Fabulous Fighting Finns: Mannerheim Cross (BFP) Released

Finland charted a tumultuous path from 1939 through 1945, fighting against the Soviet Union and then Germany as they found themselves wedged between those geopolitical Scylla and Charybdis. Mannerheim Cross, the latest Advanced Squad Leader-compatible module from Bounding Fire Productions, traces that journey through forty-four scenarios, complemented by new counters, rules, and maps for everyone’s favorite tactical combat game system.

Weighing in at nearly four pounds, this hefty unboxed product stands out for both the quality of production and the eye-watering price tag, nearly US$200 retail. It’s not pocket change, and while the pre-order price dropped that to a more manageable $150, it’s still a significant outlay. BFP is, by any measure, a boutique publisher, with commensurately smaller print runs, so their per-unit cost is understandably high, but when compared with some recent official ASL products from Multi-Man Publishing, the cost-per-pound, if you will, compares favorably. This isn’t a cheap hobby, and Mannerheim Cross doesn’t need to find a home on every ASL’ers shelf, given its advanced and esoteric nature. But just on the basis of what you get in the package—four countersheets, six map sections on Starter Kit-style thick cardstock, forty-four scenarios (BFP-150 to BFP-193), several rules pages and player aids detailing lots of lovely chrome and new vehicle/gun notes, and an accompanying booklet—you’re getting your money’s worth if you’re in that target demographic that loves ASL, obscure rules, and lesser-simulated conflicts.

It’s the quality of the poundage, though, that sets BFP products apart—you’re not paying for just paper, after all, but for the mental effort behind the scenarios and rules as well, and on first glance, the included actions in Mannerheim Cross feature something for all interests—well, except Pacific and Desert Theater enthusiasts—covering as it does the full span of Finland’s involvement in World War II. Printed in color on a somewhat floppy, glossy stock across twenty-three cards (several scenarios take up more than one page), these actions stretch from the Winter War in 1939 against the Soviets; into the Continuation War, fighting alongside the Germans while confronting the Soviets as a sideshow to World War II; and finishing with a single scenario set during the Lapland War as Finland tries to evict the Germans from their territory. The scenarios tend, as one might expect from BFP, towards the weighty; most stretch seven to eight turns, and even the shorter actions feature significant counter mixes on both sides. There are a few cards here that might be considered tournament or club-day choices, but don’t buy this expecting a lot of quick scenarios.

The Winter War scenarios look the pick of the bunch, featuring lots of tin-can Soviet tanks trundling through ground snow in built-up forested areas. BFP-161 Red Ice draws the eye, with Soviet flame tanks crossing a frozen river into the teeth of a Finnish defense amidst dense trees and with ski troop reinforcements. Indeed, the Chapter E winter rules get a solid workout here. BFP-174 The Castle of Onega lets the Finns roll out their own flame tanks, attacking a substantial Soviet defense in a sprawling urban setting.

I’d have liked to see more scenarios set during the Lapland War and the halting effort to push the Germans out as part of an armistice with the Soviets at the end of the war. There are very few conflict simulations of any stripe dealing with that facet of the war, but the scenario we do have, BFP-193 Lapland Armor, promises to be an intriguing encounter, with the Germans driving captured French Somouas against Finnish defenders manning Soviet T-26s, a BYO-AFV affair if ever there were one…

One note on the scenarios, however. With the cards printed in color, units appear in their national counter color schemes, and BFP has made the decision to display one laughably “elite” group in a different color from their national norm, a gauche choice at best. Some people think it’s cool. It’s not. Only a few scenarios feature this issue, and BFP is hardly alone in picking black counters over standard grey-blue counters for this odious formation—MMP themselves printed a full counter set for them in black—but it’s an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise fine product.

The four countersheets, two each in 1/2″ and 5/8″ sizes, show tight printing and good die cutting, so these should find their way into your Plano with little difficulty. The counters are on grey-core chipboard, a reasonable approximation of the official MMP counter mix. It would take a keen-eyed opponent more interested in winning than in having fun to easily pick them out of a stack—and really, why play with that person? The 1/2″ counters provide far more new Soviets than Finns, with the Soviets getting a full Elite to Green lineup of Marine squads and half-squads. The Finns receive a few first line assault engineer squads and half squads, some support weapons, and anti-tank hero counters. The new units fill up one sheet, with the second 1/2″ sheet populated with handy info counters and a range of berserk squads on a red background.

All the new toys introduced in Mannerheim Cross, Finnish and Soviet, fill the two 5/8″ sheets. Of particular interest are the fighter-bomber counters for both sides, no longer generic but specific to the aircraft type, from Gladiators and Morane-Saulniers through to Tupolevs and Polikarpovs. Do you need this much chrome in a part of the rules that seldom comes into play? Nope. Do you want it? Yup. Both sides also add a ton of new vehicle types, with the Soviets filling out their early war arsenal with mine rollers and recoilless gun platforms alongside super heavies and “tanks” less well armored than a Pinto. The illustrations on the vehicle, infantry, and aircraft counters are in color, in contrast to official counters, which is either a love it or hate it aesthetic decision. I’m not a huge fan, as I think the standard counters are a model of restrained design. Too, as with MMP’s recent “Polish Eagles” counters in Doomed Battalions 4th Edition, the counters seem a bit “full,” artwork stretching to the corners, leaving precious little room for a counter corner rounder to work its magic.

Six map panels, printed on a thick stock that approximates the dimensions of official maps, fill out the package. Five of them are standard 8″ x 22″ sections, while one is a back-printed 11″ x 16″ map. (Maps BFP S, T, U are “normal” maps; BFP DW-10, comprising two panels, forms a double wide map; and the back-printed BFP HW-1 is, colloquially, a “Fortenberry” style map.) The double wide map brings an interesting village/urban setting to life, while the others add new forest and hill landscapes to the ASL system. Terrain artwork looks close enough to MMP standard, and these should function seamlessly in play. The only small issue might be the faint yellow copyright text at the bottom of each map, particularly where it runs over existing terrain, but that’s a quibble.

The accompanying booklet, printed on glossy paper, hews strongly towards the practical. It’s to BFP’s credit that they did not attempt to stuff in a potted amateur history of the Winter War. Instead we get an analysis of design decisions, discussion of the new rules added in Mannerheim Cross, and primers on winter weather and Molotov cocktails, all quite helpful to new and experienced players alike. But make no mistake, this product is not for new players. While only Beyond Valor and Hakkaa Päälle might be required for the counters and core rules, the sheer scope of board dependencies—including third-party boards from BFP and Le Franc Tireur and even some Starter Kit maps—firmly reminds us that in order to play it all, you have to own it all, and in this case, all means all…

If you’re an established ASL player with more than a passing interest in Finland’s military struggles from the late ’30s through to the end of World War II, $200 is a small price to pay for Mannerheim Cross. There are dozens of hours of play here, and while some of the scenarios do seem rather similar on first glance, a deeper inspection reveals sufficient chromatic bling to win over even the most jaded gamer. For everyone else, it’s not a product that needs to find its way to your shelf, but that’s fine. The whole purpose of boutique game publishers is to find and fill a niche. Bounding Fire has done it again, with arguably their best module yet—and given their back catalog, that’s saying something.