The start of something obsessive!

Challenger - Ultra Modern Wargaming

I started wargaming in 1986 with a set of rules called Challenger, which was quickly replaced by an updated version Challenger II covering the period 1950 - 1995.

The rules were quite complex and in depth but did provide a good framework for modern armoured warfare. In addition to the core rules book there were a number of digests and additional books that covered vehicle stats, army lists, engineering and scenarios. Ideally the model scale is 1/300th or 1/285th as this gives a good model size to battelfield size ratio.

The Challenger Rules

A game could last as long as you liked but was not really suitable for a quick battle/game due to the complex nature of the rules. That being said I loved this set of rules and they were only topped (in my opinion) by the follow-on rules Challenger 2000 which once again revamped the rules and did address a major drawback in the previous two versions where player 2 was penalised when moving and firing in the turn sequence.

This rule set was really popular in its day but due to the rapid nature of modern warfare, the fickle nature of players moving to other periods and the sad, untimely death of the rule creator Bruce Rea-Taylor. The rules were neglected over the years and slowly filed in to obscurity, although, you will see copies of Challenger 2000 at some of the trade shows and on eBay from time to time.