Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Trying out Team Yankee

I recently played my first-ever game of Team Yankee, the Flames of War spinoff based on the concept of the 1980s Cold War turning hot.
A couple of experienced players guided me and another newbie in a game, I took a force of Soviet armored infantry, tanks, artillery, and even some Hinds. My opponent played the West Germans.
The helicopters weren't much use. They didn't get a chance to take out many enemies before the NATO antiaircraft shot down three of them, causing the last chopper to flee.
My infantry was more successful at close-assaulting enemy vehicles, and their motto was "Forward!" The T-72s, however, didn't fare as well versus the West German's panzers. In the end, the capitalist lackeys managed to hold off the heroes of the workers' paradise.
The game mechanics were nothing innovative, but it was a fun game with a lot of maneuver all over the table. And it played really quick, thanks to our instructors' thorough knowledge of the rules. I'm glad I tried it.

3 comments:

Don M said...

Looks like a good time, been meaning to give that rule set a go!

Maj. Guiscard said...

You impression was the same as mine about the mechanics.
It's very clear that the designers for Battlefront are all Games Workshop alums. Not to be to too critical, the Flames of War engine does give a solid game.

J Womack, Esq. said...

We play Team Yankee fairly regularly. I enjoy it. I have learned two things, so far:

1) Anti-air will kill your helos if given any chance at all to do so. Having helos with the Hunter-Killer rule helps a little.

2) West Germany's Leopard IIs, though very points-intensive, are worth it. They will cut through Pact tanks like a hot knife through butter. I once had a three tank platoon of them kill nine T-64s in two turns. Turkey shoot.