SONG FOR WAR

FROM

INVICTA REX GAMES

RELAUNCHING SOON

In 2023, I reviewed and immediately pledged to the Kickstarter for Song For War when it was launched.  An outstanding game reviewed enthusiastically by myself and many far more well-known names, such as Zilla Blitz and Andrew & Grant of The Players Aid.  Much to my disappointment and the disappointment of many more, its ambitious target eventually wasn't met.  But from the outset, Chris and Seth, who formed Invicta Rex Games, had encouraged comments, ideas and advice and these have helped inform their subsequent planning. 

So here we are on the verge of that re-launch in 2025 and I'd like to fill you in on what to expect.  But first, if this is the first time you've heard of the game, I'd suggest having a look at my original review at this link Song For War and at some of the many other reviews on this game.  But first just a quick reminder of what everything looks like when set out.

My focus today is going to be specifically on the single major new development.  This development had already been under consideration by the guys at Invicta Rex even before the gaming community started suggesting it. It was a request for some shorter scenarios and that's just what the new launch provides.  These two new Scenarios are Italy and North Africa.  What’s even more important is that you're being offered even more choice.  You'll be able to pledge for  the whole Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre with these two new Scenarios or you can choose to pledge for a separate package Song For War: Mediterranean Operations containing just the two Scenarios.

What’s the difference?

Song For War: Mediterranean Theatre contains all that was previously covered by the first launch.  But now on the reverse of one of the two amazing mounted boards is a new map focusing on Italy and its surrounding seas and on the other map’s reverse is a similar closer focus on North Africa and the bordering Mediterranean.  This is an amazing addition, as the following pictures show.   First of all, Italy.

Followed by North Africa - at a slightly tilted angle!

Both retain the gloriously vibrant map colours of their parent map.  To accompany these two new maps and their respective Scenarios

come some modifications to the rules to reflect the more detailed picture that this narrower geographical and historical focus allows, as well as the omission of the National Support Phase from the whole theatre game’s rules.

However, if you want something a little lighter, whether on your pocket, your shelf or your playing time, this smaller game [and that word smaller is a very misleading one] Song For War: Mediterranean Operations will be a stunning buy in its own right with a single mounted board with the two maps on opposite sides.  I hope I've whetted your appetite and in a few months time, curtesy of Invicta Rex Games, I shall be able to give you an even better detailed view and review of my own copy of this separate game. Personally, I shall still be pledging for the whole Mediterranean game as well, but that's my choice.

Meanwhile here are just a couple of highlights to savour.

The Allies land at Salerno

Tobruk - will it fall or not?  It's up to you!

 SONG FOR WAR

MEDITERRANEAN OPERATIONS

FROM 

INVICTA REX

In 2023, I had the good fortune to encounter Invicta Rex games and their prototype for their first game, Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre.  I was able to experience the game through play with the designers on Tabletopia and reviewed the game here on the blog.   

I followed their progress and initial Kickstarter, which I immediately pledged for, and was majorly disappointed when it didn't reach its target goal. 

Fast forward two years and the expected and heralded new launch on Kickstarter rapidly passed its target and unlocked several goals.  This time there has been the opportunity to select one of two pledges.  The major pledge is for a revamp of the original game with its massive two mounted boards.  This has been greatly augmented by including two closer focused Operational scenarios: North Africa and Italy.  Each of which is played out on individual maps, each printed on the reverse side of one of the main maps.  If I say that each single map is 31"x27", you get the size of the two-mapper main game. 

Italy Map

It should be no surprise to those who've read my previous review [click here if you haven't], that I've immediately pledged for the full package.  

However, a second pledge has been offered in the new Kickstarter, which gives you just a single mounted board with the map for the North Africa scenario on one side and the map for the Italy scenario on the other.

Invicta Rex have kindly provided me with a prototype copy of this smaller game and that is what I shall be reviewing here today.  It's differentiated from its Song of War big brother by having the sub-title Mediterranean Operations.  As would be expected, it embodies all the component qualities of the massive Mediterranean Theatre game.  This starts with the stunning and vibrantly coloured maps.  Italy you can see above and below is North Africa.

North Africa map

The counters too are the identical stylish wooden pieces that cover a wide range of air, sea and land units, embracing destroyers, cruisers, naval transports and even an aircraft carrier, fighters, heavy and light bombers, AA guns and artillery, infantry, tanks and trucks. Each of the four nations featured in the game has its own attractive compartmentalised storage box making sorting and organisation an easy task. 

British Units Storage Box

Below is what you see when set up for play of the North Africa scenario.  Normally in the full Mediterranean Theatre  scenarios, the blue units are Great Britain and the green units are United States, whereas here blue and green represent Great Britain's XXX and VIII Corps.  

This is most noticeable at the start in Alexandria, where units from both Corps are located, one in the northern sector and one in the southern sector.  However this distinction does not have to be maintained here, nor in anywhere else on the map as the game progresses.

Opposing them are the Germans (red) and the Italians (yellow).  Obviously, this allows for four players, but these Operational scenarios easily facilitate play by two players, especially as both sets of units on a given side move and have combat simultaneously.  The only feature not to be seen on map is the Hidden Fleet marker which in the North Africa scenario is the German fleet.  As can be seen below, it contains two troop transporters, one containing 2 tanks and 1 infantry units, the other tank, infantry and AA, which are guarded by an aircraft carrier ( with a fighter and light bomber aboard) a cruiser and a destroyer.

All the vital information, not just for set up but play, is contained on a single double sided Play Aid; one for each player.  There is a substantial amount of information to be absorbed, which is greatly eased when playing in teams of two.  When playing two player - which is my normal situation, outside conventions -  I would strongly recommend overlaying the Set-Up Play Aid with the Standard Units Play Aid.  This allows you to see all the ability explanations for the symbols used on the unit display chart.

Again when first getting started, I found it well worth while to spend some time simply taking each group of units: land, sea and air and separately practising their movement and combat factors and abilities a few at a time.  These displays differ from those in the massive Theatre game by being much more monochromatic and this is particularly reflected in the change from the accompanying coloured dice to white, grey and black ones.  I'm unsure whether this change reflects the final intentions for both this new Operational version and the original Theatre version of the game.  If so, I personally preferred the use of the coloured dice and the matching colours on the Combat part of the Play Aids which I found greatly helped my understanding of the combat process.  My only other concern lies with the very small print (seen on the left most panel above) which explains the symbols used.  These I did strain to read.

What remains identical is the multi-stepped movement and combat process that I would describe as the signature feature of the game system.  It is this feature that absolutely sold this game for me and recent details from surveys conducted by Invicta Rex confirms that the game system is far and away the key element for the vast majority of those who've pledged to Song for War.  It is that incremental movement and combat aspect that gives the game its defining quality and its engrossing game play.  Each player is immersed in the action as it switches back and forth from player to player with none of the lengthy ennui of observing and waiting for someone else's turn to be completed.  

It is a richly layered experience significantly enhanced by the visual splendour of the maps and the tactile enjoyment of manoeuvring your equally colourful wooden units.

In short, Song for War: Operations gives you everything that can be experienced in the even larger scope Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre, but with a more specific and localised geographic focus.  In stepping down from the wider picture of the Mediterranean Theatre to these two specific Operational fields, only a single stage is omitted - the National Support Phase. This tech tree element brought to the wider conflict the possibility of purchasing cards to influence the development of your war whether in terms of new weapons, upgrades, significant events or strategy.  With the shorter time scale and narrower focus, it is an appropriate omission.

I know that purely from the point of view of having the time to get Song for War: Operations easily to my gaming table, I shall see much more play of Italy and North Africa individually, but for those longer periods offered by residential conventions Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre awaits.

 SONG FOR WAR

FROM

INVICTA REX

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

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

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

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

A closer look at just a small number of units

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

More of the stunning counters and map design

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

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

British ships in deadly danger from Italian forces

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

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

The map from the Axis perspective

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

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

The British Play Aid

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

Phase One : Tactical

Phase Two : Victory 

Phase Three : National Support

Phase Four : Resupply

Phases 2 - 4 are very swift to execute.  

Victory Phase 

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

National Support Phase  

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

The distinctive backs of each Nation's National Support Cards

Resupply Phase

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

Tactical Phase

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

The table showing all Movement steps and all Combat steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An area marked for Combat

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

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

A final look at the whole picture 

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

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

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION QUALITIES

STUNNING VISUAL AND TACTILE APPEAL 

HIGHLY INTERACTIVE SEQUENCE OF PLAY

MAJOR INNOVATIVE INTEGRATED MOVEMENT AND COMBAT SYSTEM

EASY TO EXECUTE MECHANICS

GREAT VARIETY OF PLAY

AND ABOVE ALL ... A FUN EXPERIENCE 

  

 

SONG FOR WAR 

KICKSTARTER RELAUNCH

THIS WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL

AT LAST IT'S GREAT TO ANNOUNCE THE NEW KICKSTARTER FOR INVICTA REX'S MAGNUM OPUS

SONG FOR WAR

WITH TWO NEW PLEDGES TO CHOOSE FROM

THE MAIN PLEDGE OFFERS NOT JUST THE FULL MEDITERRANEAN CAMPAIGN SPREAD OVER TWO MASSIVE BOARDS, BUT EACH BOARD  CARRIES ON  ITS REVERSE SIDE A TOTALLY NEW SMALLER SCENARIO:

 

ITALY  ON ONE 

NORTH AFRICA ON THE OTHER

THE SECOND PLEDGE PROVIDES THESE TWO SMALLER SCENARIOS, IN A SMALLER GAME PACKAGE, ONE ON EACH SIDE  OF A SINGLE  MOUNTED BOARD 

KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE FOR A FORTHCOMING REVIEW OF THESE SMALLER SCENARIOS,  ALONG WITH NEWS OF THE MINOR CHANGES MADE TO THE CAMPAIGN GAME

FOR A REMINDER OF MY ORIGINAL FULL CAMPAIGN REVIEW CLICK

HERE

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)

 

 

 War for America

The American Revolution, 1775-1782

by

Compass games

 'The World Turned Upside Down' is actually a song from 1640 and laments that Christmas can no longer be celebrated due to an Act of Parliament. So, it would seem to be a strange tune for the British to play at their surrender at Yorktown. However, whilst the words have nothing to do with the occasion, the songs title fits perfectly with it. Washington had refused the British the 'Honors of War' (they would have been allowed to fly their colors and normally play a French or American song), because the British had denied them to the  American Army who had capitulated the year before in Charleston. It seems that some historians doubt it was that song, but they are a cantankerous bunch. 

 Strategic games about the American Revolution have had a large growth spurt after around 2000. Before that, there were many battle games/simulation but not that many on the strategic level. This is actually Compass Games second strategic game on the American Revolution. The other is 'End of Empire 1744-1782' which also covers the French and Indian Wars leading up to the Revolution. It is an excellent game on one of my favorite eras for wargaming, but I digress. Trying to compare the two would be like apples to oranges Bart. 

 This is what comes in the box:

2 Map sheets

2.5 Countersheets of 9/16″ and 5/8″ unit-counters (432 counters total)

6 Player Aid Cards

1 Sequence of Play Card

2 Army Organization Displays

1 Setup Card

51 Action Cards

1 Rulebook

1 Playbook

 This is a Compass Games blurb about the game:

Complexity: Medium

Time Scale: Seasonal turns (6 turns per year)

Map Scale: Area point-to-point map

Unit Scale: 1,000 men per strength point, individual capital ships, and leaders

Players: 2

Solitaire: Medium

Playing Time: 8 hours (15+ hours for Campaign Game)

 The game comes with two maps that are each 22" x 34". They show from Nova Scotia to the top of Florida. One has an inset for travel to Europe and the other has a large inset that includes the Caribbean Islands. While these were not important to the Revolution, they were important to England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands after the three latter joined the war. The maps are not just paper. They have a coating on them to help them last. The Action Cards seem sturdier than most cards that come with games. These are easily read and understood. The cards come with small pictures on them of period pieces or other depictions of people and places of the Revolution. There are six separate Player Aid Cards. These are the obligatory hard stock and in full color. They are:

British Reinforcement Chart

Colonial Reinforcement Chart

British - Patriot Start Positions/Terrain Effects Chart

Six Nations Card/Foreign Entry Card

Charts And Tables/Sequence of Play

 The Rulebook is twenty pages long including the Index. It is also in full color. The writing is smaller than I would like, but still readable. There is enough separation between the paragraphs etc. to make it not really difficult to read. The Playbook is twelve pages long. Six of these are for examples of play. The other six pages are comprised of Scenario Setups, Card Check List, Gazeteer of Place Names, Designer Notes, and Bibliography. Physically it is the same as the Rulebook. The counters are square in shape. So, if you are a wargamer who cannot live without rounded counters you will have to do this yourself. They are scored better than you would get with an older game. This means that very little snipping of any excess is needed. The strength points are generic. Most major commanders from both sides are represented by counters. These have small portraits on them. The counters are easily read and not 'busy' at all. The components easily pass muster.

The two Maps together

 The Sequence of Play is:

"Step 1: Reinforcements

  Both players place reinforcements according to their own

Reinforcement Chart. British first. (8.1)

All Turns:

  Both Reinforcement Charts are consulted and reinforcements are

placed.

  Units moving from the Europe Box by Naval Transport do not

consume an AP.

  Leaders are Promoted/Demoted/Removed/Transferred.

Early Spring Turns Only:

  Both players position their available magazines (British first).

If St. Eustasius is not controlled by the British, the Colonial player

receives a bonus magazine in the Deep South.

  Cards which have been set aside by year, are introduced commencing in 1776 and shuffled into the Draw Deck along with the cards

from the Discard Deck.

  Each player then draws enough Action Cards to fill his hand to a 3

card maximum.

  If a player already has 3 Action Cards, he can draw 1 Action Card

and then discard any card of his choice.

  The Colonial player rolls on the CLT to raise and place new SP.

Winter Turns Only: 

After both players have moved two Action Rounds:

  Colonials check for Expired Enlistments.

  Both sides check for over-quartering.

  Both sides remove all magazines at turn’s end.

  Six Nations units return to their villages

  If British Withdrawal is in effect, 12 SP must be removed to their

Caribbean possessions.

Step 2: Initiative 

Players roll a D6 for 1st initiative. The player with the higher result 

performs the 1st AP of the Action Cycle.

Step 3: The Action Cycle (9.0)

The player having the initiative moves and has combat with one single 

force from one single space. He performs any ‘free actions’ (9.10) during

this AP, at any time and in any order of his choosing. He can perform 

these at the beginning or end of his AP. It is entirely his choice. When he

has completed his actions, the other player proceeds with his AP in a 

similar manner.

Step 4: Administration Phase

  Check for Victory. (4.0)

  Advance Year/Season markers on the Turn Record Track"

Close up

 This is a big game in both size and scope. It comes with two scenarios: The 1775-1782 full scenario and the 'The French are in 1778-1782' scenario. This is a bit of a shame. With the maps conveniently splitting the colonies almost in half it is a shame there were not smaller scenarios for just the Southern and Northern Colonies. Perhaps a Burgoyne and Cornwallis scenarios could have been added. Do not get me wrong, what the game portrays in the two full scenarios it has it does very well. This is the first game that really adds some strategy to the Caribbean theater instead of just an off map box. The game also shows how seapower was the one really decisive part of the war. Without seapower there is no Yorktown. This not only goes for actual fleet actions, but also for supply. So, the game mechanics really show how the war was fought and what you need to do to win it. 

 

 The Colonial Militia and its disappearing and reappearing act throughout the war is taken care of simply and elegantly during the battle phases. In the early years of the war the Militia was absolutely needed for any Colonial Army to stand a chance against the British. 

 As mentioned, the game is physically large. You also have to invest a good amount of gaming time to it. The full campaign game can last up to twenty hours or several game sessions. This is not a game where you are going to be able to set it up and play in one night. There is nothing wrong with long or short games for that matter. It all depends on your appetite (thank you Billy Joel) at the moment. Getting immersed or lost in a game is one of my favorite pastimes. I agree that it seems harder to do this in 2022 than it used to, but I still love to do it on occasion. If you are like me in that respect you will be very pleased with the game. 

 The game gives a player so many different strategies to try out. I do not think anyone will ever get bored or find the game repetitive. Each side has its own strengths and weaknesses. This is a recipe that is needed for good gaming. 

 We do have to deal with the elephant in the room though. This would be the page of errata that comes with the game. You can, however, look at this in two different ways. You can castigate Compass Games for having the need of any errata. This mind set is really not something that is useful in the real world. When I was young I had a boss that told me "that is why they have erasers on the end of pencils". We are human and mistakes will be made. Also if you can find any game that was released without any errors at all I would be amazed. You could look at it and thank Compass Games for giving you the errata right in the box when you open the game. This saves you from searching online for the correct wording etc. It also could have been released six months after you bought the game, and you had to download it also (I have seen this more than once). So, I guess errata can be looked at like half full glasses. It is all in the mind of the beholder.

  The only real point of contention between myself and the game is William Howe's Command Rating. I have always had a soft spot for the Howe brothers.

 The games victory conditions are these:

"Three main factors influence the various Victory 

Conditions (VC) which must be met to win the 

game. 

• The year victory is obtained

• Before or after France enters the war

• The Political Will of each side

Hint: The British have their best chance of victory

during the early stages of the rebellion before 

French seapower can swing the balance. Victory 

will be much harder to achieve once the

‘Declaration of Independence’ Action Card has 

been played or the French have recognized the 13

Colonies.

4.1 British VC Prior to French Entry

Accomplish either:

• Reduce the Colonial PW/VP to ‘0’ after any 

Colonial AP.

• In 1775, control all the colonies in New 

England while not losing both Montreal and 

Quebec.

4.2 Colonial VC Prior to French Entry

Accomplish either:

• Reduce the British PW/VP to ‘0’ after any 

British AP.

• Cause the surrender of a second British army or 

force of at least 5 SP of regulars at the end of 

any combat.

4.3 British VC After French Entry

Accomplish one of the following:

• Reduce the American PW marker to ‘0’ after 

any Colonial AP.

• Capture all French ports in the Caribbean while 

not losing any of their own, at the end of the 

game.

• Control 4 colonies at the end of the game.

• Control all the following port spaces in the 13 

Colonies in the following chart at the end of the 

game while still controlling Halifax, New York 

City and Norfolk, VA.

Boston, MA Baltimore, MD

Newport, RI Alexandria, VA

New London, CT Wilmington, NC

New Haven, CT Charleston, SC

Wilmington, DE Savannah, GA

4.4 Colonial VC After French Entry

Accomplish one of the following:

• Avoid the British Victory Conditions.

• The British are unable to move 12 SP of 

regulars to the Caribbean for British 

Withdrawal. 

• Capture both Quebec and Halifax at the end of 

any British AP.

• Capture all British ports in the Caribbean while 

not losing any French Caribbean ports at the 

end of the game.

• Capture both Montreal and Quebec while 

preventing British control of New England and 

the Middle States at the end of the game.

• Prevent the British from controlling any of their

possessions in the 13 Colonies at the end of any 

British AP. (The specific cities listed in rule 

4.6) 

• Prevent the British from controlling any of the 

13 Colonies while not losing any French 

possessions in the Caribbean at the end of the 

game."

VC - Victory Condition

AP - Action Pulse

PW/VP - Political Will/Victory Points

 So, the game is essentially cut in two segments once the French become involved. The British should also really push in 1775 to end the war as quickly as possible.

I think it is an odd choice of a picture of good old Banastre. Instead of the usually dashing cavalryman he looks a bit stodgy

 Thank you very much Compass Games for letting me review this very good game. As usual I have been very impressed by the components and gameplay from one of their stable. 

Robert

Compass Games:

Compass Games – New Directions In Gaming

War For America:

War for America: The American Revolution, 1775-1782 – Compass Games