Stats:
No. of players: 1
Amount of time to play: 30-45 min per mission
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 15 min (if you have not assembled your force)

Sherman Leader puts you in command of an American group of tanks, infantry and other units. You have a number of different campaigns to work through from 1942 North Africa to 1945 Berlin.

Sherman Leader Rules Description:

Sherman Leader is the second board game in the DVG’s Leader series to focus on ground combat. It has similar rules and mechanics as its older brother Tiger Leader. But there are changes to improve upon the former’s game play.

The flow of the game is generally the same as Tiger Leader’s. If you have not played Tiger Leader you can read my review and overview here. This post is going to highlight some of the changes to the system for Sherman Leader and the overall experience of the updated ruleset.

Campaign cards in Sherman Leader have a die roll to determine the enemy force’s Aggressiveness. A low roll means they roll a d6 on their Tactical Movement chart but if you roll high they roll a d10.

Units now have two combat values. You use a different value depending on the target’s armor type. Some units cannot perform Armor Piercing attacks.

A Quick Review of Sherman Leader:

Sherman Leader is a tank warfare game. While not perfect it fixes some of the issues I had with Tiger Leader. Like the other games in the Leader series I like that it lets me have some control of the units I bring to the fight and how I spend my SOs.

The components for this game are in line with the rest of the series. Solid chits, decent art and the rules are easy to read and follow. As usual the example play at the end of the book is helpful for newer players.

Sherman Leader is still not tank simulation. It feels similar to the air combat board games in the Leader series. The updates help carry the theme. Before infantry could destroy tanks, now they need to be able to make an AP attack to hurt a tank.

If you enjoy the other games in the Leader series, you will enjoy Sherman Leader. Apache Thunderbolt is still my favorite but these are all good games. If you enjoy ground combat over air, pick this one up.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 5 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction N/A
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6