Table Top Battles - Play-test - Land Battles (for mid-20th century warfare on hexes) - Some thoughts

After I had written up the most recent play-test blog entry I began to think about the scenario, the unit ratings, the results of some of the combat that took place, and the rules. My thoughts are as follows:

1. The scenario seemed to be quite reasonable although the balance between the two sides gave the Russian attackers a distinct advantage (i.e. a 2:1 superiority in artillery, a 3:1 superiority in infantry, and a 3:1 superiority in points values).
2. I probably rated the Russian infantry units as being better than they should have been - they should probably have been rated as 'Conscript' (and thus had a points value of 2) and not as 'Regular'. I looked back over the notes of the dice scores and this would have made a difference to the outcomes of several crucial events. It would also have reduced the overall Russian superiority in points values to close to 7:3.
3. It was too easy for attackers to drive defenders out of defensive positions without having to resort to Hand-to-Hand combat. The Russians did this twice during the play-test and I felt that this was unrealistic.
4. The side that gains the initiative at the beginning of a turn can sometimes exploit their advantage to an extent that does not always seem to be very historically 'accurate'. I had not noticed this in previous play-tests, and it may be a phenomena that only seems to have an undue influence in mid-20th century battles. I can easily avoid this problem by using the playing card unit activation system used in RED FLAGS AND IRON CROSSES rather than the D12-based system used in the TABLE TOP BATTLES wargames rules.