"Up the Blue!" 3 Playtests

Somewhere on a Hill in 1940...

...the fate of France is being determined.

For the same reasons as ever - a playable set of WWII rules that easily accommodate my - and everyone else's - Flames of War armies, I'm now playtesting "Up the Blue!" WWII with an assortment of grognards I've accumulated over the years. Some I've known for 40+ years, some for less.  But all have one thing in common... they have the WWII armies, but they don't have a set of rules they want to play, so they collect dust in storage bins.

We quit FoW III when we realized that we were never going to get the rules down, even after lots of effort.  It was also exhausting to play, and took too long for a full game.  Also, there were plenty of things I disliked about them, especially the unrealistic micro-managing of Units two levels or more below the command level. There was also a lot of false differentiation, or unneeded differentiation, redundancy of factors [that often cancelled each other out], and over-engineering of, well, just about everything.  All of which caused the groups playing it to give up eventually. I don't know anyone who regularly plays v.4, and I refuse to buy more rules and all those cards for what they claim is a streamlined game.

Anyway, among the senior grognards, I found some willing playtesters. The incentive was one fellow discussing selling off his [FoW] WWII armies, as he just wasn't using them.  I said I was interested, BUT why not try my rules first?  If they suited, he'd have a set of rules that played painlessly enough to provide lots of enjoyment in small time spaces using "One-Hour Wargames" which he said he had [somewhere]. He agreed, and we conned another fellow into trying out "Up the Blue!" as well, since he has an even large collection that don't get used.

To get the ball rolling, I used an old favorite, Scenario #4 "Take the High Ground". Having played / run it at least 30 times, I appreciate the multitude of decisions it presents player with, using only one hill and one woods as key terrain. With the mechanics of UtB! as designed, a simple scenario becomes rich with possibilities, altho the enemy always gets a vote! Our host put down the small amount of terrain necessary, I marked out the board edges [the table was a lot bigger] and he chose French v. Germans from his extensive collection - so it was off to fall, 1940 we went!

Below, is around Turn 3. Attacking French are pushing hard against the objective, threatening both flanks. Dug-in Germans are outnumbered 3-2, which isn't really enough except that there are Mortars, ATGs and Tanks adding a few casualties here and there. ATGs are also on overwatch against the Road.

French have moved left platoon into Close Combat range, and the casualties will significantly increase.

View from the French Mortars [which are really 75s]. Their support will be essential to "Take That Hill!"  In the distance, German Infantry hasten to reinforce the objective - but will they make it in time to contest it?  The French must have "exclusive occupation of the hill" to win.

The battle develops. Turn 5, the German reinforcements are playing hide'n seek around the woods. The Tanks are clearly nervous in the service about the significant AT assets on the other side, the French Tank Unit and the ATG Unit. French Mortars and ATGs are supporting the objective with Fire while an Infantry platoon moves to reinforce it. French Spotter has a choice - call the Mortars on the objective, or against the reinforcing Infantry moving in the open?

This fight progressed nicely, with both sides feeling out the scenario and the rules. There were plenty of opportunities to discuss choices, like the Germans deployed on the back of the hill in defilade to reduce the amount of Direct Fire they took and reduce the effectiveness of the Indirect Fire.  But that's not the only way to do it.

As the game plays pretty quickly, and we had time, we played again, keeping the same sides as both wanted to try a different plan. This time, the Germans deployed in two layers, Dug-in, with both  Infantry platoons on the front side of the hill, with line of sight to the approaching French. This time, the French put their tanks up close to the action, on the left. The Mortars supported from the woods [you can see their template paper on the Germans] and the ATGs interdicted the road.

The Germans opted to similarly deploy their ATGs and Mortars, and sent both the reinforcing Infantry and Tanks to support the hill.  As the Germans have already lost the front Infantry platoon, this is a good idea! Being in defilade reduces your firepower forward, but preserves your troops - the opposing infantry can't engage you across the military crest until you are in Close Combat Range.

German Tanks take a loss from the supporting French Tanks [yellow marker]. French Infantry are executing their company attack with closely supported platoons on a narrow frontage. This is only possible because the German Mortars can't get effective IF raining down upon them. That would require re-positioning. It appears their Spotter was lost with the front Infantry platoon.

Playtests went well, both players were engaged with making decisions and not with looking things up on charts. They liked that. While there are plenty of decisions to be made, and it takes experience to know when and how to execute key parts of your plan, it never gets bogged down in minutiae - players feel like company commanders, and not like team leaders.

A week or two later, we met up again. This time the Italians defended against the British. Players had switched sides. Defender liked being in defilade, and started with an Infantry platoon and the ATGs on the hill - the Spotter appears to be with the ATGs. 

Attacker concentrated heavily on the left, out of Line of Sight of most of the Italians, and pressured them heavily with Close Combat on each side supported by Tanks, ATGs and the mortars.

The British Spotter is with the ATGs, so has limited vision of the battlefield. Italians are racing two Infantry platoons and the Tanks towards the hill. Their Mortars are behind them, getting set up for some IF support. 

After the Italian ATGs were taken out by an Infantry platoon in Close Combat, that platoon was lost to Italian supporting fire. The Tanks then engaged the Italians in Close Combat, driving them from the field [no pun intended].

Ultimately, this cost the British Tanks some losses, and the Italian Tanks also knocked out a few, it appears. The British were left with their weakened Tank platoon and ATG platoon facing a fresh Italian Tank platoon, Infantry Platoon, and a weakened platoon Dug-in on the hill, not enough to take it.

Below appears to be the end of the game, Italians are holding part of the hill.  Either that, or we played a second game, with both sides using a similar plan as first time around.

These playtests went well. Both sides picked up the rules quickly and enjoyed focusing on their plan and their decisions. While die-rolling is always a factor, neither player rolled particularly hot or cold, altho there were a few rolls that beat the average, both ways.

From these two runs, I got more confidence to clean and streamline a few more mechanics and explanations, as well as keep a few mechanics the same [that I was wondering about changing].  What to keep in and what to drop are always the most difficult final decisions with a game design, I find.  I console myself with putting some nifty mechanics [that complicate things a bit] into an "advanced or optional rule" section, while I try to stay focused on delivering the most important aspects of combined arms WWII tactics into the table.

A few weeks later, I was invited to throw a playtest with some pretty experienced gamers with whom I had never played. This is always an exciting opportunity, as one tends to get some unexpected input with a "cold" playtest.

The table was set up for Eastern Front WWII micro-armor, and the host had a nice snow cloth with the Germans defending a ridgeline against an advancing Russian horde, while the German Fire Brigade units raced to reinforce them. Below, the Russians are developing their attack. With little in the center, they essentially have two independent commands with limited ability to support each other, besides some long-range gun fire and the Mortars.

The Germans on the right are set up in the town and woods. The "X" marks the spot - the objective - the Russkies are trying to seize.

On the left, the Russians race forwards, and take some powerful hits from the defending Germans, who are Dug-in and Ready to receive them. They are still contesting the town, even though T-34s burn at the top of the pic.  But their Commissar is "encouraging" them to keep moving forwards.

On the right, the Russians establish a strong base of fire, and begin grinding down the German defenders. Things aren't looking good, so the Germans shift their Infantry from the woods to the town, but take some Mortar fire along the way, dashing down the road in the open between the woods and town.

Above, the Russians put a lot of pressure on the Germans, and destroyed an Infantry platoon. They closed in, but at just the decisive moment, a German tank platoon arrived and began knocking out their Tanks! The Germans and Russians were locked in a see-saw scrap that was uncertain when the game was called.

The 88 ATG that showed up did not do a lot in the center, and was knocked out by mortar fire. The Russians in the center contested that objective, but Germans were pressing them hard, and it was hard to tell what might happen.

On the left, the Germans are held their own. The Russians settled in, however, and laid a lot of fire down on them. Eventually, the casualties the Russians took racing forwards told against them, and when the German reinforcements arrive they are stalled outside the town, unable to contest the objective.

This was an interesting playtest to watch. I didn't have to explain a lot once they got going. A couple of the guys picked up the rules quickly and helped me explain mechanics periodically.  The scenario was similar to #4 and #8, but they were not identical. It's always hard to get play balance just right. However, the general concession was that the Russians could have won with a different plan, most likely the two forces fighting for the center and one flank objective.

I left it with the host that we could try again in the future if he wished, and offered to bring my 15mm desert forces.  Some more incentive to get the last of the British mounted and the tank decals on!

This all went very well.  I feel like there was substantial progress made with me understanding the strengths of "Up the Blue!" with new and experienced players alike. Generally, those who "get it" really like it, and that's good to see.

Now, to get some more figures done!