Category Archives: Review

Warfighter

Boardgames, Review

Never been one for video games. The ones I did like were Asteriods, Space Invaders and, later, Doom. All point and shot, and all date me.

Put Warfighter on the table this week. It’s not just a point and shoot game.

 I’ve developed an interest in ultra-modern skirmish wargaming, and checked out the highly regarded Sangrin rulesets. Had one and lost it in the Great IPad Data Loss Debacle. I lack the will to commit to the time and expense needed to paint the figures and construct terrain. And, I wanted to do this on a small scale, like 10mm. No figures available, even from the redoubtable Pendraken line. I thought Warfighter might provide the experience without all the work. It does.

Played three small scenarios the past few days. The learning curve was not smooth.

The commentaries about rule difficulties are spot on. But, again, you can say that about many games. It just becomes more frustrating for a game that shouldn’t be that difficult. Maybe it’s just me, but wrapping my head around a game where the cards are loaded with information is difficult.

Once I got it……I GOT it, and the game just flowed. Lots of tension and decision making. Do I really want to play that “Back Street” card that is loaded with potential bad guys and trouble? Maybe take an action and discard for the possibility of easier terrain.

Sure, once the enemy appears it is a point and shoot, but a coordinated one. It’s just not you. There are other troops, and all actions have to be integrated for a successful mission. Gee, a fast playing tactical card game where you go with the fundamentals: move, shoot and communicate. Shocking!

The challenges begin before the mission starts. How does one allocate resource points between personnel, their skills, equipment, and weapons? You can’t have it all, whether it’s a matter of resource points or ability of a soldier to carry what you think he should have as opposed to need.

It’s a challenging and entertaining game. Highly Recommended.

I’ll post up some other thoughts and commentary after a few more plays.

Grinding Pt.3 – Done

Boardgames, Review, Sessions

Really did set up a longer scenario.  All those counters on an absurdly small play-aide.  Really started playing.  Initial German losses, rubble placement…But it was no use.

Thunder At Cassino just doesn’t work for me as a solo game.  Too much of a shell game.  Wait, Shoot, Move, Wait?  Unless the game has a unique form of compartmentalization (for the lack of a better word – example might be actions that must be performed by one side, etc), you have to be Schizoid or suffering from Alzheimer’s to play two-player games solo.  It can work…..done it all my playing days.  But with this game, everything depends on the other side’s action or anticipated intent.  And, you just can’t hide intent from yourself.

So, down it will come.  Maybe shipped off to E-Bay at some point.  Someone else will enjoy it.  I know Tim won’t.  Not his cup of tea.

But, I really, really did start.  See.

Table Space Monster

Tanks! Book To Get

Review, World War II

Borrowed Steven Zaloga’s “Armored Champion” book from Tim.  Subtitled “The Top Tanks of World War II”, it is a fantastic overview of  tanks development from 1919 to 1945.

While the author’s selection of “Top Tank” for specific eras/years at first seems  gimmicky, it is actually an interesting exercise, as he takes both Commander’s and Tank Crew’s perspective.

Zaloga’s criteria focuses on the “Holy Trinity” of tank design; armor, firepower and mobility.

Chapter 1 explores “What Makes a Great Tank.”  In addition to the “Trinity”, Zaloga also addresses communications, crew layout/tasks, durability, crew capabilities and cost.  These criteria are used throughout the book.

Later chapters examine pre-war developments, and a by-year analysis of tank development and combat, with selections made at the end of each chapter.

Easily appreciated charts help illustrate his criteria and support his conclusions.  The photographs are of excellent quality.

Indispensable!

Ranger

Boardgames, Review, Solitaire

Took Ranger off the shelf the other day.  Had messed around with it about a year ago, after picking up the latest edition for practically nothing on E-Bay (bad box).

Each game consists of a mission.  The mission has two parts, planning and execution.  United States Army small unit doctrine for squad or platoon sized missions is used.  If you have had any exposure to this, learning the game is simple.  If  not, there is a very informative booklet included to help you learn the basics.

What’s fascinating is the few number of rules.  The platoon leader has to act like a platoon leader during the planning, briefing and rehearsal stages of the mission.  Determine your unit’s load, work out the route from your insertion point to the objective and then back to your pick-up point, plan for supporting fires, and manage your rehearsals.

Mission execution is accomplished using the programmed text.  While movement to the objective can be a little tedious, you can’t make a mistake, or something bad might happen.  Make sure your unit is in an appropriate tactical formation, call halts every 750-1,000 meters, and don’t get in a hurry.

One aspect of the programmed text that confused me at first was how to stop moving once my squad had reached the objective rally point.  Well, the answer was simple….call a security halt, and go to that paragraph.  The text options provide the prompts to start your actions at the objective.

To be successful, actions at the objective must comply with doctrine.  If you start free-lancing, bad things do happen.

This game has a very quick set-up, but preparation before the mission is lengthy, but an integral part of the game.  However, after a couple of missions, SOPs can be established, reducing planning time and increasing effectiveness.

Playing time for my first mission was about 1.5 hours, all-in.  This squad-size reconnaissance  mission is an excellent introduction to the game.  I look forward to moving on to Mission Two in the very near future.

 

Battle Over Britain – Minden Games

Boardgames, Review

Been messing around with Minden Games‘ Battle Over Britain (BoB) the last few days. This “Tactical Plane vs Plane Air Combat Game” is designed by Gary Grabner, who also owns Minden Games, and publishes both Panzerschreck and Panzer Digest.

I’ve always liked Gary’s games, and the BoB series is no exception. First published in Panzer Digest as Faith, Hope & Charity – Air Battles Over Malta, 1940-41, the series now includes Battle Over Britain, Flying Tigers and a Solitaire Module.

What attracted to me to the series is its use of a wide variety of early war aircraft. These include CR-42s, Gladiators, a Polish P-11c, a Dutch Fokker D.XX1, and a German HS-123.

As with many Minden Games, the action is generated by the use of a deck of playing cards. These cards are used to establish each aircraft’s altitude and firing position on a Dogfight Display. This display is a simple grid using card suit and value.

Each aircraft counter has a top-down view of the aircraft, along with its Speed, Agility, Fire Modifier, Performance, and Durability Ratings. Speed indicates the number of cards in the player’s hand, Agility determines how many new cards can be drawn if the player “Yanks The Stick”, Performance rating differentials allow players to disengage from combat, and Durability is the number of hits an aircraft can take before being destroyed.

He’s incorporated a lot of chrome in both the basic and optional rules. These include ammunition, rear fire, a tailing bonus, ace status, and bailing out. The latter can be used in a campaign game. Several ideas (which Gary refers to as “abstracted”) are included in the rules.

The components are basic, but get the job done. I can see using a small terrain map with the grid superimposed, along with Tumbling Dice 1/600 aircraft to create a nice visual effect.

Gary designed this as a “fast and furious” card game with high replayability. He achieved these goals. It’s a lot of fun!

Heroes of Normandie – Gazettes 4 & 5

Boardgames, Review

Picked these up the other day.  Looking forward to incorporating them into my HON collection.  But, these gazettes also show why this game is not loved in the (USA) Grognard Community.

The caricatures of historical figures, creation of personalities & inclusion of (caricatures, again) Hollywood war movie actors, combined with typographical errors and, what I assume are flights of Gallic fantasy (yes the publisher, Devil Pig Games, is in France), can make a serious gamer have real reservations about the product.

Despite this sometimes colloquial and sophomoric perspective on World War II,  the issues (and the base game) are well worth the relatively low cost.

Issue #4 includes counters and scenarios for Brandenburgers.  How fun is that!  Issue #5 focuses on the Arnhem Bridge, and while it requires the use of counters from the Pegasus Bridge Expansion, includes two large unmounted maps of the (now John Frost) bridge.  Plus, there are counters and scenarios to include the Poles.  Even more fun!

I haven’t played the scenarios, but the additions to the inventory create even more options for the gamer with the imagination to DIY any number of small unit actions.

As always, the components are fantastic and a real option for the miniature wargamer lacking the time or patience to start painting up Bolt Action platoons.

As I’ve posted up before, the game system is fast moving, intuitive and a source of enjoyment.  Hardcore simulation?  No.  Fun option to the drudgery of other tactical systems?  Yes!

 

 

 

Fall Grun – Europa

Boardgames, Review

Most, if not all, Grognards are familiar with the strange and terrible saga of the Europa gaming system. For those of you who are not, here’s a summary of events up to 2013, as well as a trenchant series of exchanges about more recent developments.  Their signature East Front game, Total War, has been in a strange legal-sloth-hand-of-fate purgatory for years. The website is virtually dormant, indicating no news is bad news.

Fortunately, there is some hope. A group of Europa Diehards have continued to play and discuss the game, with one intrepid soul actually publishing a new game.

Timothy Davis’ effort covers the hypothetical German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938 using rules published by John Astell. Astell was a major figure in the early days of the Europa system, and, apparently retained publishing rights. This rule set is “Blitzkrieg Unending.” Tim’s company is New Europa Games and Variants.

I contacted Tim through the company’s website last month. He was working his way through some printing/publishing problems with the Europa variant counters. However, he still found the time to ship me a copy of Fall Grun.

I like it!

It does have the feel of a Beta. The rules have some gaps, the charts are nothing extraordinary and the map is printed on less expensive vinyl. But it’s a quality job and very similar to Europa. So why in the hell couldn’t the HMS/GRD folks do this? Tim’s published a quality product – especially for experienced Europa players who can fill in the gaps – and offers it for a relatively low price. OK, the question is rhetorical since it’s well known that there are all kinds of legal/creditor/investor issues hobbling HMS/GRD…..but just get the bloody game out.

Back to Fall Grun. The counter symbols are slightly smaller than Europa, but the maps have the same feel with different colors for terrain and symbols for terrain features such as woods. Europa players would find most of the charts easy to work with. If one doesn’t like the vinyl map, use maps from the other games or contact Timothy about the availability of the more expensive paper maps. Yes, paper is more expensive than vinyl….Go Figure.

Timothy deserves kudos for his efforts!  His variant counters also look pretty damn good.

I hope my wargaming accomplice Tim and I get this on the table soon. Dunno, since there is talk about playing the East Africa scenario from Wavells War next.

Here are pictures of the game’s components. These were not taken with my IPhone!

DSC01294

German Counters
German Counters
Czech and German Air Force Along With Soviet, Hungarian, Pole and Polish Air Units
Czech and German Air Force Along With Soviet, Hungarian, Pole and Polish Air Units
Vinyl Map
Vinyl Map

 

Heroes of Normandie

Boardgames, Review

Note:  Had to change the original title since the Spam Bots were on it.

Focus for the weekend was supposedly on Red Actions! and Wilson’s Creek. But I was sidetracked by Heroes of Normandie (HoN). Before I editorialize, here’s a couple of quality descriptions and positive reviews (Review #1, Review #2) of the components and system.

I really like this game.

First and foremost, it’s quick and fun. This is always a good combination for a game. A simulation it is not.

This is not Squad Leader (SL), much less Advanced Squad Leader (ASL). I’ve played both, the former more than the latter. I own all the SL games -after selling my first set many years ago – and many ASL games and expansions. I really enjoy reading Mark Pitcavage’s Desperation Morale ASL site. I love the variety of troop types and hundreds of scenarios that are out there. But playing the damn thing can be just too much. I’m reminded of an old quote about SPI’s Air War (and I will paraphrase)….”a decision that takes less than a second in an aircraft takes ten minutes in the game.” That’s not my idea of fun.

Second, the components are absolutely wonderful. Thick card, great graphics, high quality geomorphic boards and quality event cards. I’ll get back to this later, but this is really a miniatures game using cardboard.

Third, plenty of variations and DIY scenario possibilities. A number of realitively inexpensive expansions, along with supplemental games and terrain can be picked on Amazon or even E-Bay. Here’s a link to the publisher’s website.

Fourth, it has a good “feel” to it, which is an extremely important component for a wargame, with emphasis on “game”.

Everyone acknowledges this is not a game for hard core Grognards. I don’t particularly care for the heroes and some of the off-handed tongue-in-cheek scenario and rules narrative. But there is no reason to let this get in the way of a game with an excellent feel for the decisions making, ebb and flow, and uncertainity of small unit actions. And the units are small. Fireteams, individual tanks and guns, with the ability to equip troops with hand grenades, panzerfausts and other items.

Fifth, it’s realitively easy to learn. The rules have some gaps and ambiguities, but any gamer with a modicum of experience can work through that. Another reason for using “realitively” is that so much information is printed on the counters, maps and terrain overlays. Learning these symbols is the key to getting into this game. I spent a lot of time just working through the symbol summary page on the back of the rule book. The upside is there’s no need for charts. All you need is right in front of you on the game board.

I’ve never played Bolt Action or Chain of Command. I’ve never read a negative review about either of these miniatures rule sets. But, if I had to recommend an entry-level WW2 miniatures game, I’d recommend HoN. It’s inexpensive compared to starting out in WW2 miniatures, and you can start playing right away, with a gaming environment that is evocative of the best of minatures figures and terrain.

Highly recommended.

Stonewall: Battle of Kernstown – A Quick Review of GBACW – Mk 1

Boardgames, Review

This is a quick review of Kernstown and the (almost) first iteration of the GBACW series.  While there were some minor changes moving forward through the next several games, the basic rules were used for at least five games.

Decisions: Plenty for both commanders.  For the Confederates, it’s where to attack and with what.   For the Union commander, how to react and with what.

History: Both commanders are faced with the same operational problems as their historical counterparts. Both commanders have to “do a lot” with very little.

Luck: The ammunition depletion roll is a real problem.  It severely hampered the Union brigade fighting Garnett just east of town.

Atmosphere: Really good, with lots of moving parts.  The Pin result while undergoing defensive fire can really upset your tactical plan.

Mastery:  Can’t quite answer this now.  Will have to wait until I play the next few games in the series.  I had to read the rules quite a few times before playing.

Tweaks: Right now I can’t think of any reason to tweak it.

Abstraction: Command and control (including rally) might be a little too easy and flexible.

Clarity: Good.

Comprehensive: An excellent introduction to grand tactical battle in the Civil War.

Speed: A little fiddly, especially with all the markers.  Playing one of the monster games would be something.

Scenarios: None for this game, but not really necessary given Confederate entrance and flanking possibilities.

Summary: Fun, and a challenge.  Once I got the hang of the turn sequence, it moved quickly, with lots of action.  One complaint I have is that the marker chits detract from the aesthetics of the game.  Small complaint.

Now Who's Who?
Now Who’s Who?  Final Dispositions.  Pritchard’s Hill In Center.  Garnett Bottom Right.  Jackson Upper Right.

Component quality is SPI early 80’s.  I’ve always liked their maps.  The counters……..mmmmmmm….let’s just say they are functional.

Irregular Wars Review

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Review

Been playing “Irregular Wars – Confict at the World’s End”, off-and-on for the past couple of weeks. I bought the 2nd Edition rules last Winter for potential use as the ground combat system for my East African Renaissance Campaign. I was looking for something more streamlined than De Bellis Renationnis (DBR).

I’ve played DBR for a number of years using 25mm figures. Before that, it was George Gush’s rulesets. Gush was extremely detailed, DBR less so. I’ve enjoyed all of these rules. I’ve also played DBR’s cousin De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) with 15mm ancient and medieval armies. It is also a good system, but its renaissance variants seemed to lack period chrome.

Irregular Wars is described as “A Wargaming System for Small Actions in the Age of Discovery”. The 90 page book contains both rules,army lists and campaign guidance. It is a system….one which allows a great deal of flexibility, emphasizes playability and not gamesmanship. This is a far cry from DBR/DBA’s emphasis on precise alignment of units for melee and distances for shot. Even distances (or units) are flexible in IW, as each unit of measure is derived from base width. Any type of basing can be used, which avoids the living hell that is  rebasing.

Many of my figures are based for DBR. The one “element” look just didn’t seem right for the larger table size allowed by IR. The solution was easy, just double up the bases. The result is a nice “block” unit providing a sense of density on the table.

While the lists aren’t as detailed as DBR’s, they are varied and provide for a random army composition. Outside of compulsory companies, the Lord (as IR puts it) must recruit an agreed upon number of troop types, then role a die to determine the number of companies available for each type. The number of figures per company is low, so an army can be built quickly and inexpensively.

IR uses several die types to randomize game situations. These range from d6 to d2. It also employs Chance Cards as well as a pre-game Disease and Mishaps table to inject uncertainity into a game. The ruleset includes five scenario types for those players looking for more than a straight-up fight. Easily reproducable game charts are contained at the end of the book.

Each unit is rated for resolve (more on that in a moment), movement, melee, short range fire and long range fire. Certain units have special capabilities. Here is a link to an  Army Rosters sheet I put together, as well as a link to a unit  Capabilities Chart.

The author states that resolve is the key element in the game system. Units lose resolve as the result of unfavorable combat outcomes, reaching a point where they waver (and retire) and, finally, when resolve reaches a zero level, eliminated as fighting units. Both wavering and scattering companies can effect the resolve of other companies. The Lord can rally a company, restoring one point of resolve. Resolve levels range from 5 to 3, with the former representing elite units.

The turn sequence is a basic roll for initiative, shoot, action, and melee. Gunpowder weapons may fire once before having to take an action to reload. Actions are not limited to movement or disengagement from melee. Specific units can hurl curses at the opposition reducing their resolve, or invoke blessings to restore resolve. Melee is straightforward and bloody. Melee strengths are added to a d6 roll. It doesn’t take long for those 3 resolve units to waver.

The result is something that I hoped to find, with well crafted random elements making it well adapted for solitaire play. Highly Recommended.