I'm not normally one to buy rules just to read them but several people have recommended the Rapid Fire Fast Play WWII Rules to me so I thought "what the hell" and purchased a copy. I'm not about to give up on Flames of War - I have invested too much time effort and money into it - but it might be fun to try out a different system.
So far I'm pretty sure I can utilise these rules with my existing FOW figures. I like the company level focus of FOW (which I why I bought into the game in the first place) while the RF2 rules are designed to be regiment/brigade level in scale. But I can't see any reason why I can't use the RF2 rules and with my FOW company strength forces. They seem relatively straightforward and streamlined and should be easily adapted to use for company level battles.
One thing about the RF2 rules that I particularly like is the use of markers to represent units that have not been observed yet. This means that until a unit is observed it cannot be identified and really brings in an element of 'fog of war' that isn't often featured in other games. To add to the fog each player can also place an equal number of dummy markers on the table. These are only revealed as dummy's to the opponent when they are observed.
I really like this idea because I think it could make a game much more psychological in nature and really conveys the confusion of the battlefield. I've never liked the fact that as players we hover unrealistically over the games table, omnipotent in our view of where units are and what their strength is. This rule might eliminate that problem.
If you have played both FOW and RF2 I'd love to hear your opinion of the relative merits of both systems and any problems you may have encountered.
I've had these rules a couple of times, quick, easy but I didn't like the basing but then that's just me!
ReplyDeleteLove rapid fire used them a lot, very adaptable. If you go to the website there's some useful downloads and some good links giving access to lots of scenarios and rule variants etc.
ReplyDeleteThe FOW organisation is easily adaptable to RF
Various forum discussions (on TMP and elsewhere) suggest using the FOW Medium bases to represent the two figure bases in RF2 and markers to show casualties. So I think I could easily use my existing models without the need to re-base.
DeleteNot played Rapid Fire in donkeys, have you ever tried I Ain't Been Shot Mum! by the Two Fat Lardies, which is very much a company-level game
ReplyDeleteThe dummy marker rules sound exactly the same as Command Decision. It really is a useful and quirky card to hold up your sleeve.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I played a game with these once a long long time ago????
ReplyDeleteCasually looked at these a few times - mainly because Valiant produces its figures specifically for RF - and I do like some aspects of the mechanics. However, I am far to thick to learn another set of WW2 rules, so will settle for Crossfire and Nuts! as I have just about got them off to pat ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm the same, I'm not great at memorising rules, which is one of the big turn-off's of FOW for me...all those special rules to keep track of. I still love the mini's and the company level focus of FOW but I'll definitely give RF a go in the near future just to see how it plays.
DeleteI wasn't a big fan of RF when I first tried it and found that games turned into nothing more than tank battles. However, I did stick with them and have had some good games using them. They're an OK set of rules in my opinion but for me there are better fast play sets available now.
ReplyDeletePlayed RF for years. It's the best 'large scale' rules set still. Can't get on with IABSM. ROW never spun my wheels. It always seemed like WarPanzer. There is a great deal of free RF stuff online.
ReplyDeleteThat's all folks. :)
J
I have played both but not that much. Rapid Fire is far friendlier on the wallet and I do like the 1/72 scale. A box of Valient (or another companies plastics) and you have a very basic battalion. The rules are more straightforward because the author(s) didn't feel compelled to give every army "racial bonuses" (a la D&D). Force organization in FoW also bothers me. I came to the game familiar with the concept of the kampfgruppe and as I read through every army list from every nation I realized they were ALL kampfgruppes!
ReplyDeleteAside from the Germans most nations had relatively strict force structures. This really isn't reflected in how lists are built in FoW.
Rapid Fire gives basic orders of battle that were used and some common variations. A bit of research could allow you to build a historical order of battle easily enough and without the super powers found in FoW.
I like both games but Rapid Fire seems a bit closer to a simulation than FoW.