Sniper!, subtitled "House-to-House Fighting in World War II", is a two-player board wargame about man-to-man combat in urban environments during WWII, originally released in 1973 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI). After TSR purchased SPI in 1982, TSR released an expanded edition of Sniper! in 1986, and followed up that up with releases of various "companion games" and a videogame.
Original edition (SPI)
Sniper! was released by SPI in 1973 as a two-person combat boardgame designed by James Dunnigan, with additional material provided by developers Hank Zucker, John Young, Ed Curran, Bob Felice, Bill Sullivan, Angel Gomez, and Hal Vaughn, cover art by Rodger B. MacGowan, and graphic design and cartography by Redmond A. Simonsen. Subtitled House to House Fighting in World War Two, the game simulates man-to-man urban combat in the Second World War. The game was significant for being the first commercial tactical board wargaming treatment of man-to-man combat in the Second World War.
The game came in three formats: a plain white box a plastic counter tray with a clear lid a "Designer's Edition" in a full-sized color cardboard box
Components
The 1st edition came with: 34" x 22" map (a paper map in the "white box" and "counter tray" editions, a mounted map in the "Designer's Edition") 2 Sniper charts and tables Game Rules 1 Pad of Simultaneous Movement Sheets 1 tray to hold game pieces two sets of 2 tanks, 2 armoured personnel carriers and 2 trucks, all printed on cardstock that required vehicles to be cut apart 400 die-cut counters in olive green for Allies and grey for Germans
Gameplay
Movement Points
Each counter, usually representing an individual soldier, has 10 Movement Points (MP) per turn. At the start of each turn, each player secretly "buys" actions for each counter up to the 10 MP limit. Moving a unit uses 1 MP per hex of plain terrain; other terrain has a higher MP cost. Actions such as standing up or throwing a grenade each use 5 MP. Firing a weapon or reloading a weapon uses all 10 MP.
Panic
After the actions for each counter have been purchased and recorded, each player checks their units for panic. Those that are panicked will do nothing or move randomly.
Actions
All remaining actions are performed simultaneously in three phases: combat, movement, and finally grenades and artillery.
Second Edition (TSR) Following TSR's purchase of SPI in 1982, TSR released a new version of Sniper! in 1986 titled Sniper! Second Edition: Game of Man-to-Man Combat, 1941-90 that expanded the timeframe of the game to include modern-day warfare. The expanded game, which combined SPI's original Sniper! and sister game Patrol, was designed by Steve Winter, with artwork and cartography by Linda Bakk, Doug Chaffee, Tom Darden, Kim Lindau, Rodger B. MacGowan, and Colleen O'Malley.
Game components included: two large 22" x 34" paper maps (double sided, with urban terrain on one side and rural terrain on the other, to allow for "double-blind" play with an umpire) 32-page rulebook divided into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Optional rules cardstock sheet of vehicles two six-sided dice plastic counter tray 600 diecut counters.
In an article in The Wargamer (May–June 1988) about the development of the game, designer Steve Winter commented, "When I first started revising the Sniper! and Patrol games in 1985, there were only two other wargames (that I am aware of) that covered modern combat at man-to-man scale. Since then, at least three more have been published (two of which, like the Sniper! game, were based heavily on previously published games). Yet, despite this surge of man-to-man games, very few articles have been published about any of them."
Companion Game #1: Hetzer
In 1987, TSR released the first "Sniper Companion Game" titled Hetzer (named for the German Jagdpanzer 38 light tank destroyer). As indicated by its subtitle, "Game of Man-to-Man Combat in Europe, 1940-45", Hetzer returned to the Second World War setting of SPI's original Sniper!. The game was again designed by Steve Winter, with artwork and cartography by Dennis Kauth, David S. LaForce, and David C. Sutherland III. Components included two 22" x 34" maps (similar to those in Sniper! but including Normandy-style hedgerows) 24-page rulebook 16-page rulebook 8-page Scenario book three cardstock sheets of vehicles two six-sided dice counter tray 400 die-cut counters