Treadheads Game Concepts and Overview Treadheads is attempting to present a detailed system based on real historical sources and tank manuals. There is very little you’ll recognize that relates to other tank battle/skirmish games. That will initially present a problem for many people. There are no magic to hit numbers with various die roll modifiers or combat results charts. There are no spotting or orders phases. No random activation. Movement is simultaneous. The game can only succeed if the details are transparent to the players, game play follows a logical flow and play aids streamline play with information needed is readily accessible. We’re trying to present a game that is visually pleasing with play aids and a booklet that makes understanding the game logical. If we can create a system that generates a feel like a tank crews narrative after action report without giving you a migraine headache we’ve succeeded. You decide. Gameplay: The game revolves around the tanks battlefield Situational Awareness to spot the enemy before he spots you, the ability to quickly engage a target and accurately fire to hit it. Players have a hand in some decisions along the way. It’s not just up to the dice. Crew differences are represented by their ability to perform tasks working together, not just a DRM. Better crews perform activities more quickly allowing them to get inside their opponents decision loop. The game allows better crews in an inferior weapons platform to outperform less capable crews in superior weapons platforms using more than just die roll modifiers. Crews are treated as a single entity (no need to give them specific orders or micro manage them) but there will be situations that interfere when a SNAFU card is drawn for them. Crews can fire their hull machine guns, fire out of the pistol ports or turret hatches to defend themselves against infantry attacks. Anything tanks could do in a real battle is modeled. Scale: All of the distances in the game are in meters. So far most games have been played with micro armor, 15mm and 1/144 scale models. The best scale seems to be 1” = 25 to 50 meters. A six foot table with 1” = 25m will give you a maximum of 1800 meters for a game and with terrain it gives a good game for up to 24 tanks per side. We have done large play test sessions with tank/infantry battles using 28mm models with a 12 foot table as 350 meters. Game basics: The game uses one second time slices as a basis to determine how long a task will take to be carried out. Some actions can be performed once every 5 seconds. The game proceeds with an umpire (optional) or one player calling out the game turn. Each action can immediately be responded to by friendly or enemy units if they are aware of it. When a turn comes that a player has designated to shoot he indicates so and action takes place. The small one second time slices allow vehicles to perform their actions within seconds of each other eliminating the need to check for initiative, use dice or cards to determine player sequence of firing and moving units. It seems to give a good interaction between players and keeps the game flow moving along. It creates a fog of war as you never really know when you’ll be fired at. There is no need for additional rules for over watch or opportunity fire. It eliminates clutter on the playing surface because there is no need to mark units as fired, ordered, activated, etc (just the movement arrows). At the end of every 5 or 10 second turn segment units with a movement arrow are actually moved on the table at the same time by both players. This speeds up the game. Most guns will fire once every 8-15 turns depending on time spent engaging and their historical rate of fire. What’s different: Rather than having to wait for a particular segment of a turn to perform some activity or roll the dice the Situational Awareness game rules allows the player to respond to any battlefield activity that is in his LOS out to maximum spotting range. Once during any point in a 5 second turn increment a vehicle can perform a “Situational Awareness check to see what portion of the battlefield around the vehicle the crew is aware of. The result can be 15, 90, 180, 270 or 360 degrees of awareness. The vehicle can respond immediately by moving / evading or rotate the turret to engage. You are not interrupting the opponents play or his actions. A SA check can also be used to interrupt your current moving or firing status to respond to new threats or targets. Failing a SA check means you maintain your current action but can try again in the next 5 second segment. This simulates delays of only seconds without a lot of other rule mechanics. Gunnery is a diceless system that determines the dispersion of the round around the aim point, not a modified to hit number. The player selects an aim point at a scaled image of the target just like a real gunner or in a video game. To move players mark moving vehicles with a movement arrow and all vehicles move them at the end of a 5 or 10 second turn segment. The player needs to stay engaged and observe everything on the battlefield because any action can affect your units. There is no waiting for your “turn”.

How difficult is it to learn and play? Once you understand the basic concept of Situational Awareness and determining the amount of time to get a shot off it’s pretty straight forward. Most of the concepts you need to know apply if you were a real tank crew member and that’s how you need to think in the game. While there is a lot of information and some record keeping we’ve tried to design the forms and charts so you have at hand what you’ll need when you need it 80% of the time. The other 20% would be to look on a different chart. Once the shooting starts it’s mainly just repetition of the previous turn. The concept of Situational Awareness allows you a chance to respond to any friendly or enemy activity as soon as it occurs like an interrupt in other games. There is no waiting around for your turn, activation dice or cards to determine your fate. The decisions you make to engage and the effectiveness of your crew will determine if you get a shot off before your opponent. These are not abstracted into die roll modifiers. Unfortunately your crew will not be aware of everything going on and will not perform up to expectations all of the time because of Fog of War, Random Events and SNAFU’s by crew along with mechanical problems that can manifest themselves. Gunnery: Action will generally start when the enemy comes into your line of sight and is within maximum spotting range. Players will conduct Situational Awareness checks to detect various enemy threats. Your tactical deployment and units in over watch is very important at this point. Situational Awareness Checks are less successful if the enemy is in your flanks and rear, also if you are operating buttoned up. When threat is detected and targeted the player writes the enemy vehicle number of the unit in his “Target Engagement” box. From this point on the target is engaged and does not need to be reacquired in future turns. Once engaged you need to quickly get your gun on the target. The amount of time this takes depends on your crew efficiency (they operate as a team performing their main functions without the need for specific orders) and turret rotation time in addition to other firing unit and target factors. The player uses the status sheet to determine the amount of time it will take and adds that to the current game turn and puts it in his “Aim Time + Turn #” ” box when the round will arrive at the target activate. Between now and the turn of firing the crew is performing their tasks with no additional input from the player. Depending on engagement range he can decide spend more time aiming and be more accurate or spend less time aiming to get the shot off before the enemy but at a cost of less accuracy. The actual “shooting” involves placing the gun sight aiming reticle over the correct target aspect and draw an accuracy card to determine the rounds dispersion and if the round hits. The accuracy letter on the card will determine the vertical and horizontal displacement of the round from the aim point. If the final location is over the target image then that’s where it hits. If not over the target it misses. Firing at moving targets requires one additional step to determine the later dispersion from speed, target movement angle and aiming problems.

Before you go any further here is a check list to determine if this type of game would be for you.

Continue reading if you … Hit return on your browser bar now if you …

Feel engaging & firing at a target are important differences Don’t like some light book keeping

Like aiming at specific areas of a target like a real gunner Only want to roll six sided dice

Like seeing the results of where a round lands, even misses Like abstracted turns phases

Want to make decisions gunner & tank commander made Want to refight battalion size and larger battles

Want an interactive shootout between two tanks Don’t want to take the time to learn a different system

Want a system that is derived from real tank manuals Want to use an IGYO system based on die rolls or cards

Want to simulate the differences in turret rotation rates Want a random activation system

Want a realistic interaction between firing and moving Want easy to remember abstracted to hit and armor values

Want almost real time reaction to battlefield threats Like abstracted rates of fire and damage

Want historic rates of fire and multiple engagements Want results based on die rolls exceeding a base number

Want a gunnery system based on real trajectory formulas Want guns that hit on a X+ single die roll

Don’t mind the Fog of War and crew SNAFU’s Want abstracted armor values based on comparing others

Would like a system modeled on real time & motion events Want generic hit location charts for all vehicles

Don’t mind some light record keeping Think overwatch and opportunity fire are not important

Want no hassle workable overwatch and opportunity fire Like making Saving Throws

Want visual target representation and vulnerable points Want to use a traditional To Hit + Die Roll Modifier system

Want to use Compound Armor angles without the math Think games are too complicated if they have charts

Want to get a more detailed knowledge of weapons & tanks Like looking at pretty pictures rather than reading rules

Feel historic rates of fire should not be abstracted Like putting tanks hub cap to hub cap on the table

Think there is no such thing as too much tank information Easily suffer information overload that hurts your brain

Target Acquisition, Aiming and Accuracy Variables Explanation First shots are most variable as it includes target acquisition, turret rotation, and hull pivot and target exposure. Follow Up and Sighted In have fewer entries. Not all variables are needed for each shot. The vehicle status sheet is used to see how all of the different actions can affect engagement times and accuracy. The player does have some options that affect speed and accuracy.

Base Accuracy: On the Gunnery Chart for first for and sighted in shots. Follow Up shots use green letter on accuracy card if round missed. Base Accuracy Modifiers: On the Gunnery Chart for first for and sighted in shots. Follow Up shots use green letter on accuracy card if round missed. Modifiers are from Quick or Tracking Shots, Scissors Binoculars, Crew Expertise and environmental conditions.

First Shot: Amount of time to aim and acquire a target for a 1st shot. This is from the Gunnery Chart in the “Time” row for the ammo type being fired and range. This is the same for all shots at same range. F/U and Sighted In shots get a negative modifier.

FU Shots: Follow up shots are any shot after the first that misses and uses the green accuracy letter from the accuracy card of the shot that missed. This simulates the bracketing with the accuracy letter getting smaller after each shot.

Sighted In: Use this column when the target is hit. Accuracy is never less than on the gunnery chart. Increased aim time does not increase accuracy.

Base Aim + TOF: Value is taken from the gunnery chart for round type and range.

Camo +3 Conceal +5: Red line on left side indicates target status to be checked. Acquiring a target that is camo will take an additional 3 seconds. A concealed target additional 5 seconds. A target can claim concealed or camouflaged, not both. The camouflaged pattern must match the surroundings. Moving targets do not get the benefit of camo or concealment. Firing at muzzle flashes counts as concealed.

Moving Target +2: Increases acquisition time against moving targets by 2 seconds. Moving targets also check for lateral round displacement. Target Exposure: Amount of target area exposed when gunner is acquiring the target for the first shot. The less exposed the harder it will be for the gunner to acquire and aim.

Turret Rotation: Amount of time rotating turret to acquire the target. There is a minimum of 1 second to rotate the turret. If entry is in red the rate can be doubled but with an engine breakdown check.

Hull Pivot: Amount of time pivoting hull. There is a minimum of 1 second to pivot the hull. Values in green mean the vehicle can perform a Neutral Turn. Spotter, Range Finder +5: Using a Spotter or Range Finder for follow shots takes longer but gives a -1 modifier to the accuracy letter but +5 seconds.

Gunner Acquisition: Amount of time needed for the gunner to acquire and aim at the target. It is somewhat random but based on crew type and the field of view and magnification for the gun sight. Follow Up and Sighted In shots are easier to aim with no additional acquisition so there is a negative modifier in those boxes.

Moving while firing: Moving takes 5 seconds longer to aim a shot. Since moving and firing is very inaccurate there is a die roll to randomize the accuracy letter.

Snow, Haze & Fog Conditions: Poor environmental conditions make it harder for the gunner to acquire the target and aim correctly. Snow, Rain +2, Haze +3 and Fog +5.

Ready Rack Reload: Variable reload time with a D6 roll and crew type DRM. Good crews will have a slight advantage. Reload from storage areas takes 15-20 seconds. Quick / Tracking: Allows the player to increase or decrease his aim time to increase or decrease his accuracy. Quick is to decrease the aim time for the first shot simulating a battle sight or snap shot. Tracking allows more aim time with follow up shots to increase accuracy but can also be used to get off a slightly quicker shot too.

Aim Time + Turn #: After adding up the column for the type of shot add to it the current game turn number and enter that in the column under the correct shot type. Coax MG and Hull MG: The number in the brown box is the delay time to fire added to the game turn. The blue box is the maximum range x 100.

Vehicle Status Sheet An 8.5 x 11 inch vehicle status sheet tracking four vehicles is in a clear plastic sheet and a dry erase marker is used to write on it. In a game like this there is some record keeping, no getting around it. On the positive side it eliminates the need for status chits and dice placed on the playing surface and looking up additional information. The status sheet has tailored for that specific vehicle and gun. It’s a lot, maybe too much. After play testing we’ll see what we keep and what we throw out. The Treadheads gunnery system goes into a lot of detail on the detection and target engagement process and the amount of time it takes for a round to arrive at the target. It takes into account most of the actions and difficulties involved acquiring the target and the different target and firing crew variables. There are some decisions the player can make trading accuracy for speed to get off that important first shot. The status sheet is used like a worksheet to determine the amount of time, track ammo usage, hull down status and have all of the data needed without having to access other charts. Hopefully using icons helps in playability. The main entries for firing are in the First Shot, F/U Shot and Sighted In (cross hairs) column to determine when the shot arrives at the target. To move put a movement arrow by the vehicle showing general direction it will move and circle the speed it is going. Put an “X” in the ammo type loaded and cross off a round from the ready rack each time you fire. The “HD” box is to show the amount of hull down protection you have. Track crew status for KIA, WIA, bailed if you like. The vehicles turret direction should be on the tank model but can also be marked on the vehicle image. When you make a Situational Awareness Check put an “X” over the binocular image. Erase it at the start of a new 5 second turn increment. If your tank commander is unbuttoned put a mark over the hatch. Erase it if he is buttoned up. The red marks on the top view of the vehicle image show machine gun and pistol ports locations. The wrench color indicates mechanical reliability. The “Fire” box is for a fire in the crew or engine compartment. If the radio is damaged or knocked out cross it out. The tank image in the extreme upper left corner shows the target exposure value. The Situational Awareness circle shows the values for detecting in unbuttoned and buttoned up status. The binocular is for the tank commander when he is looking in a different direction. 80-90% of the time a player will be concerned with detecting threats, engaging, shooting or moving. The engagement and firing modifiers are in the left column of the sheet. Movement speeds and distance color coded for max movement over different terrain is there too. On the reverse side of the sheet is the gun chart to determine accuracy, modifier charts, and armor layout, configuration and thickness. Most of what the player will need to do to move, shoot or defend is in his hand. When being targeted use the vehicles spiral bound booklet shown at the end of the document.

This is a current version of a vehicle Status Sheet for a Tiger I filled out like in a game using dry erase markers on turn #15

If an entry is blank a value must be entered. If the entry is light gray there may or may not be a value depending on unit status or activity. If it is dark gray with an “X” means it does not apply for that type of firing. A brown box with an entry is always used for that type of firing. A red bar means it is something the target player must provide info for. A dice icon means a D6 roll using the far left column to determine the value. Every five turns Situational Awareness is reset.

Tiger #1 has used his SA Check for the current 5 second turn. Has loaded AP. Targeting AFV #2. Is Unbuttoned. Has fired two rounds from his ready rack. Will fire a First Shot on turn #28 with an accuracy of H. Since he is engaged he can only detect activity in his front 90 degrees even though he is unbuttoned. It will take 13 seconds to get the shot off added to the current game turn of 15 means he’ll fire on turn #28.

Tiger #2 has not used his SA Check for the current 5 second turn. Has loaded AP. Targeting Assault gun #4. Is Unbuttoned. Has fired three rounds from his ready rack. He is tracking his holding fire on his target with Follow up shot with an accuracy of K and can fire in any turn in the future using TOF +2 as the delay. Since he is engaged he can only detect activity in his front 90 degrees.

Tiger #3 has used his SA Check for the current 5 second turn. Has loaded High Explosive with a Quick fuse setting. Not targeting anyone. Is buttoned up so will use the numbers after the “/” for SA Checks. Has not fired any rounds from his ready rack. He is moving at 15kph at a rate of 4.5 meters/second. His radio has been knocked out. Since he is not engaged he can detect activity in a full 360 degrees. He is in a hull down location giving protection from the ground up to 1.2 meters high.

Tiger #4 has not used his SA Check for the current 5 second turn. Has loaded High Explosive with a Quick fuse setting. Targeting Infantry unit #3. Is Unbuttoned. Has fired one round from his ready rack. Will fire a Follow Up shot taking 8 seconds with the shot arriving at the target on turn #23. Since he is engaged he can only detect activity in his front 90 degrees.

Crews and their actions Definitions for crew quality: Ace/Elite is a combat proven veteran crew that has been working together in the same type of vehicle and know it well. Veteran is a combat proven crew but not together long enough or familiar enough with the vehicle they are in to be called Ace/Elite. Trained is a crew with no or very little combat experience or new to the vehicle type. Green crews are conscripts thrown in with minimal training. The base value is for Veteran crews which is why their value is zero meaning no modifier. This is not a role playing game for a tank crew. The crew works together as a team to accomplish their specific tasks which are mainly engagement, firing and moving. However, there are some variables that will affect all crews in carrying out their main functions but you do not have to give them specific orders every turn. The crew status part of the status sheet is used to track health of crew members. It could also be used to assign various skill levels for each crewman if you want that level of detail. Crew Performance: Crew differences are defined by the amount of time to perform engaging the enemy. A better crew can perform more activity in the same time period than a lesser trained crew. Loader and Random Reload Time: Immediately after firing the loader will put a new round into the chamber by the player putting an “X” on his status sheet the type of round (AP, HE, APCR, WP, etc). Your Loader may not always give maximum performance. After every Follow Up shot or Sighted In shot roll a D6 for the correct crew type and add that number of seconds to the time to get the next shot off. Gunner and Target Acquisition: The gunner is assumed to be looking through his gun sight or periscope. Accounts show it was sometimes hard for the gunner to quickly rotate the turret and to get the target into his narrow field of view. The First Shot is more variable needing a D6 die roll. The gunner may also be able to aim at specific areas of a target. On the gun chart it shows Center Mass only, Center Mass on hull or turret, Select Area. Firing at moving targets, moving while firing and firing at muzzle flashes is always Center Mass aiming. After the first hit keeping the target acquired is easy so there is a negative modifier to give less time. Tank Commander and Situational Awareness: His main duty is observing. For example let’s say the tank commander is unengaged and unbuttoned and has an enemy unit come into his LOS on his front 90 degree arc and rolls a 13 on the D20. He can notice enemy activity in his narrow frontal arc and anything in the 90 degree frontal arc. So anything within the front 90 degree arc he can react to. He does not notice activity on his flanks and rear for now. On some occasions the tank commander can be using his binoculars to look in a specific direction for an identified threat. He can be aware of it in the narrow arc with a roll of 1-17 and can increase his max spotting range by 25% (green arc). If engaged or firing at the enemy only threats in the front 90 degrees can be detected no matter what the die roll is. You are too

busy to be checking all around you. This creates a 270 degree blind spot. It’s usually the Tank Commander that will engage infantry assaults by firing a submachine gun or pistol through the pistol ports, lobbing grenades out the hatch or using the self-defense grenade launcher. He can be buttoned up or unbuttoned. It’s usually best to wait until the end of a turn to check Situational Awareness. Then you’ve noticed all activity. Radioman and Communications, Hull Machine Gun: Most tanks will have a radio. If they have headphones it means they can receive. A microphone means they can broadcast. Radio communications and messages are handled in 10 second increments. Radios can breakdown and be damaged. If it cannot broadcast cross out the microphone. If it cannot receive cross out the headphones. If the set is damaged or destroyed cross out the radio box. I’m not planning on having a real involved radio rule. With tanks within a platoon there should not be more than a few hundred meters between all of them and they had a range from 2-4 kilometers and command tanks 40-70 kilometers. Radios can be damaged or destroyed by penetrating or non-penetrating hits. The Radioman can also operate the hull machine gun. The image to the left shows it takes 2 seconds to engage a target out to 600 meters using the hull machine gun. The gunnery chart will show the firepower value at ranges. Radios can be used to pass targeting information to other tanks.

Driver, Movement, Hull Pivot and Bogging Down: A vehicle can be given an order to move during any turn. The player just places the movement arrow by the vehicle and points it in the general direction it is to move which will limit where it will be moved. The green arrow to the left is used for 1” = 25 meters and can be used to measure movement distance too. When moving on the vehicles status sheet the speed it will move is circled. The different speeds in kph are color coded to show the maximum speed for different terrain types. The number to the right of the speed color is the distance moved in meters per second. A vehicle moving at 10kph will move 15 meters in a 5 second turn segment. At this scale micro armor and 1/144 scale models should be used. Players may need to make up their own depending on scale and models desired. Moving over poor terrain may need a driver check to see if the vehicle bogs down. The wrench on the status sheet and color denotes the vehicle mechanical reliability. Green is good, Yellow average, Red is poor. There will be times the vehicle needs to make a driver check from crossing poor terrain or from excess speed. Pivoting in place needs work. Not all tanks can pivot in place (neutral turn) or lock one tread and use the opposite side then slew the entire tank around to a new direction. If done on poor or soft ground there can be problems. I’m not sure the amount of detail that is worth going into this will be.

Fighting the Enemy: Detecting, Engaging and Firing The best way to understand the game is to put you into a tank and think about what a real crew would need to do. Detect the threat, engage them and then fire. The vehicles and gun systems give limitations on what you can do and have advantages or disadvantages over the enemy vehicles and gun systems. You have to capitalize on yours and negate his advantages. You have some decisions to make regarding how you engage and fire. You are unaware of the opponent’s decisions or the turn he activates or fires. This puts some fog of war and suspense into the game and you can’t complain about bad die rolling and not getting the “initiative”. You create your own initiative, not the dice. Most guns will fire every 8-15 turns (seconds) giving a historic rate of fire with no abstractions. There is hardly ever shooting in each and every second of the game. Sometimes we can jump ahead 5-10 turns to the action. A 12 on 12 tank battle with three players on each side running four tanks each can be played in 120-150 minutes. Sooner if the initial ranges start out at less than 1000 meters

Detecting the Threat: Situational Awareness (SA Check) Rather than use traditional spotting rules and a spotting phase the game uses the concept of Situational Awareness of the tank commander and crew being aware of what is going on 360 degrees around them if unengaged and the front 90 degrees if engaged. The Tank Commander is always assumed to be observing whether he is buttoned up or unbuttoned. No special orders needed other than him being buttoned up or unbuttoned on the status sheet. Factors that come into play are the different observation quadrants, button/unbutton status and engaged or unengaged. Also target range, cover, concealment and environmental conditions help determine maximum detection range. A Situational Awareness Check can be made by each vehicle once anytime in a 5 second turn increment and the one check covers 360 degrees if not engaged and 90 degrees if engaged. A check is normally made when the player sees an enemy or friendly activity that he wants to react to or engage that is in his line of sight and within max spotting range. This could be a muzzle flash, a turret turning towards him, tank hunter team sneaking up on his rear, enemy tank that just moved from behind blocking terrain, etc. The player rolls a D20 and consults the Situational Awareness image on his vehicle status sheet. The number to the left is for unbuttoned and to the right of the “/” is for being buttoned up. A successful check detects all friendly and enemy activity and in the arcs where the D20 roll is <= the number in that arc out to max detection range and in LOS. This is why it is important to stick around and not leave the gaming table. There is also a “6

th Sense Rule”. This would be a situation where you

already used your Situational Awareness Check but another more dangerous threat comes into 360 degree view (including if engaged) you want to react to. It can be detected on a roll of 1-2 on a D20 with no modifiers. We’re still working on these rules but it does allow maneuvering units a chance to successfully flank the enemy. It also eliminates the need for specific overwatch and opportunity fire rules. Here are some examples of when to use a Situational Awareness Check: -An enemy infantry pops up to fire a hand held anti-tank weapon at you. A successful SA Check will allow the tank to maneuver or respond by sticking a submachine gun out the pistol port to stop him. -You see an enemy tank turning it’s turret in your direction. You don’t know if you are the next target or not. A successful SA Check will allow you to attempt to maneuver out of his LOS or engage him. Failure may mean never seeing the shot that killed you. -You just noticed that three of your buddies just exploded and are burning. Maybe it’s time to leave. -You have your gun pointed in the expected direction of an enemy attack (this simulates overwatching). As soon as an enemy vehicle comes into detection range and LOS perform an SA Check and engage him right away. This simulates opportunity fire. Detecting him before he detects you can give you the first shot even if your crew is inferior. -You see the muzzle flash of an enemy weapon in a tree line. You could not detect it previously because it was concealed. Now that it has fired a successful SA Check will allow you to engage it but firing at muzzle flashes of undetected vehicles will be less accurate.

Gunnery Chart

Explanation of Gunnery and Gun Accuracy Chart Each vehicle has its own gunnery chart which takes into account the optics and fire control system used for that specific model. This keeps die roll modifiers to a minimum. Treadheads does not use the traditional “To Hit + die roll modifier” method of firing. Each gun has its own chart giving accuracy values, penetration and time of flight in 100 meters range increments. The accuracy letter denotes the average amount the round will drift from the aim point for the type of round fired. The player only needs concern himself with the range column and round type row to see all of his choices, values and accuracy levels in the range column. To determine the rounds dispersion we use a deck of 50 cards that randomize the base dispersion number for the 27 different accuracy letters in the vertical and horizontal in .1 meter increments. The card also gives the accuracy letter to be used on the next shot simulating bracketing. If you miss on your first shot the next will be more accurate simulating bracketing and not needing to look up additional die roll modifiers. Range finding assistance can be used on the first shot with a range finder, scissors binoculars or firing at a known range marker or information from a range card. The shot will be more accurate but will take an additional 5 seconds to shoot. Under ideal conditions most static guns firing at a static 2 meter high target at a range of three seconds time of flight will be able to hit in 2-4 shots. At two seconds time of flight hit in 2-3 rounds and one second time of flight the first round will most likely hit. I use time of flight to designate ranges as it scales for all guns. There is always a small 2-5% chance for a first round hit even at extreme ranges. Using the German 75L48 gun chart on this page as an example let’s focus on the 1500m range column. Using the stereoscopic range finder will give an accuracy letter of “J”. Scissors binoculars will give an accuracy of “L”. Firing an APCBC round First Shot will give an accuracy of “U” (better to use a range finder if you have one and the time to use it). The Sighted In row has an accuracy of “H” and is always used after the target has been hit. It is the most accurate value you can use as the range estimation error (biggest reason for missing a target) has been eliminated once you hit. You are also out of range for APCR rounds. Each round type has its own entry for aim time, TOF, penetration and accuracy. The modifiers are factored in every 100m eliminating the need for looking up modifiers. The crew modifier rows are for Ace, Veteran, Trained and Green crew types. Staying in the 1500 meter column Ace crews would have the base accuracy reduced by two letters (H would equal F). Veteran is no modification. A Trained crew is +2 and a Green crew is +5. These values reflect the difference in crews performing range estimation for their first shot. All Follow Up shots use the accuracy letter from the accuracy cards simulating correcting on a miss and bracketing.

Target Engagement and Time to Fire This is the basic mechanic of the game and what makes it different. When you select a target to engage put its number in the “Target Engagement” box for an AFV, Tank Destroyer, and APC, gun/artillery, infantry or structure box. Your tank is now considered engaged and can only use SA Checks to the front 90 degrees. Engagement is getting the gun on the target and how quickly you’ll shoot with aim time or elect to track the target to fire in a future turn. In a tank skirmish game speed of engagement and firing is the key to success. This is more than just having the initiative or DRM. In Treadheads there is no “initiative” that one side or the other has. You can say initiative is simulated by a good tactical deployment (concealed, hitting enemy flanks, etc) because you’ll be aware of the enemy before he is aware of you. You can also choose to take longer to aim and get better accuracy or shoot quicker with less accuracy. If the enemy has longer ranged weapons you need to make covered approaches or high speed runs to get within an effective engagement range. When two enemy vehicles detect each other at the same time the one that spends the least amount of time rotating the turret onto the target and aiming will get that important first shot off. This is where the player is put in the same position as the gunner and tank commander to make the same decisions. The time to fire takes into account gunner target acquisition difficulties, turret rotation and hull pivot, halt order, crew expertise, environmental factors, target exposure and movement. Keep in mind the crew is acting as a team, you are not ordering them or checking to see how successful they are unless they are being affected by a SNAFU card. That is abstracted in the Crew Delay time based on crew experience/training. Once engaged you stay engaged without needing additional Situational Awareness checks unless selecting a new target. The image to the right is the part of the status sheet used to determine the amount of time and accuracy for a shot type. Each vehicle will be slightly different in their values and modifiers. Boxes that are clear must have an entry. Boxes that are light gray may or may not need an entry depending on the target or firing unit status or activity. Boxes in dark gray with an “X” through them are ignored. Boxes with a green outline will get a beneficial accuracy modifier. Red boxes an accuracy penalty. The “Base Accur” is the base accuracy letter from the gunnery chart. The “Accur Mod” is any modifications for environmental, increased or decreased aim time, spotting assistance from range finders, scissors binoculars or crew quality. There are three types of shots you can take and each one is a little different in what affects their accuracy and time of engagement. The First Shot involves initial engagement activities like turret rotation and the gunner’s problem of locating and aiming at a target. Follow Up shots are ones that miss and have reload time but are easier for the gunner to reengage. The cross hair column is used after you have hit the target. Use this row for all other shots after hitting even if one does happen to miss. Once you hit you’ve solved the range estimation problem and it is much easier to hit again as the only factors are movement and reload time. F/U Shots and ones that hit have easier engagement time so have a negative acquisition value. The “Base Aim Time + TOF” is taken from the gunnery chart at the range of the target. It includes the time of flight for the round and takes into account range estimation time. If both the shooter and target are static round range up to the nearest 100 meters. If one or both are closing the range round down. If the range is opening round range up. The three rows that have a red bar in the left side are target status values that the opposing player will provide. A target that is camouflaged and static in matching terrain is a +3 because it is harder for the gunner to acquire. A target static and partially concealed is a +5. This includes firing at targets where only the muzzle flash is detected. Targets can claim only one value. Moving targets are +2 because it takes more time to set up the shot. Exposure is how much area of the target is available to acquire. Hull down is harder than fully exposed. Smaller targets are harder than larger targets. The next row is turret rotation and hull pivots taking time per degrees moved. Using a Spotter/Wingman or Range Finder will take +5 seconds longer but can get a more accurate shot. The next row randomizes with a D6 roll the time the gunner needs to take to acquire and aim at the target. It takes into account the gun sight field of view and magnification of the gun sight. A wider FOV makes it easier to acquire a target. Roll a D6 and it is modified by crew expertise and whether the target has been passed by radio or marked by smoke or tracers. Moving and Firing is +5 seconds longer to line up a shot. Environmental factors like rain, fog, snow and haze can affect engagement and gunner target acquisition and accuracy. Reload times are somewhat random so have a D6 die roll with a modifier for the crew expertise. Next row is the optional aim times. For a First Shot you can quicken your aim time by up to five seconds but decrease your accuracy. This simulates Battle Sight engagement and Snap Shots. For Follow Up shots you can increase your aim time up to four seconds for better accuracy simulating tracking a target. Once you hit the target there are no options for aim time. Adding up all of the numbers in the column for the shot type is added to the current game turn and entered in the “Aim Time + Turn #” box and that is the turn your round will arrive at the target. The last row is for the vehicles coaxial and hull machine guns. The value in the brown box is the amount of time to take to fire a burst. The value in the blue box is the maximum range it can fire. Ambush: When it your turn to fire you can elect to “Hold Fire” but keep the target engaged and fire at a later turn. Just erase the value in the “Aim Time + TOF” box and put an “H”. You can fire in a later turn with a delay of two turns + the time of flight.

Opportunity Fire and Over Watch The hardest thing for new players to grasp is the open ended almost real time feature of the game. As soon as you finish one action go on to the next one. If you just shot figure your time for your next shot right away. Don’t wait. As soon as you see something on the battlefield that is within your LOS out to maximum spotting range you can attempt to react right away. You can think of it as an “interrupt” but you are actually not interrupting the opponents turn at all, just determining what you will do. So if you saw a threatening enemy unit come into LOS you can take a Situational Awareness check at that moment, there is no waiting for a “Spotting Phase”. If the check is successful you can take action by moving or firing. To move put a movement marker in by your vehicle showing the general direction it will be moving. To fire generate the amount of time to get off a First Shot. To overwatch an area of likely enemy activity just point your vehicle and gun at it and have the best chance to detect it as soon as you get a LOS. No special orders or markers are needed. Your engagement time will be minimal because your turret and gun will already be on the target so you should get the “opportunity” to fire before he does. Once you have sensed a target and engaged it there is no need to make additional checks to retain sight but you will need to if engaging a new target. No guarantees.

Here’s how a typical Opportunity Fire or “Shoot Out” might occur. It is currently Turn #34. A player with a static and camouflaged T-34/85 in an overwatch position with an unbuttoned tank commander notices a moving German Panther come into his LOS in his right 60 degree arc at 1100 meters and wants to take immediate action against it. Looking at the Situational Awareness image to the left you see he needs to roll a 12 or less to take action in the current 5 second increment (turn 30-35). The German player has a tank commander that is unbuttoned and wants to take action also and the enemy is in his 15 degree arc needing a 16 or less to notice and take action. The T-34/85 rolls a 14 and fails to notice the Panther right away. The Panther rolls a 10 and notices

the T-34 and wants to stop and get a shot off. He could shoot on the move but most likely it would be a miss at 1100 meters. The Panther is traveling at 25 kph and slows down at 10 kph/second so will come to a stop in turn #37. Turn #36 is the start of a new 5 second increment where units can perform a Situational Awareness check so the T-34 tries again this time rolling a 5 and successfully notices the Panther that has surprised him and is slowing down coming straight at him. He sees the Panther is in a better tactical position to get off a first shot. He could take evasive action and choose to start moving by placing a movement arrow in the general direction of movement but he decides to get off a shot as soon as possible. The T34/85 needs to generate the amount of time to get off a First Shot at a range of 1100 meters. The Gunnery Chart for the 85L52 gun (not shown here) firing APCBC at 1100 meters will take 12 seconds to get off a first shot (Base time performing ranging, gun laying and Time of Flight for the round to arrive). The Panther is fully exposed and large making an easy target to acquire with an Exposure of -2. The T-34 needs to rotate his turret 60 degrees and with a rotation of 25 degrees / second will take 3 seconds (always round in favor of the defender). The random acquisition D6 roll results in a 0. No other modifiers apply. It will take a total of 13 seconds to get the shot off. The T-34 can trim up to 5 seconds off the shot with a +1 accuracy letter for each one. The base accuracy for the 85L52 gun at 1100 meters is an “O” which is a 10% chance to hit a 2m x 2m target. He sees the Panther is in a better tactical position than him and fears the Panther will shoot first. He decides to quicken his shot from 13 seconds to 11 seconds with a decrease in accuracy to a “Q” and a 6% chance to hit. He adds 11 to the current turn of 36 so the round will arrive at turn #47. The Panther comes to a halt on turn #37. The 75L70 gun will take a Base Aim Time + TOF of 11 seconds to get the First Shot off. The T-34 Exposure is a -1 to acquire. The T-34 is camouflaged and static making it harder for the gunner to acquire with +3 seconds longer. The Panther turret turns at 15 degrees per second but only needs to spend +1 second turning as when he was coming to a halt he lined his vehicle up for the shot. The D6 random Acquisition roll result is a -1 second as he has a Veteran Crew. There are no other modifiers putting the shot at 13 seconds with an accuracy of “L” and a 22% chance to hit the T-34. He can choose to quicken his shot but decides not to. Adding 13 seconds to the game turn of 36 means the shot will get off on turn #49. The one second time slices allow the interaction between opponents, seconds count in tank combat, even time of flight. The decision of the T-34/85 to get the shot off quicker means he’ll fire first but will have a lesser chance of hitting. Things like Over Watch and Opportunity Fire do not need specials rules or exceptions to make them work. Even though the Panther started off in a better tactical position and noticed the T-34 first the T-34 is still able to get the first shot off by trading accuracy for speed while the Panther needed to take precious seconds to come to a halt first. The camouflage of the T-34 took an additional 3 seconds for the gunner to acquire and aim. Since neither player knows the decisions of the other there is a good simulation of Fog of War without additional rules or mechanics. The Panther could have quickened his shot by shaving 4 seconds off the aim time and fire with an accuracy of “P” at 8% chance to hit and gotten off the first shot. This example is basically what the game is all about once the shooting starts. There are no abstracted turn sequences or activations to making the game flow from second to second being “interrupted” every 5 turns for movement and resetting SA.

First Shot Sample Firing Procedure Once you detect an enemy with a successful Situational Awareness check and want to fire select the target type and enemy vehicle number and enter it on the status sheet. Next on the reverse side of the status sheet is the gunnery and accuracy info. Select the ammo type and on the “First Shot” row go to the column for the range to get the accuracy letter and put it in the “Base Accur” box. Just below the accuracy letter is the “Time” row which is how long it will take to aim and the round to arrive at the target. At 1500 meters it is 11 seconds. Under the “First Shot” column on your status worksheet put 11 in the “Base Aim Time + TOF” box. If the target is in camo add 3 seconds or concealed add 5 seconds. Moving targets take 2 seconds longer to aim and acquire. The amount of target exposure will determine how easy or hard it will be to acquire the target. Rotating your turret or pivoting the hull will take additional time. You can elect to take a shorter time aiming to get the shot off more quickly. Next is the gunner acquisition time. It was not easy for a gunner to rotate the turret and immediately acquire a target. Roll a D6 and enter the amount of time. You can see this can vary greatly between a good and poor crew. Moving and Firing is more difficult and takes an additional 5 seconds. If using a spotter or stereoscopic range finder it takes 5 additional seconds. There is a lot to this but it is everything a gunner and tank commander need to consider when acquiring and firing at a target. After doing it a few times it’s second nature and generally repetitive. The accuracy letter for all first and follow up shots that miss is the green letter on the accuracy card without the accuracy modifiers for the previous shot. Once a shot hits all consecutive shots at the same target will use the same accuracy value from the gunnery chart with no additional modifiers. First shots will normally have six entries, follow up shots three entries and sighted in shots after hitting the target one or two entries. Think of the entries as looking up die roll modifiers in a game just easier.

Hold Fire: Simulates acquiring a target and then firing at it when it presents a better shot or an ambush. It can also be used to track a target as it nears a known range marker to get the benefit of the accuracy. First Shot Quick Aim: The Base Time for the shot to arrive is on the gunnery chart. The player can take up to 5 seconds off the aim time in exchange for a less accurate shot. The green background is for using Battle Sight. F/U Shot Tracking: Follow up shot can take additional aim time to get a better accuracy letter. You can also slightly quicken the shot too. Target Acquisition: Roll a D6 with modifiers for crew type. This is the additional amount of aim time for the first shot. The values will depend on the field of view of the gunner sight. A large FOV may acquire the target 2-3 seconds before one with a narrow FOV. Targets passed down by radio or marked by tracers of smoke have a modifier as does being buttoned up. Random Reload Time: This is a reflection on the crew type rolling a D6. Non-Ready Rack Reload: It takes 20 turns to reload but gives the gunner additional aim time for tracking the target during the reload process. To simulate the Battle Sight and Burst on Target firing method the 1st shot is done with a -3 aim time and +3 accuracy modifier and a -1 Aim time and +2 accuracy modifier for all follow up shots.

Target Exposure: The more target area the easier it is for the gunner to see and acquire a target. In the image to the left if the entire tank is visible there is a -2 modifier to engagement time. If the upper hull and

turret is visible there is -1 modifier. If only the turret is exposed it is harder to acquire with no modifier to the acquisition time.

Determining Weapon Accuracy

Since there is no “To Hit #” or use of dice to determine a hit it can be difficult for a player to determine accuracy and the chance of hitting a target. To give the players an idea of their chance of hitting a target each gun sight reticle has a 2 meter by 2 meter area designated by four “+” signs around the center. In the image to the left it is designated by the thick green square. At the bottom of each gunnery chart are two rows with different colored boxes. These boxes match up to the accuracy letters. The white box has “X MPI %”. The X = the accuracy letter, MPI = the average expected dispersion distance from the aim point which is randomized by the accuracy cards and % = the expected chance of a round with that dispersion landing in the 2m x 2m box. It’s a generalized idea, not exact as there are other variables that affect the accuracy and dispersion. Example: A base accuracy of “I” shows 1.0 and 66%. This means there is a 66% chance that rounds will land from 0.1 to 1.0 meters of the aim point so a 34% chance to land from 1.1 to 1.5 meters from the aim point.

Accuracy can be increased by crew expertise, rangefinders or longer aim time. It can be decreased by shorter aim time, poor crew expertise and poor environmental and visibility conditions. Some SNAFU cards will affect accuracy too. Looking at the image of the above T-34/85 being targeted you’ll know that 66% of the shots would land within the green square with an accuracy of “I”. There would be about a 5% chance to hit areas of the T-34 that are outside of the box so an accuracy of “I” firing at the T-34 would be about a 70% chance to hit it somewhere and the shots would be clustered around the aim point. If the accuracy were an “M” only 15% of the rounds could be expected to land within the green box and maybe another 2-3% hitting the target outside of the box for a chance of about 17% to hit. If the accuracy of “M” was a Follow Up shot the player could extend his aim time by 4 seconds making his accuracy a “K” for a 39% chance to hit within the box and about 5-7% the target area outside of the box. By understanding how the accuracy letters and modifiers work you can see how the results of spending more or less time aiming the gun. At very short ranges you can have an accuracy level of “B” with a 98% chance to hit but if you need to get a quicker shot off (simulating a Snap Shot) you can spend 5 seconds less aiming and acquiring the target with a +5 to accuracy making it a “G” for an 86% making it a worthwhile to get the shot off quicker but you can miss even at the shortest distances. The round impacts will be densest around the aim point, they are not randomly distributed. They cluster just like in real life because the accuracy cards are designed to give that result. When you are close enough to have an accuracy letter of “A” or “B” you will be hitting almost exactly where you are aiming. This allows accurate targeting of weak and vulnerable areas of a target.

Variable Aiming Locations

In real combat you can target different areas of the enemy vehicle. In Treadheads depending on the range and crew ability you can target weak and vulnerable areas of the target too. At the bottom of the gunnery chart is where you can determine your aiming options. The three available aim points are Target Center Mass, Center of hull or turret and Select Aim Point. Aiming at hull down targets is always center mass of turret which is a blue square. The ranges are determined by the quality and magnification of the gun sight and the crew ability. Aiming at the center mass of a target is the safest especially with accuracy letters greater than “I”. If close enough you can selectively aim at the turret ring, fuel or engine compartment, drive sprocket, treads, etc. The center mass aim point is a blue or green rectangle which is .8 meter wide and 1.0 meter high. The Center Mass aim point can be placed anywhere within the rectangle. This gives the player a little bit of an option to influence to result of the shot based on his luck or intuition. However, previous shots do not influence the dispersion direction, only the distance. If a shot misses the next one will be a little more accurate simulating giving the gunner corrections between shots to bracket the target.

Determining a Hit or Miss and Hit Location This is a sample of a Russian gun aiming at the front 45 degree aspect of a German JgPz IV. The transparent aiming reticle is being aimed Center Mass (within the red box). The vertical and horizontal numbers with a gray background around the gun sight are the values for horizontal and vertical dispersion of the shot based on the accuracy value on the card drawn (page 14). The result of the accuracy card with a value of “E” is the round went .6 meters high and .4 meters to the right (use vertical and horizontal numbers in the gray background for measuring) from the aim point hitting the mantlet gun cover. The armor thickness is 60mm and is explained in the armor layout chart on page 15 as is the Accuracy Card for dispersion on page 14. If the round had gone .8 meters or higher it would have missed. If going 1.0 meters or more low would have resulted in a miss. More than 2.0 meters to the left or right would have missed too. If the aim point had been .2 meters

higher (top of the red aim box) the round would have missed. The height of the JgPz IV is barely 2 meters with most tanks being 2.5 to 3.0 meters high making it a much more difficult target to hit. Factors taken into account in the gunnery formula include muzzle velocity, max ordinate, optics and magnification, range estimation errors and crew expertise. These different variables are assigned a milliradian value and computed in 100 meter increments in a spreadsheet. This eliminates the need to modify a base number with other variables. The system matches up well with test firings by the Germans, Russians and British and after action reports. Realistically rounds do not hit a target in a random location. They impact a distance from the aim point. The greater the accuracy the less distance it moves. The Treadheads gunnery system recreates this dispersion by taking the base dispersion distance and randomizing it in a bell curve equivalent to rolling a 50 sided die (50 accuracy randomization cards) giving a horizontal and vertical distance from the aim point. If the final location of the shot is on the target image then that’s where it hits. If not on the target image it missed. When aiming at center mass of a target the cross hairs can be placed in any spot within the red box which is .8 meters wide and 1.0 meters high. If close enough and with good magnification and optics specific areas on the target can be aimed at. The optional aiming areas are at the bottom of the gunnery chart. When firing at center mass of a hull down target the blue box is the aiming point. Since the round was a hit use the Sighted In column (one with the cross hairs) of the status sheet to determine time to fire and options for all further shots at the target. If the shot missed the next shot accuracy would be the green letter of “B”. There is an exception that the green accuracy letter can never be less than the accuracy letter for Sighted In shots.

Using this aiming method at scaled images of targets in different angle aspects eliminates the need for size and aspect modifiers, To Hit numbers with modifiers, hit location die rolls and abstraction and generalization of armor values. Virtually any spot on the target can be hit. Color coding the systems and weapons behind the armor faithfully portrays damage from penetration, crew causalities and explosions from ammunition hits. This gives a lot of detail without additional game mechanics, die roll or charts.

Deck of 50 Accuracy Cards

The cards randomize the base accuracy value in a bell curve with a maximum of 1.5x the base value. The cards have a number at the bottom to represent the randomization. This card is #25. Low numbers will be most accurate. After selecting a card it is put back in the deck and shuffled. To determine how far and direction a round lands from the aim point (the horizontal and vertical dispersion) the cards that have the vertical and horizontal dispersion values and direction for all 27 different accuracy values. The cards also have the green accuracy letter value for the next shot if it misses simulating bracketing. The values are in .1 meter increments. This means that every square meter of a target area can represent 100 different hit locations without a hit location chart or die rolls.

SNAFU Cards

There are six cards in the accuracy card deck that have a yellow outline. When firing if a yellow outline card is picked you select a card from the SNAFU deck. There may be a die roll to see what happens based on the vehicle maintenance level or crew quality. This can lead to gun jams, loader slipping or loading the wrong round type, driver panicking and moving out, commander not seeing the results of the last shot, radio breakdown, turret malfunction/jam, etc. Some cards the chance of the occurrence is based on the vehicles maintenance or crew ratings and a die roll.

Some of the SNAFU’s that can occur

Reverse side of the Vehicle Status Chart Below is a draft of the backside of the previous page vehicle status sheet. Think of it as a quick reference sheet for armor layout and gunnery information. It’s what players will need the most. By having it on the backside of the status sheet it’s available when needed. It is readable enough when on a full 8.5 x 11 sheet.

Armor Layout Chart for the PzJg IV The armor value chart takes into account precomputed values for armor slope and horizontal angle. There are also some notes about some armor details for the specific aspects. Rounds can hit virtually any location on the target. Lateral angle does not always matter but when it does it can generate a ricochet angle (R) or armor thickness enough to prevent penetration. Gun mantlets can have complicated angles and thickness and special attention has been paid to faithfully portraying their strengths and weaknesses.

Gunnery and Accuracy Chart To use the chart select the ammo type fired, First Shot or Sighted in row and then go to the column for range. The letter is the accuracy value and time is base amount of aim time and TOF to the target. Going down the range column if an entry is blank it is not available to shoot. APCR rounds have a max range of 1500 meters. APCBC max range is 2000 meters. Continuing down the range column you’ll come to the accuracy modifier for crew ability and commander status. It will also let you know what areas are available to aim at. Range finders are more accurate for first shots but take longer. Penetration values are for range column too.

Visualizing Accuracy Letter Performance

The % numbers in the image below are the % chance of hitting within the green square.

The image above and the following documentation is strictly to give the player an idea of the performance of different accuracy letters. You do not need to understand it completely to play the game but it does help in gauging your chances of hitting what you aim at. Aim points above or below center mass can decrease the overall chance of a target being hit. The randomization cards giving the horizontal and vertical dispersion locations will deliver an oval shaped pattern, not circular. The horizontal distance will normally be about 2/3 of the vertical distance. Since there are no traditional hit numbers or a percentage chance of hitting it can be hard to visualize how the accuracy letters are expected to perform. Above is an image of a T-34/85 with the accuracy letter circles drawn to show the area where about 2/3 of the rounds would land based on the randomization of the base dispersion. The green square is the 2.0 meter by 2.0 meter that the % values of the different letters is figured on. A hull down rating of 1.2 meters would protect the tank from about 50% of the shots taken at it. An emplaced anti-tank gun might take up a 1.0m x 1.0m area making it half of the 2.0 x 2.0m area and much harder to hit needing an accuracy level of “D” (dispersion of 0.5m) to have a 66% chance. That is also about the size of the T-34/85 turret if it were in a hull down position.

Determining Armor Penetration and Damage Level Armor penetration has many variables that make it difficult to calculate. Variables such as cast or rolled armor manufacturing, thickness of the armor compared to the diameter of the round, armor hardness, quality and other variables come into play. Also the type, quality and hardness of the armor piercing round itself. It’s pretty difficult to take all of these into effect without performing calculations that end up being variable too. Therefore we use a variable penetration and damage nomograph below. This chart is used after determining the armor thickness. The final penetration result depends on the ration of penetration to armor thickness and is random. If penetration is 120% of armor value penetration is assumed to be automatic and can cause full damage. Less than 120% is a roll with a D20 to determine and partial penetration and damage. The results give incremental chances of penetration or damage. In the “No Penetration – Spall Damage Zone” if the D20 roll is less than or equal to the range there is spall damage, above the round bounces with no damage. The “Partial Penetration Zone” the round has partially penetrated and if it is an APHE round there may or may not be enough penetration for burst damage from the HE. Full penetration can mean full or half value. Spall and partial damage can damage radios, gun sights, wound crewman, add to aim time for gunners and in rare occasions detonate ammo or start a fire. This still needs a lot of work.

Example: There are three penetration examples. The red line is 100mm penetration against 65mm of armor. Penetration is enough to successfully penetrate the armor with enough remaining kinetic energy for the shell to fully penetrate and explode with full burst value if it has an HE burster. The green line is 100mm of penetration against 90mm of armor. Penetration is not enough to automatically penetrate like the red line and the round could ricochet, be stuck in the armor while partially penetrating but still cause damage. Roll a D20. If the result is 1-18 the round partially penetrates the armor but the burster mostly explodes outside of the fighting compartment. If the roll is a 19-20 it bounces off with no damage. While there is not a lot of kinetic energy left there are broken pieces of the armor and round that will damage the compartment it hit (hull or turret) but with a smaller chance of causing a fire or explosion. If the result is a 19-20 the round only partially penetrates with no behind armor damage. The blue line shows 100mm of penetration against 110mm of armor. Rolling a D20 if the result is a 1-2 there is enough penetration for spall damage inside the compartment. Rolling a 3+ means not enough penetration to cause behind armor damage and the round would ricochet off into the air.

Movement Chart

This is still a WIP. There are no movement points in the game. A vehicles maximum speed is color coded for the terrain type it will be moving in. Most vehicles have different colors for the same speed. A fast maneuverable may be able to move at 25 kph in the light green zone and a less maneuverable vehicle may only be 20 kph. All units and vehicles with movement arrows are moved at the end of a 5 or 10 second turns. If there are no enemy units in LOS for either side movement can be quicker by doing it in 10, 15, or even 30 second increments until units come into LOS and can start engaging. Flotation ratings are for driving over soft ground.

Firing at Moving Targets

Firing at moving targets does require an additional step to determine the lateral dispersion of the round AFTER the results of the accuracy card. We use a system derived from an equation developed by the British at their Bovington Proving Grounds taken from range firing at real moving targets. It takes into account the targets angle to the firing unit, target speed, the rounds time of flight and gunner aiming error. These errors are added together to get an accuracy letter and an additional accuracy card is drawn to determine the lateral dispersion (not vertical) to simulate the gunner not leading the target correctly. The greater the targets angle to the shooter the better the chance of a miss. Example: The target angle is 45 degrees (use 30-55 degree column) and the speed is 18 kph (round up to 20kph). The time of flight is 1.1 seconds (taken from the gunnery chart) for a dispersion value of 1.2 for step 1. Step 2 is the aiming error because moving targets are more difficult to aim at. Using the speed of 20kph and target range of 1000 meters will give a dispersion value of 1.8 for step 2. Add the dispersion value in step 1 of 1.2 to the value in step 2 of 1.8 and you get 3.0 which in step 3 is an accuracy of “S”. After drawing the accuracy card the value for “S” is moved left or right only (lateral dispersion not vertical) the amount shown and that is the final location the round lands.

Movement Mechanics

A player can make a decision to move during any one second turn. It is normally after making a successful Situational Awareness check and responding to an enemy threat. There is no movement order phase. The arrow is placed to show the direction of movement (including reverse) and mark the speed on the status chart. So a vehicle moving at 20kph would move 30 meters in 5 seconds or 60 meters in 10 seconds. You can make your own markers for any scale.

The small movement distances (1-3 inches per 5 second turn with 1” = 25m) allows for the interaction of firing at moving targets without complicated opportunity fire rules. Most skirmishes last 1-3 minutes of real time. Moving at 12kph is about 4 meters per second. At that rate continuous movement would be from about 250 meters per minute. However, when all units are out of LOS you can speed the game up letting both sides move in 10, 20 or even 30 second increments until the point they come into LOS with each other again. This is how we start most meeting engagements when both sides have not sighted each other. You can get to the shooting action quickly. Players can relocate or reposition their movement arrow marker at the end of every 5 second turn to change directions.

Speed and Movement Mechanics: The left column in the graphic to the right shows the maximum movement speed across terrain types, second column is distance traveled in meters each second at that speed. The third column is the total number of degrees the vehicle can turn (still a WIP). Each vehicle that moves will have a movement marker placed on their status sheet showing the speed and direction moving that the vehicle will be moved at the end of a 5 second turn. Speed that the vehicle can move is determined by the color of the number in kph. Red is for rough terrain, yellow for poor terrain, light green is for fair terrain and green is for excellent terrain. Even though the vehicle is not actually moved on the playing surface until the end of the 5 second turn, it is assumed to be moving the entire turn for acquisition and shooting purposes even if it comes to a stop at any point during the 5 second turn. Movement in the game is performed simultaneously at the end of each 5 second turn to keep the movement and firing in sync. During a turn if a moving vehicle is targeted you should check to see if its movement through the turn would get it to a position where it would be out of LOS. This would include allowing for the rounds time of flight. If you are acquiring a static target and it moves before you actually fire you need to add the moving target time increase for acquisition and aiming.

Halt Order: Tanks and other vehicles cannot stop on a dime. At any point during the game a player can order his vehicle to come to a halt. However, it will continue to move for a specified number of seconds. Generally heavy tanks slow at a rate of 5 kph / second and light and medium tanks at 10 kph / second. During this time the vehicle cannot be moving their turret or attempting to acquire a target even if detected by a successful Situational Awareness check. Once the vehicle comes to a halt it can acquire and fire at a target. While slowing down it can turn to engage any thereat. When moving and wanting to stop it will take some time. If you are moving at 35-40 kph and stumble upon a static enemy tank with it’s gun pointed at you it is probably best to stay at top speed and try to evade. It’s doubtful you’ll be able to stop in time and fire before he does. Exceeding Maximum Speed: During non-muddy conditions any vehicle or tank can exceed their safe speed by going to the next higher colored speed but must take Bog Checks each time it does so. Example: A red zone speed could go 20 kph. A yellow zone speed could go to 25 kph. Speed of 15 kph will move at 4.5 meters per second or 22.5 (rounded up to 25) meters per 5 second turn. Movement Example: A vehicle wants to traverse 75 meters of light woods and can move at a maximum speed of 15 kph (4.5 meters per second). It will take 16.6 seconds rounded up to 17 seconds to traverse the 75 meters of light woods into clear terrain. After three 5 second turns and two seconds into the fourth 5 second turn it will leave the light woods. The fourth 5 second turn the vehicle will have three seconds of movement in clear terrain at a speed of 25 kph moving 7.5 meters per second and move 22 meters. This is just a way of calculating the movement. You don’t need to move vehicles in one second or .1 meter increments. Actual movement of the models is done every 5-10 turns depending on activity and LOS.

Vehicle Booklets The booklets are designed to give the player all of the information he’ll need to play the game. This includes all target aspects with armor values, gunnery and accuracy modifiers, movement charts, and lateral dispersion for firing at moving targets. It measures 10.5 inches by 6.5 inches and lays open easily on a table. It is hoped that having the play aids and charts in your hand with a minimum of modifiers to look up will make a detailed game playable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jK1uLTBWiQ

Booklet Cover for the Panther

Front target aspect and armor configuration showing values for armor

Gun Accuracy Chart And

General Modifiers

Front 45 degree aspect And armor configuration

Side target aspect and Rear 45 degree target

aspect

Rear and top target aspect

Lateral Dispersion chart for moving targets and movement charts

Vehicle history, armor notes and technical information

Summary and Designer Notes Treadheads is a skirmish game designed to recreate what is going on inside a tank during an engagement. That’s the real heart of the game is the gunnery system and the difference in timing and accuracy of the two different methods of fire control and aiming. It’s what the game revolves around once the shooting starts. The rest of the rules cover movement and other aspects of the game. I’ve tried to keep “exceptions” to the rules at a minimum but there are still some in there. If you’ve gotten this far congratulations! You are a glutton for punishment and could be real Treadhead material. I salute you! Believe it or not we get people at conventions with no previous knowledge of the game playing after a 10 minute introduction; an explanation of what real tank gunnery is about and reviews a sample turn and simple record keeping. Their feedback back has been that it’s logical, makes sense and the time and activation part makes sense as it relates to real actions. Determining how long something will take is easy. Being able to aim at a scaled image of the target is pretty cool. By having it interactive using SA Checks as a chance (no guarantee) to respond to an enemy threat in a split second eliminates the need for a more structured turn sequence where specific actions are performed. No matter what is happening you need to pay attention. Using the Fog of War, some randomization in reloading, non-penetrating impact damage slowing down crew action and SNAFU cards will make sure players cannot game the system by knowing exactly when an action is going to take place. Their future plans can get interrupted. Many of the mechanics and play sequences/segments of traditional games have been eliminated. This is why much of the game is “chart driven” as the charts are basically a base number with modifiers already generated in 100 meter increments like the range band modifiers of other games. By focusing on the range column you’ll get all of the information needed in a few seconds. Blank entries on the charts mean that action is not allowed because of a range limitation. It’s all right there in front of you. No modifiers for target size or aspect. No artificial range bands, opportunity fire modifiers or artificial restrictions on rate of fire. No moving targets back into LOS to shoot at them. No interrupting the other player’s action so you can do yours. No initiatives die rolls. No waiting 10-30 minutes for your turn to come around. No overwatch or opportunity fire rules (but you can still perform them). No cluttering the playing surface with status chits and dice. There is very little hunting for modifiers on different charts and we are trying to eliminate that. All charts have data and variables for the specific vehicle and gun eliminating looking up most modifiers while still being accurate. Everything you need to engage, move and shoot is in the palm of your hand tailored for that particular vehicle and gun. There will also be infantry, air and artillery modules later. We hope this makes play easier and quicker. While the game does not use a “to hit” or % number there are easy ways a player can determine his chances of hitting a target and if it is worthwhile firing. The colored entries on the gun charts will give a good indicator of hitting a target 2 meters high. At the bottom of the gun chart the information for the base dispersion value (MPI, Mean Point of Impact) and % chance to hit is given for each accuracy letter to give the player a general idea of the outcome and performance at all engagement ranges. For example an accuracy of “I” is an average of 1 meter dispersion from the aim point having about a 66% chance of being 1 meter of less dispersion from the aim point and a 34% chance of being up to 1.5 meters. An MPI within 1 meter gives a very good chance of hitting a target 2 meters high. The dispersion values are always the same. The more accurate guns with a higher muzzle velocity will have lower letters out to a greater range than less accurate guns with a lower muzzle velocity. Other factors like range estimation error, optics and aiming error come into play too. The % numbers below give the player a general idea of success as other factors can influence.

Some comparisons for an Aimed shot (most accurate with no range estimation error): The German 75L48 has an accuracy of “I” at 1600 meters. German 88L56 gun has an accuracy of “I” at 2200 meters. The Russian 85L52 is 1500 meters. German 75L70 is 2400 meters. German 88L71 is 2600 meters. I’m sure these figures can be debated depending on various source and comparisons to other games. They are subject to change if new info or documented corrections comes to light. The test range firings under ideal conditions were used as a comparison to establish a base line for all of the other factors. They are not the numbers used in the game. Modifiers to accuracy for firing at muzzle flashes, concealed or covered/camouflaged targets or poor environmental conditions like rain, snow fog and haze are addressed as aiming errors as it would be harder to line up the shot. The differences in crew types determine their initial range estimation error and aiming error in addition to increasing their engagement times. By assigning these different factors a mil value the base number easily and accurately scales in a spreadsheet formula in 100 meter increments making these variable factors accurate and transparent to the player. I admit that my formulas are not as “accurate” as some others but I think it does a good job at making the game playable and accurate without putting a burden on the player to search out additional information and modifiers. That’s the goal. Play testing will see how well it works.

Sources Really too many to list. The main ones are WWII Ballistics by Livingston & Bird, WWII tank manuals, research papers on error budget, historical after action reports, ordnance reports on gunnery tests and accuracy results, John Salts War Office papers, tactical manuals and reports, US Army Tradoc bulletins. Also feedback and advice from people with more experience and knowledge than myself on TMP and Tanknet along with my fellow gamers and play testers in northern California. Thank you.