'O' Group WW2 Battalion Level Wargaming Rules Review | Storm of Steel Wargaming

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I hope you enjoy this review of 'O' Group, the WW2 Battalion Level game by Dave Brown.

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

Adding a second comment, another challenge for relative newcomers may be devising asymmetrical scenarios that offer both sides a good chance of winning. Overall the rules focus on a battalion vs battalion level, but game hosts must consider allowing the attacking side to have a enough bonuses in units, fire missions or activation dice to overcome the advantages defenders always enjoy (especially if they have superior armour - as your Panther ably demonstrated in your earlier AAR).

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Indeed, but that is also a problem with a lot of games. In OG there is a simple points calculator for both sides, with the attacker getting more points to spend, so that issue has been addressed. But the rules do assume a certain knowledge of the Second World War as well, like a lot of wargaming rules.

[@get_the_lead_out]

Very good review - I’m anxiously awaiting my first playthrough. Looking forward to seeing your additional videos. I especially liked it when the Panther made an entrance and plopped down in the middle of your table. Pretty sure I remember that happening in your playthrough videos as well (just a different panther)😺😸. As you can tell from my avatar I’ve got one myself - he’s always trying to redeploy my forces!

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Cheers Jim, the next couple of videos will be along in the next few weeks so keep an eye out. Yeah, Tiny is the star of the show, she's already demanding her own trailer. They do like to get involved in games, with varying results...

[@nigelatter9307]

Really helpful introduction Alex. I'll be keen to watch you r other videos on O Group.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johnewing4245]

Very interesting review. I have the rules but haven’t had the time to get into them yet, but this was encouraging. I’ll need to watch your AARs to see how you’ve handled solo play. By the way, you mentioned the author’s son replying to rule queries on the O Group FaceBook group. Actually that’s the author Dave Brown himself using his son Christopher’s account, so the answers are straight from the horse’s mouth. 😊 Dave has also does an excellent job answering questions in the O Group section of the Lard Forum. It’s great to see such commitment to the rules from him. Bodes well for the future.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thank you, it is worth spending the time to get a game on the table. It is surprisingly easy to master and makes for a great game. I didn't know that about Chris/Dave, thanks for letting me know, and it's good to see the author gripping the rules!

[@pbeccas]

Great and fair review of O Group. I would have liked them to have added basic battalion OOBs for the Japanese and Italians to get players started in alternative theatres. I still have to play my first game so I’m looking forward to your video releases.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thank you, I agree, but I understand the need for space and the 'big four' are what most people play, so again, I understand the decision. I am fairly sure that there will be forthcoming supplements with the other nations added. Not long to wait, I have a couple already backed up for release!

[@leonleese4919]

Representation of scale : I suppose there is a big jump in understanding needed. With a game (Napoleonic) where a battalion weighs in at 30 figures ie. 3 Grenadiers, 24 centre company and 3 Grenadier company they soon learn that the light company along with the other light companies in the brigade will form a skirmish screen to the front of the battalion . The grenadiers may occupy a strong point like a farmhouse or a small wood or even a bridge. The Centre companies are formed with the remainder of the brigade. After playing a game with other Wargamers the basics are easy to pick up. Because of the slightly abstract way O Group works it isn’t all black and white, Patrols, at the start and no troops on the table, so nothing to see (a bit like Wellington). Also the Troops on the bases may not all be riflemen. Wargamers are often a conservative lot and will dig their heels in and may even mock the game especially when loosing. So explaining this to them is tiring but a must if you want them to continuing to play the game. Ahhh the advantage of a solo game. 😎

[@epone3488]

I like your rural roads a lot. Did you make them or are they something I can get a hold of?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thanks, I made them myself. Easily done with pollyfilla and strips of card

[@Kevin.Mitchell]

Very thorough review - thanks. I will pick these up eventually I'm sure!

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Cheers, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's a good game, lots of interesting aspects to it.

[@Kevin.Mitchell]

@@StormofSteelWargaming Well I almost lasted a whole day before I crumbled and put my order in! Well, it is on sale, it's literally paid for itself...

[@leonleese4919]

The village, Bucknall, where I lived until I was 11 had tarmac on the main road but the hill running into Hanley town centre was cobblestones so I w kuldip imagine on the continent during WWII that all the older town centres would be the same. Builders in the mid ‘30’s had to use tarmac as a condition of planing permission, or perhaps they were cheaper to build?😊 Where did you get those roads from they look exceptional. Very instructive video, i’ll have to watch it again later but I have some 15mm plastic soldier company Brits to paint so I’m looking for a tutorial as they’ll be my first khaki army to paint for a while.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thanks, the roads are from Geek Villain

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

I agree that one of the many strong points in these rules is the simplified system for firing which speeds play - you can shoot platoon at platoon in seconds. As a fan of Napoleonic "General d'Armee" by the same author - David Brown - I only wish the firing/combat rules for GdA were as quick as O Group, given the scope of the games.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I've never played GdA, but I assume that this is just a development in mechanics from that game. Maybe use the OG firing rules for GdA?

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

@@StormofSteelWargaming I'm quite a fan of variants - like putting your own spin on recipes in a cook book - so you might be on to something there.

[@leonleese4919]

Great explanation of the game. Essential Viewing before a first game. I need to sort out my Lardies password so tha I can find what I’ve bought before ordering all the European theatre scenario pdf’s and the IABSM & CoC booklets. It’s odd all my Napoleonic player friends want to play full battles at brigade level. And O Group is advanced gaming for WWII at Battalion level. The first needing hundreds of figures and the second needing about a hundred. 🙂

[@Mark-fw8pd]

Good review. Glad you did this as a follow-up to the playthroughs. I'd like to see some of the campaign support for this that was given to Chain of Command. How would this play in Burma & etc?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Cheers, I am glad you liked it. Yeah, I'd like to see campaign support, we'll see what happens in future. I recently played a game set during the Malaya campaign (video coming soon) and it worked perfectly well, so Burma should be no problem. You'll just have to do a bit of tweaking for the Japanese.

[@Mark-fw8pd]

@@StormofSteelWargaming I was hoping you'd say Malay.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I have a plan to refight the Malaya campaign in O Group, I enjoyed the one off scenario I did, so stay tuned!

[@crainialpressure]

Good reviews, Looking forward to hopefully seeing you do another battle report

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. There are more AARs coming soon!

[@JKWARGAMES]

My Fav ww2 rules at the moment!!

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Yeah, it has suddenly gone to the top of my list as well!

[@anthonyhobbs5242]

Good review, keep up the good work. One of my favourite elements of the game is recce, not many rule sets actually allow recce units to work as they did.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Cheers, yeah, I really like the recce rules, although I've not used recce units on the table yet, I want to give them a try.

[@Zikekiel]

10/10 review. 12/10 for cat.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Ha ha, thank you, she'll be pleased to hear that.

[@rickybell2190]

Fantastic review as always. As a 6mm player I love bigger games as obviously I can get more figures on a table, so with that said does O'Group allow for more than one battalion in its rules?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thank you! Yes, the Battlegroup rules allow for two infantry and one armour battalion to be fielded on a larger table. It may get a bit complex as fielding a single battalion is a lot to think about, but I bet it would be great fun.

[@leonleese4919]

As a solo player seeing and hearing what other gamers think is more than helpfull

[@lazypiratepainting2947]

Great review, thanks. Been looking for a game to play using 6mm WW2 and I think I’ve found it. Just got to finish my other 6mm projects now and decided on what models to purchase 🤔. Looking forward to seeing some more reports in the future, keep up the good work 👏👏👍.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thanks Steve, it is a great set of rules and I really like the way a game flows. Lots of easy things that don't interfere with the game, very little chart looking up and most of it can be held in your head. It would work very well with 6mm.

[@Edward-Plantagenet]

Great review. O-Group had replaced Battlegroup as my preferred WW2 rules. While I really enjoyed Battlegroup I really found it more of a platoon level simulation type game with many of its mechanics being of the skirmish level variety. While it could be played at company plus level it REALLY bogged down. O-Group for me retains enough WW2 flavour, with some really outstanding mechanics (Combat Patrols & Recce etc) while still keeping up a good pace to allow the play of larger scale actions with the focus of command at Battalion rather than Company / Platoon.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Thank you. I've never played BG, so I couldn't comment, but I agree about the excellent mechanics in OG which really make it feel like a high level command game.

[@Hedgehobbit]

When I first saw how command and control worked I thought that this would be a great feature in a co-op game. With each player controlling a company against a randomly generated enemy (like in Tiger Leader or Patton's Best). This way you could run a two player campaign without simply fighting each other over and over again. This would be my dream game and would probably result in me playing twice as much.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I think that would be a great idea, I am a big fan of co-op games and would like to see more of them in historical wargaming.

[@aaronjones2117]

Is the cat your 2iC? :D The game looks interesting. A little off topic, but where did you get your Japanese miniatures? I've been waiting for Plastic soldier Company to release some 15mm ones, but they haven't yet.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Ha ha, she's my CiC! It is a great game, my Japanese are from Command Decision (used to be sold through Skytrex, now Warlord) and Peter Pig, so a mix of figures. I wouldn't hold your breath for PSC to release some, unless they do a Pacific Battlegroup supplement, I guess.

[@Jux925]

I am wondering how the O Group rules compare to Brown's Panzer Grenadier Deluxe and also to I Ain't Been Shot Mum. I try to find fun ruleset but I am wondering if the O Group is too crunchy compared the other two. There is also Battlegroup ruleset in the same category I think.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I've not played PGD of BF so I can't comment. IABSM is a smaller scale game and has more detail than O Group, it depends on what level of gaming you are going for really, but IABSM is a fun game, but then so is O Group.

[@norm977]

Are the vehicle stats limited to one theatre / time period?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

They cover the entire war, but by gun size and vehicle type.

[@DH-WarRoom]

Have you tried the RFR rules, cut down version? Pretty fast and deadly.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I've not tried them, but I have read them and basically our version of RF was the same as the RFR. Unfortunately for me, the new version doesn't move away from IGOUGO and the rolling for morale steps that bug me.

[@DH-WarRoom]

@@StormofSteelWargaming Yeah, I have issues with the morale too tbh, but the rest is a hoot.

[@vikingthor8060]

Played these rules for the first time yesterday, my first table game with other players for years and they work really well, I do wish id watched this review first. having played the game you cover all the key elements. For someone whos been out of the hobby for 30 years probably it took a bit og getting used to the scout markers and using them cleverly, but appart form that it was pretty straight fwd, i didn't like that rules that much

[@Dave_L]

What's the stated ground scale?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

"very approximately 1" to 25 yards/metres for 15mm or smaller"

[@dougc2568]

But what does the cat think?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

She's a big fan.

[@kevinsturdy8038]

Again a great review, interesting and informative, I look forward in watching your AAR,s of the rules😃 this is possibly going on my list of rules to get 👍 sinces ww2 is my game play, more so nowadays (question: how do you feel that 'O group' plays solo?), although, this year's projects are of different periods🤔 anyway keep up the good work🤓👍🧐

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Cheers Kevin, O Group plays very well as solo, but I'd also like to try it out face to face.

[@kevinsturdy8038]

This sounds good, I,LL have to get a copy and watch the O group vids (again) and set up a game scenerio sometime🤔🤓👍

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Very thorough, nice work.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks!

[@BearGrisham]

Did you play rapid fire in 20mm as your Japanese troops looked in that scale? Also why don’t you play O group in 20mm if you do have a 20mm collection? Thanks

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I played RF in 15mm, I don't have any 20mm stuff at all.

[@BearGrisham]

@@StormofSteelWargaming ah rights those Japanese troops looked really big on the review.

[@MrRschwab]

A great review. No you can use your experience and another run through game.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Cheers Richard, don't you worry, there are already two more video AARs lined up for release... And more to come in future.

[@johntoal7629]

Hi there, given your many games with Rapid Fire do you think their scenarios could be easily adopted to O Group?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Yes, very easily. I recently played a refight of Gurun based on a Rapid Fire OOB and it worked perfectly well. You'd just have to do a bit of tweaking, but I think most scenarios would be fine.

[@johntoal7629]

@@StormofSteelWargaming Excellent. We use Mr Browns excellent GDA rules and therefore had good expectations for what is a new Wargames era for my game partner/opponent and myself. We’d watched the excellent videos from TFL and liked what we saw. It’s also been great during lockdown to have a new project to work on. I also enjoyed your videos on O Group. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do these.

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

I don't think you'll be disappointed, it's a great game!

[@thewannabepainter]

Don't know if i overheard it🤔...is it scale bound or agnostic? I'm searching for rules that fit 10mm or less. The rules sound very smooth and way more to realism then other sets. Hurts my eyes when i see games were heavy artillery shoots on infantry 10 inches away💀

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Yeah, it's scale agnostic and 10mm or smaller would work very well.

[@System-Update]

Would these rules work well with armour as well as a battalion (ish) worth of infantry? Would a company of tanks be too much?

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Yeah, there are rules for fielding armour battalions, it's not a particular problem, you just swap the infantry for armour. The one thing I would say is that the game may slow down a little as AT firing is slightly more complex than infantry firing, so that would be something to think about. I am going to try it out myself one day though...

[@System-Update]

@@StormofSteelWargaming Thanks, I think I'll pick up a copy based on your review - make sure the Lardies give you percentage. ;)

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

LOL, tell them where you got the recommendation from...

[@percyblok6014]

Shiny cat..