Guts ‘N Glory (2001) Archives

Guts ‘N Glory (2001)

Guts ‘N Glory – WWII Combat System for N scale Miniatures This innovative system allows for faster game resolution taking into account troop quality, leadership, and moral.
The game was designed to be a pleasing combination of play ability and realism.

The heart of the game system is a fairly innovative concept (at least to historical gaming) that uses different dice rather than die modifiers. In most games, one type of dice is used and the “success” number for hitting a target, spotting a target or passing morale is determined by adding or subtracting a number from a base number. This forces the player to go through some mathematical calculations each time and the “success” number always changes. In Guts ‘N Glory, the “success” number never changes. Instead, the dice you roll changes.
For example, a successful morale check is made on a roll of a 4 or less. Veteran troops usually roll a 6-sided die to check morale (66% chance), but green troops roll a 10-sided die (40% chance). Of course, things happen to make troops more or less likely to pass that morale check. In Guts ‘N Glory, these factors are taken into account by the use of “die higher penalties” or “die lower bonuses.” When checking morale, you put your finger on the “dice hierarchy” chart and move it to the right for each penalty and to the left for each bonus. No need to add – subtract modifiers. No need to remember a different “success” number for every roll you make.
For example, let’s say a veteran fire team needs to take a morale check. There are enemy tanks visible to the fire team, they were under fire last turn and they are in cover. The enemy tanks and being under fire are both “die higher penalties.” The fact that the team is in cover is a “die lower bonus. This yields a net result of one “die higher” penalty. The veteran fire team checks for morale by rolling an 8-sided die instead of the usual 6-sided die. The “success” number for a morale check is always a four or less. The use of this concept really speeds up play.

Guts ‘N Glory only considers factors that are necessary to create a realistic simulation. We didn’t deal with details that added complexity/realism at the expense of play ability. For example, in Guts ‘N Glory tank armor is classified as light, medium, heavy or very heavy.
There are bonuses/penalties on the charts for sloped armor, side armor, rear armor and top armor. Also, if a tank is hit, you then check to see whether or not it was immobilized or put “out of action.” This is all any platoon commander needs to know anyway. Therefore a Tiger tank is still a tougher target than a Stuart tank, but we didn’t create an overly complicated system to model this. No need to find out exactly where the round hit, exactly what systems were taken out, or which crew member was killed.

Don’t think that Guts ‘N Glory is a beer and pretzels game though.
It plays fast, but it rewards good tactics. It also punishes the player who makes tactical mistakes.
The results are very realistic when compared with historical instances.
Another concept that speeds play is the use of “fire teams.” Infantry are grouped in teams of 2-5 men. Three fire teams make up a squad. The troops are individually based on metal stands. The fire team stands are magnetic. This allows you to tailor your fire teams to the situation at hand. You can decide which weapons go with which team and your squad leader can be attached to any team you wish. The rules allow you to detach tank hunters as well. Squads generally were divided up into teams to execute real battle tactics. It speeds up the game considerably to allow you to move your men in similar teams. All members of a fire team direct their fire at the same target (with the exception of tank hunters…They need to be free to engage armored targets.) when they fire. This speeds up play and is very reasonable when compared with accounts of actual combat.

Guts ‘N Glory uses an initiative system and special fire modes or orders that allow both players to exercise control over their troops at the same time.
It is not an “I go, you go” system.
This adds realism to the simulation. I must admit that it is the hardest part of the system to grasp, but the most rewarding.
For example, veteran troops are easier to control than green troops. They have a better chance of gaining the initiative and have more special orders to give. This makes them more flexible to the changing battlefield environment. We believe that this is how it should be!