Crusades: Book I

Sword & Siege Series

by

Wargame Design Studio

 

 The words Deus vult! erupt across Christendom in the Year of Our Lord 1095. Pope Urban II has sent his best preachers all throughout Europe to drum up Lords and soldiers to retake Jerusalem from the Moslems. Never mind that the city has been under Moslem rule since 637 or 638 A.D. So, this call to the masses to rescue the city is almost 500 years too late. I guess the Pope felt that it was better late than never. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, was looking for some mercenary help from his Catholic brethren. Instead, he started an avalanche of the faithful coming straight at Constantinople. The date for the start of the 1st Crusade is generally given as 1095. However, it was not the actual first crusade to the Holy Land. The People's Crusade left for Asia Minor earlier than the Lords and martial crusaders. The People's Crusade was crushed at the Battle of Civetot in Anatolia. One of the leaders of this crusade was Peter the Hermit, who will become a big part of the history of the 1st Crusade. Wargame Design Studio has given us a new series of games in which this game is the flagship offering. So, let us see what the digital wizards of WDS have cooked up for us this time.

 This is what they have to say about it:

"Crusades: Book I includes 65 Scenarios – covering a variety of sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario, five Training scenarios, Historical, Variant and What If versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.

A range of maps are included covering all the significant locations fought over during the 1st & 2nd Crusades and some of lesser known locations.

The order of battle files cover the various forces that participated in the campaigns with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

There are extensive 3d unit graphics covering all of the major armies involved.

Campaign and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main maps to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the design team to produce this historical simulation game.

Crusades: Book I provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat."

 These are some of the battles that come with the game:

"Includes battles from all aspects of the 1st & 2nd Crusades - major encounters to small skirmishes. 65 stand alone scenarios and 2 campaigns. A sampling would be:

Nicaea

Dorylaeum

Antioch

Ma'arat al-Numan

Jerusalem

Ascalon

Heraclea

Ramla

Acre

Harran

Tripoli

Tyre

Aleppo

Edessa

Ephesus

Damascus"

 As is usual for a WDS release, they have taken a wonderful game and attempted to drive us mad with it. Instead of five or even ten scenarios for us to get lost in, we have the standard myriads of them to get mired in. And if that was not enough, there are also two campaigns that you can try to play. The reason I say 'try to play' is because there is only so much time that we are allotted on this Earth. Every game, some even more than others, released by WDS comes with a cornucopia of scenarios to be played from either side and with numerous differences to each scenario. Upon opening up one of WDS games, one feels a bit like Rip Van Winkle and wonders exactly when you will get your life back. Then when you have finally marched through the entire game you can then use the Campaign and Scenario Editors to further dig your hole into the time span of your life. Of course I jest, but only slightly. To click on any exe of a WDS game is not for the faint hearted. 

 The most amazing feature of this game is that we now can actually play out sieges. WDS has certainly given us battles and campaigns to play, as have other gaming companies, but none that I can recall has ever given us the ability to besiege cities, towns, and castles, at least in the ages before gunpowder. For someone who believes the boardgame 'The Art of Siege' by SPI is the crowning glory of their boardgame collection, this is really an epiphany. This not only opens up the ability, at some time, to play out the siege of Acre in the 3rd Crusade but so many others from these and other centuries. This is made even more amazing by the inclusion of both 40 meter, normal, and 100 meter per hex sizes. This will also help with counter density on the larger scenarios. Some of these are only available once you add the free expansion available for download. Please see below for more information on this.

 The ebb and flow of the battles in Outremer is shown in the game's design. The charges of small amounts of well armored knights do make a difference just as they did in real life. The masses of lightly armed Moslem horse archers swarming around the crusaders is shown just as well. These are the earlier years of the crusades. While you will not see any Mamelukes, you will see the different Christian Orders of Knights, as in the Templars and Hospitallers. The battles have been well chosen to give both sides chances to command infantry and knights and light cavalry, sometimes all in the same scenario. WDS has continued to work on the game engine. They have recently had almost weekly updates on many of their series of games. They also have kept tweaking the AI and picking scenarios that are especially made for the AI of both sides. In this day and age, all wargames, whether they be board or digital, should have the option to play a well-designed solitaire version of whatever game it is. Yes, if you play the game constantly and only a few, or one, scenario repeatedly each day for x amount of time you will learn how to 'cheat' or beat the AI. If, however, you play like most of us and can only get in a certain number of hours a week and choose different scenarios to play, the AI will do just fine. I believe that WDS is only getting better with each passing week and release or update. 

 

 So, what is the verdict? It was never really in any doubt. This is another stellar release from WDS that will keep you playing for as long as you want to. The release of Age of Longbow Volume I has only meant that they are fully behind the Sword & Siege Series and have many more planned after the battles of the Hundred years War. I am drooling over the prospect of a game that has the battles of the Wars of the Roses! I know that I cannot wait for a further release on the crusader battles and the chance to besiege Acre in the Third Crusade. Of course, we would also get all of the battles of Melek-Ric and Saladin. 

 Long time readers will know that I base my wargaming taste of the moment depending upon what book I am reading or have read. In this case there has been a lot of ink spilled about the First Crusade and the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. So, it is only natural that my favorite scenarios in this game deal with the crusaders besieging Jerusalem. The battles for Antioch come in as a close second. Both have some of the most desperate times for the crusaders, with the crusade itself hanging in the balance. At both Antioch and Jerusalem, the crusaders are, no pun intended, able to pull off miracles to not only keep the crusade going but outright win battles that they absolutely have to.

 Kudos, as usual, go out to WDS for this new game and series. We as wargamers have been truly gifted by not only their game releases but their constant upgrading and even at times throwing us freebie expansions.

 Since the arrival of Crusades: Book I into our hot little hands WDS has not been idle. They have released a freebie par excellence for us. This is what they have written about it:

"With the exceptional reception Crusades: Book I has got since release—just shy of 90 days ago—we wanted to bring you a further boost to this already great game package.

Today's expansion package will give you 9 new scenarios to play. The twist is, most of these are at the 100-meter scale. So, while they recreate familiar battles from the initial release, now those large encounters can be played with a lower counter density and larger individual units. When you extract the package to your main game directory, it will add these 9 new scenarios to the bottom of the list in the selection screen.

Oh, and did I mention this is a completely free addition to the game for existing owners? It certainly is. And when the next update for the game is released, it will be incorporated into that package.

Outside of counter density and smaller maps, some other differences relate to Siege Towers and Fortress Walls. The capacity for both has been increased from 75 to 150 men for the 100-meter variants. In the case of the walls, this is to account for the larger length of wall represented in each hex; for Siege Towers, it represents the increased amount of time available in a turn, which enables more men to traverse up a tower.

The following two images compare the 40-meter version to the 100-meter version.

The final two scenarios in this package are designed to be played from the Muslim side against the AI. One of them is a siege scenario and the other is an open field battle. Both of these scenarios are at the traditional 40-meter hex scale.

Additionally, today we are releasing another video focusing on this game, to add to the existing four videos in the Crusades Playlist. You can check that out below - Siege Playthrough, Part 1."

 Here is the link to the free expansion:

https://wargameds.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/CrusadesI_Expan_Pack.exe

 This is the link to the video described above:

https://youtu.be/wLxh8vLlaEQ

Robert

Wargame Design Studio:

Wargame Design Studio Store

Crusades: Book I:

Crusades: Book I – Wargame Design Studio

Thirty Years War

by

Wargame Design Studio

 The start of the Thirty Years War is normally taken to be the Third Defenestration of Prague in 1618. I had not known about the other two defenestrations until quite recently. The first was in 1419 during the Hussite War and the second took place in 1483. Technically, defenestration means to literally throw out the window. It now also means to throw out of power abruptly. The 1618 occurrence was when the two Imperial Regents and their secretary were tossed out the window of Hradcany Castle in Prague. Although they fell from a great height, their landing in a pile of offal meant they escaped with no real harm. So, if you are visiting Bohemia my suggestion is to take a room on the first floor in case you upset the populace.

 The throne of Bohemia was then offered to Frederick V Elector Palatine (one of the electors of the emperor in the Holy Roman Empire). Because of the shortness of his reign, he was called 'The Winter King'. This, in turn, started the Thirty Years War, one of the first wars that involved most of the countries of Europe. While ostensibly a war of religion, it sometimes had Catholics fighting Catholics and Protestants against other Protestants.  

 The warfare that took place at the time is usually written as the dividing line between older forms, (not much changed from ancient times) and the newer gunpowder age. The push of the pike gradually faded under the weight of a matchlock's ball. Some of Europe's greatest generals fought during the thirty years span. These included Turenne, The Great Conde, Gustavus Adolphus, and Wallenstein, among others.

Some Campaign Screens

 So, let us see what Wargame Design Studio has to say about their game:

"At the start of the 17th Century, Europe was in turmoil. Although largely centered on Germany and, at least initially, considered by many contemporaries to be a religious rather than political conflict, the Thirty Years War was in fact part of a complex series of interlinked conflicts. Some of which, such as the Dutch revolt from Spanish rule and the lengthy military rivalry between France and Spain, had their origins in the previous century. This title will weave in and out of these various conflicts with a focus on the larger battles and more predominant characters such as Tilly, Mansfeld, Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein.

The Bohemian Revolt of 1618 leads the way with initial battles between the Catholic (Imperialist) forces and the mercenary led Protestant (Anti-Imperialist) forces at Sablat and White Mountain. With the failure of the Catholics to completely crush and demoralize the resistance, the Palatinate phase began which would lead to larger battles and stretch through 1623.

1625-6 would bring in a new phase with the entry of the Danish king Christian IV of Denmark aligning with other Protestant forces to challenge the Hapsburg Empire. Poor performance on the battlefield and loss of major leaders such as Christian of Brunswick emboldened the Hapsburg Emperor Ferdinand II to try and clamp down on the situation in 1629. This would spur the Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus, to enter the fray on behalf of the Protestant cause. This change would lead to the first defeat of Catholic forces under Tilly in more than a decade, at Breitenfeld in 1631. This would also see much larger actions taking place over the subsequent four years.

This ebb and flow would continue across the continent with new armies being raised and battles being fought in many areas of the continent. Civilian populations, commerce, and civilization itself would be shaken to the core for most of the region during this time and the effects of this conflict would be felt for generations to come. When the dust began to settle the "Holy Roman Empire" had been weakened beyond repair and the rise of the modern nation-state was solidifying."

Two zoomed in 3D Battle Screens

 This is a list of some of the battles:

Includes battles from all aspects of the war - major encounters to small skirmishes. 80 stand alone scenarios and 2 campaigns. A sampling would be:

White Mountain

Mingolsheim

Wimpfen

Hochst

Fleurus

Lutter

1st Breitenfeld

Rain, the River Lech

Ingolstadt

Lutzen

1st Nordlingen

Wittstock

2nd Breitenfeld

Rocroi

Freiburg

2nd Nordlingen

 Their names shine out from the past. Lutzen, 1st Breitenfeld, Freiburg, and Rocroi where Frederick the Great and Napoleon, among others, read about and learned their craft. The war spans from the age of the Tercio until its fall at Rocroi to the Great Conde.

 There is a 'Getting Started' scenario along with four 'Bootcamp' ones to learn the game mechanics. In total, there are 75 actual battle scenarios. Many of these allow the player to play against the AI from either side. I have dreamed about a computer game that would allow me to fight as the Spanish against the French at Rocroi.

A zoomed out 2D Battle Screen

 Unless you were kidnapped by the Fae folk or have been lounging for a long-time underneath a piece of granite, you should know about The John Tiller games and Wargame Design Studio. Wargame Design Studio has released or updated (really done over from the ground up) a myriad of computer wargames. The list of their Game Series is as follows:

Civil War Battles (American)

Early American Wars

First World War Campaigns

Modern Air Power

Modern Campaigns

Musket And Pike (Which Thirty Years War belongs to)

Napoleonic Battles

Naval Campaigns

Panzer Battles

Panzer Campaigns

Squad Battles

Strategic War

 They also have ten demos that allow a player to test the water in almost all of the above Game Series.

 I am a solitaire wargame player at heart, and I would prefer to play that way with either a boardgame or a computer one. What Wargame Design Studio has been able to do with the AI battle/campaigns is really just amazing. Even if you are a person who does not like to play solitaire, they have you covered.  You can play their games the following ways:

Play by E-mail (PBEM)

LAN & Internet "live" play

As well as two player hot seat

A little closer in screen with the inset map.

 The game 'Thirty Years War' has really been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. We have had games about WWII, Napoleonic, and many others. However, the Musket and Pike Era has been almost completely ignored. You had to set up a boardgame if you wanted to play a battle from the age until quite recently. Wargame Design Studio's games were/are meant to transition the boardgame player to the computer with as little hassle as possible. Of course, there is a learning curve. What in life does not come with one? Thirty Years War, and all of their games (really simulations), is an involved game with many rules and a UI (User Interface) to master. I will say that learning to play one of their games is much simpler than trying to put together some plastic castle in the wee hours of the night before Christmas. The good thing is that the UI is used pretty much across the board with their games. If you learn one of their games, it is pretty easy to learn another. Just as I was finishing this review my phone alerted me to even more updates that WDS has released. It seems updates have been coming on almost a weekly basis. 

 As far as Thirty Years War, what can I say? I absolutely love the push of the pike and a failed cavalry charge. If you are a student of history, you owe it to yourself to pick up TYW. Books are now priced almost in the same range. or higher, than WDS games. For the maps and the setup of the armies alone it is worth the price of the admission, with the added attraction of being able to put you into your favorite general's saddle and boots they are priceless. 

 Now we have to talk about the downside of WDS games. They are addictive and once you have bought one you will want more. The other negative to WDS is this. They have not yet released a game about Marlborough's campaigns or the earlier wars of Louis XIV. I am also awaiting an Ancient Battles done with the new AI and UI.

 As I have stated before, I am an unabashed fanboy of the John Tiller games that started out almost 30 years before. Wargame Design Studio has taken all of the series of games to heights undreamed of when we were first playing them so long ago.

 They have also started to have a different game go on sale every week, although the standard price of $39.99 should make them easy to afford. It is almost half the cost of an AAA computer game and with what comes with it will keep you occupied/happy for years to come. 

Robert

Wargame Design Studio:

Wargame Design Studio Store (wargameds.com)

Thirty years War:

Thirty Years War – Wargame Design Studio (wargameds.com)

Great Northern War

by

Wargame Design Studio 

 

 The Great Northern War went from 1700 until 1721. It was certainly not the first to envelop the Baltic countries nor would it be the last. Peter I (the great) was on the throne of Russia, Augustus II (the strong, and Marshal DeSaxe's father) was king of Poland and Saxony, and Frederick IV of Denmark-Norway decided to get together and conquer and then divide the Swedish possessions around the Baltic. On the throne of Sweden was an eighteen-year-old by the name of Charles XII. He had been a rowdy teenager as king, and one is reminded of Henry V of England before he became king. Charles, just like Harry, seems to have sobered up completely at the announcement of war. What the three foolish kings did not know is that they had unleashed from his bottle a specter that would haunt them for many years. Charles XII was a born military genius. He also slept with Arrian's account of Alexander the Great under his pillow. His feats on and off the battlefield would be sung through the ages just like a skald would sing of his Viking ancestors. I first met up with him as a child in the book Twelve Against the Gods by William Bolitho Ryall. My little eyes glassed over when constantly reading the part of about him over and over. I still only wear boots that resemble the ones he had on in the picture. Charles XII was a total anachronism for his years on earth. Cervantes should have written his biography. Charles probably saw himself as a crusader or as a knight errant.

 War game Design Studio has not released a game like this in a while. Most of their games are of huge swaths of territory with 1000 or more scenarios included with it, let alone the campaign games. This game comes with a mere sixty-eight scenarios, not counting the ones in the campaigns. You also get a Getting Started Scenario that also comes with a Getting Started PDF. This walks you through a good number of the different commands and settings you can use in the game. The Great Northern War is part of WDS's line of games called Musket & Pike. As of now, there are only three games in the Musket & Pike series The Great Northern War, Renaissance, and The Seven Years War. Both Renaissance and The Seven Years War are excellent games in their own right. However, I hope that the Musket & Pike Series is soon awash with other titles (hint, hint, nudge, nudge). This is what WDS has to say about the Musket & Pike Series:

 "The games in the Musket and Pike series cover many different campaigns during the new age of muskets up to the Seven Years War. The game scale is 100 meter hexes and 15 minute turns. Units are normally at the company/battery/squadron and battalion level.

All the titles in the series include both stand-alone battles as well as linked campaign games. Editors for both scenarios and campaigns are also included with all titles."

close-up battle screenshot

 This is what WDS has to say about GNW:

"All the titles in the series include both stand-alone battles as well as linked campaign games. Editors for both scenarios and campaigns are also included with all titles.

The Great Northern War includes 69 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario plus specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.

A range of maps are included covering all the significant locations fought over during the Great Northern War and some of lesser known locations.

The order of battle files cover the various forces that participated in the campaign with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

There are extensive 3d unit graphics covering all of the major armies involved.

Campaign and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main map to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover or include the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the designer team to produce this simulation game.

The Great Northern War provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat.

Includes battles from all aspects of the war - major encounters to small skirmishes. 69 stand-alone scenarios and 5 campaigns. A sampling would be:

Humlebæk

Narva

Riga

Kliszów

Poniec

Fraustadt

Holowczyn

Veprik

Poltava

Helsingborg

Stresow

Trondheim"

 Just like all of their titles, the bare bones of the games come from a series of John Tiller games that were released a while ago. However, WDS has worked their combined fingers to the bone in updating and testing all of the different series of games that they now produce. All of the games have come a long way from what they were when first released. 

 One of the biggest gripes from players of the original versions was the AI was not being up to snuff. A lot of the titles now have actual scenarios designed from the ground up to be played against the AI. There are sometimes multiple scenarios of the same battle complete with what ifs. The actual number of scenarios if you include the ones from the five campaigns is around 200! (and this is a smaller WDS game). This title is a bit different because the number of units on the game maps are very small compared to most of their titles. 

one of zoomed out levels view

 I should just post some pictures and say that you get to replay Narva and Poltava and call it a day. Anyone who has any interest in the GNW will be drooling over the prospect of replaying those battles. However, your choice is just like one offered by Monty Hall: there are always more doors to open. The amazing thing about these games is that you get a complete scenario and campaign editor. Effectively WDS has given you one game that you can tweak to your hearts content down through the years. 

This is the highest zoom out level.

 The battles in the game go from small engagements to large battles like Poltava. The addition of the Getting Started Scenario and PDF does a lot for newcomers to the games. It will also help grognards who, for whatever reason, have not played a WDS title in many a year. 

 Another thing that I love about WDS is that they have released a total of nine! smaller demo games covering almost all of their game series. These range from a piece of Waterloo to some Modern Air War and then topped off with a Spanish-American War Naval Campaign demo release.

 

Poltava from one of the zoom out levels, it also shows the inset map.

 Enough about WDS and all of their hard work and range of games. What about The Great Northern War? It is very hard as a reviewer to review a game that is about one of your favorite eras of wargaming. On the one hand, Poltava and Narva have had a good number of board wargames done about them. The other battles have never seen the light in a grognards eye. I also have really liked the system that the game uses, even more so now that WDS has updated almost all of the parts of the games. The only thing about the game that gives me any pause at all is their treatment of Poltava. While you could use the editor to change certain aspects to your liking, I am kind of stymied by their being only one version of the scenario included, outside of the Russian Campaign 1708-1709. This campaign has two different battles of Poltava in it. Historians are torn between it being a forlorn Swedish attack or that had Charles XII not been wounded (he was shot in the foot and unable to stand or ride a horse) their plan was feasible. So, it is possible that the designer is firmly in the 'the Swedes had no chance' side of the argument.

Another zoomed in screenshot

 

 We have not come to the point yet in computers where we can effectively act like commanding generals. No AI program has been written that can make your computer subordinates act like their historical counterparts (unless those counterparts did not deserve to be on the battlefield). Oh, we can tell a group or unit to follow a road or move to a certain area, but once it is there, we keyboard generals have to take over. AIs, especially in defense, have made great strides, but on the attack not so much. The great thing about the WDS AI scenarios is that they were built with this in mind. So, your AI opponent with these games will give you a fight. The other point about WDS is that they are continually working on the games' code. They just released version 4.7 for Waterloo (and soon for all of the Napoleonic games). Even some more work on the AI has been done in that release. The updates come from WDS so fast and furious that it is hard to keep up with them. 

 I do believe that grognards (grumblers) who also play board wargames make up the largest part of computer wargame players. So, in this instance instead of having a map the size of a table laid out for cats and kiddies to ruin we have it here on our screen. For wargamers who had to downsize, these games are also perfect. The map and the units stay right where we saved them. No wife or better half to grumble about taking up the space. All we do is turn the computer on and poof! there it is. 

 What goes for all of WDS games goes for this one. We do have competent AI generals, at least to some degree. So, solo players can have their cake and save it too. If you want to play a wargame against a live opponent, this game can do it no problem. The age where we had to switch seats is long over. You still can if you want to. You can also order your computer units around while sitting comfortably in your pajamas. Great Northern War brings to our computers battles that have never been seen before and campaigns that we have just dreamed about. Can you follow in Charles XII's footsteps and march to glory and final ruin, or will you be able to defeat all of your enemies and make the Baltic a Swedish lake for another hundred years?

close-up of the Battle of Narva at the start

 Thank you, Wargame Design Studio, for allowing me to review another excellent game in your stable. I cannot say enough about this game or the whole gamut of battles and campaigns from so many eras that your company produces. They also have been producing updates at a prodigious rate; this also includes more scenarios. Please take a look at all of the fine games they produce.

Robert 

Wargame Design Studio

Great Northern War

This is a link to their nine demos:

Game Demos – Wargame Design Studio (wargameds.com)

 Philippines '44

by

Wargame Design Studio

 

 On the cover is the dramatic moment when MacArthur lands back on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. A lot of people do not know that he was a Field Marshal in the Philippine Army. He had actually retired from the US Army in 1937. His own history is full of defenders and detractors. When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, he had been in charge of the defense of the Islands. One day after the attack on Pearl Harbor and war was declared, his air units were still nicely lined up on the airfields for the Japanese to destroy a good number of them (the Japanese could not fly on December 7th because of the weather). The rest of the '41 campaign saw the Japanese break through the Philippino/American forces time and again. The forces under MacArthur were nowhere near ready for war as the Japanese forces were. Unfortunately, the Philippines was lost to the Japanese in a matter of Months. This game is about the American invasion of the Philippines in 1944.

 This is what Wargame Design Studio has to say about the game:

"On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur delivered his famous “I Have Returned” speech upon landing on Leyte Island. It is one of the most iconic phrases of the war, coupled with some of the most famous photographs, that captured the moment as he waded ashore.

With the return to the Philippines in 1944, both Roosevelt and McArthur’s pledges were honored, but this was to be a titanic struggle to liberate the islands for the next eight months.

In Philippines ’44, as MacArthur you will command units from both the US Sixth and Eighth Armies as well as US Army Air Force and Naval air groups. The Japanese forces, led by General Yamashita, had at his disposal, three major commands, the Shobu, Shimbu and Kembu Groups. Yamashita’s command outnumbered the Allied forces but had to defend a vast territory with limited knowledge of where the Allied forces may land. All that is lacking is for you to kick off one of the largest land campaigns of the Pacific War."

 The campaigns you will be able to fight are:

The liberation of Leyte: Oct 20, 1944 - Dec 23, 1944

The liberation of Luzon: Jan 9, 1945 - Jun 22, 1945

The liberation of Manila: Mar 3, 1945

The Northern Luzon Campaign: Mar 6, 1945 - Apr 26, 1945

 Once again, Wargame Design Studio has sent me a game to review that is too large to really do so, unless I devoted my entire gaming life to playing this game for about six months or more. There are too many scenarios, and they are so large that the campaign games cannot really be played until their outcome is decided. Luckily the game does come with some smaller scenarios that can be played in full. I am talking about the time a review would be expected of the game. Once you buy one of their games, feel free to forget about your life and dive in.

 While this is a brand-new game from Wargame Design Studio most of their games came from the John Tiller stable of wargames. These were originally released by HPS about 20 or so years ago. However, all of Wargame Design Studio's games have been updated thoroughly within the last few years. The games might have a resemblance as to their looks, but their DNA has definitely been changed. Even the resemblance is starting to go away with how many changes that WDS has built into the games. Some people have complained that Philippines '44 should not be listed under the title of Panzer Campaigns. It has been placed there because the only WWII campaigns that were released had Panzers. If you look on their web site and see Japan or the Philippines, it should not cause your brain to misfire. 

 As I mentioned before, these games are huge. The real work with these games is behind the surface. Look above at the listing of the troops and units that were included. These games go down to each single man, machine gun, and other weapons. I cannot even believe the amount of work that would need to be done to get this correct. Yes, we do have computers now but still the amount of cross checking boggles my mind. Look at the numbers in this breakdown below:

"Philippines '44 includes 76 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario plus specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.

The master maps for Leyte (24,570 hexes) and Luzon (184,800 hexes) cover the main landing beaches and subsequent advances to liberate cities such as Manila.

The order of battle file covers the Axis and Allied forces that participated in the campaign with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

Order-of-Battle, Parameter Data and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main map to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover or include the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the Wargame Design Studio team to produce this simulation game.

Philippines '44 provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat."

184,800 hexes! Try and roll that neatly off the tongue.

 Now we have to dispel at least one myth. "My grandfather told me that the AI in these games is terrible". Yes, when using Microsoft 3.1 that AI was not that good. However, it never stank. People would play one game until they found a weakness in the AI and then use it and post about it continuously. If you have enough time in your life to spend doing that, then my hat is off to you. I would be able to play maybe once per week for a few hours. The amount of time that came between those hours of play were enough for me to forget about what I was doing, and possibly what my name was. As you can see from above, nowadays there are certain scenarios that have been set up from the very beginning to be played against the AI. Believe it or not, about 80-90% of the PC game players play against AIs. This number includes all of the multi-player games that abound now. 

 So, where does all this leave us? What we have is a game that if judged by board wargames would possibly be the size of a 4' X 4' skid or pallet. Just think about it. If you could ever find a place to put the maps, maybe a gymnasium floor, the next hurdle would be to start slicing and dicing the 30 lbs. of 1/2" counters. Unless you had hired out a good number of workers, there is no way you are not getting carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. The sheer vastness of what goes into these games should make your head spin. A very large board wargame with this much depth would cost into the hundreds of dollars (ask my wife she knows). These can be bought for $39.95! I could paint that car for $39.95 (you have to be a certain age to get the joke).

 To try and explain how one of these games are played would be a pretty big task. That is why much smaller and easier scenarios are included in the games now. You would need to learn about Logistics and combined arms to name just two things that come to mind. If you tried to print off an AAR of one of the big scenarios, you'd better hope you have enough ink. One of the best things about these games is that they are meant to be played in a historical manner. These are not Panzer General clones. I am not saying that you are forced to only play the game out historically. You have to play it like a general from the 1940s. Japanese tanks out in the open against Shermans is just a foolish move. Now, if you dig in those tanks and put some other antitank forces with them, then you are talking. 

 

 The odd thing about the 1941 and 1944-45 campaigns is that both sides had changed places. In 1941 you had a smaller but better equipped Japanese force invade the Philippines. In 1944 the American invasion force was smaller but better equipped than the defending Japanese.

 Grognards who have played these games for many years will only have to get used to the new upgrades to this group of games. The smaller scenarios are where a tyro to these games should begin. These are very deep games that give you the control of units that a board wargamer is more used to than a computer wargamer. You have to control not only your tanks and infantry but also your air units and artillery.

 This game is going to be different than slicing Panzers or Shermans and T-34s across Europe. The terrain can be both a hindrance and a help depending upon your victory conditions in your chosen scenario. I almost always play the underdog in any wargame. In these scenarios it is the Japanese. The maps in most of the scenarios are large enough for you to give up land to keep your units intact and slow the American advance to a crawl. Unlike Yamashita, who historically had to deal with the Japanese Banzai attitude, the game allows you to give orders to your troops that will be obeyed. The American artillery is your greatest fear. You will always read in books that the Russians' God of War was their Artillery. The Russians would release the power of thousands of guns. Strangely, if you read the stories of Germans who fought on both the Russian and Western Front you will read a different tale. They say that nothing on the Russian Front had prepared them for the onslaught of the English and American artillery, especially the American. You will also have to deal with the American Air Forces. They have almost complete control of the skies around the Philippines. On the invasion beaches you will also have to deal with the guns of the American Naval Forces. One destroyer with four or five 5" guns can ruin your day, let alone the massive fire from a capital ship.

 Thank you, Wargame Design Studio, for letting me review this great addition to your already huge stable of games. In the time that it has taken me to review this game I see you have released at least two more updates to the other games. Now then, let us get you back to work on some of the more unknown battles and campaigns in history.

Robert

Wargame Design Studio:

Wargame Design Studio Store (wargameds.com)

Philippines '44:

Philippines '44 – Wargame Design Studio (wargameds.com)

Shenandoah Campaign

by

John Tiller Software

&

Wargame Design Studio

 I am not really a student of 'Stonewall' Jackson's Valley Campaign at all. I have read some things about it, but was never really enthralled as I am with the history of the Army of Northern Virginia's Campaigns. I am also somewhat familiar with the 1864 Valley Campaign, but not enough to consider myself versed in it. Jackson himself remains an enigma to me and many others. His Valley Campaign of 1862 is considered the height of military science by some, even though he really did not face the cream of the crop as far as Union Generals and troops. The Union Generals during the campaign resemble the Three Stooges more than competent commanders. Jackson's subsequent almost uselessness during the Seven Days Battles has been excused by a lot of authors. Still, I do not know where he fits in the scheme of things. Was he the best of the Southern Generals or just great because of the opposition he faced? Sorry for the digression, now back to the pertinent subject.

 So, the game gives you two diverse campaigns separated by two years and thousands of dead on both sides. Both do have one striking similarity, and that is both were fought by Southern Generals to take pressure off the Army of Northern Virginia. In 1862, Jackson succeeded marvelously. In 1864, Jubal Early succeeded early (sorry) in the campaign, but was inevitably broken by the Union preponderance of strength in the end. Jubal Early is also an enigma as a commander. Quite possibly he lost Gettysburg for the South by whispering in Ewell's ear. Then again, in 1864 he was able to put a scare into Washington, which had a much greater effect than it should have. Early was described as his "bad old man" by Robert E. Lee even though he wasn't that old at all. His hair and stooped figure made him seem much older than he was. He was also the only person we know of that had a plate smashed over his head as a cadet at West Point. Brigadier General Lewis Armistead, of Gettysburg fame, was the plate wielder.

3D extreme zoom in of the Kernstown Scenario

 So what exactly is in this game. We know that it spans two different years of the Civil War, but what is behind door #2?
Here is the list:

"174 scenarios are included, and all can be played as either side, against the A/I or other human challengers.
Each major battle has three versions, 1) the standard, for playing head to head, especially PBEM and Hotseat. 2) Weather, for playing when Mother Nature is unpredictable, and 3) A/I, for playing against the computer. NOTE; all scenarios can be played against the A/I, but these scenarios are designed specifically for, and will provide a greater challenge for those familiar with this game system.
Most scenarios can be played against the A/I in a single day, yet others may take several days to complete, or even weeks. Just save, and continue later at your own pace.
For more fun, challenge another human, and play either face to face, or PBEM (Play by email)
Battles include: Kernstown, McDowell, Winchester, Cross Keys, Port Republic, New Market, Piedmont, Lynchburg, Monocacy, the siege of Fort Stevens, Cool Springs, Berryville, and the climactic battle of Cedar Creek.
4 campaigns are included. Each can be played with or without the added hardships of weather. Weather can be anything from a mild mist and fog, to muddy roads and torrential thunderstorms."

2D version of the same screen

 The games is classic John Tiller Software with a large dose of Wargame Design Studio mixed in. The visuals, like almost all of the John Tiller stable, are now much clearer and look nothing like when the other Campaign Games were released years ago. The speed at which they have been releasing games has now been put into overdrive. Where we used to wait all year for one or two releases we have seen four new games in the last few months. The enhanced games are still easy to get into if you haven't played one of the series for awhile. The amount of playtesting that goes into the games is probably the most for any computer game. The fact that now the AI is so much better than it was is also laudable. Some will argue that point, but most of us do not play one game to death so that we find all of the AIs weaknesses. I know I flitter through the games following whatever I am reading at the time. One thing that I have not mentioned is the excellent tie in the games have for reading history. For those books who have little to no maps on a battle, here it is in almost life size. You can follow along with the book through the different placement of troops and the important geographical points around the different battlefields. Because it is a game, you can then decide to try and do better than the historical Generals did when they had control. These are some of the enhancements that you get now-a-days from these games:

"A total graphics package:
3D hand drawn maps, 3D units, with individualized regimental flags.
Colorized leaders and unit files.
Traditional B/W unit, and leaders are also an option.
Improved 2D road graphics.
Scenario and Campaign editor: Build new, or improve existing battles and campaigns.
Many “What If” battles and maps, both large and small. Including the massive Shenandoah Master map.
Extreme Fog of War optional rule.
Objective hexes are now awarded points for each side. The number of points that can be earned are determined by length of time controlled, and its strategic importance for each combatant. Therefore, earned points are not equally distributed.
A true, large (4X) 2D map view."

Extreme zoom out of the same screen

 I will say that the opening paragraph notwithstanding, I have come to appreciate Jackson's ability in these battles somewhat differently. That leads me to another incredibly laudable point of the entire John Tiller stable. You can actually learn history, or at least grasp it that much more by playing these games. I have tried to play as many of the different scenarios as I could, but with 174 it is a lost cause. The Shenandoah Master Map is exactly as described: 'massive'. I will say that while I enjoy zooming in to the 3D to look at the graphics, I do spend most of my time playing on the 2D Map. I have done a fair number of reviews of the different Campaign Series games, and I am still impressed by the depth and sheer size of what you get for the price of a cheap dinner for two. I really cannot say enough about the gaming you will get for a mere $39.95. The Campaign/Scenario Editor is so large that you can get lost in it and never actually play the game. I will have some links at the bottom of other John Tiller Software/Wargame Design Studio games I have reviewed. I am sure I will have forgotten to mention some part of the game that you receive with your purchase, so the other reviews will help you to understand the breadth of just one of these games.

 So in recap, you get 174 scenarios, historical/and what if, that can all be played on either side against the AI. You also get at least one, sometimes a few, version(s) of each scenario that is meant to be played from the ground up against the AI. My favorite one so far is the Kernstown Battle from 1862. Thank you John Tiller Software/Wargame Design Studio for allowing me to review this, as usual, excellent package of history, posing itself as a game.

Campaign Shenandoah:
www.johntillersoftware.com/CivilWarBattles/CampaignShenandoah.html
Campaign Eylau-Friedland:
https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2019/04/campaign-eylau-friedland-by-john-tiller.html

Campaign Petersburg:
https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2019/03/petersburg-by-wargame-design-studio-and.html

Japan '46:
https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2020/01/japan-46-by-wargame-design-studio-and.html

Robert