So, I was reading through my copy of Normandy Firefight and I happened on the designer's notes. The designer of the rules, Warwick Kinrade, who is also the designer of the awesome Battlegroup rules (I am a bit biased...) admitted that the game was "old school" and deliberately so...
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| Taken From Board Game Geek |
"This is because [the game] is a throwback to the games I played growing up, with influences from the likes of Rudis (a fine game of detailed one-to-one gladiatorial combat I still play), Twilight: 2000 (italics are mine), and the daddy of detailed modern firearms combat - Phoenix Command. With the exception of Rudis, I don't play those other games now - I don't have the time - but I did want a game in their spirit that would last an hour or less."
Well, Mr. Kinrade. I am asking, was there thoughts to doing a modern version? Or will your new project Nam '68 be a nod to that? So, now I am inspired. Is Normandy Firefight the rules set for Twilight: 2000 table firefights I have been seeking all along? I mean, yeah, it's World War II, meant for 54mm figures (It does have conversion rules for 25mm/28mm and 20mm) and it's meant for small groups of miniatures, but it's a pretty cleanly written set of rules, and the engagement ranges we're playing at means not much has changed except EVERYONE is more than likely carrying some form of fully auto weapon, so I don't think the work to convert it would be all that hard. Might be a bit harder when you get into night vision gear, body armor, and some other modern accoutrements. But again, I don't think we're too far off the mark here.
In short, this might be an easier conversion process than first thought? So, to set my brain to motion....
I have had the Normandy Firefight rules since they came out and ran 54mm US Marines against Cubans in the late '80s. I can't remember the stats I used for M16A2s and M249s but pretty doable. That blurb about being inspired by Twilight 2000 and PC inspired me because those were the rules I always wanted to play with my gaming friends in school (We played Palladium a lot, Recon, Heroes Unlimited, TMNT, Robotech). I have copies of PC and T2k 2.0 and currently running an epic gonzo T2K campaign set in Vietnam, 1966 on Roll20. I think I'm too dumb to run Phoenix, but I love it so much when I read it.
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