Over the years, Fields of Fire has proved to be quite tricky to learn for a lot of people. As a solitaire wargame, the usual method of a finding an experienced opponent, or even a club of experienced players, to guide you through learning this new, complex system is a non-starter. This leaves you at the mercy of the Internet and its hidden pearls of wisdom amongst an awful lot of noise.
For Fields of Fire Deluxe, we address this in a few different ways:
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 new Vietnam Campaign Mission book 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.
Most Fields of Fire campaigns take place over a series of missions that are set days or, at most, a couple of weeks apart. They depict your company as it fights its way through one intense period of action.
However, the nine-mission Vietnam campaign presented in FoF Volume I, sees you in command of a 9th Infantry rifle company for just over 2 years of action. During this time, instead of the continuous promotion of your surviving units and gradual progress towards a completely veteran company as you may be used to in previous campaigns, your company will likely degrade over time. Not just through casualties, but you’ll also see your best units rotated out of the battalion and sent home and will experience a restructuring of the regiment half-way through the campaign that leaves you with yet more green units to lead into battle.
All the while the missions themselves ramp up the intensity as you are sent into ambushes, or try to lead single platoons on patrols through VC strongholds. Even the safety of the Staging Area is not guaranteed in this campaign. Missions see you dropped by helicopter into the middle of the jungle or trying to defend far flung outposts with no place to fall back to.
Note: All images are of playtest art and not final. All image credits: Craig Allen, 4 PARA.
Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns featuring The British Army – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.
[links to previous InsideGMT articles: Episode 1 – Arnhem and Episode 2 – Falklands]
Progress on Fields of Fire Deluxe Edition moves ever forwards. With the layout & design folk at GMT freed up from other projects (and everyone back from having fun gaming at WBC), the mission books are full speed ahead. First up will be Vietnam, this is the most complex of the books so we thought it best to get the layout perfected here and then everything else should be easy. New mission layouts, updates to missions, units, package lists, events, almost everything has been rewritten from scratch. This one has the most campaign specific rules too, so we think it’s best to get it online and into the hands of the community quickly who will no doubt let us know if our rules are as clear as mud and need further improving before they go to the printer.
We stress-tested the new counter sheets recently and made a few amendments, they’re done now (really this time!), so work can begin on making the Update Kit sheets. Three sheets, 525 counters. 115 of those are extras for people who want to upgrade their 1st edition sets straight to 3rd edition. You’ll find corrected counters, new counters, QoL counters and a bunch of recoloured NKPA units in there. We’ll include some kind of guidance on which counters are new, which are replacements and which 2nd edition owners can ignore. You can find more info on the kit here: Fields of Fire, Deluxe Edition Update Kit.
It’s been fun watching Youtubers get to grips with the draft 3rd edition rules recently, I know it’s tricky without the new Mission Books and counters to support them, but we’ll get those out for you all soon! There will also be a Living Rules update based on the past nine months of internal discussion, plus feedback from playtesters, proofreaders, folk on BGG and Facebook and Youtubers. The master doc has a few edits noted here and there for clarification and some updates to the images to submit. Looks like we’re approaching 500 edits in total (big book, they do add up!).
Talking of stress testing, having Made the Cut last month, a small group of us are playing through the first of the Fields of Fire III campaigns right now. After we’ve made some adjustments, this will be ready for wider playtesting. You’ll find a call for playtesters in the August 2023 newsletter. The Falklands campaign is the least complex of the three in the set, so we’re looking for people who can already play the game, aren’t intimidated by the Normandy campaign, and are looking for something different to try. These will be followed by the Arnhem campaign and Afghanistan as they become ready for testing.
Finally, those of you following wargaming news on Twitter or who attended WBC this year may have noted that Ben Hull was there showing off a Tarawa/Saipan set. As expected, his prototype shows off some new innovative ideas for the series and feels quite different from the previous amphibious invasion of Peleliu in FoFII. It’s quite a long way off yet, but we’re quite excited about this one.
So, there’s this to look forward to along with a deluxe upgrade for the Peleliu, Chosin Reservoir and Hue campaigns from Fields of Fire II at some point. There are a few things to work out, but hopefully these upgrades and the Tarawa/Saipan set will be compatible not only with Fields of Fire II, but also Fields of Fire Deluxe so everyone can enjoy them.
Tarawa/Saipan Prototype Module Samples (not final components)
And now back to work. I see “Bunker” needs adding to the index, and a definition of what “Under Fire” actually means is required on the Enemy Activity Hierarchy chart somewhere…
Andrew Stead
Fields of Fire Series Developer
Note: All game images are of Vassal playtest art and not final
Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns featuring The British Army – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.
Previous Article: Episode 1 – Arnhem
Note: All images are of playtest art and not final
Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.
Although I can’t necessarily speak for a non-British audience, ‘Operation Market Garden’ and the battle of Arnhem is pretty well embedded in the mind of the public; mostly through repeats of the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’ every Christmas! But who can not be interested in the audacious operation to seize a route through the German-occupied Netherlands in an attempt to bypass the heavily defended ‘Siegfried Line’ along the German border? It’s a tale of daring, bravery, stubborn resistance and, ultimately, hopelessness, as the British Armoured Corps racing northwards to link up with the paratroopers dropped 60 miles behind enemy lines never made it in time.
So what’s going on with Fields of Fire Deluxe?
In October 2022, a draft of the new rulebook went online. This is due for another update once all the components are done to add new images along with a handful of new clarifications. The rulebook now contains all the base rules, with full explanations and examples, and should answer any question that comes up during play. However, that’s just the first step towards the new presentation of Fields of Fire.
The second step is the Starter Guide & Field Manual. Fields of Fire can be a tricky game to grasp, especially for players of other tactical wargames. The training course in this guide takes you through the basics of the game one step at a time and teaches you how to follow the sequence of play. The book also provides a series of examples and guidance for the various situations that the campaigns present; how to plan for an air assault, what to think about when setting up a defensive mission, a demonstration of between-mission reconstitution and replacements and so on. The main text is complete and it’s currently going through a series of checks, edits and design discussions to make sure it’s as user-friendly as possible.
Today we are making a revised Third Edition series rulebook available for Fields of Fire as a digital download, free from the GMT website. This high resolution PDF contains new diagrams and examples, has been reorganized, has all clarifications and errata integrated, and has a complete index of examples and topics (plus the PDF has bookmarks!).
Additionally, we are releasing a revised Enemy Activity Check Hierarchy Player Aid. These materials can be used with Fields of Fire Volumes I and II, and The Bulge Campaign. A few notes for players who are diving into the game with these rules and PAC:
We’re ready for the final assault, hopefully there are enough commands to go around and get the job done.
The orders are to take the town by sundown, and we’re starting to feel the time pressure now.
Savage fighting on the outskirts of town has caused massive damage to both sides. 2/2 captures the secondary objective, driving away the enemy spotter. But not before one of our Shermans explodes after a direct hit from the mortar fire he called down last turn. A second StuG III joins the fight supported by an assault rifle wielding squad. The lack of commands going around is really hampering us. We have two spotters, but they never seem to get a break. And we have a green 1st PLT HQ with no radio struggling to get anything done but somehow still moving forwards.
Someone needs to hit the town with as much firepower as we can manage. And quickly.
