Blitzkreig Commander WWII Rules

[AJ at the Bank]

For anyone that has previously played this set of rules...

Pendraken bought these nearly 2 years ago now....Yes 2 years...
And despite lots of re-work / new version release promises..
Have prioritized other projects and things haven't moved on -
in fact arguably they've moved backwards, given the dissipation of the previously vibrant playing community/forum.

Should we finally concede that BKC is dead?
 

AJ

[grant]

I was a playetester for the 1st edition. My name even appeared in the book.

Be sad if they were dead.

[Norm]

I think 2017 is thought to be a likely release time.

Pendraken have been producing quite a bit of newly sculpted armour, both modern and WWII, so I think they are fully signed up to this project, but there is only so much that these people can do in a day.

The current version consistently gets a lot of play time on the blogs, so I think there is confidence in the commercial viability / success of a new edition.

[Sunjester]

Should we finally concede that BKC is dead?
 

AJ

Why is it dead? Do you play it still? If so it isn't dead!

We play occaisional games of BKC2 at the Tring Club and are planning a bit of a revival in the new year. To be honest we probably will not buy the 3rd edition when it is released, we are all happy with 2nd edition. Are our rules dead? Or are they alive because we are playing them, but will drop dead of a massive heartattack on the day 3rd edition are released?

Seriously what makes a set of rules "dead"? Are they dead once nobody is publishing them, or when no-one is playing them?

[fred]

While it has certainly taken Pendraken a long time to update BKC, they are only a small company, and have been busy with a lot of other projects at the same time.

As to a rule set being dead - considering BKC is an old school set that gives you everything in one book I don't see how it can be considered dead. Some rule sets that need a new army list book every few months, well I could see how they might be considered dead if new stuff isn't published. But for a set that was complete on the day you bought it, then you can keep playing it as long as you find the games enjoyable.

[matiec]

I Think they are great....and will continue to play with them until my copy is completely worn out. The only thing I would miss would be the battlegroup calculator/generator which massively helpful 😀

[vodkafan]

Is BKC the ruleset where you have to think about logistics and resupply a lot? I have never played them but I heard that somewhere and was always interested in that aspect.

[grant]

No, BKC is all about command.

It's Warmaster WW2.

[fred]

Vodka fan - I think you might be thinking of Megablitz.  This is an operational level game, where logistics is a key part of the rules. Units are battalions.

BKC is much smaller scale, units are platoons.  Command and control is very abstract via the activation rolls- these could be modifier by logistical factors - but that it outside the core game.

[vodkafan]

Vodka fan - I think you might be thinking of Megablitz.  This is an operational level game, where logistics is a key part of the rules. Units are battalions.

BKC is much smaller scale, units are platoons.  Command and control is very abstract via the activation rolls- these could be modifier by logistical factors - but that it outside the core game.

Thanks Fred, I will file that info away in the brain for future use.
If a unit in BKC is a platoon/troop of tanks, how many elements does a player have? About 12 would be a battalion's worth, (or a battlegroup if all-arms).. I am just wondering what that might look like in 20mm or even 28mm....   

[fred]

Yep, about 9 to 12 stands to a battalion plus support. Maybe 2 or 3 battalions to a player. I tend to add more command elements so that a HQ isn't commanding a full battalion - as this becomes rather unwieldy. For armour I tend to put HQs at the squadron level, and with the infantry battalion with support will give it two HQs.

BKC is certainly playable with bigger toys - but you can get a lot of kit on the table in 10mm or 6mm

A couple of photos from a big D-Day game

[vodkafan]

One thing I was already wondering about was confirmed by your first pic: a single tank or a handle of infantry looks good on the same size base. It's just a personal aesthetic thing, but one that I like. I would probably lose that going up to 28mm, but 15-20mm might be a sort of sweet spot....I appreciate the virtues of 6-10mm but it just looks too small for me.
Thanks for the nice pics!

[fred]

Glad you like them! They don't get on the table often enough.

The rules suggest slightly different sized bases for infantry and armour - but it seemed much easier to me to use the same size, partly for logistics of buying bases, and as you say having everything the same size looks good.

[vodkafan]

Glad you like them! They don't get on the table often enough.

The rules suggest slightly different sized bases for infantry and armour - but it seemed much easier to me to use the same size, partly for logistics of buying bases, and as you say having everything the same size looks good.

So you have a separate HQ base for each squadron? I think I would like to do that with Infantry companies too. Hmmmm may have to look into these rules. One thing that always irked me about Rapid Fire is the way that units were "rounded" up or down, and you could not detach a platoon or company the way it would have happened in real life.

[fred]

The rules are totally abstract when it comes to HQs. There are limits on how many HQs you can have per 1000 pts. But what units you assign to that HQ are up to you. And there is only an optional rule about keeping units assigned to the same HQ.

We tend to play with reasonably historical order of battles.  But if you want to cross attach units to create your own battle groups then that is completely allowed within the rules. There is no proscribed organisation of troops. The army lists keep stuff in reasonable proportions to each other, but are really guides.

Ultimately liking the rules or not will come down to how you get on with the command roll mechanism - and the way some formations will stand around a lot while others will do lots of stuff. When you take the whole it gives a good feel of a WWII action- but if you look closely at a small part it can seem odd.