General Outline of PlayInstant War: Tank Battles I (TB1 hereafter) is the first in a series of war games set in the fictional world of the Third Colonies, a collection of small states that are perpetually at war with one another. In the period you are playing in, the Colonies are split into two factions: the Pro-Commons faction, which favours bringing the Colonies together in a confederation, and the Liberation forces, which prefer the loose style of alliances and partnerships that currently holds.In TB1, you control the Commons forces as they begin to mount a counterattack against Liberation, which had taken possession of several Commons states, including Estremera, Adrada, and Landete. Each scenario presents a different battle from this counteroffensive, generally following the campaign temporally.Each scenario is played out on a unique map that also serves as a game board. The player and the computer take turns moving the pieces allotted to their forces for that scenario, attacking the opposition when possible and advantageous. After combat odds are calculated, a random "roll" of a 6-sided die, plus or minus relevant modifiers, determines the outcome.The object of each scenario is to defeat as much of the enemy force as possible within the allotted turns, while also protecting one's own units. All scenarios are open to the player from the outset, so victory is not required; only desired.

The Playing PiecesThe square game pieces represent platoon-sized military units of various types. The tan-coloured pieces represent Commons forces, while the blue-coloured pieces represent Liberation forces. The symbol of silhouette identifies the type of unit represented by a given counter, while the three numbers represent are called "factors" and represent the capabilities of the unit in three categories: attack, defence, and movement.

The identification and description of all unit type symbols and silhouettes may be found in Appendix B of this rule set.

Factor DefinitionsMovement Factor (MF) The movement points the unit is allowed to use each turn. Each plain hex "costs" 1 MF to move, while others can cost more (such as forest and swamp) and less (such as roads).Attack Factor (AF) The offensive power of a given unit.Defence Factor (DF) The defensive power of a given unit.

The MapEach scenario plays out on its own map of an area of the Colonies under dispute. Most maps connect, so that the content on the southeastern corner of one map, for example, will appear in the northwestern corner in the next scenario. This area of the colonies lives under a temperate climate, so there should be no surprises in terms of terrain.

ScenariosTB1 comes with ten scenarios, each capturing a different battle in the Pro-Commons counteroffensive. More scenarios will be available in later editions of Instant War.

Starting TB1When TB1 is started up, scenario #1 is loaded, and the Instant War splash title graphic is displayed. Click anywhere in the window to remove the graphic.

Instant War ConsoleAny business you have with TB1 may be managed via the Instant War Console. This is the command-line prompt available at the bottom of the window. Click at the prompt to begin entering commands.

Console Commandsnext Ends the current player turn. The computer will take its turn, and then the next turn will begin (or the game will end if all turns have been used up).new Starts a new game in the current scenario. Player will be asked to confirm this command.save Saves the current game using filename supplied by player (e.g. 'save "game1"').load Loads a game with the filename supplied by the player (e.g. 'load "game1"').scenario Loads a scenario file with the supplied filename (e.g. 'load "sc2"').card brings up the scenario card for the current scenario being played.score displays the current scorehelp displays the list of commands, or description of a command if supplied (e.g. 'help scenario').quit quits the game. Player will be prompted to confirm.

Load ScenarioAfter TB1 has loaded up, and you have cleared the title graphic, you may load any scenario you wish to play.e.g. scenario "sc2"will load scenario 2 into the system, ready to play. The scenarios are named sc1 through to sc10.

Scenario CardType card to read more about the scenario you have loaded. The card provides background text, and tells you the location of the battle, and how many units are given on each side.

MovementTerrain FeaturesEach scenario map is divided into hexes, each with a dominant terrain feature. Common features include forest, road, river, and swamp. Hexes that are pale green or brown are fields, and are considered to be essentially "neutral", in that they impose no movement penalties or benefits.Generally, forest and swamp hexes will slow units down, while roads will allow them to travel more quickly. Rivers are impassable for all but amphibious units.Terrain may be at three different levels of altitude. Generally, most hexes are at the lowest. Hexes at the second altitude level are highlighted in green. Hexes at the highest level are highlighted in light green.Changes in altitude affect unit movement to varying degrees. Generally, moving up in altitude imposes a movement penalty, while moving down allows the unit to move faster.

How to Move UnitsEach unit may be moved once per turn, but the player may elect to not move a given piece.To move a unit, click on its hex. TB1 will calculate all the potential moves the unit may make, and highlight them on the map in blue.Click on any of the highlighted hexes to move the unit to that hex. Click anywhere else to cancel the move.

CombatHow to Have CombatCombat is initiated by the player or the computer. A unit may attack before or after it moves. If it attacks before it moves, however, it cannot move for that turn.To attack an enemy unit, click on the hex of the attacking unit. Enemy units that are in range to attack will be highlighted in red. Click on the red hex to attack.Combat pits the attacker's AF against the defender's DF. The difference between them is expressed as the ratio AF/DF, rounded in favour of the defender to match up with the ratios listed on the Combat Results Table (CRT), as shown in Appendix A.Combat results are decided by the simulated roll of a 6-sided die. Modifiers are then applied (see next section), and the CRT is consulted. There are four possible outcomes:

No Effect Nothing happens.Dispersal The defending unit is dispersed. It cannot move or fight for one turn, and becomes "ghosted" onscreen. Subsequent attacks on dispersed unit have -2 modifier.DD Special dispersal. If the defending unit is already dispersed, it will be killed. Otherwise, it is dispersed.Kill Defending unit is killed, and removed from the map.

ModifiersBased on various game situations, modifiers may be applied to the combat die rolls, as listed below:/2: applied when attacking unit is higher altitude -2: applied when defending unit is dispersed.-2: applied when defending unit is in town hex and attacking unit is infantry+2: applied when defending unit is in town hex and attacking unit is not infantry.

ScoreScoring is quite simple in TB1. You get +1 point for every enemy unit you kill, while you lose -1 point for every Commons unit that the enemy kills.

Appendix ACombat Results TableOdds Ratios

Roll1:41:31:21:12:13:14:1

-1DDDXXXXX

0-DDDDDXXX

1-DDDDXXX

2--DDDDXX

3---DDDXX

4----DDDX

5----DDDX

6------X

7-------

ExplanationX Unit eliminatedD DispersalDD Special Dispersal- No effect

Appendix BUnit TypesCommons Tank. Slow moving but powerful. Cannot move on water.

Commons Armoured Truck. Fast and relatively strong. Cannot move on water.

Commons Amphibious Armoured Truck. Somewhat fast. Can move on water.

Commons Infantry. Relatively slow and weak, but strong in urban areas. Cannot move on water.

Liberation Tank.

Liberation Armoured Truck.

Liberation Amphibious Armoured Truck.

Liberation Infantry.