An Introduction to Solitaire Play: Action at Fritz's Farm

Solitaire play is a great way to play Flames of War when none of your regular opponents can play or when you feel like taking a short break from modeling and painting.  It’s also a great way to practice for an upcoming tournament, to test out new tactics, or just to learn the rules of the game.  Nevertheless, many people find solitaire play daunting: “How can I play both sides at the same time?”  It’s really not that hard, and in forthcoming articles we will try to demonstrate just how easy solitaire play can be.  To get started, here’s a simple scenario that can be played in a matter of minutes, including set-up time.  Imagine yourself playing this scenario as you read it, and that you are moving and rolling for each side in turn. 

Action at Fritz’s Farm

This scenario features a lone German HMG team trying to hold a farmhouse against a platoon of Russian infantry.  The German is Confident Veteran and he is holed up in the farmhouse, so he is concealed and in bulletproof cover.  The Russian platoon is Confident Trained and consists of 7 rifle/MG teams, one of whom is the platoon leader.  The Russians line up abreast 25” from the farmhouse, just out of range of the German gun, and they take the first turn.

Turn 1. 

The Russians move 6” towards the farmhouse.  At 19” they are too far away to shoot.

The German HMG opens fire.  Needing 4s to hit (3 for Trained +1 for range), he rolls 6 dice but gets only 1 hit.  The Russians save.

Turn 2.

The Russians move 6” again, this time moving within Rifle/MG range of the farmhouse.  They roll 7 dice, needing 5s to hit (4 for Veteran +1 for concealed), and get 4 hits.  The German rolls 2 saves, so the Russians get to make 2 firepower tests because of the bulletproof cover.  Both fail.

The German shoots, again rolling 6 dice but this time needing only 3s as the Russians are within 16”.  He rolls 3 hits, and the Russians save all 3.

Turn 3.

The Russians move 6” again and are now within 7” of the farmhouse.  They roll 7 dice again and get 1 hit, which the German saves.

The HMG fires again, this time getting 5 hits and pinning the Russians.  Miraculously, they roll 5 saves.

Turn 4.

The Russians fail to rally, and so they remain where they are.  Again they roll 7 dice (because they are pinned), this time getting 2 hits.  The German saves 1, and the Russians fail the 1 FP test.

The HMG fires again, this time needing 4s because the Russians are concealed in the open (they didn’t move).  The German rolls 6 dice and gets 3 hits.  And again, the Russians roll 3 saves.

Turn 5.

The Russians rally and race forward to within assault range of the farmhouse.  They roll 7 dice and get 1 hit.  The German fails his save but the Russians fail the FP test.  The Russians assault the farmhouse.  It has 2 windows in front and 1 window on each side, so 4 teams come into contact with the HMG.  The German gets 3 hits in defensive fire, killing 2 teams, not enough to stop the assault.  The Russians take 4 swings and miss all 4.  The HMG takes 1 swing in the counterassault and misses as well.  The Russians counterassault and get 1 hit, thus killing the HMG and capturing the farmhouse.

I hope this scenario gives you some insight into how to fight a solitaire battle, and perhaps to inspire you to invent simple scenarios of your own.

-Chuck Carey