Freedom! is an asymmetric card driven wargame that models a relatively unknown yet surprisingly important siege between the Ottoman Empire and the Greek rebel insurgents in the city of Messolonghi.  The siege in question is actually the third siege between greek insurgents demanding their freedom from the Ottoman Empire during the early 19th century, none of which I knew anything about prior to receiving this game.

The designer Vangelis Bagiartakis has written a fascinating designer's diary on bgg that is well worth a read if you're interested in the development or history of this game. https://www.boardgamegeek.com/freedom-designer-diary

Gameplay

Watch my rules overview to get an idea of how the game plays.  However, there are far more professional efforts which I will link to below.

Players control the two opposing forces and fight out the siege over 6 rounds. In each round, 7 cards will be played for a maximum total of 42 actions per player per game.  The Imperial player, however,  could end the game early if they manage to infiltrate just one of their units into the forts on the wall or into the Southern City, effectively assaulting the city from the Lagoon. 

Ready to go

The rebel player is largely stuck grinding out a victory over the full 6 rounds unless they are able to reduce the morale of the besieging units enough to where they give up and go home. However, nothing about this is a grind for the defending player. You as the defender, are as much a part of the action and must try to follow your own plan whenever possible to get a win. In other asymmetric games, the 'defender' is often just reacting to the aggressor's moves. As the insurgents, it never felt like I was just along for the ride.

I've played three full games of this and in each, they were all well balanced between my opponent and me. The only aberration I experienced was during the very first replenishment of the first game, my plea to the government, as the insurgent player was successful, (I rolled an 11) and had one point in my plea track which made my roll 12, i.e. a successful plea. This allowed my rebels to storm into the lead early on, but I eventually lost the game as my supplies completely dried up in the second period.

An early success for the rebels, unlucky for some

This timing and handling of the plea for government is crucial to manage for the insurgents to be successful.  Likewise, the Imperial Plea for aid is markedly different and nowhere near as significant, however, it is this asymmetry, not just in this mechanism, but in unit's attack, movement and replenishment abilities that really immerse players into a siege mentality, no matter which side you're controlling. There is a constant back and forth struggle, between both players that is evocative of what I imagine a siege to be like.
 
Like other card-driven games, cards are either played for the event or the action points. I should highlight, which for some reason,  it got lost on the editing floor, that when a player plays a card with their opponent's event, the opponent, on their next turn, can discard a card from their hand to have the previously played event happen.  This is an excellent innovation on the standard cdg mechanic, which serves to make the game that bit more accessible and forgiving.  This ability to 'play' your own event previously used by your opponent is unique and I would not be surprised to see the mechanic 'borrowed' by other designers for future projects. 

There are layers of games, area control, tight economic engine, and well balanced between both forces. Integrated into a whole that is engaging for both sides. The insurgents are just as much fun to play as the Imperials.

A selection of all components

Components

I have been sent a prototype and I am stunned by how good the art currently is.  I am reluctant to criticise a prototype's components but I would like there to be unique art for most of the cards. In many cases, the same art is used albeit the card events are similar. I hope they can commission the same artist to do many more pieces for the game.

The graphic design is a little dark in some places and the clouds across the board feel a bit redundant. The overall look of the board is fantastic and I'm sure will only get better as the game raises development funds through Kickstarter.

I'd love there to be unique art everywhere

Criticisms

The biggest criticism I have, and it's probably more justified to level this at our hobby rather than the game, is its theme, it is quite obscure, and serves a niche within a niche. This may serve to hinder the game's adoption amongst potential backers which would be a shame. I think wargamers who may well be very interested in the theme could be but put off by the 'simpler than Twilight Struggle' tag, (let's not discuss whether TS is a wargame or not...). Conversely, casual gamers who would be enticed by a siege game set in the Crusades, or even Leningrad which subjectively are far more accessible, may be put off by a siege in a city they've never heard of, and in a war they don't know.

Conclusion

Any game that I enjoy playing and at the same time helps me to learn something new is, in my opinion, excellent. This game has that property in spades, I knew nothing about the siege of Messolonghi before hearing about this game, and now I know some of the major events of the siege itself from reading the card texts and have also wished for some Messolonghi-related books to learn some more. 

These are glorious, more please...

We often talk about gateway games into the hobby and although this isn't one of those, it is an enjoyable foray into the CDG genre sitting firmly towards the more accessible end of the spectrum. This doesn't detract from the gameplay itself, there's still plenty to consider and mull over each turn. As much as I would like to pull out Labyrinth or TS more regularly, as an introduction to CDGs for interested players, this is a much easier teach and would be my gateway CDG game of choice. 

The underlying mechanics of this game are solid and as polished as any published title from any game publisher. The rulebook itself needs some work and the graphic design across most components could do with a little attention (I do love the art though). Freedom! is coming to Kickstarter at exactly the right time to secure some more funds to push it through the final stages of its design and I salute Phalanx Games for picking this up and giving us the opportunity to support it.  I will follow the campaign with interest. 

This project is live on Kickstarter right now, visit the project at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/phalanxgames/freedom
These comments are all based from a prototype version of the game which is subject to change. 

A preview from the designer himself:

Bonding with Board Games preview:

Detailed review from the Players Aid:

Publisher: Phalanx Games
Players: 2...
Designer: Vangelis Bagiartakis
Playing time: 2 - 3 hours

Horse & Musket Volume III: Crucible of War

by

Hollandspiele

 This is the third volume in the Horse & Musket game series. The first, 'Dawn of an Era', is needed to play the series (the second volume is 'Sport of Kings'). As with every Hollandspiele game I have played, minimalism is the key word. Don't think that this means that game play is compromised; it's far from it. The minimalist approach means that instead of a fifty to sixty page rulebook, you get only the real meat in these wargames. 

 The game is a tactical one that gives the players various battles from the 'Age of Reason'. In this instance, the battles start in 1755 at Monongahela in North America , to 1762 at Freiburg in 1762. As you can guess the main subject is the Seven Years War. A few of the battles take place in North America, but most take place in central Europe. The exception would be Plassey on the sub-continent of India. The game comes with the following:

An updated set of Scenario Special Rule cards

A sheet of counters with new units and markers

Volume III specific Player Aid with charts

Rulebook

 The markers that are unique to Volume III include 'Woods markers', 'Fortified Town', and 'Square markers'. 

 The game components are just like every Hollandspiele game I have played. They are fully functional, but are not the fancy hand drawn maps etc. that sometimes come with games from the Age of Reason. The map is a blank slate that you add tiles of water, woods, and towns etc. to. The colors are muted, but still pleasing to the eye. The counters are a bit different. These have vibrant colors, and the portraits of the commanders are first rate.The counters themselves are very well made and seem thicker and sturdier.

 The new additions/revised rules for this volume take up just about a full page. These include:

Delayed Bayonet Charge
Movement Cadence marching
Artillery Fire Vs. Charges

 These are the Optional Rules that can be used with Volume III:

Nationality Rules (use these from Volume III, and not the ones that came with the earlier games)
Square
Volley Fire

 This is the sequence of play:

1. Player A rolls and determines random action points available to the command action points and stored action points for his total.
2. Player A spends his action points one at a time and performs allowable actions in any order he wishes.
3. Check victory
4. Player B rolls and determines random action points available to the command action points and stored action points for his total.
5. Player B spends his action points one at a time and performs allowable actions in any order he wishes.
6. Check victory
7. End turn - move turn marker ahead one space on the turn record chart and go to Step 1.

 As you can see, the game play adds the fog of war to both sides with the random action point rolls. The player must also consider when and where to actually spend theses points. Do you wait and see how your defense is holding up on this turn, or do you start your counter-attack now? Like all great wargames the Horse & Musket series does a stellar job of putting the player in the shoes of the generals from this time period. The game also has enough chrome to make you believe you are fighting in the 18th century and not a stamped out WWII era game with different names for the units. 

 
The leaders Montcalm, Wolfe, Friedrich der Grosse, Daun, and the battles of Leuthen, Kolin, Minden are all here along with a great many more. To see what I mean about the minimal approach, let us look at the Battle of Leuthen. This battle was one of the larger ones from this time. The Prussians have only eight pieces on the board, not counting leaders. The Austrians have a total of thirteen counters that you to have to order around like a good cardboard general. So, just like all of Hollandspiele's games the player can concentrate on his strategy, and not his manual dexterity. The battles of the Prussians against the Russians are my favorites. 

  Hollandspiele is a relatively new company, but it already has a large catalog of games for many tastes, from straight wargames to political simulations. They have quickly become one of my favorite publishers and a big thanks to them for letting me review this volume of Horse & Musket.

 Here are the links to the other volumes:
https://hollandspiele.com/products/horse-musket-dawn-of-an-era

https://hollandspiele.com/products/horse-musket-sport-of-kings

Robert

Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock released all the way back in 2017, and since then it has received a series of updates in the form of both free patches and paid DLC. Developed by Black Lab Games, and published by prolific strategy game outfit Slitherine, Deadlock exceeded my own expectations by a great deal. I feared it would be a low budget, overly simple strategy game trying to cash in on the BSG name. But no, it was really quite good and I enjoyed it a lot, as you can see from my original review. Deadlock had not just a solid tactical layer with tense, WEGO space combat, it also had an immersive strategic layer that tied all the battles together. The only thing you could really knock the base game for was that it was a little light on content. The core was good, but there were only so many missions, and only so many ships to play with. We've now had a string of DLC and updates released to solve that issue.

Deadlock is the story of what happened during the First Cylon War, years before the events of the TV show. (Which if you haven't seen, do yourself a favor and watch it immediately). This is a game about a full scale space war, in which you have command of the entire strategic picture. The Cylons get in a sucker punch to start the war, knocking out much of the Colonial Fleet and leaving your mobile shipyard as the only means to get humanity back on its feet. From that point it's up to you to decide what ships are built, what new tech is unlocked, and where you take your forces. Each of the 12 colonies has its own morale level, and if it drops too low they will exit the war. To keep all of humanity in the fight, you'll need to build up multiple fleets and spread them out to fight off Cylon raids. In addition to random attacks, there is also a series of story missions to tackle, and plenty of side missions that give extra bonuses if you complete them in time.

So, that's the basic gameplay, but what about all these updates and DLC? What do they do? That's the focus of my article today, as we step through all the pieces that make up "Season One" of the game. Between several free patches and paid DLC, the game has seen the addition of new features, ships, weapons, missions, story, and an extra game mode. Let's step through each "episode" of the season in order, to see how it all adds up to the current state of the game. 

As an aside, before we get started, I will point out that you can't go wrong with the base game alone. It's a full experience that you can get a lot of enjoyment out of. If you do like it, everything else here just makes that experience bigger and better. I've put in quite a few hours with the game, but jumped at the chance to play the campaign again with even more features and tactical options.

Reinforcement Pack

The first DLC for the game is purely an injection of new ships and weapons. For a very modest price you'll get to see four new ship types (two for each side) and a variety of mines added to the game. The new ships give you some nice options for customizing your fleet, one ship is unlocked right from the start, and of course increases the variety of challenges you will face from the Cylons. The mines give you another option when choosing special weapons for you ships, and, being mines, create new strategic options in battles. This update doesn't change the core of the game, but you'll certainly want it to help flesh out the experience. 

The Broken Alliance

The first major DLC for Deadlock is the one that is a must have in my opinion. It integrates all of its new content smoothly into the existing campaign, making for a richer overall experience. This DLC features an 8 mission story campaign which you play alongside the normal story missions. Anyone who has watched BSG knows that politics plays a central role in the story and drives a great deal of internal conflict for the humans. The Twelve Colonies of Man rarely agree about anything, even in the midst of a war. The Broken Alliance campaign, as the name suggests, focuses on the internal strife and intrigue which plagues humanity throughout the First Cylon War.

The Broken Alliance also adds four more new ships (two for each side) and a new squadron type for each side. The new ships add even more tactical options to the game. The Celestra resupply ship, for example, has little firepower potential on its own, but it can provide extra ammo for other ships mid-battle. Even more helpful is its ability to repair a section of armor on a friendly ship in combat. Each ship has separate armor sections for each side, top, and bottom. Lose a section of armor and now that ship becomes less useful, as you can't risk exposing an unarmored section for long. With the Celestra around you can patch things up and get a warship back in the fight. You can even use this offensively, hardening the nose of a Battlestar as it goes head on against an enemy group.

Endurance Update

Around the same time as the Broken Alliance came out, the game received a big free patch. This patch did some balancing, made the UI better, and generally polished the game. The best new feature was adding persistent damage to ships between battles, and visibly showing battle scars on ships after they took some hits. The persistent damage adds another layer of strategy to the game, as now you must spend resources to get ships back to full health. This seems like something that should have been in the game from the start, but I'm glad they added it in as a free update. 

Anabasis

The next DLC for the game added an entire new mode, which was initially received with mixed opinions, but has since been balanced and polished a bit to make for a better experience. The new mode Operation Anabasis tells the story of a colonial fleet sent out on a deep strike mission against a Cylon base. Things go topsy-turvy as usual, and the fleet must flee back to Caprica, Cylons in hot pursuit the entire way. These mode obviously draws directly on the plot of the BSG show, in a good way. Your fleet starts out strong, but includes many civilian ships you must try to protect through battle after battle. You can repair your ships if they survive a fight, but that's about it. Each jump brings with it a random new set of bonuses and penalties to deal with. Your final performance is measured by how many ships you get back to Caprica safely, if you get there at all. While the mode is standalone, it does feature characters from the main storyline, and ties in with the overall plot of "Season One."

While the new survival mode is separate from the main campaign gameplay, the new DLC includes plenty of new content for it. Several new types of munitions are available that are far more interesting than the standard missiles and rockets of the base game. The EMP Generator lets you pull off that Star Trek-esque move from the BSG pilot, in which a ship winds up its generators to release an electromagnetic pulse, which damages any Cylons venturing too near. The Cylons also get some new toys, so watch out!

Another addition from this DLC is a dozen new types of side missions that can pop up during a regular campaign. These aren't just new maps (though there are new maps), but completely new types of objectives to accomplish. 


Sin and Sacrifice

The just released, final DLC of Season One. Sin and Sacrifice extends the story of Deadlock beyond the conclusion of the original campaign and the Anabasis mission. The Cylons have been beaten back, but of course the big bad is still out there, ready to launch a fresh attack on the twelve colonies. You can either jump straight to this campaign with a pre-built late game fleet, or carry over your own fleets from the base campaign. I didn't have enough time to make it through the entire campaign just yet, but what I've seen so far is great stuff. Big battles between late game bruisers are the order of the day. There is plenty of new variety in what you are trying to do each mission as well, besides blowing apart as many toasters as you can, as usual. The two new ships added to the game reflect this idea. The humans get the Heracles, a new heavy offensive ship that is literally covered in gun turrets. It doesn't get any munition slots, but it can blast away at an entire Cylon fleet all at once. The Cylons get a new fighter support ship, which can repair their fighter squadrons mid battle and boost their performance. That's nothing to sneeze at when late game fleets are hauling around a half-dozen or more fighter squadrons at the least.

The other big, really cool addition to the game that Sin and Sacrifice brings is additional radio chatter. Previously, your ships had little voice lines announcing important things like missiles being launched or ships taking hull damage, but there were only so many of them, and they always sounded the same. Now, however, a ton (1100+ in fact) of great bits of radio chatter have been added into the background of a fight. You'll here plenty of utterances of "Frakkers!" and "Blast those toasters!" and every thing else you would expect from the BSG world. This adds so much flavor to the game and really increases the immersion as you watch the battles play out. 

Veterancy Update

Another free update, which just came out along with Sin and Sacrifice, the Veterancy update adds a significant new feature to the game: the ability for individual ships to gain XP and "level up" over time. In the base game, you have fleet commanders who gain levels and unlock new abilities. The ships, however, never changed, no matter how many battles they survived or enemies they destroyed. That's all different now, as ships can level up and become more deadly over time. I really love this addition, as now you can really latch on to your early ships that hang around through a dozen battles and become your aces. Losing one, of course, will sting badly as you can't just crank out another veteran warship in a couple turns.

In addition to what I've listed here, the game has also been polished a great deal from when it was released. The game looks, sounds, and plays better than ever before. If you pick up the game, along with all the DLC, you'll be looking at paying a AAA game price, but you will be getting a very good, rich experience. Each DLC expands on the story and content of the original game, and I think each one is worth a purchase. All of them together make for a meaty game that you can sink a lot of hours into. As a big fan of the show, I'm really happy that such a worthy game was finally created. 

Calling it Season 1 implies that there will be a Season 2, and the developers have confirmed that fact over on the forums. I look forward to seeing what else is added to the game!

- Joe Beard

BSG: Deadlock is available on PC, PS4 and XBOX One

Battlestar Galactica - Starship Battles Starter Set

by

 Ares Games 

I did watch most episodes when BG was on the television the first time around. However, I was not that much of a fan, except for one part of the show. That was when Lucifer would say "by your command". Still to this day that voice send shivers down my spine. I always thought that Vincent Price had a scary voice, but Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith from 'Lost in Space') just drips evil. The gist of the books and series is that the Cylons (mostly robots) want to exterminate the last of the human race. So, in the game you're playing either a Cylon or human pilot doing your best in tactical battles during the war. I am sure I am butchering the BG universe for those of you who are aficionados.

 The first thing you will see when looking at the box is the absolutely amazing four minis that come with the game. You get two Cylon Raiders, a Colonial Mark II Viper, and Apollo's Mark II Viper. The craftsmanship that goes into these four is absolutely amazing. You will, (I know I did), examine them in depth with a magnifying glass. Let's see what comes in the box:

• Rulebook
• 1 Scenario Booklet
• 4 Spaceships with Gaming Bases
• 4 Control Panels
• Maneuver decks
• Pilot Cards
• Spaceship Cards
• Special Cards
• Rulers
• 2 Dice
• Counters, Tokens and Markers

Apollo's Viper

The game is set up to have you up and shooting in no time. The Quick Start Rules start on page six of the rulebook and go to page twelve. For such a complex thing as warfare between starships in the vacuum of space, the rules are easy and elegant. The starships are treated just like WWI or WWII fighters, meaning that you have to aim your ship at the enemy in order to score a hit. There are no smart munitions to worry about. Nothing that can lock on and track you.  The steps that you go through in the quick start rules are:

1. Plan your movement

2. Execute your spaceship movement

3. Fire your spaceships weapons

 The hexagonal movement cards show the player the exact route the players' spaceships will move in following the players plans. You use a ruler, as in naval miniatures etc, to find the range and effectiveness of your fire. The control panel that is used for each spaceship is a very innovative approach for aerial games. With these there is no keeping track on the board or having to write all of your moves etc. down. 

 The Complete Rules start on page thirteen and go to page twenty. These rules only add to the complexity of the quick start rules. The Optional Rules go from page twenty to twenty-three. These add the following:

Aiming

Blank Maneuver Cards

Fuel

Three-Dimensional Space

Tailing

Cylon Raider

 

 The game is excellent from the moment you open the box. I know I raved earlier about the minis, but they are so good I have to continually say how incredibly impressive they are. The rules are very well written and walk the player through them in an easy manner. The game really shines when you use the Complete Rules, and then add in the Optional ones. There are a lot of these games to choose from. Do yourself a favor and at least check this game out. Ten to one you will end up picking it up. Thank you Ares Games for letting me review this excellent game.

 I know there is probably some sort of rule where I am not supposed to mention or, heaven forbid, post something from someone else's review in your own, but the writing and sentiment is so good I can't help it. Of course, I have always had a problem with rules. Not to mention the fact that I have worn through three copies of Also Sprach Zarathustra. Along with being completely jealous that I didn't think of it first. Here it is:

 "I'm raving about this game anywhere and everywhere I can, but admittedly I feel like Zarathustra come down from the mountain trying to convince people of the coming of the Uberspiel."

This is from Michael Barnes from his review:

 https://therewillbe.games/articles-boardgame-reviews/6281-battlestar-galactica-starship-battles-review

Robert