Home of Wargamers 2025 - Matrix 25th Anniversary

 This is the information about today's Matrix information filled expo.

Home of Wargamers 2025 - Matrix 25th Anniversary - Today at 18.00 CEST

A strong lineup of Matrix Games in one event!  Home of Wargamers 2025  will take place next week on Today at 6:00 PM CEST. As part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Matrix Games, we will present the future of the Combat Mission franchise, exciting news about Armored Brigade II, and the new expansions for Rule the Waves 3 - Expanded Battles and Strategic Command: American Civil War - Concert of Europe.

This will be a unique opportunity to meet and hear directly from the developers of Rule the Waves 3, WEGO WWII: Overlord, Command: Modern Operations, Flashpoint Campaigns, Nuclear War Simulator. And there will be a truly special surprise for all fans of the War in the East franchise.

https://www.matrixgames.com/news/home-of-wargamers-2025-september-25th 

 Iron Squad

by

Princeps Games

On Kickstarter now

 This is straight from Princeps Games:

"Hello,

My name is Vukasin Nisavic and I am the cofounder of Princeps Games together with my brother Janko Nisavic. When we are not designing games I work as a legal adviser. My brother and I design games, playtest them and we are doing our best to deliver a fine product to the audience. Nothing new with ‘Iron Squad’ regarding this.

While playing board wargames it always bothered me how players can see the enemy’s units on the board. Even though there are some mechanisms which simulate the FOW system in computer games up to a point, all those systems were not quite there yet. There was always something missing. So, I decided to give it a try, and I designed a system that will allow the players to have the same experience while playing board games which they have while playing computer games.

 ‘Iron Squad’ was originally designed for our new ‘Fog of War’ system. We like to call it ‘revolutionary’. This system required a unique game management so we needed a simple game to start with and that’s how the ‘Iron Squad’ was born. Unfortunately, we found that mass production of this kind of FOW system was too challenging for our small company at this time, so we decided to do an overhaul of ‘Iron Squad’ and here we are. You would definitely have to check this FOW system in order to understand the scale of it. Here is the video if you’re interested

https://youtu.be/gIZgbsffANo

With ‘Iron Squad’ we wanted to offer a game with high replay ability, so this time we went for a game board design which will allow players to have a different terrain configuration in every game by using the ‘Terrain Tiles’. Also, a different setup of the game is possible thanks to the mini-map sheets which allow the players to set the starting position of their units in a different way every time they play the game. Players draw ‘Mission Cards’ and the player who completes the mission first is the winner. If this doesn’t happen until the end of round 12, the winner is the player with the most Victory Points.

There are so many factors which can lead to a different game. You have the ‘Terrain Tiles’ which bring new configuration of the game board. Then you have mini-maps which allow a different setup. Each player has 5 different Missions Cards to draw. In addition, you have a ‘Weather’ and ‘Day&Night’ modifiers. At the end, there is a very interesting combat system with a modified D20 dice which allow the players to choose the impact of luck.

‘Iron Squad’ is currently live on Kickstarter and you can check the campaign page and back the game by clicking on this link:"

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/princepsgames/iron-squad

These are two reviews I did of other Princeps Games:

The Battle of KhalKhin Gol July - August 1939 by Princeps Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

March on the Drina WWI by Princeps Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

This is a review that Polydor did:

FREEZING INFERNO - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Countdown to D-Day: the German Perspective

The German High Command in Occupied France, 1944

by

Peter Margaritis

 This book's timeline is from December 1943, with a bit of a prelude, until the actual Normandy Invasion on June 6th, 1944. This is a very large book and is just over 600 pages in length. It deals with the day to day lives of the major German officers during the above six-month period. It gives the reader incredible detail into the different views of the main characters and even their personal lives. 

 Field Marshal Rommel is clearly the main German officer of the book. Some of the book deals with the difference of opinion between Rommel and Field Marshal von Rundstedt as to where the German panzer divisions were to be placed. Rommel, well aware of the Allied air superiority, wanted the panzers very close to the beaches of Normandy. On the other hand, von Rundstedt wanted the panzers held farther back to hit the Allies with a large, armored fist when the exact area of the landings was known. Hitler, in his usual way, made a mish mash of both plans. So, we are left to conjecture and wargaming to try and find the answer to the question - was either Field Marshal, correct?

 The book follows Rommel around as he desperately tries to make Hitler's vaunted 'Fortress Europe' a reality instead of a pipe dream. Anyone interested in the infighting and actual thoughts of the German High Command before and about D-Day should read this book. The author's painstaking diary-like approach to every day during that time period is to be marveled at. 

 There is one caveat, at least for someone whose tastes mirror my own. That is, the book goes into too much personal detail about the characters' lives during those six months. I am not really interested in where Rommel ate lunch and dinner on March 15th, 1944. That being said, all of the juicy bits of history that I love are in this book. I just had to dig a little deeper to find them. I am also not a Rommel fan boy by any way shape or means. Had it delved more into von Rundstedt's life it is possible that I wouldn't have these thoughts about the book. On the other hand, Rommel was by far the busiest of the two commanders at the time and through his travels takes you to all of the different places on the Normandy coast. So, you may want to take my caveat with a grain of salt.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this large, interesting book. I read for the first time some interesting things about the time and the personal tastes of the characters. I knew that von Rundstedt liked detective novels, but I did not know that he was also an avid gardener. 

Robert

Book: Countdown to D-Day the German Perspective

Author: Peter Margaritis

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

 The Battle of Thapsus

Caesar, Metellus Scipio, & the Renewal of the Third Roman Civil War

by

Gareth C Sampson

 I do not believe that Gareth C, Sampson has ever written an ancient history book that I did not love. That he can make me feel this way with books about Caesar is even more amazing. This is the third book in a series of books about the main battles of the Third Roman Civil War. The author started with 'The Battle of Dyrrhachium' and then followed with 'The Battle of Pharsalus'. This book now takes you to North Africa, after Caesar's tryst and long stopover in Alexandria Egypt. The author shows that the Pompeians, or more correctly the Republicans, have taken the respite that Caesar gave them to build a large force to once again take the field against him.

 Mr. Sampson does not just take Caesar's word for what happened during this time period. This is contrary to many centuries of authors taking Caesar's books about the Civil War and before as Gospel. There are more ancient sources than just his writings to be studied and sifted through to find the real truth of the matter. The two earlier books in the series have shown that Caesar was close to being defeated several times. He also shows us that Pharsalus was not a crushing defeat of the Republicans as we have been taught before. In fact, a large number of the defeated army made its way to North Africa to try once again to defeat him.

 This third battle book is inappropriately named, as they all are. It is not just about the Battle of Thapsus. The book goes into everything that happened to get Caesar in North Africa both politically and militarily. It also goes through the whole campaign and not just the battle. It does not just gloss over the other factors and information but gives the reader a full picture of the contest of arms.

 Once again, the author shows us that this was not some slam dunk for Caesar. He did not land in North Africa and growl and the forces against him faded away like wraiths. The campaign and battle were just as much a seesaw as the other campaigns the author has brought to light. Caesar's recklessness and his wont to throw the iron dice of war are shown in their fullness.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers and Pen & Sword for allowing me to review this excellent book. I am sorry to say that it does not change history and that Caesar still ends up as the winner. What it does do is take the reader 2000 years in the past to show them everything that matters to a lover of ancient military history. Of course, many of the maxims brought forth in the book are just as important now as they were then.

Robert Peterson

Book: The Battle of Thapsus: Caesar, Metellus Scipio, & the Renewal of the Third Roman Civil War

Author: Gareth C Sampson

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

LIMITS OF GLORY

SANTA MAURA & CAPRI

FROM 

FORM SQUARE GAMES 

This recently released game is the third in the Limits of Glory series produced by Form Square Games. Sub-titled Campaigns III & IV, the box contains two mini-sized games covering what are very, very small engagements in what can only be considered a minor side-show of the Napoleonic Wars.  Both involve naval attacks and landings to capture small islands.  Time-wise Capri is the earlier being the French's attempts in 1808 to recapture Capri from the British, while Santa Maura, which sees the British on the attack, occurred in 1810.  What they mainly provide are two very low unit density games ideal for when time is short and you need a quick fix of the Limits of Glory system.  Though their brevity also suits them for introducing the system, all its elements  are covered including the naval elements introduced in Maida and additionally brings shore batteries to the mix.  The latter drew a rare request from me for clarification which the designer, Andy Rourke, as always was swift to reply to.  His answer served to confirm my view that it's a risky business attempting to disembark land forces before eliminating shore batteries!

A single double-sided map is all that is needed to cover the very limited geographical area of each battle and the now familiar Event Clock and Combat Charts can be handled with back printed versions of each.  This adds to the compactness of the package. Lavish though it is to provide a separate rule book for each game, the amount of duplication is such that it would seem easier for once just to have the very slight differences presented as Special Rules.  Still this is hardly a criticism, especially as it allows for the space to include an even wider range of the superlative reproductions of Cruikshank and Gillray cartoons that are a stand-out feature of presentation in the Limits of Glory games - as illustrated below.

It's rare for me to relish a rule book for its art work. Or for my wife to ask to leaf through a set of my game rules - just to look at the pictures!

What drew me to the Limits of Glory system in the first place was the sheer innovative qualities of this game design, all centring on the concept of Glory points, the leaders who possess them and the ability to spend them to influence the dice rolls of virtually every aspect of game play.   Key aspects include: area movement, the  success factor for all actions based on rolling 5s or 6s, combat based on the roll of three dice on a simple matrix of the Leader's nationality and the strength of his troops, an Event Clock tailored to the historical situation of each campaign and which ensures the unpredictability of the end of each game and a momentum system designed so that each player will have a maximum of only 4 actions per turn

Santa Maura & Capri continues this in fine style, but for a more detailed consideration of how the essential Limits of Glory rules work, I’d refer you to my review of the very first campaign in this series, Napoleon’s Eastern Empire and I've included a number of illustrative photos and explanatory examples at the end of the review. 

In this review now I want to concentrate on what makes these two campaigns individual.  The first is the predominance of sieges. Though these have been there from the beginning of the series, they haven’t so far played such a major part.  In Santa Maura, retaining control of the fortress of Santa Maura until the end of the game is the sole French victory condition, while the Allied player’s major goal is to capture the fortress, though they can also win by forcing Camus, the French leader, to surrender.  

Santa Maura Set-Up

This all or nothing outcome drives the game and, perhaps, makes it the less varied of the two games.  That said, the situation is enlivened by the small idiosyncrasies that I’ve also come to expect from the quirky historical contexts.  Here it is the inclusion of a contingent of Albanian troops fighting for the French and the presence of one of the Greek independence leaders, Kolokotronis, whose map counter can once per turn attempt to entice those Albanian troops to desert their French allies! [I’m still waiting for Form Square Games to seek out a campaign that allows an opportunity for Lord Byron to crop up in the fight for Greek Independence.]

Capri Set-Up

Capri too introduces a number of new allies: for the French there are Neapolitan Infantry, while the British contingent contains a Maltese regiment and Corsican Rangers.  The situation here is more varied; both sides have sudden death victory conditions.  For the French, it is the control of Ana Capri and Capri town; for the British the destruction of 10 of the French gunboats.  Should neither player achieve their sudden death victory condition,  victory at game end depends on who gains the most VPs from controlling  BUAs [Built Up Areas].  As such areas can only be captured from your opponent by siege and, in the Santa Maura campaign, the siege and capture of the single major fortress wins the game, you can see why I consider SIEGES as the prime factor in this latest game.

As I've implied Capri is my favourite of the two games with its wider ranging situation and more varied units and victory conditions.  Both, however, are excellent for those wanting a shorter playing time and smaller playing area (which the Set-Up illustrations show) while retaining all the elements of the system...

Below are a just few close up shots to illustrate a range of rule points.

A typical impression of the map, with each number indicating how many dice you roll in order to activate units in that area - remember a success is always a 5 or 6 and you are allowed to spend 1 pt of Glory from a Leader who is present for each die you want to reroll.

So, in the town on the right, you would roll 3 dice and provided you rolled at least one 5 or 6 the area would be activated.  Should you fail to roll any, then you could spend from 1-3 points from Leader Lowe's Glory in order to reroll from 1-3 dice.

However, if you were trying to activate the area to his left, then you could roll only one die and if you failed, there would be no chance for a reroll, as there is no Leader in the area.

Also notice the zero in some areas -  a new feature which makes the area impossible to be activated.

Here you get a clearer image of the small fortresses which add to the defence strength of the units located in the area and also mean that the enemy must besiege you.  The banners (typically red for the British and blue for the French) show the number of VPs each side would gain for controlling that area.  

Where you have two (or more leaders) in an area, you must use the most senior leader's Glory points for rerolls. Seniority is shown by the small number in the black circle - with 1 being the highest ranking leader.  So, if Hamil and Nichols were in the same area, you would have to use Hamil's Glory pts for rerolls.  

If a battle were being fought in an area, the highest ranking leader can designate a subordinate leader to be used for rerolls, but then at the end of the combat the subordinate leader would have to roll to see if he becomes a casualty!

Here you have a small section of the Event Clock for the Capri game.  At the beginning of each Turn, the appropriate number of dice are rolled to see what Event occurs.  At the beginning of the game you will roll only one die, but some Events will change that to 2 dice and eventually to 3 dice.  Notice that many involve a change in the weather e.g. from Wind to Calm - this is a new rule introduced to the system for this particular campaign.  Finally the R indicates that this Event may happen repeatedly.  If you roll for an Event that does not contain an R, then you carry out the Event and then there will be a new Event tile to place on top of the existing one. I hope these illustrations will have helped to give you a little more flavour of the game.

And finally, just as a teaser for the future, I can guarantee that the next campaign game Donning The Sacred Heart ( which is well under way) takes us to a very different situation, played out in the counter-revolution period of the 1790s in the Vendee region of France and brings new twists to the Limits of Glory system. 

 American Civil War Commander 1861 - 1865

Death of an Institution. The Bloodiest Conflict in the Western Hemisphere.

by

Student Commander

Designed by 

Andy De Campos

 The American Civil War is one of the most written about and gamed piece of history there is, from tactical games about all of the battles to strategic ones and everything in between. There are even wargames about the various Ironclads used by both sides in the war. The few hours battle between the CSS Virginia and the US Monitor probably has enough books written about it to fill up a regular sized bookcase. Even outside of the US there are tons of people who read and wargame about the conflict. So, why would a designer pick this carcass, which has been stripped to the bones years ago, as a design product? Well, one reason is that Student Commander has based its whole line of wargames on Civil Wars. However, I do not think that is the only reason. The designer, Andy De Campos really had some novel ideas about how to wargame the Spanish Civil War so I think he might have a few things up his sleeve for this one. This is a list of the games that the designer is working on, in no particular order:

Roman Civil War 49 - 30 B.C.

American Civil War 1861 - 1865

Russian Civil War 1917 - 1922

Chinese Civil war 1927 - 1949

Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939

Korean War 1950 - 1953

Vietnam War 1955 - 1975

 I had the privilege of reviewing the Spanish Civil War game from them. Please see the link below. 

The Map in all of its Splendor!

 This is what comes with the game:

1-2 player game imitating the professional war gaming played by HQ staff officers.

Large premium photo paper board (45 x 35 in) with historical period map; highly detailed and educational.

Over 350 pieces with over 40 unique individual units.

Laser cut wooden counters.

24 commander chits with individual qualities and promotion potential.

Original American Civil War 54 card deck. Activate historical and fictional events.

Use deck separately for any card game.

1 set of 4 game booklets

2 black pawns

3 sand timers

1 set of tweezers

Label sheets for the counters

1 yellow fraction die

1 green vector die

1 orange measuring stick

3 sets of DD die (7 die each)

2 black D2 die

3 black D3 die

2 game trays for the pieces

2 player aid sheets with the sequence of play on one side and some play notes on the other side

 The game actually comes in a pretty large tube. You kind of feel like a magician who keeps pulling scarves out of his sleeve when you empty the tube.

Board Layout

 The map seems a lot larger than its stated size. As you can see in the pictures, it is extremely well done. While the map seems impervious to spills or foodstuff accidents, I cannot abide with either being anywhere near one of my wargames. The rulebook states that a normal 6' dining room table will fit it and all of the extras needed for play. I actually have it on one, so the rulebook speaks true. The only thing I would like to add is this is a game that is meant to represent a real military wargame. However, you do not need to use the timers if you choose not to. The timers are there to stop the player whose turn it is from just thinking about what to do next etc. The way the rules are stated " if your hands are not touching any component on the map or writing in your notepad the timer should be running". 

The War in Virginia

 This is what the designer has to say about the game:

"Excellent solitaire experience and high re-play value while maintaining historical content integrity.

While the action phase is highly competitive and entertaining, player choices will affect the economy heavily and, ultimately, the outcome of the war.

Each turn of the game gives you a chance to roll on four of twelve possible historical or probable events, which will enhance some of the political dynamics indirectly affecting your income through political popularity and support for the war. Congress is a heavy influencer, while international affairs make brief appearance."

 One of the biggest differences these Civil War Commander Games have compared to other wargames is an economic part to the simulation. Do not think that this is just tacked onto the game at the end for some glitz. The economic portion of these games are even more important than most of the others. An army runs on its belly and a nation runs on its economy. These are just some of the parts of the economic phase of the game:

American Civil War ECONOMY

Agricultural: cotton, tobacco and wheat were the top cash crops.

Industrial: textiles, armaments, foundries and manufacturing.

Trade: the lifeline of the South, hampered by the blockade.

Currency: immediate and sure but resulting dangerous inflation.

Taxation: The least impact on economy but it takes its time.

Bonds:  Involve the population (if they believe you'll win.)

Confiscation: a short run method with prohibitive backlash.

Financing the War

 This is a piece written by the designer that shows some of his thoughts behind the game:

"For over a century, there has been an ongoing discussion on the cause of the American Civil War. One extreme holds that Abraham Lincoln was resolved to destroy the cruel institution of slavery from the start and abused his Federal charter by using the Union Army to accomplish it. On the other end of the historiographical spectrum lies the narrative of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, which holds that the South was chiefly concerned with defending the autonomy of states' rights over the preservation of the peculiar institution.

Regardless of ideological drive, the American Civil War saw the greatest clash of arms in the Western Hemisphere. The tragic heavy losses witnessed in battles such as Cold Harbor and Antietam stem from outdated military formations and tactics used with modern weapons of unprecedented killing capacity. 

Differing strategies competed for victory. The Anaconda Plan sought to constrict the Confederate trade. Robert E. Lee, genial though he was, persisted valiantly to give the enemy a decisive blow in a Napoleonic battle and bring the war to an end that way. The Union finally agreed to use its advantage in numbers and resources to wage a war of attrition. Ulysses S. Grant was the first modern general to lead troops from the rear. William Tecumseh Sherman grasped the use of destruction and terror with few holds barred to subdue the enemy. 

The conflict was, unlike others (Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Vietnam) a civil war par excellence in that it was mostly devoid of foreign entanglements.

The economy of the Civil War was as frail as it was peculiar. With the failure of the King Cotton strategy, the South failed to rely on innovative ways to raise money for the war. The Confederacy mitigated the Union’s death grip on imports through blockade runners but it could have tried other methods such as increased taxes or land sales. The Union’s expert manipulation of currency proved more reliable.

All these considerations are reflected in the game, to some extent. This is a great laboratory that gives you a chance to try out different military strategies and economic policies to win. Hindsight is 20-20. Find out if victory was as assured for the Union as it may seem, or if the Confederacy could have made it!"

 Thank you very much Mr. De Campos for allowing me to do another review of one of your games. This is really just a quick look at the game, which is beautiful as only a wargame can be, and I will be doing another piece which will be a much deeper dive into the game.

 On Student Commander's website there is a poll about which game people want next. Please, for my sake, click on Roman Civil War. I will offer Agrippa 50 million Sesterces to 'accidentally' drop Octavian into the Mare Adriaticum.

Robert Peterson

American Civil War Commander 1861 - 1865

Student Commander

My review of Spanish Civil War Commander:

Spanish Civil War Commander by Civil War Commander - A Wargamers Needful Things