Tank Battle

Tank Battle is a 1975 classic that delivers a Stratego‑style tactical duel, but with World War II tanks. Each player commands six numbered tanks, an ammo dump, a fuel dump, a headquarters and five immobile anti‑tank guns. In addition, each side secretly places two land mines by writing coordinates on a scrap of paper. At the start of a turn you make a hidden prediction – using a peg board – of where you think the opponent's tanks will end their move; if you guess right, those tanks are eliminated, allowing up to six such "shots" per turn. There are also five special shots, each usable only once, that can be added at any time, but you lose one whenever an anti‑tank gun is destroyed.

Tanks receive six action points each round, with a maximum of three points per tank (more when only two or fewer tanks remain). They may move sideways or forward; reaching the opponent's starting row earns a flag that permits backward movement. Combat is orthogonal: the higher‑numbered tank wins, echoing Stratego's capture mechanic. Anti‑tank guns are attacked with a spinner, and installations (HQ, dumps) are destroyed when overrun. Losing the HQ clears your mines, losing the ammo dump limits the number of pegs you can use to the number of tanks left, and losing the fuel dump drops action points from six to four. Tanks stepping on an enemy mine are destroyed. The game runs about 30 minutes, has very light rules (weight 1.6/5) and is perfect for players who love quick confrontations, secret positioning and a dash of strategic luck.