Ariete is a Tactical Combat Series (TCS) game covering the
Italian Ariete Division’s defense of Bir el Gubi, Libya, on November 19, 1941.
The well-equipped yet inexperienced British 22nd Armoured
Brigade saw an opportunity to season itself against a supposedly weak Italian
formation. At full-strength with 162 brand-new Crusader tanks, the British were
eager to emulate the easy victories against the Italian 10th Army the previous
winter. What actually ensued was a swirling desert battle between evenly
matched opponents.
Ariete covers this entire mobile action in turns
representing 30 minutes each and a map scale of 150 meters per hex. Units range
from sections to platoons. A minimal amount of special rules bring the Tactical
Combat Series to North Africa, highlighting the unique tactical challenge of
the desert environment.
• The Italian player must manage a mobile defense against
stronger British armored units until reinforcements arrive in the form of the
132nd Tank Regiment. He must make good use of artillery and AT assets
(especially truck-mounted 102mm guns) to bloody the Brits and set them up for
an armored counterattack.
• The Commonwealth player must solve the problem of using an
armor-only force to crack defensive positions held by a well-led combined-arms
force. The desert environment, with swirling dust clouds and relatively long
lines of sight, will not help him in this regard!
Ariete components:
• Tactical Combat Series version 4.01 rulebook
• Ariete game-specific rulebook
• 12 Scenarios
• two Tactical Combat Series Charts & Tables
• one full-color 22" x 34" map
• 280 counters (see a playtest [not final!] sample here)
• zip lock bag (*Note: In order to keep production costs
down, they are producing Ariete as a bagged game only; there will not be a boxed
edition.)