Panzer Strike: Western Front

Stretch goals (voting)
almost 6 years ago – Mon, Jan 21, 2019 at 12:13:24 AM

For this campaign we have prepared plenty of stretch goals divided in two groups:

1. Elements that form an integral part of the board, and

2. New pieces / miniatures.

The first group includes high and low Barricades (already reached), Trees (active stretch goal), Newsstands, and Trams. Their role on the board has been explained in more detail in the previous update.

Update #7

For the second group, we have prepared the following pieces:

- Superheavy Tank

- Heavy Self-propelled Howitzer

- Assault Howitzer

- Recovery Vehicle

Germany made only a prototype of the Maus. It would be almost indestructible, but at the same time too slow and almost unusable. On the other hand, the Americans made two T28(T95) prototypes, but they did not get into serial production.

We believe that the fans of armoured vehicles and war machines will have a real pleasure to try out how these behemoths would behave in wartime conditions.

Heavy Self-propelled Howitzers were used by all sides in the conflict. For this game, we have chosen to feature the German Hummel, and the allied M12 GMC.

Only the Germans had turretless Assault Howitzers: Brummbär is an example.

The Recovery Vehicles in this game have the ability to repair damaged tanks.

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Backers who opt for the Light or Standard sets will get a molded plastic piece if the corresponding stretch goal is met, while the Premium backers will receive a miniature made in the SLS 3D print technology. With each type of new figure, there is one scenario in which the tank concerned has the main role.

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We want to adjust the gap between stretch goals so it matches the current funding progress. In the future, the gap between goals will be $ 5,000.

We invite backers to tell us their wishes and thus help us determine the next stretch goal (at $ 30 000, if the current one is met). So, please, vote for one of the following options by writing a comment below: 

a) Newsstands (2 pcs)

b) Trams (2 pcs)

c) Superheavy Tank (1 + 1)

d) Heavy Self-propelled Howitzer (1 + 1)

e) Assault Howitzer (1 + 1 for Light and Standard sets, or 2 Brummbärs for Premium)

f) Recovery Vehicle (1 + 1)

The voting will last until the current stretch goal ($25 000) is met.

PIECES – MINIATURES
almost 6 years ago – Fri, Jan 18, 2019 at 01:32:33 PM

For our last project, we already made two molding tools for the plastic pieces. When we make a series of PS:WF pieces, they will be done in camo-like colours, in tones similar to ones of the miniatures. These pieces do not have rotating turrets. Each piece represents a type of tank: there are Light tanks, Medium tanks, Heavy tanks, Light, Medium and Heavy Tank destroyers, Howitzers, Tank hunters, Armoured cars, and Half-tracks.

Each set comes with reference sheets with tank’s characteristics. We’ll present them in one of the next updates.

The Light version contains a total of 60 pieces, and the Standard version contains a total of 92 pieces.

There will be two types of Medium tanks; they have a very similar shape but on one of them the turret is removable (but it still can’t rotate), while on the other it is not. 

A half of Heavy tanks will have a blade, so they could push the destroyed vehicles.

Tank hunters also have removable turrets (that also cannot rotate).

The Premium set contains miniatures done according to particular types of armoured vehicles. If a tank has a turret, the turret on the mini can rotate. There is a total of 60 miniatures, but the distribution by types is different, i.e. the German side has more Heavy tanks, and the Allied side more vehicles in total (medium and lightweight).

The Tank hunter type (light, fast vehicle with a weak armor but with a strong gun in a rotating turret) doesn’t exist on the German side, while on the Allied side the corresponding tank is the Hellcat. On the other side, the Allies don’t have a low well-armoured tank without a turret. The Germans had different types of those vehicles during the war, and we’ve chosen the Hetzer to be the model for this game.

There are significant differences between the characteristics of tanks from the same category. All those details will certainly appeal to tank connoisseurs and aficionados and add more variety to the game.

In any case, we don’t recommend playing games with all available pieces. The only important thing is that players start with the same pool of points and that every tank category is worth a different number of points so the players can then freely chose their units within the point limit. Since Light tanks take up less points than Heavy tanks, the player who opts for having more Light tanks will usually have more units in total. The selection of units at the start is the thing which strongly influences the playing strategy and it is of important to try to surprise the opponent with your setup. All the things mentioned here will be are explained in more detail in the Rulebook.

The specific scenarios will be presented in a separate brochure and they almost always feature an uneven number of tanks on each sides. 

Several more vehicles will be introduced as stretch goals. More information about it will be in one of the following updates.

High and Low obstacles
almost 6 years ago – Fri, Jan 18, 2019 at 01:32:18 PM

A three-dimensional board implies that it contains objects which prevent movement or shooting through squares they’re on. In general, refer to all these objects as obstacles. Buildings and monuments belong to High obstacles that cannot be demolished or removed during the games (the buildings can be replaced by completely or partially demolished buildings depending on the agreement between players or a particular scenario in play). It’s not possible to fire through High obstacles. It is possible to shoot over them, however, but this can only be done by Howitzers (explained in detail in the Rulebook).

High barricades are a type of High obstacles that are placed according to agreement or scenario. They cannot be demolished, nor is it possible to fire through them.

As Low obstacles, the 3D board features one fountain and two planters. They prevent movement but all tanks can fire over them. Low barricades, as the name suggests, are low obstacles and share all the characteristics.

As the second Stretch goal, we announced Trees (3 pcs). They behave like High barriers. They are placed at the designated squares on the board, but the players may also agree differently. This kind of obstacle can be destroyed during the game by moving a Heavy tank into the square it occupies (more in the Rulebook).

The walls are also an integral part of the set. Each segment of the Wall occupies one square. There are designated squares for them, but the players can decide not to put them or to put them on some other squares. Walls are also a type of High obstacles, but they can easily be destroyed during the game. The easiest way is to move any tank over a square with a Wall segment. The other way is to shoot it down, but its demolition then depends on the firepower and distance of the tank that shoots (more details in the Rulebook).

As one of the next stretch goals we’ll feature Newsstands (2 pieces). They are classified as High obstacles and occupy one square. Players can set them up by agreement before the start of the game, respecting some basic logic and a sense of realism (i.e. it shouldn’t be put in the middle of the street or in such way that it blocks some building door, etc.) In the Light set, the Newsstands will be in the form of cardboard markers, and in other variants they are made of plastic (sticker with detailed details can be applied to the Newsstand exterior - windows, doors, damage, etc.)

Other stretch goal will be a Tram (2 pieces). For the Light set, they are in the form of a cardboard markers, while for the other sets it will be made of plastics and on them the stickers with printed details should be applied. Trams can be placed on the squares that contain rails. They belong to High barriers, they cannot collapse, but they can be moved as tanks can push them along the rails! (Shown in the Rulebook.)