Old Guard Publishing

A new wargaming company

 This is news straight from the Grognard's mouth:

"Old Guard Publishing specializes in horse and musket period games with a particular emphasis on the epic period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.

Our mission is to have fun while educating. Not only will you have a fun game, but each game contains a wealth of historical information in the scenario book that will rarely be found in any other game. With every game you'll have a complete understanding of the history and the choices faced by each commander as the action unfolds. In the scenario book you'll find primary source material that has never been translated into English until now.

Old Guard Publishing's motto is playability with historical accuracy. This means game mechanics should be as simple as possible to model the particular issue at hand. For example, in the tactical horse and musket system, Glory & Empire, a unit's fire strength is read from the counters/markers and modifiers are added or subtracted from the fire strength. In the case of skirmishers, the rules are more detailed, yet still with an eye towards simplicity and elegance, to differentiate the use of skirmishers prior to the French Revolution and their later use. These are not simple games, but the hope is to avoid bogging people down in complicated game mechanics.

Currently, Old Guard Publishing has two game series in development: a tactical horse and musket system called Glory & Empire, and an operational scale horse and musket system.

Glory and Empire is a game series devoted to grand tactical command, maneuver and combat during the horse and musket period. It will handle the time period from the introduction of cadenced marching up until the introduction of the mini-ball. The player is cast in the role of Army Leader. Though the player must still move all of his pieces on the ‘chess board.’ However, just as in chess there are limits on how he may maneuver his pawns and knights. The game is designed for two or more players but may be played solitaire.

The map scale is 125m per hex. Units are battalions and companies for infantry, regiments and squadrons for cavalry and companies for artillery. Each strength point is 100 men for infantry, 50 men and horses for cavalry or one section, or 2 guns, for artillery. Turns are 20 minutes. Unit counters and some markers are 5/8" and other markers are 1/2".

The rules consist of three sets: Soldier's, Battalion and Brigade rules set. Players can learn the basics with the Soldier's rules, move to a full-fledged simulation with the Battalion Game and pick and choose rules from the Brigade Game to suit their tastes. Or players can jump right into the Brigade Game and understand how grand tactical maneuvering was practiced on the battlefield during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Soldier's Game gives players new to the era an introduction to foundational concepts of tactics in the horse and musket era. In the Soldier's and Battalion Games there are the usual line, column, square and skirmishers. The Battalion game expands the use of skirmishers, introduces important concepts for maneuvering forces on the battlefield and has more detailed close combat procedures. The Brigade Game adds close columns, attack columns, closed square, Austrian division masses. Artillery is simplified for the Soldier's and Battalion Games, but the Battalion Game adds artillery ammunition. The Brigade Game adds bombardment zones, bounce through, howitzer fire and separate ammunition tracking for round shot, shell, canister and shrapnel. The Brigade Game also gives players more tools to react to enemy moves.

However, the raison d'être of the Brigade Game is its unique command system designed to show how units really maneuvered on the battlefield. It's core concepts come straight out of the drill regulations of the period. Brigades maneuver in grand tactical formations as lines of battle and in grand columns. These grand tactical formations impose their own ebb and flow on the battlefield as they break apart in combat and reform as units rally. No longer will your games look like rugby scrums. More detail can be found on these BGG threads: [On Command - Brigade Game Command Rules](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2809161/on-command-brigade-game-command-rules) and [On Orders of Battle](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2841446/on-orders-of-battle).

The Glory & Empire system made it's debut with First Victories covering two smaller battles: Roliça and Vimeiro. The BGG entry can be found here: [First Victories](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/340120/first-victories-wellington-versus-napoleon).

The next entry in the series is a game on the less well-known battle of Fuentes de Oñoro that takes place on the Portuguese-Spanish border in May 1811, following Masséna's retreat from Portugal. Fuentes de Onoro consists of a tactical game with four maps and seven counter sheets. For this game a new feature, called the Marshal's Game, has been added. The Marshal's Game adds an operational map, about 4x the scale of the tactical maps, that overlays the tactical game. It has an additional sheet of 3/4" counters that represent the brigades and leaders of each army. Brigade units can leave the operational map and enter the tactical map converting to their tactical equivalents for battle. The Marshal's Game allows players to move units around the periphery of the battlefield on the operational map to try alternate strategies, without them being scripted by the designer, providing much more replay value in what if situations. Development is nearly complete and will be available for pre-order soon.

Old Guard Publishing's second system is the Glory & Empire Operational System (GEOSS). It's a working title. Once, it gets closer to publication a real name will be chosen. GEOSS is intended to be a more complete operational game, than the Marshal's Game. The scale is 1 to 2 KM per hex and 1 to 4 hours per daylight turn, depending on the length of the campaign. Units are mainly regiments or brigades, but there may be some artillery companies, battalions and regiments to handle mixed brigades and army and corps resources. This is more fine grained than Kevin Zucker's Campaigns of Napoleon series, which I've long enjoyed. These games will cover the critical period of a campaign when armies are on the march towards a pitched battle, usually a few days to a couple of weeks. The game system will focus on command and maneuver and the key relationship to logistics. The first game in this series will be the battle of Castiglione campaign from July 31 to August 8, 1796. The game is still very much in development.

Those are Old Guard Publishing's present plans, and the intent is to remain focused on horse and musket period games."

 So, as you can see, this announcement is about not just a new game company but also a new Napoleonic operational gaming system along with their tactical battles.

 Home of Wargamers 2025 - Matrix 25th Anniversary

 This is the information about today's Matrix information filled expo.

Home of Wargamers 2025 - Matrix 25th Anniversary - Today at 18.00 CEST

A strong lineup of Matrix Games in one event!  Home of Wargamers 2025  will take place next week on Today at 6:00 PM CEST. As part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Matrix Games, we will present the future of the Combat Mission franchise, exciting news about Armored Brigade II, and the new expansions for Rule the Waves 3 - Expanded Battles and Strategic Command: American Civil War - Concert of Europe.

This will be a unique opportunity to meet and hear directly from the developers of Rule the Waves 3, WEGO WWII: Overlord, Command: Modern Operations, Flashpoint Campaigns, Nuclear War Simulator. And there will be a truly special surprise for all fans of the War in the East franchise.

https://www.matrixgames.com/news/home-of-wargamers-2025-september-25th 

 Iron Squad

by

Princeps Games

On Kickstarter now

 This is straight from Princeps Games:

"Hello,

My name is Vukasin Nisavic and I am the cofounder of Princeps Games together with my brother Janko Nisavic. When we are not designing games I work as a legal adviser. My brother and I design games, playtest them and we are doing our best to deliver a fine product to the audience. Nothing new with ‘Iron Squad’ regarding this.

While playing board wargames it always bothered me how players can see the enemy’s units on the board. Even though there are some mechanisms which simulate the FOW system in computer games up to a point, all those systems were not quite there yet. There was always something missing. So, I decided to give it a try, and I designed a system that will allow the players to have the same experience while playing board games which they have while playing computer games.

 ‘Iron Squad’ was originally designed for our new ‘Fog of War’ system. We like to call it ‘revolutionary’. This system required a unique game management so we needed a simple game to start with and that’s how the ‘Iron Squad’ was born. Unfortunately, we found that mass production of this kind of FOW system was too challenging for our small company at this time, so we decided to do an overhaul of ‘Iron Squad’ and here we are. You would definitely have to check this FOW system in order to understand the scale of it. Here is the video if you’re interested

https://youtu.be/gIZgbsffANo

With ‘Iron Squad’ we wanted to offer a game with high replay ability, so this time we went for a game board design which will allow players to have a different terrain configuration in every game by using the ‘Terrain Tiles’. Also, a different setup of the game is possible thanks to the mini-map sheets which allow the players to set the starting position of their units in a different way every time they play the game. Players draw ‘Mission Cards’ and the player who completes the mission first is the winner. If this doesn’t happen until the end of round 12, the winner is the player with the most Victory Points.

There are so many factors which can lead to a different game. You have the ‘Terrain Tiles’ which bring new configuration of the game board. Then you have mini-maps which allow a different setup. Each player has 5 different Missions Cards to draw. In addition, you have a ‘Weather’ and ‘Day&Night’ modifiers. At the end, there is a very interesting combat system with a modified D20 dice which allow the players to choose the impact of luck.

‘Iron Squad’ is currently live on Kickstarter and you can check the campaign page and back the game by clicking on this link:"

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/princepsgames/iron-squad

These are two reviews I did of other Princeps Games:

The Battle of KhalKhin Gol July - August 1939 by Princeps Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

March on the Drina WWI by Princeps Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

This is a review that Polydor did:

FREEZING INFERNO - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Countdown to D-Day: the German Perspective

The German High Command in Occupied France, 1944

by

Peter Margaritis

 This book's timeline is from December 1943, with a bit of a prelude, until the actual Normandy Invasion on June 6th, 1944. This is a very large book and is just over 600 pages in length. It deals with the day to day lives of the major German officers during the above six-month period. It gives the reader incredible detail into the different views of the main characters and even their personal lives. 

 Field Marshal Rommel is clearly the main German officer of the book. Some of the book deals with the difference of opinion between Rommel and Field Marshal von Rundstedt as to where the German panzer divisions were to be placed. Rommel, well aware of the Allied air superiority, wanted the panzers very close to the beaches of Normandy. On the other hand, von Rundstedt wanted the panzers held farther back to hit the Allies with a large, armored fist when the exact area of the landings was known. Hitler, in his usual way, made a mish mash of both plans. So, we are left to conjecture and wargaming to try and find the answer to the question - was either Field Marshal, correct?

 The book follows Rommel around as he desperately tries to make Hitler's vaunted 'Fortress Europe' a reality instead of a pipe dream. Anyone interested in the infighting and actual thoughts of the German High Command before and about D-Day should read this book. The author's painstaking diary-like approach to every day during that time period is to be marveled at. 

 There is one caveat, at least for someone whose tastes mirror my own. That is, the book goes into too much personal detail about the characters' lives during those six months. I am not really interested in where Rommel ate lunch and dinner on March 15th, 1944. That being said, all of the juicy bits of history that I love are in this book. I just had to dig a little deeper to find them. I am also not a Rommel fan boy by any way shape or means. Had it delved more into von Rundstedt's life it is possible that I wouldn't have these thoughts about the book. On the other hand, Rommel was by far the busiest of the two commanders at the time and through his travels takes you to all of the different places on the Normandy coast. So, you may want to take my caveat with a grain of salt.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this large, interesting book. I read for the first time some interesting things about the time and the personal tastes of the characters. I knew that von Rundstedt liked detective novels, but I did not know that he was also an avid gardener. 

Robert

Book: Countdown to D-Day the German Perspective

Author: Peter Margaritis

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

 The Battle of Thapsus

Caesar, Metellus Scipio, & the Renewal of the Third Roman Civil War

by

Gareth C Sampson

 I do not believe that Gareth C, Sampson has ever written an ancient history book that I did not love. That he can make me feel this way with books about Caesar is even more amazing. This is the third book in a series of books about the main battles of the Third Roman Civil War. The author started with 'The Battle of Dyrrhachium' and then followed with 'The Battle of Pharsalus'. This book now takes you to North Africa, after Caesar's tryst and long stopover in Alexandria Egypt. The author shows that the Pompeians, or more correctly the Republicans, have taken the respite that Caesar gave them to build a large force to once again take the field against him.

 Mr. Sampson does not just take Caesar's word for what happened during this time period. This is contrary to many centuries of authors taking Caesar's books about the Civil War and before as Gospel. There are more ancient sources than just his writings to be studied and sifted through to find the real truth of the matter. The two earlier books in the series have shown that Caesar was close to being defeated several times. He also shows us that Pharsalus was not a crushing defeat of the Republicans as we have been taught before. In fact, a large number of the defeated army made its way to North Africa to try once again to defeat him.

 This third battle book is inappropriately named, as they all are. It is not just about the Battle of Thapsus. The book goes into everything that happened to get Caesar in North Africa both politically and militarily. It also goes through the whole campaign and not just the battle. It does not just gloss over the other factors and information but gives the reader a full picture of the contest of arms.

 Once again, the author shows us that this was not some slam dunk for Caesar. He did not land in North Africa and growl and the forces against him faded away like wraiths. The campaign and battle were just as much a seesaw as the other campaigns the author has brought to light. Caesar's recklessness and his wont to throw the iron dice of war are shown in their fullness.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers and Pen & Sword for allowing me to review this excellent book. I am sorry to say that it does not change history and that Caesar still ends up as the winner. What it does do is take the reader 2000 years in the past to show them everything that matters to a lover of ancient military history. Of course, many of the maxims brought forth in the book are just as important now as they were then.

Robert Peterson

Book: The Battle of Thapsus: Caesar, Metellus Scipio, & the Renewal of the Third Roman Civil War

Author: Gareth C Sampson

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

LIMITS OF GLORY

SANTA MAURA & CAPRI

FROM 

FORM SQUARE GAMES 

This recently released game is the third in the Limits of Glory series produced by Form Square Games. Sub-titled Campaigns III & IV, the box contains two mini-sized games covering what are very, very small engagements in what can only be considered a minor side-show of the Napoleonic Wars.  Both involve naval attacks and landings to capture small islands.  Time-wise Capri is the earlier being the French's attempts in 1808 to recapture Capri from the British, while Santa Maura, which sees the British on the attack, occurred in 1810.  What they mainly provide are two very low unit density games ideal for when time is short and you need a quick fix of the Limits of Glory system.  Though their brevity also suits them for introducing the system, all its elements  are covered including the naval elements introduced in Maida and additionally brings shore batteries to the mix.  The latter drew a rare request from me for clarification which the designer, Andy Rourke, as always was swift to reply to.  His answer served to confirm my view that it's a risky business attempting to disembark land forces before eliminating shore batteries!

A single double-sided map is all that is needed to cover the very limited geographical area of each battle and the now familiar Event Clock and Combat Charts can be handled with back printed versions of each.  This adds to the compactness of the package. Lavish though it is to provide a separate rule book for each game, the amount of duplication is such that it would seem easier for once just to have the very slight differences presented as Special Rules.  Still this is hardly a criticism, especially as it allows for the space to include an even wider range of the superlative reproductions of Cruikshank and Gillray cartoons that are a stand-out feature of presentation in the Limits of Glory games - as illustrated below.

It's rare for me to relish a rule book for its art work. Or for my wife to ask to leaf through a set of my game rules - just to look at the pictures!

What drew me to the Limits of Glory system in the first place was the sheer innovative qualities of this game design, all centring on the concept of Glory points, the leaders who possess them and the ability to spend them to influence the dice rolls of virtually every aspect of game play.   Key aspects include: area movement, the  success factor for all actions based on rolling 5s or 6s, combat based on the roll of three dice on a simple matrix of the Leader's nationality and the strength of his troops, an Event Clock tailored to the historical situation of each campaign and which ensures the unpredictability of the end of each game and a momentum system designed so that each player will have a maximum of only 4 actions per turn

Santa Maura & Capri continues this in fine style, but for a more detailed consideration of how the essential Limits of Glory rules work, I’d refer you to my review of the very first campaign in this series, Napoleon’s Eastern Empire and I've included a number of illustrative photos and explanatory examples at the end of the review. 

In this review now I want to concentrate on what makes these two campaigns individual.  The first is the predominance of sieges. Though these have been there from the beginning of the series, they haven’t so far played such a major part.  In Santa Maura, retaining control of the fortress of Santa Maura until the end of the game is the sole French victory condition, while the Allied player’s major goal is to capture the fortress, though they can also win by forcing Camus, the French leader, to surrender.  

Santa Maura Set-Up

This all or nothing outcome drives the game and, perhaps, makes it the less varied of the two games.  That said, the situation is enlivened by the small idiosyncrasies that I’ve also come to expect from the quirky historical contexts.  Here it is the inclusion of a contingent of Albanian troops fighting for the French and the presence of one of the Greek independence leaders, Kolokotronis, whose map counter can once per turn attempt to entice those Albanian troops to desert their French allies! [I’m still waiting for Form Square Games to seek out a campaign that allows an opportunity for Lord Byron to crop up in the fight for Greek Independence.]

Capri Set-Up

Capri too introduces a number of new allies: for the French there are Neapolitan Infantry, while the British contingent contains a Maltese regiment and Corsican Rangers.  The situation here is more varied; both sides have sudden death victory conditions.  For the French, it is the control of Ana Capri and Capri town; for the British the destruction of 10 of the French gunboats.  Should neither player achieve their sudden death victory condition,  victory at game end depends on who gains the most VPs from controlling  BUAs [Built Up Areas].  As such areas can only be captured from your opponent by siege and, in the Santa Maura campaign, the siege and capture of the single major fortress wins the game, you can see why I consider SIEGES as the prime factor in this latest game.

As I've implied Capri is my favourite of the two games with its wider ranging situation and more varied units and victory conditions.  Both, however, are excellent for those wanting a shorter playing time and smaller playing area (which the Set-Up illustrations show) while retaining all the elements of the system...

Below are a just few close up shots to illustrate a range of rule points.

A typical impression of the map, with each number indicating how many dice you roll in order to activate units in that area - remember a success is always a 5 or 6 and you are allowed to spend 1 pt of Glory from a Leader who is present for each die you want to reroll.

So, in the town on the right, you would roll 3 dice and provided you rolled at least one 5 or 6 the area would be activated.  Should you fail to roll any, then you could spend from 1-3 points from Leader Lowe's Glory in order to reroll from 1-3 dice.

However, if you were trying to activate the area to his left, then you could roll only one die and if you failed, there would be no chance for a reroll, as there is no Leader in the area.

Also notice the zero in some areas -  a new feature which makes the area impossible to be activated.

Here you get a clearer image of the small fortresses which add to the defence strength of the units located in the area and also mean that the enemy must besiege you.  The banners (typically red for the British and blue for the French) show the number of VPs each side would gain for controlling that area.  

Where you have two (or more leaders) in an area, you must use the most senior leader's Glory points for rerolls. Seniority is shown by the small number in the black circle - with 1 being the highest ranking leader.  So, if Hamil and Nichols were in the same area, you would have to use Hamil's Glory pts for rerolls.  

If a battle were being fought in an area, the highest ranking leader can designate a subordinate leader to be used for rerolls, but then at the end of the combat the subordinate leader would have to roll to see if he becomes a casualty!

Here you have a small section of the Event Clock for the Capri game.  At the beginning of each Turn, the appropriate number of dice are rolled to see what Event occurs.  At the beginning of the game you will roll only one die, but some Events will change that to 2 dice and eventually to 3 dice.  Notice that many involve a change in the weather e.g. from Wind to Calm - this is a new rule introduced to the system for this particular campaign.  Finally the R indicates that this Event may happen repeatedly.  If you roll for an Event that does not contain an R, then you carry out the Event and then there will be a new Event tile to place on top of the existing one. I hope these illustrations will have helped to give you a little more flavour of the game.

And finally, just as a teaser for the future, I can guarantee that the next campaign game Donning The Sacred Heart ( which is well under way) takes us to a very different situation, played out in the counter-revolution period of the 1790s in the Vendee region of France and brings new twists to the Limits of Glory system. 

 American Civil War Commander 1861 - 1865

Death of an Institution. The Bloodiest Conflict in the Western Hemisphere.

by

Student Commander

Designed by 

Andy De Campos

 The American Civil War is one of the most written about and gamed piece of history there is, from tactical games about all of the battles to strategic ones and everything in between. There are even wargames about the various Ironclads used by both sides in the war. The few hours battle between the CSS Virginia and the US Monitor probably has enough books written about it to fill up a regular sized bookcase. Even outside of the US there are tons of people who read and wargame about the conflict. So, why would a designer pick this carcass, which has been stripped to the bones years ago, as a design product? Well, one reason is that Student Commander has based its whole line of wargames on Civil Wars. However, I do not think that is the only reason. The designer, Andy De Campos really had some novel ideas about how to wargame the Spanish Civil War so I think he might have a few things up his sleeve for this one. This is a list of the games that the designer is working on, in no particular order:

Roman Civil War 49 - 30 B.C.

American Civil War 1861 - 1865

Russian Civil War 1917 - 1922

Chinese Civil war 1927 - 1949

Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939

Korean War 1950 - 1953

Vietnam War 1955 - 1975

 I had the privilege of reviewing the Spanish Civil War game from them. Please see the link below. 

The Map in all of its Splendor!

 This is what comes with the game:

1-2 player game imitating the professional war gaming played by HQ staff officers.

Large premium photo paper board (45 x 35 in) with historical period map; highly detailed and educational.

Over 350 pieces with over 40 unique individual units.

Laser cut wooden counters.

24 commander chits with individual qualities and promotion potential.

Original American Civil War 54 card deck. Activate historical and fictional events.

Use deck separately for any card game.

1 set of 4 game booklets

2 black pawns

3 sand timers

1 set of tweezers

Label sheets for the counters

1 yellow fraction die

1 green vector die

1 orange measuring stick

3 sets of DD die (7 die each)

2 black D2 die

3 black D3 die

2 game trays for the pieces

2 player aid sheets with the sequence of play on one side and some play notes on the other side

 The game actually comes in a pretty large tube. You kind of feel like a magician who keeps pulling scarves out of his sleeve when you empty the tube.

Board Layout

 The map seems a lot larger than its stated size. As you can see in the pictures, it is extremely well done. While the map seems impervious to spills or foodstuff accidents, I cannot abide with either being anywhere near one of my wargames. The rulebook states that a normal 6' dining room table will fit it and all of the extras needed for play. I actually have it on one, so the rulebook speaks true. The only thing I would like to add is this is a game that is meant to represent a real military wargame. However, you do not need to use the timers if you choose not to. The timers are there to stop the player whose turn it is from just thinking about what to do next etc. The way the rules are stated " if your hands are not touching any component on the map or writing in your notepad the timer should be running". 

The War in Virginia

 This is what the designer has to say about the game:

"Excellent solitaire experience and high re-play value while maintaining historical content integrity.

While the action phase is highly competitive and entertaining, player choices will affect the economy heavily and, ultimately, the outcome of the war.

Each turn of the game gives you a chance to roll on four of twelve possible historical or probable events, which will enhance some of the political dynamics indirectly affecting your income through political popularity and support for the war. Congress is a heavy influencer, while international affairs make brief appearance."

 One of the biggest differences these Civil War Commander Games have compared to other wargames is an economic part to the simulation. Do not think that this is just tacked onto the game at the end for some glitz. The economic portion of these games are even more important than most of the others. An army runs on its belly and a nation runs on its economy. These are just some of the parts of the economic phase of the game:

American Civil War ECONOMY

Agricultural: cotton, tobacco and wheat were the top cash crops.

Industrial: textiles, armaments, foundries and manufacturing.

Trade: the lifeline of the South, hampered by the blockade.

Currency: immediate and sure but resulting dangerous inflation.

Taxation: The least impact on economy but it takes its time.

Bonds:  Involve the population (if they believe you'll win.)

Confiscation: a short run method with prohibitive backlash.

Financing the War

 This is a piece written by the designer that shows some of his thoughts behind the game:

"For over a century, there has been an ongoing discussion on the cause of the American Civil War. One extreme holds that Abraham Lincoln was resolved to destroy the cruel institution of slavery from the start and abused his Federal charter by using the Union Army to accomplish it. On the other end of the historiographical spectrum lies the narrative of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, which holds that the South was chiefly concerned with defending the autonomy of states' rights over the preservation of the peculiar institution.

Regardless of ideological drive, the American Civil War saw the greatest clash of arms in the Western Hemisphere. The tragic heavy losses witnessed in battles such as Cold Harbor and Antietam stem from outdated military formations and tactics used with modern weapons of unprecedented killing capacity. 

Differing strategies competed for victory. The Anaconda Plan sought to constrict the Confederate trade. Robert E. Lee, genial though he was, persisted valiantly to give the enemy a decisive blow in a Napoleonic battle and bring the war to an end that way. The Union finally agreed to use its advantage in numbers and resources to wage a war of attrition. Ulysses S. Grant was the first modern general to lead troops from the rear. William Tecumseh Sherman grasped the use of destruction and terror with few holds barred to subdue the enemy. 

The conflict was, unlike others (Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Vietnam) a civil war par excellence in that it was mostly devoid of foreign entanglements.

The economy of the Civil War was as frail as it was peculiar. With the failure of the King Cotton strategy, the South failed to rely on innovative ways to raise money for the war. The Confederacy mitigated the Union’s death grip on imports through blockade runners but it could have tried other methods such as increased taxes or land sales. The Union’s expert manipulation of currency proved more reliable.

All these considerations are reflected in the game, to some extent. This is a great laboratory that gives you a chance to try out different military strategies and economic policies to win. Hindsight is 20-20. Find out if victory was as assured for the Union as it may seem, or if the Confederacy could have made it!"

 Thank you very much Mr. De Campos for allowing me to do another review of one of your games. This is really just a quick look at the game, which is beautiful as only a wargame can be, and I will be doing another piece which will be a much deeper dive into the game.

 On Student Commander's website there is a poll about which game people want next. Please, for my sake, click on Roman Civil War. I will offer Agrippa 50 million Sesterces to 'accidentally' drop Octavian into the Mare Adriaticum.

Robert Peterson

American Civil War Commander 1861 - 1865

Student Commander

My review of Spanish Civil War Commander:

Spanish Civil War Commander by Civil War Commander - A Wargamers Needful Things

 In a Dark Wood

C3 Module 4 - The Hof Gap

by

This Red Line Games

 I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of non-historical wargames. By that I mean totally made up or completely distorted history. This would mean a Bulge game that has every German panzer division available at the time, even those on the Eastern Front, for use by the German player. However, I have no problem with games that are totally based on accurate portrayals of what might have been. This would be represented by an invasion of Malta in WWII. As long as those games' OOBs etc. are based upon history and are totally plausible. This game, simulation really, is based upon the solid foundations of what actual troops and weapons were to be used in Germany in 1985 if WWIII broke out. Think of the novels The Third World War, and The Third World War: The Untold Story by General Sir John Hackett. You can add Red Storm Rising, and others, by Tom Clancy. These, besides being excellent stories, are based totally in historical reality. In this, In a Dark Wood follows their footsteps. You are allowed to see and use exactly what was available to each side in this wargame. You get to tell the story of the Giant Russian Bear and his buddies being fought by the smaller but seemingly more advanced NATO forces. So, strap yourself in inside your favorite NATO or Warsaw Pact tank and let us see what story you can tell with these cardboard counters. You can always think of yourself as a bodyguard to Little Red Riding Hood trying to save her from the Big Bad Wolf as you travel In a Dark Wood. Of course, you could also play the wolf.

 This is what comes with the game:

98×85 cm matte plasticized map, covering the US VII Corps Area of Responsibility

7 countersheets, 1200+ 5/8″ matte plasticized counters

40 Action and Event Cards

24 pages full colour Rules Booklet

28 pages full colour Scenarios & Designer’s Notes Booklet

8 pages full colour Examples of Play Booklet

2x Tables booklets

5x Players' Aid Charts

2x 10-sided dice

10x zipbags

 I will go into the game pieces bit by bit later, but I just wanted to say that even before you open the box you get a feeling that you are holding something extremely well manufactured. The foreboding picture upon the front of the box really gets you into the mood to play a game about the possible ending of civilization.

Some of the Components

 This is what Thin Red Line has to say about the game:

"At 0400 Zulu Time, July 24 1985, Warsaw Pact forces cross the Inner German Border and assault NATO positions in West Germany. The offensive against the US VII Corps sector has a first echelon of eight Soviet and Czechoslovakian divisions, and three main objectives: Pin the NATO forces defending the area, inflict as much casualties as possible, and force CENTAG to commit its reserves to the defense.

Taking its roots from SPI’s Central Front and NATO: Division Commander, In a Dark Wood is the fourth module of the C3 series, focused on Command, Control and Communication and pioneered by Less Than 60 Miles - one of the five nominees for the 2019 Charles Roberts Awards as Best Post-WW2, Cold War, & Hypothetical Era Board Wargame.

Several typical wargame mechanics have been reinterpreted, and both sides must fight three equally dangerous foes: the enemy, their own plan and time. Even a simple action can quickly turn into a disaster when facing an opponent using more efficiently the real key to victory: the OODA Loop theorized by John Boyd in the early ‘80s and used today as the basis for several military doctrines.

Military doctrine, tactics and peculiarities for each side are represented, allowing a skilled commander to use his own strength points and exploit the enemy's weak ones. Some examples are:

US VII Corps command problems due to its multinational structure.

West German Auftragstaktik (Mission-Type Orders), giving Bundeswehr a flexibility hardly obtained by other armies.

French incomplete integration into the wartime NATO structure.

Soviet Sappers, first-line assault units used to crack the toughest nuts.

Soviet Assault From March.

The abundant but partially outdated Czechoslovakian artillery.

Warsaw Pact Axis of Advance.

Warsaw Pact vulnerable supply network

5 km per hex, 3 hours per game turn

Regiment / Battalion sized ground units

Detailed Order of Battle set in 1985

Close Air Support and Attack Helicopters

Command, Control & Communication related problems

Electronic and Intelligence Warfare

Artillery interdiction and Counter-Battery fire

Chemical and Nuclear warfare

Specific events for Warsaw Pact and NATO

Random events to further increase battlefield chaos

Two Campaign Games:

"The Main Problem", the Warsaw Pact offensive against US VII Corps.

"One Minute to Midnight", Unrestricted nuclear warfare after days of build-up.

Four Smaller Scenarios:

"Just a Second Away", US 2ACR and 1/3I Brigade meet the Soviet 28th Tank Division.

"Shortcut to Schweinfurt", Soviet 28th Army turns south and clashes with West German 12th PanzerDivision.

"Where the Forest Whispers", US 3rd Infantry Division faces one Soviet and one Czechoslovakian Army.

"Operation Marsh Harrier", the NATO counterattack after the arrival of the French forces."

The Map

 One of the best parts about this game, and the whole Thin Red Line WWIII games, is the immersion factor. Even the emails that get sent out by Thin Red Line Games are meant to get you into the WWIII mind set. This is the post on Thin Red Line Games about the 4th printing of 1985: Under an Iron Sky 4th Echelon:

"Comrade Colonel-General,

Despite the sincere and tireless diplomatic efforts of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to preserve peace in Europe, the aggressive and provocative actions of the imperialist United States and its puppet regime in Bonn continue to pose an unacceptable threat to the sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the collective security of the Socialist Bloc.

 Accordingly, the Central Committee, with full authority and historical responsibility, has directed the Armed Forces of the USSR to commence OPERATION LADOGA. The fraternal forces of our Warsaw Pact allies stand shoulder to shoulder with us in this historic struggle.

 You are hereby ordered to immediately execute the OPERATION LADOGA Directive."

Warsaw Pact Counters

 

 As I stated earlier, it is only when you hold the entire components to this game in your hand do you really get the full picture of how well they have been crafted.

 We will start with the map. For those of us not in the Old World or the 3rd World it is 24 1/4" X 38 1/4". Even though it is about the usual size for wargame maps it somehow looks bigger. The matte plasticized covering is a nice touch. Nevertheless, woe unto them who comes within 50 feet of one of my wargame maps with a drink! It always surprises me how much of Germany, and Europe as a whole, is forest. The map is really a work of art. It is one of those wargame maps where you wish you had a second one to hang on the wall. It may just be me because I have been pretty much mesmerized by maps since I was a small child. The terrain in each hex, for movement etc, is decided by the 'most favorable terrain type' for the unit. Because the units are not actually taking up the entire 5km of hex it makes sense to be able to choose the actual terrain. This gives the map the ability to accurately portray what is in each hex without, hopefully, having arguments between players.

 The counters are also matte plasticized which will increase their lifetime by a large margin. They are done in the 'NATO' style and also have a dark silhouette in the background to show exactly what kind of troops they represent. They are 5/8" in size so this makes them easier to read all their information. There are over 1200 counters, but the vast majority are markers instead of units. You also get the obligatory roll of zip-lock bags to store the counters. The game comes with two ten-sided die.

 Next, we have the Action and Event Cards. There are two decks for both sides of play. They seem to be made of the same material as regular playing cards. This will help with longevity and bending etc. The cards have both Russian and English for the words Action and Event and a Russian or NATO emblem on the back of the cards. The top part of the cards come with a photo or map and below are the cards uses. The type size is a little small but still readable.

 The Rules of Play booklet is, amazingly, only 23 pages long. It is in full color and is double columns. The size of the type is about normal for wargames. So, the older Grognards might need a young-'un to read it to them. I jest; it is perfectly readable. Then we have the Scenarios and Designers' Notes booklet. This is again in full color and is 27 pages long. The first three pages are taken up by Additional Scenario Rules. Then comes the four scenarios and two campaigns. The designers discuss the forested and hilly map as being an anathema to mobile battle. This is under the title ' No Thanks, We Don't Need More Trees'. One of the biggest challenges for the design team was how to make the NATO command structure, which resembled a 1970s piece of string art, into something coherent for gaming purposes. While still making it historically accurate.

 The game gives you two separate player aids, one for each player, that are done in a fold out manner instead of a booklet. This gives the player pretty much everything they need at their fingertips. This includes the Sequence of Play on the back cover. These are both 11 pages in length. There are tables that have all the abbreviations used by the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. Just as an aside, the Warsaw Pact has four abbreviations while the UK appears to have about 50 give or take. I am only exaggerating a bit. There are five card stock one-sided player aids. The first two are OOBs for both the Warsaw Pact Central Front and the NATO Centag. The next two are a NATO and Warsaw Pact Time, Command Points, Engineer Points, EW Points, Air Points tracks. The last one is a players' aid Ground Combat Chart. This has the sequence of combat and all of the different modifiers all on one hand sheet. Finally, we come to the Battle Operations booklet. This is in full color and is eight pages long. However, do not be fooled. This booklet should be kept under the players' pillow every night that the game is on your table. From movement to combat and the all-important orders phases, this is a Godsend for the players' health and wellbeing. 

 So, there you have it. This is my poor attempt to show exactly what you get with the game and how well manufactured all of the separate pieces to the game are.

NATO Counters

 Okay, so we have dispensed with the part of the review that just uses our senses. Now we have to get into the parts of the game that we use our mind for. That being said, I would make sure that you have a monster wargame under your belt, or at least one that has a good number of rules. To be honest, these games rules are pretty streamlined for what they have to try and simulate. In this game you have in your power and arsenal all that the commanders of the different sides had at their disposal in 1985. From Airpower to Spetsnaz (special designation or spetsial'noye naznacheniye) and everything in between, Oh and tanks do not forget the tanks. These are just some of the things that the game simulates:

Command and Control

Posture: March Assault/Tactical/Road/Recon/Screen/Close Support/Combat Support etc.

Engineers

Close Air Support

Artillery

"You will Issue Orders to your HQs by expending Command Points and using Order Chits, wait for the units to Execute the Order by placing a Time Marker on them. Then wait for them to Complete the Order"

Stacking

Delayed Movement

Forced March

River Crossing

Supply

Weather

Chemical Warfare

Nuclear Warfare

Warsaw Pact Card

 I know it is a bit long. However, I did want to post the Sequence of Play so that you would know exactly how involved the games is.

 Each Turn is played using the following sequence:

 

1. Weather Phase

 1.1 Warsaw Pact rolls for Fog and Precipitation (29.1).

 1.2 Both sides Ground or Unground Aircraft (29.4).

2. Events Phase

 2.1 Both sides receive Air, Electronic Warfare, Engineer and

     Command Points reinforcements (33).

 2.2 Both sides roll for Events (34).

3.Air Points Phase

 3.1 Both sides roll on the Air Points Table and adjust Current 

     Air Points (19.3).

4. Side 1 Action Phase

 4.1 Orders Reveal Phase

 4.1.1 Reveal Order Chits in the current Turn slot and adjust Max 

       CPs accordingly (14.5).

 4.1.2 Place Current CP markers in the same slot of the 

       corresponding Max CP marker (14.5).

4.2 Orders Execution Phase

 4.2.1 Complete Order Execution (14.7).

 4.2.2 Execute each Revealed Order Chit (14.6).

 4.2.3 Execute Authorized and Unauthorized Posture Changes 

       (6.1.2, 6.1.3).

4.3 Orders Issue Phase

 4.3.1 Issue new Orders (14.4).

4.4 HQ Reconstruction Phase

 4.4.1 Both sides reconstruct destroyed HQs (12.5).

4.5 Engineering Phase

 4.5.1 Prepare River Crossings (9.2).

 4.5.2 Build Defensive Works (31.1).

 4.5.3 Mine Bridges (32.1.2)

 4.5.4 Build Ribbon Bridges (32.2) and Panel Bridges (32.3).

 4.5.5 Allocate Sappers (37.1).

 4.5.6 Deallocate Sappers (37.2).

4.6 Attrition Removal Phase

 4.6.1 Relocate Supply Hubs (30.3.1).

 4.6.2 Rotate units Resting from previous Turn (11.4).

 4.6.3 Execute Resupply (11.3), Rest (11.4) and Refit (11.5). 

4.7 EW Points Phase

 4.7.1 Allocate EW Points to HQs (24.1).

 4.7.2 Deallocate EW Points from HQs (24.2).

4.8 Bombardment Phase

 4.8.1 Both sides attempt to gain additional Intelligence (25).

 4.8.2 Both sides execute Bombardment (20) and Interdiction 

       (21).

4.9 Movement Phase

 4.9.1 Execute Movement and Combat (8, 15).

4.10 Housekeeping Phase

 4.10.1 Remove Breakthrough, Interdiction and Intelligence 

        markers.

 4.10.2 Remove Engaged and Half-Engaged markers from 

        Phasing Units.

 4.10.3 Flip used Helicopters upright (18).

 4.10.4 Remove Delayed markers placed in the previous Turn from 

        Phasing Units (8.4.1). 

5. Side 2 Action Phase

 5.1 Side 2 becomes the Phasing Side and all the steps of 

     Phase 4 are repeated.

6. End Phase

 6.1 Check for removal of Persistent Gas (26.2.2)

 6.2 Check for removal of Nuclear Contamination (27.4).

 6.3 Advance Turn marker on the Time Track.

NATO Card

 So, by now you have either run away screaming for Stratego or some other much simpler game, or you are drooling like my Bassett Hound in anticipation. I drool a lot anyway (the dentist tells me it is a good thing, my wife does not agree) so you cannot judge by me. I will tell you though that games like these were what I was hoping for from a very young age. What I have said about other deep games also applies to this one. You will get out of it in direct proportion what you put into it. Yes Virginia, there is a lot of reading and comprehension, hopefully, involved in playing In a Dark Wood, actually any game from Thin Red Line. The orders and timing along with your unit's posture makes it seem like you are playing three-dimensional Chess, and in a significant way you are. Your unit's attrition and the destruction of an HQ can put your perfectly planned operation on a gurney struggling to live. Just as in chess, you will have to think a few turns ahead if not more. You will also have to have a plan B, C, and D ready in case things do not go your way. On the other hand, you will have to be mentally nimble enough to exploit calamities that occur to your opponent. As the NATO player your job is to play for time until support comes, or time has run out for the Warsaw Pact player. The Warsaw Pact player has a pretty hard job in front of him. The realities of the map make a sudden thrust with armored units a very tough proposition. Think of it as 1944 and you are the Germans trying to get through the Ardennes in the middle of winter. The threat of both Chemical and Nuclear Warfare are also a constant threat to be aware of. So, you have to keep all of the above plates spinning in your head along with mundane things like supply. In a Dark Wood, and its brothers, is a lot like taking a Polar Plunge. The only way to get through it and actually enjoy it is to dive right in. 

 Do not take me the wrong way. There is a ton of stuff in this game. However, the designer has done a marvelous job with the rules and the sequence of play to make playing the game as manageable as possible. 

Scenario

 Thank you, This Red Line Games, for allowing me to take this trip back to my youth and the unsettled political world at the time. It is very hard to believe that 1985 was 40 years ago. I also want to thank them for allowing me to review this excellent wargame. The game was designed by Fabrizio Vianello, and he also did the graphic design. He has designed or helped design the following games about WWIII:

1985: Deadly Northern Lights

1985: Sacred Oil

1985: Under an Iron Sky

The Dogs of War

Die Festung Hamburg

Less Than 60 Miles

In a Dark Wood

 The first three are at the Division/Brigade/Battalion level with 14km per hex. The last four are part of the C3 series and are at the Regiment and Battalion level with 5km per hex. The print runs on these games are small so if you can get into the reprint queue, do yourself a favor and go for it. You will not regret it.

 He also designed the game 'The Fate of All' about Alexander the Greats campaigns and the First War of the Diadochi, my personal favorite for ancient wargames. See the review below. Hint: we need more Diadochi scenarios please I am begging you!

All of the games of this series laid out

Robert Peterson

Thin Red Line Games

In a Dark Wood: C3 Module 4 - Hof Gap

My review of Thin Red Line Games 'The Fate of All':

The Fate of All by Thin Red Line Games - A Wargamers Needful Things