How to Play

If you would like a quick tour of how to play Sergeants you have come to the right section of our website. In addition to the rules and FAQ for Sergeants, we include video clips to show you the basics of game play.

Counting And Shooting

The basic distance in Sergeants is always counted in Squares. If you are playing SMG we use inches when the action gets close. SMG close range is done in inches to allow the miniatures game play to account for facing and arcs of fire. But in the example here we are counting distance in squares and applying the modifiers on the map to determine if the target is in Long, Short, or Close Range. Sergeants uses these range bands as an easy way to determine the chance to hit a target you are shooting at. Let's have a look...

How not to Fight

In Sergeants fighting is not only hand-to-hand, it also includes point blank gun fire where aiming is secondary to the actual shooting of a weapon, and it includes thrown objects, other than explosives which we handle differently. The game mechanics are easy; find out the soldiers in the fight, draw the cards they use in the fight, and based on who has initiative play the damage on the action card against an opposing soldier in the fight. Whether its point blank gunfire or thrown objects of hand-to-hand, the action is fast and fatal.

Grenade goes BOOM!

Soldiers can carry and use grenades by tossing them into a square with opposing soldiers. They can attack up to 4 soldiers in a single square of the map. In SMG the grenade uses a special ruler with a blast template on the end to see who the grenade attacks. But regardless of which method is used to attack, a Hit Check is performed to see if the targeted Soldiers was indeed hit by the grenades blast or shrapnel. it the soldier was hit, then both to players pull a Damage check from their deck to see what happened to the soldier that was hit.

You have to LOOK to See

To shoot at an enemy you have to recognize they are actually there. I am always reminded of the scene in the movie, "The Longest Day" where a German patrol and American patrol are walking along opposite sides of a stone fence. They pass each other and then the camera cuts to the last American G.I. in line who suddenly realizes they just passed a German squad. He wisely decides to just keep walking. So as you are playing you will have to take time and LOOK for the enemy.

Walk, Dash, Run, Sprint, Movement

Whether it is Captain Speirs sprinting through the enemy lines. or your men walking cautiously forward, dashing bush to bush or running to exit the field of combat after a mission, it all comes down to the MOVE action. By playing a MOVE Action card for the phase, you can move one or more soldiers on the battlefield. Terrain may reduce your movement in inches moved if you are playing SMG or require a Move"+" in the case of D-Day.

Story Driven Action

Sergeants is a story driven skirmish wargame. Each turn a series of 3 Story cards are turned up to determine the action that will happen in a single turn. The choices of two of the four general actions - LOOK, HIDE, SHOOT or MOVE - happen each turn. In addition to the sequence of action there is a possibility of a plot twist occurring during play. These interventions come in the form of WEIRD, PEOPLE, LANDMARK, TERRAIN, ORDERS, WHEATHER or ORDNANCE events.

Sighting and Stacking

Although we have already shown counting and sighting, it is worth a second look because there are related rules to account for sighting crews (groups of soldiers usually serving a weapon like a machine gun or a mortar) and the related stacking of hidden movement markers on the map. When a crew forms they stack as a group. But other soldiers can stack together and not be a group. However that changes once they are spotted, the crew stacks as a soldiers standee on top of a group of hidden movement markers. All the soldiers are spotted, but the stack also shows a crew was formed.