Notice the dots at 6" intervals . This creates a grid.

PBI is a game of company level combat in WW2. PBI is an infantry game with armour present as support. Artillery and the like is off table.

A company would typically consist of 3 tanks and 25 bases of infantry.

The scale is 1 to 1. This means that a base of three figures represents three men. A tank model represents a real tank. The tabletop scale is 10m to the inch.

PBI is intended to provide a two hour wargame. All of the dice used are simple D6. All of the mechanisms are intuitive. PBI uses a gridded board. This means that all movement, range and areas are described in terms of squares. Because the player takes the role of the company commander, the squares of the grid allow him to get soldiers to "go over there and do that", rather than measuring distances and engaging in single figure management. By using a grid it is very clear what scenery type the figures are in. There are three types of square. Closed (buildings and woods), Partial (hedges, walls and fences) and open (no significant cover).

The rules generate a scenario which both players have a fair chance of winning. The game is always of the attack/defence style.

PBI uses a lot of D6 (a typical section shooting would roll 10 dice). This helps give a feel for the massive amount of ammunition expended and allows the probabilities to even out (the more dice you roll, the more predictable the result).

The aim of PBI is to create company level engagements which players can win by use of better tactics. The game is focussed on the player being a company commander so those are the tasks given to the player.

PBI is always fought on a 4 x 4 foot board. This is divided in to 6" squares. This gives a 64 square grid. The grid can be marked with dos, markers or by eye if using scenery tiles. A 4 x 4 foot board is easy to populate and can be comfortably reached over.

The figures/models move from square to square. They use action points (given by the roll of a D6). The tougher the scenery the more AP are used. The figures can be placed anywhere within the square, thus allowing them to be laid out to look good/plausible. That LMG team can now be placed behind the wall because the placement in the square is irrelevant. The idea of PBI is to create a good looking game wherein the players can enjoy placing and using their troops.

Shooting is carried out at the rate of 1D6 per action point used. Of course MGs get multiples, which continue to increase if the enemy square is clustered (4 or more enemy groups in the square).

This means that the shooter rolls a number of dice. Only scores of 6 are hits. All modifiers are applied to the saving roll, thus shooting is easy. eg 3 rifles bases each shooting with 2 AP =6 dice! Roll the dice. Any scores of 6 are hits. No "looking up" needed.

Saving is also on a D6 with modifiers.

Shooting is carried out be each model and infantry base. Shooting is not simultaneous. This means you can double forward your LMG groups, pin down the enemy and then move up the rest of the platoon. Alternatively some rifle groups could stay behind to cover the withdrawal of other groups. A good commander sequences his actions wisely. PBI usually lets the better man win (but there is some luck too).

The players take it in turns to have a turn. However there is return shooting and opportunity shooting.

A German company. There are two platoons. A mortar platoon. Notice it has two Tigers in order  to attract attention. the single figure is a sniper chosen under the "national assets" choices.

No templates are needed for artillery, mortars, flamethrowers etc as the board is laid out in squares. If an artillery strike hits a square then all in the square are possible targets.

Morale considers the number of casualties in a square and the overall number of casualties on the unit. The most dangerous morale test is the "break test". If there are a certain number of casualties on the unit anywhere on the board then a break test is taken. Failing this forces the unit to lose all of its effectiveness. Infantry often stop when they come under a lot of fire.

Tanks often have to fall back due to the lack of friendly infantry or being shot at.

PBI was originally published in 2000. This new set of Poor Bloody Infantry uses many of the old mechanisms but is clearer, smoother and more encompassing. Notice that we update rule systems after many years, not just a few.

Because PBI is played on a grid the base sizes do not matter. Typically a player will need 2 platoons (about 70 figures), a support platoon (some HMGs), a company commander unit (about 8 figures) and 3 tanks. Some companies will have a lot more figures and models especially if they are raw quality.

Players bring a 400 point company using the points system and battle lists included in the rules. The rules will generate a scenario but any units not on table at the game start will be reinforcements. So they should (?) arrive. This means you can take the same company to all of your games but each game will be different.

The game only lasts about 7 turns. At the end of the game the victory point schedule takes in to account your mission and troops lost etc… A defending player can win as easily as an attacking player as the criteria for success are different depending on the situation.

In the main, yes. Single figures can be moved together to represent the 3 figure bases of PBI.

Yes, easily, because all calculations are in terms of squares. However players might want to alter the square size. 28mm figures would use 8" squares. 6mm figures would use 4" squares.

Can I have a try without buying the rules?

Yes, you can download the PDF "PBIQS" which is PBI quick start. This will give you the basic ideas for free. Click Here to get PBI QS

You can download the record sheets and the tank playsheet free from the Peter Pig website. Just go to the rule section.

Yes, the team attends more shows than any other manufacturer (US, UK, Europe). At these shows we often have PBI with us and would encourage people to join in. The team that helped write the rules is usually represented at shows.

No problem, you can join the RFCM (Rules for the common man) chat group on Yahoo (this is independent of Peter Pig..so lots of forthright/useful views and comment…none of which is censored/controlled by Peter Pig. You can phone us here at Peter Pig too!

Not many but they are about. This year there is a competition at Bristol (20^th May). There was one in January at the Penarth show. There will be a Weymouth competition down here at P Pig HQ in August 2006. Shows such as STAB often have a PBI competition.

Note: Competitions in PBI are always friendly. There are no "battle winning" armies so any nation has a chance. Please do not bring photocopied rule sets to competitions, it is very rude!

You can of course use figures made by any manufacturer.

Not really. Yes there are critical rolls, but more dice should even out the results rather than create wild occurrences.

Yes we have left out the famous five pompous pre ambles.

"….having read all the other WW2 sets and found them sadly lacking (they are ALL wrong…I said so!) we decided to write our own bestest ever, most brilliant set (of course we copied most of those sets)……."

"…having once been a soldier (weekends) I consider myself an expert on WW2 (every aspect of it) and will be very angry if anyone disagrees….."

"….this rule set is just like being in the blood and filth of real war, there is no closer experience closer to real warfare (see table 6.5) …."

"…these rules have been playtested for 33 years (I am a bit slow) therefore they must be the best researched rules…ever…"

"..these rules don’t have the complex charts associated with certain (no name ever given) other rulesets, although we cannot remember the names of any of these bad rulesets, just a general feeling that they are bad…..


Three Japanese bases in the closed scenery square on the left shoot their mortars over the four groups in the right hand square. The men in the right hand square had better be careful as 4 or more groups in a   square make a good machine gun target.

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