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!
Here are Tim’s observations. Lots of great insights.
A few thoughts about the game, in no particular order.
I wish I’d found that chart with the nationalities information during the game and not afterwards…
We had made a few mistakes including: the imperials can’t recruit in Bavaria and the Danes go home if Christian is killed (which he was during his first battle).
There was a different chart that went over the foraging rules– I know I forgot that units removed due to foraging losses are out of the game…oops.
Those LOC rules are pretty important. Without them, armies are free to go pretty much wherever they please. With them, protecting bases becomes much more important, especially for the protestants since their big advantage in the early game is that they can pay most of their units.
You remarked more than once that it is hard to get a good handle for what strategy each side should use in the game. I think both sides should concentrate on grabbing electorates, which pay off big in victory points.
I think in the early game the protestants are just trying to stay alive, although I had pretty good luck in grabbing saxony. I think the Imperials should move hard into Bohemia. When you tried that in the last game, I wasn’t able to stop you.
I had mixed luck in getting armies to the Netherlands. Most of the ways of getting their involve moving through neutral territory, with the loss of victory points or through the lower palatinate (aka the valley of death). As long as the spanish are on the map in force, its probably better to move through neutral territory. I guess it goes without saying that knowing whether a particular city is or isn’t in the Spanish zone is pretty important…minor details like that can have a major impact on game play.
Had a couple of sessions this GMT game with Tim over the weekend.
It’s been awhile since we played it, so there was some fumbling and stumbling at first, as though that has never happened before. We had agreed to play a few turns, then reset for a second go-through.
Both sessions were different.
This is a card-driven game, with point-to-point movement, and like its GMT siblings, cards can be used for a number of purposes including triggering events, activating leaders so units can move and fight and receiving funds to pay units.
The turn sequence involves alternating play (rounds) of six of the seven cards in your hand (and subsequent movement/combat), paying units and then determining what attrition occurs to those units you cannot pay. Units are either veterans, mercenaries and militia, each of which have slightly different capabilities and costs to pay. When larger armies move, they reduce the ability of a selected point to support subsequent moves. The effects of this pillaging can be reduced in a subsequent “recovery” phase, which is actually the first phase of a game turn.
There are only a few charts, all of which are printed on one side of the map. I was able to really improve my ability to read charts upside down during both sessions. This is a skill I would have preferred not to have developed.
In the first session, cards were played for their event, not as much to activate leaders, get foreign aid to pay troops, or recruit. In the second session, both of us focused on the operational aspects of the cards.
This can be attributed to card flow. In some cases you must play one event in order to trigger other events. And, it is in your best interest to play them successively, not wait a turn or two before playing the second or third card in a sequence.
On the other hand this can be attributed to not really knowing what the hell you’re doing. Between sessions I asked Tim, “What’s the strategy for this game?”
Since troops weren’t being recruited in the first session, the opposing forces were rather small and the effects of looting (when not paid) were minimized. These effects not only ravage the countryside, reducing the chance of living off the land without pay, but also ravage your units. In the second game, my victorious Bavarian contingent was decimated because they were without pay, and in an area that had been previously looted and couldn’t support them.
We agreed that the Catholic forces had better leaders (fewer points to activate), but that the funding for the Protestants allowed them to avoid having to roll as many times for attrition of units.
The second game featured far more action. The Upper and Lower Palatinate was the scene of most of the fighting, but with the Protestants coming very close to taking Vienna. We shut it down to have dinner and, after celebrating Tim’s birthday at Gustav’s (fitting given the game), we returned in no condition to continue.
In conclusion, a very good game with – once you get it – accessible mechanics, excellent game flow, and plenty of strange twists due to the effects of attrition.
The Map Illuminated in the Soothing Glow of Tim’s Dining RoomSpanish Veterans Cower In Their Area of OperationsAction In Palatinate & Hungarians Threaten ViennaThe Other Dog of War
As of 1500 yesterday all my projects were dead in the water. Had an overwhelming urge to do a Blog Kvetch, but just had a couple of beers and sat in the Sun.
The gunboat needs some detail. The more I stared at the monolith, despite various paint schemes, the more it looked like an ungainly children’s toy that should have a warning about swallowing attached.
Dug up some old metal adhesive, the kind you mix together. That seemed to be setting.
The RE-8 cannot be salvaged……well, it will be used as a crashed aircraft. Good news is that it was only half price at $10, so at least the capital cost was low. The labor cost…..thank goodness my time isn’t worth much anymore.
Primed it and have given it two coats of Dark Green paint. Will put mast and rigging up last. Not really happy with the deck funnels, but they’ll hold place until I can find something better. Have to figure out some contrasting colors (black?!) to break up the monolithic look, and a way to exchange mast flags so it can be used by any and all sides.
Finished the “Rest Of The Story” aircraft. When I set it next to the plane featured in “The General Is Pleased”, I could only think of these TV Cartoon characters. Something about the two side-by-side. Related, but definitely different.
As generic and spurious as these planes are, what I like about them is that the are in-scale. Just received a Fokker D-7 (which was a staple for both sides in the RCW), and it is way too big.
Now that these two are painted, have started hammering away (literally) at the RE-8. Feel like a medieval orthopedic surgeon (Theodoric?). Engine mount all messed up. Didn’t notice it when purchased…..typical. Should work, despite the promiscuous use of pliers, files and screwdrivers. More on that later.
Any Back of Beyond game worth its salt needs a Gunboat. Started channeling Bob Cordery and the possibilities of scratch building one. So, off to my home(s)-way-from-home(s), Hobby Lobby and Home Depot, as well as a Wargamer’s-Site-Of-Choice, Google Images.
Picked up all types of raw materials and bits, and started working on it. Something generic, easy to build, but looks good on the table. The key to all of this was the picket fence post I chopped up while working with some cheap lumber on another home improvement project. In the midst of that sludge, see something mundane, and….jeez this might be something….because it had a bow, which can be damned hard to carve.
My last post featured the second aircraft I had purchased at Hobby Lobby. The first was featured earlier, but my clumsy attempts at removing the wheel spats and pilot head rest relegated it to garage purgatory. The problem was that I insisted on using what remained of the metal landing gear struts for the new – more period appropriate – gear.
Well, after I finished the “spatted version”, I saw the landing gear problem differently. Get rid of the metal struts and use the existing wheels (freed from the spats), and wood struts. What kind of wood….matchsticks worked perfectly. I drilled holes in the fuselage to anchor the gear, applied superglue to the cut-down matchsticks and..,…..
Back From Purgatory & Ready For Priming
Keys To The Makeover – Superglue, Matchsticks & Xacto Knife
Added a force multiplier that will please any would-be Warlord. Finally finished one of my Back of Beyond aircraft. It’s the Hobby Lobby ship….not historically correct, but no assembly required and, after priming, painting and dry-brushing, it looks OK. Should be nice on the table and add something extra to the scenario mix. Will keep it in neutral colors/markings so it can be all things to all armies whenever the scenario deems it so.
As mentioned earlier, finally getting back to playing my dormant Renaissance Scenario, It’s a replay of one reported earlier, but with a few tweaks. Will dispense with impaired photos.
Used percentage dice to dictate the Polish infantry entry through the village. They entered much earlier than last game.
Shifted the Polish Hussars to the left flank to engage the Russian Sipahis, rather than battering themselves silly against the Streltsy infantry.
Finally, allowed the Streltsy to advance against the two Polish infantry units in the center. Suck them in so they cannot effect the work of the Hussars and Pancerni on the flanks.
Along with the percentage dice, I started using some of the other dice I purchased back in February.
Now using the “Yes, No, Maybe” dice for command decisions and reaction. For example “Should I Commit My Reserve”, or, for the latter, “Do I See The Poles Flanking My Position?.
From a solitaire standpoint, things get easier….it’s not you…..it’s the bloody general that’s doing these things.
