WARHAMMER 40K : BATTLESECTOR PREVIEW
FROM
SLITHERINE
WARHAMMER 40K : BATTLESECTOR PREVIEW FROM SLITHERINE This preview offers you an initial glimpse of the beta model of this latest Warhammer...
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WARHAMMER 40K : BATTLESECTOR PREVIEW
FROM
SLITHERINE
Napoleon's Resurgence The Spring Renaissance of the Grande Armée, May-June, 1813 War of Liberation, Part I Lützen, Bautzen, Luckau, Kö...
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Napoleon's Resurgence
The Spring Renaissance of the Grande Armée, May-June, 1813
War of Liberation, Part I
Lützen, Bautzen, Luckau, Königswartha, Weissig
"He could pass none of his wounded soldiers without being greeted with the cry of Vive l'Empereur! Even those who had lost limbs or who would die a few moments later made him this last tribute. He responded to their cheers by uncovering his head to them."
To discuss Napoleon's 1813 Campaign we have to go back to the 1812 Campaign in Russia. Although Napoleon did take Moscow, this did not force Tsar Alexander I to make peace. No, Napoleon's 600,000 man army was not buried in the snows of Russia. Typhus and malnutrition had pared the army down to about 1/4 its size before the first snowfall. The Russian winter and army finished the process of turning this remnant into a shambling mass of men that in no way resembled an army. Napoleon had left the remnants of this great army to its own devices and headed back to Paris. One of the greatest minds in history was hell bent on creating another Grande Armée and returning Europe to the status quo of 1811. Napoleon was faced with a superhuman task. While still fighting the 'Spanish Ulcer', he had to create an army from almost nothing. It is a tribute to his genius that he was able to do it. True, the new Grande Armée was mostly green conscripts, the 'Marie Louises', but it was an army nonetheless. In a tribute to his skills Napoleon was able to field a larger army than the Coalition against him in the first part of the campaign in Germany. This game is listed as the 'Library of Napoleonic Battles Volume VIII. It takes us through the battles that were fought before the armistice in the middle of 1813. I want to take a bit of your time and give you a short bio about the designer. This was written by John Best:
"Kevin Zucker was with SPI back in the 1970s. Like many who went on to "greatness" as designers under the tutelage of JFD, KZ initially served SPI in the capacity of Managing Editor, half-way between Dunnigan's R&D and Simonsen's Art Departments.
OSG was initially named Tactical Studies Group, and the name was changed relatively quickly, to avoid any clash with TSR. He left the company in September of 1979; the company remained active for a few more months.
KZ has remained active in wargaming during the entire period. He did work for AH for one year: 1980. It is interesting to hear him speak about the reasons he had for revitalizing the OSG brand name at this, seemingly unpropitious, point in time. "My grandfather, who farmed 80 acres in Iowa, had an old red & black 1948 Dodge pick-up. As a kid, I asked him why he didn't get a new one: 'Because everybody knows this is me.'" And it is interesting to consider the list of all the original OSG games. There were a dozen or so: Napoleon at Bay, Panzerkrieg, Rommel & Tunisia, Napoleon at Leipzig, Dark December, Bonaparte in Italy, Devil's Den and Air Cobra prominent among them.
The Napoleonic titles such as Napoleon at Bay and Bonaparte in Italy were pathfinding designs that for over two decades have been hugely influential on many members of the wargaming community. OSG did some WWII games too including the J. A. Nelson design, Rommel & Tunisia. By the standards of today, the 28 page rulebook is, I suppose, a mere bagatelle. But for 1978, the whole presentation gives the impression of somebody going for Big Ideas and Very Serious Stuff."
Let us take a look at what comes with the game:
2 Maps 34"x22"
1 Map 17"x22"
1 Map 11"x34"
2 Maps 11"x17"
2 Counter Sheets (560 die-cut player pieces)
2 Booklets (System Rules and Study Folder)
17 Player Aid Cards (TRC x 6, Initial Setup x 6, Casualty x 2, Combat Results, Reorganization, and Weather)
5 Resource Cards (Adding the Cards, Combat Tables, Sequence of Play, Victory Worksheet, List of Cards Removed).
2 Card Decks (50 cards each)
Map of the early 1813 Campaign. |
Normally I would go right into an appraisal of the components. However, because of this game having multiple battles, I will post OSG's synopsis of three of the battles first.
"LÜTZEN, STRUGGLE FOR THE FOUR VILLAGES, 2 MAY
With the death of Marshal Kutusov on 28 April, there was no further obstacle to the Tsar’s fervent dream of dictating peace from the Tuilleries. The Allies marched boldly across the Elbe, not knowing Napoleon’s plans, his strength, or his location. They took up a position astride the road to Leipzig, the Emperor’s presumed objective. After a string of actions at Halle, Merseberg and Weissenfels, the two armies met on the field of battle at Lützen on the 2nd of May.
BAUTZEN, THE GUARD’S MOMENT OF TRUTH, 20-21 MAY
The Russo-Prussian army was nearly 100,000-strong, but Napoleon outnumbered them, and Marshal Ney was approaching with 85,000 reinforcements. Napoleon had planned to pin down his enemies and then trap them with Ney's troops. But the Bravest of the Brave ended up coming in on the flank, not far enough to oblige Wittgenstein to redeploy, and so no deadly “hinge” was formed in the enemy line. The Russians were defeated, but Napoleon’s army was at the end of its tether, and the pursuit cost him more men than the enemy. The Bautzen map is one and one half map sections: 33x34”
LUCKAU, GATEWAY TO BERLIN, 6 JUNE
Bülow’s Prussian Corps of 30,000 men marched south from Berlin, threatening French Communications with Dresden. Oudinot’s XII Corps and Beaumont’s cavalry were at Hoyers- werda on the 28th of May when some of Bülow’s force stumbled upon them. By the time Oudinot caught up with them again on June 6th Bülow had concentrated most of his Corps at Luckau, driving the French back with a loss of 2,000"
The game, in truth, comes with five battles. These are:
Lützen
Bautzen
Luckau
Königswartha
Weissig
The game also has two Mini-Campaigns and a Campaign Game.
The components of the game are completely top shelf. The maps are beautiful. They are also easy to read and the terrain is not difficult to discern for each hex. They are a cross between a period map and a new wargaming one. This marriage works extremely well in my eyes. The counters are also up to snuff. They are 1/2" in size. Some of them are blessed with small portraits of the French and Allied commanders. Their size may put some people off in this age of 1" counters, but to a grognard the hex and counter size are completely normal. The stacking limit is up to five units in a hex with a leader. This sounds like it might make the game stack heavy, but in reality this is not the case. The System Rules Booklet is twenty-four pages long. It is mostly in black and white, but does have colored play examples, etc. The Study Folder Booklet is also twenty-four pages long. It is split in half between information about the battles and campaigns, and a wonderful Historical Notes section written by Mr. Zucker. These notes are a concise and well done history of this part of the 1813 campaign. The Player Aid Cards, and the Resource Cards, are either blank and white or one color. They are easy to use and completely informative. The game comes with two Card Decks (one French, and one Allied). The decks are smaller than regular cards, but are just as sturdy and laminated, more on these cards later on. All of the components are what you would expect from a company with such a life span and pedigree.
So, we have a bit of a different animal here than most. Not only do you get the battles, but you can also play out the campaign. I am trying to think of another game that I own or have played that has this. Many games do a chain of separate scenarios and make a campaign game out of them, and very well at that. However, I cannot recall having one that you could play either of them on the same map at the operational level. One other thing that the game has that no other one has is a separate Battle of Bautzen. The Battle of Lützen has a few games on it. I know, I have all of them. Bautzen, on the other hand, is a glaring black hole in the gaming world. This battle, had Ney not turned petulant, might have saved Napoleon's Empire. Had Ney not felt slighted by Napoleon, who gave him Jomini as his Chief of Staff, the history of Europe would more than likely be much different. The Allies were setup on the Bautzen battlefield with Austria close to their left flank. Tsar Alexander I was adamant that Napoleon wanted to crush the Allies' left flank and push them away from Austria. In actuality, Napoleon wanted Ney to crush the Allies' right flank and actually force them into Austria. Austria herself was still on the fence about joining against Napoleon and was not ready yet to intervene. This would have forced Napoleon's father-in-law to either become a belligerent before he was ready or to intern the Allies troops. If Ney had one wit of operational sense he would have come in behind the Allied right as Jomini begged him to do. Ney became like a stubborn five year old and followed Napoleon's orders to a tee. This only pushed the Allies back and allowed them to escape the battlefield. Ney had forgotten Seydlitz's famous answer to an order from Frederick the Great "After the battle the King can do what he likes with my head, but during the battle will he please allow me to use it?". Yes, you can tell that I am an aficionado of the Campaign of 1813.
So, how is the game/simulation? In a word, excellent. I do have many of Mr. Zucker's earlier designs so the rules and playing were probably easier for me than most. When you compare some of the older games, 1809 and Napoleon at Bay, to the newer ruleset you get a very good idea of how the Napoleonic games from operational Studies Group have matured into what they are now. The ruleset has been worked on during the years and this game's rules are from version 7.34.This is not an easy game. Meaning, I certainly wouldn't use it to introduce an Axis and Allies player to real wargaming. In fact there are rules about:
Zones of Control
Leaders
Command
Hidden Forces
Cavalry Charges
Vedettes
Supply
Baggage and Pontoon Trains
Road March
Along with many other concepts. As I mentioned earlier, the game can also be played with cards. This is OSG's blurb about them:
"Due to the chaotic conditions of war the actions of units and leaders were always uncertain. Opposing generals rarely knew where the battle was boing to be, nor who was going to be there. The cards make such doubts a part of the player's calculations."
I think I forgot to mention that the game is supposed to be played with all units and reinforcements hidden. Until you decide to uncover that genie's bottle, you will have no way of knowing what is in front of you. The French Imperial Guard could be right over that next hill. My favorite battles are Bautzen (of course), and Lützen. However, the Campaign Game is my favorite of all the different scenarios to play. I have played it with and without cards based on my mood at the time. Many thanks to OSG for letting me review this, I hate to say game, simulation of Napoleonic warfare at almost the end of the Empire. If you grognards have played some of the older games you owe it to yourself to get one of these newer volumes.
Robert
Operational Studies Group:
Napoleon Games – Operational Studies Group
Napoleon's Resurgence:
Napoleon's Resurgence – Operational Studies Group (napoleongames.com)
878 Vikings: Invasions of England is as a descriptive game title as you could ever wish for. However, it is not until you play the game tha...
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Incongruously the rule book states that it is the year 865 however there aren’t many people who could split such small hairs or understand the nuance between the years 865 and 878. I am not one of them despite regularly falling asleep to the British History Podcast (BHP) which covered this period for me about 3 months ago. (I’ve got quite a backlog).
However let’s get back to the game, which is a team-based game for 2 to 4 players. One side takes on the two factions of the Angles (thank you BHP): the Housecarls and the Thegn. The other team takes over the Viking Norsemen and Viking Berserkers. The game plays out over at most 7 rounds or until the conditions are overwhelmingly in favour of one team.
This game reminds me of a simple COIN game; there are asymmetric faction powers and the play order changes each turn and it is a (wait for it) … card-driven game. Feel free to disagree with me. One of the simplest aspects of this game is how the turn order is decided – by drafting faction-coloured cubes out of a bag. Unlike most variable turn order games, this is not predetermined completely at the start of the turn but revealed as the first phase of the next players turn. This is such a simple design choice but adds a delicious amount of tension (and involvement) from the very beginning and it only ramps up throughout the game. If the ‘English’ defenders go first then their opportunity to react to the Viking invasion is stymied. If the Vikings go first they can deny the English important reinforcements later on. A double whammy of both team factions going before their opponents can be an opportunity for either side.
The first Viking Reinforcement phase lands the Great Heathen Army (i.e. the Vikings) into Englaland. And you might be forgiven for thinking that there would be no way the defending factions (normally one or two defenders in a region), could deal with the invading horde of 17 Norsemen and 8 Berserkers during the first turn. However, it always seemed to be quite finely balanced by the end of each round despite the Vikings having a seemingly overwhelming force. The wise Viking player will not spread themselves too thin; there is a strong desire to rampage and pillage with their superior forces but they are quickly whittled down. A good Viking player should prepare and plan for significant reinforcements in later turns.
The core of the gameplay is driven by the cards played by the active faction, which will either be an event card or a movement card. The movement cards dictate how many armies and how far they can move. Movement is a simple affair, there is no unit drop off or pick up, and armies must stop when in a region with the enemy.
The battle phase is streamlined and quick to grasp and another area where this game shines with its design choices. Each faction is colour coded and has its own battle dice. The controlling player will roll as many dice as they have units available in the battle. The berserkers are the strongest faction but also the most fragile. The Norsemen and Housecarl are equivalent and the Thegn are a bit battle shy. Any time a battle occurs in a region containing a city then the Fyrd are raised which are basically cannon fodder and play an important role in protecting the stronger Housecarl and Thegn from absorbing too many hits early on.
The use of colour to differentiate the battle dice and different factions really help to streamline the battle phase and it can be taught and grasped in a few minutes. The simple and quick playing battles present a real ebb and flow that you can see across the board as the Vikings invade and are pushed back, a little less, each turn. The event cards may add a little wrinkle here and there to the overall flow of the game but all their game-changing rules are clearly presented on the cards themselves.
The active faction player is allowed to ‘command’ the pieces of their teammate and move them and battle with them freely. However, any decisions where to apply the hits and, I would argue where to move them, should be freely discussed and agreed upon within your team. It is this discussion space with your other team member that allows this fast-paced game to breathe and enhances the overall experience. I have played it with 2 players (with my son) and with 4. Despite my son enjoying the game and asking to play it again, I am a bit disappointed that he has not experienced it with 4 players yet. When lockdown eases hopefully I can remedy that situation.
This review was written with the recently published second edition of the game. The artwork across the cards and throughout the game is lovely. I am also a sucker for maps, especially ones of England, and this one is beautifully uncluttered and functional.
The rules are excellently written, and there is an abundance of examples and colours that at first glance looks confusing, but which are extremely useful when you’re reading to learn the game for the first time. Because of its relative simplicity and presentation of the rules, I imagine returning to the game after a few months or more will be a very quick affair.
The leaders in the game come with Standees that tower above the army units. They really serve to focus your attention, particularly for the English factions where there is a concentration of force, if it is not abundantly clear by the sea of black and red plastic surround them
My favourite part of the components has to be the Historical Overview at the back of the rulebook. I love Academy Games (and any other publisher that does) for allowing designers the space to add some context to the game they’ve designed. There is also a line or two of flavour text on the cards themselves which is interesting to read.
Academy Games have provided tiny miniatures in 15mm scale on little round bases. Keeping these upright (and in line with my OCD tendencies) is more trouble than it’s worth. At 15mm you can tell that they’re soldiers carrying axes and spears but beyond that, the detail is a bit lost. The size isn’t the issue, any bigger and the map would drown in plastic, but I would have preferred simple cubes which can be easily formed into a good looking shield wall, but this is a minor complaint.
Another minor complaint is around the card art – I’ve already said that the art is lovely but I would have liked to see more unique examples of it. Event cards with the same function and title have the same art. Again, this is a very minor criticism and arguably it may be a design choice to keep consistency across cards that have the same effects.
The most significant criticism I have is that the game feels quite different with just two players. This is a shame because that is the only version my son has played. There is an added level of ‘je ne sais quoi’ with the full complement of four players.
I have read this game described as Risk+ but I think I would prefer the term COIN-lite. I understand the Risk+ comment but this is so much more than Risk. If someone can handle the rules-complexity of Risk and enjoys the direct conflict in that ‘game’ then 878: Vikings can provide a much more rewarding experience in a much shorter time with marginally more rules. I think that non-gamers suggesting a game of risk is pretty much apocryphal these days, but if you ever find yourselves in that situation, say no, go out and buy this (or any of Academy Games’ Birth of America series – 1812, 1775 or 1754) and insist that they try this instead. However 878: Vikings is probably easier to get hold of due to the recent reprinting.
Although the rules are simple there is enough in here, especially with 4 players, to keep even the most experienced of Grognards entertained. Even if they consider it as a simple 60-minute filler – my game of this went closer to 90 minutes plus a bit., I guarantee that they will enjoy it. As will anyone else who has experienced any type of modern hobby games, or dare I say it again, Risk…
Viscounts of the West Kingdom is the final instalment of the West Kingdom trilogy (Architects, Paladins and now Viscounts). A series which I...
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Viscounts of the West Kingdom is the final instalment of the West Kingdom trilogy (Architects, Paladins and now Viscounts). A series which I have immensely enjoyed and if I tell you that my biggest gripe with the series is that I can’t get my head around the thematic link between the game titles and what you’re actually doing in the games themselves, it might give you a clue a to how this review is going to do down…(spoiler I like it).
Viscounts is the most visually appealing of the three games coming with a central circular board and eye-catching 3-tiered castle in the centre of the board through which 1-4 players will be moving their single Viscount figure around the action spaces of the circular board, constructing buildings from their individual player board i.e. ‘building their engine’. As you build you’ll derive immediate and ongoing benefits on both the central board and your individual player board.
One Small Step by Academy Games The Space Race: on the outside a scientific marvel; on the inside a propaganda and military powerhouse...
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One Small Step
by
Academy Games
Frontier Wars by Draco Ideas We grognards have a love hate relationship with toy soldiers. As a group, we look longingly back in time to ...
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Frontier Wars
by
Draco Ideas
Saladin by Shakos Games His correct name is Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, but we in the West know him as just Salah ad-Din or Sa...
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Saladin
by
Shakos Games
His correct name is Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, but we in the West know him as just Salah ad-Din or Saladin. Once this brilliant man became leader of both Egypt and Syria, the Crusaders' days in Outremer were numbered. In fact, after he took back Jerusalem, the Crusaders were left with only a small strip of land on the coast. One of the reasons that the Crusaders had been as successful as they had was because the potentates of Egypt and Syria were mostly busy fighting each other (sometimes with Crusader help), instead of the Crusaders. The three way power structure helped the nascent Crusader Kingdoms when they needed it most.
This is a brand new series by Shakos Games. So, I will let them speak for themselves about it:
"This series will present for each opus a legendary medieval leader and two battles highlighting them. Saladin, first opus in the series, is a game intended to recreate the famous battles of Hattin and Arsuf where Saladin was opposed to the crusaders troops of Guy de Lusignan and then those of Richard the Lionheart. In Saladin take over one of the armies that fought each other. Order your horsemen to harass the crusaders ranks or launch a devastating charge with your heavily armored knights. Saladin is an epic game designed for history and strategy fans.
Will you be able to lead your men to victory ?
Saladin is a historical wargame for 2 players. Having chosen one of the two battle scenarios and set up the game, each player, in turn, will order one of their Banner. They will make them fight in order to disorganize those of their opponent. For this it will be necessary to spend Order tokens, the number of which will decrease at the beginning of each turn. The player who will manage to preserve the cohesion of their troops by retaining the precious Order tokens will be declared the winner."
Arsuf Map |
Hattin Map |
The mounted mapboard is 11 3/4"x16 1/2", give or take. As you can see, the mapboards are a bit busy looking. The scenes and terrain are done in a pseudo-medieval looking style. However, given the style of the game it works quite well. The wooden tokens are well done and look uniform. The cards are very large at 2 3/4"x4 3/4". The Leader Cards are very nicely done, and have a picture of each leader on one side. The Rulebook is twenty-three pages long and is extremely colorful and easy to follow.
"The Sequence of Play:
A turn is divided into four phases:
• Chaos
• Initiative
• Activation
• Redeployement
Activation
Starting with the player with the initiative, players will chain activation in turn or pass. A player can pass only if all their Banners and Leader cards are on their Ordered side. A player who has passed can no longer take activation, their opponent will then be able to perform several successive activation until they pass. Upon activation, the player activates a Banner or their Leader.
Activating a Leader
By activating a Banner the player must in order:
1. Choose an Action on their selected Banner card.
2. Spend the necessary Orders.
3. Choose a valid target for this Action.
4. Ask if the targeted Banner performs a Reaction, if possible. In this case solve the effects of the Reaction and proceed to step 7. A Banner that performs a Reaction remains on its Deployed side.
5. Simultaneously apply the effects of the Action to the targeted Banner and the acting Banner by rolling the indicated Combat dice if needed.
6. Move the Lances on the game board if there is a status change of the Banner.
7. Turn the Banner card on its Ordered side if it was on its Deployed side. Leave the card on its Ordered side if it was already on that side.
Activating a Leader
By activating a Leader the player must in order:
• Choose on their Leader card one of the available Actions.
• Apply the effects of the Action.
• Turn the Leader card on its Ordered side."
Normally I have the ability to take longer with a game, for research and play, than I have had to inspect this one. This one is going into KickStarter in just a few weeks, so Shakos Games asked me to take a look at it before then. I was surprised at the size of the game, and the way Shakos games had implemented it. I had reviewed their Napoleon 1807 (link will be below), and I was very impressed with how they had combined the flash of a Euro game with a very deep wargame. So, I was expecting to find a large game with a lot of panache. However, I have learned not to judge a book by its cover, especially with wargames, so I dove right in. Saladin is very deceiving as a game. Its small footprint and setup makes you think that you are getting a simple beer & pretzels game. The game, in reality, is much more nuanced than that, and much deeper. It is simple enough for Shakos Games to tout it as a learning tool. They describe the game as follows:
"This game is designed to act as a fun and highly instructive working model of historical events. Engaging with the game will encourage any child to understand why certain important events occurred, as well as what may have happened if different decisions had been made. Easy rules and attractive components will help the younger player ease into the educational and sociable pastime of historical gaming. Enjoy the game!"
I really couldn't agree more. I love truth in advertising. Thank you Shakos Games for letting me take the game out for a spin.
Robert
Shakos Games:
Shakos | Historical board games
Saladin:
Saladin | Board Game | BoardGameGeek
My review of Napoleon 1807:
Napoleon 1807 La Campagne de Pologne by Shakos Games - A Wargamers Needful Things
A Wargamers Needful Things is a one stop blog for Wargamers, Military Minifig collectors, Toy Soldier collectors and military history obsessives. We will do our upmost to cover in depth as much as possible. We shall be reviewing books, miniatures\toy soldiers, MiniFigs and of course games, plus interviews, model making and AARs! Quote from a reader.. "Your site is a much needed breath of fresh air, I absolutely love the spectrum of things you cover/review. Keep up the great work. "
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