Nuts! Big Battles – Sneak Peek #1 : The Platoon

With playtesting of Nuts! Big Battles complete and the release imminent, I thought you might like a few sneak peeks of what you can expect, just to whet your appetites…

In Nuts! Big Battles (from here on referred to as NBB), an Infantry Squad is represented by a single stand of 3-5 figures (exact numbers of figures and base sizes are not important – NBB has been designed so that you can use whatever multibased figures you might already have).

The basic organizational formation is the Platoon, which consists of 2-3 Squads (depending on nation and type) plus an attached Support Weapon (machine guns, mortars, anti-tank weapons such as bazookas and the like). A Platoon in Carry On status (that is, good fighting condition) is formed up in base contact, like this:

US Infantry Platoon with attached Bazooka team in Carry On status 
(15mm figures by Plastic Soldier Company)

If a Platoon's morale is compromised, perhaps from receiving fire or engaging in melee, it will become Disordered. A Disordered Platoon may not move forwards and it will shoot at a disadvantage, until Rallied. Disordered status is displayed by separating all of the bases by ¼”, as below:

Platoon in Disordered status

When things get too hot, a Platoon may be forced to Fall Back. If this occurs, the Platoon is forced to retreat away from the enemy, any fire it can manage will be minimally effective, and it is much more vulnerable to being forced to Break (and be removed from play). Fall Back status is indicated by separating the stands and facing half of them backwards:

Platoon in Fall Back status

Hope this has whet your appetites - Here's Part Two.