Help Arrives!

by 

Draco Ideas

 The Spanish Civil War July 17, 1936 - April 1, 1939 was a pivotal moment in European history. It was your typical Civil War featuring brother against brother that somehow makes the hatred between both sides that much deeper and darker. However, the war is much more important because it was the training ground for both the Allies and Axis Powers right before the outbreak of World War II. The war saw actions that were much more akin to World War I actions than World War II. The lessons learned or not understood by some of the WWII belligerents can be correctly placed at the foot of the Spanish Civil War. The fighting broke out between the Republicans and the Nationalists. The Republicans ran the gamut from Communists to Socialists, and regular believers in Democracy. They also had some help by the International Brigades made up of citizens from other democracies who went to fight against Fascism. The Nationalists had one advantage in that they were pretty much all Fascists. They also did have infighting because the Nationalist generals were all intriguing to become the leader of Spain after the Civil War ended. The Nationalists also had the help of the two Fascist Powers of Europe: Italy and Germany. The Italian Army was up to par for fighting a war in the late 1930s. Italy only ran into trouble in WWII because their Army was still an army equipped to fight a war in 1936. The technological advances from 1936 to 1940 passed them by. The Germans brought in their Condor Legion. These were 'enlisted' troops and airmen from the German Armed Forces. Both sides had a mish mash of obsolete and new weapons in their armories. The Republicans received help from the Soviet Union in the form of armaments and 'trainers' who actually fought and flew in the war. As mentioned, a lot of the fighting resembled WWI trench style fighting rather than the slash and dash of WWII. So, this is a tactical game about the fighting in the Spanish Civil War.

Leaders

 This is a blurb from Draco Ideas:

"The Spanish Civil War, recreated in this tactical wargame with a classic “hex&counter” flavour. Choose your side! You can fight not only with the main Spanish military units, you’ll have international support, too. International Brigades, Corpo Truppe Voluntarie, Condor Legion, soviet T-26B, German Pz I Ausf A, POUM militias, all of them will fight in the fierce battles that Help Arrives! brings to your table.

With the improved version of War Storm Series system rules, it adapts the series to the conflict and introduces campaigns such as the Battle of Madrid, Guadalajara or the Ebro, and more.

In addition, the new Tactical Skill of the officers will make military training or lack thereof, one of the key elements in the conflict, along the morale of the combatants.

The scale is set to platoon level, with units representing groups of between 30 and 40 servicemen. Each hexagon in the map portrays a distance of 150-200 meters (roughly 165 to 220 yards). The scenarios are divided in turns that symbolize approximately 12 to 15 minutes of action.

The saga is based in the principle of the simultaneous execution We Go. In each activation you will move a single company, so there is no waiting between turns! This title also brings a set of adapted and didactic rules, to ease the learning curve for new players. After a few pages, you will be able to play the first scenario. The heart of the War Storm Series relies in the command, being the officers the keystone of the game. Help Arrives! goes one step further, introducing a new concept in the series: Tactical Ability. The game uses isomorphic maps and each one may be linked with the others by any of the edges."

Counters

 This is what comes with the game:

4 isomorphic maps

8 overlays

5 counters punchboards (3 of 5/8 and 2 of 3/4”)

1 Standard Rules booklet

1 Exclusive Rules booklet

7 Scenarios sheets for a total of 13 unique scenarios

3 Tables sheets (double sided)

2 Battalion sheets

2 six-sided dice

Scenario "Camino de los Toldos"

 The four isomorphic maps unfold to around 11" x 15.5". They are of hard stock material. The above says it comes with eight overlays. I seem to count only seven. These are of lighter stock than the actual maps. You do have to cut the smaller overlays out of the page they are on. The maps and overlays have easy to discern terrain and terrain height. The different features of fields and towns and villages etc. are nicely done. The 3/4" counters are very nicely done with a picture of the weapon (tank, machine gun, or artillery etc.) and its capabilities easy to see. The 5/8" counters are a bit busy and the numbers to see on them are a bit small. Draco Ideas went for artwork on the counters instead of just function. It does add immersion and is much nicer to look at, but some gamers might have problems. The only thing that I do not like about the counters is that they are pretty thin. They are a bit hard to move with old fingers. The scenario Player Aid sheets are wonderful. They are of thin hard stock and are full sized. My game came with seventeen scenarios, not the thirteen listed above. They are also easy to read and understand. I really like that you have separate scenario sheets instead of there just being a booklet of them. This will increase their life and not leave you with a beat up folded scenario booklet. The Player Aid sheets are made of the same stock and are easy to read and are in full color. There are two Rules Booklets. One is for the Series Rules and one is for Help Arrives Exclusive Rules. Both are in full color and filled with examples of play. The Series Rules are forty-six pages in length. The Help Arrives Exclusive Rules are only seven pages long. These are both very nicely done. You also get an eight page booklet to be able to use with Draco Ideas 'Alone in the Storm' (their solitaire add-on for their War Storm Series). To use this you also need to have purchased their Alone in the Storm. So, except for the thickness of the counters, the components are really well done. I know this is nitpicking, but inquiring minds want to know. Do they work as counters? Of course, and they are nice to look at and really add to the immersion.

 I own one of the earlier War Storm Series games 'A Las Barricadas'. This is another game produced by Compass Games about the Spanish Civil War. So, I was already used to the system. For those of you who have had the pleasure of playing A Las Barricadas, these are some of the differences:

"HA while utilizing "PTH" base rules, incorporates new and adapted rules and additions for this new tittle. The WSS promises many hours of fierce fighting between the infantry, tanks, artillery and aircraft belonging to the armies enveloped in this conflict. Just a few of the additions include:

Battalion officers

Communist Commissars

Recon rules

Flamethrower tanks

International Brigades

Corpo Troppe Volontarie (C.T.V.)

Condor Legion

One 8'5 x 11" chart with many overlays"

 This is the Sequence of Play:

The game is divided into turns. Each turn represents about 12-15 minutes of real 

combat time. Each turn is divided into the following phases:

• Command Phase

• Initiative Phase

• Activation Phase and Performing Actions

• Marker Removal Phase

  So, we know that the game is in WEGO or simultaneous execution. Draco Ideas describes it as "a hybrid system of turns and real time". The Rulebook starts you off with the basic rules and then adds more layers to the cake. The War Storm Series emphasis is on command through your officers.

 

 The game has rules for these and many others:

Spotting, and Line of Sight

Morale

Transport

Reconnaissance

Commissars and Chaplains

Air Support

Close Assault 

 The rules also allow you to fight a campaign with your troops. Another great addition is the Optional Rule that puts Events into play. Some of these are:

Molotov Cocktail

Dum-Dum Bullets

Flamethrower

Kif (Hashish) This was imbibed by the Moroccan Soldiers on the Nationalist side.

 This is a very good tactical simulation of the Spanish Civil War. I am a bit of an aficionado about the war, so my thoughts might be a bit skewed. However, this game also allows you to use World War I and early World War II armaments. You get to see many of the actual artillery and tanks that span both eras. The game can put you in the shoes of Russian tankers when they first met the German dreaded '88'. As mentioned, this was a war much like World War I with an extra twenty years of armament development. The rules are very clear. This is, after all, the fourth game in Draco Ideas War Storm Series. Many of the concepts will be familiar to players who have delved into tactical wargames. One addition to the game is the ability to create your own scenarios. You are given whole tables of the different units and armaments along with their respective recruitment costs. I am definitely going to buy their solo addition to their games 'Alone in the Storm'. I have seen only good things about how the games play with Draco Ideas solitaire rules.

 These are the other games in the War Storm Series:

Paths to Hell (2016)

A title that retakes the battles of the Eastern Front, adding specific rules such as political commissar, recce motorcycles, flame-thrower tanks and railways.

La Bataille de France 1940 (2015)

It does recreate the most important battles in where the Blitzkrieg tactics were widely used in the Western Front during the invasion of France.

A las Barricadas! (2006-2015)

This was the first title in the series, depicting the fiercest battles between the Nationals and the Republicans across the bloody Spanish Civil War.

Normandy: The Beginning of the End (2018)

It does recreate events related to the Normandy landings and allows the players to revive, at the tactical level, the most relevant battles on the D-Day, from the American beaches to the outskirts of Saint-Lò.

This is what comes with the Normandy game

 Thank you very much Draco Ideas for letting me review this beautiful game. While there have been some games about the Spanish Civil War, not many at all are at the tactical level.

Robert

Draco Ideas: Our games | Draco Ideas editorial

Help Arrives!: Help Arrives! – Spanish Civil War | Draco Ideas editorial

 COMPANY OF HEROES

FROM

BAD CROW GAMES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 both newbies and grognards.

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

ROUND

Manoeuvre Phase;

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Damage Phase

Supply Phase

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                                       Rifles in the Pacific

by

Tiny Battle Publishing

 Tiny Battle is an apt name for the company that released this game. The game defies my attempts to pigeonhole it. It is a tactical game, but it is unlike any other tactical game I have played. It is a solitaire game of tactical warfare in the (surprise) Pacific. Let us first list what comes with the game:

Rule Booklet

Mission Briefing Booklet

Four Army Sheets (on two sides of 8 1/2" x 11" cards)

One Master Copy Unit Roster (on the back of the game's cover)

Three 8 1/2" x 11" Maps representing the varying terrain in the Pacific Theater

One Squad Examples Card (on the back of the Map Card)

39 1" Unit Counters

46 Administrative Counters

 You will need to provide five six-sided die, and a container for random drawing counters

Maps

 The one inch counters are a godsend for these old eyes. The 'Map Cards' do not resemble any I have seen. They look much more like 'Battle Boards' I have seen in other games. So, you really cannot say if the 'Map' is an eyesore or a work of beauty. They are utilitarian looking, and do the job. The counters, on the other hand, are very well done, and did I mention that they are one inch. 

 The game sequence is pretty simple. This is what it looks like:

Mission Setup

Squad Selection

Mission Execution

End-Mission Briefing

 The Armies available are:

Japan - Both the Special Navy Landing Force, and Imperial Japanese Army

United States - Marines

Commonwealth

 The missions you can play are:

Jungle Patrol

Defend A River Bank

Capture A Bridge

'Wave Zero' - Amphibious Invasion

Demolition Squad

Destroy A Radio Station

Casualty Evacuation

'Line Of Fire' - Attack A Strong Position

 Other than the slightly weird (at least for me) setup of the game, in most ways it is a normal tactical game. Tanks, mines, close combat etc. are all here among all of the other usual rules. The tanks you get to use include Shermans, Cromwells, Stuarts, Type 96 (Ha-Go), and the Type 97 Medium Tank. The rule book is well set out, and is easy to read and understand. This is the second game in the 'Rifles' games from Tiny Battle. The first game is 'Rifles in the Ardennes'. 

 I have to be truthful and say it took a few games for me to get used to the game. It did begin to grow on me. If you are in the mood for a quick, easy playing game about tactical warfare in the Pacific then I can recommend 'Rifles' with no caveats. Thank you Tiny Battle Publishing for letting me review this interesting game.

Robert

Tiny Battle Publishing:

https://tinybattlepublishing.com/

Rifles in the Pacific:

https://tinybattlepublishing.com/products/rifles-in-the-pacific

They are also publishing 'The Devil's To Pay' Hermann Luttmann's game on the first day of Gettysburg. I really like his games and especially the map look and style of his Gettyburg games. He designed 'Longstreet Attacks' about the second day.

https://tinybattlepublishing.com/products/the-devils-to-pay-the-first-day-at-gettysburg