After searching high and low for a WWII ruleset, I decided that I would buy Nuts! Final Version as my game of choice.

I was swayed primarily by the forums on TMP to make this purchase. In most "what ruleset should I buy?" threads within TMP, Nuts! had come up over and over and over again.

The thing that stood out most to me is the ability to play solo. I don't often get to have games face to face, so I was looking for a ruleset that would support a single player. The very same ruleset also allows ,ultiple plays to play on the same side versus the ruleset. And finally you can play head to head. At first I thought it was too good to be true, but again thread after thread spoke highly about the game.

With the ability to play solo, comes the Reaction System. And to me, this was the clincher as to why I should buy the ruleset. How many times have you played a game where you know exactly what you're going to do? Probably all the time. This ruleset allows you to throw all of your free will out the window (should you want) and let the mechanics dictate what you will do.

Example: I get spotted by an enemy unit. He has a SMG and I have a rifle. He then fires on me first. Because I am out gunned, the mechanics will either force my unit to duck and cover or run off the battle field.

For those that would rather not have the mechanics dictate what your unit does, you can make turn your figures into "stars". This allows you more flexibility and control. I personally like the randomness.

Another great aspect of this game are PEFs (Possible Enemy Forces). These are counters on the board that move around and try to hone in your own units. You don't know what they are until you come across them. They could be anything from a single light machine gun team holding a defence to a full platoon to a tank.... or it could just be nothing at all. The PEFs add a high level of realism (and stress!!!) to the game.

The PDF also comes with a Campaign System and even has an optional ruleset within the PDF that allows you add RPG elements into the game.

I've spent the past few weeks toying around with armies (primarily Germans vs Americans) and I really like how the game plays.

I did find a number of the rules difficult at first to compresend. I by no stretch am a technical writer myself, but some rulings (to me) were not worded well. Maybe I just didn't get. There was also a few typos and (again, to me) misstated rules. So I registred at the Two Hour Wargame forums and posted a few questions. Within two hours, I got a direct reply from the author himself. He took my question and broke my query down step by step being sure to address each and every point. He was clear and he answered my question to the utmost satisfaction. I even pressed my luck a bit more and posted MANY more questions to which again he took my question and broke my query down step by step being sure to address each and every point. Not once have I ever been able to ask a question and get a direct response from the author. WOW!

At first I was put off by the $20.00 cost of purchasing the PDF. Thats because most PDFs I've ever bought on Drivethru / Wargame Vault are usually half that price. And the ones in this price range are usually full colour and have lots of art within them. For full disclosure, this PDF is primarily in black and white (with the exception of the front and back covers) and has a few diagrams within it. I was very hesistant to drop close to $30 Canadian (yes I have to deal with exchange rates) on this. But again, I looked at TMP and saw how highly people rated this rule set, so I took a leap of faith and bought it. Looking back, IT WAS A GREAT DECISION I MADE!

Yes it can look like a lot of money for a "plain looking ruleset", but I assure you that 100+ pages within it is worth every penny. I also don't mind paying up for quality content. The bonus is that the author is engaged with the community on a daily basis. As he said to me "this is what I do for a living". So I don't mind paying a bit more knowing that the the proceeds of the sale go directly to him and renumerate him for his hard work and effort. Also, even if all you play is a total of 5 games and put the ruleset away, you're cost per hour to play works out to being $2.00 per hour (5 games at 2 hours each = 10 hours. $20 into 10 hours). Where else can you get entertained for such a minimal amount of money?

The Bottom Line: Buy this ruleset. You will not be dissapointed!

As someone new to the hobby, I've been looking for a ruleset that is more of a lets break out some minis and play game and focused on squads for a while now.

I'm also trying to keep things simple for myself. I dont want a lot of figures on the table to start. I want to have army lists in the ruleset Im using and I want some scenarios as well.

When I read the preview and the description for Victory Decision: Raid thought I would take a chance and see if it truley was what i was looking for.

After my preliminary read I was very happy with what I found within the ruleset. I was also taken aback by how many pages of army lists there are! There are tons!

I really think this is the perfect ruleset for where I am within the hobby. Once I get this game downpat and get more minis tabled, Ill be looking at the larger platoon level game Victory Decision.