Lunar Surface Warfare 1960 : Wargaming Rules and Scenarios, Chris Flaherty, Soldiershop series Paper Battles and Dioramas 015, 2021.
These rules came up in another discussion recently, and I ordered a copy for the rules reference library (got mine from Better World Books here in the US). After first read-through, looks like a good light reference to have on hand for a few ideas, or a starter kit to fill out with pencil in hand for a bit more detail if you want to actually play it. I don't get the impression that the author has actually played these given the omission of some basics, like terrain. A number of illustrations of equipment and soldier-astronauts done by the author appear throughout the book. There's one photo of painted Airfix astronauts, but not in military array or a game in progress.
In keeping with the Paper Battles series, it does have pages of cutout standees. And a bold faced all-caps warning that they should only be cut out by an adult and the publisher assumes no responsibilities for any injuries incurred while cutting them out! There is also a list of 1/72–1/76 models that could be used. The first part of the book is a potted history of military thinking regarding warfare on the moon from the 1950s through the 1960s, and references a couple of Soviet weapons developed in the 70s and 80s. The Russian standee is holding the 1984 Laser Defense Pistol, but that is not on the weapon charts.
The title is a bit of a misnomer. The weapon chart includes only 5 weapons, all of which were 'envisioned' by the US army c.1965, and both sides have rovers and Airfix style flying stands, so more of a 1970 wargame than 1960. There are no special attacks from the flyers. There is but one scenario, a line em up and fight with equal starting forces and no terrain.
Very Charles Grant style rules: 1D6 or 2D6 for rolls and very limited modifiers. Each turn is 5 minutes, ground scale of 1:10. A single flying vehicle and squads of 2 figures each with a buggy (I think the intent is they act as dragoons and dismount for combat, but there are no dis/mounting rules). Army list for the scenario is each side starts with 3 foot/buggy squads and 1 flyer. Casualties get 'recycled' with new replacements coming in from dispersed deployments, 3 recycles for each foot/buggy unit and 2 for each flyer. Movement rates are amusingly based on what looks like simple time/ground scale calculation without any rounding (I did not do the maths): walking 18cm, driving 58cm, flying 933cm.
As noted, there are no terrain rules, and it looks like all battles are fought in the Sea of Billiards. Meteor strikes are a constant and steady hazard though. (Perhaps the attack was launched under cover of a meteor shower?) The battlefield of undefined size (likely less than 933cm I guess) is divided into 6 grids, 3 on each baseline, with 'the red line' that shouldn't oughta have been crossed down the middle. Every 3 turns a meteor will hit one of the 6 grids (optional rule for 12 grids if you want to deploy a second D6 as a control die). Fortunately, the meteors cause no troop damage nor create craters; they do disrupt communications within the grid for 1–2 turns.
Hand to hand combat is an abstracted knife fight and seems to presume that troops have dismounted. Roll to see who gets more hits each round. Loser suffers cumulative penalties and eventually the squad might surrender and be removed.
There are rules for indirect fire, but without terrain not much call for it on table, but maybe you could pencil in the off-board assets for use until they get cycled onto the board.
Definitely a different game than Lunar!
19 September 2008, 05:42:21 PM