• To immediately jump to the full playlist of the training materials, follow this Link

Fields of Fire is probably in the top three best solitaire tabletop wargames ever created – at least in the humble opinion of this article author. It does a fantastic job of simulating the small teams / squads engagements (up to company level), accounting for all important elements like chain of command, communication, initiative, limited information and chaos of battle.

With Deluxe Edition we are getting a wonderful product with great components but what is even more important – streamlined introduction path. By many treated as complex and difficult, the game really shines once you learn its mechanics. And what is the better way than to do it step by step, in small, digestible chunks?

That is why I created Fields of Fire Basics Academy. It follows the Infantry Company Manual – part of the Deluxe Edition – and introduces rules with moderate pace. First, we shall focus on complete basics and on only one Platoon. More complex set-up will follow. So let us start with Platoon Assault Course!

  • The learning objectives of the first Run are to understand how to maneuver a platoon and gain an appreciation for the time-space issues in doing so. This understanding of time-space maneuver will help you gauge how fast you can traverse the terrain in a combat mission; this allows for better decisions on when to commit a reserve platoon, shift effort on the map, or abort the mission. There are no enemy units in this run, to allow you to concentrate on moving.
Run 1 – Platoon Activation & Movement
  • The objective of Run 2 is to add an enemy position. The enemy position is known and present on the map throughout. For this exercise, in addition to the counters we used in Run 1, we will need one Foxholes field fortification and a German LMG team. You will also need the Enemy Activity Check Hierarchies player aid, a few VOF and PDF counters and some LAT units.
Run 2 – Platoon Attacking a known Enemy Position
  • In the Run 3 we will introduce the Potential Contact System. we practiced how to take on a known enemy, outflank them, engage with the weapons at our disposal, pin and finish them off with a close assault if they don’t retreat. However, enemy positions will very often be unknown and we need to learn how to handle them!.
Run 3 – Platoon & Potential Contact

Enjoy this great game!