Somewhere in France, 1944 - Panzer Kids!

As noted in my last post, my son and I were set for another game of Panzer Kids. The game took place Thursday night. The scenario: a big cat (Tiger 1) was on the hunt for allied mice (three Shermans), aided by a Panzer IV. 

Both sides made good use of the cover provided by the countryside.

A shoot out - two Shermans engaged the Tiger.

The Tiger took damage quickly and was rendered largely useless.

The Panzer IV on the other hand ...

... scored the first kill of the game.

The Allied tanks again ganged up on the Tiger and this time knocked it out for good.

The young general surveys the final carnage with smug satisfaction.

The cat's eyes were too big for its stomach!. 

Despite the abundance of cover, the Allied commander opted to turn the hunter into the hunted and did so boldly. It paid off, this time.

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The optional rules worked quite well The bocage rules also worked as I hoped - allowing the Allies to keep one Sherman in reserve to strike when the Tiger was vulnerable, and the PzIV to advance up the table (with it's weaker defensive value, this was a huge plus).

My son immediately asked when we could play again, which is the highest possible praise for a game.

This is our third Panzer Kids outing I think? I may have said it before, but it bears repeating, I highly recommend Panzer Kids - don't let the Kids part turn you off. There's an enjoyable game here for adults, too.

There's a pay-what-you-want Basic version if you want to give it a go to get a sense of the rules, but the Deluxe edition rules add some of the features older gamers would expect (flank/rear bonuses, damage effects, ATGs, etc.) without adding complexity - plus there's quite a list of tank stats. 

I think this game took 45 minutes start to finish. It's hard to tell exactly how much of it was the game though, because there were quite a few tangents - such as extended sound effects making for shots that hit (or missed for that matter), wild cheering and "end-zone celebrations" for successful shots, random hugs, spontaneous improvised "national anthems" to spur on the sides, etc. - not atypical if you've ever had the good fortune to game with a nine year-old.