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 SONG FOR WAR FROM INVICTA REX GAMES Look out for this new simulation on the whole of the Mediterranean conflict in WWII - the first game la...

SONG FOR WAR SONG FOR WAR

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

February 2023

SONG FOR WAR

 SONG FOR WAR
FROM
INVICTA REX GAMES


Look out for this new simulation on the whole of the Mediterranean conflict in WWII - the first game launched by a new company, Invicta Rex Games.

Look out too for a special review exploring this stunning project here on A Wargamers Needful Things next month.

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  SGS PACIFIC D-DAY and SGS OKINAWA from STRATEGY GAME STUDIO Strategy Game Studio have a long legacy of successful games which for me repli...

SGS PACIFIC D-DAY SGS PACIFIC D-DAY

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

February 2023

SGS PACIFIC D-DAY

 

SGS PACIFIC D-DAY

and

SGS OKINAWA




from


STRATEGY GAME STUDIO


Strategy Game Studio have a long legacy of successful games which for me replicate everything I want in a board wargame. The majority, though not all, cover WWII.  So, it is with great thanks to Avalon Digital for giving me the opportunity to review their latest two games. This duo takes us to the island hopping battles of the Pacific.

My focus will be mainly on Pacific D-Day because this offers a magnificent five island battles.  In historical order they are:
Tarawa       November 1943
Saipan        June 1944
Tinian        July 1944
Peleliu       September 1944
Iwo Jima   February 1945
Several of these battles I'd already directly experienced on my gaming table in the tried and trusted  hex and counter form of Decision Games D-Day At ... series, which covers all but the battle for Tinian.  I was very aware of the Death Ride Series too covering at least one of the island landings, Tarawa, and in ways that take detail [and cost!] to astronomical levels.
I was intrigued to find out what SGS's approach would be. Like many of their previous games, the maps are area-based ones and for these operational battles that choice seems both obvious and ideal.  In particular, it makes the games very playable without sacrificing all the elements I want and expect in these situations. The combination of land, sea and air that WII Pacific actions involve is a great draw.  However, being invasions, the sea and air elements are more stylised with two boxes, one for US Carriers and one for US Battleships.  So, as must be expected, no searching for the enemy's fleets or battles between them.
Instead, each invasion will reflect its historical nature of American troops making beach landings supported by gunnery fire from the battleships and aircraft strikes from the carriers.  



A typical opening screen shot from the first conflict -
the landing on Tarawa.

Though this may sound like a recipe for repetition, there is plenty of variation to keep you engaged, as I was to discover!
Before considering this aspect of the package, however, it's important to look at the game system and sequence of play.  There is a fairly extensive rules section that you can refer to, but as this is largely generic rather than covering specific elements of the rules particular to these conflicts, I found little reason to turn to it at any point.  I say this with great appreciation after the experience several years ago of a 50+ page online rule book that needed far too much reference to to make sense of what I should be doing.
My first victory on Tinian
[still haven't figured out what 15% refers to!]

For the absolute beginner, the five short video tutorials should be more than enough to get started and, though an infrequent player of computer wargames, I launched in quite successfully without reference to them.  In fact, it was only later that I checked them for purposes of this review. They cover in order:
[1] Region Inspection
This is more useful than it sounds, as it covers not just the physical terrain along with such things as stacking, but also how to examine units and structures [e.g. bunkers].  Much of the time this knowledge won't add significantly to your play, but at key moments, such as preparing for a major battle it can be worth exploring the extra information.
[2] Air Movement and Rebase
Possibly the most useful, especially for the novice, though a few turns should see you dividing your planes and naval artillery into potent groups and sending them to their targets smoothly and efficiently.
[3] Land Movement and stack splitting
This is mainly helpful in making you quickly effective in splitting up large groups.  Playing the game, however, is best for discovering which units can't venture into some types of terrain or without other types of unit accompanying them.
[4] Stacking is as functional and obvious as in most war games whether digital or manual.  Moving your units will quickly teach you the fairly obvious facts about the limitations of infantry only moving into mountainous terrain in small numbers!
[5] Battle
The is the longest of what are all short and succinct learning videos and much of what you learn will be fairly obvious on playing your first battle.
So let's launch into a typical game turn. I'll focus on playing as the US player, though the option is there to play either side.  It's just that my limited forays into being the defending Japanese player have largely been monumental failures.  The computer A.I. does a far better job than I've been able to muster when trying the Japanese side..

Here's me getting an early trouncinging as the Japanese!

Each battle opens with a Turn 0 when both sides get a selection of cards to choose from; one of them is always the Historical set up and that has been my standard preferred choice.  Other choices primarily give you extra reinforcements/increased air or naval power - all at the expense of negative VP costs.  It's worth noting that the Japanese A.I. always seems to take some of these optional boosts.
Then it's into the following TURN SEQUENCE.  Note that the game doesn't use exactly the same terminology in every Phase I have used here for familiarity's sake. 

CARD DRAW PHASE
Just like many of my favourite board wargames, each turn begins with a single card draw.  Most can be saved to play when you want, but a few [edged in purple] must be played immediately.  They're the typical mix of good and bad.  Here's just a sample: bad weather preventing your carrier aircraft from taking off or restricting ground unit movement, a reinforcement card that you can delay playing to gain VPs, a very good range of combat support benefits.

AIR AND NAVAL BOMBARDMENT PHASE

Slightly misleading in its title, as what you are doing is sending these units out to locations where they will take part in Combat in a later Phase.  Note that both types of units can be placed in areas where you intend to move land units or can be sent to soften up targets by themselves.  
Typically you'll have 10 air units and 9 naval bombardment units at the start of battles.  Generally, this will diminish as the game progresses, but with some naval reinforcements and cards that restore an aircraft or two.
Main decisions choices here are as to allocating in small or larger groups and whether to have air and naval units target the same area.



Above you can see the two on-map boxes at a typical point later in a game, where I've divided my naval bombardment units in the USN Battleships box into two stacks of three units and my aircraft in the USN Carriers box into three groups of three.  A simple drag and drop process to first set up the groups can be followed by a further drag and drop process to direct them to their land target areas.  By and large this a simple, fast and fairly intuitive process.  
The screen will show the path you're tracing, indicating by colour whether it is allowed or not, while text will show whether aircraft will encounter AA fire and a symbol whether your destination is legal.  Occasionally, I've encountered minor glitches, such as a left click suddenly doesn't have any effect, but a right click does or, occasionally, a unit might not show a glowing outline to show that it's being immediately allocated to a group.  But trying again eventually will get you there and I've never had any hang-ups/crashes resulting from any of my actions - not even when one air group seemed to be settling, thankfully temporarily, into a weird weaving backwards and forwards pattern.
REINFORCEMENTS
For the USN, these are mainly Battleships. Land reinforcements largely come by card play and are rarely substantial and are limited to highlighted beach landing areas.
LAND MOVEMENT
As with most games this will occupy most of your playing time.  It includes all the usual features, terrain costs, effect on combat, stacking allowed, impassable to certain types of unit, effects on supply etc.  No surprises here and, of course, none of the accidental errors associated with playing games on your table top.  The one omission that I'd like included is the take-back function present in most of the computer war games I play.  So, the zoom-in/out facility comes in handy here to check key destinations.  What makes this system so playable is both the choice of area movement and a relatively low counter density.  I've given up on several hex and counter computer war games purely because of the tedium of pointing and clicking to move massive numbers of units, turn .. after turn ... after turn ... zzzz.
COMBAT PHASE
This probably is the Phase I'm most conflicted about.  First of all a screen appears listing all the combats you've set up and you then click on each one in whatever order you wish to resolve them in.  Typically these range from four to ten battles.  Consequently the Phase moves very fast - you can also adjust the speed at which they play out. 
At the start of each individual battle, you and the A.I. have the opportunity to play one or more cards to affect the outcome.  Only playable cards will be highlighted, quite often this may be a single card.  Your decision is more often whether to play the card now or use in a later battle or wait until a later turn in the game.  Don't forget you're only drawing one card per turn and not all of them affect combat.  You are guided a little in your decision by a bar at the bottom of the screen which indicates the percentage chance of winning the battle for each side.


The choice of battle card at the beginning of a battle.
Once a battle has been chosen, all the units appear and all that's left to do is click on the tab at the bottom of the screen to activate each step of the battle.  This is essentially Bombard, followed by Fight.  As each unit fires, the number it rolls flashes up superimposed on the unit.  Any hits scored are automatically allocated by the computer.  A battle lasts three rounds maximum and the only choice you have as the attacker is when the screen offers the opportunity to click on a white "Retreat" tab.
My main ambivalence about the process is not knowing the rationale behind how hits are allocated on the enemy and the fact that you have no control over the hits allocated to your own units.  Also puzzling have been the occasions when the enemy has suddenly retreated or routed.  Nice when it happens, but I'd like more understanding of why; still it could be argued that that's a realistic factor of war.  Similarly, sometimes you'll get the opportunity for some pursuit fire and occasionally a breakthrough occurs with the opportunity for some units to advance and, if they enter an enemy occupied area, create another battle.  This ability to Breakthrough is the one I've struggled most to implement successfully.  Sometimes the method has worked, sometimes it hasn't.  After Combat, a screen appears detailing all the results. 
REPLACEMENTS
These are usually just one or two build points per turn.  Each point restores an infantry unit to full strength, while two points are needed to restore armour units.  Consequently, they are best saved in the early stages of a battle and applied to units that are on their last strength point or two. The strength of a unit is shown by the number of white SP dots; as a unit takes hits, this is shown by the dot turning grey.  Tracking losses is therefore a simple and clear process.

Once you, as the active USN player, have taken your turn its over to the Japanese A.I. whose turn will zip by in seconds.  Even when the A.I. is playing the USN, their turn is remarkably fast!

Another glimpse of me playing the Japanese

Over and above the game play which is smooth and fast [up to you whether you want to slow down the Combat section], graphics are simple, clear and the zoom facility  enhances visual examination well.
So far, I've played through three out of the five battles and all three have proved very different experiences.  Tinian, my first victory, went down to the penultimate turn of its 19 turns and so far seems the easiest.  As the shortest battle, it was a good starting point.  Next up was Tarawa, which initially was an abject failure as my progress was so slow that the invasion got cancelled - oh, the shame of it!  By comparison when I moved on to Saipan, the landings were an easy cake-walk.  Ashore with little opposition which was overwhelmed on the first turn and the coastal road looked like a beckoning highway! But if my experiences are an accurate reflection of the battle just wait till you start having to winkle the Japanese infantry out of the mountains.  Not only are they a tough nut, but they have some bite back if you're not careful - you're going to need those replacement points.
I've barely dipped my toes into the waters of SGS Okinawa, as this is a completely separate game purely on the one battle.  It was historically the last major one of the US island campaign and deserves its individual treatment, especially when you consider that more American troops were involved than in the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches! Not surprisingly it's a much larger undertaking than any of the individual battles in Pacific D-Day and has two scenarios: the full 40 turn campaign and a moderately shorter 31 turn scenario, the Shuri Line.  So, in a few weeks I hope to bring you a closer look at what has happened there.

However, if you haven't had enough of the Pacific yet, my next review will be focusing in detail on the naval war with Vuca Simulations Task Force Carrier Battles in the Pacific



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  3 in 1 Medieval Weapon 30001 by JMBricklayer  So, for this build we are going back a bit in history. Some people may look at the three wea...

3 in 1 Medieval Weapon 30001 by JMBricklayer 3 in 1 Medieval Weapon 30001 by JMBricklayer

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

February 2023

3 in 1 Medieval Weapon 30001 by JMBricklayer




 3 in 1 Medieval Weapon 30001


by


JMBricklayer



 So, for this build we are going back a bit in history. Some people may look at the three weapons you can make and simply write them off as a child's toy. I suggest that you take a long look at the three different modules. 





 This is what JMBricklayer has to say about the model:

"The design of our 3-in-1 model kit is inspired by the elements of warfare in the medieval period. This model kit not only has a rich historical background but also has a variety of interesting ways to play, which can take you on a journey through the retro history and culture of the medieval period and appreciate the wisdom of the ancients. Build three magnificent kits – a Ballista (a huge crossbow), a Bombard (an early type of cannon), and a powerful Catapult.

Block model’s overall color scheme retro, will let you have a feeling of immersion in the medieval era. And the body is solid, the appearance of a high degree of restoration, and exquisite design, the outer contours of each wheel, and the front part of the vehicle have a unique light blue sickle-type decoration, that plays a defensive role, but also embellishes the appearance. You can take home research to discover more playable details."







 The first build I chose to make was the 'catapult'. To be entirely correct it is one form of a catapult. The Romans called it an 'Onager' which means 'wild ass', the reason being the machine has so much torsion power that when it hurls a projectile the onager actually jumps when the hurling arm hits the crosspiece. 




 The many little pieces that JMBricklayer has built into the kit are pretty amazing. It comes with wheels that have scythes attached to them. There are chain pieces that also help to immerse the builder into another age. You can see by the picture above that they are pretty large models. 











 There is only one thing that I do not like about the build. It comes with seven different well marked bags of bricks. However, instead of only having to use the 1st bag, and then so on, it actually tells you to open all seven of the bags before building. Because the kit has only 568 pieces it is not as bad as it could be. Just make sure that you leave yourself enough room for spreading them out for the build.







 The build itself is straight forward. With the small round connection pieces, it is better to look carefully at them and separate them into their distinctive shapes. This is not a build I would recommend for outside use (I wouldn't really take any block toy outside). However, it will stand up to firing its payload in all three modes without a problem. 




 

Oddly enough, when building one of these kits you are not on edge at all about it. When building models, I was always afraid to put too much or not enough glue etc. The painting gave me over the top anxiety (which is probably why they came out so bad). Doing a block kit actual makes me calm for some reason. I think it is because I really cannot do anything to ruin the kit. I might put the wrong piece in but fixing that is usually fairly easy. 


 Thank you, JMBricklayer for allowing me to review this interesting and well-made kit. This kit is the perfect size for someone to start in the hobby. 

Robert

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  A Victory Awaits Operation Barbarossa 1941 by Multi-Man Publishing   Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany, took place o...

A Victory Awaits: Operation Barbarossa 1941 by Multi-Man Publishing A Victory Awaits: Operation Barbarossa 1941 by Multi-Man Publishing

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

February 2023

A Victory Awaits: Operation Barbarossa 1941 by Multi-Man Publishing





 A Victory Awaits


Operation Barbarossa 1941


by


Multi-Man Publishing







  Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany, took place on June 22nd, 1941. Many people do not know that Germany was incapable of fighting a long war. This is because of having limited natural resources, and especially oil, to fuel their economy, as well as their armed forces. Hitler had decided to attack the Soviet Union to procure all the oil etc. that Germany needed. After the abysmal showing of the Red Army against Finland in 1939/1940. The German High Command thought that it would be relatively easy to conquer the European parts of the Soviet Union. 

 This is what this game is all about. As the Germans, you have nine turns to get from one side of the map to the other, taking as many victory points as you can along the way. The Soviet player has to throw his forces at the German meat grinder to try and slow, if not stop, their forward motion.



 This is a blurb from Multi-Man Publishing about the game:

"Famed Japanese designer Tetsuya Nakamura, who created A Victory Lost, Fire in the Sky, A Most Dangerous Time, and What Price Glory?, returns to the East Front with A Victory Awaits.
 
Using a lightly modified version of the A Victory Lost system, the game covers Operation Barbarossa from June 22 to mid-September. Game play features the same chit-pull mechanics used in AVL, with 10 one-week turns. Players can play either the full campaign game, or the Army Group North, Army Group Center, or Army Group South scenarios. Each of the scenarios plays on a single map, or play the full campaign game on all three maps!
 
This design was originally published as a series of three games in Japan: Fierce Fight! Leningrad Blitzkrieg, Fierce Fight! Smolensk Blitzkrieg, and Fierce Fight! Kiev Blitzkrieg. The game also includes rules for multiplayer (four to eight players) and a series of optional rules. The rules have been expertly translated into English, with detailed assistance from the designer.
 
On the wide steppes of the Soviet Union can you emerge victorious from the opening blows of the Russo-German war?"


 So, the pedigree of the game is clearly shown. The fact that it was a trio of magazine games (boo, hiss, eye rolls) makes no difference whatsoever to me. Some of my best times in wargaming were had with magazine games. The way the game is setup you have the ability to play the full first part of Barbarossa, or you can play a scenario of each German Army Group (North, Center, and South).


 This is what comes with the game:

Three maps
Three countersheets
15-page full color rulebook
4 player aid cards
2 dice
box and lid
 
Solitaire Rating: Excellent
Complexity: Low
Playing Time: 3-15 hours
Scenarios: 4

Game scale: 
Each hex is about 10 miles (16 km).
Each turn is 10 days.
Units: Divisions.



Part of the Middle Map and Army Group Center's Attack



 This game is a bit like Barbarossa on $5 a day. You will get the full panoply of the immense invasion cut down to its bare bones. The Rulebook is only fifteen pages long. The actual rules for the game are only a little over ten pages. Then come some optional rules, the scenarios, and it also has rules for playing with up to eight people. The rulebook is in full color. Unbelievably, it has enough space to have a good number of rules examples included in it. There are two full color hard stock Player Aid Cards, one for each side. These both have the terrain chart on one side with the CRT and Sequence of Play on the other. The other two Player Aid Cards are for the four of the games separate scenarios (Leningrad, Kiev, Smolensk, and the Campaign Scenario). I am torn as far as the counters go. At first glance, I thought they were a little garish. I believe these are the deepest hues ever used for counters I have seen. They have grown on me. There is no problem reading the information on the counters. The counters do not use the 'NATO' designations that we are used to. I want to say that the designation shapes are from German sources from WWII, but I could be completely wrong.  You are also given alternative counters that show a silhouette of tanks and mechanized units instead of the rectangles and quadrilaterals. The maps are very well done. Each hex terrain is easy to see, and the artwork of the maps is plain to see. You are given three maps: Leningrad, Smolensk, and Kiev. These represent the areas of action for the German Army Group North, Center and South. So, other than the color choice on the counters, the games components pass muster.



This is part of the Northern Map



 This is the Sequence of Play:
 
 Game play proceeds using the following sequence. Once through the sequence comprises one game turn. After nine complete game turns, the game ends and victory is determined.

(1) Selection Phase. Each player secretly selects which of their command chits will be put into the cup for this turn. The command chits are mixed together into a single cup.
(2) Command Phase. One command chit is drawn blindly from the cup. The owner of the chit becomes the active player. The active player enacts the command chit (7.0).
(3) Activation Phase. If required by the command chit, the active player activates the appropriate HQ unit and any other eligible units (8.0).
(4) Operations Phase. Activated units may move and attack.
 • Movement Segment. The active player may move his activated units (9.0).
 • Combat Segment. The active player may attack enemy units with his activated units (10.0).
 After resolving steps 2-4 above, if any command chits remain in the cup, return to step 2 (Command Phase). If no chits remain in the cup, proceed to the End Phase.
(5) End Phase. Advance the turn marker into the next space on the Turn Track. Any Axis units in that space are moved to the Axis Available Box.  Return to step 1 (Selection Phase) and begin the new turn (6.0).



Part of the Kiev Map


 The game does not have separate air units. The two Air Forces strength has been built into the ground forces strength. As mentioned, this game was based upon boiling down all the extraneous rules and thoughts that are in almost all other Eastern Front games. As the German, you do not have to worry about rebuilding railroads either. That rebuilding has also been built into the system. 

 The supply rules are also different than most Eastern Front games. In all of the scenarios, the German player does not have to check if his units are in supply until turn four. As all the scenarios are nine turns, that means that he has almost half the game to run rampant on the Soviet player. 

 The game is only nine turns long. As the German player you have to get moving and keep moving. One thing to keep in mind is that destroyed Soviet units will come back to haunt you. The rebuilding of destroyed Soviet units is one of the few standard rules of Eastern Front games that is in this game. However, Soviet units that are starved out by lack of supply do not come back to haunt Ebenezer Scrooge, the German player, later in the game. So, as the German player you must hit the Soviet Union like the Road Runner. Put the Soviet units into sacks and then tighten them. Then you will not have to worry about them rising from the grave.

 The Soviet player is completely caught on his back foot. Time is generally on your side in Eastern Front games, but not this one. So, you must always be worried about if and when you strike back at the invaders. You have to be very careful not to attack and then find those same units out of supply. Of course, there are times where you just have to dig in and take those unit losses.

 The game is built on the chit pull system. There is even a chit pull for supply. So, neither side will know where the next blow will fall. This a fast-paced game even if it is actually a mini-monster. The sheer size of this part of the Soviet Union is what puts it into that category. If you have the area to play the full campaign, that is excellent. However, do remember that you can play three different one map scenarios.



Part of the Leningrad Map



 Thank you, Multi-man Publishing for allowing me to review this game. Mr. Nakamura has added another excellent game to his stable. My apologies to MMP for my tardiness with this review.

 Multi-Man Publishing has games about battles and campaigns all over the globe and from many different time periods. These games go from real monsters to much simpler easy to learn and play ones. They have numerous series of games to choose from. These include, among others:

Standard Combat Series
Operational Combat Series
Tactical Combat Series

 When looking through my collection earlier this year, I was surprised to see how many of their games I actually owned.


Robert

Multi-man Publishing:

A Victory Awaits:
 

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