Monthly Archives: October 2017

Wrong First Impression?

Mine was, well, OK.  But, I’ve more than come to terms with The Chosin Few’s rules and appearance.

Really, really, really like the game system.  Situation fraught with peril all the time, especially with the shell-game of interdiction to stop ChiCom movement, or hoard for DRM on attacks.  Oh yes, you have to spend the chit before rolling…..took awhile to get that one right.

Well, the other thing I didn’t get right was ChiCom movement priorities.  This was a significant (in that bold and italics mood), error.

I was defaulting to white, as per rules.  Result was hordes of ChiComs stooging around South, far from the battle.  Figured it would get really bad during the Third (Breakout) Mission.  Hell, I made it easily through the first mission (despite not discarding cards!), and was hammering the Godless Red Hordes during the second (Retreat In Another Direction) mission.

Ahhhhhh… but for that buzzkill that is RAW.  Multiple routes out of a space, check the color of the arrows against US positions.  If they match, they will follow.  Default to white only occurs if there is no match.  Well, that changes everything……

Still really, really like this and it has given me some ideas about working on this thread.

Trying To Win

This post is more in the “notes to myself”category for the next time I pick up either Hapsburg Eclipse (HE) or Ottoman Sunset (OS).

  • Use actions to provide resources to other theaters.  Easier to do early in OS as there seems to be less pressure early.  You have to have those victories in other theaters for a chance.
  • Always keep the Hungarians happy.  The die roll for them much easier than Croats or Czechs. (HE only).
  • Husband your stop advance chits (Yilidrim (OS) and Radio Intercepts (HE) ) as long as you can.  This is especially true given the horrific effects of the -1 DRM for weakening of National Will.
  • Likewise with the Mackensen chits.  The higher of two roles should be saved for when disaster truly looms.  And disaster is always looming by the third deck.
  • Don’t close down the Polish front if it will cost you a loss in National Will.  Only try it when you have the luxury of spending the two actions.
  • Oh, yeah…..and roll either real high or real low whenever the occasion demands.

 

Hapsburg Eclipse

Have also able to get in a couple of games of Hapsburg Eclipse (HE), the “sister” game to Ottoman Sunset (OS).  Been trying to work up a stand-alone review, but these games are so similar physically and mechanically that I’ll just cover salient differences.  Must not be alone in this.  No reviews in BoardGameGeek, but plenty of comments.

The Austrian have to fight on the Carpathian, Romanian, Polish, Italian and Balkan fronts.   Three battles in Serbia are considered Out of Theatre and handled the same way as battles in Europe or the Near East, with defeats or victories effecting National Will.

The Hapsburg player receives three Radio Intercept tokens which can stop enemy advances.  German aide is more extensive in his game.  Besides providing staff DRMs, five Mackensen counters allow the player to take the higher of two dice rolls. Would you mess with him?

Another interesting aspect is  the Hapsburg player can literally “shut down” the Polish front by trading victories or actions to initiate the historical Russian “Great Retreat” from Poland.

The biggest difference is that Event cards have an additional “Trigger” section indicating which of three nationalities (Croat, Czech, Hungarian) must be checked (no pun) for loyalty.  On a roll lower than the loyalty rating, the nationality moves closer to revolt.  When a nationality is in revolt, there is a negative DRM for specified fronts.  If all three are in revolt at the same time…game over

I really like the addition of this aspect to the game.  It’s historically relevant and creates more a lot more tension.

Again, a fun and challenging game.  At some point I’ll link them up and try the campaign.  Here’s another trailer (trash) photo of the map.  This one is  a bad defeat.  I left too many Mackensen chits on the table, and those foreign defeats didn’t help either.

 

Chosin Few

Set up Chosin Few for a change of pace from my State of Siege games (yeah, the Hapsburg Eclipse post is coming soon…baseball is in the way).

Had read several positive reviews about this game but hadn’t spent any time looking at the graphics on Boardgame Geek .

Opening the box was a real revelation, and not a good one . While the topographic map is nice , the troop disposition graphics are not to my taste . The order and event cards with their faux typewriter fonts seem just a little too precious.

The overall look is that of a Euro Game that can’t quite make up its mind

The rulebook is only a few pages long, but does an adequate jobof explaining the game’s mechanics. However, the abbreviated discussion of the campaign , with plenty of space still available, is very disappointing .

Despite this bad first impression, my first few turns of a playthru was good . While highly abstract, the mechanics seem to give a good sense of the challenges facing the US forces.

I’ll bring this one with me when I’m back TAD later this week. Speaking of week, here’s a  photo.

Ottoman Sunset

Playing a lot….Posting not so much….

No shortage of reviews or comments about this game, so I’ll stick with a general overview.  It is one of the States of Siege series by Victory Point Games.  The first game was Soviet Dawn.

Nice quality components. The interlocking “puzzle” map is great, but the paper map tends to show crease wear after a few playings. That’s the only negative thing I can say about this game.

 This is a fun game and an intriguing examination of the same topic as the more complex, involved and time-consuming Pursuit of Glory.  

As with the GMT product, the player must juggle the demands of several active fronts and react to out of theater events. These pressures only increase as the game, and introduction of new card decks, moves along.  

The Ottoman Player is tasked with defending Constantinople while maintaining National Will until all Event Cards are exhausted. Initial set-up is so simple the information is contained in a separate event card.

The core of the game is the card deck, which is divided into three sub-decks, representing three phases of the war. Each card has Event, Advance and Action sections, along with historical commentary concerning the Event. Events can be in-theater or out-of-theater, requiring the resolution or introduction of an element into the game. Advances dictate which enemy force or forces advance towards Constantinople, and the number of actions dictate the limits of what the Ottoman player can do: roll to stop an advance (by a die roll greater than the invading army’s strength), allocate resources to off-map theaters or foment rebellion in Persia, India or Afghanistan.

The on-map theaters are the Sinai, Arab, Mesopotamia, Caucasus, and Gallipoli fronts.  In addition the Aegean narrows leading towards Constantinople must be defended against British naval attack. British success here will immediately end the game.

While the initial three fronts are manageable, the addition of a fourth or fifth can overwhelm the Ottomans.

I played four games and have had different outcomes each time. These have ranged from total defeat to a marginal victory. It is very hard to gain a decisive victory.

In three of the four games, I was fortunate to have success in the off-map battles/events. These events directly effect National Will. A victory increases National Will, while defeats reduce it. Roll poorly, and your game will be a short and/or disastrous one.

For this reason, I devoted early actions (before other on-board theaters come into play) funneling resources to the three off map theaters in order to gain die roll modifiers for these off-map events.

The Ottoman player also receives German aid or elite units to modify combat rolls.  These help avoid the loss of cities that have a negative impact on National Will. 

One disastrous event that cannot be avoided is the War Weariness event.  This leads to a -1 die roll modifier on all combats for the rest of the game.  This event usually occurs just when the Ottoman player is assailed on all fronts, with every roll being critical.

Replayability is excellent because the inclusion of a new card deck is driven by a specific drawn card.  Draw this card early, and the deck expands.  This is not a good thing for the Ottoman player because the three decks are composed in historical chronological sequence and, historically, the further the war progressed, more adverse situations developed.  Again, not historical, but dynamic in terms of game play.

Great Game, Great Fun.

Here is photo taken of my marginal in the bizarre lighting and bizarre gravitational camera pull of the Airstream.

Note the high number of Off-Map Theater victories, defeat of British at Gallipoli, and defeat of Russians in Caucauses.  However, it was a near-run thing given proximity of French in Salonika and Arabs (!) to Constantinople.