Using FoW based infantry

[havoc7926]

Not a question but my feedback on trying to use Flames of War based infantry in Gruntz.

I've tried this and I would suggest that single based figures is the best option. However, if you just want to use your existing FoW stuff and get a game in then try it like this.

A six man gruntz squad should be represented by 2 medium bases and a small base. In Gruntz terms the smaller base is the leader and each base counts as 2 troopers.

This still gives a bit of flexibility in tabletop placement and the minimum of book keeping to record casualties.

The biggest downside is the fact that it will look like you have more guys than you should. (My late war SS are 5/4 to a medium stand and 3 to a small so I have a dozen bodies not 6).

You might also tend to find that the squad attachment weapons are already on your FoW bases. To represent this just pay the points cost and use those medium bases as 3 trooper tokens instead. (2 troopers and the attachment)

I would also suggest that if you are playing this way that both players use FoW basing however you can mix and match it desn't really break the game just gives a slight advantage to the individually based figures.

A by product of this method is that when half your squad is gone you end up taking off an attachment as it's already modelled on the medium FoW base. I actually think this works quite well and have suggested it in another thread even with single basing to avoid the immortal squad attachment issue I have.

[inrepose]

Thanks for the tips. I have only played Gruntz with some proxy FOW models which helped me think about how cover worked. It is satisfying being able to move the full squad in one go but it does make it less of a skirmish game.

Totally agree with your point about both players using the same basing, it would be very difficult to balance a game and account for movement if you have one person with single bases and the other with group bases.

[havoc7926]

Having tried it I think it's ok but would suggest to people that single based infantry is the way forward. Yes it means that it's not immediately compatible with FoW stuff (or other multi based sci-fi systems) but we are not talking a huge number of infantry models to buy to sort that out.

[komorigumo]

It's interesting and worth noting that we are not talking about basing figures on element style basing (such as Flames of War uses), but rather, using element based figures for the Flames of War game, in games of Gruntz.

The former suggests that one would base their figures element style - which I've been considering myself. Most likely 6 infantry to a medium FOW base, leaders and specialists on single bases (US pennies), and some specialist teams (such as mortar team or HMG team) on small FOW bases. This would allow for ease of movement since the bulk of a squad would be on a single base. Some considerations would need to be made for cover (as Robin suggested), but otherwise the only real draw back would be the need to keep track of calualties.

The latter example is using pre-existing Flames fo War infantry stands in a game of Gruntz. Since FOW squads are not the same size as Gruntz squads, the frustrations the OP speaks about come into play - lots of record keeping since the squad sizes are all over the place.

I think element style bases is an attractive alternative to individual basing, especially given the small size of 15mm troops. And should platoon level or greater scale games be played, it would make movement a lot easier. But as the OP comments, by and large Gruntz games are smaller than platoon level, so the number of figures in play is relatively small.

My $0.02 anyway.