Airfix Battles Introductory Wargame

Long time wargamer, we looked at Airfix Battles to replace our existing lightweight 15mm ww2 rules. It fit the bill nearly perfectly. Our only issue is that we wish there were more official add-ons. The fan page on FB offered additional armies, and we built our own cards for Nationalist Chinese, but would be nice if we could get a larger number of printed cards/armies.
The Valour mechanic adds some control and fun, the rules are easy for new players to pick up, we really like the reducing armor system for AFVs. All in all, we're thrilled and just wish there were more army options.
We do like the immediacy of damage - the game it is replacing resulted in non-stop saves that we struggled with accepting. While saves exist in Airfix Battles, they're not against every hit and nearly guaranteed. They're situational and a decent chance.

Bought on a whim as I noticed there was a solo variant in rules.
Very happy with it. Simple yet brutal, clear rules too. Drawing cards for your turn adds a nice bit of randomness into it. I like how the AI works, pretty clear.
thankfully a couple of very good videos on YouTube if you want to look.
I play 28mm ww2 games and will be scaling this up for that, but tbh the playing pieces and mats you get are really good to get a quick game on the go.
If you are wondering, just get it and be pleasantly surprised as I was. Bit gushing but I can’t find fault in it tbh for the price.
Like other reviewers…wish I’d had this for my airfix stuff as a kid.
Honourable mention to the flavour text in the scenario booklet too. Good attention to detail like that is important.
More please!

This game is awesome! I am 46 and purchased this game for My 14 year old Son and I to get into wargaming. This is the perfect game for us. We have picked up the flow very easily and it is such fun to play. The quality of the maps and counters is superb. I only found out about this game by accident as the marketing of the game seems to be low key. I had not seen it advertised anywhere and is not sold in any Airfix model stores. We have added 3D buildings now which improve the gameplay, and hope to buy some plastic soldiers to use as soon as we can. I would highly recommend this game! I thought it would be hard to be a substitute for My Sons Xbox, but he loves playing it, and so do I! 5 STARS!

This is a great introduction to WW2 wargaming. My 8 year old has picked it up easily and we have tried infantry only and armour rules. They work well and encourage historical fire and movement tactics. The card driven orders work well in limiting coordinated actions. Attrition rate is high. Larger games will need extra infantry squads above what is in the force decks. The bonus deck adds some British (nice national features on the squad stats) and a few extra vehicles for the US and Germans. I got it as a pre-order bonus so do not appear to be able todownload the Op Cobra scenario book. I am working up some additional vehicles and other units to add options - a very easy job - I am working up a spreadsheet which I might try and post on the forum. The points system is a little coarse for fine tuning balance (M4/Pz4 are both 2 stars so little room for lighter armour to be set lower - still this can be overcome by planning as these are not rules for die hard competitive types)
The game plays fast and well. Models can be easily accommodated as most will fit in the squares. Infantry counters look suspiciously 1p size and support weapons 2p.
Airfix need to support this with model and figure releases, preferably with force cards in the boxes.
I second the comment about artwork - using Airfix box art of the vehicles would be better so you can see the actual vehicle. This shouldn't be too big a deal with modern printing technologies.
Looking forward to seeing new expansions.

I too wish this had been around mumblemumble years ago. My son is looking forward to playing with figures rather than counters - pocket money is accumulating!
It plays quickly. I like the rules, but I do wish they'd been written a little more clearly. The boards are pretty, but they're about magazine cover thickness and folded in quarters, so they don't lie flat, and after a wile thy're going to have white lines across them where the folds are. It keeps the price down, and they works better than I expected when I opened the box.
It's sad, but my biggest gripe is the artwork on the unit cards. Now these are not counters - they're just there to keep track of the units, but... The artwork 's all from Airfix box tops, but a lot of it is generic when it doesn't need to be. The M3 halftrack hasn't got an M3 on it when the Airfix M3 is back with the original box art;the Panzer IV is a Tiger I and II, as is the sdkfz 251 (the tractor from the Airfix 88 kit would have been closer). Even the Shermans get the generic American vehicles picture instead of the Airfix Sherman boxart.
It's still a good game, and it's fun to play with my 8 year old son. I'm really only moaning about the graphics.