France '40

by

GMT Games

designed by

Mark Simonitch

 The 1940 French Campaign cannot be discussed without mentioning one individual, and that is Erich von Manstein. The idea for the 'sickle cut' came from his rather fertile brain. To go back a bit, you have to understand what the pundits, generals, and leaders had in their minds at the time. The French Army was the largest army in Europe. Who actually won World War One has been debatable down to this day. However, the French Army was absolutely one of the main reasons that the Germans finally lost. In 1940, all of the smart money was on the Allies. It is true that Germany had defeated Poland in a very short time. There were some mitigating factors about that victory, the largest being the stab in the back by the invasion of the Red Army. So, to a betting man, the size of the French Army and its strength was considered to be the largest factor in the coming campaign for Western Europe. The fact that there was also a British Expeditionary force added into the mix didn't help with the odds either. The bristling fortresses of the Maginot line also added to the thought that Germany had bitten off more than they could chew. The funny thing about the campaign is that both sides could not get the 1914 campaign out of their heads. The Allies based all of their plans on the Germans trying a repeat performance. Meanwhile, the Germans could not think of anything better to try than the same right hook toward Paris. The fact that most of the German High Command was absolutely in love with trying the same thing over again is a bit more than puzzling. More than a few of them fought tooth and nail for a repeat performance. Then along comes von Manstein with the audacity to suggest that maybe, going by how 1914 turned out, they should try something else. Was the furor on the German side just jealousy over the fact that none of them thought of it first, or our ideas that the German Great General Staff was filled with brilliant generals totally off the mark? Strangely the arguments on the German side continued until they inadvertently flew over the Allied lines and gave them the rehashed Schlieffen plan. At that moment Manstein's sickle cut became the idea for the campaign pretty much by accident. With this game we get to see why France fell in such a short time and all of the bookies went broke. It actually has two games included, so we also get to play out Operation Dynamo and see if the British, and some of their Allies, can escape the collapse of France. The box also has a nice picture of a French Char B1 tank on the cover.

 This is what Mr. Simonitch says about the game:

"France '40 contains two separate games: Sickle Cut and Dynamo. Both games use the same rules and share many game pieces, but each has a separate full size map.

Sickle Cut: Guderian's Drive to the Channel

This game covers the crucial week in May 1940 when the German army broke the French line on the Meuse and raced to the sea at Abbeville. The game starts on May 13th, the third day of Case Yellow. Six panzer divisions have passed through the Ardennes and are now at the Meuse River. The French and British have raced through Belgium to reach the Dyle Line and cover the Gembloux Gap. The stage is set. Can the Germans cross the Meuse in front of strong opposition? And, if they can, will they be able to break out from the bridgeheads and advance across the map while threatened by Allied reinforcements pouring in from the north and south?

Dynamo: Retreat to Victory

This game covers the British withdrawal to Dunkirk and the evacuation. The game starts on May 24th, the day the British decide that the B.E.F. is in real danger of being cut-off from their supply base and the best option is to head for the coast at Dunkirk. However, many of the German panzer divisions are closer to Dunkirk than the British. Can the British reach the coast before the Germans? Can they hold the Dunkirk perimeter for eight days while they evacuate?

The rules for both games highlight armor, air support, and morale. Special rules include: Allied Heavy Tanks, DeGaulle, Rommel, Hitler's Halt Order, and French Command Paralysis.

2ND EDITION

France ’40 2nd Edition is a major upgrade to the original game. The rules for Extended Movement, Combat, Advance After Combat, Breakthrough Combat, and Determined Defense have been updated so they are more in line with the recent games in the 19XX series (such as Stalingrad ’42 and Salerno ’43). A new scenario has been included designed by Mark Merritt that combines both maps.

In addition, many new units have been added and some old units modified to provide a more accurate order of battle for both Sickle Cut and Dynamo. A few minor cities, some roads, and a fortified hex were added to the Dynamo map.

And most importantly, both scenarios have been sent through the playtest cycle again to make sure they are better balanced than they were in the first edition.

This game has long been one of my favorites due to the exciting situation and short playing time. I’m really pleased with this 2nd Edition and excited about the new features it has."

The Sickle Cut Map

 This is what comes with the game:

Two Paper Maps

Two Countersheets

24 Page Rulebook

16 Page Playbook

Two Identical Player Aid Cards

Two Setup Cards

Two 6-sided Dice

You can also buy a mounted map for the game. The only issue that might crop up is that the new version of the game has a two-map scenario. Naturally, the mounted map has only Dynamo one one-side and Sickle Cut on the other.

The back of the box has the solitaire suitability and complexity both listed as a five. GMT Games states that playing time should be between four to six hours. 

Dynamo Map

 We will now take a look at the game's components. The Rulebook is 24 pages in length. It is in full color and also has many examples of play for the player to learn the rules. The type is nice and large for us old grognards. The Playbook is 16 pages in length and is produced in the same way as the Rulebook. You get some extended examples of play along with the 1st and 2nd Edition Notes. For the history lover, there are six pages of authentic situation maps of the campaign. Then you get the rules and setup to play the two games into one combined game. There are two card stock full-sized unit at start and reinforcement cards. On one side are the units for Sickle Cut and the other side for Dynamo. One is for the German player and the other for the Allied player. There are two card stock four-page fold out players aids. These have everything needed for play ie. the CRT, Sequence of Play, Terrain Chart etc. The type size on these is also quite large. There are two full countersheets. The counters are 9/16" in size and are very easy to read, and their larger than 1/2" size makes them easier for your fingers to manipulate them. They come with the standard 'NATO' markings except for the armored units which have a small picture of tanks from the unit on them. Both maps are very well done and are not just paper but have a laminate coating on them. The terrain is easy to see and there should be no quibbling about what terrain is in each hex. 

 The game components are fully up to GMT Games standard of excellence. 

Counter Sample

 The two games are part of the Simonitch 1940s wargames, which include:

Ardennes '44

Holland '44

Normandy '44

North Africa '41

Salerno '43

Stalingrad '42

Ukraine '43

These two games are in GMT Games P500 system:

Italy '43

North Africa '40

This is the Sequence of Play:

"A. GERMAN PLAYER TURN

 France ’40  Player Aid Card   2nd Edition

 3

 EXPANDED SEQUENCE OF PLAY

 B. ALLIED PLAYER TURN

 1. German Initial Phase 

• The German player flips all Air units from their Used side to their 

Ready side. 

• The German player places his Reinforcements in their Entry Hexes.

 Dynamo scenario only: 

• Starting on Turn 6 the German player must withdraw the units 

listed on the Dynamo Turn Record Track.

 • Each Panzer division under a Halt! marker and currently in 

supply receive one replacement step (22.3).

 2. German Movement Phase (7.0)

 During this phase the German player may conduct any of the activities below in any order:

 • Move some, none, or all his units. 

• Conduct Auto-DS combat against any defending hex where at 

least 10-1 odds are obtained. Indicate the units that participate in 

that attack with Auto DS markers (7.7). Advance After Combat 

for these units is conducted at the end of the Combat Phase.

 • The German Player may place disrupted units in full retreat 

(13.1.3).

 3. German Combat Phase (8.0 - 15.0)

 A. The German Player may attack adjacent enemy units or conduct 

Disengagement Attempts (20.3) in any order. As each attack is 

resolved apply the step losses, conduct the Retreat, the Determined 

Defense, and the Advance After Combat before moving to the 

next combat. 

B. After all combats are completed, advance all units with Auto DS 

Markers (7.7). 

4. German Recovery Phase (13.4)

 All German units that are Disrupted may recover one level—those 

that are Disrupted have the marker removed, and those that are in 

Full Retreat have their marker flipped to the Disrupted side. Units 

adjacent to enemy units must roll for Recovery (13.4.2).

 5. German Supply Phase

 A. Check the supply status of all German units (18.0).

 B.  Roll for Attrition (18.5) of all German units that are:

 • marked with a red Out of Supply marker (including those just 

marked), and

 • adjacent to an enemy unit. 

6. GQG Phase —Sickle Cut scenario only

 Any GQG markers scheduled to be removed are removed at this 

time (21.2.6). The German player places the remaining GQG 

markers currently in the GQG Marker Holding Box on Allied 

stacks containing at least one French unit. He then rolls two dice 

and removes the GQG markers with those numbers (21.2.4).

 1. Allied Initial Phase (depends on the scenario)

 Sickle Cut scenario only: 

• The Allied player flips all non-Disrupted HQs that can trace a 

Line of Supply to a W, S, SE or E Entry Hex from their Used 

side to their Ready side (17.2.1).

 • The Allied player draws a number of units from his Reinforcement Draw Cup and places them on a friendly controlled Entry Hex.

 Dynamo scenario only: 

• The Allied player flips all RAF units to their Ready side (22.6).

 • Check to see if Belgium surrenders (22.4.1). Belgium automatically surrenders in the Allied Initial Phase of Turn 5.

 • If Turn 4 or later, the Allied player may evacuate units from 

Dunkirk (22.5).

 2. Allied Movement Phase

 Identical to the German Combat Phase except switch the term 

German with Allied. In addition:

 • Sickle Cut scenario only:  The Allied player may use Rail 

Movement (7.6), and may complete the Dyle Line IP’s if still 

occupied at the end of the Movement Phase of Turn 1.

 3. Allied Combat Phase

 4. Allied Recovery Phase

 Both phases identical to the German Combat and Recovery Phases 

except switch the term German with Allied.

 5. Allied Supply Phase

 Identical to the German Combat Phase except switch the term 

German with Allied. In addition:

 • Allied HQs do not roll for Attrition. They are eliminated if they 

cannot trace a Line of Supply to a friendly Combat unit. 

• Do not roll for Attrition of Fort Units until all friendly Combat 

units stacked with or adjacent to the fort are eliminated. 

• Sickle Cut scenario only: On or after Turn 5 the Allied player 

may use the Hitler’s Halt Order rule (21.3) to slow German 

mechanized units. 

• Dynamo scenario only: In the Allied Supply Phase of Turns 1 

and 2 the Allied player takes any Halt markers in the holding 

display (always either one or two) and places them on a German 

panzer division and then rolls two dice to remove up to two 

Halt markers.

 C. END PHASE 

Record the completion of a Game Turn by advancing the Game 

Turn marker one box and proceed to the next turn."

 I have to confess that I am a fan of the 1940s game system and have played all of the above released games from it and enjoyed playing them all. So, my expectations for France '40 were probably higher than normal. They seem to have the perfect mix of playability and be historically correct at the same time.

 There are numerous rule changes in this second edition compared to the 1st. The components have also changed a bit. Here is that list:

1.11 new units included, plus many units had their values changed. 

2. New CRT

3. A few roads were added to both maps.

4. Determined Defense Table changed significantly.

5. Disengagement Table changed.

 Mr. Simonitch states that he tried to fix the play balance in Sickle Cut because it was too difficult for the German Player. I find this interesting because I have seen people posting that it is now too hard for the German player. Two things come to my mind. The first is that you cannot make everyone happy. The second is that hopefully you will not be playing against a French opponent who is as abysmal as the French Command was in 1940. After all, the Allies had more men and tanks (although spread out and poorly used) and it should have taken the Germans much longer than it did.

 One of the most interesting rules of the series is the one that deals with 'Determined Defense'. Usually in games, you roll the die and crosscheck the number rolled in the CRT on the appropriate odds ratio column and voila, you follow the instructions under that column piece. Not necessarily in this game. The defending player may choose to use a 'Determined Defense' against the attackers. As the rules state "A Determined Defense represents a hold-at-all-cost order or an immediate counterattack". You do have to first deal with any step losses from the CRT roll before the defender can make use of this rule. Then one of the defending units must be a 'Lead Unit' (see rule 11.2 in the link to the online rulebook below). You then would roll and look at the 'Determined Defense Table' to see if and what applies to this action. 

 This game itself has some rules that add some historical reality and flavor to the game. The first are the 'GQG' (Grand Quartier General) markers. There are six of these markers that the German player can use in the beginning of the game. This number drops due to die rolls and what turn it is in the game. These are placed on different French stacks be the German player. The GQG markers are effectively army fetters that hogtie those French units affected by them. This is to show the incredible confusion in the French High Command at the beginning of the 1940 campaign. The Allied player gets to use the 'von Rundstedt Halt Order' once on or after the fifth game turn. This is to replicate the Germans' actual halt order during the campaign. They had become almost frightened by their own success and were afraid that all of the Panzers would be cut off by an Allied counterattack. Both of the above rules are used in the Sickle Cut and Combined scenarios.

Some of the Newer Units

 The scenarios each last this long:

Sickle Cut: 10 Turns

Dynamo: 12 Turns

Combined Scenario: 23 turns

 As I said, I have been a fan of the game series since the start of it. So, it comes as no great shock that I am more than pleased with this game's new refined issue. You can, as the German player, recreate history, which is as it should be. Conversely, you can use your French forces to dull and even stop the Sickle Cut Plan from working. The game has the best of both worlds as far as size is concerned. You can have the normal size game that does not take up a lot of space and yet still be a good game. If you have the room, you can also play the combined scenario with both games - sort of a mini monster. If you are looking for both great gameplay and historical gaming, France '40 delivers on both accounts. Thank you, GMT Games, for letting me review the newest in the 1940s series. 

Robert Peterson

GMT Games

France '40 Rulebook

France '40

The Cruelest Month: Air War Over Arras, April 1917

by

Against The Odds Magazine

 The game that comes along with this 2020 Annual from Against the Odds magazine is about 'Bloody April'. In a war that saw so many bloody months, April 1917 saw the Royal Flying Corps (it would not become the Royal Air Force until April 1st, 1918) almost bleed out. British pilots' lives were counted in hours and days during Bloody April. This being the Holiday Season, one is reminded of Snoopy and the Red Baron song. Unfortunately for the British, the lines in the song "Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more, the Bloody Red Baron was rollin' up the score", are quite apt for Bloody April, if not for the Richtofen himself.  

 This is what ATO has to say about the game:

"The average flying life of an RFC pilot in Arras in April was 18 hours in the air. Our whole picture-- from movies like "Dawn Patrol" or "Aces High" -- of young men going straight from flying school into combat (and straight into the ground shortly after) comes from this six-week period, preparing for and supporting the "spring offensive."

Now, Paul Rohrbaugh's The Cruelest Month looks at this struggle, with the focus primarily on-air operations and ground battle abstracted (something like he did in Chennault's First Fight.) As the British player, you will marshal your limited numbers of fighters to help secure the skies for 2-seaters that would be better suited to training planes. As the German player, you will employ your well-armed modern fighters against waves of RFC planes that simply keep coming, regardless of how many you shoot down."

This is what comes with the Annual 2020 issue:

Maps - One full color 22" x 34" hex mapsheet

Counters - 176 full color 5/8" die-cut counters

Air Displays - 2

Rules length - 16 pages

Charts and tables - 2 pages

Complexity - Medium

Playing time - Up to 3 to 4 hours

How challenging is it solitaire? - Average

Designer - Paul Rohrbaugh

Development - Steve Rawling

Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey

Very nicely done counters and map

 As usual, this issue of ATO is filled with excellent articles from all ages of military history. These are:

THE CRUELEST MONTH:

The Arras Campaign, 1917 

 by Paul Rohrbaugh

Appendix 1: Dramatis Personae 

Appendix 2: Aircraft of Bloody April 

A TALE OF TWO PLANES by Kevin Duke

Some Other Plane Stories 

Rules of Play for The Cruelest Month: Air War over Arras 1917

 by Paul Rohrbaugh

Rules of Play for Backlash! An Expansion for The Lash of the Turk

by Andy Nunez

THE TRIPLE ENTENTE TAKES THE DARDANELLES:

What if Britain and France had won the Dardanelles Campaign? by Matthew Adams

A FURIOUS BACKLASH:

The Holy League invades occupied Hungary, 1685-99 by Andy Nunez

THE ROLE OF RACE IN PACIFIC WAR PROPAGANDA by Sam Sheikh

These are from 'Backlash' an add-on for "Lash of the Turk'

 

 As with any issue of ATO, you get a huge dose of history and a well-designed game. The Annual issues give you more of a dose than the normal issues. The articles that come with any ATO issue, at least the ones I have read, are as well written as a military history book. They should be, because a lot of the article writers have written their own books.

 At the end of the article, The Cruelest Month, are two appendices. The first, Dramatis Personae, has bios for Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard (the father of the Royal Air Force), Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the British Empire's troops in France, General Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff, usually considered the brains of the Great General Staff for the second half of World War I, General Ludwig von Kalkenhausen, German general in charge of the defense of the Arras Front. Appendix 2 gives us the information on all of the aircraft on either side that fought the battle in the air. The next article, A Tale of Two Planes, is a deeper dive into some of the major aircraft from both sides and how they were used in Bloody April. 

Some of the two-part map

 Just so you understand, this is not a game of air-to-air combat above the fields around Arras. This game puts you in the general's seat of either side. Here is more information about the game:

"While losses in the air were puny compared to the thousands dying on the ground, those aerial actions had great impact on how things worked out on the ground. The Cruelest Month will give you a full selection of aerial operations, including balloon busting, ground attack, bombing, and the all-important photo-recon and artillery observation missions, plus the fighter dogfights that center around protecting or stopping all the others. You'll use a Air Battle Board for these fights, and your planes will interact with ground forces on a map of the Arras area.

On the ground, your gray-suited soldiers will face mines, tanks, and the newly adapted "creeping barrage," in trying to maintain your hold on key defense lines. Can you hold the line? For the British, your objective is not so focused on the big "breakthrough," but now working with the idea of biting off chunks of key landscape and holding it. Can you equal the magnificent Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge?"

English Air/Ground Display

 This is the game's Sequence of Play:

Random Event Phase

Airbase Construction Phase

Initiative Phase

Air Operations Phase

Ground Operations Phase

Supply Determination Phase

Regroup Phase

Allied reinforcement Phase

Victory Points Phase

 The victory levels are determined by subtracting the German VP total from the Allied VP total. The victory levels are:

19 or fewer VPs: German Victory

20-40 VPs: Draw

41 or more VPs: Allied victory (historic result)

 The victory points are received by either forcing your opponent to abort air missions or by losing air strength points. At the end of the game, you also get victory points for losing or gaining ground hexes, specifically for the Allies to take Vimy Ridge and parts of the Hindenburg Line or for the Germans to keep them in their control.

 The magazine itself is 53 pages. It comes with the articles listed above. It is its usual beautiful full color self. There is one full counter sheet for The Cruelest Month game. There is also a smaller counter sheet for use with the add on scenarios for ATO's earlier game, The Lash of the Turk. The counters for The Cruelest Month are 5/8" in size. The plane counters show an above view of each plane that is in that group. The counters are all very nicely done. The ground campaign counters are not little works of art like the plane ones. However, they are easily read and some, like the artillery, tanks, and balloons are made as well as the plane ones. There is an Airbase Display for each player. These are made of thin cardboard. You may want to copy them and use the printed sheets. The map is split into two separate sections. One is a map for the ground war and the operations of the air groups. The other contains the Air Battle Board for resolving aerial combats. Printed on the map are also the Turn Record Track, Game Record track, Random Events Table, and the Sequence of Play. All of the components are well done. Be careful when unfolding the map. I fat fingered it and ripped a small hole in it. Fortunately for me, where I damaged it has no bearing on the map's usefulness at all. 

German Air/Ground Display

  I very much like the game and its play. Please remember that you are not dogfighting separate planes but groups of them. This is an operational look at the air and ground war around Arras in 1917. If your play is bad enough you can call in reserves. However, like a lot of games, you will get penalized in victory points for doing so. The Allied player will also be penalized if there is clear weather, and he does not execute a bombing mission. This gives the German player a whopping +4 victory points. So, try to avoid this at all costs.

Another look at the counters

 This large annual edition is also filled with excellent information on other times and wars. The issue also comes with rules and counters for 'Backlash' a few scenarios to add to one of ATOs earlier games Lash of the Turk. The scenarios look interesting; however, I do not own that issue so I cannot give you a rundown of them and the game.

 Thank you, Against The Odds for letting me review this close look at Bloody April from a totally different view than the cockpit. 

 They also have a surprise for we grognards. ATO is doing a reprint of 'Stalingrad Verdun on the Volga' in an annual issue format. This game originally only came in a boxed version. It sold out incredibly fast and is now as rare as hen's teeth. This is what comes with the Ziplock version:

 Maps - One full color 17" x 44" hex mapsheet

Counters - 230+ full color 5/8" die-cut counters

Rules length - 24 pages

Charts and tables - 4 pages

Complexity - Medium

Playing time - Up to 3 to 4 hours

How challenging is it solitaire? - Average

Designer - Mikael Rinella

Development - Kevin Duke

Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey

   Just a few pics to wet your whistle.

Robert

Against the Odds Magazine:

Against the Odds (atomagazine.com)

The Cruelest Month: Air War over Arras, April 1917:

Against the Odds (atomagazine.com)

Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga:

Against the Odds (atomagazine.com)

 

 

 Point Blank V is for Victory

by

Lock 'N Load Publishing

 "I'm here, I'm here! Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! Feast your eyes on me! It's too good to be true, but I'm here! I'm here!"

(If you do not get the reference, I am sorry for your cloistered childhood)

 The fighting that occurred in western and northern Europe in 1944-1945 has had many games designed around it. D-Day has been especially covered by games at all levels and in all sizes. Point Blank V is for Victory is a new tactical game based upon the Allied and German troops that fought in the entire campaign. The game is meant for either one or two players. It does come with a solo 'bot' if you will. So, when playing it solo you do not have to try and be on both sides of the table. Let us take a look in the box and see if we are stuck in the hedgerows or gunning our tank in open fields.

All of the decks stow away beautifully

  This is from Lock 'N Load Publishing:

"Point Blank is a tactical squad infantry card game set in World War II Europe and is loosely based on the award-winning Lock ‘n Load Tactical game series.  Players do not need not be familiar with any of the Lock ‘n Load Tactical rules to play.  Point Blank is designed by Sean Druelinger and is a game that dares to be different, with new game concepts that give a whole new feel to tactical wargaming. 

 

Point Blank V is for Victory is for two players pitted against each other in situational combat scenarios.  There is also a solo option as well as partnerships in teams of two.  Each scenario presents the players with a unique situation involving squads of men, support weapons, leaders, and individual armored fighting vehicles.  The first game in the series will pit the forces of the USA against Germany just after the landings in Normandy (June 1944) through October 1944. Each player has victory conditions determined by the scenario in which to defend or take objectives, seek and destroy their opponent’s units, or one of many other different scenario objectives.

 

The game is played on an abstract map board made up of terrain cards in the game and managed through a distance system that accounts for the range to targets, line of sight, and defensive attributes. The player has units that start out on the map and gradually work their way towards their objectives by advancing through the battlefield all the while conducting combat actions against their opponent or defending their troops from return fire or whatever hell that awaits them. Players draw cards from a common action deck where they will play actions on their units on the map board. The game is an IGOUGO impulse system and turns are managed when the action deck is exhausted. (Some scenarios may require multiple deck exhaustion to finish the game). Actions in the game consist of Fire, Move, Assault, Rally, etc. The action cards contain dice icons on them to determine random results.

One of the unique features of the game is that it contains a deck of terrain cards that are not part of the action deck. As players change terrain they will draw a terrain card in which their moving units will occupy. Some action cards such as Recon helps players manage what terrain they occupy but your opponent may have other plans for your moving troops during their turn.  Two players can play a game in about an hour (depending on the scenario size) and if you cannot find an opponent then try the game solo system. 

 

Point Blank system has been called innovated, realistic, and yet extremely playable, and with solitaire play, and two-player options available we expect you will too."

 

Playing 'map' or mat for the cards

 The box that was delivered to me was a very heavy one. I knew enough about the game to know it did not come with mounted maps, so I was wondering why the heft? Well, it turned out to be the cards. You see, I believe there are almost 900 cards that come with the game. 

 Sean Druelinger, the designer, had done a write up for AWNT a bit ago about the game and himself. He is also the designer for Lock 'N Load's Tactical Series of games. According to him Point Blank is based on that series and the old Avalon Hill game 'Up Front'. I had seen things about Up Front down through the years, but I was not interested at all. At the time I was a very snobbish grognard and was only interested in hexes and hefty rulebooks. I would not play an area movement game, and the thought of cards being added to a hex wargame was an abomination in my eyes. Block games were another genre that would put my teeth on edge. I have now seen the light of these newfangled additions to my beloved hobby. However, this takes it one step further. You do not even need to use the map/mat at all. I believe I have done two different aircraft games that were just cards, but there was no terrain etc. In Point Blank everything is based upon the cards. So, let us see about this strange new animal (at least to me).

There are a lot more cards there than you probably think.

  This is what comes with the game:

119 x Mini Cards

698 x Poker Cards

1 x 32" x 38" Two Piece Map

1 x Core Rules Manual

1 x Scenario and Module Rules Manual 

9 x Double Sided 8.5" x 11" Player Aids

2 x Counter Sheets With Over 160 Counters

2 x 16mm Dice

Executive Producer:

David Heath

Game Design and Development:

Sean Druelinger

Game Art:

Shayne Logan

Some Cards

 This is the Sequence of Play:

1. Select a Scenario

2. Determine Sides

3. Layout the Battlefield

4. Deploy units

5. Draw Action Cards

2.2.2 Game Phases

1. Upkeep Phase – The phasing player

conducts upkeep tasks.

2. Impulse Phase – The phasing player

may conduct an action. There are

situations that allow more than one

action to occur from the play of a

card that includes multiple actions

or through the execution of a leader’s

Spend action (see Leaders 2.11).

Once a player completes his impulse

play passes to his opponent.

3. Turn End Phase – Check to see if the

Action Card deck has been exhausted.

If so, follow the turn end procedures

before impulse play begins

again.

4. Victory Conditions Check – Check

to see if you have won the scenario

before impulse play begins again.

Terrain Card

 We will start out discussing the cards that come with the game. As mentioned, there are nearly 700 of the larger cards in six decks. The information needed to play on the cards is huge. These cards will have all your men and larger military equipment, such as: tanks, squads, anti-tank guns etc. They feel just like playing cards do. Then there are 119 mini cards. These encompass commanders, machine guns, PIATs, med kits etc. Even though these are smaller, the information on them is just as large as on the larger cards. Both sets of cards have a very nicely done picture of whatever they represent on them. They look like little portraits, especially the faces. The two-piece map is also well done. It is really only a background with muted colors, but it works well with the cards. It is large at 32" x 38" but if you have been a wargamer for any length of time you will have a table that can accommodate it. The counters are used for bookkeeping etc. You can also use the counters on the cards instead of using the map. These, like the rest of the game, are oversized and very easy to read. The coloring and design of them are up to the par of all the other components. The Core Rules Manual is ninety-four pages long. However, the type size is also huge (Do you see a pattern here?).  The rules go to page seventy-one with the rest being a breakdown of each terrain card and then the Solo Rules. The Scenario and Module Rules Manual comes with twenty scenarios and there is a section on building your own scenarios. At the end of the scenarios are the Campaign Game Rules. Both of the Manuals are in full color and made of glossy paper. There are five Player Aids that are made of hard stock, and they are double-sided. These are also in large type like the rest of the components. These give all the information for playing the game that you would need without having to look through the manual. The next four Players Aids are for playing the game Solo. These rules are done with an easy-to-follow flow chart method. These are also made of hard stock and in full color. 

Some of the Counters

 The cards represent everything you would find on a battlefield in norther Europe during WWII. The Allied cards represent both the U.S. and British and Commonwealth militaries. Here are some examples:

Germans - Marder I, Stug IIIG, Tiger, Panther, truck, halftrack, 75mm anti-tank gun, SS, Heer, and Luftwaffe troops.

Allied - M36, M20, Parachute Squad, Infantry Squads and Half-Squads, Sherman Firefly, Otter, and even a Tetrarch!

The smaller cards show - Satchel Charges, Radios, MG 42, Flame Throwers, and a slew of Commanders.

Mini Card Commanders

 So, you might be thinking: Is this game a behemoth in both size and rules? To be honest, you do need some table space for the game. In actuality it is an easy to play game, at least once you have the rules set in your head. Lock 'N Load says that most scenarios will take about an hour to play. Except for my first couple of dry runs, this seems to be about right. Playing Solo takes a bit longer, but it does in any game that has solo rules built in. The flow chart method for Solo Play does make it a lot easier to follow and play. I think that Solo Play should be included in most games. That way you can play your favorite game of the hour without having to round up a friend or more to play it. 

 As I mentioned. I have never played Up Front nor really ever had an itch to. Many people have compared Point Blank V is for Victory to Up Front and say it is the Up Front for the 21st century. If Up Front was anywhere near as fun to play as Point Blank, I am sorry that my rigidness stopped me from playing it. 

 I was at first a little put off by not being able to know the terrain in in front and around me. Then I put myself into the mindset of a Squad Leader at the time and it really made sense. You know your objective, at least most of the time, and you know what direction it is on your compass. Often that is about the amount of information you would be given. Oh, you know what could be out there between you and it, but you are only guessing. Unless you are extremely lucky you will not know what enemy force is out there until they open fire. Point Blank brings that guessing and Fog of War front and center. This is not a card game of tactical warfare in WWII. It is a tactical wargame that uses cards for play. There is a large difference. Remember that Point Blank uses a lot of the designer's Lock 'N Load Tactical Series as its bones. 

 The scenarios all have their own victory conditions. Many times, it is taking control of and holding a specific terrain piece. The turns all revolve around the Action Card deck. When the last Action Card has been played that is the end of that turn. The scenarios run from two, three, and four turns. So, for each turn you would have to use up all of the Action Cards. If you are not used to Lock 'N Load's Tactical Series games, you will have a bit of a learning curve. If you have played any of them the curve will be pretty short. It is not a difficult game to learn. That is, if you can get the idea of the Lines of Sight and movement and transpose that knowledge to the cards laid out on the table. I have played many of Lock 'N Load's Tactical Series games. However, I did have a problem in the beginning but not because of the rules. It was my own brain that was not getting it. Once I talked myself into the fact that the cards were the same thing as counters on a hex map, things went much smoother. I believe this was certainly a case of an old dog trying to learn new tricks.

 The game is big in components, and they are also visually striking. The muted colors of even the Rulebook pages gives a real sense of being in the rain, fog, and mud of a real battlefield. The visuals only help with the players immersion. Because the Rulebook is so large in size of type the rules themselves are not that long or hard to learn. There is no need of any die because the Action Cards have die values right on them on in the upper right hand. Yes, luck does have a place in playing the game. However, in any battle of whatever size, there is always some amount of luck. As von Clausewitz wrote:

 "The great philosopher of war, Karl von Clausewitz, coined the term: "Friction," he wrote, is "the concept that differentiates actual war from war on paper," those surprising things that happen during wartime that make “even the simplest thing difficult."

More Terrain Cards

 Thank you Lock 'N Load for letting me take this Maserati out for a test drive. I am now fully convinced that a ground wargame can be played with just cards. Not only that but said game can be totally engrossing for the player. It also helps that the manufacture of the cards etc. are of such a high quality. Great Game, Lock 'N Load. Keep up the good work. 

 

Robert

Lock 'N Load Publishing:

Lock ‘n Load Publishing (lnlpublishing.com)

Point Blank V is for Victory:

https://store.lnlpublishing.com/point-blank-v-is-for-victory-llp312131

 Death of an Army Ypres 1914

by

Revolution Games

 "The Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders was the most notorious and dreaded place in all of the First World War, probably of any war in history. Typical was this British infantryman's reaction on being told that his battalion was to go there: "I mentioned Ypres and he cursed the place. Rumors of what waited ahead of us had disturbed everyone." This was said between men who had just gone through the ordeal of the Battle of the Somme, where more than 50,000 British soldiers became casualties on the first day.

 From the autumn of 1914 to the autumn of 1918 Flanders was, in effect, a gigantic corpse factory. Hundreds of thousands died there for ground where gains were measured in mere yards. It was where, in 1914, the British professional army was virtually annihilated, though it had stopped the German drive to capture control of the English Channel." (Winston Groom in 'A storm in Flanders')

 The Battle of Ypres in 1914 has many times been described as the 'Death of the British prewar Army. The actual name of this game should be 'Death of Armies'. This is because the German Army was also bled white here. The Germans have their own mythology about the First Battle of Ypres. This is called the 'Kindermord', roughly the 'Massacre of the Innocents'. On November 10, 1914, the Germans attacked the town of Langemarck (hex 0813 on the map). The story that was told was that eighteen-year-old German soldiers clasped arms and sang the German National Anthem while they marched to their death. While the actual history has found this to not be correct, the battles for Ypres did turn the area into an abattoir for the German reservist troops. As an aside, the British troops called it 'Wipers'. This is a game I have been waiting to have in my hot little hands for a long time.

  

 This is what comes with the game:

22" x 34" Map

Exclusive Rulebook

Series Rulebook

2.5 5/8" Countersheets

3 Player Aids

1 Scenario Setup Sheet

Box or Ziploc Bag

1 Six-Sided Die (Boxed Version)

 This is a blurb from Revolution Games about the game:

"The Battle of the Marne signaled the failure of the Schlieffen Plan and of German hopes to win a quick, decisive victory. In turn, this triggered the Race for the Sea as opposing armies attempted to outflank each other. Then, in a final bid to gain the upper hand, both Allied and German Armies clashed in the First Battle of Ypres. On these fields, the British Expeditionary Force, the professional army of Britain, and the strongest on the Continent, was bled dry.

Death of an Army, Ypres 1914 is a brigade/regiment level simulation of the First Battle of Ypres. Players assume the roles of the commanders of the German and Allied troops as they desperately fight for this valuable position in the line."

 The map shows us exactly why this small patch of territory was fought over for four years. These small ridges, 200' or so in height, are the only high ground to be found in Flanders. With their control of them, the Germans were able to see everything going on in the Ypres salient. Not only that, but their guns were able to target the area, thus turning the salient into a deathtrap for the French and British troops that were stationed there.

German Counters

 The Map is nicely done even though it is mostly made up of clear spaces. There are some important features, such as the canal and the ridge that is almost in the center of the map. The area was also sparse as far as woodlands. The towns and woods that are there are mostly named and will be remembered by people who are familiar with the later battles such as Polygon wood. The map also has the turn record track on it. It is made of the normal glossy paper that we have come to know over the last few decades. The scale of the Map is 1,350 yards per hex. The counters are large and are easy to read. They use the NATO symbols. The counters might look a little busy to some. However, I didn't mind them at all at 5/8" size. Two of the Players Aids are exactly the same. These have The Combat Results Tables on one side and the Terrain Effects on the other. The third Player Aid is one-sided and has a Markers Reference sheet on it. The Scenario Setup sheet is double-sided and has the information for the game's three scenarios on them. The Great War Battles Series Rulebook is twelve pages long and is in black and white with large type. Last but not least, the Exclusive Rulebook is only four pages long. The components some might complain, are Plain Jane, but they are infinitely better than what we used to play with. They also help to keep the game's cost down. You may not get all the bells and whistles with them, but all of Revolution Games productions I have played do come with a lot of gaming, which is really what we are after anyway.

Allied Counters

 As mentioned, there are three scenarios. These are:

Battle of Langemarck  - October 20th until October 24th

Fabeck's Attack - October 29th until November 4th

First Battle of Ypres (Campaign Game) - October 20th until November 12th

 The game plays out in daily turns so the Campaign Game is 24 turns long.

 This is the Sequence of Play:

First Player Turn

The first player is the phasing player and conducts the following events in sequence.

Coordinated Combat Phase: the first player may conduct 

coordinated combat with his units against opposing units (see 6.0).

Movement Phase: the first player may move his units (see 7.0).

Hasty Combat Phase: the first player may conduct hasty combat with his units against opposing units (see 11.0).

Surrender Phase: the first player checks whether any of his 

isolated units surrender (see 12.4).

Second Player Turn

The second player becomes the phasing player and conducts 

the same sequence of events as described for the first player.

Markers and a few more German counters

 So, what is the verdict? Just like any other Revolution Games effort I have played, this game is a winner. Not only if you are interested in the game for its history, but also if you are looking for a great gaming experience. This is early in World War I so air power and even air reconnaissance is in its infancy. You do not have to worry about tanks or poison gas either. This is a straight of battle of king of the hill. One thing a player has to keep in mind is that casualties will mount up and usually mount up quickly. This is the maneuver battle that all of the generals were hoping for after the trench system was built. Artillery is king of the battlefield, as it remains for the rest of the war. You can attack without artillery, or not enough of it, but be prepared to pay the cost. All of the Victory Conditions in all of the scenarios are based on the capture or defense of the high ground. It is a simple concept, and they are right there for you to see. Your problem is getting control of them. It is a rough and tumble affair that simulates the horrific blood loss of the year 1914. One thing really good games have is an ebb and flow to each side. The reinforcements that come in for each side at different times help greatly with the 'what happened, I was winning last turn', feeling that you get in this game.

 This is a blurb from the Designer Notes:

"For Ypres 1914, I wanted to create a simple, fluid game that moves quickly -- sort of a Napoleon at Waterloo for the First World War. Well, it didn’t quite turn out that way - simple, perhaps, fluid, not quite. There aren’t many innovative rules per se but one significant departure from most games is the reversal of the movement and combat phases. The decision to begin with a combat phase was intended to capture the general flow of the battle of the Great War. Most attacks were planned overnight and started at dawn of the next day. Generally, troops were positioned accordingly, often in plain sight of the enemy. After the initial attack, communications would falter, and the original plans would disintegrate. It then fell on the initiative on individual commanders leading smaller units to carry it on, with limited artillery support. The former reflects the co-ordinated combat and the latter the hasty combat procedure."

 I cannot wait for more games in the series.

 Thank you, Revolution Games, for allowing me to take this game for a spin. I will admit I was expecting a lot from the game. The books about the Ypres battles are some of my favorite reads. I was immensely happy that the game played out historically, and all of the outcomes were entirely plausible. While you are at their site, please take a gander at the rest of their games it is definitely worth it.

Robert

Revolution Games:

Revolution Games | Main Page