41 During movement, the non-movingplayer may attempt bridge demolitionwhenever a moving unit attempts to crossa bridge where a non-moving infantry typeunit is present in an area adjacent to thatbridge [10.2].

8.42 If the bridge demolition attempt issuccessful, the moving player may alter theremainder of the move of his moving stackfrom the area adjacent to the blown bridge.However, the currently moving stack expendsone MP due to the forced change of direction.

8.5 Entrenching

8.51 Infantry type units may entrench duringany friendly impulse. Each unit mustentrench individually. Units cannot useentrenchments constructed by other units.

8.52 Engineers may entrench by expending 4movement points. Thus engineers may move(expending up to 4 MPs) and then entrench.

8.53 Other Infantry-type units entrenchby expending all of their movement points.

8.54 Armor units may not entrench.

8.55 Units may not entrench when enemyunits are present in the same area.

8.56 Defending entrenched units get a +1DRM for shots taken against them.

8.57 Indicate entrenched units by placingthem underneath an “entrenched” counter.The number of entrenchments allowed onthe board at one time is not restricted bythe number of entrenchment countersprovided in the game.

8.58 Entrenchments are removed from theboard if abandoned by the occupying unitor if the occupying unit is destroyed.

8.59 Attacking units can never be inentrenchments. Thus units which attackmust abandon their entrenchments. Theentrenchments are then removed [8.58].

9.0 Combat

Once the moving player has completed allhis movement for the impulse, combat isresolved. Battles are fought in any orderthat the moving player chooses.

9.1 General

9.11 A unit may attack only once per turn,during one of the moving player’s impulses. Aunit may defend up to three times per turn—once in each of the enemy player’s impulses.

9.12 Units of the moving player that enteran area containing enemy units during thecurrent impulse are required to attack.

9.13 Units of the moving player that begin animpulse in the same area with enemy unitshave the options to attack, move elsewhere,or remain in place without attacking.

9.14 When units of the moving playerenter an area that contains both enemy andfriendly units, the moving units must attack(per 9.12) and the non-moving friendlyunits already in the area must exercise oneof the options in 9.13. However, if suchfriendly units choose to remain in placewithout attacking, they still receive a Movedmarker and cannot move or attack in a laterimpulse of the same turn.

9.15 Defending units do not have the optionto decline combat.

9.16 A unit may not move in the same turnafter it has conducted an attack.

9.17 No combat can occur in perimeterzones.

9.2 Process and Hits

9.21 Each unit present in a battle fires at atarget by rolling one die for each strengthpoint of the firing unit. If the die roll is equalto or less than the combat factor of the firingunit, it scores a hit which causes the target tolose one strength point. A one strengthpoint unit is destroyed if it takes a hit.

Along Major Road 1

Area Entered Cost in MPs

Along Minor Road 2

Across Unbridged River 3 (as foot inf. only [8.34-5])

Enter Occupied Area 1

Action Cost in MPs

Leave Enemy-Occupied Area

1

Bridge Blown WhileAttempting to Cross

1

Entrench4 (Engineers)All MPs (Other Inf. Types)

Construct Bridge All MPs (Engineers only)

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

9.22 Excess hits against a target may not becarried over against other enemy unitspresent in a battle.

9.23 Units that are hit in combat are eitherflipped to their reverse side, replaced witha substitute counter, or destroyed. Forexample, a 4 strength point unit that is hitonce would be flipped to become a 3. If hittwice, it would be replaced with a 2. If hit4 times, it would be destroyed and removedfrom the board.

9.3 Combat Sequence

9.31 Determine artillery availability for bothsides.

9.32 Defender’s artillery fires; hits takeeffect.

9.33 Defender selects targets for his shots.

9.34 Defending units fire; hits take effect.

9.35 Attacker’s artillery fires; hits take effect.

9.36 Attacker selects targets for his shots.

9.37 Attacking units fire; hits take effect.

9.38 Combat ends for the impulse in thatarea.

9.39 Proceed to the next area where combatoccurs until all combat for the impulse hasbeen resolved.

9.4 Artillery

9.41 Artillery is represented abstractly inthe game. Each attacking or defendingstack is assumed to have the possibility ofartillery support during any impulse. Theplayers roll dice for each artillery unit theyare eligible to call on for support.

9.42 Artillery Call: Each player may make1 call for artillery support for every 3 strengthpoints he has present in a battle. Thedefender always gets a minimum of onecall. Strength points are counted prior toany defensive fire. A player does not getcredit toward a call for artillery for fractionsof strength points.

Example: 5 strength points generate oneartillery call.

A stack of units may call for artillery in eachbattle in which it is a participant.

9.43 Allied artillery is available on a DR1-8.

9.44 German artillery is available on a DR1-6 against the original Allied front line(areas with area # in white circle only).

9.45 German artillery is available on a DR1-4 in all other areas, including those Eastof the original Allied front line.

9.46 Available artillery counters (one persuccessful call) are targeted on enemy unitsprior to resolving each sides fire. Artillerymust fire at the type of enemy unit with themost strength points present in the battlebeing fought. The firing player may selectthe target unit when more than one unit ofthe same type is present. Once a unit hasbeen targeted by an artillery counter, thestrength points of that counter aresubtracted from the total strength points ofthat type for purposes of determining thenext eligible target unit for artillery fire.Additional artillery shots are allocatedsimilarly. [See the examples of play.]

More than one artillery counter may not betargeted on a unit unless all other units inthe battle have also been targeted byartillery.

9.47 Once the targets for artillery fire havebeen determined, a DR is made for eachtarget unit. Note that it is possible for twoor more artillery shots to land on a singleunit. If the earlier shots destroy the unit,the remaining artillery shots against thatunit would be lost.

9.48 Artillery supporting the attacker hitson a DR of 1-3. Artillery supporting thedefender hits on a DR of 1-5.

9.49 Artillery shots are influenced byentrenchment, river crossing, and combinedarms die roll modifiers (DRMs). Suchinfluence is cumulative.

9.5 Combat Between Units

9.51 Unit quality. There is a hierarchy ofunit quality in the game. Unit qualities,from highest to lowest, are: Engineer,Armor, Mechanized, Motorized, FootInfantry.

9.52 Units must shoot at equal or lowerquality units if possible. Units may not fireat a target of higher quality than themselvesunless there are no other eligible targets.When all eligible targets are of higherquality than the firing unit, it must fire atthe lowest quality target available.

9.53 Defending (or non-moving) units arenot required to shoot at attacking unitsthat are only one strength point.

Exception: See 9.55.

9.54 Units attacking or defending alone inan area may fire at any enemy unit, subjectto rules 9.52 and 9.53. Multiple attackingand defending units must allocate their fireaccording to rules 9.52 through 9.57. Rule9.55 takes precedence over rule 9.53.

9.55 In a multiple unit battle, the firingplayer must shoot at each target unit withat least one unit of his own before he canallocate a second firing unit to any target.He must shoot at each target unit with atleast two units of his own before he canallocate a third firing unit to any target.

9.56 Once each target unit has beenallocated an attacker, the firing player mayallocate his remaining units to the availabletargets any way he wishes, subject to therestrictions of rule 9.55.

9.57 In a multiple unit battle, firing units areallocated to target units in order of unit quality,from high to low. In multiple unit battles,firing units must shoot at equal quality targetsif possible. If no equal targets are available,then the highest quality target of lesser qualitythan the firing unit must be selected. If nolesser quality targets are available, then thelowest quality target of higher quality than thefiring unit must be selected. Unit strengthshave no effect on this rule.

Exception: See 9.53

Example: The firing side has an armor, amechanized, and two foot infantry. Thetarget side has an engineer, a motorizedunit and an armor unit. The armor mustfire at the armor, since it is equal to thehighest quality firing unit. The mechanizedunit is forced to fire at the motorized targetunit. One of the infantry (firers choice)then may fire at the engineer. Theremaining unit may fire at any of the threetarget units.



9.58 A unit may not split its strength to fireat more than one target unit.

9.59 All firing units must be allocated totarget units prior to resolving any shots.[9.3.]

9.6 Combined Arms

Where the attacker has infantry, armor, andartillery in his attack, there is no DRM tocombat. Where the attacker does not haveinfantry, armor, and artillery in his attack,all defending shots get a -1 DRM. Forartillery to be available for the attack, asuccessful call for artillery support musthave been made.

9.7 Combat Modifiers (DRMs)

9.71 Combat Die Roll Modifiers (DRMs)are as follows:

9.72 Units that are being attacked by unitscoming from two different areas where oneattacking group crossed a river and theother did not do not receive the -1 DRM todefensive shots conferred by river defense.

9.73 Units that are being attacked by unitscoming across a river do not receive the -1DRM to defensive shots conferred by riverdefense if any enemy units (whether eligibleto attack this impulse or not) began theimpulse in the defenders area.

9.74 All combat DRMs are cumulative.

10.0 Bridges

Bridges may be constructed or demolished.

10.1 Bridge Construction.

10.11 Only Engineer units may constructbridges.

10.12 To build a bridge, the Engineermust begin the turn in an area adjacent tothe bridge site. There must also be afriendly unit (any type) in the area at theother end of the bridge, however the secondunit could have moved there during thecurrent impulse.

10.13 An Engineer may not attempt bridgeconstruction if an enemy unit is present inits area. Enemy units may be present in thesecond area connected to the bridge withoutaffecting bridge construction.

10.14 An Engineer may not move orattack in the same turn in which it attemptsbridge construction. An Engineer may notattempt bridge construction during thesame impulse a battle takes place in thearea it (the Engineer) occupies.

10.15 Bridge construction is successful ona DR of 1-4

10.16 The Engineer may attemptconstruction once each impulse untilsuccessful. After each unsuccessful bridgeconstruction attempt, the next attempt isgiven a -1 DRM. These are additive perimpulse, therefore the 2nd attempt to repaira particular bridge is successful on a DR of1-5, the 3rd attempt on a DR of 1-6, etc.Place the appropriate construction DRMmarker on the bridge after each failedattempt. Construction DRM markersremain in place even if the Engineer movesaway from the bridge under repair prior toa successful construction die roll.

10.17 Having two engineers adjacent to abridge does not increase the chances ofsuccessful construction. No more than oneconstruction attempt per bridge per impulsemay be made.

10.2 Bridge Demolition.

10.21 During Movement, the non-movingplayer may attempt bridge demolition bymaking a Demolition Dieroll whenever amoving unit attempts to cross a bridgewhere a non-moving infantry type unit ispresent in an area adjacent to that bridge.Bridge demolition may only be attemptedat the instant that an enemy unit attemptsto cross a bridge.

10.22 Any infantry type unit (Engineer,Mechanized, Motorized, Foot) may attemptbridge demolition. Armor units may not attemptbridge demolition. The unit attemptingdemolition must be in an area adjacent to thebridge it is attempting to demolish.

10.23 A unit (if eligible) may attempt bridgedemolition during each impulse of a turn.It may attempt to demolish up to twobridges per impulse. Bridge demolitiondoes not count as a move.

10.24 A unit may not attempt bridgedemolition if an enemy unit begins thecurrent impulse in its area.

10.25 Two or more different units may noteach attempt to demolish a single bridge inthe same impulse.

10.26 Allied units may not attempt todemolish bridges on December 16.

10.27 Entrenching does not adversely affecta unit’s bridge demolition die roll.

10.28 The number of blown bridges allowedon the board at one time is not restricted bythe number of blown bridge countersprovided in the game.

10.29 The Demolition Dieroll. Roll onedie and refer to the type of unit attemptingdemolition. If the die result falls within thelisted range, Demolition succeeds. Place aDemolished bridge marker on the bridge.

Engineers not moved this turn 1-8

1-4

Unit Type and Move Status Success Range

Engineers that moved this turn

1-4Other Infantry not moved this turn

1-2Other Infantry that moved this turn

vs. Entrenched UnitsAttacker

Att/Def

Defender

Defender

+1

+1

ConditionWhose Fire? DRM

Firing units out of Supply

-1

vs. units crossing a river (bridged or not). This only applies when all attacking units just moved into the area.

-1vs. non-Combined Arms Force

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

11.0 Reinforcements

11.1 Placement and Movement

11.11 Place reinforcing units on theperimeter (entry) zone indicated on theOB Reinforcements Cards.

11.12 Reinforcements may move onto theboard on the impulse of arrival.

11.13 A major road is assumed to connecteach perimeter zone to the adjacent area onthe board.

11.14 Reinforcements may enter via anadjacent perimeter zone one impulsefollowing the scheduled impulse of arrival,if desired. The shifting units also expendtwo MPs to do so. Similar restrictionsapply to entering two or more zones away.The reinforcements arrive one impulse laterand pay 2 MPs for each zone shifted.

11.15 A player may deliberately delaymoving reinforcements from a zone if he sodesires.

11.2 Restrictions

11.21 Allied reinforcements may not entervia a zone occupied by German units.German units may enter a victory pointzone occupied by Allied units. The enteringunits do not pay an extra movement pointto enter an occupied zone. No combatoccurs in zones.

11.22 German units may not enterperimeter zones L, M, N, or P.

11.23 Allied units may not enter perimeterzones A, B, or C.

11.3 Contingent Reinforcements

Some German reinforcements are releasedcontingent upon the German player havingsuperiority in certain areas. Superiority isdefined as a greater number of strengthpoints in the area at the end of any Alliedimpulse.

11.31 The Reserve Panzer Reinforcementrelease areas and units are noted on theGerman Reinforcements OB Cards.

11.32 Release Areas are indicated on themapboard with tank silhouettes.

12.0 Victory Determination

12.1 General

12.11 Victory points (VPs) are counted atthe end of each turn.

12.12 Only the German player can scorevictory points.

12.13 The VP total is always zero (“0”) atthe start of a scenario.

12.2 Control and VPs

12.21 Several areas score VPs for theGerman when he is the controlling player.

12.22 A player controls an area by beingthe last player who was in sole possession ofthe area. When both players have units inan area, the player which last had exclusivecontrol of the area at the end of any playerImpulse is considered to have control, evenif outnumbered. VP areas score points eachturn they are controlled by the GermanPlayer.

12.23 The German player may also scoreVPs for occupying certain perimeter zonesoriginally controlled by the Allied player.The number of points scored is equal to theGerman strength points in the zonemultiplied by the factor in the zone (1-3).Each strength point in a VP zone scorespoints only once per game.

12.24 German units in a VP zone whichare out of supply at the end of the game orscenario do not score VPs.

12.25 Once German units have entered anAllied VP zone, they may not return to theboard.

13.0 Supply

13.1 Determining/Tracing Supply

13.11 A unit is “in supply” if it can trace a routefree of enemy units back to a perimeter zoneoriginally controlled by its side. For theGermans, these are zones A-C. For the Allies,zones D-P.Supply must be traced along roads.

A unit not “in supply” is considered “Out ofSupply” (OoS).

13.12 Supply may not be traced throughenemy-occupied areas or to an enemy-occupied zone.

13.13 Supply may be traced from acontested area to a perimeter zone.

13.14 Supply may only be traced acrossintact bridges.

Exception: Infantry type units may tracesupply across (only) one blown bridge.

13.15 Supply status for movementpurposes is determined prior to movement.

13.16 Supply status for combat isdetermined after movement andimmediately prior to resolution of combat.

13.17 Supply status for attrition isdetermined during the Attrition Phase.

13.2 Out of Supply Effects

13.21 Attrition: Each counter present thatis OoS during the Attrition Phase mustimmediately lose one strength point.

13.22 Combat: OoS units may attack, butunits that are OoS do not get artillery support.

13.23 Movement:

1. Units may not move so as to placethemselves OoS.

2. OoS units may only move one area, thenmust end their movement for the turn.

3. OoS engineers may move and entrench.

4. OoS infantry may entrench in place.

13.24 OoS units may not attempt to buildor blow bridges.



14.0 German Special Forces

The Germans had several special units inthe battle, the von der Heydte parachuteunit, Greif commando teams, and on severaloccasions led assaults with captured USSherman tanks to confuse the defenders.This section of the rules reflect the roles ofthese special forces.

14.1 Availability and Placement

14.11 One Special Forces counter isavailable for use on one impulse in each ofthe December 17th, 18th, and 19th turns.If the Special Forces counter is not usedduring the turn, it is forfeited. SpecialForces may not be accumulated for use ona later turn.

14.12 At any time during his movementportion of an impulse, the German playerplaces the Special Forces counter in anynon-victory point area he wishes. He maynot place the counter in a zone. The areamay contain Allied units.

14.2 Effects

14.21 The German Player may choose theSpecial Force to have one of the followingthree effects. Once an effect has beenused, it may not be used again in the game.A different effect must be chosen insubsequent turns.

14.22 Restrict Allied Mobility Throughan Area: Allied units entering an areacontaining the Special Forces counter mustexpend one extra MP to enter the area.Allied units exiting an area containing theSpecial Forces counter must expend oneextra MP to exit the area. Both enteringand exiting penalties can apply to the sameAllied unit. This effect may not be chosenon the 3rd impulse of any turn.

14.23 Interference with BridgeDemolition: The Special Forces countermay interfere with bridge demolition. Thiscould affect all bridges connected to thearea containing the Special Forces counter.The Special Forces counter must be placedin the same area as the US units which willbe attempting the demolition. When thiseffect is chosen by the German Player,bridge demolition is only successful on adie roll of one. A separate die is rolled foreach affected bridge.

14.24 Battlefield Confusion: The SpecialForces counter may be used to affect the tohit values of all Allied units in a battle. AllAllied fire in the designated battle,including artillery, suffers a +1 DRM.German fire in this battle remainsunaffected.

14.3 Removal

The Special Forces counter is removed atthe end of the Allied portion of the impulsein which it was placed.

Questions?

Direct all questions to:

Ray Freeman1422 Peralta AvenueBerkeley, CA 94702(510) 525-0173E-Mail: [email protected]

Support

For the latest “Living” rules, hints on play,updates, and enhancements to TiTM,check out the GMT Games website atwww.gmtgames.com. This site includes adiscussion board where you can pose yourquestions or compare strategies with thegame’s designer, Ray Freeman, as well asfellow players.

And while you’re on the web, check out theexcellent consimworld site and discussionboard run by John Kranz. It’s atwww.consimworld.com. We highlyrecommend it for anyone with an interestin wargames.

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

Introductory Scenario:

The 7th Army Attacks

Map Area

All areas and perimeter zones south andeast of the green scenario line on the map.

Units

German: 212 VG, 276 VG, 352 VG, 47-2 Eng, 605 Eng, 44 MG, 7A PzJgr,7A/15 Flak.

Also: 614 JgPz, 653 JgPz.

Special Forces: None

Allied: 4 Inf, 9 Arm at Larochette,9 Arm Inf, 803 TD, 78/2 Rngr.

Also: 70 Tnk, 4 Inf (17-1), 10 Arm Inf.

Special Rules

Units may not move outside of the limits ofthe designated playing area. German supplysource is zone C. Allied supply source iszone P. At start units (28th Inf) in Viandenand Diekirch are removed. Game ends atthe end of the December 18th turn. Allother normal rules in effect.

Victory Conditions

German Decisive: Germans control bothLuxembourg and Mersch

German Tactical: Germans control onetown and contest the other

Draw: Both towns contested

Allied Tactical: One town contested

Allied Decisive: Neither town contested

Both Sides Lose: One town controlled,other not contested

Estimated Playing Time: Less than one hour.

Scenario: The 5th Panzer

Army vs: VIII Corps

Map Area

All areas and perimeter zones within thered colored scenario lines on the map.

Units

German: 18 VG, 244 Stg, 62 VG,LVIII/1 Flak, 560 VG, 116 Pz, 182 Flak,Lehr, 600 Eng, 2 Pz, 207 Eng, 26 VG,5 FJ, 47-1 Eng, 352 VG unit at Sinspelt.

Also: 614 Pz, 653 JgPz, 669 Ost, 2SS Pz,FBB, Fuh Gren, 10SS Pz, 11 Pz.

Special Forces: One available on 17th,18th, or 19th.

Allied: 106 Inf, 28 Inf, 9 Arm atWeiswampach, 1107 Eng, 1128 Eng,1A/526, 78/2 Rngr.

Also: 70 Tnk, 7 Arm, 4 Inf(17-1), 10 Arm,82 Abn, 101 Abn, 705 TD, 740 Tnk,2HHC, 1313 Eng, 84 Inf, 551 Inf, 29 Tnk.

Special Rules

Units may not move outside the limits of thedesignated playing area. Units that eitherstart or enter the game (as reinforcements)outside these limits must end their first dayon the map in supply and within thedesignated playing area or they areeliminated. All units are in supply at set up.All reinforcements are in supply when placedin their entry zone. Otherwise, supply mayonly be traced along roads and into or throughareas within the designated playing area.German supply sources are zones B & C.

Allied supply sources are zones G throughK. The scenario ends at the end of theGerman December 22-1 impulse. Thebridge at Diekirch-Ettlebruck begins thescenario blown. All other normal rules forthe Campaign Game are in effect.

Victory Conditions

German Decisive: 16 or more VP

German Tactical: 13-15 VP

Draw: 10-12 VP

Allied Tactical: 7-9 VP

Allied Decisive: 6 or less VP

Estimated Playing Time: 3 Hours

Scenario: The First Three Days

Map Area

Entire map

Units

All units per the Campaign Game.

Special Rules

The scenario ends at the end of the AlliedDecember 18-3 impulse. All other normalrules are in effect except for scoring.

Scoring

Usual victory point areas indicated on themap do not score points. Exiting Germanunits through a VP multiplier zone scores



VPs normally. German Special Forcesplacement is restricted by the normal rulesand usual VP areas. VP areas specific to thisscenario have no effect on placement of theGerman Special Forces unit. The Germansscore two points for each scenario victorypoint town occupied solely by German forces.One point is scored for each victory pointtown contested. Scenario victory point townsare Luxembourg, Arlon, Martelange,Bastogne, Noville, Houffalize, Vielsalm,Stavelot, Malmedy, Hoffrai, and Monschau.

In addition, the Germans score 3 points foreach undefended hole in the Allied linesthrough which the German Player can tracea road route to an exit zone between D andK, inclusive, from one of his entry zones (A,B or C). The points for this are determinedat the end of the Allied 18-3 impulse.

Victory Conditions

German Decisive: 13 or more VP

German Tactical: 10-11-12 VP

Draw: 8-9 VP

Allied Tactical: 6-7 VP

Allied Decisive: 5 or less VP

Estimated Playing Time: 3 Hours

The Campaign Game

Map Area

Use the entire map.

Units

Set up units as indicated on the CampaignGame Setup Cards.

Victory Conditions

0-14 Allied Decisive

15-24 Allied Marginal

25-29 Draw

30-39 German Marginal

40+ German Decisive

Examples of Play

Movement

The German armor in Mersch could moveto Rambrouch via Ettelbruck and Eschdorfin 5 movement points. However, if thebridge between 58-59 was blown, it couldnot reach Rambrouch since it would cost 9MPs to reach there via the minor roadthrough Sauel. However, if any of theinfantry units moved before the armor,then the armor would be able to reachRambrouch.

In the situation below, the stack at Waimesattempts to move to Malmedy. The USEngineer attempts to blow the bridge andis successful. The German Player maythen alter his move and head in anotherdirection. The German does not pay thecost of entering Malmedy, since he couldnot get there, but does pay a 1 MP penaltyfor having the bridge blown up as he wasabout to cross it.

Combat: Artillery Allocation

The German has two 3 factor foot infantryand one 2 factor armor in a battle. TheAllied player has 2 artillery units available.Since there are 6 strength points of Germanfoot infantry and two of armor, the firstartillery must be against one of the infantry,since they are the most common type in thebattle. To determine the target for thesecond artillery, subtract the number ofpreviously targeted strength points fromthe total infantry strength points. 6-3 = 3.This accounts for the infantry shot at bythe first artillery unit. Compare this to thenumber of armor points present 3 > 2.Since there are still more infantry strengthpoints available as targets than armorstrength points, the second artillery shotmust be allocated to the other infantryunit.

Assume that in a different battle there arethree German units as shown below. Sincefoot infantry is the primary type, the firstartillery shot must go on one of the footinfantry units. The Allied Player couldselect either the 4 factor or the 3 factor asthe primary target. The 4 factor is targeted,so the remaining foot value is 7-4 = 3.Since 3 factors of foot infantry remain, andthis is equal to the number of mech factors,the Allied player may choose to shoot ateither the mech unit or the remaining footunit with his 2nd artillery shot.

Ettelbruck

Eschdor

Rambrouch

Grosbous

orf

uel

Mersch

RedangeAtte

rt

R.

59

58

66

65

64

63

FrancorChamps

Malmedy

HoffraiWaimes

Vielsalm

Recht

Ligneuville

Wa

rc

he

R.

9392

91

90

7776

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

Combat

The German is attacking with 4 units, anarmor, a mech, and 2 foot infantry. TheAllied player is defending with an armorand a mech unit. The mech unit isentrenched. The attack is taking placeacross a river, and all of the attackers justcrossed a bridge to reach the battle area.The German Player, despite having 2artillery calls, rolled a 9 and a 7, and thereforedoes not have a combined arms force. TheUS artillery has already fired and missed.

The defender fires first, so the US Playermust shoot at the armor with his armor anddecides to shoot at the 2 factor foot infantrywith his mech unit. He is not required toshoot at the German mech unit because itis a one step unit. Normally, the armorwould hit on a 5 and the mech on a 4 ondefense, but the German is crossing a riverand does not have combined arms, so allUS shots get a -2 DRM. The armor unitrolls 2 and 8 for one hit. The mech unitrolls 3, 5, and 6 for 3 hits. The Germanarmor unit is reduced to a 1 and the twofactor foot infantry is destroyed. The extrahit on the foot infantry is lost.

Now it is the Germans turn to shoot. Thearmor must be allocated first, and is targetedon the armor. The mech unit is next, andmust shoot at the mech unit. The footinfantry could fire at either, but is targetedon the armor since it has a better chance ofa hit. The armor will hit on DRs of 1-4.The mech will hit on DRs of 1-2 againstthe entrenched unit, and the foot will hitthe armor on a DR of 1-3.

Supply

Illustrated below is a typical situation at thebeginning of a turn. The Allies have acontinuous line of units stretching acrossthe board from the north to the south edge.In some of the Allied front line areas, thereare German units remaining from combatwhich occurred on the previous turn.

At the beginning of his first impulse, theGerman Player may not move his infantryunit from Bastogne to Spimont or hisarmor from Nives to Moircy because hedoes not have a line of supply into either ofthose destination areas.

Say the German attacks during the firstimpulse in Bastogne and eliminates thedefending armor there. He does not moveor attack with the armor in Nives. If in hisimpulse the Allied Player does not move aunit into Bastogne (combat required) orSprimont, at the beginning of the 2ndimpulse the German will have a line ofsupply into Moircy via Bastogne andSprimont. His armor will then be free tomove from Nives into Moircy and beyond.

Bridge Repair

The German has moved a 3 factor mechunit across the river from Dasburg toMarnach. In order to do this, the mechunit had to leave its vehicles behind andwade across the river. It costs 3 MP to crossa river at a blown bridge plus 1 MP to enterMarnach because it is occupied. TheGerman armor can not cross at a blownbridge. Combat in Marnach is thenresolved. If the German mech unit survives,then the German engineer in Dasburg canattempt to repair the blown bridge at theend of the impulse.

If the repair attempt is successful, on thenext turn, the German mech unit can moveup to 8 MP. Also, the armor unit couldcross the bridge on the next impulse andattack the defenders in Marnach. (TheGerman mech has already attacked andcan not attack again that day). If the bridgerepair attempt is not successful, the Germanmech could move only 5 MP on thefollowing turns unless it can trace a line ofsupply across another unblown bridge.

If the mech unit is eliminated in the combatabove, the original bridge repair attemptcan not be made.

If the US counterattacks and eliminatesthe mech unit before the bridge is repaired(say the first repair attempt failed), thenthe German engineer could not makeanother repair attempt until anotherGerman unit was present in Marnach aftercombat during a German impulse. In thiscase, accumulated bridge repair modifierswould remain in place.

Sainlezrtelange

Bastogne

C

SprimontNives

Fauvilliers

Moircy

NeufChateau

Libramont

Su

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R

108

100

109

147148

107

150

149

146

WeMarnach

Holzhum

Wiltz Lullange

LutDasburg

Gemund

C lerf R.

70

98 97

51

55

69



Designer’s Notes

Research

I did not use primary sources in the courseof my research for this game. My access tosuch sources was extremely limited. Myprimary design intent was to create a fun,playable game that would be an interestingchallenge for relative novices as well as verygood players. Historical accuracy was asecondary consideration and realism camethird. The objective was to create a gamethat was a reasonable approximation of thefirst week of the Battle of the Bulge.

My main sources for the feel of the battleand historical information were Hugh Cole,The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, CharlesMacDonald, A Time for Trumpets, (easilythe most readable and perhaps best accountof the battle), and SLA Marshall, Bastogne:The First Eight Days. There were manyother books as noted in the bibliography,but these 3 really were instrumental informing my impression of the nature of thecampaign. My Order of Battle informationwas based on Avalon Hills “Battle of theBulge, 1981”, 3Ws “Hitler’s Last Gamble”,Danny Parkers OB in the appendices toMacDonald’s book above, and an article byParker in the Avalon Hill GENERAL,Vol. 23, #3, entitled “Kampfgruppe Peiper”.By use of a spreadsheet and considerableexperimentation, I was able to develop acounter mix and strength point system thatseemed reasonable. Initially I started witha relatively recent road map of the area.After getting out to California, I discoveredsome excellent map sources in the UCBerkeley Library. The final map wasdeveloped using several topographic mapsof the battlefield area which covered theperiod 1928-1964.

In the course of my reading on the Bulge,three things struck me as highly significantabout the battle. First, the highlycompartmentalized nature of the terrainresulted in many small battles being foughtin relative isolation from each other. Thesecond factor is that the Germans didn’t doas well as they could have, given the paperstrength of the opposing forces available.This was probably due to poor low leveltraining on the German troops part as wellas huge differences in morale between thetwo sides. Finally, the contribution of theirartillery to the American victory was

immense, whereas German artilleryeffectiveness was poor at best, and nearlynon-existent in many instances. In myopinion Bastogne could never have beenheld if the artillery situation had beenreversed.

Design Decisions

The Board: The point to point movementsystem made sense from the standpointthat the battle was really a series ofdisconnected skirmishes over towns andimportant crossroads. The German’soptions for bypassing pockets of resistancewere limited. Time and again, relativelysmall scratch forces were able to hold uppowerful kampfgruppes simply by fightingtenaciously in well chosen positions. Theattackers were successful mainly when theyfound holes in the defensive line whichthey exploited, or when they were able tomaneuver around strong points and forcethe defenders to retreat or be surrounded.Point to point is definitely more limiting tomaneuver than a hex system. Withouthexes, terrain effects were diminished inimportance. Purists may complain aboutthe lack of fortresses at Liege, Namur, andClervaux. I decided they were unnecessarychrome. Clervaux isn’t even on the map.Marnach was the critical crossroads thatwas heavily fought over most of the day onDecember 16th. Aachen, Luxembourg, andArlon are natural north-south boundariesfor the campaign. Aachen was given avictory point value because it was the onlymajor German city in Allied hands at thetime. Its recapture would be a propagandacoup. It also controls important roadsleading toward Antwerp. Luxembourg andArlon are part of a critical road net locatedjust south of the historical limits of thebattle. They were given VP values to makethe Americans fight for them and to forcethe Germans to garrison them if/whenthey capture those cities.

A lot of simplification occurred duringdevelopment. At one time I had more roadtypes and briefly considered some terrainfeatures. All that got pitched in the interestof producing a clean system. The decisionto convert the board to an “area” look wasmade in the interest of giving a better feelfor the terrain to the players. Without thewoods, towns, etc., it just didn’t feel likeyou were campaigning in the Ardennes.

The Counters: The counters conform tono standard military designation.Originally this was a regimental game likemost Bulge games, but that meant that thegame would have many more counters thanI preferred, like maybe 500-600. Now thereare 352, including information counters.Instead of regimental size counters, eachdivision has an overall strength and roughcomposition which relates to their historicalmakeup and character.

Morale and training have been taken intoconsideration, but not to the extent that itprobably affected the situation in real life. Itis up to the German player to provide betterleadership than did his real life counterparts.For example, the 2nd Infantry Divisioncomprises 4 counters totaling 12 strengthpoints. The 99th infantry is only 2 counterstotaling 6 SPs. This is because the 2ndDivision troops were hardened veterans whohad picked up a lot of extra weaponry frompast battlefields and had considerable AFVforces attached. The 99th was green anddidn’t possess weapons in excess of its officialTO&E, nor did it have attached AFVs, it’sTD units being all towed guns.

Armor counters include tanks, tankdestroyers, and assault guns. Mechanizedcounters include armored infantry,panzergrenadiers, motorized flak, etc.Motorized and foot infantry are obviouscategories. Towed anti tank guns andinfantry support weapons, etc. were factoredinto the infantry units. Engineers seemedcritical to bridge construction anddemolition. Not a whole lot of this went onduring the battle, but what did was almostexclusively performed by engineer unitsattached to Corps or Armies and often wasof critical importance.

Artillery: One of the key decisions in thegame was to eliminate artillery counters inthe traditional sense. The assumption isthat artillery support was possible for anyunit that had a radio, therefore werecounters really needed? The idea is thatyou call up the local artillery controller andif the guns are not busy or displacing, theywill fire off a few rounds in support of yourposition or attack. The more important(read bigger) the battle, the better chanceyou have for support.

Naturally the Americans have a bigadvantage here, due to superiorcommunications, greater mobility of their

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

artillery, and being on the defensive. Theplayers will quickly discover that US artilleryon defense is a very potent force. On theother hand, the German player will behappy if he can get his gunners on theradio, while an actual hit on a target shouldbe regarded as an unexpected bonus. Aftermuch experimentation and adjustment, theprobabilities feel about right for the systemchosen, although realistically the power ofUS artillery is probably quite understatedin the game. One very interesting thingabout the artillery rules is that artillerysupport is not guaranteed. This representsloss of observers, need to displace at anuntimely moment, busy elsewhere, lack ofammo, or a communication failure.

Movement: I am extremely proud of themovement system. It is difficult to appreciatejust how good it is until you play 3 or 4 turnsas the Germans. You will feel very frustratedat trying to mount efficient attacks. Nothingcan seem to quite get where it’s needed. Thetwo types of roads, and the extra MP toenter an occupied area mesh beautifullywith the 5 and 8 MPs of all the units.

Note that a motorized unit can get fromLuxembourg to Transinne in one move ona clear road (that’s half way across theboard), but the same unit can only movetwo areas on a minor road that has units inevery area along the movement path. Therewere more types of roads and differentmovement factors at various times duringthe development process. The presentsystem is cleaner and plays much betterthan earlier tries.

Combat: The Bulge was very much a battleof attrition, thus a step reduction systemseemed in order. The Germans often tookheavy casualties in their initial assaults, sothe defender fires first and hits take effectrule also seemed appropriate. The battlestend to be very bloody, and somewhatdicey. Again, I was trying to avoid the “surething” attack. A single factor can survive ahit by a 10 factor stack. It’s not likely, butthe possibility is there. The uncertaintythis produces tends to keep both players onthe edge of their seats. You never knowwhether your troops will be heros, buffoons,or just average joes until the dice are rolled.In dense terrain, such as the Ardennes, thedefender has a big advantage because theattacker cannot easily maneuver arounddefensive positions. Thus units on defenseare rewarded with higher to hit numbers.

Bridge Demolition and Construction:Having introduced random factors and theidea of there are no guarantees in the game,it only seemed natural to apply the sameprinciple to both bridge demolition andconstruction. Off the top of my head, Irecall 3 instances of successful demolition(Trois Ponts twice and Werbomont) andtwo failures (Stavelot and Ourtheville). Sobridge demolition was not a sure thing.

Chrome: I’m one of those guys who reallyhates chrome for chrome’s sake. I have BlackSS units, otherwise they are the same as anyother German. Ditto for the British. TheSpecial Forces counter was a suggestion of aplaytest group.I added some refinements tomake it a sort of limited use joker in the deck.

Had the German supply people been fullyinformed that this was to be a major offensive,the Germans would have had plenty of gasfor the 6 days the game covers, so I decidedto forego fuel shortages and fuel dumps.

Air power had a fairly negligible effectduring the first 6 days. Entrenchmentswere clearly important historically, so theyare in the game. Combined Arms I reallywanted to factor in because it is one of thebasic premises of warfare through the ages.Thus I have the 3 standard arms of everymodern army: armor, infantry, and artillery.

I penalized only the attacker because it seemedto me that not having artillery support ortanks did not necessarily mean your attackwas less effective at causing casualties, but thedefender had less reason to keep his headdown. Therefore he would be better able toshoot up the attackers. Weather also seemedunnecessary given the thrust of the systemalthough again purists may not appreciate itsomission. A simple supply system is almostalways needed in games of this scale. I tried tokeep it to a minimum.

The Impulse System: I always liked the ideathat each side should have to hold backreserves. Indeed this is one of the sacred cowsof military theory and practice. The attackerneeds reserves to exploit success. The defenderneeds them to seal off the penetrations. Atone point I had 4 impulses per turn withnight rules. It didn’t work. Three impulseswith no special night rules works very nicely.The German loves to use leapfrog tactics tokeep the offensive moving forward, but theextra MP to enter occupied areas add up veryquickly and creates nice congestion problems.

Stacking: The dual stacking system wasdeveloped because I wanted to accomplishtwo things which I couldn’t seem to dowith a single limiter:

1. Control the strength that the Germanscould put into any one attack.

2. Make the effects of attrition on the abil-ity to attack more pronounced, thus fur-ther justifying the step reduction system.

Unit Quality and Target Priority: Thesevery artificial rules were put in for onereason; if I didn’t have them, the US wouldonly shoot at German armor and engineers,and never at volksgrenadiers (foot infantry).That is hardly realistic. This isn’t a perfectsolution, but it does work. I eased theimpact of this rule a bit by not requiringdefending units to fire at one factorattackers, otherwise some annoying sneakytactics were possible.

Summary

My intent was to create a Bulge game thatwould be easy to learn and fun to play. I alsowanted it to be enough of a challenge thatserious players could enjoy it as well. Thekind of games I enjoy most have clean,straightforward rules systems and are lowin complexity, but rich in play possibilities.I want to spend my precious gaming timestrategizing, not looking up some obscurerule. The counter quantity had to bemanageable, and I wanted the game to bedecided at the Meuse River. The Germansare definitely more capable than they werein reality, but otherwise the game wouldnot be as interesting, at least to me. Finally,I decided early on that I couldn’t deal withthe entire campaign. It was just too big,and I think that it is really difficult todesign a balanced game where the tideturns completely. I didn’t want thoseheadaches. After nearly ten years of effort,it seems to be just about right.

Ray Freeman



Play Strategy

The Germans have to attack constantly,but not rashly. Getting into a sluggingmatch with the US is a slow, expensiveproposition. It’s risky to attack stacks of 6SPs or more unless the area is critical toyour chances (for example: Bastogne,Malmedy, or Arlon), or you need attritionbadly, even unfavorable attrition. Alwaysattack weak positions, simply to kill offAmerican units. If possible, flank strongpositions to force a withdrawal or to pocketthe defenders and place them out of supply.

A much more difficult decision is whetherto attack a strong US position within reachof a big stack or two, or to position thosestacks for use against critical areas thefollowing turn. If the German can’t crackthe Allied line open at least once in a game,he will likely lose. Keep in mind that youmust have units with which to attack eachimpulse of a turn. Advancing only one ortwo areas each day will leave you short ofthe Meuse. Don’t forget to hold back unitsto exploit with on the 2nd and 3rd impulse.

At first, the Germans seem to haveunlimited resources. Not at all true! Soonenough they will have problems keepingthe pressure on the US. As the German,you definitely need those reserve panzerdivisions as early as possible, so push hardfor the release objectives.

The problem for the Americans is just tosurvive the first crisis which occurs between16-2 and 18-1. Be stingy with your defensiveresources until the 3rd impulse of a turn. Atfirst it will seem that you can’t stop theGerman player from doing as he pleases,particularly once the panzers get going andyour initial front line disintegrates. Thensuddenly, on the 18th, you think, “Wow, Isurvived, and I’ve got all these units to playwith now!” Don’t kid yourself. A secondcrisis is coming between the 19-2 and 20-1impulses, and it is very easy to throw away avirtually won position with an ill-consideredmove on the 19th.

It is generally unwise to over commit yourselfearly in a turn. Leaving even a single hole inthe line at the end of a day can be fatal. Forthe Americans, possibly the most importantweapon in their arsenal is the shovel. Dig inwherever possible, but be careful that youcan’t be outflanked and isolated bycommitting yourself too early in a turn.Tactically it is a good idea to shoot up the bigGerman units. The Germans must have atleast one 3 SP unit available to make a 9factor attack force, and obviously four onefactor units are not much of a threat yet stilljam up the roads.

For both players, keeping one’s morale up canbe difficult. This is the sort of game where justwhen you think you’ve won (or lost), suddenlyone turn later the entire picture can look very

Bibliography

Books and Articles

MacDonald, Charles B., A Time for Trumpets:The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge,William Morrow & Co., Inc., New York, NY,1985.

Cole, Hugh M., The Ardennes: Battle of theBulge, Center of Military History, United StatesArmy, Washington, DC, 1965.

MacDonald, Charles B., CompanyCommander: Ballantine Books, New York,NY, 1961.

Marshall, S.L.A., Bastogne, The First EightDays, Center of Military History, United StatesArmy, Washington, DC, reprinted 1988.

Eisenhower, John, S.D., The Bitter Woods, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, NY, 1969.

different. It is entirely possible to give uphope too early. I have played and observedgames where the Germans were makingvery little progress, but seemed to be havinggood battle results. Still, they might haveonly scored one or two VP in the first threeturns. Suddenly, on the 20th or 21st, the USline goes to pieces, and the Germans score50 points on the 22nd. By the same token Ihave seen games where the Germans coulddo no wrong for the first three days (Bastognefalls on the 17th!) and yet on the 22nd, thegame comes down to one last battle over aVP town.

Players often find that they have a verydifficult time telling who is winning unlessthe game is very one-sided. The moral ofthis is that you shouldn’t get too discouragedor too cocky. Overall, the system is simple,but requires a high level of skill andpsychological toughness.

I wanted to design a game that would bedecided at the Meuse River. If the Germanscan get across the Meuse with some reasonableforce, they should win. If not, they lose unlessthey own the rest of the board. That’s the sortof victory conditions I was trying to set up.The point ranges for levels of victory seemabout right based on playtesting. If you findthat they skew the results too much after bothplayers have some experience, then feel freeto modify them.

Dupuy, Trevor N., Hitler’s Last Gamble: TheBattle of the Bulge, December 1944-January1945, Harper-Collins Publishers, New York,NY, 1994.

Astor, Gerald, A Blood-Dimmed Tide: TheBattle of the Bulge by the Men who Fought It,Dell Publishing, New York, NY, 1992.

Elstob, Peter, Hitler’s Last Offensive, TheMacmillan Company, New York, NY, 1971.

Parker, Danny S., Kampfgruppe Peiper:Towards a More Realistic Battle of the Bulge,in The General, vol. 23, #3, pp. 37-44.

Maps

Belgium-Luxembourg, 1:250,000, Hallwag,A.G., Bern, Switzerland, 1991.

Belgie, 1:250,000, Institut GeographiqueMilitaire, Uitgave 2, Bruxelles, Belgie, 1968.

Carte de Belgique, 1:250,000, Cartes Tarides,Paris, France, 1928.

Karte von Belgien, 1:100,000, Generalstab desHeeres, Sonderausgabe, Berlin, Germany, 1940.

Games

Sinagaglio, Bruno, The Battle of the Bulge,The Avalon Hill Game Company, Baltimore,MD, 1981.

Parker, Danny S., Hitler’s Last Gamble, 3W,Cambria, CA, 1989.

Personal Communications

Randy Heller, Danny Parker

Rules Booklet

Tigers in The Mist

Credits

Game Design: Ray Freeman

Game Development: Bill Alderman, Garry Haggerty

Cover Art/Art Director:Rodger B. MacGowan

Map and Counter Art: Mark Simonitch

Rules and Cards Editing/Layout:Gene Billingsley

Playtesting: Ed Drukman, LarryDavidson, Andrew Maly, Mike Nagel,Tim Keenon, Mike Welker

PO Box 1308

Hanford, CA 93232

(800) 523-6111

(559) 583-1236

(559) 582-7775 (fax)

www.gmtgames.com

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