Prologue

Hunfield, Fulda Gap, Germany. 10 November 1989. The commander of the Screening Task Force, 11 ACR, sits back and reviews his battle map. Will his plan allow him to delay a numerically superior enemy for 6 hours? He has established alternate delay positions for each of the platoons and has told them how long to delay for before pulling back to the next position. He has a sound idea where and how he wants to tie in the three supporting batteries and how he is going to utilise the air assets assigned to him. The distant crump of artillery draws him back from his map. The first spot report comes over the radio from his forward screen. It is on… the Reds have crossed the border.

Prosim's Armored Task Force. Realistic modern tactical wargaming.

Introduction

Prosim's Armored Task Force is a company-sized real-time tactical wargame designed by Captain Patrick Proctor and published through Shrapnel Games. The game is played with highly detailed 2D vehicle icons over a contour lined map. Armored Task Force has its origins in BCT Commander and has many similarities to its predecessor. At the same time Armored Task Force has brought about subtle refinements in this latest game by employing a revolutionary mission-based order system and a command hierarchy. These two features are what make Armored Task Force stand out from the crowd, especially in the area of mission planning and command and control.

Documentation & Tutorials

Armored Task Force comes complete with a very detailed 108-page user manual. The manual covers the gaming systems and interface, an extremely useful tutorial, and has a good How To section. The expansive menu system is also well documented and there is a small section on the Battlefield, as well as a section devoted to weapons and tactics which provides useful background information. The tutorial is based on a National Training Center scenario and takes players through setup, placement of reconnaissance elements, movement, artillery support and the allocation of missions to formations. It is a well-produced tutorial, which gently leads players through the complexities of the game. Unfortunately, there is no documentation for the scenario editor, which makes the whole editing process a bit of a hit and miss affair.

1 and 2 Troop 11 ACR protect main avenues of advance behind FASCAM laid minefields.