IN THE ZONE

Posted on December 22, 2019 by ccglazier

*the following is an edited version of my recent interview in Miniature Wargames magazine. It

offers an overview on ZONA ALFA development and game play.

Can you introduce Zone Alfa?

Zona Alfa: Salvage and Survival in the Exclusion Zone leans heavily into the fictional
STALKER/METRO 2033 settings. If you’re not familiar, think Post-Apocalypse Soviet-style, in
and around Chernobyl, Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe. There’s a dark, brooding feel
with contemporary tech, and a hint of unnatural menace.

How did the game first come about? [what’s your background in miniatures, how did you conceive
of the game, how did Osprey get involved?]

Several questions there. My love of miniature wargaming began in my early teens with a visit to
MiniFigs USA. I recall the gentleman there excitedly describing how me he and his friends had
rented out a local school gymnasium over the summer and refought the battle of Waterloo in 25mm.
That was about the coolest thing I’d ever heard. I left that day with several packs of AWI British
Grenadiers. That was over 40 years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Zona Alfa was an extension of my interest in the computer game, STALKER: Shadow of
Chernobyl. That was the first ‘open world’ game I ever played and it was fascinating. It was so
different from the frantic, run-n-gun games I had previously encountered – the landscape, the pace,
the mood, the enemies, the missions… all of it. I immediately set about trying to recreate it on the
table top, converting some of The Assault Group’s modern Russian figs with gasmask heads from
Pig Iron Productions. I painted up squads from every major faction and started running skirmish
games with them.

It was late 2017 when Phil Smith from Osprey contacted me. He is a fan of the genre and apparently
some Battle Reports on my STALKER7 blog and posts at TMP and LAF caught his attention. He
asked to see the rules I’d been using for my games and here we are.

How does the game play? Can you talk about some of the mechanics?

Zona Alfa is the latest iteration of my fast-play house rules that were titled ‘Cleared to Engage’. I’d
been using them for years here to introduce people to miniature war gaming. It’s a skirmish game
that uses D10s and was made with 28mm miniatures in mind, but 15mm or 20mm will work just as
well. A fairly simple system, it’s played in a 3’ x 3’ or 4’ x4’ area with a set turn limit, so games
typically run one to two hours.

In Zona Alfa, players start by forming crews of 4 -12 miniatures, each with special gear, weapons,
and abilities, with the intention of salvaging valuable items and artifacts in the dangerous and eerie
quarantined area known as the ‘Exclusion Zone’. Game play rests on three pillars: Streamlined
Game Stats, Alternating Activation, and Troop Quality Levels.

There are two types of Game Stats: Model and Weapon. Individual models have four basic stats:
Combat Ability, which covers both Ranged and Melee. Armor Rating to deflect or reduce the effects
of combat. This is linked to the particular type of body armor the character is equipped with.
Movement which is the distance in inches the model can move for one Action. And Will, their
mental acumen and resolve under fire. It’s used when testing for Morale and performing specific, in
game, mission or plot-oriented tasks.

The Weapon Stats refer to the general class of weapon the character is armed with. Each weapon
has three values: Fire power, Effective Range, and Damage. Firepower is the number if dice rolled
for each attack. Effective Range is a table top abstraction to represent frantic, stressful combat
conditions. Damage is simply a weapon’s stopping power or penetration.

Because Zona Alfa is miniatures-agnostic, these are intentionally broad and abstracted so players
can generate values for the wide range of models in their collection, then select categories of body
armor and personal weapons.

Why Alternating Activation? Simply because I’m not a fan of IGO-UGO turn sequences. My goal is
to keep all players on both sides involved as much as possible, acting and reacting to events as they
unfold in the course of a game turn. IGO-UGO doesn’t do that for me.

Troop Quality is the final support. To reflect varying expertise and experience, there are three kinds
of soldier in the Zone: Rookie, Hardened, or Veteran. Each has corresponding ability to act in battle.

Rookies have one action per activation, no special abilities and a limited amount of gear. Hardened
soldiers have two actions per activation, have learned a skill, and can use more equipment. Veterans
can perform three actions per activation, have two vital skills, and can equip themselves with useful
items for themselves and their weapons.

Those three elements form the core of Zona Alfa game play and should allow anyone to form a
crew and start exploring the Zone.

I expanded the basic rules for Zona Alfa to include a simple campaign and progression system so a
player’s individual models can be rewarded, promoted, and improved over the course of several
games. After all, the Zone is an excellent teacher – if you live long enough to learn her lessons.

What were some of your main influences (both for the lore/setting and the gameplay)

I’ve mentioned the setting inspiration. Regarding game play, my introduction to war games way
back in the day wasn’t D&D or Chainmail, but rather the old Avalon Hill board games: Gettysburg,
Panzer Blitz, Panzer Leader, and Squad Leader. As I recall, the cardboard chits had four basic stats:
Attack, Defense, Range, and Movement, and I tried to stick with that kind of simplicity. D10s
provide a decent spread of possibilities and I vastly prefer Alternating Activation over the IGO-
UGO turn sequence.

What was the biggest challenge in designing Zone Alfa? Were there any scrapped features you’d
have wished could have been included?

The biggest challenge was translating two dozen pages of notes and lists into a coherent and
complete game for the general war game public. Christopher Cooke at Osprey has been invaluable
in getting everything in order and presentable. Zona Alfa would still be scribbled, loose-leaf mess if
it wasn’t for him and the team at Osprey. I’m grateful for all their hard work and the opportunity to
bring Zona Alfa to market. .
As far as anything left out, no. Zona Alfa is meant to be a simple, reliable system. Over four
decades playing table top wargames, board games, and RPGS, I never ceased to be amazed at the
imagination and creativity of the gaming community. I felt the best thing I could offer would be a
set of tools for people to stat out their miniatures, form salvage crews, and undertake their own
missions in the Exclusion Zone.

What are your plans for the future of the game?

Well I’m obviously going to keep playing, making crews and terrain, and posting Battle Reports.
I’m fortunate to be part of a great local gaming group and Zona Alfa is definitely in the rotation.

Two items are on the docket for 2020: the first is a short supplement on converting Zona Alfa for
Solo play. There are loads of solo gamers, or even friends who want to cooperate rather than
compete, and ZA’s simple campaign system and A.I –controlled Zone Hostiles make it relatively
easy to adapt. The second is a five mission narrative campaign where the players uncover a
conspiracy to destroy the Zone with a nuclear device. The crews have to decide whether they work
to stop the incident or help make it happen. I’m very much looking forward to the play test games
early next year.

My hope is war gamers that are fans of the STALKER and Metro 2033 settings would find Zona
Alfa well worth their time and use it to bring their own missions to the table top. If it does well for
Osprey, perhaps there will be expansions or a campaign book in the future. Who knows? Until then,
Udachi ta harnoho polyuvannya, Stalker. (Good luck and good hunting, STALKER)

You can pre-order ZONA ALFA here.

Here are a couple short stories to get you in the mood.

A Prayer to St. Strelok

and

Strange Treasure

Thanks and good hunting, STALKER.

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Tags: 28mm Miniatures, Call Of Pripyat, Cape Cod Wargame Commission, Cape Cod Wargaming,
Chernobyl, Clear Sky, Eureka Miniatures, Exclusion Zone, Lead Adventure Miniatures, Metro
2033, Osprey Publishing, Post Apocalypse, Shadow Of Chernobyl, STALKER, The Assault Group,
Wargame, Wargaming, Zona AlfaCategories: 28mm, Post-Apocalyptic, Wargaming, Zona Alfa
2 THOUGHTS ON “IN THE ZONE”
PETE S/ SP
December 22, 2019 at 1:36 pm
It was great to see you featured in the magazine when I got my copy. Hope it proves a good seller.

Cheers,

Pete.

REPLY
CCGLAZIER
December 22, 2019 at 4:38 pm
Thanks.
I hope it does well too. And that people continue to play ZA after the novelty wears off in a couple
months. Longevity, fun, reliability… that’s what I’d like to see.
It’s been a good experience dealing with Osprey so far and I’d like to develop more games.

USHANKA SECURITY
Posted on December 29, 2019 by ccglazier
“We got you covered.”

After a pair of near- disastrous jobs, Yuri Bonyev, the Exclusion Zone’s premier tour guide, decided
to shift his operation from a one-man outfit to a full blown salvage and security crew. For all its
danger, the Zone is a busy place: Scientists, Corporations, Traders, PMCs, Criminals, Cultists,
Loners… So many conflicting agendas, there’s always a market for professionals with negotiable
ethics and itchy trigger fingers.

L->R: Laslo, Anton, Yuri, Boris, Mikail

“Grab a bottle and let’s talk.

I hear a lot of whining these days about ‘Safe Spaces’. What is that? What does that mean? No
punches, no insults, no ruffled feathers? Bah. That’s not Life and that certainly isn’t the Exclusion
Zone.
Don’t get me wrong – the Zone doesn’t discriminate; anyone is welcome to try their hand here. That
doesn’t mean they’ll be successful. Most likely, they’ll die a nasty death in a remote location and
their bones will go back to the black soil. But young, old, educated, street smart, rich, poor, male,
female, whatever, can come and carve out out a place here.

If they survive.”

Zakhar, a.k.a. “The Turk”, talking to a gaggle of newcomers at a checkpoint inside the Cordon.
***

There are three levels of combatant in ZONA ALFA: Green, Hardened, and Veteran. Each has a
corresponding capacity to act in the game. Green troopers can perform one action when activated.
Hardened can perform two, and Veterans can do three.

Zone crews are built on what’s termed khrabrost‘, (courage or mettle) which is nothing more than
the total number of Actions per Turn available in a particular group. The “K-Value” for a starting
crew is 12, which – after the Leader is set – can be spread (or spent) among the remaining members
any way you see fit.

Yuri’s crew, the newly formed Ushanka Security Firm, is a typical 12 K crew: Yuri (Veteran, 3K),
Anton (Veteran, 3K), Laslo, (Hardened, 2K) Mikail (Hardened, 2K) and Boris (Hardened, 2K).

Yuri could have gone with a small crew of four Veterans, or a large Noob Mob of nine, wet-behind-
the-ears, Green recruits. But he decided a mix of troop qualities was best, leaning toward more
experienced fighters.

Troop Quality also confers different skills, and the ability to carry and use gear. Green recruits have
no real skills and can only handle one piece of equipment. Hardened fighters have learned one skill
and can deal with two pieces of special gear. Veterans have two skills and three pieces of
equipment.

So here’s the breakdown:

A Veteran, Yuri has both the LEADER and HARD abilities, meaning he can help his comrades rally
in the face of fire and give orders, plus he’s not easily shaken in combat or stressful situations. For
special gear, he’s got a Red Dot on his AK74, a set of NODs for low-light situations, and a Med-Kit
in case his famous luck runs thin.

Anton is also a Veteran. As crew medic, he’s got BONE DOC and HUSTLE. (He can patch you up
and get around quick) For gear, he loaded up on Med-Kits (Bone Docs can double up) and a Red
Dot on his trusty old AK47.

Anton, Mikail, Laslo.

Mikail, Boris, and Laslo have been around but not as long as Yuri or Anton. They are Hardened
men, each with one skill and some extra gear.
Mikail is a SCROUNGER (can Search salvage locations twice) with Binoculars and a Med Kit.
Boris carries an RPK, so while he moves slower, he can UNLOAD (full-auto madness). He also has
a Med-Kit, plus a shot of E-Juice (vodka and amphetamine) for those moments when he needs a
boost. Laslo had some sharpshooter training in the army, so he has STEADY HANDS, a Red Dot
and a Med-Kit.

Yuri and Boris

Yuri managed to acquire Mil-spec Body Armor while the rest of the crew has decent, civilian grade
protection. All the guys have a pair of grenades, (1 HE, 1 Smoke) .

Of course you’ll be able to swap out gear between missions, hire new fighters, upgrade armor and
weapons, even improve a model’s core stats. (providing they live long enough) There are more
options, equipment, and details in the ZONA ALFA rule book, but this provides an overview of a
typical starting crew.

Good Luck and Good Hunting, Comrades. St. Strelok watch over you.

***

Pre-order the book here: ZONA ALFA

PS: quick links to Zone short stories:

A Prayer to St. Strelok

Strange Treasure

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Tags: A Prayer To Saint Strelok, Cape Cod Wargame Commission, Cape Cod Wargaming,
Exclusion Zone, Lead Adventure Miniatures, Metro 2033, Osprey Publishing, Patrick Todoroff,
Post Apocalypse, STALKER, Strange Treasure, The Assault Group, War Game Rules, Wargames,
Wargaming, Zona AlfaCategories: 28mm, Near-Future, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction,
Wargaming, Zona Alfa
ONE THOUGHT ON “USHANKA SECURITY”
PETE S/ SP
January 1, 2020 at 6:17 pm
Wonderful crews. Can’t wait for the rules to drop.

Cheers,

Pete.