Megablitz is an operational-level wargame

Wargaming

A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...

 that was developed by Tim Gow (with the assistance of Bob Cordery) to fill a niche in the range of wargames that was currently available.
It combines aspects of both traditional figure wargames and map-based wargames, and new players can quickly pick up the main concepts.

Origins

The origins of Megablitz lie in Chris Kemp's NQM (Not Quite Mechanised) wargames rules, where individual playing pieces represented company-sized units. In Megablitz these individual playing pieces usually represent battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 and regimental-sized units, although reconnaissance units are company-sized. Units are allocated Strength Points (SP) which relate to each unit's type e.g. Infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

, Cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

, Armour

Armour

Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...

, strength, equipment, and level of training. Hidden Strength Point markers are attached to the back of each stand, and are changed by a commander when the unit loses Strength Points as a result of combat.

Ground and Figure Scales

The ground scale

Scale (ratio)

The scale ratio of some sort of model which represents an original proportionally is the ratio of a linear dimension of the model to the same dimension of the original. Examples include a 3-dimensional scale model of a building or the scale drawings of the elevations or plans of a building. In such...

used is very large (1:25,000 in games using 20 mm scale figures and vehicles and 1:50,000 in games using 1:300th scale figures and vehicles) and each game move represents two hours of actual time. This means that large battles (such as Kursk) can be fought out on the tabletop in a day of real time.

Giving Orders

At the beginning of each move, commanders give their units orders. This is done using the SMART order chits system.

• S = Static

• M = Mobile

• A = Attack

• R = Retreat

• T = Transit

Each order determines the maximum distance a unit can move during a two-hour move as well as determining its ability to fight enemy units. For example, a unit must spend at least one move 'Static' (e.g. not moving so that it can prepare) before it can mount an 'Attack'. If a 'Mobile' unit runs into an enemy unit that is 'Static', the 'Mobile' unit will probably 'bounce off' having suffered some casualties and after inflicting very few.

The Combat System

The main element of the Megablitz combat system is the Combat Matrix. The Combat Matrix reflects the fact that units suffer different levels of casualties depending upon the orders they are carrying out. It works as follows:

• Once units of opposing sides become involved in combat, each player counts the number of Strength Points that their units have.

• They then pass one die for each of these Strength Points to their opponent.

• Each player then rolls the die that they have been given in their Combat Box (a small box with a lid that can be fixed so that opposing players can not see the scores on the rolled dice), and the results are read off the Combat Matrix. The Combat Matrix shows the dice score required to inflict a casualty.

• Each player then adjusts their units' Strength Points accordingly.

The main advantages of this system are that it is quick to use and it keeps the effects of combat secret from the opposition.