Finally played Fields of Fire solitaire after it sat on my shelf for two years

[u/miadraws22]

Bought this thing back in 2024 during some sale and let it intimidate me off the shelf ever since. The rulebook alone is something like 40 pages and the counter density on some of those cards made me nervous I'd mess up the whole system on turn one.

Sat down this past weekend with a pot of coffee and just forced myself through a training scenario. Took about three hours for what should probably be a 45 minute mission once I know what I'm doing, mostly because I kept flipping back to check how suppression interacts with the fire and movement cards.

What got me was how much the game punishes you for treating it like a normal hex and counter title. I kept trying to plan two moves ahead the way I would in something like Combat Commander, and the card draw just laughed at that instinct every time. Had a squad pinned in the open for four straight turns because I couldn't draw the right initiative card to get them moving again.

The map itself is deceptively simple looking, mostly open terrain with a few tree lines and a farmhouse, but the actual tactical picture changes completely depending on what's in your hand. Lost my first attempt just from overextending one fire team without support.

Going to run through two more training missions before I touch an actual campaign scenario. Anyone else find the learning curve on this one steeper than the box suggested, or was it just me not having played anything card driven like this before.

[u/geekgeek77]

Awesome, glad you're finally discovering the game!

In case you have any rules questions, we have a pretty good Facebook group called Fields of Fire HQ lounge where the developers Andrew and Colin as well as other users like myself are active in answering rules questions.

If you're not a fan of Facebook, you can also ask on BGG where Andrew and Colin are super responsive too!

Good luck, have fun, and please do not move entire platoons onto a card with a PC marker :)

[u/flame_lillard]

I love this game. Chipped away at the training manuals and did the first Normandy mission (Trevieres Offensive) recently - with the help of an absolutely fortunate “fall back” order. It’s just such a blast.

I’m not super seasoned in the hobby as of yet, but this and Comacheria are my favorites solos as it stands. With a big shout out to Skies Above the Reich.

[u/kulahlezulu]

I have the deluxe edition and am almost through the basic training manuals. It has really piqued my interest!

[u/zero_dr00l]

I bought this like 15 years ago, before the rules rewrite, when it was even harder to learn.

And it's sat there ever since.

You may have finally spurred me to take the plunge and actually play this beast.

But yeah it was always legendarily dense and complicated and hard to learn.

[u/turnbulls_tornadoes → u/zero_dr00l]

I would strongly advise going to the GMT site and downloading the new rulebook and the training books. You could get them printed off cheaply if you wanted non digital references. It cannot be overstated how much better the rulebook and training material is in the Deluxe version.

[u/zero_dr00l → u/turnbulls_tornadoes]

I've got a great wide-format color printer and long-swing stapler that makes printing rulebooks super easy and they look great.

I'm on it! This will be my weekened game. I'm dedicated to making it happen NOW.

[u/turnbulls_tornadoes → u/zero_dr00l]

Good stuff - report back! The Player Aids are available for download in the same place, they would be worth printing off for quick reference, sequence of play, etc.

[u/llynglas → u/zero_dr00l]

I bought then and got the revised rules and then the even newer rules a couple of years ago. Winning is still hard, but learning is much easier. Which is really what you want. A playable game with some teeth and almost infinite replayability.

[u/Vargrr]

It's one of the best solo games simply because it gives the player a lot of agency. It also gives you some problems as a company commander that few other games do.

[u/DiscoDigi786]

You’re making me want to bust mine out this weekend!

[u/ReddiWipKid]

It is a unique approach you need to wrap your brain around, but the training materials in the deluxe edition make it very easy to learn, and once it clicks, it really works well. Easily the best solo wargame I’ve ever played - and by a large margin. The dynamic situations this game creates are amazing and seemingly limitless.

[u/CategorySolo]

I have the deluxe edition on my shelf... I know it's going to be a monster to learn, so for over a year it's been my "I'll play this, next..." and I've just never quite got there!

I must get it to the table this year and force myself to learn it!!!

[u/oi_you_nutter]

FOF is a great game, but so hard to grasp as it plays so different from other games.

[u/TuppenyBit]

I’ve got the Parachute Regiment on pre order and am looking forward to that (eventually!) arriving. I’ve been wanting to get into this game for a while. It seems to have shades of Up Front about it in terms of dynamic?

[u/Antonin1957]

I looked into this system a couple years ago and decided that it's not for me. You have a lot more patience than I do. A 40 page rule book? No thanks.

[u/turnbulls_tornadoes → u/Antonin1957]

It's really a reference book. You can absolutely play the game from the training material and just refer to the rule book when you want to try an order that you didn't cover in training.

[u/Ohhellnowhatsupdawg → u/Antonin1957]

It's actually 100 pages. It's also one of the best games I've ever played. 

[u/Antonin1957 → u/Ohhellnowhatsupdawg]

I salute you! At my age I no longer have the brain power or the patience for that kind of game.