Air & Armor Wurzburg: Designer Signature Edition

Tactical Armored Warfare in Europe

by

Compass Games

 Trying to design a simulation about a war that never happened is, I assume, a bit of a pain. In this case, the Third World War might be a tad easier than most 'almost' warfare situations. We do have all of the information about the forces that would, or could, be involved. The once classified information about the armaments in use at the time are now almost all in the dust bin of history. To be honest, a soldier from World War II might not have been able to wrap his head around the battlefield of the 1980s. The lethality of the possible Third World War scenarios was tremendous compared to earlier warfare. The abilities of aircraft had multiplied tremendously even compared to the Vietnam War. Tank against tank warfare in Germany at the end of the 20th century would have made Kursk seem like a day at the park. So, the simulation that has been brought to us by Mr. Maxwell and Compass Games has scared away even some grognards. We will now take a look at it and see if there really is a rattlesnake in the box or just a pet snake looking for a home. There are some fine semi-historical books about these scenarios, my favorites being General Sir John Hackett's 'The Third World War, and 'The Third World War: The Untold Story'. Doing some reading about the Soviet 'Seven Days to the Rhine plan' should also help you get into the mood.

 

Back of the box courtesy of Compass Games

 This is what Compass Games has to say about the game:

"Hofheim, 15:00. Commander: “Oh thank God, help has arrived!” Gunner: “Those aren’t ours….”

Air & Armor: Würzburg, Operational Armored Warfare in Europe, Designer Signature Edition marks the return of one of the most highly rated wargames on modern warfare ever published. Air & Armor is a company-level simulation of a Hypothetical Soviet attack on West Germany in the mid-1980s. It depicts the collision of the Soviet 8th Guards Army and elements of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division and West German 12th Panzer Division in a ferocious battle around the German city of Wurzburg. This new edition is lovingly recreated with new map artwork, new unit counters, new unit values and updated rules.

Air & Armor employs a highly interactive game system with asymmetric rules modeling the different Command & control techniques of each alliance. The game simulates all of the major aspects of modern warfare: reconnaissance, combined arms operations, air, helicopter and artillery strikes, chemical and electronic warfare and engineering.  Multiple levels of hidden intelligence produce a true “fog of war” and provide plenty of opportunities for deception, surprise and ambush.  Play this game to find out what it really might have been like to command a division in battle.

Based on detailed research from Warsaw Pact archives now available, this new edition includes a completely revised Order of Battle featuring one East German and four Soviet Divisions. Air & Armor includes a Basic Game, covering standard armor operations, and an Advanced Game that layers in air and engineering operations and Chemical and electronic warfare. Each game level includes four to six Scenarios, which are complete games in themselves. Extensive Scenario, Player and Designer Notes provide advice on play and historical detail.

A quick note about the Rules booklet:

Why is the rules booklet larger in the Compass version than the original West End Games version?

– The average word count in Würzburg is around 900 words per page, compared to 1500 words per page in the original Air & Armor.

– Non-rules information (i.e. illustrations or examples of play) takes nearly 50% of all pages in the new edition.

The rules text in Würzburg is approximately 40 pages, as opposed to 148 pages, when following the same format as the original rules booklet. This is not a significant difference compared to the original rules.

Product Information:

Complexity:  Medium

Time Scale: 1 Turn = 2 Hours

Map Scale: 1 Mile/hex

Unit Scale: Companies and Battalions

Players: 2-7 players

Solitaire Suitability: Medium

Playing Time: 3 to 8 hours based on Scenario

Components:

Two 22″ x 34″ Maps

Five Countersheets (9/16″ size playing pieces)

Two Player Charts & Tables Booklets

Five TO&E Displays

Basic Game Rules Booklet

Advanced Game Rules Booklet

Two 10-Sided Dice

Game Credits:

Designer: Bruce Maxwell

Artist: Bruce Yearian

Project Director: John Kranz

Box Cover Design: Bruce Yearian & Brien Miller"

 Let us now take a look at what actually is in the box. The maps are impressive. They are two of the normal sized 22" X 34" maps that come with the game. The artwork on them is done very well. The terrain in each hex is extremely easy to discern. There is a terrain key on both maps. The reason I am most impressed by the maps is because they are made of card stock. This makes them a little harder to flatten out but makes them almost impervious to accidental tears. They are also covered in a glossy waterproof covering. Kudos to Compass Games for them! 

The two maps courtesy of Compass Games

 Up next is the main reason the game has gotten some flak over. This would be the 146-page Rule Book. Yes, you read that correctly. However, there are many mitigating circumstances to the length of the Rule Book. The main reason the Rule Book is that large is because of the giant size of the type and play examples. It is double-columned, but the type and pictures are a complete Godsend to the denizens of the Old Grognards Home for aging wargamers. The Rule Book is also manufactured much more like a book than a wargame Rule Book. The pages are also much more substantial than the 'magazine' pages that you sometimes find in newer Rule Books. The Rule Book, and both Players' Aids, are in full color. As far as the number of pages and learning the simulation, I will let the designer speak:

"Design Note: Even a veteran gamer is going to experience a sinking feeling weighing this booklet in his hands and wondering just how long it is going to take to digest these rules.  Take heart!  Three things lighten this load:

The first 15% of this booklet simply describes the components of the game and the various units and markers it contains; another 25% consists of detailed examples of play and Designer and Player Notes.  Only 60% of this booklet is actually rules, and some ten pages of those are optional.

There is a solid little introductory scenario (see Thermopylae, Case 47.1), which makes it easy to play your way into the game after reading just half the rules.

You will find extensive video clips online showing how the game is played.  Videos can be found at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS3eFl8PtEYXv2O6dt75jQxsxF6qoO1hn.

Finally, it is worth relating that when playtesters first picked up the game, they consistently reported being daunted by the rules and the extensive Sequence of Play.  Once they got into it, they equally consistently reported that the game was easy to play because the Sequence of Play and the Charts & Tables support game play without requiring much reference to the rules.  Players familiar with my earlier game, NATO: The Cold War Goes Hot, may wonder why I have not used the Veteran’s Summaries that made those rules so easy to absorb.  The answer is that Air & Armor is played using a unique game system.  Even veteran wargamers are unlikely to have seen anything like it before.

Regards, Bruce"

 So, not exactly a 'buckle up for the ride' warning but more like keep your hands inside at all times.

 The Players' Aids continue with Play Book. It comes in at a substantial 58-pages. However, it is just as large inside as the Rule Book. The Play Book is broken up into these chapters:

Scenario Play

Scenarios (12 of them)

Player Notes

Designer's Notes

Developer's Notes

TO&E Notes

Index

Game Credits

 There are two copies of the Charts & Tables Booklet. It comes in at a mere 18-pages with a full page back cover of the two maps in all their glory. Yes, that is a goodly amount of charts & tables. However, the designer does hold your hand through the scary process (see above).

 The information for the players continues with a slew of card stock thick and full color single- and double-page Player Aids. They are made of card stock and are also covered in the same way as the map. These include:

Sequences Card 1(two copies)

Sequences Card 2 (two copies)

Warsaw Pact Tables of Organization & Equipment (two different sheets one double-sided and one single-sided)

Warsaw Pact Pool Card

Warsaw Pact Planning Card

Warsaw Pact Tracks Card (Game Turn, Sams, and Victory Points etc.)

Nato Pool Card

Nato Tracks Card

West German and U.S./Canadian Tables of Organization & Equipment (double-sided)

 Then we take a look at the counters. The first thing you will notice is that Compass games for a while now has been sending them out in their own plastic wrapping. They do like to jump off the sprues. They have side views of armored and non-armored vehicles. The planes and helicopters are shown from top down. The information on them is color coded and also fairly large for this size of counter (9/16"). There are six countersheets and they are split roughly 60/40 as far as information counters and actual fighting units.

 The box, although not large, has a good number of things in it and they are very well manufactured. I am as impressed with this game's contents as I have been with the other Compass Games down through the last few years. 

 The designer has taken the time to help the player by using the scenarios to teach them small bits of the simulation at a time, using them as building blocks until you can experience the whole game. He knew that to just throw the player in the deep end of the pool would be completely counterproductive. The game comes with so many ways and rules to help it represent the time of this hypothetical conflict. This is the list under the Rule Book heading 'Units':

Unit Assembly

Hidden Intelligence

Dummy Units

Used and Unused Sides

Unit Splitting

Unit Combination

Unit Transfers

 One of the most interesting design choices was in how the TO&E and steps of each unit are used in the game. I probably will not explain it that well but here goes. The steps of a unit are used in various ways. First, they can be used as both Dummy Units and Hidden Intelligence. Your opponent will see that there is a counter on the board of Abrams. However, he will have no idea if they are real or how many steps are backing up that single counter. The designer has thought long and hard about how to show on a 2D map the effects of both 'Friction' and planned Maskirovka (deception and camouflage in Russian). One would be tempted to say that some of these are just 'Pasta Rules' included for chrome. This is not the truth in any way, shape, or form. To match the design that Mr. Maxwell had in his head, he had to do a lot of thinking outside the box.

 This is a list of some of what the designer also took into account for his game:

River Crossing Major and Minor

Fire Combat (Infiltration, Offensive, and Defensive)

Reaction Movement and Combat

Reconnaissance

Fire Support

Artillery (Direct Fire, Indirect Fire, and Rocket)

Strikes

Air Units

Attack Helicopter Units 

Utility Helicopters

Anti-Aircraft Fire

Airmobile Units

Headquarters

Shatter

Night

Engineering

Military Bridges

Improved Positions

Obstacles/Mines

Electronic Warfare

Poison Gas

 The list of everything added is quite a long one. However, the mastery of the game is how, if approached correctly, the player will not get overwhelmed. There is a lot of things to do and think about in this game, the sequence of play leads the player through all of it in an easy and straightforward way. 

 The Play Book has a wealth of information in both the Player and Designer Notes. You will get to see the history of Air & Armor from its inception to this newest edition (It was first published by West End Games in 1986). Bill Thomas deserves huge kudos for hunting down the designers of excellent older games and revamping them for this century.

 As the designer states "A game system is only as good as the scenarios designed for it". Rest assured that he has never really stopped tinkering and playtesting them since the 1970s. As mentioned, the scenarios range from small and simpler to large and complex. The game comes with 12 scenarios. The twelfth is called Hammer and Anvil and is roughly the campaign game. 

 I believe the designer was able to successfully complete his mission. I believe he wanted an in-depth semi-monster wargame that was also player friendly. That is usually a task that would approach Sisyphus's. My hat is off to Mr. Maxwell and what he was able to achieve. 

 There are four sheets of errata that do come with the game. While some might think this excessive, please remember the total amount of pages and words in the rules. For a game about warfare in the 1980s there had to be such a lot of rules for so many different scenarios and usage, there was bound to be a few hiccups. There is also a small square patch to fix an issue with the map around Karlstadt.

 Thank you very much Compass Games for letting me review this deep and enjoyable game. Yes, I had to do more learning and take more time than is usual with a wargame, but it was definitely worth it. As the old anacronym say GIGO. If you do not take the time or the firing synapses to learn the game, it is your loss. After all, isn't that why we are into wargaming. Otherwise, we could spend our time with tiddlywinks or FB cat videos (sorry Meta). 

 It has been a few years but the second game in the series has been released. This is Air & Armor: V Corps, Tactical Armored Warfare in Europe. From what I can tell it looks to be manufactured in the same exact way as its elder brother. There is a link to it below.

Robert Peterson

Compass Games

Air & Armor Wurzburg: Tactical Armored Warfare in Europe, Designer Signature Edition

Air & Armor: V Corps, Tactical Armored Warfare in Europe

 

Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War

by

Matrix Games

 This is a piece that comes straight from the designers of Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War. If you play computer wargames, you will be well aware of their last two releases:

Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm

My name is Robert Crandall and I’m the founder of On Target Simulations, the studio behind the Flashpoint series of games.  I started work in 2002 after talking to Matrix Games, and I’ve been working on it ever since.  It was a solo project for the first few years, but then I smartened up and started recruiting partners to help out.  We divvied up the jobs, and I found that the game itself improved significantly once the others joined in on the design.  The downside was that the rate of development actually slowed as we added more people.  We had so many ideas that we wanted to do that starting them all made it very hard to finish anything!  (Cue the eye-rolling by Matrix here).  Such is the life of a software development team.  

We currently have a core group of perhaps 19 people who are seriously contributing to Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War.  Some are full-time, and some are evenings and weekends.  All get a say in what the game looks like. During our six-month beta testing period, we had over 60 devoted testers who provided feedback on scenarios, identified bugs, and made suggestions that we considered. There were over 700 surveys filled out by testers with feedback! There is no doubt about the players helping shape this game and will continue to do so beyond our game launch on November 20th.

The game itself?  Ah, yes, it is a tactical ground combat simulation set in 1989 West Germany, positing a war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.  It is as high intensity as combat can get.  You command a force ranging in size from a reinforced battalion to a reinforced regiment on a 500-meter hex map, 15 by 25 km or larger, for 4 to 14 hours of game time.  Maneuver units are typically platoons for NATO and companies for the Warsaw Pact.

We model equipment right down to the individual vehicles, guns, and sensors, but the real game is at a much higher level.  You are the overall commanding officer, and you must give orders that have time lags and uncertainty associated with them.  You don’t have time to micromanage your forces, you must think big and see the total picture through the fog of war.  

If you can operate a standard Windows program, then you can operate this game.  Yes, there is a learning curve, but we try to make it easy to start.  We have tutorials and lots of docs to get you going.  As much as possible, you just need to point and click to get things started.  The game is hard to master, though, because it tries to reward good tactics.  Good tactics are, well, hard and very situational.  With practice, though, you will develop an eye for these situations and get a feel for when and where you should push hard and when you shouldn’t.

As you get going, you will find yourself dipping more deeply into the support reports and map overlays to get a better sense of potentials and possibilities.  You don’t have to, but they are there waiting for you.  If you take the time to study the terrain and think about the capabilities of both your and the enemy units, you will find yourself doing better and better.

This being the Cold War, there is a lot of interesting new stuff for a gamer to play with beyond the usual tanks, infantry, and artillery.  We have attack helicopters, ATGM firing units, weapon locating radars for counter battery work, and off-map artillery that you can call in.  We have air strikes and air defense suppression assets.  We have ten nations in the database (so far) and 80 maps to play on.  The maps are some of the most beautiful you will play on in the wargaming realm. 

 

There are over 50 standalone scenarios and another 46 between 10 campaigns. We paid special attention to researching the historically accurate units stationed in the various locations across West Germany. Where we could find accurate orders of battle, we use them. It’s amazing how many fans and our own team members bring forward anecdotes from their own time serving in their respective military and share resources that we can draw inspiration and information from. 

 

New in this iteration of the game is tactical transport.  This allows you to load leg infantry into helicopters to do air assaults, something that was a big part of the Warsaw Pact plans and something the NATO allies really wanted to use as well.  Look for a scenario called “Rendezvous with Destiny” to see a big NATO air assault by the 101st Airborne Division.  I strongly suggest you do the “Tutorial -  Air Assault Operations” first though.  There is lots to wrap your head around here.

If you are familiar with the predecessor game, Flashpoint Campaigns Southern Storm, from three years ago, you will see numerous improvements in the UI, speeding up the orders giving, more variety of unit types, and new features like tactical transport, group movement, artillery fire support groups, and new Staff reports. We have also brought in Belgian and Polish forces to the battle, bringing the total nations represented to 10. I should mention that the game needs a 1920 x 1080 minimum screen resolution but otherwise makes no particular demands of your hardware. The standalone scenarios can be played from either side, but the campaigns are for one particular side only. All of the scenario editing tools ship with the game. Flashpoint Campaigns has always been designed to be played while wearing your tactical thinking hat on to be successful. It’s a classic wargame in the sense that it’s a safe environment for planning a bold course of action and witnessing as it unravels your force or pays off.

Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War

Matrix Games

 In a Dark Wood

C3 Module 4 - The Hof Gap

by

This Red Line Games

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

 This is what comes with the game:

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

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

40 Action and Event Cards

24 pages full colour Rules Booklet

28 pages full colour Scenarios & Designer’s Notes Booklet

8 pages full colour Examples of Play Booklet

2x Tables booklets

5x Players' Aid Charts

2x 10-sided dice

10x zipbags

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

Some of the Components

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

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

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

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

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

US VII Corps command problems due to its multinational structure.

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

French incomplete integration into the wartime NATO structure.

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

Soviet Assault From March.

The abundant but partially outdated Czechoslovakian artillery.

Warsaw Pact Axis of Advance.

Warsaw Pact vulnerable supply network

5 km per hex, 3 hours per game turn

Regiment / Battalion sized ground units

Detailed Order of Battle set in 1985

Close Air Support and Attack Helicopters

Command, Control & Communication related problems

Electronic and Intelligence Warfare

Artillery interdiction and Counter-Battery fire

Chemical and Nuclear warfare

Specific events for Warsaw Pact and NATO

Random events to further increase battlefield chaos

Two Campaign Games:

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

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

Four Smaller Scenarios:

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

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

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

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

The Map

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

"Comrade Colonel-General,

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

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

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

Warsaw Pact Counters

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NATO Counters

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

Command and Control

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

Engineers

Close Air Support

Artillery

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

Stacking

Delayed Movement

Forced March

River Crossing

Supply

Weather

Chemical Warfare

Nuclear Warfare

Warsaw Pact Card

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

 Each Turn is played using the following sequence:

 

1. Weather Phase

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

 1.2 Both sides Ground or Unground Aircraft (29.4).

2. Events Phase

 2.1 Both sides receive Air, Electronic Warfare, Engineer and

     Command Points reinforcements (33).

 2.2 Both sides roll for Events (34).

3.Air Points Phase

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

     Air Points (19.3).

4. Side 1 Action Phase

 4.1 Orders Reveal Phase

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

       CPs accordingly (14.5).

 4.1.2 Place Current CP markers in the same slot of the 

       corresponding Max CP marker (14.5).

4.2 Orders Execution Phase

 4.2.1 Complete Order Execution (14.7).

 4.2.2 Execute each Revealed Order Chit (14.6).

 4.2.3 Execute Authorized and Unauthorized Posture Changes 

       (6.1.2, 6.1.3).

4.3 Orders Issue Phase

 4.3.1 Issue new Orders (14.4).

4.4 HQ Reconstruction Phase

 4.4.1 Both sides reconstruct destroyed HQs (12.5).

4.5 Engineering Phase

 4.5.1 Prepare River Crossings (9.2).

 4.5.2 Build Defensive Works (31.1).

 4.5.3 Mine Bridges (32.1.2)

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

 4.5.5 Allocate Sappers (37.1).

 4.5.6 Deallocate Sappers (37.2).

4.6 Attrition Removal Phase

 4.6.1 Relocate Supply Hubs (30.3.1).

 4.6.2 Rotate units Resting from previous Turn (11.4).

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

4.7 EW Points Phase

 4.7.1 Allocate EW Points to HQs (24.1).

 4.7.2 Deallocate EW Points from HQs (24.2).

4.8 Bombardment Phase

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

 4.8.2 Both sides execute Bombardment (20) and Interdiction 

       (21).

4.9 Movement Phase

 4.9.1 Execute Movement and Combat (8, 15).

4.10 Housekeeping Phase

 4.10.1 Remove Breakthrough, Interdiction and Intelligence 

        markers.

 4.10.2 Remove Engaged and Half-Engaged markers from 

        Phasing Units.

 4.10.3 Flip used Helicopters upright (18).

 4.10.4 Remove Delayed markers placed in the previous Turn from 

        Phasing Units (8.4.1). 

5. Side 2 Action Phase

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

     Phase 4 are repeated.

6. End Phase

 6.1 Check for removal of Persistent Gas (26.2.2)

 6.2 Check for removal of Nuclear Contamination (27.4).

 6.3 Advance Turn marker on the Time Track.

NATO Card

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

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

Scenario

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

1985: Deadly Northern Lights

1985: Sacred Oil

1985: Under an Iron Sky

The Dogs of War

Die Festung Hamburg

Less Than 60 Miles

In a Dark Wood

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

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

All of the games of this series laid out

Robert Peterson

Thin Red Line Games

In a Dark Wood: C3 Module 4 - Hof Gap

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

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

 NORAD 3

Designed by

Dana Lombardy 

 This is a write-up by Mr. Lombardy about this new edition of his game.

"Dana Lombardy looks at his game NORAD 50+ years later

In 1973, I needed a wargame for Conflict #4 – the magazine I started the previous year. Several new designs were under development and would be published with future issues of Conflict. But I needed a new game design – and it had to be finished in 60 days.

It wasn’t the first time I published a game that wasn’t a typical wargame. Conflict #3 included a time travel science fiction paper-and-pencil design called Assassin! It was too different for many of the readers whose feedback was: “Give us a real wargame!”

This meant that the game had to be a military battle or campaign and include conventional die-cut unit counters and a game map. But I wanted to create something that was not completely traditional.

NORAD was my first modern era design: a hypothetical nuclear war caused by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis between the USA and USSR. The readers’ reactions were extreme: they either loved it or hated it. NORAD used a polar projection map where the movement spaces were smaller at the North Pole and became wider as they moved South. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first wargame to use this type of map instead of a traditional hexagon or square pattern.

Combat did not have standard combat factors on each counter that was resolved using a customary Combat Results Table (CRT). Instead, if a Russian bomber or submarine missile reached a Canadian or United States city it was immediately flipped over to show a nuclear mushroom cloud. This designated that the city was destroyed and the Soviet player received victory points for that city. If the Canadian or U.S. fighter aircraft could reach the Russian bomber before it could nuke the city, both counters were removed. There were also anti-aircraft missile counters placed on some cities that were last-ditch defenses. Both sides had a few decoy (blank) counters representing electronic countermeasures (ECM) to confuse an enemy’s radar and weapons.

Mr. Lombardy at Origins 1976

To start, the U.S. player set up his fighters, decoys, and anti-aircraft missiles on any city square. These faster moving units were moved to the incoming Russian bombers to eliminate them before they could move onto a space with a Canadian or U.S. city.

Game play consisted of the Soviet player moving his bombers (including decoys) onto the northern edge of the map. At least four (or more) bombers of his fleet of 30 counters had to move onto the map every turn. Only one bomber could be in a square. Every bomber on the map moved every Turn until it was destroyed by a Canadian or U.S. fighter or reached a target city.

Each city was worth from 5 to 9 points. Soviet victory was achieved by accumulating at least 100 victory points. The U.S. player “won” if the Soviet total was less than 100 points. But America was still destroyed.

NORAD was easy to learn and fast-playing. One reader called the game “nuclear checkers.”

In 1977 a friend reprinted the game for his Mishler Company using the same artwork and a few rule edits. NORAD 2 was planned by Victory Point Games adding cards, chits, and major rules changes but it was never published. Banzai magazine’s NORAD 3 is a greatly expanded version based on the original design that adds the USA attack on the USSR.

I am honored and flattered to have one of my first game designs republished by Yasushi Nakaguro in a version that includes much improved graphics and the expansion of the American attack on the USSR.

New Edition!

NORAD 3

The original 1973 publication of Dana Lombardy’s “nuclear checkers” has been greatly improved and enhanced by BANZAI magazine with:

✔️Gorgeous new full-color graphics.

✔️Expanded game map that now shows the USSR as well as the USA targets.

✔️New playing pieces that represent USA bombers and USSR fighters.

✔️Illustrated rulebook in English that includes optional rules for NORAD and Dana’s 1973 designer’s notes.

✔️Plus new rules for the Soviet Home Defense forces and NATO expansion game by Yasushi Nakaguro.

✔️BONUS: Dana has written a backstory about creating the 1973 game and describes its 1977-2024 versions and a mini tournament held in Basque area of Spain in 2020.

GAME ONLY (rules in English)

Simple rules, fast-playing, amazing graphics, optional rules & expansion.

$40 includes FREE shipping to a US address

(BANZAI Japanese language magazine is out of print and not included).

Contact dana.lombardy@gmail.com for shipping to other countries.

Supplies are LIMITED."

This is a YT video about the game:

https://youtu.be/2AbP_Y8RqMA

NORAD 3

Armored Brigade II by Slitherine/Matrix a tutorial by Joe Beard

 This is a video tutorial of the newly released Armored Brigade II

by our good friend Joe Beard

https://youtu.be/ILB_RGTIAso

Thank you very much Joe!

 Red Strike

Air, Land and Naval Combat in Europe 1989

by

Vuca Simulations

 When we last picked up Wolfram von Eschenbach's magnum opus, Parzival was wandering through the forest of other wargames looking for the Grail. According to the tale, he stopped at the castle of Vuca Simulations and spoke to the fisherman. Did Parzival find the Grail or was this just another false lead from Klingsor? Read on to see.

 This is from Vuca Simulations about the 'history' of the game:

Red Strike is a war game simulating a hypothetical clash between NATO and Warsaw Pact (WP) armed forces in Summer 1989. It covers operational land, air and sea warfare in Central Europe and the Northern Atlantic, while also keeping an eye on the strategic situation around the world.

Red Strike is a highly interactive game. Its detection and interception mechanisms allow for simultaneous actions and reactions from both sides. Having to constantly monitor the battlefield minimizes player downtime and maximizes their ability to recreate a very fluid “What if“ representation of a Cold War gone hot. The mechanisms can seem complex at first but will soon become second nature.

The rules that make Red Strike so interactive, also make it perfect for team play. Players can divide responsibilities between air, ground and possibly naval forces. The ground forces could be split by army/front or corps.

The crucial naval/air war over the North Atlantic can be played either as a standalone game, or as part of the Campaign Scenarios. As would have happened historically, its impact on the battlefield in Germany can be decisive; the interception and sinking of convoys carrying supplies and reinforcements making the difference between success and failure.

The greatest feature of this game is that it perfectly embodies the theory of the "Depth-Three-dimensional" combat theory of the Soviet Union in the 1980s and the "Air-Land Battle" theory of the US military."

The game in some of its glory

 I had thought that Vuca Simulations 1914 Nach Paris was the pinnacle of wargaming in both playing and artwork. Now along comes Red Strike and I have to eat my words. All you have to do is to check out the box. Like all of Vuca Simulations games it is a work of art all by itself. However, the size and heft of the game put it in another category. It is one of the few wargames where I am stumped as far as where to begin. The game is so big that it is only the second game I have reviewed in eight years that needs a two-part review. 

 This is what comes with the game:

24 Counter Sheets 3/4"!!!

82 Cards in two Decks

2 Operations Maps 46" x  34" Combined

1 Strategic Map 27" x 15"

24 Setup Sheets

2 16 page Player Aid Booklets

10 Air Base Sheets

5 Scenario Sheets (1-32"x 18", 1- 16"x 18", 3- page size)

1 56 page Rulebook

ADN  (pad ) sheet block 16 pages

2x10 sided die

This is a close shot of one of the Airbase Player Aids

 I have to add what is below so that you can see exactly what has gone into the designing of this game. How many games have a bibliography or one that is two pages long! This is straight from the designer Mr. Yes Rettel. If a game has had a longer time in design and incorporated more research, I would like to see it.

"Red Strike is based on the games Gulf Strike and Aegean Strike and uses many of the same mechanics. Mark Herman designed the Strike games as detailed, complex simulations. Red Strike, like its predecessors, is not for the fainthearted.

The game comes with this Rule Book and the Scenario Book. The Rule Book covers the entire game system and the Scenario Book contains everything needed to set up the game

Other games I took as reference to design this game:

G-SOF-G (S&T 220), NATO: The Next War in Europe (VG), 3

rd

Fleet (VG), The Next War (SPI) and

above all the “Next War” series from GMT.

Internet links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

BIBLIOGRAPHY

General / Cold War

Bidwell, Shelford—World War 3 A Military Projection Founded on Today’s Facts, Greenwich

House, 1983

Bishop, Chris—Firepower Air Warfare, Orbis Publishing, 1999

Cockburn, Andrew—The Threat, Scherz, 1983

Crawford, Steve—Kriegsschiffe und Flugzeugträger, Gondrom, 2000

Donald, David—Modern Battlefield Warplanes, AIRtime Publishing, 1994

Dunnigan, James F. and Bay, Austin—A Quick and Dirty Guide to War, Quill, 1991

Dunnigan, James F.—How To Make War, revised edition Quill, 1988

Edited by Vojtech Mastny, Sven G. Holtsmark and Andreas Wenger—War Plans and Alliances

in the Cold War—Threat Perceptions in the East and West, Routledge, 2006

Epstein, Joshua M.—Conventional Force Reductions, The Brookings Institution, 1990

Faringdon, Hugh—Strategic Geography—NATO, the Warsaw Pact and the Superpowers, 2

nd

ed, Routledge, 1989

Friedman, Norman—The Fifty Year War, Naval Institute Press, 2000

Gaddis, John Lewis—The Cold War A New History, Penguin Books, 2005

Gunston, Bill and Hewish, Mark and Sweetman, Bill and Wheeler, Barry C and Taylor John

W.R—Air Forces of the World, Salamander Books, 1979

House, Jonathan M.—A Military History of the Cold War 1944-1962, University of Oklahoma

Press, 2012

Isaacs, Jeremy and Downing, Taylor—Cold War, Bantam Press, 1998

Jeschonnek, Friedrich and Riedel, Dieter and Durie, William—Alliierte in Berlin 1945-1994,

Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, 2007

Krüger, Dieter—Am Abgrund?, Parzellers Buchverlag, 2013

Krüger, Dieter (Hrsg.)—Schlachtfeld Fulda Gap, Parzellers Buchverlag, 2017

La Guerre de demain, Tallandier, 1983

La paix surarmée Pour la Science, 1979-1987 (french edition of Scientific American)

La Stratégie Mondiale Bordas, 1985 (french edition of Atlas of Global Strategy, ed.Gra

-

ham Speake)

Leonhard, Robert—The Art of Maneuver, Maneuver-warfare Theory and AirLand Battle,

Ballantine Books, 1991

Miller, David and Foss, Christopher F.—Modern Land Combat, Salamander Books, 1987

Price, Alfred—Air Battle—Central Europe, Free Press, 1986

Stöver, Bernd—Der Kalte Krieg, C.H.Beck, 2007

Ware, Pat—Cold War Operations Manual, Haynes Publishing, 2016

Watts, Anthony J.—Jane’s Warship Recognition Guide ,HarperCollins, 2006

Winchester, Jim—Military Aircraft of the Cold War, Grange Books, 2006

World Air Power, Vol.1, Spring 1990, Aerospace Publishing Limited

World Air Power, Vol.2, Summer 1990, Aerospace Publishing Limited

World Air Power, Vol.3, Autumn/Fall 1990, Aerospace Publishing Limited

Zaloga, Steven J.—Duel 18 - M1 Abrams vs. T-72 Ural, Osprey, 2009

NATO

Behrendt, Hans-Günter—Flugabwehr in Deutschland, Miles-Verlag, 2021

Bolik, Gerd—NATO-Planungen für die Verteidigung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland im

Kalten Krieg, Miles-Verlag, 2021

Dorn, Wolfram—So heiss war der Kalte Krieg—Fallex 66, Dittrich, 2002

Eshel, David—The U.S. Rapid Deployment Forces, Arco Publishing, 1985

Ganser, Daniele—NATO Geheimarmeen in Europa Orell Füssli, 2008

Gehring, Stephen P.—From the Fulda Gap to Kuweit

Hughes, Wayne P.—Fleet Tactics, theory and practice US Naval Institute Press, 1989

Knobloch, von, Heinz—Bundesluftwaffe intern Motorbuch, 2008

Oestmann, Rainer—Handbuch für Unterführer, Walhalla Fachverlag, 2000

RAIDS n°24, Histoire & Collections, 1987

RAIDS n°31, Histoire & Collections, 1988

RAIDS n°34, Histoire & Collections, 1989

Walter, Uwe—Artilleristen, Aufklärer, Flieger, Infanteristen, Jäger, Logistiker, Pioniere und

Panzermänner, BoD—Books on Demand, 2018

Walter, Uwe—Die Strukturen und Verbände des deutschen Heeres (2. Teil), BoD—Books on

Demand, 2020

Walter, Uwe—Die Strukturen und Verbände des deutschen Heeres (Teil 1), Edition Avra, 2017

Walter, Uwe—Von Wölfen, Leoparden und anderen Raubtieren, BoD—Books on Demand, 2017

Novel

Clancy, Tom—Tempête Rouge Livre de Poche, 1986 (french edition of Red Storm Rising)

General Hackett, Sir John—The Third World War Macmillan, 1978

General Hackett, Sir John—The Third World War—The untold story Macmillan, 1982

Peters, Ralph—Red Army Pocket Books, 1989

Nuclear Warfare

Bernstein, Jeremy—Nuclear Weapons—What you need to know, Cambridge University

Press, 2008

Walmer, Max—Strategic Weapons, Prenticehall Press, 1988

Osprey Publications

Combat Aircraft—27 Air War in the Gulf 1991

Combat Aircraft—60 B-1B Lancer units in combat

Elite 10—Warsaw Pact Ground Forces

Elite 12—Inside the Soviet Army Today

Elite 16—NATO Armies today

Elite 26—Tank War—Central Front : NATO vw. Warsaw Pact

Fortress 36—US Strategic and Defensive Missile Systems 1950-2004

Fortress 69—The Berlin Wall and the Intra-German Border 1961-1989

New Vanguard 115—Landing Ship, Tank (LST) 1942-2002

New Vanguard 120—Scud Ballistic Missile and Launch Systems 1955-2005

New Vanguard 125—Huey Cobra Gunships

New Vanguard 134—Red SAM: The SA-2 Guideline Anti-Aircraft Missile

New Vanguard 138—US Nuclear Submarines: The Fast Attack

New Vanguard 152—T-80 Standard Tank

New Vanguard 158—T-62 Main Battle Tank 1965-2005

New Vanguard 2—M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1982-92

New Vanguard 85—M60 Main Battle Tank 1960-91

Wargame related

Allen Thomas B. War Games—The Secret World of the Creators, Players, and Policy Makers

Rehearsing World War III Today Naval Institute Press, McGraw Hill, 1987

Dunnigan, James F.—The Complete Wargames Handbook, revised edition, Quill 1992

Perla, Peter P.—The Art of Wargaming Naval Institute Press, 1990

Warsaw Pact

Department of Defense Soviet Military Power, Prospects for Change 1989

Donald, David—Tupolev Bombers, AIRtime Publishing, 2001

Gervasi, Tom—Soviet Military Power—The Annotated and Corrected Version of the Pentagon’s

Guide, Random House, 1987

Gervasi, Tom—The Myth of Soviet Military Supremacy Perennial Library, 1986

Glantz, David M.—Soviet Military Operational Art—In pursuit of Deep Battle Frank Cass, 1991

Gordon, Yefim and Dexter, Keith—Mikoyan MiG-21 Midland, 2008

Gordon, Yefim—Soviet Strategic Aviation in the Cold War, Hikoki Publications, 2009

Hoffman, Hans-Albert & Stoof, Siegfried—Sowjetische Truppen in Deutschland und ihr

Hauptquartier in Wünsdorf 1945—1994, Verlag Dr. Köster, 2017

Kopenhagen, Wilfried—Die NVA Land-, Luft- und Seestreitkräfte Motorbuch, 2006

La puissance militaire soviétique Bordas, 1984 (french edition of The Soviet War Machine

Salamander Books, 1984)

Lautsch, Siegfried - Kriegsschauplatz Deutschland - ZMSBw 2013

MccGwire, Michael—Military Objectives in Soviet Foreign Policy The Brookings Institution, 1987

Normann, Michael—Typenkompass Kampfflugzeuge der NVA 1956-1990, Motorbuch, 2010

Odom, William E.—The Collapse of the Soviet Military Yale University Press, 1998

Polmar, Norman—Guide to the Soviet Navy, 4th

edition Naval Institute Press, 1986

Suvorov—Inside the Soviet Army Macmillan, 1982

Sweetman, Bill—Soviet Military Aircraft Hamlyn, 1981

The Russian General Staff—The Soviet-Afghan War, How a Superpower fought and lost,

University Press of Kansas, 2002"

 This is a really amazing list on so many levels. It really shows the depth and detail that went into this design.

This is the Fulda Gap Scenario Map

 In another part of the booklets Mr. Rettel mentions that he has been working on this design since 2003. This is just one more in the list of superlatives that shows in the design. He is also completely correct in saying that the design is not for the faint-hearted. If you are a neophyte or someone who has just played block wargames, opening this box will come as a shock. This is the simulation side of our esteemed hobby. You might be inclined to look for the rule about pasta in the Rulebook. However, the game does not throw you into the deep end and hope you swim. There are many different sized scenarios that comes in this cornucopia. The naval and air portions of the game are simulations in their own right. The Operational Map has hexes of two different sizes. The smaller hexes are 28 kilometers across and the larger are 280 kilometers across. The game also comes with a Strategic Map. 

 Every land, air, and sea asset available to the NATO and Warsaw Pact Alliances is in the box. One thing about the game, there is a good amount of stacking of counters. I never really remember this being an issue when SPI and Avalon Hill released their monster games. I believe it has a lot to do with the now advanced age of some of our grognards. As far as stacking years ago, it was considered the more the merrier. 

 The price of the game at Vuca Simulations is $178 US dollars. Now before you get your knickers in a bunch, I think you should compare the normal sized games from other publishers and Vuca Simulations. Almost all wargame publishers now have prices for their AAA games right about or just under this price point, and sometimes over. This game should really be considered in the price per pound group of wargames. 

 This is a game that many grognards have been dreaming about. I'd bet after looking at it, many designers wish that it was theirs. Of course, you have to compare the 20-year gestation period of the game in the mix. Many will not like it because of the depth and the stacking and because it does not match the drapes. So be it, different strokes for different folks. If you grognards are lucky enough to have a gaming night where you have a few buddies who like games, this makes playing it that much easier. It would be just like the teams that played Campaign for North Africa. However, this game has all the eye candy and refinements that comes with a game that is almost 50 years newer than CNA. 

 The game comes with these scenarios:

10 Exercise Scenarios to teach you different parts of the system

Battle Scenarios:

 Fulda Gap - The one we know and love

 Berlin Blockade - Another one you have probably played

 North German Plains - The opposite of Monty in WWII

 Bavarian Option  - Southern Germany fighting

 Miami 1989 - North Sea naval scenario

 Valkyrie's Embrace - Invasion of Norway

Campaign Scenarios:

 99 Red Balloons - No preparations for war on either side

 We Didn't Start the Fire - Tensions rise slower given each side the time to call in more troops etc.

 Land of Confusion - Prolonged period of saber rattling before the Warsaw Pact attacks

 Two Tribes - Prolonged period of saber rattling NATO attacks

 

Part of the clash on the North German Plain

 I am overwhelmed, in a good way, that Vuca Simulations has sent me this monster of a simulation to review. I feel like a snake that now has killed its prey but cannot quite figure out how to swallow it. The detail and thinking, dare I say love, that has gone into the design is truly breathtaking. Please come back to read part two where I actually get to really play this big bad boy.

Robert Peterson

Vuca Simulations:

VUCA simulations - Premium conflict simulations from Europe – VUCASIMS

Red Strike:

Red Strike - 1989 – VUCASIMS

Across the Bug River by Vuca Simulations My Review:

Across the Bug River by Vuca Simulations - A Wargamers Needful Things

Donnerschlag by Vuca Simulations My Review:

Donnerschlag Escape From Stalingrad by Vuca Simulations - A Wargamers Needful Things