France '40

by

GMT Games

designed by

Mark Simonitch

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

 This is what Mr. Simonitch says about the game:

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

Sickle Cut: Guderian's Drive to the Channel

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

Dynamo: Retreat to Victory

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

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

2ND EDITION

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

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

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

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

The Sickle Cut Map

 This is what comes with the game:

Two Paper Maps

Two Countersheets

24 Page Rulebook

16 Page Playbook

Two Identical Player Aid Cards

Two Setup Cards

Two 6-sided Dice

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

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

Dynamo Map

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

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

Counter Sample

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

Ardennes '44

Holland '44

Normandy '44

North Africa '41

Salerno '43

Stalingrad '42

Ukraine '43

These two games are in GMT Games P500 system:

Italy '43

North Africa '40

This is the Sequence of Play:

"A. GERMAN PLAYER TURN

 France ’40  Player Aid Card   2nd Edition

 3

 EXPANDED SEQUENCE OF PLAY

 B. ALLIED PLAYER TURN

 1. German Initial Phase 

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

Ready side. 

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

 Dynamo scenario only: 

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

listed on the Dynamo Turn Record Track.

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

supply receive one replacement step (22.3).

 2. German Movement Phase (7.0)

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

 • Move some, none, or all his units. 

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

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

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

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

 • The German Player may place disrupted units in full retreat 

(13.1.3).

 3. German Combat Phase (8.0 - 15.0)

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

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

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

Defense, and the Advance After Combat before moving to the 

next combat. 

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

Markers (7.7). 

4. German Recovery Phase (13.4)

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

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

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

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

 5. German Supply Phase

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

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

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

marked), and

 • adjacent to an enemy unit. 

6. GQG Phase —Sickle Cut scenario only

 Any GQG markers scheduled to be removed are removed at this 

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

markers currently in the GQG Marker Holding Box on Allied 

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

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

 1. Allied Initial Phase (depends on the scenario)

 Sickle Cut scenario only: 

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

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

side to their Ready side (17.2.1).

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

 Dynamo scenario only: 

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

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

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

Dunkirk (22.5).

 2. Allied Movement Phase

 Identical to the German Combat Phase except switch the term 

German with Allied. In addition:

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

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

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

 3. Allied Combat Phase

 4. Allied Recovery Phase

 Both phases identical to the German Combat and Recovery Phases 

except switch the term German with Allied.

 5. Allied Supply Phase

 Identical to the German Combat Phase except switch the term 

German with Allied. In addition:

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

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

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

units stacked with or adjacent to the fort are eliminated. 

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

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

mechanized units. 

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

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

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

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

Halt markers.

 C. END PHASE 

Record the completion of a Game Turn by advancing the Game 

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

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

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

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

2. New CRT

3. A few roads were added to both maps.

4. Determined Defense Table changed significantly.

5. Disengagement Table changed.

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

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

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

Some of the Newer Units

 The scenarios each last this long:

Sickle Cut: 10 Turns

Dynamo: 12 Turns

Combined Scenario: 23 turns

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

Robert Peterson

GMT Games

France '40 Rulebook

France '40

 Preview of Urban Battle

by

Forsage Games

 

  The game Urban Battle has been worked on by Forsage Games for almost 20 years. It is actually the third release of the game that they have had in their minds for all of those years. The first release was called Panzer Strike. The second game, which I had the privilege of reviewing, was called Tank Chess. This third iteration of the concept has had the other two games' rules etc. to work off and germinate more ideas in Forsage Games combined heads. 

Unit Chart

 Urban Battle is meant to be a game that is incredibly easy to setup and to play. Going by their Tank Chess game and the little I have played of Urban Battle, they have hit the nail on the head. Urban Battle is a game of mechanized forces fighting in an urban environment. Most of the different tanks etc. seem to be based on many different World War II historical counterparts. You can also see it as a game about World War III mechanized combat. To be honest, most of the military items that are in use were introduced in their infancy during World War II.

 The game plays quickly and is very easy to learn. This does not mean that it does not have some meat on its bones. There are both strategies and tactics to learn and make sure you use in this game. If you do not, your pieces will soon end up on the rubbish heap. I will have a more in depth look at the game coming soon. Thank you, Forsage Games, for allowing me to review Urban Battle.

Some of the parts that come with the game

 Please do yourself a favor when you are on the Forsage Games site and take a look at their Age of Dogfights series. I had a chance to review their Age of Dogfights WWI, and it is an excellent game of air combat in the First World War. They have kindly sent me, along with Urban Battle and Urban Battle Junior Edition, their Age of Dogfights WWII to review.

Robert Peterson

My review of Tank Chess

Forsage games

Urban Battle

My review of Age of Dogfights WWI

Forsage Games Writes About Themselves and Their Games

 This is, as they, say straight from the horse's mouth:

In my childhood and youth, I did not play any board games, which at that time (1970-1990) were almost non-existent in my country (Yugoslavia). I entered the world of boardgaming in a completely different way. My parents were history professors, so I became interested in that field as well. I often examined historical atlases with my father, where the maps showed various phases of battles. I was fascinated by those blue and red arrows that showed the advances of individual armies, the closing of rings, breakthroughs through defense lines and the like... I was especially impressed by the Battle of Britain and that large table in Fighter Command where the girls moved markers representing individual British and German squadrons.

It was that table with markers that was my direct inspiration for the first game I came up with (1992). In the initial concept it was a pure air battle between two formations of fighter planes. In the next few years, the game became an air-naval military exercise for up to 6 players with aircraft carriers in the main role. At that time, there were no real publishers of board games in Serbia. Only in 1996, through a friend, I managed to find a company, Grafopapir (an importer and distributor of school and office materials), which wanted to publish the game. The game was given the commercial name 'Saratoga' and was accompanied by two smaller games (Saratoga on BGG). According to still unconfirmed data, it is the first original game released in Serbia by a local author. It is important to note that the Triangle system was designed for that game, which I later applied in my other war games.

The game was not a great commercial success, because it was too complex for the domestic market and it remained largely unrecognized. This did not discourage me, so I continued to design complex war games, but also simple family games. In the next few years, about 30 of my games were published for several other publishers in Serbia (Beoplast, Ponte Rosso, Brimaco).

I have also published several dozen board games on my own. Although more complex war games were produced (such as Harriers in Action or Naval Battle), the best selling ones were very simple games for the youngest audiences. Such a situation did not suit me as an author.

When my son Dragan joined me in game design, we improved our games significantly. To be able to market our original ideas, we realized that we had to try reaching board game audiences outside of Serbia. We contacted several dozen world publishers of board games, but none were open to fresh ideas that do not fit their existing templates.

Our dream gradually came true when we found out about Kickstarter, an opportunity to present our games directly to players around the world. We've achieved great success in our second Kickstarter project, with over 2000 backers (Tank Chess), despite not investing any funds in advertising. So far we had 10 campaigns on Kickstarter, some of which became real hits: Age of Dogfights WWI and WWII. Many reviews said that they are among the best aerial combat games.

After each campaign, we invested the funds in our own production capacities. Our workshop specializes in the production of small series of games, but in collaboration with large printing houses we are able to finalize large series of very demanding games. In addition to producing our own games, we have been successfully producing games for other authors and publishers from Serbia, the region and Europe for several years. During the production and implementation of some of our Kickstarter projects there were some ongoing problems and delays, but we always delivered rewards to all backers, often with significantly more content than what was presented during the campaign. We are always open to suggestions and feedback from gamers all around the world, which helps improve our games significantly.

As authors, we already have plans for several next projects. In addition to war-themed games, other games are also in plan, which we believe will gain great popularity as well.

P.S. the pre-launch page for Urban Battle is now activated (the campaign should start in about a week):

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1732812836/urban-battle

Here are some reviews I have done about their earlier games:

Age of Dogfights: WWI by Forsage Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

Tank Chess by Forsage Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Rebel Fury

Battles of the American Civil War

by

GMT Games

Designer: Mark Herman

 As a wargamer for a long time, I was not a big fan of the western battles of the American Civil War for some unknown reason. To be honest, there were some battles like Gettysburg in the Eastern Theater that never really interested me in playing for many years. However, three battles have always caught my attention. They are Antietam, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. While there have been a good number of games about Antietam, the other two have always, in my eyes, gotten the short shrift as far as wargaming. The Wilderness and Spotsylvania have always interested me as far as reading about them and gaming them. I reread 'If it takes all Summer' by William D. Matter and Gordon C. Rhea's 'The Battle of the Wilderness' pretty much on a yearly basis. So, when I saw that Mark Herman, one of my favorite designers, was going to do a series of battles based on his Gettysburg game system that appeared in C3i Magazine #32 (Published by the late and very lamented Rodger B. MacGowan) I was only somewhat enthused. Then I saw that Volume I was going to contain not just the Battle of the Wilderness but also have Spotsylvania and I became very interested. I was more than happy to review a game that included those battles even though the complexity of the game/s is on the low side. More on this later. let's dive right in and see what you get with the box and how the game plays.

  This is what GMT Games says about it:

"Rebel Fury, Volume I of the Civil War Heritage series, uses the low-complexity Gettysburg system featured in C3i Magazine #32. The Battles featured are Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Chancellorsville, and Fredericksburg (solitaire).

This design features a new system on Civil War combat akin to the old SPI Blue and Gray Quads. Each game in Rebel Fury is quick-set-up, quick-playing, and deeply interactive. The density of counters in each scenario is low, allowing you to see and experience the big picture of the battle.

Rebel Fury places you, the player, in the role of the Army Commander (Lee, Burnside, Hooker, Bragg, Rosecrans, Grant). You maneuver your army to find the enemy’s flanks, concentrate your forces for an attack, and determine where to commit your artillery assets.

Units are portrayed at the Infantry/Cavalry division level. The Civil War Heritage series game system features a new Zone of Influence/Zone of Control mechanic that controls unit formation (March/Battle) based on their proximity to your opponent. As your units close with the enemy, your forces naturally break into battle formation, where they then maneuver the last distance to engage. Unlike most hex and counter wargames, this system allows you total freedom to move units in any order multiple times, unleashing the full range of historical tactics in a simple and clean format.

Combat features a differential combat system with few but significant factors that capture the key features of Civil War division level combat. Units are rated for quality, artillery support, supporting units, and terrain. The game features artillery duels with the occasional Exploding Caisson result. The Civil War Heritage series combat system accurately depicts the ability of units to launch multiple waves of attacks on the same position, capturing the back-and-forth nature of many famous combat duels.

Each battle features special units and situations, such as Wilder’s Brigade of mounted infantry (Chickamauga) plus other famous units and personages. If you are looking for a competitive, quick-playing Civil War battle game, Rebel Fury may be the game you have been looking to fit into your busy schedule. The short playing time (1 hour or less) entices you to play multiple battles in the same sitting."

 This is what comes with the game:

Three 22” x 34” Single-sided Map Sheets

Two 130-counter Sheets

One Rulebook

One Playbook

Two Player Aid Cards

Two Displays

Two 10-sided Dice

One 6-sided Custom Die

One 2" Box

The complexity rating is a 3

The solitaire rating is a 5

The battles that actually come with Volume I are these:

Fredericksburg

Chancellorsville

Chickamauga

Chattanooga

The Wilderness

Spotsylvania

 As usual we will start with my take on the game's maps. There are three of them, and as mentioned, they are single-sided. The maps are all very well done. They show most, if not all, of the different landmarks that were parts of all of the battles. Each hex has its own terrain that is easily identifiable. I was never a fan of the older game maps that you had to guess what terrain your counters were in. One odd thing about two of the maps is that the Chickamauga/Chattanooga map shows how rough and forested the terrain was compared to the Battle of the Wilderness (to be fair, the woods in the Wilderness were newer growth compared to an old forest). The maps are certainly up to snuff. The Rule of Play booklet is on the shorter side of rulebooks at only 24 pages. The type size is more than adequate for older grognard eyes. It is in full color and has many examples of play for the gamer to more easily understand the game's rules. It comes with the now almost obligatory index, another step forward in gaming. The Playbook comes next and is similar in its appearance and type, etc. Oddly, it is also 24 pages in length. It contains the scenario setups, victory conditions, etc. Almost at the end of the Playbook there are Designer Notes which explains the hows and whys of the different game concepts. The last part of the Playbook is a piece by Mr. Herman in tribute to Rick Barber, which is another great loss to the wargaming community. In it he explains that Mr. Barber had done two of the maps. However, on the box the counter and map credits actually go to a Mr. Charlie Kibler. I am assuming that maybe the aforementioned maps from Mr. Barber were rough drafts or something like that.

 The game comes with two hard stock Player Aids which are two-sided and have all of the charts and tables on one side with the terrain chart on the obverse. Next comes two more hard stock pieces. The first is the 'Union Off-Map Display' for the Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville map. The second has the remaining moves/attacks chart and the turn record tracks for all six of the battles included. There are two countersheets included with the game. The majority of the counters are 5/8" in size with a few detachments, pontoon bridge, etc., 1/2" sized.  They are large enough to read all of the pertinent information except for the very small letter in the upper left-hand corner that denotes what battle the counter is from. I suggest that you use the included bags and mark them for ease of use. Two things struck me when I looked at them. The first was the very few leader counters that come with the game. The second, was the small amount of actual troop counters in each battle. For example, there are only 21 troop counters for the Confederate side in the Battle of Spotsylvania and only one leader counter. This game will definitely not be one where you will have to worry about counter clutter or stacks.

 You also get the small bags and dice needed for your Civil War gaming. The components taken as a whole represent the usual GMT Games attention to detail. 

 I was really not expecting to become enamored of this game or the series. True, it had two of the battles that I most enjoy gaming and reading about, but it had some negatives in my mind. It was just too simple and did not seem to have enough counters to portray the immensity of those same battles. The inclusion of a solitaire version of the Battle of Fredericksburg was certainly a plus. However, it was only setup to play the Union as solitaire (which does make sense seeing how the battle historically happened). How would the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania playout and the attack of the Confederate 1st Corps on the second day of the Wilderness. My fears and snootiness about the game were both wrong and totally uncalled for. Yes Virginia, there is a time and a place for massive maps and tons of counters with a rulebook to match and old phone book. There is also room in our hobby for a game that would take only an hour or so to play and not take up the dining room table. The shortness allows two players to try different strategies all in just one gaming session and does not take up the dining room table, much to the wife's chagrin. 

 I usually do not repeat what the game company or designer writes but, in this instance, I think it is needed:

"This design features a new system on Civil War combat akin to the old SPI Blue and Gray Quads. Each game in Rebel Fury is quick-set-up, quick-playing, and deeply interactive. The density of counters in each scenario is low, allowing you to see and experience the big picture of the battle."

 In this the designer has succeeded, in my eye, to a tee. It is not a beer and pretzels game. The game is much deeper to me than the old quad games were. The game also shows maneuvering to battle in the American Civil War, for want of a better term, correctly. Fighting until exhaustion and each side taking a pounding was the name of the game in most Civil War battles. This game reflects it in its combat rules. Apparently, some people do not like the changes in combat from the original Gettysburg game in the series. Well, there isn't much to say on that score. That is just a case of "You say potato" etc. The game is enjoyable and easy to learn. On some small level my mind still does understand that.

 The first thing you will notice about the counters is that there are no strength points! I know - complete and absolute heresy! Even blocks in wargames have strength points you mutter to yourself. Once again, this is not your grandfather's wargame. The next interesting part of the game is that the rulebook states four key concepts at its beginning. The first is that the game does have normal Zones of Control, but it also has a Zone of influence going out another hex larger than the ZOC. The second one is that the game's movement points are nothing like your regular hex and counter game. The larger division counters have one side as a battle formation and the other as maneuver formation. It does, however, have extended road march. There are numerous changes to both movement and attack/defense compared to earlier hex and counter games. The separate changes would be too long to list. The most important part of this review is the next two sentences. Please pay attention to them. Yes, the game is different, and it might take some time to get used to the different rules. However, it WORKS, as both a game and a study in Civil War army management. 

 I also have to state for the record that Mr. Herman did not include a bibliography of every book he has read about the American Civil War since age eight or ten. Therefore, you will not be able to dig through them, or his brain, to find out where exactly he came up with the new insights and rules for the game. This might be a bit harsh, but understand I say this with love. If your idea of a good time is to disparage and refute everything a designer has done with a wargame that he designed, please get another hobby. Or better yet, you could design your own game or change the rules of this one to your own ideas. Each wargame is a child of each designer's mind. Just because they have a different take on something does not mean you are right, and he is wrong or vice versa. I have removed myself from my soapbox at Speakers Corner.

 The game to me is quick and represents Civil War battles in a somewhat new light. It does not play like a game to me. It plays like a designer's take on Civil War realities.

 Thank you very much to GMT Games for allowing me to take Rebel Fury for a spin. I was not expecting to become a fan but here we are. Once again, my personal foibles have been stripped bare for me to see.  

 For those who are interested the Great Battles of the American Civil War is going to be headed to the Battle of the Wilderness courtesy of GMT Games. Here is the P500 link:

GMT Games - Stepping Into Hell

For those who love ancients here is the link to the upcoming Hubris: Twilight of the Hellenistic World designed byMorgane Gouyon-Rety: 

GMT Games - Hubris: Twilight of the Hellenistic World

 

Robert Peterson

Rebel Fury: Battles of the American Civil War

GMT Games

 Campaign Series Vietnam Tutorial Walkthrough

by

Joe Beard

 This is a series of videos that Joe Beard did for this excellent series.

Here is the link:

Campaign Series Vietnam Tutorial Walkthrough: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLujeLHPclRBNySMPROfnfgcums5QSknPN

 CRETE

FROM

STRATEGEMATA

This is the third game that I've reviewed in the Great Battles of Small Units series from Strategemata and each one has built on and improved on its predecessor.  Crete is no exception to this steady progress onward and upward.  Like its immediate predecessor, Carentan, the box art has maintained the combination of strong, aggressive images and colours.  

In this new game, though the actions themselves remain very playable because of the small number of units involved in each battle, the scope is much greater.  For, as the game's title readily tells us and the picture heralds, we are pitched into the famous German parachute invasion of Crete.  Operation Mercury may not have spawned the volume of games that the Normandy landings, the Battle of the Bulge or Operation Market-Garden have, but it still stands worthy of the "Great Battles" of this series' title.

There are so many developments to celebrate, beginning with the maps - not just one this time but four.  Each covers one of the major focal engagements of this epic action.  Maleme airfield, Heraklion Bay, Rethymno airfield and Prison Valley (whose map can be seen below).  

Each individual battle can be played in a couple of hours with plenty of replay value, as the game provides cards giving 4 alternative set-ups that give the German player a varying number of units.  Not only is this great for re-playability, but also for play balance.  Add to that you can combine all four maps and scenarios into a much more sizable complete game of the initial three days of the Crete campaign.

The four scenario cards for the Battle for Maleme Airfield 

Accordingly, this is one reason why I think it is such a good game for varying levels of player.  It's perfect for a more experienced player to use as an introduction for a newer player and yet should equally satisfy two players familiar with wargaming conventions and has the potential for team play as well.   

However, as an introduction to board wargames for the novice by themselves it may not be the best choice.  This is because, though the rules are brief, they introduce a system that contains a significantly high level of originality and so need careful reading to guarantee a sound grasp. Much of what I wish to say here can be found in my earlier review that can be accessed via this link.  For those who don’t want to bother with the link, I've appended at the end of this review a substantial extract that covers the major concepts of the system.

This is a very accessible system and swift playing.  My only criticism would be the Close Combat rules, which seem to stand in contrast to the ease of basic Fire.  This is high lighted by the fact that virtually all the Examples of Play section at the end of the Rules is taken up with how to resolve Close Combat.  This procedure starts with both players drawing a card from the draw deck and placing it face down for each unit that they have in the Close Combat. Then they either draw a second card or choose one from their current hand of cards to be placed face up.  If only one player has Combined Arms, they can draw another card or choose one from their hand and the player who has initiated the Close Combat can add an extra card for each hex that they entered the combat from.  All cards are then turned face up and totals determined.  Highest number wins the combat, while ties go to the Initiative player.  There is even the possibility of the defender making a Counterattack  which involves further card draw.

Just as the game provides so much more than its predecessors in maps, so too does it need far more counters.  These counters are very similar to the previous games, but once again there is that small but steady improvement in quality and most important is that each battle has its own set of counters with only one battle needing a single group of reinforcements to be drawn from another of the battles.  This has made the organisation and storage very easy.  For each battle I have a labelled, medium sized zip-lock bag for the Allied units with a smaller bag inside containing the German units. 

The play aids include a comprehensive terrain chart, an Allied set up card for each battle and a full display of German air and artillery assets for the linked four map battle.

German air and artillery assets display

All in all this is very good value for money, with a wide variety of situations each offering four different levels of difficulty and encompassing a significant campaign which many, like me, will relish the opportunity to play out over all four maps.

A final glimpse of the Allied set up for just one of the four battles

{Extract from Black Cavalry review}

 First of all the rules introduce a system containing a number of very interesting concepts.  The first and perhaps most important is the use of a deck of ordinary playing cards to regulate and introduce a mixture of control and randomness into the game.  This is an element not unfamiliar from some miniatures rules and systems.  [An excellent instance being To The Strongest - a superb set for conducting Ancient warfare!] However, I haven't previously encountered this in board wargaming.  Here all court cards count as 1 pt, while all other cards have their face value.

From the outset, these cards govern everything, including who will have the Initiative and play the turn.  This latter rule stands out for me as a leading innovation and one I have certainly never met with before.  There are four Initiative markers, one for each of the four suits in a pack of cards: Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades.  On one side of the marker is a flag to denote the German player, on the other a flag for the Allied player.

A pre-game card draw will determine which suits will determine each side's potential starting Initiative.  From then on, each Turn begins with a card being drawn, the suit determines the Initiative player and the Initiative marker for that suit is turned over to the opponent's side.  Thus a rhythm is established that overall evens out, but can throw up surprises and causes each player to focus very carefully on what he/she needs to do when they have got the Initiative.

What is even more novel is that only the player with the Initiative gets to directly activate their units with a choice of actions from Movement/Improving a Position/Fire and Rally.  However, and this is the third original idea, the non-Initiative player's units have a limited reaction ability.  Each unit can either move away one hex when an enemy unit comes adjacent or, at the point when an enemy comes into range and line of sight, can"roll" [i.e. draw a card] to see how many reaction pts the unit gets.  This will allow the unit from 1 to 3 Defensive Fire opportunities. 

This sets up a highly interactive system that benefits defenders well dug-in on good defensive terrain, especially when the Initiative player has to cross open ground.  It also creates a fairly fast flowing pace to each turn, with the opportunity for reaction, but without an overcomplex set of rules and conditions. .

What I like even more about the use of cards instead of dice is that each player starts a Scenario with a a limited hand of cards, with rare Random Event opportunities to refill or exchange some of those cards. In a variety of cases, a player will have the opportunity to play a card rather than randomly draw one.  

Nowhere can this be more crucial than when you have the Initiative, as your first decision is always how many formations you are going to activate.  To activate a single formation is free  and guaranteed.  To activate more than one formation, then each formation costs 2pts and each support weapon costs 1 pt unless it is stacked with a unit from its formation, an Artillery strike costs 2 pts and an Air strike similarly costs 2 pts.  You must first announce what you are attempting to activate.  Obviously then you can use one of your precious cards in your hand to guarantee success, but if you choose to risk a random card draw and don't pull a card that will pay all your costs, then you forfeit all activation!  

Lots of tense moments here, especially if you have a lot of nice court cards in your hand which count as 1 pt - and remember you can only ever play one card.  So, perhaps you'll be saving those high point cards for activation purposes in crucial turns, but they're equally useful in Fire and Close Combat.  

Fire is very straightforward with each unit firing separately.  It involves simply the play or draw of a single card plus double the unit's firepower compared with the defending unit's morale added to its terrain cover.  If the Attacker scores higher, the Defending unit is disorganised and, if twice the Defender's score, then the unit takes a step loss as well.  Gun/Armour factors add a few more twists too, though the main problem here lies in the minute size of the print on the counters!

Close Combat involves a more complex combination of cards, drawn randomly/played from hand, both face down and face up.  This takes a little thoughtful reading, but help is at hand as a substantial amount of the two pages of examples is devoted to a very clear sequence illustrating these particular rules.

 Lock 'N Load Publishing Bonanza

 Feast your eyes on the splendor!

 

 I had one of the most glorious care packages known to man land on my doorstep. I am surprised it did not come by helicopter or get dropped off like a resupply mission out of the back of a C-47 with a parachute attached. These are the games that showed up (along with a handy truss to carry them in):

"Close Quarter Battles (CQB) is a tactical game system that allows players to recreate specific actions from the most famous battles in the horse-and-musket era. The series begins with the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, focusing on the assaults on the fortified farms of La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont. It hopes to demonstrate how ferocious the fighting was around these iconic locations, which still bear the scars of that famous day.

Ju 87 Stuka Ace – You can play a single Mission or simulate the entire career of a Stuka Ace. Your Mission is to destroy as many targets as possible while advancing your pilot skills and increasing your personal rank and awards. Starting with operations in Poland in 1939 until the last actions in Soviet territory in 1944/45. 

World at War 85 – WaW85 Series is a fast and furious platoon-level combat, set in 1985, in an alternate history of World War III, when the Warsaw Pact armies storm across the border of East Germany in a powerful attempt to seize West Germany and the whole of Free Europe.  The WaW85 system features a unique combat system that involves die rolls by both attacking units and defending units, which keeps both players engaged throughout the game.

Point Blank – Point Blank is a World War 2 tactical squad-level card game where players maneuver forces to attack or defend objectives defined in scenarios. Game components are represented by cards consisting of squads, vehicles, support weapons, and leaders. Counters are included with the game and are used to mark player forces with information about the condition or state of a unit and a solitaire option is also included, well as team play.

Glory and Empire Series - First Victories: Wellington versus Napoleon. This series offers a fresh and dynamic approach to grand tactical command, maneuver, and combat during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. The system is designed to provide fast-paced gameplay while maintaining historical accuracy and a wealth of detail."

 I would like you to take a close look at the packaging. If you are sharped eye enough, you will notice the absence of something that has been coming with boxed wargames for many years. That is right, there are no peanuts!!! Peanuts are the bane of every wargamer. True, some companies do send out the ecofriendly ones that you are supposed to be able to eat. However, even if they are palatable, go ahead and try. I will not; they still get static and stick to everything. I swear, sometimes my wife is less upset about the actual buying of the game compared to a kitchen full of the darned things. They are sometimes as bad as the Tribbles that were on the Enterprise. Grognards rejoice! We have been liberated from this horrible menace!

 The games also came with canvas maps for four of the games. Ju 87 Stuka Ace came with the special neoprene mat.

The pictures need no caption for anyone who has read about Waterloo. For those that haven't, the first two are of La Haye Sainte, and the latter two are of Hougomont.

 This is the neoprene mat that can be purchased for JU 87 Stuka Ace:

  I have been waiting patiently for the release of JU 87 Stuka Ace and it will definitely be the first game that I review. After that, I believe I will step back in time and delve into Lock 'N Load's new series First Victories Wellington versus Napoleon.

 This is from the Gamefound page of JU 87 Stuka Ace:

 Lock 'N Load Publishing has also started using AI to assist the player with their Rulebooks that they put online. You can see that they have a lot of the newer games' Rulebooks already posted along with some older ones. They actually have all of their Rulebooks available to peruse online on their website. The first link goes to all of their Rulebooks and the second goes to the JU 87 Stuka Ace AI enhanced Rulebook:

https://library.lnlpublishing.com/

https://library.lnlpublishing.com/books/bqoc/#p=1

Robert Peterson

Lock 'N Load Publishing

PS. Yes, that is a Mig 15 and a JU 52 in the background.

Old School Tactical Volume 4: Italian Theater 1943-45

A Mark H. Walker Game

Designed by Shayne Logan

by

Flying Pig Games

 Churchill's 'Soft Underbelly of Europe' did not seem so soft or easy as Churchill had in mind. The Allies had knocked Italy out of the war with the invasion of the Italian mainland at Salerno. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell the Germans to take their ball and go home. 'Smiling Al' Kesselring was going to make the Allies pay for every inch of Italian soil that they took. The mountains and rivers of Italy were the perfect natural barriers for the Germans to use to make the Allied offensive a slow grinding process. Even after Rome had fallen, Germans did not give up and were still a thorn in the Allied side until the end of the war.

 This is what comes with the game:

3 sheets of unit, weapon, vehicle, and condition counters

A large (We are talking HUGE!) 30" x 41" mounted game map, hexes are 1"

27 luck cards, such as Tank Killer, No More, and Veteran Skills

40+ unit data cards

Full-color Playbook with 14 scenarios, including SAS Raiders- British SAS commandos search for the Italian howitzers to protect the landings in Sicily and Fallen Allies- with the capitulation of the Italian state, the Germans moved quickly to seize power.  Some Italian units did not go peacefully.

2 x player aid cards

Color rule book

Dice

Massive box  

 The Soaring Swine have, and rightly so, a reputation for beautiful and huge, not just large, wargames. The components that come inside this extremely large box are completely up to that reputation.

 The very well-done map shows both the pastoral and rugged terrain that the Allies and Axis soldiers fought over. It does not show the really rugged terrain of the Battle of Monte Cassino. This is shown in the OST Volume 4 expansion 'For the Empire' (that also includes the Commonwealth forces that fought in Italy). As usual, the hexes are large and show exactly what terrain is in each one. You get a Rulebook that is magazine type in style and is 25 pages long and also has an index. You also get an 18-page Playbook in the same style as the Rulebook. Both are in full color and the Rulebook is studded with examples of play etc. The players each get their own aid card with all of the terrain, CRTs, and pretty much everything else you need to play. The counters, along with everything else, are made to the same high standard that we have come to expect from Flying Pig Games. Next up, we have three countersheets. Two are for the units and one for gameplay. The infantry counters are 3/4" large and the armor etc. are 7/8". Then we have a deck of unit data cards, and another deck marked 'luck'. 

 The scenarios included run the gamut from the fighting in Sicily to the landing at Anzio near Rome. I was very happy to see that they included one of the more successful Italian pieces of armor: the Semovente. This was roughly the Italian equivalent of an assault gun/tank destroyer. It was probably smaller than the Hetzer, but it gave a good account of itself in battle.

 Thank You, Flying Pig Games, for allowing me to review another of your games in the Old School Tactical Series. The original game was about the fighting in Western Europe. They followed it up with Volume 2 taking place on the Eastern Front and Volume 3 in the Pacific. They also have an equally wonderful series called 'Black Swan' that was designed by the master Hermann Luttmann. This includes his magnum opus A Most Fearful Sacrifice. This has been joined by a game on the almost historical Pipe Creek campaign. The next massive beauty in the series is coming up and is called The Rock of Chickamauga. 

 I will have at least one more follow up piece on the actual gameplay of OST Volume 4.

Robert Peterson

Old School Tactical Volume 4: Italian Theater 1943-45

Flying Pig Games

My Review of Old School Tactical Volume I

My Review of Old School Tactical Volume II