A first look tells you what’s in the box; a playthrough tells you whether the thing actually works on the table. This is Scenario 1 of Old School Tactical Vol. 5: First to Fight – the Battle for Poland 1939 played solo, and it’s where Flying Pig Games’ tactical system meets the opening days of the war.
Setting up Scenario 1
I walk through the rules and the pre-turn setup before the shooting starts, and Poland 1939 brings some specific wrinkles worth slowing down for. Hidden sniper mechanics keep the Polish defender dangerous in a way you can’t quite see, German pioneers lay smoke to screen their advance, and there’s off-board naval bombardment from the battleship Schleswig-Holstein, a nice historical touch that also matters tactically. I take the combat calculations step by step so it’s clear how a firefight resolves rather than just showing the result.
How it plays solo
Old School Tactical has always been approachable without being shallow, and that holds up here. Solo, the system runs cleanly once you’ve internalized the sequence of play, and the 1939 material gives you asymmetric problems like a Polish force fighting for time against a German attack with more tools. This is Part 1, with the scenario still developing; Part 2 is where we see how the fight actually turns out. If you’ve been curious whether the Poland expansion is worth it, watching it played is the best way to judge.
Part 2 picks up right where this leaves off. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.