FAB Crusader has turned into being several games within a game design. There are the overall operations, which can best be likened to a combination of three seashells combined with roulette. You have to bluff, feint, and maneuver to be strong where your opponent is weak and take victory points in sudden rushes to push you to victory. A part of this is also the resource management bit where you have to make hard choices between taking losses in pips or assets and manage your flow, your rhythm, knowing when to attack, and when to save for later. But then there is the tactical game, where it is about using the right tools for the job. Or at least trying to do so.

Assets

One thing we knew already from the start was that we wanted assets to feel unique and important. To feel as vital as the blocks, but in different ways. When players take a loss, we wanted them to feel real agony about whether to risk losing a valuable pip, or an equally valuable asset with special abilities far beyond what the manpower in terms of pips might indicate.

We are both self-professed lovers of the little guy and the importance that the least glorious members of the fighting forces bring to the effort at large. We wanted assets to feel like puzzle pieces that a competent and slightly lucky commander could piece together into a whole bigger than its parts. We have basically seven types of assets.

Regular battle assets, which are infantry. Engineer assets that have a variety of vital uses, like destroying or building fieldworks, breaching minefields, or creating defended roadblocks to cover your exposed flanks during key moments. Then there are recon assets, which can screen or scout other units (more about these, below). They are absolutely necessary to have if you want to be able to use your units well. Then there are Anti-Tank (AT) and Machine Gun (MG) assets. AT is good against tanks, MG against infantry. For the infantry, these two types of weapons were what they had to defend themselves against an attack from either tanks or other infantry. Even if forces often ended up close to each other, fighting from “close” and “afar” can have very different meanings depending on who you ask. In any case, having better range than your opponent is a deadly advantage. Recon, Engineers, AT, and Armor also work as regular battle assets if you should find yourself in tight spot.

The last but not least is of course artillery. No special use here but some artillery is permanently assigned to a unit, given the unit an intrinsic artillery capability.

Below are some examples of the use of different assets.

Example 1 – Scouting

Recon assets have two special capabilities — scouting and screening. In this example we will take a closer look how scouting works in FAB: Crusader.

1. In a friendly Movement Phase, before any movement is conducted, the Allied player wants to scout ahead of his armored forces. The KDG Recon asset is placed in the area adjacent to the 22 Arm unit.
2. The area contains two Axis units, but only one die is rolled per area. The Allied player must roll 5 or less to achieve a successful scout, the roll is 3 – Success!
3. All Axis units in the scouted area are revealed (placed face-up), but since one Axis unit is a Ghost unit, it is removed from the map and placed in the Ghost Unit Holding Box.

Note that the Axis player could use one of his own recon assets (either the 3 or 33 Auf) to counter-recce the Allied scouting attempt (increasing the scouting roll by +2), but during the opening moves of the game they are better suited for screening.

Example 2 – Screening

Recon assets in their screening role is a very useful tool in the game. A successful (or partial success) cause the enemy to halt his move or at least slow him down.

1. During the Admin Phase, the Axis player places the 33 Auf recon asset in an area adjacent to the 132 Ariete armored unit. This is to buy his own forces time and to slow the advance of the Allied units.
2. The Allied 22 Arm moves into the area occupied by the recon asset, paying one additional movement point.
3. The Axis player rolls one die – the roll is = 5; Success!
4. The Allied unit must stop and is revealed (placed face-up).

Note that here as well as in scouting, the Allied player could use one of his own recon assets to counter recce the Axis screening attempt.

Example 3 – Anti-Tank, Machine Gun Assets and Intrinsic Artillery

Situation: The Allied have previously eliminated the Axis Garrison at Sidi Rezegh and are now in control of the area. The Axis desperately tries to retake this precious VP area with the 155 and 361 infantry units of the Afrika Division, part of the DAK (Deutshes Afrika Korps).

The Combat Round

Assets are assigned – Attacker first, Defender second

1. The Axis player (Attacker) assigns the following assets: 33 PJ (AT), 18 FlaK (AT) and Arko 104 (Artillery).
2. The Allied, low on asset for the 30^th Corps, only assigns the P. Steyn MG asset.

Point Units are designated

• The Allied designates the 7 Arm to be the point unit.
• The Axis in turn, designates the 155 as the point unit.

Note: Assets with special capabilities (shown by an Asterisk) may be re-assigned after point units are revealed.

The players re-assign assets as follows:

1. The player then assigns the 33 PJ Anti-Tank (AT) asset to the Allied 7 Arm unit. This will allow the asset to use its special AT capability, to reduce the effectiveness of the armored unit.
2. The powerful 18 FlaK asset (88mm Gun) will be used as a battle asset. Normally, Defending AT assets do not have the -2 SN when firing if target’s point unit is armor. However, the German Flak assets have this modifier even as the attacker.

Artillery Fire – Attacker first, Defender second

1. The Axis Arko 104 firing. The Base Success number to hit is 5, since the target’s point unit is armor, the SN is modified by -2. The Axis player rolls one die – rolls a 7 = miss.
2. The Axis 361 Infantry’s Intrinsic Artillery fires and rolls a 2 = Hit.
3. The Allied 7 Arm takes the hit and is rotated to show its 3-pip strength at the top.
4. Now the Allied 5 SA Infantry fires its Intrinsic Artillery. The roll is a 6 and since the SN is not modified, the result is a miss.

Defensive Ground Fire

1. 7 Arm has +2 (firer is armor) and -1 (Axis 33 PJ use AT capability) for a net SN of 5+2-1=6. The Allied player rolls 3 dice (the strength for the 7 Arm). This is expressed as “3 tries for a 5” – rolls 2, 7, 7 – 1 hit!
2. 5 SA has -1 (green firing on veteran) for a net SN of 5-1=4. This is “4 tries for a 4” – rolls 5, 5, 7, 8 – miss!
3. P. Steyn MG asset has +1 (defending MG firing) for a net SN of 5+1=6. This is “1 try for a 6” – rolls a 3=hit!
4. Two hits are scored. The Axis 155 Infantry takes the first hit and the 361 takes the second hit, reducing the two units by one step.

Attacking Ground Fire

1. 155 has -1 (TDN, terrain modifier), -2 (target’s point unit is armor) for a net SN of 5-1-2=2. This is “3 tries for a 2” – rolls 1, 5, 10 – 1 hit!
2. 361 has -1 (TDN), -2 (target’s point unit is armor) for a net SN of 5-1-2=2. This is “2 tries for a 3” rolls 2,9 – 1 hit!
3. 18 Flak has -1 (TDN), +1 (elite firing on veteran) for a net SN of 5-1+1=5. This is “1 try for a 5” rolls a 2= 1 hit!
4. The Allied player has 2 hits to resolve. The first hit is a mandatory step loss, so he eliminates the

P. Steyn MG asset (placing it into the Eliminated Box). The second hit must be applied to the designated point unit (7 Arm unit), which absorbs the second hit.

Conclusion

All remaining assets are sent to the Used Box. The Allies still control Sidi Rezegh, but their armor unit has been reduced to half its strength. The Axis attack must be considered as a success, regarding that they didn’t have any armor of their own, but extensive use of AT assets probably saved them.

Armor Assets

Only the Allies have these assets and they represent regiments of Mathilda and Valentine Infantry Tanks. These were slow but heavily armored tanks built for infantry support and only the Allied 13^th Corps possess those assets. Although not shown in this example, armor assets may be used in a combat support role instead of normal firing. In the Combat Phase, each armor asset designated for combat support gives direct support to one infantry-class unit, providing a +1 SN modifier to that unit.

Keep your heads up for the next article, it’s about units!

Michael Gustavsson

---

Introduction to FAB: Crusader Part 1 – Why We Fight