Konflikt '47 Rulebook: A Review
- Nicholas Smith
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Greetings one and all,
Welcome back to Warlord Wednesday. In today’s article, we’re going to look at the Konflikt 47 Main Rulebook. So, pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable as we head into this review.
What is the Konflikt '47 Rulebook?
Not to state the very obvious, but this is the main rulebook for playing Konflikt '47. It comes in two sizes: an A5 paperback mini-rulebook and an A4 hardback rulebook. They are both, more or less, identical. Both with 200 pages, the same text, the same pictures, everything. It’s only the size and the font that are different. They’re also both available on the Warlord website, but the A5 mini-rulebook is also supplied as part of the Konflikt '47 starter set.
For this review, I’ll be looking at the A4 Hardback version, as my eyes aren't what they used to be and the print is bigger in this book.
First things first, it’s really nice. In terms of quality it’s well-bound with a ribbon marker (that ribbon thingy whose name I had to look up), and it’s filled with artwork and pictures and has a good font size for easy reading. I’ve even taken mine to work with me and it’s survived in my backpack undamaged. But the biggest challenge of survival was in the hands of my toddler who one day managed to get hold of it, and when I got it back it had no damage either, which is fantastic. So overall, it’s a high-end game rulebook, and for my money and opinion it also seems to be better than most.
Structure and Flow
I find it far easier to get into a game and learn its rules if the rulebook is laid out logically with a good flow between sections. I believe the Konflikt '47 Rulebook achieves this.
The start of the book is a table of contents, where some books just list the section title, such as shooting, melee, and any other blarg. But this book starts to show a level of attention to detail you’ll find throughout by breaking down the content table further. For example, the shooting reference breaks down the pages where you’ll find specific rules, which is a godsend.
Following this, the next 34ish pages are lore about the setting of K47, detailing each faction, how the world came to be the way it is, and some absolutely stunning artwork. Personally, I feel that understanding background lore for a game can help to set up the player to start thinking about the force they wish to build. It’s how I like to pick my armies, rather than considering the actual rules or effectiveness on the tabletop, so when I saw werewolves, vampires and zombies, I was sold on an Axis Monster army right away. And as an aside for lore junkies like myself, the book is also packed full of extra lore snippets which range from; “that's cool” to rather major potential plot points for the world lore as a whole.
Pages 40 to 139 are the main rules sections on how to play the game, how units and rules interact, and that kinda thing. As you can see, it’s a beefy section and makes up most of the book (le gasp, a rulebook where it’s mostly rules). It starts off simply with what you need to play: example pictures of tools, templates and dice. Next it begins by slowly explaining the basic rules and the core concepts of play, such as measuring, line of sight and terrain. Finally it moves onto more advanced topics, like collapsing buildings on units for example. Each step builds upon the last to make sure you understand core rules, before getting to the more niche ones to avoid any confusion. It’s lavishly furnished with pictures giving examples of the topic being covered, which helps, especially if you’re a visual learner like myself.
After this there are technically more rules, but as this is my review, I wanted to give these sections more attention. Pages 144-161 are the rules for battle, and story scenarios. You are able to choose between basic battles, or you can make a couple of dice rolls and pick one of the many story scenarios available. They do feel a little bit more in-depth, allowing you to play battles that feel a bit more like movies where you are making the valiant last stand, hunting a VIP, that sort of thing, but I really like them.After this comes the force selection section (Pages 164-171), which is basically the “how to build an army” guide. Every army must have an assault platoon and can field as many multiples of any platoon type, as it includes multiples of assault platoons. Furthermore, each platoon has mandatory units that need to be selected to field the platoon. For example, an assault platoon needs a platoon commander and 2 specialists or advanced infantry.
Pages 188-197 are the all-important summary pages where you can find rule tables, weapon profiles and rule summaries. It’s a very handy section and sensibly placed at the back, so you can find it right away during a game, meaning the flow of play isn't interrupted.
And lastly, there’s an index. I can’t explain how happy this makes me. Why some books don't have these is beyond me, but this one does, so well done!
Summary
So clearly you’re going to need one of these books to play the game. Both the A5 and A4 versions are the same, one is just smaller and the other is bigger. The A4 version is £40 on Warlords' website and comes with a choice of 1 of 2 special minis (either the American Firefly jump-trooper or an Axis Stahltruppen heavy infantryman), while the A5 version is a single item purchase. But, it’s only £22. However, if you’re like me, and your eyes are not what they used to be, I do highly suggest the A4 book. Save yourself the eye strain, and get a free mini to go with it to help you start your army.
And that’s it. If all has gone to plan, the next article will be on me and my missus playing one of the scenarios in the field manual. If not, I’ll dive into a unit review. So until next time, be safe, play well, and may the dice roll in your favour.
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