Lock n’ Load Tactical, the ignored wargame?

Decades ago I played Squad Leader which was my first WW2 hex and counter wargame. A few years ago I wanted to get back into something tactical with a similar theme and started looking around. I knew Multi-man Publishing picked up the ASL banner, but I was looking for a more modern implementation of tactical games instead of retreading old designs.

I heard good things about Conflict of Heroes but it always seems out of print. Combat Commander was another game that seemed interesting. I did manage to snag that and enjoy the game immensely. But a sticking point for me is that there’s no armor.

CC:Europe is a wonderful game and it’s heavily geared towards capturing that infantry tactics feel. However I really wanted some rules which would allow me to throw in an APC, a lone tank, or a light AT gun. The rules just didn’t have anything for that. So I started looking around some more and stumbled onto the Lock n’ Load Tactical series.

It looks like a fun set of rules and allows a smattering of armor units to add to engagements which is a plus. Now I always had heard about LnL on the periphery but never really gave it a thoughtful look. Seems the online presence and chatter were heavily skewed towards CC: Europe or Conflict of Heroes. LnL Tactical just appeared to be ignored.

I probed around BGG some and the Combat Commander and Conflict of Heroes series have almost 5,000 and 3,000 owners, respectively. While the LnL Tactical library has only a little over 1,500. Note also this is a set of rules that has been out about as long as those other games too.

Yes LnL Tactical has gone through a few editions. However it blows my mind how the game seems to have such a small online community presence, despite it being heavily supported by the publisher. There are lots of expansions, supplementary products, and more importantly most of it is in print. The rules are online for free with a starter set of counters and a map for $15. That’s a pretty low bar of entry to check out how a game runs.

When peeking around for a WW2 tactical hex and counter wargame, one guy came out of the woodwork raving about the system. I think I’ve now become that guy. In a while I’ll be able to get my mitts on the game proper, and at the very least be able to take the solo rules for a spin. Yet, I expect in the near future I’ll be posting more about this game.