Panzer Grenadier Third Edition:
The Best Just Got Better
By Doug McNair
May 2006

Whenever Mike sends me a new game to develop, my mantra is always “Simplify. . . . Simplify. . . .” So when Mike asked me to take all the input we'd gotten from Panzer Grenadier players over the years, combine it with the special rules that keep popping up in Panzer Grenadier scenario books, and use it all to create the Third Edition Panzer Grenadier rules, “Simplify . . . ” became my whole universe for a while.

The old mantra didn't let me down. Panzer Grenadier Third Edition gets rid of unnecessary details and gives players a tactical gaming experience that's even quicker and easier than before.

Tanks and Infantry Moving Together

Of all the questions we got from PG players over the years, the most frequent was “How do I get my tanks and infantry to move together toward the enemy?” Panzer Grenadier 2nd Edition focused on defining what regular leaders and tank leaders can and can’t do. It let regular leaders activate armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) for some purposes but not others, and did the same with tank leaders and non-AFV units. In the process of all that explanation, the way to get tanks and infantry to advance together got muddled.

Panzer Grenadier Third Edition strips away the detail and makes things crystal clear. Regular leaders can’t activate tanks, and tank leaders can’t activate non-AFV units. But a stack of units can always activate on its own.

So if a tank leader and a regular leader are both in a stack that activates, then they can activate all AFVs, non-AFVs, and lower-ranking leaders in that stack plus all six adjacent hexes. All those units (plus any other units that adjacent lower-ranking leaders activate through subordinate activation) can move and fire together, and advance on enemy units that could harm them. This is the only way AFVs and non-AFV units can perform combat movement together, so players will do well to keep tank leaders and regular leaders stacked together.

APCs, Weapon Units and Simpler Combat Results Tables

Brian Knipple introduced open-top AFVs in Battle of the Bulge and they've made several appearances since. Their lack of armor on top makes them vulnerable to direct and bombardment fire. As I was thinking on how to incorporate open-top AFVs into the Third Edition rules, Brian sent me a list of thoughts including the idea of treating armored personnel carriers (APCs) as combat units rather than transports. He also said that weapon units had it tough enough with the column shifts against them in combat, and shouldn't have to take a unit type-specific step loss on an "X" result. Suddenly, everything fell into place.

APCs have always been odd ducks in Panzer Grenadier — they're transports, but they have firepower and can control hexes. The exceptions to rules for APCs were numerous and confusing. But an APC is just as open-topped as any other open-top AFV. So if we make APCs open-top AFVs that also act as transports — voila! Now APCs can do anything all other combat units can do, and the only odd things about them are that they stack like transports (up to three can stack in a hex along with three other combat units), and they can be activated by both tank leaders and regular leaders (the platoon leader on the APC will want some say in where his platoon is transported).

This breakthrough with APCs combined with the easing up on weapon damage to simplify the combat resolution tables. Open-top AFVs can take step losses from X, 2X and 3X results on the direct and bombardment fire tables. Since APCs are open-top AFVs now, and since weapons don't take extra hits on an X result, there's no need to break out combat units into separate categories when describing damage results. In Panzer Grenadier Third Edition, an X result eliminates one combat unit step of any type (except closed-top AFVs), plus one truck, wagon or sledge unit in the hex. A 2X or 3X result eliminates two or three combat unit steps plus two or three trucks, wagons or sledges, and one of the steps lost has to be an open-top AFV if present. That's a lot easier to keep track of than all the detail from 2nd Edition, and keeps players focused on the fun rather than analyzing losses.

Terrain

Terrain effects have evolved over the course of Panzer Grenadier’s life. Our first two Panzer Grenadier releases (both out of print now) had few terrain features other than towns, rivers and forests. Hills were given only basic attention, and swamps hadn’t appeared yet. But as we got into Battle of the Bulge, Airborne and Guadalcanal, these terrain types became more prevalent and the rules for them became more detailed. Each has significant effects on combat as well as spotting, and since hills are often forested or the seats of towns, they interact with other terrain types as well.

So for Third Edition, a more comprehensive Terrain Effects Chart became necessary. The Third Edition TEC includes full details on swamp terrain, hills and elevation lines. The TEC also has an added column detailing the combat effects of all terrain types. This makes it easier for players to see how defensible each terrain type is, meaning both players can make quicker decisions on how best to protect their units or take territory.

Also, Third Edition updates the rules to say that a hex contains a given terrain type only if at least one quarter of the hex is covered by that terrain type. Second Edition said one-tenth, which easily led to hex-splitting arguments. One-quarter is much easier for folks with aging eyes (like yours truly) to spot and agree on.

Get It Now!

Panzer Grenadier Third Edition clears up the most important questions we've received from Panzer Grenadier players over the years by simplifying rules and processes. It also includes detailed combat examples to give players even better explanations of how the different types of combat works.

And best of all, it's available right now as a free download on our website, so you'll have it committed to memory by the time your hard copy arrives in Airborne: Introductory Edition, Road to Berlin, or any other Panzer Grenadier game you order from this day forward!