Choose Ardennes for your first game — no special modifiers, just tanks fighting tanks. Once you know the rules, try other maps for extra chaos.
The draft is blind: Player 1 requisitions everything first (battlefield, 3 tanks, planes, ammo and AA), then Player 2 or the AI does the same. Neither side sees the other's picks until the battle — so both may field the same tank (you still can't take one twice). The 20-point budget also covers ammo loads, planes and AA — aim to leave ~4–6 points for air support.
After your tanks, spend leftover budget on up to 2 planes (choose each plane's variant before adding it — it locks once added) — then pick an optional AA emplacement on the ammo screen that follows. The enemy's air wing is secret until the battle, so AA is a hedge. Planes fly autonomously and conduct ground strikes, dogfights, and bombing runs each turn.
Vehicles also defend themselves: tanks with cupola MGs or HMGs (IS-2 DShK, Jumbo .50 cal, Pershing .50 cal) automatically fire at attackers. The AB 41/43 can use its 20mm autocannon against planes if it hasn't fired its main gun in 2+ turns.
Each tank gets to pick how many shells to carry. Start with the Standard Load every time — it's safe and balanced. The "Full Load" options carry more shells but have a higher chance of your ammo rack exploding if hit, which kills your tank instantly. Learn the system first.
Every turn you pick ONE action. Most actions cost oil (AP and HEAT shots and Rest are free, APHE costs 1) — run out and you're stuck doing nothing.
Destroy all 3 of the enemy's tanks. A tank is destroyed when its HP reaches 0 — or instantly if its ammo rack detonates. Your two bench tanks slowly recover HP while waiting, so switching isn't just for fresh tanks — it's also a way to buy time.
1. Oil runs out fast. Spam-attacking APHE every turn drains you in 4 turns. Mix in free AP shots and special moves.
2. APHE can be a dud. On penetration: 15% perfect detonation (+55% damage), 30% dud (−35%), 55% normal. AP is more reliable — it always does its damage.
3. Destroyed gun = can't attack. A damaged cannon still fires — at −15% accuracy and −10% penetration. A destroyed cannon can't fire at all until you Repair.
Every hit has a chance to damage one of your tank's systems. Modules have two failure states — damaged (penalty, but fixable) and destroyed (hard restriction until repaired).
Each crew role has its own impact when hit. Dead crew stay dead — Repair cannot revive them (with the HQ rules, a Send to HQ trip replaces them).
Your two inactive tanks slowly recover HP while resting — and every 4 turns they restock ammo from vehicle stores. The amount recovered is proportional to their chosen load (~15% of max per type, minimum 1), so a full-combat-load tank refills more rounds per tick than a lean-load tank. This makes switching a deliberate rotation strategy: pull a damaged or dry tank, let it recover, bring it back later. Rockets can't be field-restocked.
💡 Switching costs 2 oil (4 on Rhine). Don't wait until your active tank is nearly dead to start thinking about who's next.
Hits to the fuel tank, the Crocodile's flamethrower and air strikes can set your tank on fire. A burning tank takes damage every turn. You must use Repair or Field Repairs to extinguish it, or it will eventually kill you. Don't ignore fire damage — it stacks fast.
Dense Belgian forest, December 1944. Standard conditions — all stats unmodified.
The largest tank battle in history, July 1943. Supply lines keep running: both teams fully refuel every 5 turns.
Urban rubble, winter 1942. Every round artillery hits every tank on the field for 10-29 (thin roofs and open tops suffer more). Accuracy is significantly reduced.
The Western Desert, 1942. Every few turns a sandstorm rolls in and cuts accuracy by half until it passes.
Point-blank street fighting, 1945. Everything hits harder and more accurately — but tanks are squishier. Fights are short and lethal.
The Rhine crossing, 1945. Switching tanks and repairing both cost double oil. Commit to your active tank.