The new Mission Book for the Heartbreak Ridge campaign from the upcoming Fields of Fire Deluxe is now free to download from the Fields of Fire Deluxe P500 page at GMT Games for anyone with the original game to play with. [Link]
About The Campaign
Heartbreak Ridge was originally released as a free extra for Fields of Fire around 2010, and then later included in FoF 2nd edition, somewhat hidden at the back of the main Korean War campaign (Naktong River).
Personally, I think it’s one of the most fun campaigns in the series, and after we sent a bunch of playtesters up the ridge it became apparent that it wasn’t just me. The exciting AARs of the Manchus battling up the hill through NKPA trenches, of an enemy who refuse to give up, and desperate last stands at the mission objectives amidst mounting casualties convinced us that more people need to know about this “forgotten” campaign.
We hope that this newly produced mission book, in the new style we’re using for this edition, along with the new components included with Fields of Fire Deluxe (and the Update Kit), encourages players to give it a go. For anyone who has just completed Normandy and are looking for where to go next, I can definitely recommend this one.
The Missions
Eight missions, divided into three “Phases” follow the Manchus through August to October of 1951 as they trek up Bloody Ridge, Heartbreak Ridge and Kim Il Jong Ridge. A brutal campaign that saw massive losses on both sides.
At first glance it seems quite simple, each map is basically the same shape (4 rows by 3 columns) and the enemies are mainly infantry plus varying degrees of off-map artillery and mortar. However, each mission adds something new to contend with, from the elevation patterns of the ground you have to fight over, to poor weather, limited visibility, and restricted firing arcs. In addition, a handful of special rules make the NKPA far more aggressive than any enemy faced so far in the series. They will stubbornly stay in their fortifications, putting up with your artillery as they wait for you to get near, before rushing from their trenches to engage you in point blank combat or lobbing hand grenades down the steep hills at you. Their Limited Action Teams, usually no great obstacle, will fight to the death with a lot more enthusiasm than in previous campaigns.
New Components
Elevation cards: Elevation is a major factor in the Heartbreak Ridge campaign and you’ll need to make careful study of the terrain before setting out. While in other campaigns you place hill cards behind regular terrain to indicate the elevation level of different terrain features, this becomes a bit unwieldly in Heartbreak Ridge with elevation up to five stack high. Since the elevation is known in advance, we’ve included a new set of cards to use in Fields of Fire Deluxe (and the Update Kit). These make the maps much easier to set up.
Counters: Heartbreak Ridge uses our new recoloured NKPA units. We found previously that players had difficulty telling the units apart for Vietnam and Korea. That should be no problem now.
So, here it is Heartbreak Ridge – Cleaned up, rules clarified, setup simplified, and rightfully highlighted with its own Deluxe Mission Book ready to be discovered by a new generation of Fields of Fire players.
Andrew Stead
Fields of Fire Series Developer
Heartbreak Ridge Mission Book, 3rd Edition Draft [PDF Download]
Author: Andrew Stead
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