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Tanktics: Computer
Game of Armored Combat on the Eastern Front
Tanktics was developed by Chris
Crawford in 1977 on a custom computer, and initially published for
the Commodore PET the next year. The game was programmed in BASIC,
and Avalon Hill later
acquired and published the game for
TRS-80,
Apple II and Atari computers.
The game was a hybrid typical of early
tactical wargames, with the computer used to both calculate combat
as well as provide an artificial intelligence opponent for a human
player. There was no two-player mode. The output to the computer
screen was completely textual. The game box, which was a slightly
smaller version of the classic Avalon Hill "bookcase" box used for
their board game line, included a two-piece hard-mounted map, a 12
page rules booklet, a counter sheet with 260 counters (though
because 11 of them were blank, the box top copy described this as
"Over 240 1/2" counters"), and a cassette tape or a 5-1/4" floppy
disk. The rules booklet was sparse, with only six pages actually
devoted to non-technical issues related to actually playing the
game.
The unit counters were sparsely
illustrated with only an overhead silhouette, ID letter, and
movement allowance on each. Infantry was not included in the game,
and only turreted tanks and anti-tank guns were included. The
counter mix was:
|
Type |
Designation in
game |
ID |
# |
|
PzKpfw III ausf J |
Panzer IIIj |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PzKpfw IV ausf H |
PanzerIVh |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PzKpfw V "Panther" |
PzKwV |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PzKpfw VI ausf E "Tiger" |
PzkwVIe |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PzKpfw VI ausf B "Königstiger" |
PzKwVIb |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PaK 38 5.0 cm |
50mm ATG |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PaK 40 7.5 cm |
75mm ATG |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
PaK 43 8.8 cm |
88mm ATG |
A-H, two blank |
10 |
|
German wreck counters |
Wreck |
- |
9 |
|
German objective |
Objective Hex |
- |
1 |
|
T-34 Model 1942 |
T34/76c |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
T-34/85 |
T34/85 |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
KV-I |
KV-I |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
KV-85 |
KV/85 |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
Iosef Stalin I |
JS-I |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
Iosef Stalin II |
JS-II |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
P. obr 36 |
76mm ATG |
A-P, four blank |
20 |
|
Russian wreck counters |
Wreck |
|
18 |
|
Russian objective |
Objective Hex |
- |
1 |
|
Blank counters |
11 |
Game play was simple;
armor was rated as thin, moderate, good, thick, or very thick, and
guns as weak, moderate, good, or very strong. Terrain types included
clear, rough, depression, woods and lake with roads speeding
movement - there was no urban terrain. The player interfaced with
the computer by typing command codes into the program and physically
moving counters on the mapboard. Victory in a scenario was
determined by point ratios, though scenarios were also not decided
until one side had lost all its vehicles. Five scenarios were
included with the game; there was no method of creating additional
scenarios, and the AI was preprogrammed only for those five.
Articles
Proctor, Bob (Jan-February 1982), "Tanktics: Review and Analysis",
Computer Gaming World: 17-20 |
|
Tanktics:
Computer Game of Armored Combat on the Eastern Front |
|
Designer: |
Chris
Crawford (Design and Programming)
Bob Smith (TRS Version)
Tod Frye (Apple Version)
Gary Sipes (Recap and Compilation)
Charles Kibler (Physical components) |
|
Developer: |
Avalon
Hill |
|
Platform: |
Commodore, TRS-80, Apple, Atari |
| Date
of Release: |
1978
(Commodore), 1981 |
|
Scale: |
Individual vehicles |
|
Genre: |
Hybrid 2-D strategy
and boardgame |
|
Players: |
1 only |
|
Campaign Type: |
None |
|
Countersheet - the
reverse of the sheet is blank |
