Here I pass on what one of the Quick Reaction Force let me know, Pete Mousseaux. The QRF were volunteers who agreed to receive initial copies of the various otherwise identical rulebooks to see if the color and other features looked good.
"In 2010 I was in a comic book shop with my daughter.In the corner there was an odds and ends rack. I saw an old manila envelope with the words… Tractics - Classic Mini Rules WWII. Even though I’d never played miniatures, I plucked down $20 for 3 beat up booklets and dozens of confusing folded pages. Mostly because of the name Gary Gygax, and also because of Having read too many Sgt. Rock and the Haunted Tank comic books.
And ever since, I’ve been meaning to dig into them. Especially now that I’ve dabbled in other miniatures games. I’m so glad I procrastinated. After reading the non-modern sections of the updated version, I’m certain I would have only gotten a bad taste for the system and given up on the rules if I’d started with only the originals. But this new update has given me a fighting chance to figure things out. My mind is still swimming a bit, but by the end, I could start seeing pieces coming together. The “style of play” sections were a HUGE help.
I love the concept of the judge. I’m psyched to approach the game as if it were just another Dungeons and Dragons session—but with tanks. The hidden movement could be a real game changer.
Any way I want to start out by thanking everyone for bringing this version to life. It’s obvious that it’s been a labor of love… and I can’t believe that I’m getting access to not only the original rules with a more modern presentation, but also the 1976 modified AND updated versions. Very cool.
[At this stage Pete gave feedback on pages with little or no color plus photos that were either too small or grainy. Many of these being historical in nature, we had already chosen to include "just because".]
Like I said at the top, these are nits. You could leave these all as is, and the book wonderfully makes Tractics soooo much more accessible.
The color on the charts! The charts! I now better understand why you’ve made such a point about different ways to utilize the charts. Once the flow of the game is mastered the charts are really going to be where the Dungeon Master / Judge lives. And they look awesome. I can’t image them without the color.
That’s it. Just holler if you have any questions, or need more info. And thanks again for helping me get over the Tractics inertia."
This idea of Tractics as a an Armored D&D game is still new to me. Having been so close to the concept from 1970-1980, I was just a like a fish unaware of the water I swim in. So I thought now what would one say other than Judge (which was the term we used when starting Judges Guild in 1976)? Panzermaster? Panzermeister?
