Combat Patrol(TM) Play Test for Historicon

Friday during our club night I ran a play test for the scenario I plan to run at Historicon in a couple of weeks using Combat Patrol(TM).  The table doesn’t look like much.  I had been on a business trip all week, and I couldn’t find the sheet I have for the town square or the roads.   It will look better by the time of Historicon.  The purposes of this test were 1) to further exercise the night fighting rules and 2) to see if the balance was about right.  I’ll bring the aesthetics up a notch by Historicon.

You can see the roadblock in this picture
You can see the roadblock in this picture

Anyway, the scenario involved a German force sent at night to capture and dismantle a roadblock to pave the way for an advance.

The Americans began deployed throughout the town at their discretion.  Until they moved or fired, I kept them hidden.  The Germans began in the nearby woods and advanced to seize the roadblock.  The German force consisted of a platoon of infantry with three halftracks and a Tiger in support.  The American force consisted of a platoon of infantry without support weapons.

In the night rules that will be published in an upcoming supplement, visibility distances are dependent on the phase of the moon.  This being a full — or nearly full — moon, maximum visibility with the naked eye was 24 inches.  This gave an advantage to the Germans, who were attacking, as it allowed them to get a little closer to the objective before taking fire.

German infantry made it into the village.
German infantry made it into the village.

The Germans made it into the village.  The addition of the machine-guns on the halftracks helped the Germans suppress the American defenders, and the Germans eventually made it to the roadblock.  We had to stop at 2130 hrs., so we were were a couple of turns away from a clear decision, but the consensus was that the Germans would have accomplished their mission.

Once I punch up the aesthetics a bit, I think this will be a nice convention scenario for six or seven players.