With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#81: Baron von Steuben Trains the Continental Army from Washington’s War from GMT Games
Washington’s War is a war game, make no mistake about that. But, it is virtually impossible to win the game by focusing only on the field of battle. For that to happen, the Patriots need to completely drive the British forces out of the 13 colonies or the British need to wipe the American forces off the map. Both are extremely difficult and I would be surprised if any more than 1 out of 30 games ended in such a way. Rather, the ultimate goal of the game is to have political control of the colonies. If at the end of the game the Patriots control 7 colonies, while holding the British to control of less than 5, they win. If not, the British win. Simple as that. So, you can see that battle is not the main goal but control is. And more importantly political control.
I really like this about the design and feel that the real core of the American Revolution was the groundswell of patriotism and the desire to live free from the shackles of an overseas monarch who cared little for the American way of life. This desire led great men of the time to sacrifice themselves, their livelihood and their families to further the true cause of liberty and build a truly free and democratic nation where individual liberty and freedom was prioritized over anything else. And yes, I realize that this nation was not perfect, not without contradiction but the concept of liberty helped to form a country that would lead to the ultimate freedom of all people.
Washington’s War is a Card Driven Game, and as such, relies on cards to provide to players the actions needed to play the game. The cards contain OPS Points which can be used to drive various actions, including such things as activating leaders, who in turn will then move with forces to attack, and also contain written text in the form of events. These events can be played only by the side they are intended for and if drawn and played by the opposing side, they can only be thrown away while granting a few possible actions, such as placing or removing Political Control markers.
In today’s entry, I have chosen this card to showcase one of my favorite events from the history of the American Revolution. The card for today is called Baron von Steuben Trains the Continental Army and has a dual focus. It will add Combat Units or CU’s to go along with General Washington but most importantly changes the balance of the game for battles. The card text reads “May be played by the American player in any Strategy Phase. He immediately places two CU’s with George Washington. The British Regulars’ Advantage combat DRM is permanently lost”. Now don’t get me wrong, gaining a free injection of 2 CU’s worth of fighting forces is a nice bonus for the Patriots but the real benefit of the card is that it changes the game. At the start of the game, the British receive a +1 Dice Roll Modifier (DRM) in all battles until what is called the British Regulars’ Advantage is lost. The British Regulars’ Advantage will be lost immediately if the British lose 3 or more CU’s in a single battle and of course, the British may also lose the British Regulars’ Advantage as a result of the play of this card. I very much like this card and it is very important for the hopes of the rebellion. I have found that the +1 DRM is really difficult to overcome for the Patriots and I found that my hopes in combat at the beginning of the game are almost always a 50/50 proposition. But once this card is played, that changes and I feel like the Patriots can better go on the offensive and openly hunt down and attack the British with confidence.
I have always been impressed with the Patriot effort to bring in professional soldiers from Europe to assist them in training and leading the Continental forces. Names like Marquis de Lafayette (France), Baron von Steuben (Prussia), Casimir Pulaski (Poland), Tadeusz Kościuszko (Poland) and Baron de Kalb (Bavaria) to name just a few. These European Generals had experience and knowledge, which were commodities that the Patriots didn’t have a lot of.
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Fresher von Steuben was a Prussian-born army officer who played a leading role in the American Revolutionary War by reforming the Continental Army into a disciplined and professional fighting force. His contributions marked a significant improvement in the performance of Patriot troops and he is consequently regarded as one of the fathers of the United States Army.
Born into a military family, Steuben was exposed to war from an early age; at 14 years old, he observed his father directing Prussian engineers in the 1742 siege of Prague. At age 16 or 17, he enlisted in the Prussian Army, which was considered the most professional and disciplined in Europe. During his 17 years of military service, Steuben took part in several battles in the Seven Years’ War, rose to the rank of captain, and became aide-de-camp to King Frederick II of Prussia, who was renowned for his military prowess and strategy. Steuben’s career culminated in his attendance at Frederick’s elite school for young military officers, after which he was abruptly discharged from the army in 1763, allegedly by the machinations of a rival.
In 1775, as the American Revolution had begun, Steuben saw a reduction in his salary and sought some form of military work; unable to find employment in peacetime Europe, he joined the Patriot war effort through mutual French contacts with American diplomats, most notably ambassadors to France Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin. Due to his military exploits, and his willingness to serve the Americans without compensation, Steuben made a positive impression on both Congress and General George Washington, who appointed him as temporary Inspector General of the Continental Army.
Appalled by the state of Continental forces, Steuben took the lead in teaching soldiers the essentials of military drills, tactics, and discipline based on Prussian techniques. He wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which remained the army’s drill manual for decades, and continues to influence modern U.S. army manuals. Steuben also addressed widespread administrative waste and graft, helping save desperately needed supplies and funds. As these reforms began bearing fruit on the battlefield, in 1778, on Washington’s recommendation, Congress commissioned Steuben to the position of Inspector General with the rank of major general. He served the remainder of the war as Washington’s chief of staff and one of his most trusted advisors.
Baron von Steuben drilling American recruits at Valley Forge in 1778 by Edwin Austin Abbey.
According to Peter Stephen Du Ponceau, Steuben’s personal secretary and interpreter, “The Baron loved to speak of…his sansculottes (radical partisans, urban laborers, and common people of the lower classes during the French Revolution), as he called us. Thus the denomination was first invented in America…when, it could not be foreseen, that the name which honoured the followers of Washington would afterwards be assumed by the satellites of a Marat and a Robespierre”.
After the war, Steuben was made a U.S. citizen and granted a large estate in New York in reward for his service. In 1780, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, a learned society that included many of the nation’s most prominent Founding Fathers.
Here is a link to our full video review of the game:
In the next entry in this series, we will take a look at Good Omens from The Wars of Marcus Aurelius: Rome 170-180CE from Hollandspiele.
While attending Buckeye Game Fest this spring, we were gifted a copy of a newly published game called And the War Came: American Civil War 1861-1865 from Pinkerton Games, which is published by Blue Panther LLC and Steve Jones. The designer and owner of Pinkerton Games Larry Pinkerton had been their earlier but had to leave due to some other pressing business and we were unable to meet but were very grateful for the game. Upon returning home, I reached out to Larry to see if he would give us a bit of an inside look at the design and he was more than willing to discuss the game.
Grant: Larry welcome to our blog. First off please tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies? What’s your day job?
Larry: Grant and Alex, first, thanks for the opportunity to tell you about myself, and my game, And The War Came. I’m a lifelong resident of southwest Ohio, from the Dayton area. I’ve got three great adult kids, each working on their families and/or careers. I’m now retired from both my civilian job, and my almost 34 years as a traditional Ohio National Guard member-last duty assignment as an Air Defense Brigade Commander-so now more time for hobbies.
Now that And The War Came is finally done, I enjoy hanging with my kids, playing music, and traveling. I still do part time contract work in support of US Army training events, which I enjoy as well. And I hope to find more time for playing other wargames too!
Grant: What motivated you to break into game design? What have you enjoyed most about the experience thus far?
Larry: I’ve always been interested in the American Civil War, and many years ago it came to me that a block style game and a strategic level treatment of that war would make a great game-one that didn’t really seem to be available, at least for what I was looking for. I’ve really enjoyed developing the game, adopting, changing or dropping processes, seeking to get at the right balance of playability, workable mechanics and good history. It took a while, but I’m happy with the results.
Grant: What is your upcoming game And the War Came about?
Larry:And the War Came is a strategic level American Civil War game, focused on the southeastern United States. It started life as a block game, but when I decided to self-publish, I switched to rotatable counters due to cost. But play is similar-it’s area movement and card driven, so those familiar with Columbia style block games will recognize some of the mechanics.
Grant: What does the title mean in relation to the history of the American Civil War?
Larry: I bounced so many title ideas and finally settled on And The War Came, which is a sentence in Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural address (March 4, 1865). I felt that line summarized how the United States stumbled and staggered into civil war. And the wonderful Carte de Visite Collection images from the US Library of Congress I chose for the game box spotlight who the actual participants really were.
Grant: What games gave you inspiration for your design?
Larry: Columbia Game’s Hammer of the Scots and Victory Game’s The Civil War 1861-1865 were by far the strongest influences.
Grant: What is important to model or include in a game about the American Civil War?
Larry: Above all, I think it is leaders and leadership at the corps and army level. Any discussion of ACW campaigns seems to hit on the “what ifs” of senior leaders. There were simply so many generals I could have chosen to model in the game, but I finally settled on 22 Union and 19 Confederate leaders that did or could have risen to army or independent command. The formations on both sides were so similar, in my opinion it was the leadership that was truly decisive.
Grant: What challenges did you encounter in the design? How have you overcome them?
Larry: Wow, there were a lot; game flow, simple but historically accurate mechanics, relative strength and play balance, rail and naval capacity, re-playability, map scale-all had to be refined through trial and error, playtesting and compromise. And countless rulebook edits! Rules concepts I thought made perfect sense in my head and on the page drew several questions when reviewed by others. But I think it’s a pretty good final product.
Grant: What is the scale of the game? Force structure of units?
Larry: Regional area movement, and seasonal turns, representing three months. The map is bounded by eastern Kansas to eastern Texas on the western edge, New Jersey to northern Florida along the Atlantic Coast, lower Midwest on the northern edge, and Gulf of Mexico on the southern. Most states contain 4 to 10 areas-states with better road networks tend to have less areas. But there is more territory than units to control it. Fortress cities (i.e. Washington, D.C.), major railroads, navigable rivers, and mountains and swamp areas are also portrayed on the map. Rail and naval support capacity change each year.
Units represent infantry or cavalry corps, with a strength of from 1 to 4 divisions, or forts representing 1 to 4 installations. Unit count is: Union-33 Infantry counters, 10 Cavalry counters, 5 Fort counters, Confederate-26 Infantry counters, 8 Cavalry counters, 8 Fort counters.
Grant: What is the counter anatomy?
Larry: Very straightforward if familiar with Columbia style block wargames-a mechanic I have always admired for simple and clean fog of war, step reduction, and ranged or initiative combat. \Counters are square with strength point symbols (divisions) arrayed along each edge, plus movement and combat ratings. Infantry has a combat value of C2 with a move allowance of 1. Cavalry has a combat value of B1 with a move allowance of 3. Forts have a combat value of A1 with a move allowance of 0-they are stationary. There are also corps insignia (Union) or battle flags (Confederate) just to add historical flavor, and the branch insignia of the period for infantry, cavalry or forts. Ultimately, I chose to give similar units of both sides the same combat or movement ratings (since both Union and Confederate formations grew from the same organizational foundations and traditions), but those ratings can be modified by the leaders who command them, both at corps and army levels, and/or the battlefield terrain.
Grant: What does it mean the “game is We Go turn based”?
Larry: Most functions are conducted by both players at the same time. For example, in the Administration Step, both players recruit (buy) their new units/strength points, enter new or recovered from wounds generals, or administratively move/transfer generals already on the map to new assignments/commands. When both players are done, they go to the next step, (Operations), with Action Phases where each plays a card to determine who moves first, they complete their moves and then resolve any battles that result from movement. The Logistics Step and Victory check complete a turn.
Grant: What type of experience does this approach create?
Larry: It minimizes down time for one. Actions in the Administration Step, Operations Step, Logistics Step happen simultaneously. Only in the Operations Steps’ Action Phase (or depending on the season, phases) does movement happen sequentially. This limits the action/reaction dynamic to operations, where maneuver happens in small chunks due to the seasonal card play. Neither side is able to make big sweeping moves, while the other side can only watch-the mechanic enables campaigns like Gettysburg or Vicksburg, although they may not necessarily occur during the course of play.
Grant: How does the game use cards?
Larry: Cards list the number of “orders” you can issue to units in order to conduct movement or other actions. There are also cards with both events and orders where players must choose which to use. And most cards have a bonus action (improved combat, movement, or leader promotion) to spice things up. The season determines the number of cards each player receives that turn. The Winter season/turn, each player receives only one card-in the single Action Phase, each player compares their card to the other player’s to determine who moves first (initiative), then second, then resolve any combats. This makes for a short turn. In both Spring and Fall seasonal turns, players receive two cards each, then play their cards against each other in each of the two Actions Phases, conducting moves and combat. In the Summer seasonal turn, three cards are dealt to each player-thus there are three Action Phases that turn.
Grant: What type of cards are included? Can you share a few examples?
Larry: There are 30 cards in the common game deck (there are not separate unique decks for Union or Confederate players). The deck includes 22 orders cards, each card with a value of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 orders. The orders determine how many units (corps) or commands (see Leaders below) can be moved with that card-a card with only one order allows the movement of only one unit, etc. Orders can also be used to promote generals or repair rail roads, etc. Again, most, but not all of these 22 cards also have a bonus that improves movement, or combat for a unit, or gives a free general promotion.
There are also 8 cards that include a combination of orders and events such as blockade impacts, partisan activities, native uprisings, surprise attacks, diplomatic incidents, immigrant or native recruits, or spy activity-each event with favorable impacts for themselves, or negative impacts for the opposing player. I chose for the event cards to be generic in nature and usable for both sides, verses specific events (i.e. Trent Affair) scripted events. For these 8 cards, players have the option to play the event and still have two orders to move other units, or not play the event at all, and have all three orders for movement.
The entire deck is reshuffled at the start of a new year. Since each player only receives 8 cards in a four season/turn year, only 16 of the 30 cards are played each year-some cards may not get played during the entire war, while others may reappear several times.
Grant: How does combat work?
Larry: Again, similar to other Columbia style block games.
Paraphrased from the rulebook:
Units Fire or Retreat in a combat round. The sequence of combat is A class units fire/retreat first, before B class units, followed by C class units which fire/retreat last. If both sides units are the same class, the defender has the advantage, and fire/retreat before attacking units of the same class. A general’s initiative rating may change who has the first shot advantage. To Fire, roll as many dice as the unit’s current strength points (SP). A hit occurs for each die roll equal to, or less than the unit’s combat number rating. Hits on the enemy take effect as they happen, each hit immediately reducing the enemy unit strength point count by one. Say a 3 division (SP) infantry corps has a combat rating of C2-that corps rolls 3D6 dice and every “1” or “2” rolled is a hit, reducing enemy strength and effectiveness when returning fire. In a battle between a B1 cavalry unit and a C2 infantry unit, the B1 rolls first, but only scores a hit for each 1 rolled. The C2 rolls second and scores a hit for each 1 or 2 rolled. One round of combat is complete when each unit fires or retreats.
Some unit strength may be recovered at the end of combat if the unit is not destroyed-with this recovery rule I’m trying to account for after the battle return to duty wounded, stragglers, local prisoner exchanges, etc. I was aiming for about 20% casualty rates in combat.
Grant: How do Leaders work? How are they killed or wounded?
Larry: Leaders are used to command corps or armies (units under the command of a general are actually called “commands”, i.e. Sherman’s command). A leader imparts his initiative (A, B, or C class) and tactical ratings to the unit or units he commands. In Sherman’s case, he changes a C2 infantry corps under his command to a B2. A leader’s initiative and tactical ratings may change at different ranks. And I’ve added optional rules to randomize when leaders enter the game, and their ratings.
Leader counters also rotate-they all enter the game as a one star general. They may be promoted to two or three star rank. Grant and Sherman can even be promoted to four star (GEN) rank as they historically became army group commanders. A one star general (BG) controls one corps counter; a two star (MG) may command one or two corps.
The only way a leader can be promoted to three stars (LTG) rank is to take command of one of the 5 named armies: Potomac, Cumberland, and Tennessee for the Union; Northern Virginia and Tennessee for the Confederacy. Named armies may contain four or more corps, depending on the army. And only named armies may have subordinates of one or two star rank. If a three star army commander is relieved of command, there is a political cost, and the leader reverts to one or two star rank.
Leaders also represent staffs and logistics trains, so commanded units may engage in two rounds of combat, whereas corps without a commander may only initiate one round of combat-so even lower quality leaders can be beneficial since they allow you to fight an additional round. Most leaders also increase the movement allowance for infantry to 2 instead of the base 1.
And yes, leaders may be wounded, killed or captured. At the end of each combat which involved leaders, a leader casualty assessment is rolled-lower ranked leaders are more likely to be casualties. If assessed as a casualty, another D6 is rolled for severity of wound. Rolls of 1 through 5 indicate the leader is out for that many turns. A roll of 6 means the leader is killed. And if a commanded unit is destroyed but the leader is not killed or wounded, the leader is captured. Captured leaders may be exchanged as prisoners.
Grant: How does the design create fog of war and uncertainty?
Larry: The counter covers hide counter information until opposing units engage in combat. Of course, leader losses will occur, which adds to uncertainty. The cards also provide for a lot of variability in maneuver. And the strength replacement recruiting is a combination of fixed values for the year, plus a die roll for variable recruits each season. Recruitment strengths diminish for both sides over the course of the game. There’re several optional rules that address the Emancipation Proclamation, Drafts, Leader randomization, etc. to add historical flavor or variability to the game.
Grant: Who is the artist for the game?
Larry: I did the artwork…in MS PowerPoint. Whew, not the easiest thing to do! But I’m happy with the results. I used public domain art and was able to generate nice graphic quality with the tools available. And I found you can only go so far in development before you have to start addressing production concerns. And the War Came is definitely a game on a budget!
Grant: How is victory achieved?
Larry: Quite simply, players must accomplish more than their historical counterparts in the same period, for example the 1862 scenario, when the Border States, most of Tennessee and New Orleans were in Union hands by year’s end. So, victory usually means holding more territory, but there are also war weariness and political factors that contribute to, or detract from, victory. Examples are the midterm elections of 1862, Presidential elections of 1864, and weariness of the northern population.
Grant: What do you feel the game models well?
Larry: The overall ebb and flow of the conflict-using corps formations on a large area map just works well. And although there are abstracted naval and logistics rules that function well, I chose to focus on the senior commanders and Lincoln’s and Davis’s struggles to find effective military leadership for their troops at corps and army levels. And I think I’ve got the right level of political factors that contributed to the War’s outcome factored in. It’s hard for the CSA to win, but if the USA sits on it’s hands to build strength and perfect its leadership, the USA will lose. The USA must take the fight south early and often-and that’s a lot of territory to cover.
Grant: What are you most pleased about with the design?
Larry: There’s so many classic ACW titles out there that cover the entire scope of the war in great detail, and yet I think And the War Came fills a niche. For those familiar with board wargames, it’s not overly complex and it plays fairly quickly. I like the unknowns and fog of war, and think the re-playability is there. The historical framework is solid. I tried to not model for effect, so historical campaigns and outcomes are certainly possible, but not preordained. I wanted an interesting beer and pretzels game, one that both those familiar and unfamiliar with the ACW could enjoy. Again, I’m satisfied with the results.
Grant: What other designs are you contemplating or already working on?
Larry: I think if there’s another one in me, it’ll be a strategic treatment of the American Revolution-but to model that conflict will take some work, initially just to get the scope right, and factor in the interrelationship with the wider Anglo-French conflict.
Oh, and I must add a hearty thanks to Blue Panther Games, for their great production and distribution support! I just couldn’t nail down a publisher-but after consulting with Steve Jones (BPG) I realized I could partner with Blue Panther and do it myself! I would recommend them to any aspiring designer who’s interested in self-publishing.
If you are interested in And the War Came: American Civil War1861-1865 from Pinkerton Games, you can order a copy for $65.00 from the Blue Panther LLC website at the following link: https://www.bluepantherllc.com/products/and-the-war-came
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#80: Rome Offers Settlement from Barbarians at the Gates, The Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire 337 – 476 from Compass Games
Barbarians at the Gates, The Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire 337 – 476 from Compass Games is a Card Driven Game for two players set during the final hundred plus years of the Western Roman Empire as the Barbarian tribes in the north came down with a vengeance as they clashed with civilization and carved out their place amongst it. The time period covered in the game is from the death of Constantine the Great (337 AD) to the deposition of the last Western Roman Emperor by Odoacer in 476 AD. The Roman player will command the Roman Legions loyal to the failing central authority and those Germanic peoples who have settled peacefully inside the Roman Empire, while the Barbarian player leads Usurper Emperors, and controls the migrations of the Germanic peoples, who are the Barbarians at the Gates. This game is really quite good and feels very much like a wargame even though it is a Card Driven Game. There are lots of opportunities for troop movement, combat and maneuver. And I really liked that. The game is a Card Driven Game and the use of cards is all important and very well done. Each player has their own unique deck of cards that are used and these cards are sometimes removed from those decks when played for an event and also new cards will be added to the deck after each turn. The cards played during a player’s impulse which are not used for the Event are then used for their Operation Points value. These Operation Points can be used for many purposes including Activating a leader, Forced Marches, Raiding, Reinforcement, Migration and Successful Usurpation.
The real trick to the cards is to plan out how you are going to use them to your advantage but also how best to use them. Activating Leaders is very important as you can then move them to attack, defend, change control of areas and other actions. Activating a leader depends on their strategy rating (the lower the strategy rating, the better). When a leader activates from a card, they receive a number of Action Points which can be used for movement (1 over highway, 2 over rough or river connections, 3 over strait or for naval movement), continuation after battle (a kind of advance after combat), changing control over unfortified spaces and sieges of fortified spaces. But the cards also are very mean spirited. What do I mean by this? Well, in our first play, I was carefully using my cards to build up my armies to fend off the initial attacks of the Barbarian hordes. I also had begun to build somewhat of a super stack as well to attempt to foray into England and take on the Barbarians there. As I did this building up, I was unaware of the nasty nature of some of the cards. Some of the cards, both for the Barbarians and Romans, allow a play that will turn a single leader and their entire stack into either a Usurper or a Pacified Barbarian Settlement. Both are equally nasty and you have to keep in mind that you can have your best armies simply taken from you and turned to your enemy.
And this concept of taking your best armies away from you, either as the Roman player or the Barbarian player, is well demonstrated with the play of the Rome Offers Settlement card. This card literally allows the Romans to resettle a Barbarian Tribal Marker, along with any combat units with the marker to a Loyalist Provincial Capital. The play of this card at the right (or wrong) time can lead to serious issues on the front lines. Playing the Rome Offers Settlement card simulates foederati diplomacy, allowing the Roman player to integrate migratory tribes into the empire and to gain access to additional manpower to defend the frontier. The mechanical effects include that the selected Tribe will now be aligned with Rome and becomes allied to the Romans. This will lead to the Barbarian Control Marker being removed from the target tribe’s space on the Tribal Alignment Track. The real benefit is that the Roman armies don’t have to risk loss and time in fighting the Barbarians targeted but also provides somewhat of a defensive buffer as the settled tribes will serve as a guard on the frontier, protecting specific Roman provinces and providing a strategic military advantage against other hostile invaders. This card is very important and can be considered essential for the Roman player, as allying with these tribes limits barbarian raiding opportunities and provides crucial resources needed to survive later waves of invasions. Also the preservation of army strength gives an immediate benefit to other ongoing campaigns against other invading tribes. I love this card and the concept from history that it attempts to inject into the gameplay.
Foederati were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as foedus, with Ancient Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the socii, but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign states, client kingdoms or barbarian tribes to which the empire provided benefits in exchange for military assistance. The term was also used, especially under the empire, for groups of barbarian mercenaries of various sizes who were typically allowed to settle within the empire.
The term foederati had its original usage and meaning extended by the Romans’ practice of subsidizing entire barbarian tribes such as the Franks, Vandals, Alans, Huns and the Visigoths, the last being the best known, in exchange for providing warriors to fight in the Roman armies. Alaric I began his career leading a band of Gothic foederati. At first, the Roman subsidy took the form of money or food, but as tax revenues dwindled in the 4th and the 5th centuries, the foederati were billeted on local landowners properties, which became identical to being allowed to settle on Roman territory. Large local landowners living in distant border provinces on extensive villas, which were largely self-sufficient, found their loyalties to the central authority, which were already conflicted by other developments, further compromised in such situations. As loyalties wavered and became more local, the empire then began to devolve into smaller territories and closer personal fealties.
A 20th-century depiction of Alaric parading through the streets of Athens after conquering the city in 395 AD.
Here is a look at our unboxing video:
We also did a video review and you can watch that at the following link:
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#77: Schmalkaldic League from Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation, 1517-1555 from GMT Games
Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 is an experience packaged in a game that attempts to boldly cover the political and religious conflicts of early 16th Century Europe. The game focuses on the struggle of religious reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli as they battle the Papacy for changes in their views of God and religion. But it is more than just the Holy War as it deals with the other European countries involved in the affairs of the time including France, England, the mighty Hapsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire in the east. They all played a role in the process of the Reformation and the design brilliantly weaves this all together into an interesting and engaging experience. The game also covers other plot lines and events of the period, including wars, marriages and ascendancies to thrones, using a unique Card Driven Game (CDG) system that models both the political and religious conflicts of the period.
Today, I want to take a look at a very interesting Mandatory Event card that really shakes things up for the Protestant player in the Schmalkaldic League. This Mandatory Event basically transforms the Protestant player and changes their focus slightly as they now become somewhat of a military power. I use the term “military power” here lightly as they really are not that powerful and this event is really more of a wet blanket thrown onto their spiritual bonfire as they now will have to worry about gearing up for attacks from their neighbors to try and take away their victory points through wresting control of their Electorates from them, which grant extra Victory Points. The Schmalkaldic League Mandatory Event is only triggered when the Protestant has religious influence in 12+ spaces from Turn 2 on, or if not, then automatically by the end of Turn 4.
The Protestant player gaining the ability to create and command military units, including both regulars and mercenaries, is somewhat of a boon as you can now move your troops around the board gaining additional dice for Conversion attempts if those units are adjacent and also the electorates under Protestant religious control, specifically those marked as Protestant home spaces, instantly come under Protestant political control and grant 2 VP for each Electorate up to a maximum of 12 VP total if all 6 are under control. Talk about a turning point…albeit a turning point with some difficulties. The leaders granted to the Protestants are also not very good and do not gain extra dice during combat and frankly cannot command large armies. These leaders include John Frederick and Philip of Hesse.
John Frederick I of Saxony by Lucas Cranach the Younger.
Frankly, I try my best to hope and pray that the Schmalkaldic League card doesn’t come out during the first 4 turns and then will be triggered only during the Winter Phase of Turn 4. This gives the Protestant player some time to expand and attempt to get all of those important VP generating Electorates under their control to set themselves up nicely. But once it happens you will find that you are spending your scarce resources in the form of Command Points on things like recruiting units, moving those units and preparing for attacks. This takes away from your ability to focus solely on spreading the faith and can be a real drag on that effort. But, you take the good with the bad in this game and I have learned to deal with it over the years and turn it into something that benefits me.
The Schmalkaldic League was a military alliance of Lutheran principalities and cities within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. It received its name from the German town of Schmalkalden, where the group was founded in 1531. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to have the intention that the League would replace the Holy Roman Empire as their focus of political allegiance. While it was not the first alliance of its kind, unlike previous formations, such as the League of Torgau, the Schmalkaldic League had a substantial military to defend its political and religious interests.
The League’s members agreed to provide 10,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry for their mutual protection. They rarely provoked the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V directly but confiscated church land, expelled bishops and Catholic princes and helped spread Lutheranism throughout northern Germany.
Martin Luther planned to present to the League the Smalcald Articles, a stricter Protestant confession, during a meeting in 1537. He attended the critical meeting in 1537 but spent most of his time suffering from kidney stones. The rulers and princes even met in the home at which Luther was staying. Though Luther was asked to prepare the articles of faith that came to be known as the Smalcald Articles, they were not formally adopted at the time of the meeting, but in 1580, they were included in the Book of Concord.
New Cold War: 1989-2019 is a Card-Driven Game based in the most important geopolitical events from 1989 to 2019. Players lead one of the four great powers (Russia, China, US, EU) in their fight for the new world order. Initially, the confrontation is between the red bloc, consisting of Russia and China and the blue bloc, comprising the United States and the European Union. However, each player must also prioritize their own strategy, as only one power can emerge victorious at the end of the game. Therefore, this game starts with cooperation between allied powers in the early stages but becomes entirely competitive as the moment of final victory approaches.
New Cold War utilizes a Card-Driven game mechanic. Players strive to attain victory by gaining international prestige, dominating the media and increasing their control of countries and different regions of the world. Other key factors to manage include military force and United Nations Security Council vetoes. Players’ strategies are determined by a series of hidden objectives they must pursue to achieve victory.
The game accommodates three or two-player versions and includes a solitaire mode through a system of bots.
Recently, while attending Buckeye Game Fest in Columbus, Ohio, we were able to coordinate a 6-player game of Imperial Elegy: The Road to the Great War 1850-1920 from VUCA Simulations. Imperial Elegy is a card driven game that blends diplomacy, warfare, and statecraft and feels a bit akin to games like Here I Stand and Virgin Queen from GMT Games. Grand scale sweeping epics that play multiplayers and take a day to play. Players play as 1 of 6 unique major powers in the game including Germany/Prussia, the United Kingdom, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In this First Impressions post, I want to share a very brief overview of the game and the experience that we had with it.
Imperial Elegy is a fantastically themed game that takes place over 7 turns, with each of the turns representing approximately a decade. If the Great War breaks out due to the World Tension Track reaching a certain level, the game can be extended by an additional 6 shorter turns. A turn in the game consists of player impulses that is driven by the play of action cards for their Command Points or for the printed events. Players will use CP and events to take actions like colonize, conduct diplomacy with minor nations, fight wars, as well as hinder their opponents by playing events that take away their actions or resources. A turn will end once all players have consecutively passed or when all players run out of cards.
The game is somewhat of a sandbox style game as you have so many options and choices about what to do during the course of the game. Obviously, your faction has some direction about what you should be doing but really it is up the player to spend their resources how they will to accomplish their ultimate goals and score Victory Points. I truly love that aspect about this game and as we played we saw that sandbox and the asymmetry between the various factions. Particularly at the start, each country has some specific goals that they have drawn from the National Goals Deck that are a source of Victory Points, in fact a major source of Victory Points, and players will need to prioritize these cards and decide which ones to attempt to go after from the start. With only 7 turns, they will have to make progress on these National Goals if they have any hope of actually achieving them.
I actually thought that the National Goals was a really great part of the design and really sets it apart from the other games that have been used for inspiration such as Here I Stand and Virgin Queen. I partly feel this because of the options for replayability but also it forces players to change and adjust their strategy throughout the game keeping things fresh and interesting. It also causes players to have to think outside of the box and sometimes do things that their nation might not have prioritized but has been given an opportunity that they must capitalize on in order to earn their victory. Every 2 turns the players will draw 3 of these secret National Goal Cards and decide to keep just 1 of them, so their strategy must change and evolve with the board state and conditions found in the game at that time. This very key element of the design seems truly simple but it really has the benefit of rewarding those players who are extremely flexible and who can adjust on the fly, take some chances, change the course of their general overall strategy and adapt. I say this because I do feel that sometimes in games like Here I Stand or Virgin Queen, the same strategies and series of actions will generally be taken by each of the factions with just a modicum of variation. As you can see in the picture below, these National Goals are pretty variable and include things like preventing the outbreak of The Great War, gaining colonies in various parts or regions of the board and a focus on various alliances and diplomatic conditions.
The other aspect that I very much enjoyed was the Flashpoints, which represent key regions of competition amongst the great powers of the period including Italy, the Suez Canal, the Balkans, Qing China and more. Dominating flashpoints is sometimes one of the conditions to achieve and complete some of the National Goals but also provide players with certain benefits, including gaining additional cards each turn or even DRM’s. The specific Flashpoint that I thought was very interesting was the Power Projection Flashpoint which is a projection of the total naval supremacy across the globe through control of ports and naval bases in the various seas and oceans. The only downside here though is that this is an added part of record keeping that players will need to keep a handle on. Not overly burdensome but something that maybe should have been better represented on the player boards or the board itself.
Each of the represented nations in the game have their own special player board that contains various tracks that keep various information readily available to the players. Here is a look at the German player board. I very much enjoyed that they have gone to a great deal of effort to make these player boards and also that they gave each of the nation’s Stability, which decides whether various actions like war can be taken or if there are various positive or negative modifiers, the available Manpower that will determine how many armies can be built, Industry that tells how many action pointed you will have to spend during war to maneuver units, attack and replace losses. The focus of the game is about the control of territories both in Europe as well as colonies abroad and there is an automatic victory if a certain target number is met, in the case of Germany 15.
Here is a quick look at the Russia player board for comparison’s sake as each faction is unique and has various starting levels and abilities. These are very well laid out and assist tremendously in playing the game.
As we played, I started to realize that the key focus of the overall world stability and things like the Domestic Stability Tracks, which are focused of both the internal and external pressures faced by the powers. I really very much liked this thematic inclusion as no one wants to start a major global conflagration and there are steps that players have to take to skirt the inevitable troubles that result in their own actions and how they are seen by the other players in the game. But in our limited play, I never really felt threatened by this concept. Either our group was super skilled at avoiding the inevitable increase in tension or due to our short play we didn’t really experience some of the events that would have tipped this over the edge. I think that we say small increases in our full turn play but nothing that seemed unmanageable and we actually had an event that lowered it so it never became an issue. The game is about spending your resources wisely, in the form of your cards and your aspects like Stability, and to use your cards to do the events that could increase tension didn’t seem to be in our best interest, at least not in the 1st decade of the game. But maybe that will come later.
Keep in mind here that we only played the first full turn and it took us about 90 minutes including an hour of setup and rules overview and discussion as only one of us at the table had player previously (John Lapham). But we very much enjoyed the experience and found lots to like. We have scheduled a full count play of the game in mid June and I will have more to report on at that time but suffice it to stay everyone at the table was impressed with the design and everyone had a good time with it.
Thank you so much for following along and I hope that I was able to show off Imperial Elegy a bit and give it the justice it deserves because it really is something and I look forward to playing more in the future.
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#76: Military Uprising from The Republic’s Struggle: Battle for the Republic, Spain 1931-1939 from NAC Wargames
The Republic’s Struggle is a thematic Card Driven Game that tells the story of the historical events that took place in Spain after the resignation to the throne of King Alfonso XIII, and the proclamation of the II Spanish Republic in 1931. With the creation of the new regime, the struggle for power between the different social, political and ideological sectors increased, which gave rise to continuous changes of political power, alterations of public order, armed uprisings and violent acts, carried out by the numerous ideological factions of the moment; which culminated in 1936, in a failed military uprising. The failure of this coup d’état was the origin for the Spanish Civil War.
The Republic’s Struggle is based on Twilight Struggle from GMT Games and uses the same concepts of area control while adding in some actual combat with units represented on the board. During the game, the Republican player and the National player, will be able to recreate events of the period to increase their popularity in the localities by carrying out political propaganda, recruiting troops or militias, generating revolts or assaults, establishing diplomatic relations or carrying out bombardments. All this will be done by playing their hand of cards in an alternative way, either by using the events or by playing the action points or icons to perform any of the other actions available to the players.
One of the interesting parts of the design is that each player has what is referred to as a Special Card that is included in their hand from the start of the game and can be played during their turn. These cards don’t count towards the maximum number of cards that each player can have in their hand at the beginning of each turn. The 2 cards are Military Uprising, which is given to Nationalist player and Proletarian Revolution, which is given to the Republican player. These cards are single-use event cards and can only be used during the first 4 turns of the game, or in other words during the period referred to as Phase 1 – The Republic. If, after this phase, these cards have not been played, they must be discarded and removed from the game. Both players can choose to use their Special Card in an Action round, instead of using one of the cards from their hand. These cards are played like the rest of the Operation Cards either using their Operations Value or applying the effects of the printed Event. Once played, the card will be removed from the game so it is use it or lose it.
Both cards are very powerful but have some fairly difficult criteria that must be met to fully realize the value of the printed Event. In the case of our featured card Military Uprising, the top part of the card first gives the player the chance to downgrade the European Status Quo Track by 2 levels. The European Status Quo Track allows players to appeal to and in some ways manipulate the stance of the other European Nations regarding their view on the Spanish Civil War. It also the determining factor in how Victory Points are awarded for the crucial Armed Actions aspect of the game. At the end of each turn, if the number of Armed Actions carried out by a player equals or exceeds the current level of the European Status Quo, that player will score 3 Victory Points. Also, as long as the European Status Quo Track is set on level 2, players cannot carryout any action using the Operations Points of cards played to advance in the Diplomatic Relations Track. So this is another tied result to the card as if the level is 1, no cards can be played to advance the Diplomatic Relations Track.
But, remember I said that to fully realize the effects of the card, the Nationalist player would need to control Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and every Naval Base Location or every Air Base Location. If this is the case when the card is played, then the Nationalist player will earn an automatic victory. Frankly, this is next to impossible, but has a sliver of possibility depending on how diligent and attentive the Republican player is as well as the hand of cards that are drawn by the Nationalist player. If they draw certain other events, as well as have a hand full of higher Operations Point value cards, they can make a run at this but it is not necessarily recommended. The card also has a very useful secondary use as if the condition isn’t met, they will get to place out on the board 1 combatant cube, representing one of their combat units, and also remove all of the influence of the Republican player in Morocco and Galicia and gain 2VP. In order for the card to be used in this manner though the Nationalist player will have had to previously play the El Director card.
Either way this is a very good card and a shrewd Nationalist player can make some significant headway in their efforts to push the Republican out of power in Africa and northwest Spain as well as add combat strength to areas that they wish to conduct future Armed Operations.
In 1934 there was widespread labor conflict and a bloody uprising by miners in Asturias that was suppressed by troops led by General Francisco Franco. A succession of governmental crises culminated in the elections of February 16, 1936, which brought to power a Popular Front government supported by most of the parties of the left and opposed by the parties of the right and what remained of the center.
Spanish Civil War Republican troops manning a machine gun during the Spanish Civil War, 1937.
A well-planned military uprising began on July 17, 1936, in garrison towns throughout Spain. By July 21st, the rebels had achieved control in Spanish Morocco, the Canary Islands, and the Balearic Islands (except Minorca) and in the part of Spain north of the Guadarrama Mountains and the Ebro River, except for Asturias, Santander, and the Basque provinces along the north coast and the region of Catalonia in the northeast. The Republican forces had put down the uprising in other areas, except for some of the larger Andalusian cities, including Seville), Granada and Córdoba. The Nationalists and Republicans proceeded to organize their respective territories and to repress opposition or suspected opposition. Republican violence occurred primarily during the early stages of the war before the rule of law was restored, but the Nationalist violence was part of a conscious policy of terror. The matter of how many were killed remains highly contentious; however, it is generally believed that the toll of Nationalist violence was higher. In any event, the proliferation of executions, murders, and assassinations on both sides reflects the great passions that the Spanish Civil War unleashed.
Here is a link to our full video review of the game:
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#75: The Second Funnel from The Hunt from Salt & Pepper Games
I have played several hidden movement games over the years and enjoyed them all. Some of these titles have included wargames such as They Come Unseen from Osprey Games, Sniper Elite: The Board Game from Rebellion Unplugged and Bomber Command from GMT Games as well as a few board games including Hunt for the Ring from Ares Games. The concept of moving cautiously, attempting to evade pursuers, all while trying to locate and acquire or destroy objectives makes for a very interesting gaming experience. These situations can make for some really tense games that cause your head to ache and your wits to be tested. But they rely on some bluffing as well. Trying to force your opponent to anticipate where they think you should be and then trying not to be there. A really great mechanic in board games but not always easy to pull off and make for a very playable and interesting game. In 2022, we played a new design from Matthias Cramer and Engin Kunter that took this hidden movement concept and put it into a historically based game about the struggle over control of the South Atlantic between the British Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine during the early years of World War II called The Hunt from Salt & Pepper Games.
The Hunt is a Card Driven Game where the German player has to attempt to stay hidden while trying to sink merchant shipping as the Royal Navy hunts for them throughout the South Atlantic. The players each have asymmetric actions to use to accomplish their missions and each has a tough time doing what they have to do. But, if they manage their cards wisely, using them as effectively as possible, they can successfully either evade their pursuer or catch their prey.
In today’s post, we will take a look at the very useful The Second Funnel. The Second Funnel is a 5 Ops card, which makes it a very important card in the German deck as it allows for the taking of 2-3 actions in a single turn, but for which there is an even more important use as an interrupt to foil a successful British Search by playing it as a Reaction. If the British player ever searches for the Admiral Graf Spee, and The Second Funnel is played as a reaction, the British successful Search will be treated as unsuccessful and the German player will get to move the Graf Spee 1 space away from the space where the Search action was taken. This movement can be into any adjacent space so could be used to also reposition the Graf Spee into a space where a Freighter is located. Such a tasty surprise card for the German player! I know that when I play as the British, I have to always keep in the back of my mind that this card exists and that my efforts might be futile. But, as the British, I would rather that the German play this as the event. These Reaction cards are one of the elements that makes this game so good.
Picture of the Graf Spee taken in 1939 shows the second funnel mounted behind the aircraft catapult at the rear of the ship.
The “second funnel” on the Admiral Graf Spee was a fake structure installed by the crew in late November 1939, during its 1939 Atlantic raid, to alter the ship’s silhouette and disguise its true identity. The dummy funnel, along with a fake gun turret on the bridge, was constructed behind the aircraft catapult to make the German “pocket battleship” look more like a different ship, specifically a British or French warship, to Allied merchant ships. By appearing as a different vessel, the Graf Spee hoped to create confusion and avoid immediate detection and engagement by Allied naval forces while it targeted merchant shipping. The disguise was removed before the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939, so it would not interfere with the ship’s combat operations. The ship’s crew, under the leadership of Captain Hans Langsdorff, often undertook such modifications during its patrol in the southern Atlantic to maintain the surprise of their commerce-raiding mission.
Here is a link to our full video review of the game:
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#74: Open Borders from 2040: An American Insurgency from Compass Games
2040: An American Insurgency is a card driven game that attempts to simulate a near future US civil war in the 21st century. In this 2-player game that plays in less than 3 hours, the blue team is the Federals representing agents of the government in Washington. The red team are the Rebels including militia groups trying to seize control of states, highways, and cities. The conflict spreads across the entire continental US, from Miami to Seattle and from Los Angeles to New York.
This game is not perfect and it has some issues and the graphics are not that great frankly. As I played the game, I actually felt like it was a pretty decent game, with some very interesting mechanics covering an interesting topic. I know it isn’t perfect and in some ways the designer was so careful not to offend anyone in the game that he really didn’t get to say anything about the situation and its causes, and the game somewhat suffers from that. But it was interesting and I believe that we are about the only ones who played the game.
In this post, I will be taking a look at a Neutral Card called Open Borders. Remember, that each event is either friendly, enemy, or neutral. Friendly events help you; enemy events help your enemy while Neutral events can help either player. Gray cards such as Open Borders have no identifying side’s markings in the bottom right corner and when you play a Neutral Card, you may choose to do the Ops or the Event. Open Borders is a very good Neutral Card because it is a 3 Ops card and can be used to take various standard operations, such as raising troops, fundraising and attacking. The card also is identified as a Momentum Card, which means that if played as the event, the effect will persist until a time specified in the text of the Event or, if none, until the end of the game. With Open Borders, the spaces of Mexico and Canada become playable areas on the board. These areas typically become a way for the Rebels to build and develop bases from which they recruit fresh insurgent units and then cross over the Open Borders to attack those States that border these areas eroding their Order and creating chaos and Revolt. The Open Borders Card allows this but also allows the Federal player to respond by crossing over the border and attempting to squash these recruiting centers.
The other effects of the Event provides both sides with a bonus when they take certain actions such as Tax for the Federals and Recruit for the Rebels. When the card has been played and is in effect, the Federal Tax Action will provide an additional $4 worth of income from the action. This is an effect of open borders and the unrestricted use of free trade and cross border commerce creating new jobs, providing additional sources of income and employing workers who ultimately pay income taxes on those improved wages. The Rebel Recruit Action will gain an additional Militia unit per space where taken. This reflects the stoking of anger at home as illegals and other bad actors are able to pour across the borders unfettered. I very much like this card for its game effect but also for the questions and concerns that it raises in this debate. Such an interesting economic spin on this issue through the game and I think is a very well done part of the design.
The concept of open borders highlights a fundamental tension between national security, economic openness, and civil liberties. Post-9/11, critics argue that porous or “open” borders allow terrorists to exploit security gaps, while proponents of open borders emphasize that excessive restrictions hurt economic freedom and that security should be managed through intelligence rather than isolation. The biggest concern regarding open borders is that unvetted, irregular migration through porous borders can be exploited by extremists to enter countries and perform acts of terrorism, sedition or general mayhem. To manage the tension between security and economic openness, many nations have turned to the concept of biometric borders. This involves using risk profiling and digital identity such as fingerprints and facial recognition to separate “civilized” business travelers from “illegitimate” and bad actors. This use of these high tech instruments in surveillance, data tracking and technology to distinguish between legitimate travel and potential threats has raised more concerns with civil liberty and privacy. This debate often pits “secure borders” against “open doors,” with officials grappling with protecting citizens without sacrificing the democratic principles of open societies. In one of the most famous quotes from history about privacy, Benjamin Franklin stated “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety“. Where do you land on this issue of Open Borders?
Here is a link to our unboxing video showing the components:
Crusade and Revolution: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Deluxe 2nd Edition is a card-driven point-to-point movement strategic-operational wargame that covers all the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Its rules are based on Ted Raicer’s Paths of Glory. Each player takes command of one of the sides (Nationalist or Republican), and looks after all the aspects that involve a war including mobilization, recruitment, movement of troops, offensives and construction of defenses. There are also historical events that must be taken into consideration, thinks such as foreign military aid, international policy, change of Republican Government, etc.
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#72: Commodus from The Wars of Marcus Aurelius: Rome 170-180CE from Hollandspiele
TheWars of Marcus Aurelius: Rome 170-180CE is a solitaire only game that uses cards similarly to a CDG to simulate the strategic level struggle of the Romans led by Marcus Aurelius to stave off the invasions of Germanic tribes and Sarmatian raiders as they encroach on Roman territory across the Danube River. That’s the history. And it is really well integrated. The game play is very fun, strategic, with lots of decision points about what to do and what cards to use, and it is really challenging.
In the game, the Roman player has a deck of Roman Cards that can be used for the printed events for various effects or that can be discarded to take any number of actions such as attack a Barbarian army or Off-Map Conflict enemy, advance the marker on the Imperium Track, add two Level 1 Forts to any eligible map spaces, flip one Level 1 Fort to a Level 2 Fort among several other actions. Sometimes the printed events in the game are just more powerful than discarding a card for just 1 action so you have to pay attention to this economy and make sure you get the most out of your cards. Now, keep in mind, sometimes discarding a good card whose ability is not right for the current situation you find yourself in is part of the game but you have to use these cards wisely to do well in the game.
The game uses two separate decks of cards including the Barbarian Deck (Green) and The Roman Deck (Red). Both of the decks are made up of 50 cards each but each have very different purposes. The Barbarian Deck is used to determine the actions of the invading Germanic tribes as well as events that effect the war effort including mutinies, plague and the will of the people. While the Roman Deck provides the resources and events that are used by the Roman player to mount a defense against the invasions and to fight back each of the different barbarian tribes. There are unique cards called Late War Cards in the deck that will be held out until the start of the 175CE turn at which time they will be mixed in with the cards to form a new Late War Deck. There are also special cards that are marked with an asterisk that if played for the event will be discarded from the game to form what is called a History Pile.
In this entry, we will focus on the Roman Card Commodus, which provides some opportunity to shore up your failing Imperium Points or even cancel an ongoing Mutiny of your troops on the board. In my first 5 or 6 plays of the game, the most common way that I lost was by allowing the Imperium Point Track to reach zero, which results in Marcus Aurelius being usurped and the player immediately losing the game. I was confounded and very frustrated about why I couldn’t prevent this from happening! I could see the end coming but struggled with keeping that Track above water. There are a few cards included in the Roman Deck that provide increases to the Imperium Track and I highly recommend you take these type of events when they come into your hand rather than discarding these cards to take another action, that might seem important at the time, but in the end these events are just too efficient to pass on. Commodus will provide you an option. This option is taking the +2 IP or another type of action such as ending a Mutiny (very important as it usually takes you discarding a card and losing an IP) or drawing two cards to add to your hand (imagine if you can only draw that Local Guides card you have been looking for or the Ambush that you need to take on the Quadi in their Home space). It becomes a choice of “either/or” and I am here to tell you the only reason the “or option” is provided is to lure you away from the real prize in that of gaining the +2 IP. Please listen to my advice and take the +2 IP. You will thank me in the end! Remember, that the concept of Imperium Points (IP) represent the Emperor’s overall political authority and stability in Rome. If the IP track ever reaches zero, the player immediately loses due to usurpation. Points are lost from specific card events, barbarian surges, and certain combat results, requiring players to prioritize special events to gain them back
Commodus was Roman emperor from 177 to 192AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180AD. Commodus’s sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end of the Pax Romana, a golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire.
Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172AD and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176AD. The following year, he became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point, at the age of 16. His solo reign saw less military conflict than that of Marcus Aurelius, but internal intrigues and conspiracies abounded, goading Commodus to an increasingly dictatorial style of leadership. This culminated in his creating a deific personality cult, including his performances as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of daily routine affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian prefects, namely Saoterus, Perennis, and Cleander. Roman soldiers and the general populace generally liked Commodus during his reign, largely because he was popular with the masses and focused on lavish spending rather than costly foreign wars. He was adored for presenting himself as a masculine, gladiatorial Hercules, though the Senate despised him
Commodus was assassinated by the wrestler Narcissus in 192AD, ending the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was succeeded by Pertinax, the first claimant in the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors.
I shot a playthrough video for the game and you can watch that at the following link:
I also followed that up with a full video review sharing my thoughts:
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#71: The Wartburg from Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation, 1517-1555 from GMT Games
Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 is an experience packaged in a game that attempts to boldly cover the political and religious conflicts of early 16th Century Europe. The game focuses on the struggle of religious reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli as they battle the Papacy for changes in their views of God and religion. But it is more than just the Holy War as it deals with the other European countries involved in the affairs of the time including France, England, the mighty Hapsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire in the east. They all played a role in the process of the Reformation and the design brilliantly weaves this all together into an interesting and engaging experience. The game also covers other plot lines and events of the period, including wars, marriages and ascendancies to thrones, using a unique Card Driven Game (CDG) system that models both the political and religious conflicts of the period.
Today, I want to take a look at a very interesting Response card in The Wartburg. Response cards in Here I Stand are event cards that can be played out of turn to interrupt the actions of an opponent or provide immediate reactions to specific game events. Response cards are often used to negate, mitigate, or enhance events and combats, and they may be played during an opponent’s impulse, provided the text allows for this asynchronous timing. These cards also tend to have specific pre-requisites that must be met in order to play the card and The Wartburg states that the card is “only playable by Protestants, and Luther must be alive”. The card itself allows the Protestant player to cancel the play of a card as an event but cannot cancel a Mandatory Event. The card however can cancel the play of the Papal Bull or Leipzig Debate Papal Home Cards, which is probably the way that the card will mostly be used. The card will not only cancel the play of the event but will also end the impulse of the player playing the card. This can be very powerful and when played at the right time can be a game saver for the Protestant player.
For example, in our most recent play at Buckeye Game Fest, I was playing as the Protestants and Bill Simoni as the Papacy. After the forming of the Schmalkaldic League and the Protestants changing into a military power, the focus of the other players turned toward me as I was doing well and near victory. They all then decided to declare war on the Protestants and began to advance upon and attack my fortified Electorates to take away VP I had earned by having both religious and political control in 5 of the 6 as the League was formed. As we came into turn 5, I was at 24 VP and ultimately came up shy of a victory by 1 point at the time. I had been able to take over the entirety of England and change every space and also get about 5-6 spaces in France, but now the Papal Bull came to play and Bill fought me back and forth with him taking over 3-4 spaces followed by me reclaiming 3-4 spaces. It was a beautiful game of back and forth and I used every tool at my disposal to fight him including The Wartburg card to stop the untimely excommunication of Zwingli before he could attempt to embarrass him in a debate. That card play at that very time saved me or most likely he would have used Eck who is his best debater against Zwingli who is just average and I would have lost leading to him being burnt at the stake giving him VP or by allowing him to turn over a few of my hard fought converted spaces back to Catholicism.
The only problem with this card is that it commits Luther so he will be unavailable to be chosen directly to debate during the rest of the turn. But this was a small price to pay at that time and ultimately led to me being able to hold on through the end of Turn 6 where I won a Protestant victory on the tie breaker with England.
Martin Luther stayed at Wartburg Castle from May 1521 to March 1522 under the alias “Junker Jörg” (Knight George) to hide from papal and imperial authorities. During these 300 days of protective custody, he translated the New Testament into German in just 11 weeks, wrote numerous theological works, and grappled with spiritual turmoil. His greatest accomplishment at Wartburg Castle was his translating of the New Testament from Koine Greek into German, which laid the foundation for a unified German language and made the Bible accessible to ordinary people. He also wrote numerous works, including Against Latomus and several tracts. He began his attack on monastic vows during this time, arguing they were contrary to faith. Luther used his time in exile for intense study and writing, referring to his stay as his “Patmos”, referring to the Apostle John’s exile to the Island of Patmos in 95AD. While here though he also experienced significant psychological distress and temptation. According to legend, he threw his inkwell at the devil during a confrontation, leaving a stain on the wall. His exile was organized by Frederick the Wise after the Diet of Worms and the stay was designed to keep Luther safe from those looking for him, ensuring the survival of his reform movement.
Recently, I have been playing a lot of Paths of Glory: The First World War, 1914-1918 from GMT Games on the fabulous Rally the Troops! and these gaming sessions have got me thinking. Thinking about the uselessness of war and conflict and the ultimate negative effects of it all. But not just the loss of life, maiming and disfigurement that comes with war but also the emotional scars. And this got me thinking about despair and hopelessness. Despair! A word that evokes very dark and scary feelings in all of us because it gives the impression of a lack of tomorrow. The dictionary definition of Despair is “the complete loss or absence of hope”. In my opinion, this is a word that can be used to describe many historic battles and wars as they have spiraled into pointless affairs with no end in sight. World War I comes to mind for me and the years of bloody and brutal trench warfare, bombardment and use of deadly chemical weapons such as mustard gas. In this post in the Best 3 Games with… series, I want to share with you games that have despair as a main focus.
*As my Featured Image for this post, I used the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch (1895). He said about the piece that it felt like a “scream through nature,” and the painting features a distorted figure covering its ears, reacting to, rather than making, a sound.
3. Verdun from Dragon Dawn Productions
Verdun is a card game that is focused on the famous siege of Verdun during World War I. As player’s hands dwindle down as they play 2 cards per round but only draw 1, players will also have to play cards that help the other side, timing it strategically to minimize their own casualties. The teams alternate being the Attacker, and each card played leads to more and more deaths. You are fighting over positive victory points from trying to win several positions through over the top attacks that are worth a set amount of VP but that are hidden from view until they are taken so you never know if you are going for the high VP area or the low ones until you blow the whistle to initiate the attack.
A game of Verdun lasts about 16 rounds as players start with 12 cards, which they then play in a series of 12 tricks. When you win the trick, you gain the VP for the position but the winner will lose their lowest valued cards while the loser will lose their highest value cards to the dead pile representing mounting casualties. Low cards have fewer skulls on them representing deaths while higher cards have more. So even in victory you will be accumulating negative VP’s and this is one of the key aspects of the game…managing those deaths! Just like the high command.
In the end, the player with the highest score will win and this number will be very low or can even be negative. In our play of the game, my French defeated Alexander’s Germans by a final score of 3 VP to -14 VP. What a great little trick taking game! The really interesting part about the late game is that your hand has dwindled to being full of your worst cards as you have most likely used the good cards earlier to win tricks or cause losses to your opponent. The last few card plays just seem brutal and you are just hoping to not have to take a lot of skulls. This felt very fruitless and mimics the despair of commanders as they had to issue orders that they knew were not going to result in any positive gains but only the loss of life.
The game is also gorgeous with fantastic original period art used on the cards and amazing graphical layout and design. The images are very gritty and involve the feelings of the battle and create a very thematic portal for the players to experience the difficulties in the battle. Just a very slick little thematic game.
Here is a link to our video review of the game:
2. Paths of Glory: The First World War, 1914-1918 from GMT Games
Paths of Glory is widely thought to be a masterpiece on WWI and after just a few plays of the game, both in person and online on the fabulous Rally the Troops!, I can definitely see why people feel that way. Even though we are novices, the game is just that good and really tells the story of the fruitless efforts of both the Entente and Central Powers as they bashed their heads against each other over control of Europe. The game is long and you generally are going to have to play this one over a long weekend to get it all in and enjoy it properly but it is just such as great tool to understand the complexities of the struggles of trench warfare, supply and the balance of attacking versus taking a breath and regrouping. I really enjoyed the mix of historical events and the choices that I had to wage the war in a way that I felt was appropriate. But, my message to everyone who plays this game is beware of supply. Even in our few plays, supply has been an issue and we have had to make sure we didn’t make a few fatal mistakes that would get us in trouble. I want it to be clear here. I am not good at this game…at all and the nuances of supply and how to play have just eluded me as I continue to make the same errors game after game. But it is really good and I look forward to each new play with enthusiasm and am excited about the chance to get to learn more about this fascinating war that was so very fruitless.
With that being said, generally in every single game the Central Powers will start out by playing their Guns of August card. Guns of August is a crucial, high-stakes opening event for the Central Powers on Turn 1, enabling an immediate, powerful and historical offensive against France and Belgium. It kicks off the continual back and forth of trench warfare and frankly seems to never really generate a good outcome. Each attack is bloody, with both sides being brutalized by having to reduce units and the trenches make attacking more and more difficult as they evolve and grow to Level 2. Paths of Glory in a large part is about resource management and the constant pressure to continue offensive momentum and rebuild troops through the use of Replacement Points and events to bring on additional troops is a major problem for both sides. You can only attack for so long before you will burn yourself out and will have to spend time to recover and get ready for the next turn’s offensives. This process of back and forth will ultimately rarely see fruits on the Western Front and will devolve into stalemate as each side strengthens their defense and the Entente begin to bring in reinforcements from England to shore up the lines and nullify the early German advantage. But the real despair in this game are the decisions about how to play your cards. You can use them for their Ops Points to fuel attacks and movement on the board, use them for the printed event or play them for the Reinforcement Points located at the bottom of the card. This is the real key to the game and managing this process of maneuver, attack, shoring up defenses, buying replacement points and protecting supply lines is where the players lose their minds. You simply cannot continue a full out frontal assault round after round. If you do, you will grind your men to dust and dig their own graves as you will be unable to prepare for the next turn. This is a long game and this process wears on turn after turn and the first person that makes a mistake typically is the one that loses.
Here is a link to our initial impressions video of the game:
1. The Grizzled from CMON Games
The Grizzled is a special game. Not a big game. Not a complex game. And not a game for every one as it is different, focused on the friendship and bonds of a group of French soldiers caught in the trenches of World War I. The game is a cooperative card game set during The Great War, also known as “the war that no one in the U.S. really understands because we only ever learn about World War II”. Ironically, playing The Grizzled is somewhat of a rather peaceful affair, but our plays have found it to be quite challenging, sometimes unwinnable in fact, and that is where the despair comes in. No matter how well you play the cards you are dealt and no matter how hard you work together to overcome challenges, failure is a part of the game and winning is truly at a premium.
The cards represent threats to all of the men’s safety or a hard knock which impacts the player or their compatriots in some way. The goal of the game is to play through all of the Trials cards to find peace (literally a Peace card). A standard game starts with 25 Trial cards on the peace deck and the remaining 34 Trial cards are placed in a separate morale deck (a draw pile). Cards move from the Morale deck to the Trial deck at the end of a mission. The Morale deck sits on a card picturing a monument commemorating the sacrifices made in war. But if you ever see this Monument card, you’ve lost the game.
The goal of each mission is the same to play as many cards as you can before withdrawing from battle. Cards are played in one of two ways; placing a threat in No Man’s Land or placing a hard knock card next to your soldier. Every time you play a card, the group is one step closer to victory, but if there are ever 3 of the same threats showing on the table at any one time, the mission is lost but the game will continue.
Beyond playing a card, there are 2 other actions but they are rarely available. On each player’s character there is a Lucky Charm showing one of the 6 threats in the game. Playing the Lucky Charm as an action allows that player to remove a matching threat from No Man’s Land, making the mission a bit easier to continue. After you use your Lucky charm you flip your character card over and no longer have access to that action. The other action is to make a speech. There are a very limited number of Speech Tokens in the game – the mission leader will receive one after each mission until all the tokens have been distributed. When giving a speech as an action, you have to have the token and you have to choose one of the 6 threats. The OTHER players still active in the mission then remove ONE card from their hand that matches the declared threat. These can be useful but are not guaranteed to have an impact. Once played, a speech token is removed from the game. But, one of my favorite mechanic is when you withdraw and add a support token to your character. The token is, very thematically a cup of coffee. When the round ends, you will pass this coffee to a teammate as support. The teammate that gets the most support at the end of the round can remove two hard-knocks or recover their lucky charm.
While we love the game, and I find it to be supremely interesting, we have never won in over 20 plays. We simply seem to run the same course over and over again and never seem to gain much ground. And I really think that this is the point of the game. And where the despair comes into play. One of the other things that I love about the game is the tag line that appears on the front cover. It reads: Can friendship be stronger than war? This statement gives some pause and causes a lot of discussion in our group particularly with the concepts of the exhaustion of characters (using their Lucky Charm and turning them over), the speeches (removing a threat from the battlefield that you cannot get rid of because no one has the matching cards) and the cups of coffee (support). As if a cup of coffee can overcome anything…but you can always give it a go.
Now there are many games that could be included on this list but the games I have chosen perfectly evoke the level of despair that I was going for in this piece. I have played many other games that convey despair but feel that these 3 best demonstrate the level of hopelessness that I was thinking of. What are your favorite games that evoke despair?
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#70: Mohawks from Wilderness War: The French & Indian War, 1755-1760 from GMT Games
One of my fondest memories of our wargaming journey was our initial experience with the full campaign game of Wilderness War from GMT Games. We were 2 very inexperienced wargamers and we slogged through a 9-hour marathon play over a few days that ended in a 0-0 tie of all things. That’s right, the game ended in a tie, even though we both had a card in hand, but I was unable to use mine to activate Levis, which was my only potential Victory Point scoring force, and Alexander’s forces were in too tenuous a position or too wounded to risk an open battle for VP’s. You would think that this would have turned us off to the game but on the contrary it made me fall in love with asymmetric wargames and the Card Driven Game mechanic with its use of Action Points and events to wage war on the North American continent. The end score of our game really followed the tension of the game, and the blunders on the side of the British that counter balanced their various successes.
All in all, this game was excellent to play and we both highly recommend it. The two factions play extremely differently which leads to many intricate and reactive strategic decisions. The British have many powerful forces with their Highlanders and cannon while the French have access to better leaders and mobile troops and Indian allies who can run around the frontier raiding and burning settlements for VP’s. Laying siege and assaulting really feels like it should, and avoiding battle until you are ready is something that is integral to maintaining a strong presence on the board. You cannot always get into every possible fight as you will not survive the attrition of these battles. The deck plays really well, and as you don’t have to worry about the opponents events in your hand going off, the management aspect is much simpler yet very engaging as there are always reaction cards you can play or cards that you want to hold onto for that perfect moment.
In previous posts in this series, we have discussed the importance of the players of both sides gaining the trust and services of the indigenous Indian denizens of North America in the fight. The French and British can both use the Indian recruitment cards, including cards such as Iroquois Alliance, Northern Indian Alliance and Western Indian Alliance, to recruit, restore, and move native allies to gain victory points through raids and controlling of territory. The French hold a significant advantage with more access to a greater number of Indian auxiliaries, and will be using these cards to launch early raids, while the British can recruit specialized units like their Mohawk or Cherokee allies.
In this entry, we will take a look at the British card Mohawks. Mohawks is one of those cards that has a pre-requisite qualifying condition to play the card. In this case, the qualifier is that the leader Johnson must be located on the board within 2 spaces of Canajoharie, which was a Mohawk village located in upstate New York. As long as he is within the required 2 spaces, the card can be played to bring out onto the board the Red striped Mohawk Indian units. These must be placed with Johnson and the other added benefit is that any reduced Mohawks on the board can be flipped to their full side. These pro-British units can only be recruited by the British player and their arrival in New York can be a huge boon to the British as the French and their Indian allies will be raiding the villages and settlements up and down the frontier regularly during the game as one of their most dependable sources of Victory Points. These Mohawk allies can spread out around the area and intercept incoming raids before they can occur. Remember that Indian allies in Wilderness War are not powerful combat units and are best used to raid and prevent other tribes from raiding.
I very much love the thematic connection here as in order to attract the Mohawk Indians as your allies you must have someone that they trust in the area and this is Johnson. Sir William Johnson was a pivotal British superintendent of Indian Affairs whose deep integration into Mohawk society secured the crucial Mohawk Nation alliance for the British during the French and Indian War. By living among them, learning their language, and marrying Mohawk women, he maintained the Iroquois Covenant Chain and led Mohawk warriors in key victories. This is one of the great things about these Card Driven Games and their use of the cards to deliver the bits and bobs of history to enlighten our understanding and to expand our knowledge of the period.
As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Navy officer Peter Warren, which was located in territory of the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League. Johnson learned the Mohawk language and Iroquois customs, and was appointed the British agent to the Iroquois. Johnson commanded Iroquois and colonial militia forces against the French and their allies during the war and was later commissioned a major-general for his role in the British victory at the Battle of Lake George in 1755. His capture of Fort Niagara from the French in 1759 brought him additional renown. Throughout his career as a British official among the Iroquois, Johnson combined personal business with official diplomacy, acquiring tens of thousands of acres of Native land and becoming very wealthy.
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
#69: Blockade from Twilight Struggle: The Cold War, 1945-1989 from GMT Games
Twilight Struggle is a 2-player game simulating the forty-five year ideological struggle known as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States which can be played in 2-3 hours. The entire world is the stage on which these two countries “fight” to make the world safe for their own ideologies and way of life. The game starts right after the end of World War II in the midst of the ruins of Europe as the two new “superpowers” of the world squabble over what is left and ends in 1989, when only the United States remained standing.
The map is a world map of the period, where players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower. The beauty of the CDG system used here is that each decision of whether to use a card for the event or the operations value is a struggle as if it is the other side’s event, it might go off hurting you very badly. There are mechanics to allow for the ignoring or cancelling of some of the best cards for your opponent in a side game within the game called The Space Race as well as nuclear tensions, with the possibility of game-ending global thermonuclear war (Shall we play a game, anyone?). I have played TS about 30 times and love it more and more with each sitting. The game makes me sweat, cringe, jump with joy and bite my fingernails. To me, a game that can do all of that in one sitting is worth the price.
One of my favorite type of cards from the game are those that force an action upon your opponent, such as discarding a card, reducing the Ops from card plays or causing them to have to make other plans than what they were working toward. These type of cards are more reactionary but definitely cause issues and mimic the various non-military focused strategies and tactics used during the Cold War. One of the most famous events from the early history of the Cold War is that of the Berlin Blockade. And there is a specific card that pays homage to the event in the game called Blockade. Blockade is an Early War Soviet Card that has an Ops Value of 1, which makes the card more valuable to be used for the printed event versus for the Ops.
When played, the card requires the US Player to immediately discard a 3 Ops or more value card from their hand or the consequence of not doing so will see all US Influence being removed from West Germany. This is a tough choice. Being early in the game, it is possible for the US to rebuild in West Germany and replace the lost influence over time if they do not wish to discard such as high value card. But, herein lies the real key to the Blockade cards use. The Soviet Player, who should be paying attention to not only their hand but also the card plays of the US Player, should try to use this card later in a turn once the US Player has played a majority of their cards in order to ensure that the event text can be realistically be achieved. If played quickly during a turn, the chances of the US Player being able to discard the required 3 Ops or great value card is higher and the card play will not generate any meaningful difference on the board state. I also would recommend a 2 card strategy here as the Soviet Player should be holding in their hand a high Ops card to be able to follow up this action with the placement of Influence into West Germany on their very next play. But, the real value to a card such as Blockade is that it forces the US Player to consider what cards are out there and to play around their negative effects as much as possible. Due to the nature of the game, and the randomness of card draws, having an expendable high Ops card ready and able to be discarded just in case of the play of Blockade is not really feasible. Also, remember that in Twilight Struggle that opponent events on cards that you play will go off and Blockade being drawn by the US Player can be bad as it will require them to play the event as you cannot discard a 1 Ops card to get rid of its negative effect in the Space Race Track due to the minimum requirement being a 2 Ops card. So the moral of the story here is that both players need to consider and plan for the play of or the mitigation of damage from Blockade.
The Berlin Blockade, which lasted from June 1948–May 1949, was a major Cold War crisis where the Soviet Union blocked all land and water access to West Berlin to attempt to force Western Allies out. The Soviet Union was taking this action as a means of retaliation against the introduction of the new Deutschmark currency. The US and Britain responded with the massive Berlin Airlift, flying over 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and supplies to the city. At the peak of the Airlift, a plane landed in West Berlin every 30 seconds. The blockade failed and the Soviets lifted it on May 12, 1949, after realizing the Allied Airlift could sustain the city for an extended period of time, marking a significant victory for the West in the ideological struggle. This event led to the acceleration of the division of Germany into East and West and the deepening of Cold War tensions.
Last day. We have had a great time and got 14 different games played! I’m exhausted but it’s a good exhaustion, if there is such a thing. Our final day was filled with 3 more great games as well as a lot of quality time with friends and fellow wargamers.
The day started with our first play of a brand new game called Imperial Elegy: The Road to the Great War 1850-1920 from VUCA Simulations. Imperial Elegy is a card driven game that blends diplomacy, warfare, and statecraft and feels a bit akin to games like Here I Stand and Virgin Queen from GMT Games. Grand scale sweeping epics that play multiplayers and take a day to play. Players play as 1 of 6 unique major powers in the game including Germany/Prussia, the United Kingdom, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
The game takes place over 7 turns, with each turn representing approximately a decade. If the Great War breaks out, the game can be extended by an additional 6 shorter turns.A turn in the game consists of numerous player impulses that is driven by the play of action cards for their Command Points or the printed events. Players will use CP and events to take actions like colonize, conduct diplomacy with minor nations, fight wars, as well as hinder their opponents by playing events that take away their actions or resources. A turn will end once all players have consecutively passed or when all players run out of cards.
Here is a look at the German player board which tracks a lot of information including current Stability, which decides whether various actions like war can be taken or if there are various positive or negative modifiers, the available Manpower that will determine how many armies can be built, Industry that tells how many action pointed you will have to spend during war to maneuver units, attack and replace losses. The focus of the game is about the control of territories both on the Minsk and of Europe as well colonies abroad and there is an automatic victory if a certain target number is met, in the case of Germany 15.
Here is a quick look at the Russia player board for comparison’s sake as each faction is unique and has various starting levels and abilities.
We only played the first full turn and it took us about 90 minutes including an hour of setup and rules overview and discussion as only one of us at the table had player previously (John Lapham). But we very much enjoyed the experience and found lots to like. We are going to try to put together another full game in the next several months and will have more to report on after that. But suffice it to stay everyone at the table was impressed with the design and everyone had a good time with it.
The 2nd game of the day was Bretwalda from PHALANX. This is such a beautiful game but is also a very good design in the area control/dudes on a map realm.
Bretwalda attempts to do what Civ Builders do but do it in a novel and different way…and also finds a way to incentivize combat, which was really a breath of fresh air for me. Bretwalda from PHALANX is a game for 1-4 players that plays in around 2 1/2 hours. Each player takes charge of one of the kingdoms of medieval England, including Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex and East Anglea, and each of these kingdoms has unique leaders and abilities. The goal is to be crowned the Bretwalda of England and victory will be achieved through a combination of controlling key areas with victory points, completing Chronicle cards in the form of hidden objectives and also focusing on building various buildings such as Abbeys.
The game has very little assymetry and I initially thought that this would be a bad thing for the design but really enjoyed how they did make each kingdom feel different, also how they provided unique choices in the area of Kingdom Tiles and the development of your kingdom. The Kingdoms differ in three main aspects. First, they are located in different areas on the map. Now this might not seem very important but there are advantages to each of these locations. East Anglea has access to several Areas that produce Food. This is very good as you have to feed your soldiers at the start of each Winter Phase and you will always be on the lookout for how to get more Food. This is a very good advantage but the tradeoff is that they are very open and spread-out on the map in the east and have more areas susceptible to attack which requires more troops for defense. Northumbria is located in the north of England up against Hadrian’s Wall which provides some form of protection as it provides extra defense if attacked. They can also conquer the area to the north of their kingdom and have very little worry about any threat from that side so they can focus on defending other areas.
Second, each kingdom has its own permanent, unique special rule that provides them with an advantage. East Anglea starts with 3 Food in their capital while other kingdoms start with just 1 and they also obtain 2 Food at the start of each Spring Season. Wessex will draw one extra Lordship Card after winning a battle. This is very important as these cards are very versatile special benefit cards that can be used in battle to do several things like reroll dice, add reinforcements, bring back a destroyed unit, etc. They also though have other uses through other phases of the game including scouting your opponents stash of cards before attacking, cancelling played card effects, gaining additional Gold, amongst other benefits. Mercia is able to Recruit 1 additional land unit when they take the Fyrd (Recruit) action. This gives them access to larger armies more quickly than other kingdoms so you have to watch out for them to be aggressive early. Finally, Northumbria may build Abbeys for 1 less Gold. This is probably the most simple benefit but Gold is at a premium and this really helps them to get more Gold as Abbeys give victory points (called Dalcs) as well as provide 1 additional Gold during the Collect Action. These benefits are not massive or game breaking but really add some flavor to each kingdom. Third and finally, as already discussed in the point above, each of the kingdoms has a set of its own unique historical Rulers, each with a different ability. I wont say anymore about this here but I really liked this part of the assymetry and thought it worked really well without breaking the game or making it more difficult than it had to be.
The area that I really wanted to cover in this part though was the Kingdom Tiles. During the Development Action, each player can pay 3 Gold and place 1 Kingdom Tile on their board. These Kingdom Tiles are divided into 4 different categories (you can see the four categories on the Kingdom Board shown above) tied to the four available Actions for players, including Development, Collection, Fyrd (Recruit) and Movement. The surprising thing about these tiles was that they are all the same for each kingdom. At first I thought maybe this was a missed opportunity but then after playing I saw that each having the same access to the same tiles was smarter as it gave the game balance. Also, each of the categories offers 3 possible Kingdom Tiles to develop and each player only has 2 spots on their board so you cannot develop all 3 in each category and each player will have to choose what makes the most sense for them at the time. I have seen this done in several of the Lite Civ Dudes on a Map Area Control games but they tend to overcomplicate it and make it clunky whereas in Bretwalda it is streamlined and simple yet there are options and paths to develop.
Bretwalda is a unique game amongst the many Lite Civ Building Dudes on a Map Area Control games out there. I had a great time playing the game and enjoyed the very interesting and fun combat system with custom dice for each unit type and Lordship Cards that add special abilities. This game is special and beautiful and thematic and earns a spot on my shelf as a game that I want to play again and again.
The wrap up event was annual roleplaying game and this year Cullen prepared a session of a new RPG called War Stories, which is set during the World War II. With it, players take the roles of heroic soldiers parachuting into Normandy during Operation Overlord in June of 1944.
As an RPG players will have characters with various special focuses across 4 abilities including Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Empathy. Each time a skill is to the checked you find the matching ability and roll that number of six sided dice looking fur 6’s which mean success. If multiple successes are rolled you can earn special tokens called Lucky Strikes that can be saved and used as successes on future rolls. The players will have to decide if they roll their dice again and will remove any 1’s from the pool and roll the remaining dice again. If they fail this time though the GM will gain a FUBAR token that can be used to cause a failure on a rolled success in the future. This really created some cinematic moments and was a very interesting way to handle a check.
Our friend Cullen was the GM and did a fantastic job guiding us through our first experience with the system. His good explanation and clear understanding and familiarity with the system really made our first experience an enjoyable one.
We were tasked with taking a hardpoint on D-Day behind enemy lines to assault and take out several gun emplacements shelling the upcoming landing beaches. We went through a series of rolls and checks on the flight in on the Dakota C-47 and then had to bail out over flak filled skies taking hits and losing gear or our musette bags.
When we landed we had to gather up, create a plan and then execute that plan to maneuver through German held positions under fire and take out the emplacements. There were lots of heroic actions, good sniper shots, daring orders and of course explosions and we had a great time with the game.
In the end we were successful and only lost a few of the men under our command. I look forward to playing more in the future. Thanks to Cullen for his preparation and time devoted to teaching us the system
We finished up at about 9:00pm and we then gathered up all of our games, equipment and items and said goodbye to friends who we hope to see next year. This week was a major success as we played 14 different games and had a very good time. Thank you so much for following along in my daily posts and look ahead to the videos we did appearing on the YouTube Channel over the next month.
Day 4 dawned early and we are really tired. I actually felt like I had slept, although I didn’t fall asleep last night until about 1:30am, but just didn’t feel refreshed and had very little energy. I am a Wargamer and I simply sucked it up and got downstairs where we had breakfast with friends including Russ, Cullen and Hermann Luttmann. We imbibed in the buffet eating more pieces of bacon than someone should in a fortnight and made it to the War Room a bit before 9:00 where we started setting up for our annual 6-player game of Here I Stand from GMT Games.
Playing with us was Russ (France), Cullen (Ottomans), Bill Simoni (Papacy), James (England) with me (Protestants) and Alexander (Hapsburgs).
Not sure what Russ was doing with his hand and Alexander never smiles!
We simply love Here I Stand and have played the game at least 15 times and it just gets better every single time. If you don’t know, Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation, 1517–1555 is a grand-scale Card Driven Game that simulates the political and religious struggles in Europe during the period covering 1517-1555 referred to as the Reformation. It is designed primarily for six players, each controlling a major power with unique, asymmetric goals and mechanics and is best with max players.
The game takes place over up to 9 turns, but for us a majority of our plays have lasted 4-5 turns with our longest play being today as we finished the game in 6 turns. Each of the turns represent approximately 4 years of historical time. The game utilizes a Card-DrivenGamesystem where players spend cards for their Command Points to perform actions like moving armies or building fleets or for the unique historical event described on the text of the card.
The game is very asymmetrical in its gameplay as each of the factions plays a different game based on its historical role and will win via amassed VP’s that are earned in vastly different ways such through piracy (Ottomans), building of chateaus (France), New World Exploration (England, Hapsburgs, France) and through battles. The Papacy and Protestants will wage a religious war over the souls of European Christians to either sway spaces to Catholicism or Protestantism. But one of my favorite parts is the Diplomacy and making of secret deals between the players to help out their goals.
With that being said our game started off with the nailing of the 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg and as the Protestants I have never seen a worse opening as I was only able to switch 3 spaces in Wittenberg, Brandenburg and Leipzig. Not a good start at all for the Protestants but I was undaunted, although I said many curses under my breath and to the gamers at the table, and quickly got my self under control and was determined to recover.
A look at one of the poorest starts of all time for the Protestants.
I worked hard over the next few turns to spread the faith and was quickly able to get most of Germany under control and take over 4 of the Electorates which gave me units that would help me continue to spread toward France and England.
It was amazing to see Bill Simoni and the Papacy and I go at it as we held many theological debates, ultimately each of us disgracing a debater and gaining VP, and for me to have the full Bible translated into German during Turn 2 quickly followed by the translation into English by Turn 3. I had made a deal with England for him to play a card that favored me in exchange for a concerted effort to get the Protestant faith rooted in England so he could gain some VP.
Meanwhile the Ottomans got out the Barbary Pirates card early and had built a sizable fleet of corsairs causing France and England to loan the Hapsburgs several boats to combat this green menace in the Mediterranean.
Also several colonies were formed in the New World and ultimately Alexander’s Hapsburgs were able to circumnavigate the globe and score several important VP.
During this time, the Protestants and Papacy were fighting tooth and nail but my dice rolling, and innate ability to win ties, allowed me to build a sizable lead in the religious war. I was in very good shape when the Schmalkaldic League card was played turning the Protestants into a military power and then changing the other players focus to then declare war one and begging to attack my fortified Electorates to take away VP I had earned by having both religious and political control in 5 of the 6.
As we came into turn 5, I was at 24 VP and ultimately came up shy of a victory by 1 point at the time. I had been able to take over the entirety of England and change every space and also get about 5-6 spaces in France. but now the Papal Bull came to play and Bill fought me back and forth with him taking over 3-4 spaces followed by me reclaiming 3-4 spaces. It was beautiful game of back and forth and I used every tool at my disposal to fight him including The Wartburg card to stop the untimely excommunication of Luther before he could attempt to embarrass one of my lesser debaters.
Then England gained ground as a healthy Edward was born and he gained 5 VP and then took over a key from France to get close to my score going into Tuen 6.
At that point it was dog pile the winner as everyone declared war on the Protestants and came after my Electorates but I was able to stave them off and ultimately never lost down to lower than 4 controlled which retained 8 VP for me and allowed me to finish the Bible translation in French and take a sizable lead in VP.
The game came down to the last card play as England and my Protestants tied at 25 VP and I won on tiebreakers as I had the most VP in the turn prior. What a fantastic game that took us over 9 hours to play!
We were all wasted and went to dinner at a nearby bar called The Flat Iron Grill and had a very enjoyable meal. We decided to not play the WWII RPG War Stories and might till tomorrow night as we were all a bit brain dead.
We played about 5 scenarios of the beautiful and very fun trick taking game called The Lord of the Rings Trick Taking Game: The Two Towers from Office Dog. This is a standalone continuation to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game, with several play modes including solo, 2-player, and 4-player and we did the 4-player version. It is a cooperative card game that follows the narrative of J.R.R. Tolkien’s second book through 18 unique, story-driven chapters.
The game functions as a “must-follow” trick-taker, where players must play a card of the led suit if they have one; otherwise, the highest card of the led suit wins the trick. Unlike many traditional trick-taking games, players work together to meet individual character goals simultaneously to progress through the story. And they s game is very tough with the new edition adding in several very tough challenges as the addition or orc cards that have no function but if lead because you have no other choice lead to a loss. Just great and thinky fun that is very relaxing and frankly very fun to play.
Examples of 2 characters which each have a unique goal that must be completed during the scenario.
This was a perfect way to end the day and we actually made it back to our room at 9:30pm allowing me time to write this post and get in near before midnight.
Tomorrow is our last day and we have big plans as we will be playing Imperial Elegy from VUCA Simulations (a kind of Here I Stand style CDG on the rise and fall of European empires from the 1850’s through WWII), Bretwalda from PHALANX (an Ameritrash combat game set in medieval England) and then a night cap of the RPG War Stories that we didn’t get to this evening. See you tomorrow night!
With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.
Card #68: Usurper Emperor from Barbarians at the Gates, The Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire 337 – 476 from Compass Games
Barbarians at the Gates, The Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire 337 – 476 from Compass Games is a Card Driven Game for two players set during the final hundred plus years of the Western Roman Empire as the Barbarian tribes in the north came down with a vengeance as they clashed with civilization and carved out their place amongst it. The time period covered in the game is from the death of Constantine the Great (337 AD) to the deposition of the last Western Roman Emperor by Odoacer in 476 AD. The Roman player will command the Roman Legions loyal to the failing central authority and those Germanic peoples who have settled peacefully inside the Roman Empire, while the Barbarian player leads Usurper Emperors, and controls the migrations of the Germanic peoples, who are the Barbarians at the Gates. This game is really quite good and feels very much like a wargame even though it is a Card Driven Game. There are lots of opportunities for troop movement, combat and maneuver. And I really liked that. The game is a Card Driven Game and the use of cards is all important and very well done. Each player has their own unique deck of cards that are used and these cards are sometimes removed from those decks when played for an event and also new cards will be added to the deck after each turn. The cards played during a player’s impulse which are not used for the Event are then used for their Operation Points value. These Operation Points can be used for many purposes including Activating a leader, Forced Marches, Raiding, Reinforcement, Migration and Successful Usurpation.
The real trick to the cards is to plan out how you are going to use them to your advantage but also how best to use them. Activating Leaders is very important as you can then move them to attack, defend, change control of areas and other actions. Activating a leader depends on their strategy rating (the lower the strategy rating, the better). When a leader activates from a card, they receive a number of Action Points which can be used for movement (1 over highway, 2 over rough or river connections, 3 over strait or for naval movement), continuation after battle (a kind of advance after combat), changing control over unfortified spaces and sieges of fortified spaces. But the cards also are very mean spirited. What do I mean by this? Well, in our first play, I was carefully using my cards to build up my armies to fend off the initial attacks of the Barbarian hordes. I also had begun to build somewhat of a super stack as well to attempt to foray into England and take on the Barbarians there. As I did this building up, I was unaware of the nasty nature of some of the cards. Some of the cards, both for the Barbarians and Romans, allow a play that will turn a single leader and their entire stack into either a Usurper or a Pacified Barbarian Settlement. Both are equally nasty and you have to keep in mind that you can have your best armies simply taken from you and turned to your enemy.
Some of the cards, both for the Barbarians and Romans, allow a play that will turn a single leader and their entire stack into either a Usurper or a Pacified Barbarian Settlement. Both are equally nasty and you have to keep in mind that you can have your best armies simply taken from you and turned to your enemy. Because of this, the Roman player has to decide whether they will group Combat Units under a single leader in order to face the mighty Barbarian challengers at the Gates in which case he risks that leader to Usurp, or to disperse these troops over several stacks never allowing a single leader to amass too many CU but on the other hand also never having a true striking force to attack with. There is an exception here though as an Emperor leader cannot Usurp and you don’t have to worry about that but this is also dangerous as you can lose that Emperor.
Likewise, once they have an Usurper leader on the board the Barbarian player will try to group all Usurper CU with this leader (in order to keep this force strong and in order to allow their Barbarian CU, leader and tribes to march unopposed into the Empire). This creates a very real and historical danger as the Barbarian player is incentivized to do what an Usurper would historically have done and empty the border garrisons in order to march on Rome.
These type of cards are extremely strong and a situation can occur in which most of the Romans still on the board are Usurper leaders and CU. But there is an action that allows for the Roman player to counter these cards and that is the Successful Usurpation action. If the Barbarian player over does it with the Usurper powers, the Roman player can simply steal these conquests by swapping the Roman power for the Usurper power. This in effect has the Usurpation process succeed and the former Usurper leader now becomes the true Emperor!
Usurper emperors in history, particularly in Ancient Rome, were rulers who seized their power illegitimately, often times via a military rebellion rather than legal succession, and were labeled “tyrants” if defeated, or emperors if successful. They were most common during crises and times of turmoil, such as the “Year of the Four Emperors” in 69 AD following the suicide of Nero, often relying on legionary support and issuing their own coins to legitimize authority.
Emperor Galba by Paulus Moreelse (left); with Emperor Marcus Salvius Otho by Gerrit van Honthorst (center left); with Emperor Vitellius by Hendrick Goltzius (center-right); and Emperor Vespasian (far right).
Usurpation was common during the whole imperial era; virtually all imperial dynasties rose to power through usurpation and conspiracies. The “imperial office” established by Augustus never defined an stable system of succession, and emperors often had to rely solely on military power to survive.
In the Eastern Roman Empire (395–1453), rebellion and usurpation were so notoriously frequent as compared to medieval West, where usurpation was rare, that the modern term “byzantine” became a byword for political intrigue and conspiracy.
Here is a look at our unboxing video:
We also did a video review and you can watch that at the following link:
I am very tired of the cold and dreary days of winter. I want it to be warm soon but we are realistically a few months away from consistently nice weather. But, this month, even though the weather has been brutally cold, we saw a warming trend with historical wargames. This month for the Wargame Watch I was able to find 33 games (including the 3 games from our sponsor Bellica Third Generation). Interestingly though this was a cooler month for crowdfunding as I only found 4 games featured on Kickstarter or Gamefound.
This month again we have a sponsor for the Wargame Watch in Bellica Third Generation, or Bellica 3G for short, owned by designer Francisco Ronco. I asked him to write up a summary of his company and their core values and he has provided the following:
Bellica Third Generation is a group of players with many games played between them and a longstanding and deep interest in everything related to Military History. Our members come from Cadiz and Seville (Spain) and we are proud to have started this Andalusian and Spanish project in the field of strategy and simulation games.
Please let us introduce ourselves:
Francisco Ronco Poce (1969).
Game designer and producer. A Napoleonic fan for over 45 years. He is both the heart and manager of the team. And has designed the four first game series that our company will start developing shortly.
Reyes Gallardo Gutiérrez (1978)
Our newest gamer. A military history enthusiast as a hobby and teacher of physics at a secondary school by trade. She is an outstanding playtester, with a critical and analytic mind.
Ramón López Martín (1973).
An experienced gamer. Game designer and play tester. Well known for his skill eliminating all game counters in play; both his and his opponent’s…
What do we do?
Strategy and simulation games. In fact they are “cardboard simulators”. Computer and video games based on the simulation of car races, first person adventures, aircraft -or spacecraft flight- or tank driving are both widely accepted and successful. Now we propose something similar; our games strive to make the player confront the experiences that historical commanders and leaders lived. Facing the same situations, managing resources and making decisions about a hardly predictable outcome.
The main attributes of a simulation as we understand it are:
Resource management
Essential role of logistics
Game centred on decision marketing
Uncertainty and fog of war
All of them are present in every one of our games. With the firm intent of achieving this with the least possible number of rules. We do not feel that elaborate and complex rules are necessary if the internal dynamics of a game system can produce the desired effect. Likewise, it is our intention to follow an editorial line based on game SERIES, thus the players may learn a new game effortlessly having to deal with just a negligible number of new special rules. In our view, the games will contain a “Series Rulebook” dealing with all the elements forming the game system and another “Special Rulebook” containing those rules that reflect the peculiarities of a given scenario.
Our commitment is to offer the player a maximum of playability and variability for their money without an unnecessary effort or learning rules. Our simulations are fun to play, both for those who are already versed in Military History – since they are simulation models – and for the uninitiated looking for a good opportunity to learn the hobby.
After years playing war games of all kinds, periods and scales (from World War II to Ancient Rome, including XVIII century or Napoleonic tactical games) we are convinced that there are basically two different approaches to war gaming; one is game oriented while the other emphasizes simulation. To reach an equilibrium between these two tendencies is not an easy task. There are games whose mechanics and effects might equally apply to a Panzer Division or a Roman Legion. These games are usually easy to learn and are nicely presented, essentially they provide competitive play, are fun and quick paced. Others try to accurately portray a period, campaign or battle where the player must play the role of a corporal firing a machine gun and –at the same time- that of the Army Corps Commander; sometimes they have plenty of rules, exceptions and an alleged “realism”. Quite often, this double perspective has presented “playability” as opposed to “realism”. Quite often, this double perspective has presented “playability” as opposed to “realism”. We think that this approach completely misses the point; We rather see it as a question of “game” vs “simulation”.
We make games:
Rules systems that allow players to perform certain actions while forbid others; with goals that all participants may and want to reach. But our desire is to provide “simulations”; our rules try to establish a framework as close as possible to the one that historical participants faced so that the goals that players must achieve correspond to their historical counterparts, then it is up to the players to find the means.
We have produced not only in-house designs but also designs from other designers. Recently, we have released An Impossible War from David Gómez Relloso -designer of the famous Crusade & Revolution from Compass Games.
An Impossible War is a game about the decisive years of the First Carlist War in the North. Infantry and cavalry are represented by blocks, which introduce fog of war into operations. There are also artillery counters (field and mountain artillery) and logistics units (supply trains and backpacks).
The main map is a point-to-point board covering the northern theater of operations: Navarre, the Basque Country, and surrounding areas of La Rioja, Burgos, and Cantabria. In addition to provincial capitals, major towns and other localities are shown, along with primary and secondary routes of communication. There is also a smaller map of the rest of peninsular Spain, showing the regions affected by the Carlist uprising and allowing expeditions being launched from the North.
Each turn, players compete for initiative and carry out a variable number of actions. There is also a card deck for each side, including historical, operational, and tactical events. The cards add background and unpredictability to the game, helping make each session different. This is NOT a card-driven game, but one assisted by cards.
An Impossible War simulates the historical conflict, which featured numerous skirmishes, few major battles, and significant siege warfare. It is an asymmetric game in which each side has strengths and weaknesses. Players must exploit their advantages and mitigate their disadvantages to achieve victory.
The Carlist player must make use of superior mobility and unit quality to consolidate territory, wear down the enemy, and threaten cities. The Liberal player must contain and suppress the insurrection; they have more troops, but of lower quality and plagued by logistical nightmares. Additionally, they must quell uprisings and chase down Carlist expeditions across the rest of Spain.
We produced the games fully in Spanish and English versions, this game also had an Italian version.
Now we are preparing the reprint of our small but well-known Santa Cruz 1797, the forefather of Von Manstein’s Triumph and Castelnuovo 1539. And the soon to be released Volume IV of the Campaign Commander Series: White Sea, which covers the Spanish-Ottoman struggle in the Mediterranean from 1565 to 1574.
Both of these games are planned to be released later this year.
In summary, here is a look at a sampling of Bellica Third Generation’s games from their website. Many of these are out of print but can be found on the secondary market at places like Noble Knight Games. Click the image below to be taken to the Bellica Third Generation selection of games at NKG.
But now onto the games for March!
Pre-Order
1. Combat! 4: Eastern Front from Compass Games
This month we had another one of the huge downloading of a large amount of new pre-order games from Compass Games that I have affectionately referred to in the past as “Pre-Order Palooza”. The first game that I am highlighting here is the next volume in the highly thought of Combat! Series of solitaire wargames. These games represent man to man combat on the battlefields of World War II where typically each of the counters on the board represent a single soldier. This small tactical scale is one of my favorite wargaming modes as I just enjoy the decisions required regarding movement, the use of tactical strategy such as scoot and shoot, throwing smoke for cover, suppressing fire and the like. I have yet to play any of the previous 3 volumes, even though I own all 3, but they are high on my want to play list and I am very much interested in this system.
The newest volume is called Combat! 4: Eastern From and deals with the fierce fighting on the East Front of World War II during Operation Barbarossa in 1941-1943.
From the game page, we read the following:
Combat! is a solitaire game series of man-to-man combat in World War II. This is the fourth game in the series. The system uses a unique AI to make for intense combat situations as well as unlimited replayability. You will stand on the defense against a relentless foe. Can you hold on?
Combat! Eastern Front is a solitaire game of man-to-man combat on the Eastern Front in WWII. The player can command a squad of German or Soviet soldiers in various engagements. This game includes the all-new Series Rules, which have been clarified and streamlined from the original rules, and now enable players to control either nationality in this game.
There are 11 tense scenarios across 4 full-size maps ranging from forest partisan warfare, to urban fighting in Stalingrad, to desperate battles on the steppes. A comprehensive random scenario generator further expands the possibilities and will create a limitless supply of unique scenarios. In addition, the included campaign game allows the player to lead a squad of men through 10 battles.
One of the things that I do like about this system and the various volumes is that it is not just cookie cutter churning out new games but each game has their own unique elements modeled into the game play as special rules or changes to account for the history of the setting. Here is a look at the changes in this new volume:
Soviet and German OOB’s contrast the crude but determined Red Army with the efficient Wehrmacht.
City fighting with demolition charges, factories, upper stories, fortress buildings, and other forms of close-quarter fighting.
Light Mortars are long-range nuisances able to saturate an enemy position with explosives.
Weather and Fire add flavor and realism to any battle.
Artillery is now a frightful weapon with a new and accurate placement process.
Confidence rules ensure that a side will not fight to the last man, but may retreat or waver if they sustain too many casualties.
2. Man of War: Fleet Combat in the Age of Sail, 1775-1815 from Compass Games
I have only ever played a few Age of Sail games but have always been interested in the era and the concept of gaming that out on the tabletop. One of the recent pre-order offerings from Compass Games is Man of War: : Fleet Combat in the Age of Sail, 1775-1815 designed by Stephen Newberg. The game looks very interesting and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what it has to offer.
From the game page, we read the following:
Man of War is a game of naval combat between sailing ships from 1775 to 1815. Turns are of variable length and represent up to 4 minutes. Ships are represented individually, but the concentration of the game system is on actions involving a number of ships on each side, that is, squadron and fleet level actions.
Rules cover wind speed and direction, which affect movement. The firing broadsides with crews rated for their proficiency ranging from green to excellent. It is possible to board enemy ships, have them strike the colors, and take them as a prize!
You take command from the viewpoint of a fleet commander.
The game is scenario based and it offers a total of 12 historical playable scenarios as follows:
• USHANT, 27 July, 1778
• DOGGER BANK, 5 August 1781
• CHESAPEAKE BAY, 5 September 1781
• MADRAS, 17 February 1782
• THE SAINTS, 12 April 1782
• THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE, 1794
• CAPE ST. VINCENT, 14 February 1797
• CAMPERDOWN, 11 October 1797
• CABRITA POINT, 12 July 1801
• TRAFALGAR, 21 October 1805
• SAN DOMINGO, 5 February 1806
• LISSA, 14 March 1811
I think that one of the most interesting parts of the way this is designed is that there is an ability to create custom scenarios to play out “what-if” scenarios or to create larger battles with tons of ships just because you can.
As I said above, I have not had the chance to play any of the games in the Combat! Series but am interested in them and own the 1st 3 volumes. This month, Compass Games released information on their next volume following Combat! 4: Eastern Front, which was just announced as well, called Combat! Crete. Combat! Crete is a stand-along game that can be played without any other games in the series. When I saw this I was immediately taken as I have played a few smaller scale tactical games on the ground combat in Crete but was excited to see this subject come to a solitaire system. And the opportunity to play as the British Tommies against the German Fallschirmjäger is always a welcome opportunity on my gaming table!
From the game page, we read the following:
Combat! Crete is a stand-alone solitaire game of man-to-man combat in WWII. The player commands a squad of British Tommies or German Fallschirmjäger in various engagements. The included scenarios are set on the islands of Crete and Leros, but full-war OOB’s are included for both factions.
The comprehensive Random Scenario generator further expands your gaming possibilities. With this tool, players can generate a limitless supply of unique scenarios for Combat! Crete or combine their game with Combat! Eastern Front and/or Combat! Tunisia & Sicily to create an even more expansive gaming experience.
In addition, the included Campaign Game allows the player to lead a squad of men through 10 battles, gaining experience along the way.
One of the things that I do like about this system and the various volumes is that it is not just cookie cutter churning out new games but each game has their own unique elements modeled into the game play as special rules or changes to account for the history of the setting. Here is a look at the changes in this new volume:
Off Board Artillery rules including air support (Stukas!).
New Terrain types including Vineyards, Weapon Pits, and an Airfield.
Parachute Drops, with a massive four map paradrop scenario.
Scenarios with Australian, New Zealand, and Maori troops.
Scenarios on Leros which feature Fallschirmjägers with FG42s.
Competitive Play rules for head-to-head battles!
Armed Cretan Civilians give the Fallschirmjägers a nasty welcome.
I have played a few games from Joe Miranda over the years and have always found them to be good and well designed games. This month, Compass released a 2-pack of a few of his interesting card driven games called Imperial Wars. This box set includes 2 games in the card-driven Imperial Wars System—Sikh War and Caucasus Campaign. Both become a contest between great powers fighting for control of regions with wider strategic implications. With multiple scenarios for each game, Imperial Wars provides you with many opportunities to alter the course of history on far-flung and lesser gamed frontiers. This box set really looks unique and I am very much intrigued and will be reaching out to Joe to see if I can get a designer interview completed to share.
From the game page, we read the following:
Sikh Wars covers the 1845-46 conflict between the British Indian Empire and the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab. Roth powers were expanding in northwest India, and their armies clashed from the Sutlej River to the outskirts of Afghanistan. The war led to the later expansion of British India to what became the Northwest Frontier.
Caucasus Campaign has the Russian and Ottoman Empires fighting for control of the mountainous region between the Black and Caspian Seas as part of the wider Crimean War. This campaign had a considerable impact on the future of the Middle East.
Players command armies composed of regiments, brigades, and divisions, which fight using battle and skirmish combat results tables. Certain units have elite status, giving them greater resiliency in combat. The many imponderables of leadership, expeditionary warfare, and chaotic political situations are accounted for in each player’s deck of Campaign cards. Astute play of cards can decide a battle or spark an uprising deep within enemy territory.
Both games have multiple scenarios. There are also options for bringing in additional forces, which can swing the tide of a campaign. Each game becomes a contest between great powers fighting for control of regions with wider strategic implications. Imperial Wars provides the opportunity to alter the course of history on far-flung frontiers
We have played several of Adam Starkweather’s games and systems and have very much enjoyed them, particularly the Company Scale System or CSS. He is a very solid designer and his newest game coming from Compass Games is Warriors of Mexico, which deals with the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. The game looks to be pretty good and uses the system first seen in Warriors of America and Warriors of Politics, adapted to the unique military situation that existed in 1846.
From the game page, we read the following:
Warriors of Mexico is a fast-playing game of the conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, using a similar system to the one used in Warriors of America and Warriors of Politics, but adapted to the unique military situation that existed in 1846. As was the case in those times, image and perception are as important as military success. Players will navigate the treacherous waters of time and yet fulfill America’s ambitious land expansion.
6. The Battles of Burgoyne’s Campaigns from Compass Games
Several years ago, while attending Buckeye Game Fest in Columbus, Ohio, we met a new designer named Ken Repel and got a chance to take a look at a few of his games including 1812! War on the Great Lakes Frontier from Compass Games and The Battles ofBurgoyne’s Campaign that was announced this past month from Compass Games. The summer and fall of 1777 was a major turning point in the fate of the American Colonies and the Revolutionary War and this game captures the action at 3 of those key battles including the Battle of Hubbardton, the Battle of Bennington and the Battle of Freeman’s Farm.
From the game page, we read the following:
During the sweltering summer of 1777, the American Revolution reached a turning point in the rugged terrain of upstate New York where the Saratoga Campaign unfolded. Led by General John Burgoyne, the British Army marched south from Canada aiming to cleave the American colonies in two by defeating General Horatio Gates’ Continental Army, capturing the Hudson River Valley and gaining control of Albany.
The Battles of Burgoyne’s Campaign is a 2-sided historical board game with one player commanding the Gates’ Continental Army and the other player commanding Burgoyne’s British Army. The game depicts three critically important battles fought during the Saratoga Campaign of 1777, The Battle of Hubbardton, The Battle of Bennington, and The Battle of Freeman’s Farm. Each contest presents the players with a unique tactical situation: Hubbardton is a rearguard action, Bennington a surprise attack, and Freeman’s Farm a meeting engagement.
While attending Buckeye Game Fest in the Spring of 2023, we shot the following video that contains a discussion about this game. You can watch that at the following link:
I was once told that you cannot understand warfare until you under naval warfare and how important it is to the overall scope of the tactics. Well, a new game called Lords of the Seas appears to examine strategic naval warfare during the 5th Century through the 16th Century AD. The game is designed by Stephen Newberg, who has done several naval focused wargames, and is set in the Mediterranean Sea.
From the game page, we read the following:
Lords of the Seas is an uncomplicated 2-player war game centered on the naval campaigns during the era when rowed warships vied for dominance of the Great Middle Sea, the Mediterranean.
The game depicts this conflict at a strategic level, with most operational and tactical details represented by fast and easy-to-play systems, rather than intricate mechanisms.
Players take the part of the commanding leadership of opposing States in historically-based scenarios. The intent of the game is to provide a broad overview of the historical events while being fun to play.
The object of the game is for each player to use their naval forces to keep open the trade routes of their State while also controlling the coastal sea areas needed for the land forces operations of their respective States.
The specifics of these objectives are set out in each scenario, as well as the forces involved, any reinforcements arriving, and the time frame of the scenario or campaign. The time scale of the game is 2 turns per year.
Both players must obtain their objectives by deploying their naval resources into the sea areas on the map and engaging in combats that are resolved on the Battle Board.
Victory points are earned for sea areas and trade routes under their control at the end of each turn of the scenario, as well as for inflicting hits on opposing units in combat. Each represents an individual State as indicated by the scenario.
The Boer War is a conflict that I have never really played a game on. I know that there are several out there but I have just not had a chance but maybe that will change with this beauty called simply Boer War from Compass Games.
From the game page, we read the following:
The Boers, white settlers of Dutch and French descent, started to colonize the shores of what would become Cape Town in 1652. Over time, British settlers and pressure forced them inland, where they founded the Orange Free State and Transvaal, isolated areas rich in gold and diamonds. The British continued to try to subdue the Boers in the Transvaal War of 1881 and the Jameson Raid of 1895. Anticipating a third attempt by a feared invasion, the Boers decided to invade the British colonies first in October of 1899. It is here that the game begins.
Boer War is a 1-2 player game split into two phases, the Conventional War Phase and the Guerrilla Phase. It is played in 6 turns, with each player alternating between spending Action Points and playing Event Cards. With unique victory conditions and Event Cards for each phase, and the Guerrilla Phase being playable as a separate scenario, players get two games in one box. As the British try to keep up their Morale and the Boers destroy and plunder through Guerrilla warfare, who will be the one in control when no one is left standing?
9. Historical Advanced Squad Leader (HASL) ModulePrelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge, 8 July, 1937 from Multi-Man Publishing
Last year, I finally played ASL! As you may have seen, I wrote my First Impressions post about the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #4: Pacific Theater of Operations after playing a scenario with a friend I had a very enjoyable time. I still have lots to learn and lots to experience but at least that first plunge is done. And I definitely want to play more! So this month, I saw that they are bringing back a few things including ASL Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridget, 8 July, 1937.
From the game page, we read the following:
Prelude To War: Marco Polo Bridge is a Historical Advanced Squad Leader (HASL) module depicting the battle outside the walled town on Wanping, China on July 8, 1937 when Chinese troops resisted Japanese attempts to force their way into town on the pretext of finding a lost soldier. This precipitated the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, commonly called the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was the start of WWII. The battle focuses on the key railroad bridge over the Yongding River just outside the walled town.
Prelude To War: Marco Polo Bridge comes with a historically accurate 22″ x 34″ map of the area outside the walled town crafted by designer Ken Dunn and artist Charlie Kibler. There are five stand-alone scenarios on the map recreating portions of the battle. Then there is the Campaign Game covering the entire action, with the calendar day divided into five Campaign Game scenarios separated by a special Refit Phase that allows players to regroup and reposition their forces. The Campaign Game starts with the Japanese attacking onto the map to capture the bridge, followed by the desperate Chinese defense of the bridge and the Dragon Temple (a prominent feature east of the river), the possibility of a Japanese river assault in boats, and concludes with a Chinese night assault by special broad-sword equipped Volunteer units. The only other ASL modules needed to play are Beyond Valor and Rising Sun.
If you are interested in Historical Advanced Squad Leader (HASL) ModulePrelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge, 8 July, 1937, you can pre-order a copy for $33.00 from the Multi-Man Publishing website at the following link: https://mmpgamers.com/asl-prelude-to-war-marco-polo-bridge-p-455
10. Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit Historical Module (HASLSK) Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge from Multi-Man Publishing
And along with the regular ASL Historical Module for Marco Polo Bridge, they also offered their Starter Kit version of the game on pre-order. I will be picking this one up this summer at WBC hopefully and add it to my ASL Starter Kit #4 box.
From the game page, we read the following:
Prelude To War: Marco Polo Bridge (SK) is the second Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit Historical Module and covers the battle outside the walled town on Wanping, China on July 8, 1937 when Chinese troops resisted Japanese attempts to force their way into town on the pretext of finding a lost soldier. This precipitated the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, commonly called the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was the start of WWII. The battle focuses on the key railroad bridge over the Yongding River just outside the walled town.
Prelude To War: Marco Polo Bridge (SK) comes with a historically accurate 22″ x 34″ map of the area outside the walled town crafted by designer Ken Dunn and artist Charlie Kibler. There are five stand-alone scenarios on the map recreating portions of the battle. Then there is the Campaign Game covering the entire action, with the calendar day divided into five Campaign Game scenarios separated by a special Refit Phase that allows players to regroup and reposition their forces. The Campaign Game starts with the Japanese attacking onto the map to capture the bridge, followed by the desperate Chinese defense of the bridge and the Dragon King Temple (a prominent feature east of the river), and concludes with a Chinese night assault by special broad-sword equipped Volunteer units. All the necessary counters for Chinese units are included. ASL Starter Kit #4 (Japanese) is required to play.
Prelude To War: Marco Polo Bridge (SK) contains:
one box and lid
one 22″ x 34″ map sheet
two counter sheets
five scenarios
one Campaign Game rules booklet, with all of the new rules needed to play the scenarios and the Campaign Game, including rules for rivers, railroads, bridges, hedges, roadblocks, offboard artillery, night combat, and special broad-sword equipped Chinese Volunteer units.
one page Data Chart
one reduced-size copy of the map sheet
If you are interested in Historical Advanced Squad Leader (HASL) ModulePrelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge, 8 July, 1937, you can pre-order a copy for $33.00 from the Multi-Man Publishing website at the following link: https://mmpgamers.com/asl-prelude-to-war-marco-polo-bridge-p-455
11. Peking: 55 Days of Fury from Neva Game Press
Neva Games Press (formerly Neva Wargames) is a new publisher who has appeared on the scene in the past couple of years. When I started seeing their posts on Twitter and Facebook, I was immediately impressed with their interesting topic choices for their upcoming games as well as the fact that they are trying to make small footprint wargames that pack a punch. And the art is also very appealing and brings an aesthetically pleasing and attractive look to their games! Their next set of pre-order games is ready to launch in mid-March and the first game that I will highlight here is Peking: 55 Days of Fury that deals with the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900.
From the game page, we read the following:
Peking: 55 Days of Fury is a tactical wargame that places players in the heart of the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. Players choose to command either the besieged Eight-Nation Alliance or the attacking Chinese forces, each with unique objectives and strategies.
The game is designed for 1-2 players and offers a tense, immersive experience lasting approximately 1.5 hours. In solo play, players take control of the beleaguered Eight-Nation Alliance.
Each turn represents roughly 11 days of the siege. The game board depicts the International Legations, divided into four main areas. Players use a combination of event cards and operation points to execute actions, such as firefights, raids, artillery attacks, and barricade repairs.
The game begins with an initiative phase, determining the order of play. The player with the initiative initiates a mandatory firefight, followed by the other player. Players then play event cards to trigger various effects, supported by additional cards if conditions are met.
Next, the eight nation alliance player must manage supplies, with shortages potentially leading to epidemics or desertions. In the operation phase, players use remaining cards as operation points to perform actions. Finally, the maintenance phase involves checking victory conditions, handling fog of war cards, and preparing for the next turn.
A distinctive fog-of-war mechanic sets this games apart. Mastering this element is key to outmaneuvering opponents.
Will you be able to withstand the siege and protect the International Legations?
Experience the intensity of the Boxer Rebellion in this tactical wargame.
I am currently working on a designer interview with the designer José Manuel Neva (who is also the owner of the company) and hope to have that out in the next few weeks.
12. Reformation: Fire and Faith from Neva Game Press
The 2nd game of Neva’s new release pre-order phase is the interesting looking Reformation: Fire and Faith designed by Clint Warren-Davey. I am keenly interested in this one and have been working with Clint to do an interview and maybe a series of other articles on strategies.
From the game page, we read the following:
Reformation: Fire and Faith is a game about the wars and religious struggles that raged in Europe from 1517 to 1555. This time saw the Protestant Reformation sparked by the renegade monk Martin Luther and the subsequent wars of religion in Germany and elsewhere, as Christianity was shaken to its core on. It saw numerous wars between the great powers of Europe regardless of religious affiliation. The Ottoman Empire was at its height and threatened the Christian world from the south-east, while at the same time new lands were discovered in the Americas that started a race for colonial expansion. In this game, 1 to 6 players will use their Armies, Fleets, Followers and Churches in an attempt to achieve their victory conditions and attain the most Victory Points (VP). It plays in about 60-90 minutes. The rules are very simple and easy to teach as the game was originally designed for use in a high school setting by the highly experienced game designer and teacher, Clint Warren-Davey. The game includes 6 unique Factions that are all competing for dominance in their own way
A few years ago, while attending SDHistCon we sat down with Sam London and played his new upcoming game called Common Sense (it was originally called Absolved from All Allegiance), which was recently announced on GMT Games P500. The game is an American Revolutionary War Strategic Level game that uses trick-taking and is a struggle over the Will to Fight Track that measures the level of commitment by both sides to the fight. We very much enjoyed playing the prototype and really could see what the design was trying to do and that it did it very well.
From the game page, we read the following:
Common Sense is an asymmetrical trick-taking card driven wargame. One player will take control of the 13 colonies in their fight for independence while the other uses the might of the British crown to quash the rebellion. The game revolves around the Will to Fight Track which tracks both sides’ willingness to continue to fight the war. As it is an asymmetrical game, both sides have different problems they will have to manage to resist the decline of their Will to Fight. The colonies are primarily concerned with morale and their ability to believe that they could potentially win their independence. Losing control of colonies and failures of the Continental Congress to galvanize the colonies will have the heaviest impact on their conviction. The British on the other hand never had hearts and minds to begin with, as the war was never popular at home. Instead, their Will to Fight represents parliament’s willingness to continue to fund the war. Poor results relative to commitment of forces as well as losses of British Regulars can spell a speedy exit from the war for them. The game will end when both player’s Will to Fight markers converge on the track, or rarely at the end of 1783, with position on the track determining much of the game’s scoring.
Common Sense is played with 2 unique 36 card decks. Each card in a player’s deck is also unique, and represents a key personality, battle, event, or concept from the American Revolution. Cards are divided into 4 suits, which are Battle, Mobilize, Recruit, and Special. Since the game is asymmetrical, while Battle, Mobilize, and Recruit serve similar purposes for both players, their actual executions vary in some ways. Battles let you engage in fights with the enemy in the same space, Mobilize lets you move your armies between spaces, and Recruit lets you bolster your forces. The Special suit on the other hand varies radically and really showcases differences between the two sides. The Colonial Special suit governs training of militia into the Continental Army as well as all interactions with the French. The British Special suit on the other hand manages native led operations as well as the might of the British navy. Each card grants a certain number of actions of a specific type, as well as a historical themed event. Events can be one off effects, powerful action modifiers for the current turn, or remain in play for multiple turns granting powerful abilities or changing core rules. Each card also has a numbered value that is used for the trick taking.
The game is played over a series of 10 card hands (each hand is considered a year of the war). Each year consists of 10 tricks, wherein the winner of the trick is given the chance to perform actions. The lead player chooses and plays a card from their hand face up. The other player then plays a card from their hand based on what their opponent played. If they have at least one card that matches the suit of the card their opponent played, they must play one of those cards. If not, they can play any card that they wish. If the card they played matched the suit of the lead player’s card and was the same value or higher, they win the trick and will get to take the turn and become the new lead player. Otherwise, the lead player gets the turn. If the responding player does not have a card of the matching suit they could also win by playing the highest value card they have of the trump suit that corresponds to the lead suit. In any case, the player who wins the trick gets to resolve the event on the card and perform the actions on the card. Alternatively, the player can always choose not to resolve the winning card to perform any one action of their choice.
Here is a link to a designer interview and discussion with Sam London regarding Common Sense at SDHistCon in 2024:
14. Iron Triangle: Search and Destroy Operations in the Vietnam War from GMT Games
A new series, and we have seen how well series have done at GMT GMT Games, a new designer and a new concept to wargaming (lane battler), I think that this game has great potential and it happens to be focused on one of my most liked wars to game – the Vietnam War. Iron Triangle: Search and Destroy Operations in the Vietnam War is designed by Darren McGuire takes a look at the struggle between the United States military and the Viet Cong insurgents as they fight over control of three key “lanes” or key regions. I am very much excited about this one and will be reaching out soon to Darren for some additional information.
From the game page, we read the following:
Iron Triangle opens the new Lines of ConflictSeries with a focused and tense asymmetric lane battler set during the Vietnam War search and destroy operations from 1966 up to the Tet Offensive in 1968. Two players assume opposing roles: the Viet Cong, leveraging concealment, mobility, and disruption, and the United States, applying sustained pressure and attritional tactics to limit insurgent influence. Across three rounds, players commit action cards to search and destroy operations along three lanes, contesting control of three key regions in III Corps: War Zone C, War Zone D, and the infamous Iron Triangle.
Each faction employs distinct tactical systems. The Viet Cong may deploy cards in three states—tunnelled (face down), concealed (face down and rotated), or exposed (face up)—and, through careful resource management, can flip and rotate these cards to conduct hit and run attacks and ambushes, lay booby traps, and establish Tunnel Bases to accelerate gains or blunt U.S. advances. The U.S. player focuses on revealing and eliminating insurgent units by exposing tunnelled and concealed Viet Cong cards with Tunnel Rats, restricting movement and concealment through tools such as Defoliation and ADSIDs (Air Delivered Seismic Intrusion Devices), or or employing more forceful measures such as napalm, saturation bombing, and zippo raids, which, while effective at disrupting Viet Cong support networks, also undermine the stability of urban areas like Saigon.
At the end of each round, players evaluate operational outcomes and their impact on control across the three areas, adjusting regional stability and tracking the resulting shifts in South Vietnamese public opinion. Players can achieve victory if the Viet Cong drives Public Opinion low enough or if the U.S. accomplishes its body count objective while stabilising the region. Otherwise, the conflict culminates in the Tet Offensive—a final chit-pull from a bag shaped by the position of control markers on the area tracks, remaining Viet Cong Tunnel Bases, and the scale of the refugee crisis—where each Tet chit drawn represents a stronger offensive that further erodes Public Opinion toward U.S failure.
I am all in on this concept and the new series and very much look forward to what might be included in future conflicts and how the series grows.
15. Levy & Campaign Ost Bot Solitaire System from GMT Games
One of the more active series out there today is the Levy & Campaign Series from GMT Games from the mind of Volko Ruhnke. The series had its start with Nevsky: Teutons & Rus in Collision, 1240-1242 and then followed that up with Almoravid: Reconquista and Riposte in Spain, 1085-1086. Since that time, there have been multiple other games published including Inferno: Guelphs and Ghibellines Vie for Tuscany, 1259-1261 and the most recent Plantagenet: Cousins’ War for England, 1459 – 1485. In addition to the released volumes, there are many others on the P500 with at least another dozen (or more) that have yet to be announced but are being developed and playtested. With such a popular series and with solitaire gaming becoming a mandatory part of any new wargame, I am very glad to see that GMT has prioritized this new offering and released it on the P500. The Levy & Campaign Ost Bot Solitaire System is designed by Jan Arvanitakis and Christophe Correia, who have significant experience in developing the L&C Series and I couldn’t be more excited about this offering.
From the game page, we read the following:
Introducing Ost, a solitaire system for the acclaimed Levy and Campaign Series that allows you to play 5 Volumes in the series against a non-player opponent.
The system eases the tedium of bot upkeep and simplifies the implementation of the bot’s turn so that you can concentrate on your move.
Your opponent will complete the game’s signature Levy & Campaign phases of each turn—including Arts of War, Muster, & Call To Arms. On its turn, a Non-Player Active Actions flowchart will dictate the bot’s main action—March, Siege, Storm, Sally, Tax, etc. Then, a dedicated chart for each action will briskly lead the player through a number of simple Yes/No questions until the action’s full resolution. The system thus sidesteps the need to evaluate complex priorities and check for conditions each turn.
The bot does not use any assets, such as Provender and Coin, nor Levies Capabilities, further easing the burden of bot upkeep. Yet key Capabilities are incorporated as part of the bot’s actions, Battle, & Storm. The system features special rules for automating non-player Lords’ Service shifts on the Calendar, as well as preparing the bot’s Campaign Plan.
Ost will present you with an unpredictable and challenging, yet easy to implement opponent that is responsive to your moves and the current game state. It offers a realistic simulation of the moves a human player would make—like approaching your Lords in the field, laying siege to your Strongholds, blocking Supply Routes, and marching to friendly ground before an upcoming Levy phase.
Ost is named after the service d’ost, the French feudal military service owed by vassals to a Lord. It is an allusion to one of the game’s underlying concepts. The service d’ost, or ost, often lasted around 40 days per year and was imposed on all free men, vassals, and vavasors (a vassal’s vassal).
16. Next War: Korea 2nd Edition, 2nd Printing from GMT Games
The Next War Series of wargames from GMT is very popular and also very large and detailed. We still have been unable to get our copy of Next War: Korea to the table yet but one day we will. But, for now there is a 2nd Edition being offered on the P500.
From the game page we read the following:
This reprint edition includes all known errata (including counters) as well as updated counters for the US, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese Orders of Battle. The map has changed slightly as we bring both the bridging rules from Next War: India-Pakistan back to this game, which necessitates noting which hex sides can’t be bridged, as well as defining Beaches and Invasion Hexes a la Next War: Taiwan, which actually takes us back to the original Crisis: Korea 1995 map. The Series Rules and Player Aid Cards will be brought up to the latest standards, and, of course, the Game Specific Rules will have to be changed to incorporate all of the above.
From Pyongyang in North Korea to Pusan in the South, the war rages. In a scene reminiscent of the first attack by the In Min Gun in 1950, the North Korean People’s Army surges across the Demilitarized Zone and penetrates deep into South Korea. Special Operations Forces from both sides conduct raids, interdiction, and reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines while airborne, air assault, and amphibious forces strike far behind those lines attempting to outflank the main army forces of both sides. In the air, both sides wage a heated campaign in an effort establish superiority over the skies of Korea. With rough terrain and the full ferocity of modern armor, airmobile, airborne, and marine warfighting capabilities, there is no safe haven in the lethal cauldron of battle which has engulfed the Korean Peninsula.
While North and South battle for a quick, decisive victory, the world awaits the response of the two military superpowers in the region: the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. Will the United States, stung by high casualties among the soldiers of its 2nd Infantry Division near the DMZ during the surprise artillery barrages and initial assaults on the first day of the war, be able to reinforce the South quickly enough, and, if so, how and in what strength? Will the Communist Chinese again react to a massive US response and intervene, thus widening the conflict? As the situation evolves, choices are made, forces are committed, and the security of Japan and the future of the two Koreas hangs in the balance.
Next War: Korea, Game #1 in our Next War series, allows players to fight a near future war on the Korean peninsula. In this updated and improved version of the previously-released Crisis: Korea 1995, players have access to virtually all military assets of North and South Korea, as well as large forces from the USA and the PRC. The integrated, easy to learn air-land combat system allows for unit efficiency, armor effects, light infantry, attack helicopters, Close Air Support, Cruise Missiles, and the particularly tough terrain of Korea.
Make no mistake: Next War: Korea is not an Introductory wargame. Rather, we have intended herein to create a system (and a series) that will allow detailed study of modern warfare in various venues as well as engaging gameplay. That said, the Standard Game rules encompass a fairly straightforward ruleset that will, we think, be considered pretty “easy to learn” by experienced wargamers. So players who choose to play Standard Game scenarios can have a relatively quick game when that’s what suits them. The real flavor of a war in the theatre, though, comes through in the Advanced Game, where you get much more control over airpower and can more clearly see each side’s strengths and weaknesses. For players who want a “mini-monster game” experience, playing the Advanced Game Campaign Scenarios with some or all of the optional rules will definitely “deliver.”
So our hope is that we have created a game with enough variety and scaling of complexity that you can find an engaging and maybe even enlightening experience whether you want to play a fast two-player game, a longer monster game, or an ongoing solitaire study. We intend to provide tools for online game play as well (a Vassal module is being created now for use during
17. Révolutions! France 1820-1880 from Fellowship of Simulations Coming to Kickstarter Soon
We have played and enjoyed several of the games offered by Fellowship of Simulations with my 3 favorite being Verdun 1916: Steel Inferno, Wars of Religion France 1562-1598 and Napoléon’s Conquests. They recently announced their next project that deals with the French Revolution called Révolutions! France 1820-1880, which is coming to Kickstarter soon.
From the game page, we read the following:
Révolutions – France 1820-1880 is an immersive political simulation for 3, 4 or 5 players.
Get ready to relive 60 years of political conflicts, civil wars and major societal choices. Whether in the Chamber of Deputies or on the barricades, Ultras, Orleanists, Bonapartists, Republicans or Socialists clash to ensure the triumph of their ideals. Each faction has its own starting situation, objectives and assets.
You’ll need to constantly adapt your strategy to the situation at hand, and convince allies to impose your vision of society.
Each turn, players begin by taking their action cards, which represent their supporters. They use them to develop their influence in six Society zones: Songs, Newspapers, Notables, Peasants, Workers and Clergy. They can also modify Social Tensions, which determine the stability of the government.
If the regime is stable, a Chamber of Deputies is elected. Players take advantage of the influence they have acquired in the Society zones to obtain votes. These votes give access to the best seats in the Chamber. Players receive political influence tokens according to their posi¬tion. Political influence is the «currency» that enables legislative action to change the current regime.
If social tensions become too great, Paris will rise up, and a civil war will begin. Players mobilize Society zones to support the government or fuel the insurrection. If the revolution triumphs, the victorious insurgents can make more radical changes to the state.
If you are interested in Révolutions! France 1820-1880, you can learn more about the project on the Kickstarter preview page at the following link: Révolutions! by Walter Vejdovsky — Kickstarter
18. Pacific War Games (including 1943: Race to Rabaul and Tora Tora Tora!) from PHALANX
PHALANX does some really great games and they have 2 new games that have been recently placed on pre-order in a 2-pack called Pacific War Games. This package includes 1943: Race to Rabaul designed by Volko Ruhnke and Tora Tora Tora! designed by Wataru Horiba.
From the game page, we read the following:
1943: Race to Rabaul
In 1943 the Allied push across the Pacific reached a critical phase. Every step toward Rabaul demanded nerve, planning and a constant fight with the limits of supply. 1943: Race to Rabaul puts you right in the middle of that pressure.
This time the series introduces opposed play. You can play as a team or head-to-head, with one or two players commanding the Japanese side and one or two leading the Americans. Both fronts chase momentum, both struggle with logistics and both try to outthink the other before their plans run dry. The map is wide, resources are tight and every choice has weight.
The result is a game where ambition always meets resistance, and the path to Rabaul is never straightforward.
Tora Tora Tora!
Tora Tora Tora! is a two-player strategic game that presents a holistic and dynamic view of the Pacific War. Rather than focusing on individual historical battles, the game captures the broader struggle for control across the theater, emphasizing tempo, positioning, and resource management.
Players take command of either Japan or the Allies, each operating under a different economic logic. Japan pays to expand across areas of the map, while the Allies pay per unit regardless of distance. This fundamental asymmetry shapes every decision, forcing each side to approach movement, expansion, and confrontation in a distinct way.
Actions require limited resources, and battles involve hidden commitments before resolution, creating tension even before dice are rolled. Overextending can leave forces undersupplied and vulnerable, so players must constantly balance immediate gains against long-term sustainability. The game rewards careful pressure, territorial control, and forcing the opponent into inefficient responses.
The game ends after a fixed number of rounds, and victory is determined by strategic control of key areas and overall position on the map. Winning is less about a single decisive clash and more about managing tempo, preserving strength, and gradually exhausting the opponent’s options.
If you are interested in Pacific War Games (including Race to Rabaul 1943 and Tora Tora Tora!), you can pre-order one or both of the games at the Gamefound page located at the following link: Pacific War Games by PHALANX – Gamefound
19. Fix Bayonets! Volume II1809: Talavera from Tactical Workshop Currently on Gamefound
Last year, I caught wind of a new edition of a very interesting looking Napoleonics wargame getting a second edition. The game was 1811: Albuera Second Edition from Tactical Workshop, which was originally released in 2020 designed by Frederic Delstanches. Now, he is seeking crowdfunding for the next game in the series called 1809: Talavera.
From the game page, we read the following:
1809: Talavera is the second volume in the Fix Bayonets! Series of Napoleonic tactical wargames. It covers, at the battalion level, the two days of the battle with one player in charge of the Anglo-Spanish armies and the other leading the French forces. The game allows players to recreate the eponymous battle of the Peninsular War, face to face with another player or as a solitaire experience.
Take command of the French army under Joseph, Napoleon’s older brother, and shatter the nascent Anglo-Spanish Alliance standing their ground near the town of Talavera! Alternatively, you can lead the Allied armies and attempt to hold the line with your disparate force. Can you equal the tactical victory achieved by the future Duke of Wellington and his Spanish ally general Cuesta or will the bloody engagement result in the rout of your armies?
As of March 1st, the Gamefound campaign has funded and raised $7,322 toward its $7,000 funding goal with 99 backers. The campaign will conclude on April 1, 2026 at 1:00am EST.
New Release
1. 2025 Errata Counter Sheet from GMT Games
Errata is a fact of life with all publishers and all games! No matter what, a mistake will always slip through and cause us gamers a bit of angst. This is where GMT Games stands head and shoulders above the competition though as they admit to their mistakes and more importantly try to make them right. We have seen this time and time again. So they have a solution for errata found on counters in their new games this year that makes a lot of sense and makes it economically very easy to acquire: a replacement countersheet.
From the P500 page, we read the following:
We are happy to announce today that we have created a 2025 Replacement Countersheet that includes all of the counter updates that we and the designers know of as errata for games from 2025. We’re setting this up as a P500 item like we did last year—except that it’s already approved to print. We just need to know how many of you want the item. Please get your order in over the coming few weeks so we can get these in your hands by year-end.
The price for this item will be $5 for US customers and $10 for non-US customers. Note that the cost INCLUDES shipping. Clearly, we’re supplementing most of the cost on these, which we think is only fair, in that these counters represent mostly errata that we missed when we produced the games the counters belong to.
The games with counters on the sheet are:
By Swords & Bayonets
Here I Stand NOTE: These are the same as the 2024 versions but not everyone got theirs so we’re printing them again.
2. Silent Victory: U.S. Submarines in the Pacific, 1941-45 3rd Printing from GMT Games
One of my favorite movies of all time is Das Boot. I know that this is a movie about a German submarine and I am using it as the introduction to a post about American submarines but it is simply so good and really helped to give me an understanding of the absolute hell that those submariners endured in the depths in a slender metal tube being depth charged to death. I remember the scene where the Chief Machinist Johann loses it and has to be restrained. As we follow along on the patrol of the U-96, we grow to understand the difficulty with which those men had to deal as they did their job and took the punishment. As you know, the movie ends when they are in a sub base and are bombed by Allied planes and we see the Captain and most of the crew shot up and dying as they watch the U-96 slip under the water. After playing Silent Victory, where the player takes the helm of an American submarine in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, I could understand (not physically or psychologically) emotionally how they felt, just a bit, as my boat was depth charged mercilessly and I simply could not get away from the Escort. Eventually, I did get away but not before I lost a few crew to injuries and basically nearly sank myself by deciding to go past test depth to escape.
From the game page, we read the following:
Silent Victory is a solitaire tactical level game placing you in command of an American submarine during WWII in the Pacific. Your mission is to destroy as much Japanese shipping and as many warships as possible while advancing your crew quality and decorations – all while remembering you have to make it home.
Silent Victory is purposely designed to deliver a brisk yet intensive gaming experience that forces many decisions upon you as you take command of one of the major U.S. Fleet submarine types in service. Patrols will take you to differing parts of the Pacific as time progresses in the war. The most successful commanders will be those that can manage the risks they take while prosecuting as many targets as possible.
The game engine is built upon the successful The Hunters design and has proven to be a solid, playable experience. All the major U.S. Fleet boat types are accounted for with every level of detail including period of service, armaments, crew makeup, damage capacity, and more.
As a Fleet submarine commander, you will be confronting many decisions during your patrols. To begin with, seven U.S. Fleet submarines are profiled and available for you to choose from. Patrol zones reflect the changing operational areas as the war progresses, from the Philippines to Midway, the Solomons, and even patrols to the waters just off the coast of Japan and China.
Conducting patrols is the heart of the system, as you will be resolving encounters against individual ships, convoys, or even enemy aircraft and submarines. Situations you face and decisions you make suddenly come in quick succession:
How will you engage a convoy once spotted?
Do you close the initial target range at increased risk of detection for a more lethal attack?
If your engagement is at night, will you conduct a surface attack?
Do you launch one or two fire salvos, and how many torpedoes do you fire?
Will you try to follow a convoy or ship to engage in additional rounds of combat?
How will you slip away from escorts to avoid or minimize damage?
3. The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-1943 4th Printing from GMT Games
Another fantastic solitaire submarine game designed by the incomparable Gregory M. Smith is The Hunters and they are now releasing the 4th Printing version of the game. 4 printings should tell you something about the game and how good it is!
From the game page, we read the following:
The Hunters is a solitaire tactical level game placing you in command of a German U-boat during WWII. Your mission is to destroy as much Allied Shipping and as many Capital ships as possible while advancing your crew quality and increasing your commander rank culminating in special decoration ‒ all while remembering you have to make it home.
The Hunters is purposely designed to deliver a brisk yet intensive gaming experience that forces many decisions upon you as you will take command among the major German U-boat models in service during WWII, and try to complete an entire tour. If you ultimately survive all patrols from 1939 to 1943, you will be transferred to the U-boat Training Command for the remainder of the war, having successfully carried out your service for the Fatherland.
Those familiar with the classic Avalon Hill game title, B-17: Queen of the Skies, will come to enjoy the same type of gaming experience of the German U-boat War. All major U-boat models are accounted for with every level of detail including period of service, armaments, crew make-up, damage capacity, and more.
As U-Boat commander, you will be confronting many decisions during your patrol. To begin with, eight German U-Boat models are profiled and available for you to choose from. Patrol zones reflect the time period during the war at sea and will shift as the war progresses. All stages of the U-Boat campaign are represented as missions become increasingly more difficult as your adversary makes advances in anti-submarine warfare.
Conducting patrols is the heart of the system as you will be resolving encounters against individual ships, convoys, or even enemy aircraft. Situations you face and decisions you make suddenly come in quick succession:
How will you engage a convoy once spotted?
Do you close the initial target range at increased risk of detection for a more lethal attack?
If your engagement is at night, will you conduct a surface attack?
Do you launch one or two fire salvos, and how many torpedoes do you fire?
Will you try to follow a convoy or ship to engage in additional rounds of combat?
How will you slip away from escorts to avoid or minimize damage?
What evasive maneuvers do you undertake?
The major German U-Boat models are represented and accurately profiled for the patrols you will undertake:
Type VII A
Type VII B
Type VII C
Type VII D
Type VII FlaK
Type IX A
Type IX B
Type IX C
Patrol Assignments include:
Atlantic
British Isles
Spanish Coast
Mediterranean
Norway
West African Coast
North America
Arctic
Caribbean
The game delivers an historical narrative as 350+ ship targets are uniquely identified (including tonnage) with their historical counterparts that were sunk during the war, including freighters, tankers, and American ships.
4. COIN Series Multi-Pack #2 The Guerilla Generation: Cold War Insurgencies in Latin America from GMT Games
Stephen Rangazas has been active behind the scenes over the past few years with his development work on Fall of Saigon: A Fire in the Lake Expansion. He used his background and research capabilities to great effect as he did the background work on the Event cards for that game. From that experience, he has now come forward with a few of his own designs in The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire, which was announced in 2021 as well as Sovereign of Discord announced in 2022. Now, his most recent work on a new COIN Series Multi-Pack that deals with insurgencies in Latin America during the height of the Cold War called The Guerrilla Generation is shipping.
From the game page, we read the following:
The Guerrilla Generation: Cold War Insurgencies in Latin America is the second COINMulti-Pack, containing four separate games exploring a series of thematically related insurgencies. Building on the The British Way, this new multipack allows players to explore variations in insurgent groups’ organizational structures, strategies, and relationship with civilians, across four insurgencies in Central and South America between 1968 and 1992. During this part of the Cold War era, Latin America experienced an incredible number of different insurgent groups, many inspired by the Cuban Revolution featured in Cuba Libre, ranging from popular backed rural insurgencies, flexible urban guerrillas, externally sponsored raiders, and brutal ideologically rigid groups. This multipack features a game exemplifying each of these types of insurgencies, to offer players the chance to compare different approaches to rebellion highlighted in the quote by scholar Jeremy Weinstein above. The Guerrilla Generation also offers four longer and more complex individual games than those found in The British Way, as well as an entirely different approach to the linked campaign scenario, which combines two games into a simultaneous side-by-side experience.
This Multi-Pack includes four full games in one box, which is a fantastic value that will allow players to explore four different conflicts set during the height of Cold War Latin America between 1968 and 1992. Each game uses a unique ruleset building on the same general mechanical structure, ensuring that they are easy to pick up while still offering a distinctive experience.
I also love these Multi-Packs because they have a small board footprint with each of the 4 games playing in under 2 hours and taking place on a single 17” x 22” board. But, the game doesn’t just treat these games as individual as they are designed to experience at least a portion of the full span of the period and be used to learn more about these insurgencies.
There is also a “Resisting Reagan” Campaign designed into the game. A linked campaign scenario allowing up to 4 players to play El Salvador and Nicaragua side-by-side, with new mechanisms to represent the Central American peace and solidarity movement’s efforts to resist the Reagan Administration’s aid to both the Salvadoran government and the Contra insurgency, by influencing Congress and American public opinion.
5. Battle of the Bismarck Sea from War Diary Publications
As I was recently trolling the internet, I came across a new solitaire game from the guys over at War Diary Publications. The game is called Battle of the Bismarck Sea and is designed by Allyn Vannoy.
From the game page, we read the following:
Battle of the Bismarck Sea is a solitaire wargame that uses individual ships and flights/squadrons of aircraft. The Player assumes the role of General George Kenney, Commander of the 5th U.S. Army Air Force, with the mission of intercepting the Japanese effort to reinforce its ground forces on the island of New Guinea. The Player must utilize the limited resources available and then determine how best to apply them within specific time constraints. The results of these efforts will be borne out in the effectiveness of air operations.
This design by Allyn Vannoy contains: one 22″ x 32″ Mapsheet, a 16-page rulebook, one Player Aid Card, and 114 oversized laser-cut counters.
6. Souls to Waste: The Battle of An Bao, May 5, 1968 from High Flying Dice Games
Paul Rohrbaugh is a designer I love to follow. He is always doing games on smaller or lesser known conflicts and I just find his work to be superb and really draws me in. He has done a line of games dealing with different battles from the Vietnam War and always names them after popular songs of the time including games like Long Cruel Woman: The Attack on Firebase Mary Ann, March 28, 197, No Satisfaction: Operation Hump November 5-8, 1965 and As Tears Go By: Operation StarliteAugust 1965. Recently I saw one of their newest games on the Battle of An Bao called Souls to Waste and I guess it might be named after the Rolling Stone’s song Sympathy for the Devil (Souls to Waste).
From the game page, we read the following:
Souls to Waste portrays the epic fight waged between the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and tanks and the 1/69th Tank Battalion against three Battalions of the 22nd Regiment, 3rd PAVN (People’s Army of Vietnam) Infantry Division.
The NVA laid a trap in the hills to the west of three firebases maintained by the 173rd Infantry Brigade. The NVA’s 22nd Infantry Regiment was recently deployed to the area and well-armed with the latest Soviet weaponry, especially new Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs) that could easily penetrate the armor of the American’s M-113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), as well as mortars and heavy machine guns. The goal was to lure one of the US troop companies into an ambush, and then either inflict more casualties on any relief force that would come to their aid, or fall back and do it again at a time and place of their choosing.
Each turn represents 30 minutes of time. An inch on the map corresponds to about 100 yards in actual distance. Infantry type units are platoons, and armored units represent 1 or 2 vehicles.
If you are interested in Souls to Waste: The Battle of An Bao, May 5, 1968, you can order a copy for $22.95 from the High Flying Dice Games website at the following link: https://www.hfdgames.com/anbao.html
7. Death or Glory: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift from Art of Wargames
Solitaires games are plentiful this month and another one that I found was Death or Glory: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift from Art of Wargames. This one looks pretty interesting and has some really interesting mechanics to it. Plus, it is a solitaire game on one of the most known and greatest battles of history.
From the game page, we read the following:
Dive into history and Heroism in Death or Glory: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, a war game that immerses you in the heart of this legendary clash. Relive the valiant stand of 150 British soldiers as they defend a mission station against a Zulu “impi” numbering in the thousands, during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.
As the clock strikes 4:30 PM, the earth trembled with the thundering chant of “Usuthu!” – the Zulu battle cry. Masses of warriors surged forward in wave after wave, their horns echoing across the plains and their assegai spears flashing in the sun. The British defenders, entrenched in the makeshift redoubt, met the onslaught with unwavering resolve and disciplined volleys of rifle fire.
When the dust settled, the battlefield lied eerily quiet, strewn with hundreds of casualties. Eleven British heroes will be awarded the Victoria Cross for their extraordinary bravery.
8. And the War Came: American Civil War 1861-1865 from Pinkerton Games
Add this one to the publisher that I didn’t know about until now category but this game looks to be very interesting. And the War Came: American Civil War 1861-1865 from Pinkerton Games is a strategic level look at the American Civil War and looks to be well made with good solid components.
From the game page, we read the following:
Civil war came to the United States on April 12, 1861, and finally ended 4 bloody Aprils later in 1865. And The War Came is a strategic level boardgame on that conflict, the American Civil War. Play either the side of the United States, attempting to restore the Union; or the rebelling Confederate States of America attempting to gain southern independence.
The game is “We Go” turn based. In the same three-month seasonal turn, both players recruit and mobilize replacement units, promote and reassign generals, play orders cards to activate corps sized units to conduct area movement and engage in combat, and perform logistics functions.
By both land and naval movement, or successful combat actions, players gain victory points by seizing areas or taking victory points away from the enemy. Generals may command units in combat and movement, and higher ranked generals can command more units-but generals may also be killed, wounded or captured. To create fog of war and uncertainty there are covers that hide unit strength and type from the opposing side until committed to combat.
There are four short length yearly scenarios (1861 through 1864), two multi-year campaign scenarios, (1861-1863, and 1863-1865) and the entire war scenario. Select a Scenario, deploy your troops, and prepare for action!
VUCA Simulations is a new company on the scene the last few years and they are coming out with some really great looking games. We have played several of their games and always have a great experience with them. One of their newest pre-order offerings is called Operation Overlord designed by Clem. It covers the D-Day invasion and as usual looks to be of the highest quality and production.
From the game page, we read the following:
Operation Overlord is a deep, historically grounded strategic wargame that simulates the Normandy invasion and the critical battles that followed from June to August 1944. One player commands the Allied SHAEF forces, planning and executing the largest amphibious operation in history, while the opposing player takes the role of Oberbefehlshaber West, defending the Atlantic Wall and attempting to delay the Allied advance long enough to alter the course of the war.
Rather than focusing on tactical skirmishes, Operation Overlord operates at the operational–strategic level, where timing, logistics, intelligence, and command structure are decisive. Players maneuver divisions and army corps across a detailed map of Normandy, manage supply networks and reinforcements, execute historical and fictional operations, and influence battles through doctrine, supports, and event cards.
Each month begins with high-level planning: the Allied player secretly schedules strategic and special operations, while the German player designates key cities as Festungen, to be held at all costs. Weekly turns then unfold through intelligence gathering, supply allocation, reinforcement arrivals, and alternating unit activations that combine maneuver and combat into a tense, fluid system. Fog of war is maintained through hidden unit values and simultaneous combat card reveals, ensuring constant uncertainty and meaningful decision-making.
Victory is not measured simply by territory, but by time and consequences. The German player is unlikely to drive the Allies back into the sea—but every week gained has far-reaching implications for morale, resources, and other fronts of the war. Likewise, an Allied breakthrough ahead of schedule can dramatically reshape history. Each scenario and campaign outcome includes historically reasoned consequences that frame the result within the broader context of World War II.
With multiple scenarios (June, July, August, and a full campaign), robust asymmetry, and a strong emphasis on planning and operational art, Operation Overlord offers a demanding and rewarding experience for players seeking a serious, historically informed wargame.
If you are interested in Operation Overlord, you can order a copy for €119,99 ($141.68 in US Dollars) from the VUCA Simulations website at the following link: https://vucasims.com/products/operation-overlord
10. Hold the Line: Hannibal from Worthington Publishing
Love me some Ancients and particularly if those Ancients include elephants! Such is the case with the newest game from Worthington Publishing called Hold the Line: Hannibal. The Hold the Line Series is a series of historical wargames by Worthington Publishing focused typically on horse-and-musket era combat, specifically the American Revolution. The game features quick-playing, tactical, hex-based scenarios and the series uses custom dice for combat.
From the game page, we read the following:
Hold the Line: Hannibal is a grand tactical two-player game covering 10 of the greatest battles of the Punic Wars. Following in the footsteps of Richard Borg’s Commands and Colors system and more directly Worthington’s Hold the Line series, Hannibal includes the same standard size map board, 13 hexes wide and 9 hexes deep. Combat is resolved with custom dice.
The scale is 300-400 meters per hex, 90 minutes per turn and units of 3-6,000 infantry, 2-4,000 cavalry and 15-25 war elephants. The units are mainly of 4-steps and include four types of infantry: elite, regular, barbarian and light; three types of cavalry: regular, barbarian and light; and, of course, war elephants. Some units have missile capability, which enhances lethality in combat.
Hold the Line: Hannibal, features 10 battles of the Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome.
As usual, thanks so much for reading along and sticking with me this month as I navigated through the many websites and game pages looking for new and interesting games to share.
Finally, thanks once again to this month’s sponsor Bellica 3rd Generation!
New Cold War: 1989-2019 is a Card-Driven Game based in the most important geopolitical events from 1989 to 2019. Players lead one of the four great powers (Russia, China, US, EU) in their fight for the new world order. Initially, the confrontation is between the red bloc, consisting of Russia and China and the blue bloc, comprising the United States and the European Union. However, each player must also prioritize their own strategy, as only one power can emerge victorious at the end of the game. Therefore, this game starts with cooperation between allied powers in the early stages but becomes entirely competitive as the moment of final victory approaches.
New Cold War utilizes a Card-Driven game mechanic. Players strive to attain victory by gaining international prestige, dominating the media and increasing their control of countries and different regions of the world. Other key factors to manage include military force and United Nations Security Council vetoes. Players’ strategies are determined by a series of hidden objectives they must pursue to achieve victory.
The game accommodates three or two-player versions and includes a solitaire mode through a system of bots.
Anmelden
