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Introduction

What is Down Range?​

Down Range is a fast-paced tactical wargame intended for anyone interested in learning the basics of modern tactics, with a heavy emphasis on allowing players to learn through intuition and gameplay experience.

The game mechanics are designed to be simple, easy to pick up, and grow in complexity - you can start in the first chapter and reasonably work through a simple scenario just with that. Each chapter introduces mechanics of greater complexity.

Down Range includes flexible, accessible mechanics that allow players to explore:

  • Smart employment of direct-fire, indirect-fire, automatic, and explosive weapons
  • The entire "kill chain" to deliver fires on target, from observation to targeting to the judicious application of high explosive
  • Command decision-making and ensuring an effective, resilient command and communication concept for one's forces
  • The role of unmanned systems, electronic warfare, and cognitive influences on the battlefield

When in doubt, the intent is always to allow players freedom of action. Remember that "possible" and "smart" are not synonyms; wherever possible, players should feel free to bend, reinterpret, or break rules in service of their goals in playing, whether for entertainment or education.

What is Down Range not?​

Down Range is intended to be quick to pick up, reasonably fast to play, and abstract enough to be interesting.

Players are not expected to understand the mechanics of wave propagation in order to be aware that activating a radio to communicate is potentially dangerous - the rules are there to get them to that realization based on their troops being mortared due to an electronic warfare unit locating them because of it.

Many of the mechanics seasoned wargamers may be familiar with, like hit points, skills, special abilities, etc. are not present in Down Range. A design goal was to reduce the amount of recordkeeping required - apart from reference cards if needed, players should be able to understand the complete state of the game by looking at the play space itself.

More specifically, Down Range is not:

  • An exhaustive introduction to modern military theory. The themes, concepts, and trends of 21st-century war are what Down Range focuses on.
  • Exactly to scale. Distances are compressed to allow players to have an interesting engagement with a reasonable amount of space.
  • A role-playing game. Individual characters and units can die at any time, instantly, and without saving throws, hit points, or other protections. You are either in the fight, or you're not.
  • Intended to handle regiment and above operations. Down Range is squarely focused on the tactical level of war as experienced by small unit leaders.