Strategy and Tactics Magazine Variant for Avalon Hill's Battle of the Bulge Game

Screenshot from Strategy & Tactics' first magazine. The table below is from a variant of Avalon Hill's Battle of the Bulge game.  Even at the dawn of the hobby, folks were modding and striving for greater realism.

Of interest to this current series of posts are the factors given to the units:

• Each unit is the division (e.g. 106th Infantry Division).
• The unit is divided by regiments (i.e. the playing pieces). 
• Each playing piece is assigned a combat and movement factor (e.g. 293 VG Regiment 3-3).

The 18th VG Division's three regiments are rated  3-3 (3 combat / 3 movement factors).

The 62nd VG Division's three regiments are rated  3-3.

The Führerbegleitbrigade or Fuh. Es. Brigade rated 12-5.

The 106th Infantry Division three regiments are rated  5-4.

The 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment rated 6-6.

My guess is that the ill fated 442 and 443 Infantry Regiments have higher combat factors than the VG regiments that decimated them is due to difference in artillery support available.

I am not familiar enough with the battle to guess why some of the VG regiments are rated over twice as effective (the 26th VG Division's regiment rated 7-3) than the regiments from the 18th and 62nd, both of which destroyed the 106th. The 26th was unable to take Bastogne but they may have been better equipped or closer to full compliment of personnel.  Something I'll look out for. My best guess is that both the 18th and 62nd VG Divisions were green.  One was formed the year before from Luftwaffe and naval personnel and the other was rebuilt after being destroyed in Russia.

I found this when looking for another S&T article in which a game designer listed the different data points that make up the abstract combat factors.