SONG FOR WAR

FROM

INVICTA REX

Song for War came to my attention some time back when seeing it mentioned in ZillaBlitz's list of top ten games, even though it hadn't even been launched on Kickstarter.  After his later videos unboxing and playing through some turns I was sold on this game enough to contact Chris Helm at Invicta Rex.  This led initially to a transatlantic phone call and then a session discussing and playing Song for War with Chris and his fellow designer, Seth Stigliano, on Tabletopia!

There is a lot to unpack both literally and figuratively.  The setting is the whole Mediterranean theatre of WWII presented in an area map painted in some of the richest and most dynamic colours, whether land or sea.  It is eye-poppingly stunning and clear, but clear! The land masses stand out dramatically against the sea areas which are themselves striking, both in changes of colour and in the scattering of depth numbers.  Though the latter play no functional part in game play, they add to the feel of you as supreme commander, pouring over just this sort of operational/strategic map in your nation's war room.

The whole shebang- map, units, markers etc...

Next up are the units - which explains the game's serious heft factor. That's because the proto-type units are wooden with images of the units pasted on.  The final components will remain solid wood pieces, but with even more sumptuous silk-screen printing.  There is a magnificent range, covering various types of ships, aircraft and land units.  Here too the colours are strikingly bold: Germans in red, Italians in yellow, British in blue and US in green.  Not exactly conventional, but you certainly won't confuse them and the whole effect of map and counters is amazing.  You just can't wait to be manoeuvring your units around on this stunning vista.

A closer look at just a small number of units

As you can guess from the four nations, this can accommodate from two to four players.  Perhaps too, because of the desire to accommodate four players, one of whom will be the US, the time span of the main Scenario [6 Turns] is from just before the landings for Operation Torch in November 1942, while a second shorter scenario [4 Turns] starts in April 1943.  Personally, there's more than enough action here to satisfy me with either time span, but the lack of an earlier starting date has been a disappointment for some. My initial thought was that with the physical components at your disposal, I imagined enterprising aficianadoes would be hot on the trail of self-designed preludes.  However, having met the designers, albeit via online video, I'm not surprised that they're already responding by working on just such earlier scenarios.  

More of the stunning counters and map design

To return to those four players, you'll be playing as two teams of two cooperative players.  That in itself appeals to me, because like many other aspects of this game it adds to the sandbox element of the game's concept and intention.  Player personality may definitely exert an influence here.  Will your co-nation player be an accommodating partner or will the sort of historical rivalries that bedevilled Allied relationships raise their head, as each of you thinks they know best how to pursue this war. 

It's worth emphasising the sand box nature of this game that I've just mentioned.  This game will only go down an historical road if all the players choose to follow it.  This is NOT a game scripted by its rules to pursue a largely defined historical path.  In fact, some of its most innovative elements will, I think, lead you in the opposite direction. 

British ships in deadly danger from Italian forces

Song for War's conception certainly visually has roots back in the designers' younger days playing Axis and Allies and conversation with them confirmed that, but in all respects they have equally achieved their goal to produce something richer and deeper and truly innovative. They've also succeeded in producing a system that is both highly interactive, while retaining a high fun-level factor - an element that has been singled out by all the enthusiastic video reviewers. 

Before moving on to explore the overall system in more detail, I'd like to take you through some of the details regarding the final finished product.  What you already see in the prototype is stunning in its own right, what you will get in the released game will be even more so.

The map from the Axis perspective

First of all that gorgeous map will be mounted in two sections, each of six panels combining to form a 54"x 31" playing area.  The majority of the many [475 to be precise] units will be  silk-screened on painted wooden pieces, while the 24 unique pieces will be in 3D plastic.  The hidden fleet dials will be cardboard fastened by a plastic rivet and each of the four nations will have a very solid Play Aid detailing all the relevant information for each unit.  Victory objective markers will also be wooden and each nation has a small deck of National Support cards.  Finally the Rule Booklet is a substantial full colour print measuring 330mm x 330mm.

All this, even in its prototype form, was enough to do more than get my attention.  Added to this were the extensive playthroughs on YouTube presented by reviewers and the designers themselves.  However, the absolute certainty that I wanted this game was cemented by having the opportunity to explore directly the system via Tabletopia with the two designers, Chris and Seth, and discuss with them their intentions and the background to the game and its design.

The British Play Aid

At first sight, each game Turn [called Stages] appears fairly conventional and consists of four Phases.  

Phase One : Tactical

Phase Two : Victory 

Phase Three : National Support

Phase Four : Resupply

Phases 2 - 4 are very swift to execute.  

Victory Phase 

This is the simple observation of the VPs  racked up this turn by each of the two sides, Axis and Allied.  These are scored for a variety of Objectives and the total will be visually recorded by wooden tiles which are placed against  a printed scale on the edge of the map.  No need to do even the simplest of addition.  The linear placement of these tiles will always record exactly what the score is at any point in the game. Both sides have totals which, if achieved, immediately win the game.

National Support Phase  

At the beginning of this Phase, each nation will draw 2 cards from their individual deck of National Support cards and will also be given a very small number of National Support tokens which they can spend to buy these cards.  Tokens may be saved from Stage to Stage and the cards cover four categories -  Strategy, Unit Upgrades, Unique Units and Events.  All of these will impact play either temporarily or in the long term.  It's for you to decide which cards to buy  and when you play them.  Plenty of decision making and flavour here.

The distinctive backs of each Nation's National Support Cards

Resupply Phase

Each nation gains supply points from the Objectives they control and can purchase new units with them.  The rules for this Phase are still simple, but a step up from most games, as each Objective is rated for Land, Sea and Air supply and obviously you can buy only the appropriate type of unit with its corresponding supply type.  Add to that the additional effect on your supply of controlling shipping lanes on the map and you can see just one significant way the designers have sought to create a much more detailed and realistic game, with simple, clear rules.

Tactical Phase

Though the first Phase in each Stage, I've kept it for last, as it is the heart of the game, will occupy most of your playing time and contains all of the most innovative elements of this game.  The designers' goals were to achieve a highly interactive system with little downtime that would appeal to a wide range of gamers.

The table showing all Movement steps and all Combat steps

Here is how they have achieved their goals. The first, and in my view, most significant decision was to divide the Tactical Phase into six separate Movement steps, with some lighter, faster units [e.g. fighters] having the ability to move [and potentially attack] in more than one of the Movement steps.  To explain further I shall outline play in Stage 1.

Being an odd numbered Stage, the two Allied Nations go first.  [On even numbered Stages, the Axis go first.] So they perform Movement Step 1- fighters and submarines move and as they move into an enemy occupied area they place a Combat marker and then resolve any legal attacks in the order shown on the Combat steps side of the table above.  Any defending enemy units that can legally fire do so.  This combat is simultaneous and as in many games, Combat is only mandatory when entering an area solely occupied by enemy units; on entering a contested area it's optional. 

Next the Axis nations repeat exactly what the Allies did - moving their fighters and submarines, marking where combat must occur and both sides performing eligible fire simultaneously. Each of the first five Movement steps follows this identical pattern creating an exceptionally highly interactive system of movement and combat.  

Movement step 6 is different, as all aircraft simply return to eligible bases or aircraft carriers.  Beware moving aircraft moving in earlier turns and being out of range of bases to return to.  Beware even more the enemy capturing your base/s!

This intertwining of Movement and Combat is, as far as I'm aware, the unique design concept and one that has been developed to make play engrossing and above all a fun experience. Inextricably part of this is the equally innovative handling of Combat.  Virtually all units are divided into one of three categories of Firepower shown by a colour code: blue, yellow or red. Similarly, each unit will also be designated as belonging to one of three defensive Armour colours; once again blue, yellow or red.  This hierarchy of colour from blue to red runs from weakest to strongest.  So a unit of blue Firepower can only hit a unit of blue Defence armour, whereas a unit of yellow Firepower can hit units that have either yellow or blue Defence armour.   To make this system even easier to operate, there are matching blue, yellow and red dice.  In among this are a very, very few special units that have the greatest strength and these are coded black!!  A further look at the British Player Aid below shows that for this nation blue and yellow predominate.

Every single piece of information needed is to be found on this one Player Aid for each nationality.  Movement, Armour type and Firepower type along with a variety of symbols that tell you what type of units you can attack, any special abilities that the units possesses and the cost to buy the unit in the Resupply Phase.  Consequently, each of your units simply displays a very familiar identifying image and an equally familiar lettered designation e.g. a tank symbol and the letter T.  The final item of information on the Player Aid is each unit's Firepower hit number.  No complicated combat charts, just a simple "to hit" number - roll equal or higher on a 12-sided dice and you've scored a hit.  Another factor I welcome wholeheartedly in the Combat system is that normally a unit can only fire on units that are of the same or lesser Defence colour as the Attacking unit's Firepower colour.  However, a neat addition allows two units of the same Firepower to defer their attack until the very last step of Combat in order to fire on a unit whose Defence Armour is one colour level higher 

Alongside these broad, overarching, distinctive elements of the system are some additional simple features either not generally found in most war games or here given greater definition without greater complexity of rules.  These include features such as: units when moving can attempt pass-through movement at the expense of suffering a simple defensive die-rolls; and more nuanced distinctions between eligible targets   

An area marked for Combat

[note the black marker indicates the Axis are the Attackers]

Only one area has raised a question and that is solo play and, in particular, the lack of a designed solo system.  As a gamer who began in the fairly early days of the hobby, when approx. 75% of gamers played entirely solo for lack of anyone else, the simple and only solution was play both [or even multiple sides] to the best of your ability.  All I would say for Song for War is that virtually everything that makes its system so innovative and special - namely its high degree of interaction, multiple simple steps, multiple avenues of movement and multiple paths to capturing the crucial Objective areas - make a solo system either impossible or would produce an A.I. that would remove the very fluidity, variety and flexibility that is the heart of this game.  I, for one, will happily want to explore this game solo playing all sides as best I can, while seeking every opportunity to play it with all number of potential players, whether two, three or four. 

A final look at the whole picture 

Behind the qualities of this game are the co-designers and producers of this game, Chris and Seth, who have been incredibly generous of their time in discussing and allowing me to share in game play with them and readily respond on the various internet platforms to all questions and suggestions.

So to sum up, here are the key factors that make me consider this game an absolute must-have.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION QUALITIES

STUNNING VISUAL AND TACTILE APPEAL 

HIGHLY INTERACTIVE SEQUENCE OF PLAY

MAJOR INNOVATIVE INTEGRATED MOVEMENT AND COMBAT SYSTEM

EASY TO EXECUTE MECHANICS

GREAT VARIETY OF PLAY

AND ABOVE ALL ... A FUN EXPERIENCE 

  

 

 VON MANSTEIN'S TRIUMPH

FROM

NAC WARGAMES

Initially, I was drawn to Von Manstein's Triumph purely by the bold dynamic box art.  It may be good advice not to judge a book by its cover, but I'm more than glad that this striking picture caught my attention and made me explore further! 

The game is published by NAC Wargames, itself a branch of the Spanish Publisher, Ediciones MasQueOca.  Up to now, the latter company's focus has been on providing Spanish and Portuguese language versions of well-known designs. The company's avowed intent now is to focus on historical wargames that relate to the history of Spain.  

Though Von Manstein's Triumph may geographically and in terms of nationality lie outside this intent, I can only express my delight that this superb design from Francisco Ronco has been one of their choices.  It's also warm thanks to NAC and Ediciones MasQueOca for providing this copy for me to review.

First of all, its components live up to the extremely high standards of the company's past publications and secondly, the design brings a series of new twists both to the field of block units, area movement and card-driven games.

Though Manstein features in the title of a fair number of wargames, including at least two that cover the siege of Sevastopol, all those that I am aware of utilise the standard hex and counter system that is the basis of much wargaming design.

Starting with the components, every item ticks the box for excellence.  The map is a deluxe mounted version sporting a Spanish text version on one side and an English version on the other.

This direct, overhead view picks out clearly the sombre relief, the trench defences, clearly marked VP flags, ferry points and heavy soviet shore batteries, along with all necessary charts and a simple combat display for transferring your units to.  Your forces are wooden blocks of first-rate smoothness.  I mention this because of the tendency of several more recently purchased block games I possess to have slightly ribbed or striated surfaces - not as good for sticking power. 

An additional point in this attention to quality is the inside of the sturdy box, which instead of the usual plain white cardboard is printed with similar details to those on the Playbook.

A touch of box quality

 As usual there is the familiar set of adhesive labels to apply, though as the photo shows this is a relatively low block count - so not an onerous task.  The units are based on divisions that possess from 2 to 4 individual blocks identified by colour-coding and a number of  independent units identified by white colouring.  It is this colour coding which brings my single criticism of the presentation.  First, the typical black dots that indicate the strength of a unit are very small and hard to make out against the generally dark background of the labels. but the major problem lies in distinguishing the colour-coding of the divisions when playing under artificial lighting.

Having initially played in normal daylight, they were perfectly identifiable and attractive, but later play on a wintery evening revealed the problem of clearly differentiating units, especially as divisions begin to intermingle.

On the other hand, praise goes out for the sheet of counter stickers containing two identical sets.  Although I've never had a problem with ones peeling off other games, this is always a nice sign of a company's careful attention to potential player needs.

Next up is a single sheet of cardboard markers, ranging from the obvious turn marker to a colourful range of assets, including bunkers, anti-tank guns, armour and pioneers, as well as minefields, area control markers for the German player, and trench destroyed markers.

They all punch out perfectly with the much appreciated, rounded corners that are becoming a more familiar item from many companies.

At the heart of game play are the two decks of cards, one for each nationality.  I find the backs of the cards particularly appealing, with their strong feel of wartime propaganda posters.  

Included with them are similar-sized cards giving each player's card manifest, terrain effects, counter and marker effects, a very useful short-hand list of modifiers to the number of dice thrown in combat and finally the Sequence of Play.  All these and the larger Play Aids, one for each player that summarise the usage of all the different cards in the Player Decks, are helpfully printed in Spanish on one side and English on the other. 

Play Aid detailing usage of cards in the Player Decks

All in all, an admirable package, completed by what's becoming almost the norm in board wargames, a separate rulebook and playbook.  Both are very glossy products with an abundance of illustrations.  The Playbook starts with 5 pages of photographs that show the Set-Up map section by map section; a very useful asset indeed.  Next is a page and a half of Design Notes and slightly more than a page of Player Notes, followed by six pages of Historical Commentary.  All this is rounded off by a five-page example that takes you through the first turn of the game - once more a feature that is always welcome, however easy to understand the rules are.

These two photos show the consistently high level of illustration used throughout.

The Rulebook is supported to the same degree with pictorial examples and, basically, the Sequence of Play is ultra-simple.  Apart from a preliminary German Bombardment on Turn 1, each Turn follows two identical Phases; the German Action Phase and the Soviet Action Phase.  Each Player's Deck of cards contains four different types: Assault, Reaction, Order and Combat Support.  Though essentially simple, play is by no means simplistic and what might, at first, seem an igo-ugo system has a degree of back and forth play that means that both players are totally involved and engaged.

Another distinctive feature that helps the game to shine is the asymetrical design of the decks.  Both players have a core element of Assault cards, but even here there are distinct differences, as the German player has far more of these that are dual action allowing them to interrupt the Soviet Action Phase.  In the same way both the Order and Combat Support cards include a mix of near identical cards and those specific only to one player. By these means the decks create the appropriate emphasis between the attacking besieger and the defensive besieged. [Here I would love to see the system adapted for ancient or medieval siege warfare.]  A final point to make about the cards is that both players draw to full hand size at the end of each Player Phase rather than at the end of a complete Turn.  This adds greatly to keeping both players constantly absorbed in the game play

Player Aid summarising the effects of all the different cards

As the cards are the very heart of the system, I can think of few games that go to such lengths to make sure that you both understand them and then can use them with the minimal amount of effort and rule checking.   First of all, they are introduced in detail, step-by-step early in the rule book and then a three-page section at the end of the rulebook summarises each one.  As shown above, each player has a player aid that sums up the use of both his cards and his opponents, as well as most of the counters used in the game.

One of three pages summarising each card's usage

Oddly there are one or two German counters not included on the large player aid, though they are all clearly explained in the rule book and covered by the three small playing-card sized aids that cover Terrain effects, Counters and Markers and Combat dice.  Finally, each card in your Action Deck pictorially shows how to use it.  Consequently, after a few games, you'll find yourself playing smoothly with each card's use easily fixed in your head.  

Front cover of the Playbook

So, how does the game play out.  Being the besieger, the drive and onus of the action is naturally on the German player.  They have certain advantages, the most obvious being hand-size which is 8 cards as against the Soviet player's 6 cards.  They also have more cards that can inflict hits as opposed to the Soviet ability to place bunkers and minefields and, though both sides start in defensible trench areas, predominantly it's going to be the German player who's leaving their own protection behind to advance into the Soviet trenches.   As mentioned earlier, the German player also has more double-use cards that allow an immediate reaction during the Soviet player Phase.

Generally, the German player will be seeking to soften up areas with air strikes and heavy or superheavy artillery in order to weaken Soviet blocks and destroy the fixed coastal batteries printed on the map.  The Soviet player for their part has field artillery and the power of those coastal batteries, as well as the ability to place bunkers and minefields.  Other abilities from card play cover ATs, Stugs, fighter cover and fighter escorts and mortars, while the map itself includes those powerful coastal batteries that are so important for the German player to destroy, ferry crossing points an anti-tank ditch and a plethora of trench lines.

It is, like any siege, a difficult grind forward for the attacker, but the variety of action and play and counter-play of cards, all so simply, but effectively introduced whether as Actions, Orders or Combat Support, makes the experience a continually dynamic and tension filled one.   Whichever side you play, you'll find yourself fully engaged and immersed the whole of the game.

 

 V-SABOTAGE

MINIATURE PACK

FROM

TRITON-NOIR

As promised a few days ago, here is more a gallery tour of the visual and physical delights of this latest expansion as the photos mainly speak for themselves.  So does the depth of the box which can better be appreciated from this angle.

Because of its contents including two trays of miniatures, this is not just the largest expansion, but substantially larger than the core game box. Also, because the fact that the heart of this package is the 65 miniatures, I feel I need to quote my original comment on the game in 2017:

"Certainly, the very good quality, circular, cardboard discs that represent the many single-man figures in the game are high on that list.  I had imagined buying and painting some commando figures [of which there are many fine products on the market], but soon decided that I much preferred what you see here."

I confess that I still rate the Commando counters very highly for their size, solidity and vibrant colours, but with what I can show you now I'm not going to be letting these miniatures sit idle in their perfect moulded containers.

This first set contains all your relentless enemies in four different poses, plus 2 alarm units.  I particularly like these models of hand-cranked alarms that immediately have my ears resounding to their imagined wail!

The second container holds five very individualised Commando figures, plus a further five figures representing the Commandos when disguised in German uniforms.  In addition, there are ten models of elite German troops armed with StG44s and three sandbag machine gun nests with separate MG42s.

Also visible in my photo are two good quality cloth bags to hold enemy reserve and equipment reserve and, just about visible, are the red plastic base rings that are attached to a Commando when he/she becomes visible and removed when the Commando returns to stealthy status.

Though the figures are the major draw of this expansion, there is considerably more to the box's contents than plastic.  There's plenty to satisfy my liking for cardboard. There are 54 enemy reinforcement tokens and a double-sided enemy board and, even more to gain my applause, a total of 25 new indoor/outdoor tiles, comprising 15 small, 3 medium sized and a superb 7 large tiles. 

To illustrate just one of the large tiles on its outdoor side, I've included a couple of German soldiers, along with an alarm machine and a machine gun nest.  While the next shot presents two large tiles on their indoor side, plus two of the different German soldier poses and the three types of doors.

And finally, what I hope you've been waiting for, a glimpse of the Commando figures: the first one on the left is in German officer disguise, while the other two are only too obviously undisguised!

Another very impressive large tile helps to provide a dramatic background to two more Commandos facing off against two German troopers.

The last item in the box is the rulebook, though not quite what you might be expecting.  It's a mere 4 pages, of which one page is the front cover and the second page [which really, really does not do justice to what is in this package] shows the contents of the box.

And the final two pages explain how to utilise specific aspects of the figures and tokens.

This Expansion is the icing on the cake with the cherry on the top and will be very, very hard to resist and so, it is with an extra big thanks to Triton-Noir for sending me a copy to review and I hope that my photos have given you an appetite for a more personal acquaintance with this addition.

V-SABOTAGE:GHOST EXPANSION 

from

TRITON NOIR

If this series is new to you, I'd strongly recommend a read of my earlier review of the core game, V-Commandos [note, too, the change of name to V-Sabotage] to understand the basics on which all subsequent expansions build.  It goes without saying that the core game is essential for the play of any expansion, including this one.

So, what does this latest expansion add.  Well, once more, quite a lot!  More cards, more tokens, more commando operatives, more terrain tiles, more missions, more dice and more rules.  For once, I'm going to start with the rules, as I think these are the most cogent reason for buying this expansion.  Why?  Because they offer three modes for playing: XP Mode, Lone Wolf Mode and Campaign Mode. 

XP MODE

This allows your commandos to gain new abilities [XP = experience].  These are provided in the form of two decks of Experience cards.  As you complete 1 objective of a Level card, one of your commandos draws a card from each deck and keeps one of them.  Apart from the cards, another new component are 18 double-sided commando display sheets. Each commando can possess only a maximum of 3 cards, but can always draw two new ones, choose one and discard one of the those already on his/her display sheet.  A neat counterbalance to the benefits of XP Mode is that you also randomly draw a Danger Token - definitely not a benefit!

I don't think most of you will find it too difficult to know which film and actor influenced this Commando Display Sheet! [Just in case, the answer is at the end of my review*].

If you're playing cooperatively, you will need to decide an acceptable method for deciding whose Commando gets to draw and keep the card.  Randomly with the roll of a die is one obvious solution, the Commando whose action actually completes the objective is another, though this may affect game play and introduce a note of competition.  I'd never really contemplated this before, as I'd always seen cooperative play as involving the players spending some time discussing how they would proceed.

LONE WOLF MODE

As I often play solitaire, running two or three Commandos, those new Commando Display Sheets are a nice addition for keeping track of items.  However, Lone Wolf provides just my cup of tea... all you are allowed is one Commando [plus, if you wish, a trusty dog called Gander!] for the mission, whether it be a single level, an operation or a campaign.  

One trusty dog, as mentioned!

What to do is covered, whether you're playing with the core box or one of the previous two expansions and you must always incorporate XP mode rules.  Do I need to say that this part of the expansion is definitely for the experienced player!

Even better, among the several new Operations, one is a special Operation, entitled Operation One-Eyed Ghost from which the expansion gets its name.

Based as always on an historical background, there is an excellent one-page outline of the war time career of Leo Major, whose story steps straight out of any book entitled Amazing Tales! Enjoy, if you dare.  Too tough for your liking, well you can always add in some extra commandos for back up.

CAMPAIGN MODE

This really is very simply the sequencing of several Operations, making sure that you maintain the same number of commandos and accumulating all that you acquire as you move from Operation to Operation.  In itself nothing greatly original in the idea, until combined with the final section of this Expansion's rule book: Challenges and Medals.

The Challenges are divided into six categories: Combat, Equipment, Game Modifiers, Levels & Operations, Commandos and finally Stealth.  Each Challenge successfully completed has an accompanying number.  These are ticked off on the Medals chart working your way up from King's Recommendation for Brave Conduct to the ultimate Victoria Cross.  There is even a set of stickers to apply as you gain a medal!  And if you don't want to spoil your rule book, you can always download a copy of the medals page from Triton-Noir's site and, in case one sticker set of medals isn't enough, the game provides three.  

It's these little touches of completion and thought for gamers that I really like about Triton-Noir's production levels.  It goes without saying that every aspect of this Expansion adheres to the first-class production quality of the original core game.  The striking monochromatic artwork is reflected in the pairs of new Operation cards, Level cards, Event cards and XP cards.  

The many new tokens are as large, solid and colourful as ever, especially those for the Bonus Commandos and SS Enemies.  Similarly, the additional double-sided tiles for creating the terrain for the Levels are top notch; especially this large tank one below.

.... and if this Expansion isn't enough for you, just wait for my next review featuring the next addition to the series - Expansion: Miniatures Pack!

As always, a big thank you to all at Triton-Noir for providing this review copy.

-------------------------

*Commando Display Answer: Clint Eastwood in Where Eagles Dare

 

And just in case, you need more cinematic reminders of that excellent film, one of the new Level cards just happens to be ... 

the Cable-Car!

 Monte Cassino

A German View

by Rudolf Bohmer

  This is an older book that was published in German in 1956. This translation is exactly what a reader who is interested in the Italian Campaign and the Battle of Monte Cassino is looking for. Despite the name of the book, the author goes into the entire Italian Campaign from the invasion of Sicily to fighting for the heights of Monte Cassino. The author was actually a German officer during the campaign. So he has first hand knowledge of a lot of the battles for Italy. 

 He starts the book with the choices that the Allies had in 1943. Whether to attack Italy proper, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia, or the Balkans. Churchill fought long and hard for an invasion of the Balkans, but the American brass would have none of it. The author shows how the Germans were confused by the tentativeness of the Allies, and how they helped the Germans repeatedly to fight the battle for Italy on their terms.

 Monte Cassino was one of the linchpins of the Germans' 'Gustav Line' of defense across the width of Italy. The tenacious German defense, and offensive at Salerno, allowed the Germans to build a series of defensive lines, each tougher than the last. 

 Even though he was a German officer, the author has nothing but praise for the individual Allied Units. In the Italian Campaign the Allies had a polyglot group of Units from across the globe. According the the writer, the French North African troops came very close to capturing Monte Cassino on their very first attack. Unfortunately, they had far outrun any of their supports on either flank. This meant that the battle became a hell on earth for the common soldier for the next few months. 

 The next part of the battle that he goes into is the very controversial, even at the time, Allied decision to bomb the monastery at the top of Monte Cassino. The author quotes scripture and verse about how the Germans helped the monks move everything valuable out of the monastery and turned it over to the Vatican. All this, in the middle of a battle. The truth of the Germans helping with the removal, and the fact that there were never any Germans inside the monastery until after the bombing, has been proved factual after the war. The bombing of the monastery was actually one of the few propaganda coups that the Western Allies handed the Germans during the war.

 This is for the reader who wants to know the intimate details of the Allied and German strategical choices and plans about the Italian campaign. If someone wants to read about the minute details of the tactical battle for Monte Cassino, this is also the book. The author has an uncanny way of moving from large overviews about the campaign to boots on the ground without skipping the proverbial beat. To refer this book to anyone interested in either parts of the campaign is a no-brainer. This is a very well written and detailed look at it. Thank you very much Casemate Publishers for letting me review it.

Robert

Book: Monte Cassino: A German View

Author: Rudolf Bohmer

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 

 COMPANY OF HEROES

FROM

BAD CROW GAMES

To quote from the post on BGG: "Bad Crow Games is a consortium of game designers and publishers from Utah. The staff comprises multiple entrepreneurs and game designers that have previously published their own titles.

The group has come together to design games off of their new real time strategy mechanic that allows players the experience of RTS action video games in a board game format."

As a player of computer games who actively seeks out turn-based military games that recreate on the PC the hex and counter experience I love in board wargames, I may not be the best to comment on this reverse process.

What I can say is that Company of Heroes hits all my sweet spots and it's a great round of thanks to Bad Crow Games for providing me with this review copy. This is their second game to be published and what a choice and what a publication!

The immediate visual factor bowled me over.  This is the incredible stack that emerged from one of, if not the heaviest game parcels I've ever received.  For this review I'm going to focus on the massive core box, but hope to explore later the additional Cooperative/Solo expansion that was one of the generous bonuses included from Bad Crow Games

What emerges as these boxes are unpacked is astonishing, what's even more amazing is that the contents in the core box that I'm going to show you all repack in a way that I wouldn't have believed possible.

This is nearly everything, just from the core box which is one of the deepest I've come across.  First of all, that stack of maps contains four, each 30" x 20" and double-sided.  Each pair combines to form a 30" x 40" map: Stalingrad, Monastery, Trois Ponts and Hill 331.  The first three have clear historical origins from the Siege of Stalingrad, Monte Cassino and the Battle of the Bulge, while the last comes from the COH2 PC version, though the board game map itself doesn't seem to mirror the computer version as far as I could see..

They are all stunning to look at with large 3" hexes; Stalingrad [seen below] and Trois Ponts being my personal favourites.

The Mission Booklet provides  a wide range of scenarios from small ones using half of a single map to massive 4 mappers.  My only disappointment is that most of these Huge Scenarios demand maps from two copies of the game!  [That said, I'm lucky that a close friend and fellow gamer has his own Kickstarter copy,  so somewhere down the line everything is possible - just need a huge table now!] 

Next up comes the four sets of units for the four nationalities:  British, American, German and Russian.  Each is perfectly accommodated in its own separate plastic storage box.

Above is the German box.  Notice the tray on the right that houses each soldier perfectly making both storage and game play so smooth.  Just lift out what you need as required and slot back in as a unit is destroyed!  Incredibly compact, it helps to keep the fairly large footprint of this game down to a reasonably manageable size!

Apart from appreciating this major benefit,  I was stunned by two things: the variety of vehicles offered for each nationality and the quality of their casting.  Not only do they look great, they are of a weighty heft that I have not found even in many models designed purely for figure gaming!

Equally impressive is Terrain Pack 1 which was part of the amazing package Bad Crow Games sent me.  I had expected mainly good cardboard overlays, but instead we're treated to nine two story buildings in plastic.  Each has a removable section of wall to allow placement of infantry units inside to add an element of FOW [fog of war].  If you don't want to add in that advanced rule, the unit just sits neatly on the roof.

In addition you can see an assortment of barbed wire, sandbags and tank obstacles.  The strange central items are a key factor in the resource/victory point management element of the game - more about those later.

Returning to the core box itself, you'll find the next tray contains a fascinating array of mainly specialised dice and coloured cubes, along with a set of clear transparent bases for your various vehicles and infantry units.  The plastic bags contain figure markers to add to infantry bases to show machine gun and mortar units and notice the two sand timers.  Quality and storage are again first class - though here I have virtually my only concern about the contents... please supply more of the transparent bases, particularly those for vehicles.  I know that they are not as necessary for vehicles, but they are a great addition to the game.

As COH unfortunately wasn't available other than by Kickstarter, I shall have to wait until the upcoming Kickstarter COH 1.5 where, I've been assured, the popular demand for more will be satisfied.  Thanks Bad Crow to listening to your fans.

On top of all this are two sheets of cardboard items which when punched out look like this...

... and neatly fill the remaining empty spaces in the previous tray.

Finally rounding out all this hardware are four HQ boards, one for each nationality, 12 Building Cards and 20 Commander Cards, which I'll explain in more detail when I look at the game's system and rules.

These come in three handsome booklets providing Basic Rules, Advanced Rules and Missions.  All three mirror the game's component quality being printed on thick glossy paper, with even more substantial card quality outer covers.  The rules themselves are abundantly illustrated throughout and follow the easy to understand chronology of the sequence of play.  This is a game that can please and be enjoyed and understood by 

 both newbies and grognards.

Looking beyond the deluxe quality, we come to what sets Company of Heroes as much more than what might place it as a super rival to Memoir 44 or Tide of Iron.  The game's system is built on a familiar basic format.

ROUND

Manoeuvre Phase;

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Damage Phase

Supply Phase

A very familiar outline, but each Phase introduces novel elements and successful developments.  Also, it is important to note the use of "Round" for the more familiar word "turn" [which has a different use to divide up the stages of the Manoeuvre Phase, as will be explained further in the next paragraph].

First of all, Manoeuvre springs an immediate surprise - each Player begins a Round with nine Command Points to be spent on moving in the Manoeuvre Phase.  These points are spent over those 3 turns with a maximum of 3 pts spent per turn.  You cannot hold back points to spend in a subsequent turn - so, for example, no spending 2 pts in turn 1 and then 4 pts in turn 2 and then 3 pts in turn 3.  Nor can any individual unit, with a few special exceptions, spend more than 3 pts of movement over the whole Round.

Here an M10 Wolverine has used its maximum 3 pts of movement in a Round and falls just short of being able to enter and take control of a Munitions control point.

Each player spends his/her parcel of 3 pts alternately.  I've already found this produces a new and enjoyable tactical element to moving, as players jockey for position.  Do you counter your opponent's direction of movement?  Do you pursue your own separate goal?  Can you deceive your opponent as to your main goal or are you being lured astray by your opponent?  A great sense of interaction is easily and effectively developed with minimum effort and very simple rules.  

Closely allied to these movement rules and adding a further influence on where you may decide to move are the rules for the third Phase of a Round: namely the Supply Phase.  Being used to the conventional and while nigh universal concept of supply in board wargames being trace back to a supply point or suffer some penalties either in movement and/or combat, COH's approach reflects both its computer origins and a strong dose of Eurogame influence.

Here's where those strange looking objects shown earlier come in.

They mark in 3D where various types of supply are located; the range includes Manpower, Fuel, Munitions and Victory Points.  Also, when you capture a supply hex, you place a coloured flag to indicate control.  All the mapboards have such locations' symbols printed on them and these are the default locations.  However, many of the scenarios introduce different locations and provide a cardboard marker to show the type of supply.

This feature of the game is a great illustration of Bad Crow's willingness to go the extra mile to try to cater for and satisfy individual player's preferences and can be exemplified in the photo below, taken from a close up of the Stalingrad board.

At top right you see the printed supply location of a hex that contains both Fuel and Victory Point symbols.  To the left is a location with a marker showing Munition Supply and the 3D flag pole, plus a red flag showing which Player controls it.  Finally, on the far left, you see the Manpower marker [the fist on an olive green background] and for those who might find the 3D marker not to their taste, you have the alternative of a cardboard control marker.  

This striving for different types of supply is for me a crucial and rewarding aspect of the game, as these locations and fighting for them directs and fuels the major thrust of the game.  It also influences and drives other key decisions made in the Supply Phase. Each Round you adjust the different types of Supply Income according to what you already control and what you have newly captured.  Inevitably, a Supply Point captured from the enemy increases your Income by one, but also decreases your opponent's by one.  These points are then added to your stockpile and used to buy a wide range of items.

This is where the well designed HQ Board, shown in the photo above,  plays its part.  The white cubes mark your Income in the upper part of the display and your Stockpiles in the lower section.  Default starting points for scenarios are as seen.  Again Bad Crow Games have produced the perfect model by using recessed boards and good cardstock mounted on plastic bases. 

So, fighting for Supply has been made an important and rewarding part of the game, providing not only a narrative drive, but opening up a new dimension in subsequent game play.  The wide range of choices and how the designers have factored them in are another major reason for my rating this game so highly.  This brings me to the next original element: the Building Boards.

Each nationality has three each and at the start of a Scenario, you have access only to the first Building Board.  In the photo, this is Wermacht Headquarters.  These give you all the information you need about each of your type of units that are currently available.  The default starting units for scenarios are any two infantry type units.  Reading along the top line, you start with the unit strength, its range for fire, its type of attack, any special ability and cost to buy.  The second line divides into two sections: on the left, upgrades that can be built with Experience points [this is an advanced game rule] and on the right, basic rule upgrades bought with Munition points.

New units don't just appear according to some preordained scenario schedule, but have to be bought from combinations of different types of Supply.  Showing its PC origins, the terminology used in the rules  for producing your reinforcements and where they appear which is actually printed on the Mission booklet maps is the word ... SPAWN!  [Urrh! Sorry, guys, but this just conjures up sinister eggs, face-huggers and aliens!  Please this is WWII.]

Anyway that's what the Supply Phase is all about - logging your current Supply income, adding it to your stockpiles, buying reinforcements and buying their available upgrades. There are two final vital actions that can be performed in the Supply Phase.  One is to unlock your 2nd and 3rd Building Cards which will provide a wider and stronger range of units to buy.  The other action is introduced in what can best be described as a coda to the Basic Rules.  This involves Experience Points that are gained by damaging and eliminating units and can be spent either to unlock further unit upgrades or to buy abilities from the last component in the core game: Commander Cards.  Each nationality possesses several of these, but only one can be chosen for any scenario.

It is very much these Building Cards and Commander Cards that give each nationality its individuality, flavour and variations.  Again, this is a major plus for the quality and scope of COH.  Should this not be enough for you, the core box rounds off with a slim Advanced Rules booklet that adds mainly minor refinements to rules for some some units, such as arcs of fire, retreat for infantry in addition to manoeuvre, refined pinning, slow units and turrets. The two new introductions are damage to buildings and the ability to build battlefield defences like sand bags and razor-wire.  

Having skipped from Phase 1 Manoeuvre straight to Phase 3 Supply, to complete my exploration we need to return to Phase 2 Damage.  In other words, what's normally titled Combat.  In keeping with the originality seen at every step so far, Damage has plenty of newness to offer.  No CRTs [Combat Results Tables], no conventional six sided dice, no attack nor defence strengths.  Instead both sides place their Damage dice in the Damage Phase into the hexes of those units they can and want to attack, with the appropriate Damage symbol uppermost. There are just 4 types of damage: Anti-Infantry, Armour-Piercing, High Explosive and Flame.  A display shows what a particular type of unit can attempt to defend against and what it must automatically take a hit from.  As there are only four types of unit: Infantry, Light Vehicle, Heavy Vehicle and Emplacement, this results in an ultra-simple 4x4 matrix to work with.  Placing damage dice and rolling for saves is simultaneous.  This not only replicates the real-time play of the original computer game, but also is perhaps a more realistic representation of combat. Below is a typical example of infantry combat, where both sides inflict an automatic hit.  Obviously this is an aspect of the game that will draw support from some and disapproval from others.  Personally, this balance of automatic and hits and those that might be saved is an effective and successful approach.

Consequently, the Damage Phase is remarkably swift and easy to execute.  Roll all the dice that can attempt to avoid damage and then take the hits that remain.  This Phase is very easy, very visual and very satisfying and I particularly like the fact that some of those potential upgrades I've discussed earlier include the ability to add defence shielding dice and increase damage abilities.  A great idea, illustrated below with an American infantry stand that has been given a shield upgrade.

Oh, one last item - the sand timers.  If you want to recreate a flash of the hectic play of the original realtime computer game, then these can be used to hasten play along.  Never having had lightning reflexes, this is not a factor for me and would detract from the pleasure of move and countermove that the game so satisfyingly creates.  But the choice is there, which is one of the many strengths of this design.  Though COH is primarily a game of tactical warfare, it also has the flexibility of a superb sandbox to create your own scenarios with designated supply provision, reinforcement entry, specific goals and much more.

At the moment, however, I'm still happily exploring the Mission booklet and learning the strengths and weaknesses of the different nationalities and the different forces each can field. 

Unfortunately, the one and only draw back is that this was not produced for retail sale.  On the other hand the good news is that a Kickstarter for COH 1.5 is in hand.  I shall certainly be exploring some of the expansions and getting some more of those promised additional excellent figure trays.  If you haven't yet bought into this system, I would strongly recommend it as high on any list to consider for its superb quality, accessibility, scope and innovation and sheer pleasure to play.