The "official" story according to Colin Rumford
Find out about the origins of Rapid Fire at the "official" RapidFire site maintained by Colin Rumford and Richard Marsh http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com
A review by Bill Rutherford (from an old copy of TheCourier)
"Rapid Fire allows players to game WWII brigade-sized infantry andarmour actions in 20mm. The glossy 75 page rulebook contains rules,16 scenarios, player charts, terrain modeling notes and bibliography.There are also several pages of colour photos in the centre of therulebook to inspire the reader. One model represents approximately 15troop, five vehicles or guns. No time or ground scales are provided.
The play sequence is Side A either moves and fires or fires andmoves, then side B does the same. Most elements can both move andfire in a single turn. If an element has neither moved nor firedduring its own turn it may Reserve Fire at any point during theopponent's turn. Movement is normal except when crossing terrainfeatures, at which time the owning player deducts 1D6 inches ofmovement. Movement is either fast, medium or slow for AFVs with nodetailed equipment differentiation.
Spotting, too is very simple. Targets must be spotted to be firedupon. "speculative fire" isn't allowed. This speeds play and keepsplayers honest. Morale is checked due to losses, untoward events etcand is determined by casting a 1D6 with modifications for situation,unit quality and casualties, the modifiers varying by troop type. Themorale results vary by troop type and range from No effect to Rout.Fire combat is straightforward. Non-AT fire sums the attacking firepoints and casting 1D6 against one of five tables that depends on thetarget's situation to see how many casualties the fire causes.Indirect fire is similar, though radio-equipped observers must firstdice for contact and then must determine random scatter, beforedicing for casualties.
Direct fire HE is again similar, though the firer dices againstrange to see whether the target is even hit. AT fire is just assimple. There are six types of AT gun and six target armour classes.Results are modified by range, cover, movement etc, and theubiquitous 1D6. The rules address aircraft, engineers and oddities(??) as well. Force point charts, vehicle and weapon stats, andsample TO&Es are included. I was surprised to see no commandcontrol rules. This is an omission I hope the authors will rectify,as players are able to manouvre formations of 40-50 infantry figuresand numerous AFVs without any possibility that their troops won'tbehave as expected. The scenarios are well detailed and includeextensive background notes, orders ob battle, game objectives andmaps. Well written (??), well produced, and quick playing, theserules offer a simple introduction for newcomers to WWII miniaturesgaming.
Korpetsch - Replay with Rapid Fire Rules (Courier # 77)
A comparison of Rapid Fire and Command Decision 2 using a scenariofor the battle of Korpetsch. Available on www.magweb.com for those peoplewho subscribe.