Wargames have not enjoyed the same kind of renaissance that boardgames have been experiencing for years now. Reading new rulesets can often feel like variations on a theme, rather than something unique and exciting. But truly innovative games are out there, you just have to look for them.
I have been promised innovation before and been let down. I remember reading a headline about a game called To The Strongest that promised no dice, no rulers and loads of fun, only to find a board divided into squares, playing cards replacing dice rolls, and pretty standard gameplay. Don’t get me wrong, all of these things are fine and I enjoy To The Strongest, but I would not call it particularly innovative.
No, to create something unique you need to start from the ground up. Crossfire is a game that does exactly this, and it blew my mind. Primarily concerned with infantry firefights, Crossfire is a WW2 game that could very easily be played with any models armed with ranged weapons. I promise it will be just as fun with Space Marines and Termagants as US and German soldiers. So Let’s take a look at what makes Crossfire so special.
First, there is no measuring in Crossfire. There are no squares or hexes for moving or firing, no “range 1” or “range quadrangle” rulers. Weapons are assumed to have ranges far greater than the board itself, so if a model can see it, it can shoot it. There is unlimited movement in Crossfire as well; the only rule being that you must move from terrain piece to terrain piece. For these reasons it is important to play Crossfire with lots of terrain breaking up the board. You will want lots of walls, craters, hedges, rocks and maybe the odd building or two in order to break up LoS and make sure units are not crossing the board in a single bound.
Secondly, units can move and fire as many times as you want in your turn. This sounds crazy, but there is a limiting factor: your opponent gets to interrupt at any time by shooting your units as soon as they come into view or open fire. If your opponent scores enough hits to pin the unit, then your turn ends and their turn begins. It plays like nothing so much as Blood Bowl. You will quickly find yourself trying to order your actions based on the risk of your opponent stealing the turn from you, which is a great mechanic.
Now the game isn’t perfect. the vehicle rules leave a lot to be desired and there are very few unit types, but this can all be solved with some creative house rules. In fact, there are forums with years worth of suggestions for this and much more. Regardless of these oversights, the game is so easy to pick up, plays quickly and is so unique that it absolutely deserves a try. Or at least a search on youtube to see some gameplay. Give it a shot! You will not be disappointed.
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