Gators!

Copyright 2002 by Mike Fischer
Last modified: 10/18/2004

I. Introduction

Player 1: Colonel, the friendly island nation of Unnarstan has been engulfed in revolution. The surviving members of the government have asked for American intervention. Your MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) is in the area, but there are no other forces available, and speed is of the essence, so the Marines have the ball. Your task is to fight your way into Unnarstan, occupy the capital, and bring the rightful government back there before you run out of supplies, which will happen in 15 days. You have advantages in numbers and quality, and you get to choose where your invasion will go in, but time and terrain are against you. Semper fi!

Player 2: Liberation! At last, our fair nation is free of foreign influences! Generalissimo, you have done well, but the imperialists are sure to react to our coup. Our armed forces are equipped with American weapons, so if they try to intervene, you can give them a taste of their own medicine. You must fight wisely, for we are outnumbered, but we know our own land and can defend it well. All we require is that you delay the invaders until their supplies run out, and then annihilate them at leisure. Death to the invaders!

Gators! is a 2-player wargame depicting a modern US Marines amphibious operation. This is a complete game with counters and maps (you must download my M8 map system separately). All you provide is a six-sided die.

II. The Units

II-a. Reading the Counters

Each counter has a row of numbers across the top. The first three, separated by slashes, are the unit's attack strength against soft targets, armored targets, and air targets. Tildes (wiggly lines) means this is an air unit whose attacks depend on the Air Attack Markers it took off with. The middle number is the unit's Defend rating. The last number is the unit's speed. If there are two speed numbers separated by slashes, the unit is amphibious; the first number is the unit's land speed, and the second is its speed in water.

In the middle of the counter is a picture of the unit. If the corners of the unit are beveled instead of square, this means the unit is armored; all other units are soft targets (or air targets if the unit is an air unit). A "C" in the middle of the unit's picture means this is a command unit. An "R" with a number in the upper-left corner of the picture means the unit has a combat range equal to that number; all other units have a range of 1. The background color of the picture tells you at a glance what kind of unit it is.

ColorUnit TypeColorUnit Type
OliveBasic ground troopsGraySpecial Forces
OrangeHeavy weaponsWhiteNon-combatants
RedArtilleryCyanAir units
GreenAir defenseTurquoiseLanding craft
YellowArmor/CavalryBlueShips

At the bottom of the counter is the unit's designator. This helps you tell identical units apart.

Not all the units' capabilities are used in this scenario. For example, there are no counters representing individuals, so there's no one for the Scout/Sniper team to shoot at. Future scenarios will take advantage of everything these units can do.

II-b. The Marines

Player 1 gets almost all the combat units found in an actual Marine Expeditionary Unit. My sources are the book Marine by Tom Clancy (Berkley Books, 1993), and the 15th MEU's excellent site at www.15meu.usmc.mil/weappersonequip.htm

II-c. The Defenders

Player 2 gets units based on older American technology. They are outclassed by the Marines' equipment in most areas, but that doesn't make them harmless.

III. Map Terrain

This game uses the following M8 maps, arranged with points up-and-down and flat sides to the left and right: Movement rules: Several town hexes next to each other are considered one town.

The city in the center of the map is the object of the game; the Marines must clear it, and its surroundings, of enemy units and bring a land unit and two UH-1N's there in order to win.

IV. Setting Up the Game

Set up the seven map sheets. Player 2, set up your counters anywhere on the land map. (Units cannot start the game in bridge hexes.) Your job at this point is to guess where the invasion will happen, and deploy to defend against it. You have 18 "?" (camouflage) markers that you can stack on top of any unit you wish, to keep Player 1 from knowing what they are. All air units must be stacked in one of the Airstrip hexes, unless you want to keep two F-5A's in the air in anticipation of the Marines' arrival. If you do this, the F-5A's must be within 3 hexes of an airstrip and must have their air-attack markers stacked with them before the game begins. Missile Boats and Patrol Boats must be in water next to land. Do not place any Guerrillas counters on the map at this time; these units have special rules for placement, which are covered in the Movement section. You may also place Debris markers on the land map at this time (not on roads or bridges).

Also, you need to find out which of your advanced weapons systems will work, and which ones will be crippled by a lack of spare parts. Roll a die (Player 1 must not see this). Interpret the results as follows:

1-2: the Missile Boat works; the Skyhawk planes and one of your Hawk SAM's doesn't.
3-4: the Skyhawk planes work; the Missile Boat and one of your Hawk SAM's doesn't.
5-6: both Hawk SAM's work; the Missile Boat and the Skyhawk planes don't.
Units that don't work, according to this die roll, can still be placed on the map and can defend themselves normally. But they exert no ZOC and cannot move or attack in any way. If one of your SAM batteries doesn't work, write down its map and hex number so you'll know which one is good to go and which is out of commission.

While Player 2 is setting up, Player 1 must figure out his combat loadings. Assign the units to the ships as follows:

Now decide which land units will go ashore first, and how they'll get there. See the Transport Table for details about each unit's transport ability, and the Units Table for how many transport units a given combat unit requires. (Transport units are a combination of weight and square footage.) Thus, if you want to move a Rifle Platoon using CH-53E's, one helicopter will do the job. To use CH-46E's or Zodiacs, you need to break the Rifle Platoon into three Squads, one Squad per carrying unit. With AAV's, each can carry two Squads, so you can put two Squads in one AAV and one in a second AAV, or you can send three AAV's with two Squads each; the six Squads can form two Platoons once they're ashore. Place the appropriate Squads, if any, on the main grid of the Combat Loading Sheet for the various ships, and put the unused Platoons in the "Platoons Split Up Into Squads" section. You cannot send Squads ashore unless you have a Platoon counter free for each three Squads. Platoons that are destroyed cannot be reused. Only Rifle Platoons can be split up.

Once Player 2 has finished placing his counters, Player 1 puts his three ships on the map, in deep water that is not adjacent to shallow water. The LSD cannot be more than 3 hexes away from the LHD; the LPD can be any distance away. Set the Turn counter on the Combat Loading Sheet to 1.

V. Playing the Game

Each turn represents half a day, and includes the following phases:
  1. Player-1 Launch Phase: player 1's ships can launch air and amphibious units, up to the maximum launch capability of each ship. Any ship can launch up to 6 amphibious and air units per turn, as long as they can find an empty hex adjacent to the ship. Place the launched units next to the ship that launched them, with any carried units stacked under them. If a ship is at the edge of the map, you can set the launched units off the map, as though more hexes were there, as long as there are not more than six launched units around each ship. Units off the map must move into an empty map hex before making any other moves, and cannot end the turn off the map.
  2. Player-1 Recovery Phase: any of Player 1's air or amphibious units adjacent to a ship can land on that ship, subject to the limits on how many units each ship can handle.
  3. Player-1 Movement Phase: Player 1 moves his units, according to their movement limits and the terrain involved. Ships must move first, then other units in any order.
  4. Player-1 Combat Phase: resolve all combat by Player 1's units.
  5. Player 2 Guerrilla Phase: if Player 2 has lost any units, he can roll to try and get a Guerrillas unit. Put it on the map at this time if the die roll succeeds.
  6. Player 2 Movement Phase: Player 2 moves his units, according to their movement limits and the terrain involved, in any order.
  7. Player-2 Combat Phase: resolve all combat by Player 2's units.
  8. Turn Phase: advance the turn counter on the Combat Loading Sheet. Determine if either player has won the game.

VI. Movement

VI-a. Basic Movement

A unit can move as many hexes as its Move rating, subject to terrain. No unit has to move at any time. Units can pass through friendly units as they move. The facing of the counters does not matter.

VI-b. Air Unit Movement

Air units can move anywhere on the map, ignoring terrain.

When a helicopter gunship or fixed-wing aircraft takes off, you must decide what kinds of weapons it will carry. Depending on the aircraft, your choices may include anti-ground (soft targets), anti-armor, or anti-air weapons. These Air-Attack Markers are stacked with the aircraft as it moves, and are discarded each time the aircraft makes an attack of the appropriate type.

Once an air unit has used up its Air-Attack Markers, or has dropped off the unit it was carrying, it must move back toward a ship or HERS (Player 1) or an Airstrip (Player 2). It cannot attack or pick up another unit until it has returned to the ship, HERS, or Airstrip. This represents the need for refueling and rearming. Such a unit still defends itself at full strength if it gets attacked while in the air. Air units can get new Air-Attack Markers at an LHD or Airstrip, but not at a HERS or other ships.
Exception: a unit that never moves more than 1 hex from its LHD or Airstrip does not discard its Air-Attack Markers as it uses them. Such a unit can quickly land between attacks and re-arm.

VI-c. Zones of Control

All units exercise a zone of control (ZOC) in the six hexes surrounding them. If a unit moves next to an enemy unit that can attack it, that unit must stop moving, no matter how many move units it may have. For example, if an Infantry Platoon moves next to an AV-8B, it must stop, because the AV-8B can attack a soft target (the Infantry can't tell if the AV-8B is loaded for ground or air attack). But if the AV-8B moves next to the Infantry Platoon, it can keep moving, because the Platoon can't attack an air target. A unit that starts a turn in an enemy unit's ZOC cannot move into another hex in the same enemy's ZOC. A camouflaged anti-air unit must give up its Camouflage in order for its ZOC to stop a Player-1 aircraft from moving. Otherwise, the Player-1 air unit can move right past the Player-2 unit as though it had no air attack, ignoring its ZOC. Player 2 must say something like "Hold it" and remove the Camouflage marker while the Player-1 air unit is adjacent to the Player-2 air-attack unit in question.

VI-d. Stacking

Any unit moving on its own must end its move in an empty hex. The exceptions are:
  1. When a unit is carrying other units, the carried units are stacked under the carrying unit.
  2. Three Squads can move into the same hex so they can form a Platoon; see the section on "Merging Squads into Platoons."
  3. A 5-Ton Truck can enter the hex of a friendly artillery piece (155mm, 75mm, or Hawk SAM) to tow it; see the section on "Towing Artillery."
  4. Air units can stack without limit in a friendly Airstrip hex.
  5. A Player-1 small team can stack with a FAV and move with it.
  6. An Infantry Platoon can stack with a special-weapons unit. This means Heavy-Weapons Platoons (both players), Javelin Teams (Player 1), Dragon Teams (Player 2), and Stinger Teams (Player 2). Such units can move together and attack normally, and can stack and unstack at will. Only one Infantry Platoon and one weapons unit can be together in a hex.

VI-e. Amphibious Units

An amphibious unit moving from water to a Beach hex can begin moving on land at its normal land-movement rate, minus 1 move if the amphibious unit moved in the water in the current turn. When moving from Beach to water, the unit can move 1 unit in the water if it has at least 1 move unit left over from its land movement.

When moving from water to Open Land, the amphibious unit must move next to the land on one turn and stop, move onto the land in the next turn and stop, and begin normal land movement on the following turn. When going from Open Land to water, the unit must move next to the water and stop in one turn, enter the water and stop on the next turn, and move normally in water on the turn after that. Town and Jungle hexes are considered Open Land for amphibious-movement purposes.

VI-f. Unloading Units

A unit that is carrying another unit can unload it at the end of the carrying unit's move. Place the unloaded unit next to the unit that was carrying it. The unloaded unit can take part in combat immediately, but cannot move until the next turn. Helicopters cannot unload units onto anything except ships and empty map hexes. An amphibious unit in water cannot unload land units; it must get onto the land first.

VI-g. Loading Units

A unit that wishes to be carried by another unit must move into the carrying unit's hex, or the carrying unit can move into the carried unit's hex. The carrying unit must have room in itself for the carried unit. See the Transport Table for how many transport units a given unit can carry, and the Units Table for how many units a carried unit takes up. Place the carried unit's counter under the carrying unit. The carried unit cannot take part in combat in the current turn, and the carrying unit cannot move until next turn. Helicopters cannot load units from anywhere except ships and map hexes. An amphibious unit in water cannot load land units; it must get onto the land first.

Compound loading (carrying a unit that is itself carrying a unit) is allowed. When compound loading, figure only the transport units of the unit being carried, not for the units inside that unit. In other words, if you put two Squads in an AAV, and then load the AAV into an LCAC (maximum transport = 8), you aren't over the LCAC's limit because you're only counting the 7 transport units of the AAV, not the 2 units used by the 2 Squads.

Firing from LCU's and LCAC's

Most units carried in an LCU or LCAC can fire their weapons while carried, as long as they weren't loaded in the current turn. Units that cannot fire while carried are Heavy-Weapons Platoons, Mortar Teams, and 155mm howitzers. Javelin Teams, TOW-missile units, and antiair units can't fire from within an LCAC.

VI-h. Squads

Squads are the building-blocks of Rifle Platoons, but they aren't meant to be in battle by themselves. A Squad can move at will, and defend itself normally. But unless a Marine command unit is within three hexes of a Squad, the Squad cannot attack. [This is not a realistic depiction of a USMC squad; it's a game-related decision to keep Player 1 from flooding the map with individual squads and winning by sheer numbers.]

VI-i. Merging Squads Into Platoons

If three Squads end their turn in the same hex, you can immediately replace them with one Rifle Platoon, as long as you have such a Platoon counter free. The newly-formed Platoon cannot move in this turn, but can attack and defend normally. Any three Squads can merge; they don't have to be from the same Platoon, although it's better for morale and unit efficiency if they are.

VI-j. Splitting Up Platoons

You can split a Rifle Platoon into three Squads once it is ashore if you wish. Two of the three Squads must move into adjacent empty hexes, or into the hexes of units that can carry them, and cannot move closer to any of Player 2's units as they do so (unless the Platoon is surrounded). Such Squads cannot move any further by themselves during the current turn.

VI-k. Towing Artillery

Artillery units cannot move by themselves. A CH-53E can pick them up and move them, but the usual way (and Player 2's only way) is by truck. Move the truck into the artillery piece's hex, stacking it on top of the artillery. The truck's move is done for this turn, and the artillery cannot attack in this turn. On the next turn, the truck can move with the artillery piece, but it loses one move unit for hitching up the gun, loading the ammo, etc. On subsequent turns, the truck can move at its full speed. Artillery cannot fire while being towed. Player 2 must stack 2 trucks with a Hawk SAM battery in order to move it, since the battery actually consists of 2 main units, the missile launcher and the radar trailer.

To unload the artillery, move into the desired hex. The gun cannot fire in this turn, and the truck's move is done. On the next turn, the truck can move freely, and the artillery can fire normally.

VI-l. "?" Camouflaged Units

Player 2 can hide some of his units under camouflage. Player 1 can see that something is there, but can't tell what it is. If a camouflaged unit moves, it loses the "?" marker, but it can attack without losing it. Units in Jungle hexes can move without losing their Camouflage, as long as they stay in Jungle. If a Player-1 unit ends its move next to a camouflaged unit, the unit has been scouted and the "?" marker must be removed. If the camouflaged unit is in a Jungle hex, only a Recon Team, Scout/Sniper Team, or the SEAL team can scout it. Attacking a camouflaged unit does not remove its camouflage, unless it is forced to retreat. Note that an anti-air unit that is Camouflaged does not exert a zone of control over enemy air units, but such an anti-air unit can drop its Camouflage when an enemy air unit is next to it.

If you wish, once a unit has been scouted, you can put the "?" marker on some other unit. Player 1 will already have seen what it is, but now he'll have to remember it, which will make his job more difficult. The newly-camouflaged unit cannot be adjacent to any Player-1 unit.

VI-m. Guerrillas

Player 2 can create Guerrilla units on any turn after he loses his first unit(s). During the Player-2 Guerrilla Phase, if he rolls 4 or higher on a die, he can place one Guerrillas counter anywhere on the map, as long as it is not next to a Player-1 unit. If Player 1 has a ROWPU next to any town hex, he is winning the hearts and minds of the population, and Player 2 must roll a 6 (not 4 or higher) to form Guerrillas.

For Player 1 to attack Guerrillas, he must first roll 5-6 on a die. If the die roll fails, the Guerrillas have blended into the population and can't be attacked. If a Guerrillas unit is destroyed, its counter can be reused to form another Guerrillas unit.

VI-n. HERS Refuel

To use the HERS, you must bring it ashore in a CH-53E, which must land in open terrain or a beach and stay with the HERS. An air unit that ends its move next to the CH-53E does not need to return to a ship to refuel, but can begin another mission starting on the next turn. You get six Refuel markers; discard one each time an air unit refuels. When the Refuel counters are gone, the HERS has run dry and nothing can refuel from it. To refill it, either bring an LVS truck from a ship to a hex next to the HERS (3 Refuel markers per truck), or the CH-53E must return to a ship and end its turn there for all 6 Refuels.

If you want to use M1A1 tanks, you must have a HERS, and you must keep an LVS truck next to the CH-53E to represent tank-refueling missions. It doesn't actually have to move to where the tanks are, and the tanks don't have to come to the HERS the way air units do. Keeping 1-2 M1A1's running for one turn uses one Refuel marker, which is discarded at the start of the movement phase. If these conditions aren't met, the tanks can't move that turn, but can still attack and defend normally. The tanks can land and move normally for one turn without refuelling, because they hit the beach with full gas tanks.

Because the HERS is basically a set of large gasoline tanks, the explosion from destroying it (or the CH-53E carrying it) can damage nearby units; all adjacent soft and air units (friend or foe) suffer an attack with combat odds of 2.

VI-o. Medical Team

If Player 1's Medical Team sets up shop in a town hex, they will profoundly influence the hearts and minds of the locals, to the point where some of the fighters will stop fighting. At the end of the Player-1 movement phase, roll a die. If it comes up 5-6, the closest Player-2 Militia unit to the Medical Team will lay down its arms; remove that unit from the game as though it was destroyed. If two Militias are equally close, Player 2 chooses which one quits.

VI-p. Capturing an Airstrip

If Player 1 captures an Airstrip (a Marine land unit ends a turn in it, with no Player-2 land units next to it), then he can use it to refuel his air units immediately, and as soon as he brings an empty CH-53E to it, he can rearm air units there as well. The land unit does not have to stay in the Airstrip once it has been captured. Rules for stacking air units in an Airstrip are the same for Player 1 as for Player 2.

Player 2 can recapture an Airstrip by bringing a land unit to it, with no Marine land units next to it. Now the Airstrip belongs to Player 2 again, working like it always did. If Player 1 recaptures it, he has to repeat the whole process.

VI-q. Debris

Player 2 can place Debris markers in any land hex except roads or bridges while he is placing his other units during game set-up, or any of his Infantry Platoons can leave a Debris marker in the hex it has just left. Debris markers cannot be moved or reused. They can serve as beach obstacles, roadblocks, or anything similar.

No vehicle can enter a hex with Debris. Player 1's foot units that enter such a hex risk setting off the booby traps that Player 2 left in the debris. If Player 1 moves a unit into a Debris hex and rolls a 1-2, that unit suffers an attack at combat odds of 2, ignoring any result that does not affect the defender. Debris in an Airstrip hex means aircraft cannot use that airstrip.

Player 1's Engineers can enter a Debris hex at no risk of a booby-trap attack, and they remove the Debris if they spend an entire turn in that hex without attacking or being attacked. The SEAL Team can also enter a Debris hex at no risk, and while they cannot remove Debris, they can disarm the traps and render the hex safe for foot units if they spend the entire turn in that hex. Player 2's units will never set off the traps, and any Player-2 Infantry or Militia unit can remove the Debris by meeting the same conditions as Player 1's Engineers.

Debris on a bridge means the bridge is wrecked, and it will take Player 1's Engineers two entire turns, not one, to remove the Debris and fix the bridge.

VII. Combat

VII-a. Basic Rules

  1. Any unit with enemy units in range can take part in combat, but is not required to do so.
  2. Multiple units can attack a single foe
  3. A strong unit can spread its attack among several defenders, as long as the defender(s) are adjacent to each other and in range of the attacker.
  4. A unit can attack an enemy unit only if the attacking unit has a non-zero Attack rating for the kind of unit being attacked. In other words, a unit with an Attack rating of 0 for air targets cannot attack an air unit.
  5. A unit carried by another unit cannot be attacked; only the carrying unit(s) can be attacked.

VII-b. Resolving Combat

First, if a particular unit (like Guerrillas or a unit in Jungle) is hard to hit, make the die roll to see if your unit can attack that target. If this die roll fails, the attacker cannot try to hit a different target in this turn.

Add up the Attack ratings for each unit attacking a particular enemy unit. If the total Attack rating is greater than the defending unit's Defend rating, then divide the total Attack rating by the Defend rating, dropping any fractions. If the Defend rating is equal to or greater than the total Attack rating, then divide the Defend rating by the total Attack rating, drop any fractions, and make the result a negative number. This result is called the combat odds.

Now modify the combat odds, if any modification is required for terrain or other situations. Roll one die, modify that roll if needed, and find the number you rolled in the appropriate column of the Combat Results Table. This tells you how the combat occurred, as follows:

If a unit has a Defend rating of 0, it is always destroyed if combat occurs. If a unit's move is 0 and it is not being moved by another unit, a result of "Defender retreat 2" becomes "Defender destroyed."

VII-c. Air Unit Attacks

Air units must take off from the LHD or Airstrip stacked with one or more Air-Attack Markers. The Air-Attack Table tells how many of each type an air unit can carry. These Air-Attack Markers determine what kinds of attacks the air unit can make. Each combat phase, an air unit can use one or more Air-Attack Markers, which are then discarded, or make a ground attack on a soft or air target, using its cannon or machine guns. If you use an Air-Attack Marker, the three digits on top tell you how strong the attack is, just like the three-digit Attack rating on unit counters. When the air unit runs out of Air-Attack Markers, it cannot attack again at all until it returns to the LHD/Airstrip and picks up another load of Markers. Air-Attack Markers are reusable. When attacking with markers, treat as "no result" any combat result that destroys the attacker or makes him retreat.

An air unit can use more than one Air-Attack Marker in a single combat, as long as all markers used are the same type, and as long as they are aimed at the same target or at targets that are adjacent to each other and to the attacking unit. Thus, a plane with an Air marker and two Ground markers could use both Ground markers at once, but could not use the Air marker in the same turn.

Example: Player 2's UH-1B has one Ground-type Air-Attack Marker. On its first turn in the air, it attacks a Hmmwv/Auto, using its machine guns; the combat odds are 1, because the UH-1B's normal Attack strength is 1 and the Hmmwv's Defend is also 1. On its next turn, it attacks another Hmmwv, using its Air-Attack Marker, which has a strength of 2 against a ground target; against the Hmmwv's Defend rating of 1, this gives combat odds of 2. Now the UH-1B is out of Air-Attack Markers, so it must return to an Airstrip; even its machine guns are assumed to be out of ammunition. As long as it had at least one Air-Attack Marker left, it could have shot its machine guns without limit.

Ships can be attacked with Ground markers at full marker strength, or by Armor markers at half the marker's attack strength.

The "SSM Atk" marker for Player 2's Missile Boat works the same way, except that it is not reusable.

VII-d. Attacking Different-Type Units

When a unit attacks a unit of differing type (such as an Air unit attacking a Land unit), and if the defender cannot attack the attacker, the attacker ignores any result of "Attacker Retreat" or "Attacker Destroyed." Armored land units observe the same rule when attacking soft targets that have no attack against armor. Amphibious units are considered land or water units, depending on what kind of hex they're in when attacked.

VII-e. Attacking a Unit Carrying Other Units

If a unit that is carrying other units is destroyed, the unit(s) it is carrying are also destroyed.

VII-f. Attacking Ships

Player 1's ships and Player 2's boats are considered soft targets. If a ship is destroyed or forced to retreat off the map, all units on board are destroyed. Player 1 is allowed to position Hmmvw/Stinger or Avenger units on his ships so they can shoot at attacking aircraft, if those units are aboard the ship. Each unit so positioned reduces the number of aircraft or landing craft that can leave or enter the ship that turn by one.

VII-g. Attacking Air Units In the Air

Aerial combat and surface-to-air combat works like a normal attack. If the defending air unit is carrying any Ground or Armor air-attack markers, add 1 to the die roll for each such marker; this simulates how hard it is to dodge and evade with a load of bombs. (Air markers are light and streamlined enough to not handicap the air unit's performance.) When the attack is announced, the defender can jettison one marker to try to improve his aircraft's odds. Such a marker is lost and does no harm to the enemy, even if a valid target is within range.

VII-h. Attacking Air Units On the Ground

If a Player-2 air unit is in an Airstrip hex, or if a Player-1 air unit is next to a functioning HERS and is out of Air-Attack Markers and isn't carrying another unit, that air unit is considered to be on the ground. Air units on the ground are considered soft land units and cannot attack. When attacking them, adjust the combat odds by +2, and treat results of "Defender Retreat" as "Defender Destroyed." If multiple air units are stacked in an Airstrip hex, you can attack only the top unit in the stack.

VII-i. Land Units Attacking Ships

Land units can attack ships if the ship is close enough. Resolve combat normally.

VII-j. Long-Range Attack

When units attack an enemy unit 2-3 hexes away, the attacker ignores any "Attacker Retreat" or "Attacker Destroyed" result. If the enemy is in an adjacent hex, and if the attacker is an artillery unit, a result of "Attacker Retreat" means the artillery unit is destroyed.

Artillery Spotting: If an Artillery unit attacks an enemy unit that has a friendly Recon Team, Scout/Sniper Team, SEAL Team or Guerrillas next to it, modify the attack die roll by +1.

VII-j. SEAL Team Special Attack

Normally, a SEAL team has an attack of 0, and cannot attack anything. But once per game, they can use their skill with explosives to launch one of the following attacks: The SEALs must be on land to do this. Once they have made one of these attacks, they can't attack anything else for the rest of the game.

VII-k. Replacements

The only unit counters that can be reused after they are destroyed are Player 2's Guerrillas. All other units, once destroyed, are gone for good. Air-Attack Markers, "?" markers and Refuel markers can be reused at will.

VII-l. Attacking the Medical Team

Because the Medical Team has a defense of zero, combat against them would always destroy them. But these are doctors, and even the Unnarstan rebels respect the Geneva Convention. Any attack on the Medical Team always gives a combat result of "Defender Retreat 1," unless the Medical Team has no place to go, or unless the attackers include Guerrillas. In those cases, the Medical Team is kidnapped, not killed, but they are still removed from the game.

VII-m. Attacking Stacked Units

When attacking land units that are stacked together, use the highest Defend rating of all the stacked units; don't add them up. If stacked units get a "Retreat" combat result, they must retreat together. If attacker or defender are destroyed, only the unit(s) in the stack that took part in the attack are affected. That is, if Player 2 stacks a Stinger Team with a Platoon, and the Platoon attacks a Marine Platoon and gets an "Attacker destroyed" result, the infantry are destroyed but the Stinger Team is not affected.

VII-n. Repelling Attacks Against Amphibious Landings

If Player 1 brings an amphibious unit from water onto a land hex that has Player-2 land units next to it, or if a just-landed Player-1 amphibious unit unloads a unit into a hex with Player-2 land units next to it, those Player-2 units can attack the Player-1 unit immediately, even though it is still the Player-1 movement phase. This is called a repelling attack.

With a repelling attack, results of "Defender retreat 1" force the Player-1 unit back into the water (if landing) or back into the unit that unloaded it (if unloading). Results of "Defender retreat 2" are treated as "Defender destroyed." Long-range units like artillery cannot make repelling attacks unless the Player-1 unit is next to them. A unit must make its repelling attack as soon as the Player-1 unit moves next to it; if it waits until Player 1 moves another unit, the chance for a repelling attack is lost, although that unit could make a repelling attack on another Player-1 unit that moved next to it. Each Player-2 unit can make only one repelling attack per turn; this has no impact on that unit's movement and attacks during Player 2's portion of the turn.

VIII. Victory

Player 1 has thirty turns (fifteen days) to bring the Unnarstan government to the capital city in the center of the map. This means that, at the end of a turn, Player 1 has at least one land unit and two UH-1N helicopters in the city, and none of Player 2's units are in or next to the city. If Player 1 achieves this, he wins; otherwise, the Marines' supplies have run out, they must return to their ships, and Player 2 wins.

IX. Game Tables

Player 1 Units
UnitQtyTypeAttackAtk RangeDefendMoveTrans Space
Rifle Platoon9Land2/0/01214
Squad9x3Land1/0/01111
Recon Team3Land0/0/01111
Scout/Sniper Team1Land0/0/01111
SEAL Team1Amphib0/0/0111/11
Engineers1Land0/0/01114
Heavy Weapons Platoon3Land2/1/01114
81mm Mortar Team2Land2/0/02112
Javelin Team3Land0/2/01112
Hmmwv/TOW4Land0/2/02142
Hmmwv/Auto4Land1/0/01142
Hmmwv/Cmd1Land0/0/01142
Hmmwv/Stinger3Land0/0/11142
Avenger2Land0/0/21143
FAV3Land1/0/01141
LAV-254Amphib2/1/011A3/14
LAV-AT2Amphib1/2/011A3/14
155mm Howitzer6Land3/0/03102
AAV12Amphib1/0/012A2/17
AAV/Cmd1Amphib0/0/012A2/17
M1A14Land1/3/013A38
5-ton Truck8Land0/0/01132
LVS Truck3Land0/0/01134
HERS Refuel1Land0/0/01004
ROWPU1Land0/0/01004
Medical Team1Land0/0/01014
F470 Zodiac6Water0/0/01122
LCU2Water0/0/011A2-
LCAC3Amphib0/0/0113/3-
CH46E Helicopter12Air0/0/0116-
CH53E Helicopter8Air0/0/0115-
AH-1W Helicopter8Airvaries116-
AV-8B Harrier6Airvaries128-
UH-1N Helicopter3Air0/0/0116-
LHD1Ship0/0/2142-
LPD1Ship0/0/1132-
LSD1Ship0/0/1132-

Player 2 Units
UnitQtyTypeAttackAtk RangeDefendMove
Infantry Platoon9Land2/0/0111
Militia4Land1/0/0111
Guerrillas4Land1/0/0111
Heavy Weapons Platoon3Land2/1/0111
Dragon Team4Land0/2/0111
Mortar Team4Land2/0/0211
Stinger Team6Land0/0/1111
Jeep/auto4Land1/0/0114
Jeep/RCR4Land1/2/0114
Jeep/TOW4Land0/2/0214
M113 APC4Land1/0/012A3
M48 Tank4Land1/2/012A2
75mm Howitzer4Land2/0/0311
Hawk SAM2Land0/0/2210
5-ton Truck6Land0/0/0113
UH-1B Helicopter4Airvaries116
F-5A Jet4Airvaries1110
A-4 Jet2Airvaries119
Missile Boat1Water1/0/1113
Patrol Boat2Water1/0/0113

Transport Table- Air/SSM-Attack Table
UnitTrans CapacityAir UnitAir-Attack Markers
AAV2 (men only)AH-1W4 any kind, in pairs
LAV-251 (men only)AV-8B1 Air, 1 Ground, 1 Air or Ground
5-Ton Truck1UH-1B1 Ground, 1 Ground or Armor
F470 Zodiac1 (small team)F-5A1 Air, 1 Air or Ground
FAV1 (small team)A-42 Ground, 1 Air or Ground
LCU18Sea UnitSSM-Attack Markers
LCAC8Missile Boat1 Ship (not reuseable)
CH-46E1
CH-53E4 or 1 Platoon "In pairs" means you can have two of
one kind of marker and two of another,
or four of one kind.
UH-1N1 (small team)

Combat Results Table
Combat Odds< -3-3-2-112345> 5
Die
Roll		-1-A XA XA XA XA XA R2A R1n/rD R1D R2
-2-A XA XA XA XA R2A R1n/rD R1D R2D X
-3-A XA XA XA R2A R1n/rD R1D R2D XD X
-4-A XA XA R2A R1n/rD R1D R2D XD XD X
-5-A XA R2A R1n/rD R1D R2D XD XD XD X
-6-A R2A R1n/rD R1D R2D XD XD XD XD X

X. Designer's Notes

When I started reading about the different kinds of equipment an MEU takes into battle, I was intrigued. Would it be possible to write a game that encompasses all that fascinating stuff, without getting bogged down in rules so minutely detailed that it would take an hour to play one turn? This is far from my first game, but it's definitely the most complex (so far).

As always, my overall goal was fast-moving fun, not hair-splitting reality. I also wanted to give the players the chance to control a great variety of weapons, but not at the expense of the traditional Marine emphasis on the rifleman. I did this by reducing the number of vehicle units on the Marine side -- for example, a real MEU has twice as many many LAV's and HMMWV's as I've provided.

Naturally, I wanted the game to be balanced so either player had a fair chance to win. Rather than give each player identical weapons and set-ups, I gave the Marine player harder victory conditions to offset his advantages in numbers and power. The very nature of the Marines' task, unloading a few units at a time from his ships with limited transportation, also makes the MEU's mission tougher. On the other hand, the forces of Unnarstan can't concentrate in advance to repel the invasion because they don't know where on the map the Marines will strike, so they must by necessity scatter their forces. I think these are very realistic conditions.

To keep the rules from overwhelming the paper trays of most printers, I've taken some shortcuts. Supply lines and mine fields just don't exist. Fuel is an issue only for the Abrams tanks, and that was just a way to keep them from dominating everything. Likewise, the Air-Attack Markers let air power make a contribution without becoming the focus of the battle. Other common gaming concepts, like command influence and hidden movement, get very simple and limited rules. The emphasis is on the clash of arms, the variety of units, and whether the Marines can get ashore faster than the rebels can mass to repel them.

Mike Fischer
mfischer@death.to.spam@naisp.net