''Crossfire'' (commonly abbreviated as ''CF'') is a
tabletop miniatures wargame designed by Arty Conliffe and first published in 1996, later supplemented by "Hit the Dirt" containing a number of rules clarifications and scenarios. ''Crossfire'' was originally designed to allow for company-sized battles and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
scenarios. It employs an innovative rules system eliminating the need for a ruler.
Game Mechanics
The game needs neither a ruler nor fixed game turns. Essentially, CF knows only two ranges, point blank (in close assaults) and everything else, the basic assumption being that everything on the map is within rifle range - in other words, everything that can be seen can be hit. As a consequence, CF works only properly on tables where much terrain is used in order to allow movement unseen by the opponent.
In order to overcome traditional turn-based systems CF operates with "initiatives". A player can order his troops in any way (movement, fire or rally actions) and in any order during his initiative, and keeps on doing so until one of his actions fails; then the initiative passes on to his opponent.
CF in its basic form is mainly concerned with
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
combat, leaving not much room for the employment for
AFVs. Nevertheless using AFVs in scenarios has become very popular with wargamers; therefore a number of different unofficial "home rules" have been published on fan sites, allowing the inclusion of AFVs in battles.
Figure and Ground Scale
CF uses an abstract figure scale - a basic infantry stand (usually holding three figures) represents a squad of about 10 infantrymen while 2-3 heavy infantry weapons are represented by a single model; it is also playable on a 1/1 figure scale, though this is unsupported by the official rules and only a minority of gamers seem to prefer this. Crossfire takes place within small arms range. Though standard Crossfire gives no fixed ground scale Hit the Dirt gives one from around 1:300 to 1:500. The ground scale is a matter of discussion among CF wargamers; Ground scales from 1:1700 to 1:72 have been proposed and are in use. Others see it as variable ie urban combat would be denser than fighting at long range in the country side. Hit the Dirt supports the first interpretation, Crossfire supports the second.
External links
Crossfireofficial website
Unofficial sites
CrossFire Tabletop Simulator Mod3d & Scripted Steam Workshop Mod for the
TableTop Simulator
''Tabletop Simulator'' is an independent video game that allows players to play and create tabletop games in a multiplayer physics sandbox. Developed by Berserk Games as their first title after a successful crowdfunding campaign in February 2014, ...
Balagan CrossfireBest Site for Everything CrossFire on the Internet ( FAQ, Rules Clarifications, & tons of Scenarios )
among other material notes on CF wargaming at 1/1 scale
Wargaming.infoNew Zealand website with FAQ & Game Scenarios & Reports
Tim's ToysCanadian website with AFV rules
Matakishi's Tea HouseUK website with CF for Dad's Army, Band of Brothers, Commandos, Burma, etc.
IanH's wargaming pagesCF wargaming at 1/300 scale
CF rules adaption for Vietnam era
Operation Dumb GeeseModern CF wargaming
Miniature wargames
Wargames introduced in the 1990s
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