Very excited to get a learner game of What a Tanker! in today. I’ve had the ruleset for years but never tried it.

I managed to get a 1v1 and then a 2v2 game in with four players! We had two people walk up and join us for our second match.

The first match was one tank each and saw us slugging back and forth without much progress. It was fun, but showed a concern I had for the system: the potential to degrade into firing back and forth until someone finally dies.

The second match was 2v2, awkwardly with both British and German tanks on each side, one per player. Turn 1 shot one I destroyed the tank of the newest player. It was spectacular luck in-game, but not a great way to demo for someone! We reset and she proceeded to pay me back in kind on her own first shot!

At least it made me feel better. My partner got her and then the match dragged on in a dramatic fight between the two British tanks.

A fight, which, due to said drag, ended as we called time on the match.

A few things contribute to the games dragging: for one, tank damage is random and scaled via charts. This is good, allowing for the game to replicate the uncertainty of tank on tank warfare.

Second, tanks don’t die unless you get a heck of a shot or you whittle down your opponent’s command dice to zero. Each point of damage takes one of your opponent’s six dice, but damage can be temporary or permanent. Temporary damaged can be repaired mid battle, effectively allowing a tank to take many penetrating shots without giving up the ghost.

All told, I still like the system, but I can see how in a party game I’ll need to come up with a method of ending the game sooner rather than fighting to the last. It’s not a hard problem to solve, and everyone who played had fun, so I’m not too bothered.

If I ever get enough games in, I’ll do a full review, but for now, it seems pretty clear: it’s a great occasional party game. I wouldn’t try to main-game it, but I doubt anyone would given its plainly not meant to fill that role.

Here’s some remaining shots of the match. Much thanks to my partner who provided a good few of these.