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Flames of War is a World War II tabletop miniatures wargame. Gameplay takes place over a series of turns, with players alternating movement, shooting and close assault. The game is optimised for two players, although it can be played by a larger number of players grouped in teams.
The main rulebook has numerous scenarios players can use for their games, from a simple all-out battle scenario to objective-taking missions. The army sourcebooks contain further scenarios, usually centered around events relevant to that particular book. Gameplay uses six-sided dice, and movement distances and weapon ranges are provided in both inches and centimeters.
To begin all you need is the Flames of War book/rules and a starting force of miniatures depending on what type of army you want to collect.
There is a lot of detail to the various armies and weapons, but the core rules are very simple indeed. Every tank or infantry team has two ratings - skill (veteran, trained or conscripts) and morale (fearless, confident or reluctant).
Movement is simple- infantry move 6", tanks move 12", but can bog down if they are crossing difficult terrain. For shooting you roll the number of dice equal to the rate-of-fire of the weapon - anything from 1 for a big gun, to 4 for a machine-gun. The dice score you need to hit is based on the target's skill rating. If the target are infantry in hard cover you have to then make a firepower roll, depending on the weight of the shell you fire, ranging from 2+ for a heavy howitzer shell, to 6 for a bullet. If the target is a tank the tank makes an armour save depending on its armour.
If a platoon is reduced to half strength they have to start making morale tests or run away. That's pretty well the core rules, but there are lots of add ons to give flavour to different weapons and armies. The main thing is that the rules are easy to understand - that, and the thrill of commanding some really cool tanks, is why the game seems to be attracting quite a few younger players.
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