Grav Armor

Grav Armor is a two-player science-fiction tank wargame^[1] designed by Arnold Hendrick, with graphic design by David Helber, with Tom Maxwell, and cover art by Bob Depew.^[2] It was published by Heritage Models as part of their Dwarfstar Games line.

The microgame comes in a small box and includes

• six 4"x7" full-color geomorphic maps
• 154 counters in three colors, most representing either ten vehicles or 100 infantry, others representing fighters, tanks, cities and forts
• two six-sided dice
• an information sheet
• 24-page book containing rules and scenarios^[3]

The maps display five different colors of terrain, but these can represent anything demanded by the scenario. For example, in one scenario, blue hexes could represent water, in the next scenario they could be snowy tundra or rough terrain. The six maps can be combined to provide many different configurations. A hex represents 50 kilometres.^[3]

One player represents the forces of the Lerlam Empire, while the other plays the rebels of the Panumatic League.^[3]

Unlike other wargames that require "line of sight" (LOS) before a unit can fire on another unit, in Grav Armor, a unit can fire if its Electronic Warfare (EW) rating is higher than the terrain rating through which the defending unit is moving, and the target is within range.^[3]

Unlike many wargames where the first player both moves and fires before the second player's turn, in Grav Armor, the first player moves one unit at a time, but the second player fires anytime during the first player's movement where the firing unit's EW can detect the moving target, and the target is within range. If the second player decides to fire, the first player ceases to move the unit, and the combat is resolved. If the unit survives, the first player continues to move the unit.^[3]

Once all the first player's units have been moved, the players switch roles, the second player moving units, while the first player fires.

To resolve combat, the Combat Result Table (CRT) is used. The total of the target's defense value, EW rating and terrain value are subtracted from the sum of the attacker's EW, attack factor and weapon bonuses (if any). Two dice are thrown, and the total of the dice (2–12) is cross-referenced on the CRT against the attacker/target difference (-10 to +10). The result is either "Hit" or "Miss". Only one hit is needed to destroy anything except infantry and forts. A hit on an infantry unit disrupts it for one move; cities can take partial damage before being destroyed.^[3]

The victory conditions vary from scenario to scenario.^[3]