Scenes from Some Crossfire Games

I finally tried Crossfire - using the 2x2 Small Crossfire scenario "The Farm" - and I have to say, I wish I hadn't taken so long to try it!

Due to the small scenario size, I was able to play three times, over a total of two hours. The first game was very much a nose in the book game. The second and third were decidedly less so. The rules are not complex, but some things will trip you up if you fall back to your default interpretation of concepts such as "group move". 

In Crossfire, initiative is held until lost or given away (unlike most games), so, maintaining the initiative is crucial to getting things done. As a result, the player has to think ahead a little, as well as weigh the likelihood of success and failure of a given action. This is fun and involving decision making, rather than tedious and off-putting.

Movement is from terrain feature to terrain feature, no rulers required. As someone who prefers grid-based gaming for that reason (among others), this appeals to me, but it does mean you need a lot of terrain. That's something my toy-soldiery tables tend to lack, but fortunately the small scenarios are manageable with fairly minimal terrain. That said, I still need to make more.

The images below are from all three games, I think. The Germans (attacker) won two of the three. In the second game, the Germans rushed the farmhouse before they knew what was inside. It was the Soviet MG - who had a field day mowing down the enemy. HE fire made the victories possible in both cases by suppressing the farmhouse occupants.

Smoke screen size varies according to the source.

Engineers lead the way.

The farmhouse - the enemy within was always randomly determined. And was the MG in all cases.

Close combat in Crossfire is brutal and it's possible for an outnumbered side to win. Not this time.

While the objective was the farmhouse there were other elements on the table. In this case, the Germans managed to capture the Soviet FOO and engage the support squads who could have contested German control of the farmhouse. It was not to be.

There is the need for status markers - which, while not my favorite thing, is just something I've learned to accept. The rules are also kind of expensive(around $28 USD) if you just look at the production values - a reprint from a scan (these rules are old). However, the contents are well worth it.

In the US, they're available from On Military Matters (I order from them at least once a year - great service) and Caliver Books in the UK (I've only ordered from them one, but also great service) .