Manoeuvre Group

Manoeuvre Group

All Arms Ground Combat for the period 1942 to 2010

160 pages + markers and Quick Reference Sheet

Manoeuvre Group primarily supports 1/72 (25mm) and 1/144th (10 or 12mm), but can be used with almost any scale (including 1/76, 100th (15mm), 28mm (and up) even 1/300th (6mm) with appropriate terrain density).

Manoeuvre Group is designed to fight all arms actions in the period from 1941 to at least 2010, using forces from as little as half a platoon of infantry up to a Company Group (Battle Group in US terminology) for a typical game length of 2 to 4 hours.

The emphasis is placed on manoeuvre, awareness and tactics, to facilitate a simulation of real-world armoured combat tactics and strategies.

The rules re-create these complex tactical command problems via the interaction of straight-forward rules, requiring only a single D20. The use of innovative markers minimises book-keeping and ensures the game flows. At larger scales, the game is most suitable for more infantry-based games, while at the smaller scales, AFV combat takes prominence, but the only changes in rules are the size of some of the markers.

The reading of the ground, timing and employment of all arms assets are the key to winning a battle. The player will spend more time moving units about to exploit weaknesses in the enemy's plan than calculation of hit factors and dice rolling. The rules capture the ebb and flow of a battle often missing in other rules. With practise, experts (in tactics) can achieve 10 to 15 bounds in an evening even with a full Company Group.

For the advanced players, the rules also cover additional areas such as Artillery, Engineering Tasks, Minefields and Air Support.

In addition, several sample scenarios are included to get you started, as well as a primer on real-world AFV tactics.

Issue 2 is the result of fourteen years of additional play since Manoeuvre Group's release in 2008. The rules have not fundamentally changed, but have been significantly improved in presentation, clarity and formatting, but still retain MG's printer- and kindle-friendly approach despite a 60% extra page-count! 30 pages of which have gone to the sample force lists which have been completely overhauled and brought to a far superior standard of presentation.

A few new improvements have also been added, such as Virtual Troopers, allowing an improved level of granularity for infantry close assaults; new rules in the command structure allows platoons of less than three units for very small games or small reconnaissance elements; the addition of a new Slow Transit movement mode that functions as a bridge between Fast and Transit modes; and optional rules for Runners for the very advanced players.