Game Reviews & Reports 2005: Volume 3, Issue 5

Transcription

1 INDEPTH Game Reviews & Reports 2005: Volume 3, Issue 5

2 Table of Contents Game Review Page Editor s Note Member of the Month Age of Steam Swords & Sorcery Battle Cry Hannibal LOTR: The Confrontation Wizard Kings Mission Command: Sea War of the Ring We the People Lightning: D-Day Tears of the Dragon Firepower Top Players Iliad LIBO Ratings Group Statistics Copyright on all contributions rests with the original authors and material from these pages may not be reproduced without the author s permission and without acknowledging its prior publication here. 2 INDEPTH 2005 September

3 I s Wargaming dead? I guess, like most things, it depends on whom you ask. To be sure, the days where hex and counter games, with combat resolution tables, ruled the landscape are long gone. New mechanics have rendered the old system basically obsolete. Instead, we now have block, area-movement and card-driven games that provide the player with, seemingly, more strategic options. At one point, there were but two main players: Avalon Hill and SPI. Those days are gone now, you have many companies putting out fine wargames. And, designers will fluctuate between the companies, since most companies don t have designers on staff. At our recent WargameDay a yearly occurrence, we saw 1) Card driven games (We the People, Hannibal); 2) traditional squad-based hex and counter games (Firepower); 3) traditional army-based hex and counter games (Swords & Sorcery); 4) traditional individual combat hex and counter games (Iliad); 5) block games (Wizard Kings); 6) area-movement games (Tears of the Dragon); and 7) games that just defy categories (Fantasy Flight s War of the Ring). More interestingly than the fact that six different companies produced these games is that, fully five of the eight games were produced within the last 15 years. Only Swords and Sorcery, Firepower and Iliad (ironically, the three traditional hex-based games) Q. How long have you been gaming I have been gaming in a group since LIBO started. I have been playing for fun for a number of years. Q. Brief history of your gaming exploits I like to play when I have the time to do so. With 2 toddlers that is not as often as I would like it to be. Q. Favorite boardgame - all time I like trivia pursuit because I like to challenge myself and my knowledge. Q. Favorite boardgame - played in LIBO A tie between Carcassone and Puerto Rico. Q. LEAST favorite boardgame - all time Advanced Civilization because it always takes way too long. Editor s Note were published before that timeframe. Toto, I ve got a feeling we aren t playing PanzerBlitz anymore. So, what does that mean? Well, for one thing, games are not being produced the same way any longer GMT s revolutionary P500 process, since adopted by other companies, makes the risk for a gaming company far less. Until the game reaches the magic number of 500 or more committed buyers, the only effort put forth by the company is its intellectual and mental efforts. More than ever, running a wargame company is truly a labor of love. When one looks at the facts, it s clear that, in fact, wargaming is NOT dying, or dead. ANY exposure to gaming is good for gaming. ANY exposure to these games, by the non-gaming public, only stands to increase the number of gamers. Sometimes, I feel like playing a long, drawn-out wargame; other times, shorter, Euros fit the bill. The only regret I have is that my time is too limited to fully play ALL the great wargames I own so, games like Advanced Third Reich, Paths of Glory, Victory Games Vietnam and even the granddaddy of them all, Advanced Squad Leader, just sit dormant on my shelf. Well, hopefully, that s what retirement is for! Member of the Month Q. Game Most Looking Forward to Playing Venture because it got a wonderful write up. It looks like a great game. Q. Your favorite moment (your HALL OF FAME moment) from a LIBO game. During Family Business when I just killed every body off in an order conceived by me until I won the game. There was nothing anyone could do. Priceless. Deborah Dozier To see Debbie s INDEPTH Stats and Ratings, turn to Page 17. INDEPTH 2005 September 3

4 M artin Wallace himself considers Age of Steam to be his most impressive work. The game is a perfect mix of strategic planning and tactical reaction. The learning curve, mechanically, is not steep, which means the game can play fairly quickly, once all participants are familiar with the details. Like most Euros, the game has a rich theme that has, essentially, not much to do with the game as a whole. It just as easily could have been set in space, or the scenario could have been pioneering in the U.S., or even creating dirt roads in Africa. The mechanics of the game is the true determining factor as to whether a game gets played again, and Age of Steam does not disappoint. Players begin with a nominal amount of money $10 to do all they need to do. Each turn, however, the players must pay expenses, which is comprised of the total number of shares issued (from 2-15 through the course of the game), and the level of the locomotive s engine (from 1-6). Thus, even starting the game, all players have $3 of expenses staring at them. Each player, at the start of a game round, has the option to issue more shares. More shares means more money ($5 per share), but also more expenses each share, therefore, is really worth only $4 on the turn it s issued (and less each turn thereafter). However, players DO need money to build track, so goods can be shipped, so issuing shares is a bit of a necessity. Age of Steam If the game consisted of only that securing money, so you could build track and ship goods it would still be an excellent game. However, there is another component, and that is the selection of roles. Each turn, there are seven roles available to the players, these roles will allow the players to take a special action ranging from moving goods first, to building track first, to being able to build more track than anyone else. Players will bid for the right to choose their roles first, which is yet ANOTHER expense, for which players require money. The track building is the easiest part as there are many different types of track, and a simple, fundamental pricing scheme: $2 for simple track, +$1 for rivers, +$2 for mountains. Players can also replace track, as well, at a cost of $3. Players make money by shipping goods from city to city. Each leg of the trip (between a city and a town, a town and a town, or a city and a city) is considered 1 link. Colored goods must be delivered to cities of the same color, and, each player is limited to the number of links equal to his own locomotive s level (with a train level of 2, a player could not ship a good 3 links). Because of these parameters, and the fact that the goods are randomly disbursed at the start of each game, no two games are alike. In one game, there may be an abundance of blue chips on one side of the board, all near blue cities; in another game, there may barely be blue chips on the board at all. The ability of the player to quickly analyze the board, and determine the optimum places to build, is what separates winners from losers. The game is unforgiving to wit, remembering that one starts with $10 the absolute best case scenario would occur if the board were set up in a way that, by creating three tracks, each costing $2, that would enable the player to ship both goods for 2 links, the MOST money he could have heading into the next turn would be $4 (-$6 for the tracks, (+$4 for goods; $4 in expenses)). Of course, this is ludicrous, as the only way to facilitate this would be for the player to have selected the locomotive (free upgrade in engine level) AND be able to build in this most opportune location, all without having spent a dime in the auction for turn order. It is best for players to become very familiar with having to issue shares, and having money in short supply. The game is unforgiving when you pay expenses, you must pay them in full. If you don t have enough cash, you can reduce your income level. If that falls below 0, you re bankrupt, and out of the game. In a recent 6-player game, the difficulty of playing with a large number of players was immediately apparent. The board itself was setup in a bizarre way, with lots of black goods. Additionally, the plethora of purple cubes was decidedly on the side of the board with no purple cities; and the yellow goods were on the side with no yellow cities. 4 INDEPTH 2005 September

5 Age of Steam On the first turn, Andrew, Anna Maria and Michael did not issue shares although only Michael was able to ship (and ship he did, twice for $1 each). Brian and Chris issued two shares each; Brian building enough track and upgrading to allow him to ship for $2. Michael took the vaunted Urbanization (which allows the player to replace a town with a city thus providing another destination for goods), and managed to corner the market between Toronto, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. This solid footing helped him the entire game. On the second turn, Chris only issued one share, while he needed to issue two. This move doomed him the whole game, since he had to reduce his income three turns in a row to pay expenses twice reducing to 0. In Anna Maria s case, it was direr her lack of planning forced her into bankruptcy at the end of the round. Andrew was now in a decent position, as the only financially healthy player on the west side of the board. Chris and Andrew jockeyed for some positions, but ultimately, Andrew went elsewhere to fight, leaving Chris with a few key cities not enough for him to win, or even compete; but enough for him to not go bankrupt. However, on the right hand side of the board, Bill, Brian and Michael were battling fiercely. Michael had a great position, having extended his line down to Wheeling, WV; and having chosen the Production role twice, he ensured a healthy supply of goods cubes. Brian had also built aggressively, so poor Bill was stuck between the two front-runners, trying, whenever he could, to siphon a goods cube away. Michael still appeared like the clear winner; but Brian was right behind him. On the fourth turn of the game, Chris and Brian duked it out for the right to choose roles with Chris winning with a $6 bid. They both did want the same role (Locomotive) for Chris, it was about survival. Only with an increased engine could he ship twice that turn, which would for the first time get him out of 0 income (although, with reductions, he d still end up at 5. For Brian, it was also about survival Michael was able to ship two goods that Brian could have shipped, had he increased his engine a level. Instead, Michael got the goods for himself. Brian routinely led off the bidding and normally started high (around $3), meaning the 2-5 players were constantly flip-flopping each turn. Michael never was the first player, and quite often went last; and just looked to see what role would benefit him the most from what was remaining. It may be that Brian s overly high Age of Steam Players Score Rating Michael 33 5 Andrew 21 4 Bill 15 5 Anna Maria 0 N/A Chris 6 5 Brian 27 5 Overall Rating: 4.8 Our time: 2h-40m Rules explanation time: 40m opening bids cost him the game (but, probably not, as all it ensured him was that he got the role he wanted; and he never had to reduce his income due to too little cash). In the end, Michael rode his northeast Monopoly to victory, winning the game by two points over Brian. Andrew finished third, despite running out of goods to ship, while Bill and Chris brought up the rear the latter increasing his score by 33% on the last turn of the game when he completed a route Anna Maria had started much earlier for 5 of his 20 points. The truest test of a game s enjoyment, for me, is how much I want to play the game again, even when I ve lost. Many games that I loved, I realized, I merely liked, because I had no true drive to replay, once suffering a crushing loss (Settlers of Catan, Air Baron, etc.). In the case of Age of Steam, even this humiliating defeat does not derail my interest in playing. Chris Palermo INDEPTH 2005 September 5

6 Swords & Sorcery C hris M and John decided to play one of the scenarios in Swords & Sorcery that seemed the least complicated to play, since they were both just barely familiar with the rules. The 12-turn scenario picked was basically a horde rush. The Dwarves were the horde with the Elves hoping to survive. The Dwarves would claim victory by eliminating all the Elves, or by eliminating half the Elves with a stronger army sitting inside the boundaries of Vynar. Eliminating half the Elves would mean the dwarfs would have to kill 12 Elves. The Elves would win by not letting the Dwarves complete either victory condition. The Elves received two characters, Linfalas and Gwaigilion Elengal The Dwarves get three, Ganab, Gerudirr, and the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord is limited to staying in the castle at the isle of blood, and cannot spend more than four manna in any one turn. Chris M played playing the Dwarves and John the Elves. Turn 1: Random Event: Elven High Holy Day Elves cannot move or attack While the Elves party on their holy day, the Elves try to cast fear on some of the Dwarves. Ganab the Nasty counters the spell with a morale spell. While the Elves continue to party, the Dwarven horde rolls into Vynar. Turn 2: Random Event: Church communion: Has no effect on units being used in the scenario. More of the dark forces roll into Vynar, while the Elves retreat into the forest, which triples their strength on defense Turn 3: Random Event: Conjunction of Fear: No effect on units being used. The Elves summon 4 units of zombies. (Elven zombies?) At this point Chris M and John were wondering how anyone could win a battle with the Elves defense tripling in the forest and everyone else s doubling in the forest and woods. That s when Chris pointed out that leaders in stacks causes shifts in the combat table. With this new information Ganab and Gerudirr quickly hopped up to the front line and attacked. Ganab forced 2 Elven archers to retreat, and Gerudirr killed an Elven light spear. Turn 4: Random Event: None. More battles take place as Dwarven and Elven forces dodge in and out of trees in the forest and woods. Ganab forced an Elven Cavalry to retreat, while Linfalas forced two Dwarven heavy axe to retreat. Turn 5: Random Event: Corfu Cultist Collation: No effect on forces being used. Gerudirr clashed with the Elves again and killed another Elven cavalry. Linfalas charged up and engaged Gerudirr and both are forced to retreat. Turn 6: Random Event: Blue Sun manna flux: Manna regeneration doubles for characters whose magic color is blue. No attacks this turn by either side, but Linfalas rallied three troops from demoralization. 6 INDEPTH 2005 September

7 Swords & Sorcery Turn 7: Random Event: None. Ganab attacked and forced another Elven cavalry to retreat while being forced to retreat himself. The Elves attacked and forced two cavalry to retreat. Turn 8: Random Event: None. Gerudirr attacked and killed one Elven light sword, while Linfalas rallied more troops. Turn 9: Random Event: None. Gerudirr attacked again and this time, managed to kill another Elven cavalry. Linfalas moved in and killed two Dwarven heavy axe. Turn 10: Random Event: Red Sun manna flux: Manna regeneration doubles for characters whose magic color is red. Gerudirr began to hear rustling in the forest all around him. He scanned the area and sees six stacks of Elves surround him. Gerudir thinks to himself this is not good. The Elves use Gerudirr s head as a soccer ball through the forest. Ganab moves up and kills another Elven cavalry in return. Turn 11: Random Event: Flooding. Vynar is in the forest, the river is not near any of the fighting, so this has no effect on the battle. The Elves enjoyed the company of the zombies so much that they summoned another two, while Linfalas kept himself busy rallying some troops. Ganab used the morale spell to rally some troops. Turn 12: Random Event: None. The Dwarves, realizing there is no way to kill half of the Elves in the Swords & Sorcery Players Score Rating Chris M 5 2 John 12 3 Overall Rating: 2.5 Our time: 2h-50m Rules explanation time: 1h last turn, just mill around and deface the trees in Vynar with various phrases, Ganab was here, Dark Lord is useless, Evelyn Wood Elves Taste Better The Elves just party on with the summoned Elven zombies. John won the game since Chris M managed to only kill five Elven units out of the 12 needed. Chris Matusiak Battle Cry B rian (Union) and Andrew (Confederate) played the Chicamunga scenario. Both the Confederates and the Union had two generals and 4 actions cards each. The Confederates began its advance first followed by the Union. On the Union s left flank they setup a fairly strong defense so the Confederates decided to attack on their right flank. The Union s right flank was demolished when one infantry unit evened the playing field before dying himself. This battle gave the Confederates 3 flags and the Union two flags. The Union advanced in the center as the Confederates never moved up but rather moved into the Union s left flank. Even though the Union had its artillery in a decent position and played two Bombardments (allowing ALL artillery to fire twice in one round) they inflicted much less damage then they would have liked. Battle Cry Players Score Rating Andrew 6 5 Brian 5 5 Overall Rating: 5.0 Our time: 1h Rules explanation time: 30m In the end the Confederates came around the eliminated Union right flank and killed enough infantry to gain their 6 flags. The Union still made it interesting on their last turn gaining 3 flags to go up to 5 flags total. Brian Stone INDEPTH 2005 September 7

8 Hannibal M ichael chose Hannibal, Rome vs. Carthage, as his game for LIBO War Game Day. He had played it four times before, and lost all four times as Carthage, including a shellacking at the World Boardgaming Championships. He was hoping that this time, against Darren, who was new to the game, things would be different. A descendant of We the People, Hannibal is arguably better than its predecessor, and may be the best of the card-driven boardgames. The game is a simulation of the Second Punic War, 218 to 201 B. C. One player is Rome; the other, Carthage.The game consists of a strategy deck, containing cards which may be used for operations (to move generals and combat units) or events; and a battle deck, which includes maneuver cards (flank left, flank right, frontal assault, double envelopment, etc.) used to fight battles. Components Hannibal includes a beautiful, high-quality map board depicting the Western Mediterranean from the Adriatic to the Pillars of Hercules. Colored in hues of rust, amber, blue, and green, the map is delightfully decorated with sketches of period armor, warships, elephants, and military regalia by illustrator Kurt Miller. The map also conveniently includes the various combat results tables and holding/special abilities boxes for Roman and Carthaginian generals of the period, many of whom are represented in the game. One immediately gets the sense that this is a grand strategy game of the kind that might have been crafted in the Victorian era (if they d had good simulation games then). Critics who would characterize this as clutter have clearly missed the point. This is a game with both style and substance and a good bit of history, too. In an age of Eurogames, it s a refreshing departure. The cards are good quality, and hold up well under repeated play. The tokens used for combat units, walled cities, tribes, and political control are double-sided and shaped differently, making it easy to set up and play the game. The generals stand-up cardboard tokens on plastic bases are equally good. A deft rules touch gives each general a unique but not overly powerful ability that relates to his historical behavior. Thus we have the wily Hannibal, who can use a probe card as a flank left, flank right, or double envelopment, and the headstrong Terentius Varro, who excels at intercepting armies (though his skills on the battlefield leave something to be desired.) Mechanics and Strategy Hannibal takes place over nine game turns and is playable in about 4 hours. Certain conditions, such as the capture of Rome, Carthage, or Hannibal himself, can result in a sudden-death victory or defeat, as MIchael unfortunately learned during several of his earlier games. More typically, though, the game is decided by political control of 18 provinces in Italy, Spain, Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia/Corsica. Whoever controls the majority of these provinces Hannibal Players Score Rating Michael 15 5 Darren 2 5 Overall Rating: 5.0 Our time: 5h-45m Rules explanation time: 35m after 9 turns wins, with ties going to Carthage. However, even political control can lead to a suddendeath victory. At the end of each turn, the player with the lower province count must remove a number of political control (PC) markers equal to the difference in controlled provinces; so as political control shifts towards the winning player, the game becomes a slippery slope for the losing player. If he/she does not have enough markers to make up the difference, the game is lost. Interestingly, though, battles themselves result in political consequences: the loser must remove PC markers equal to half the combat units lost in battle. This means that some big wins on the battlefield, even if they don t help a player s strategic situation, can still tilt the political battle. This is good news for Carthage, as the strategic situation and the mechanics behind it are not kind to them. Rome gets five fairly flexible reinforcements per turn, while Carthage gets four, only one of which can be placed in Italy, where it is (usually) desperately needed. Rome is assumed to have naval supremacy; Carthage has to roll on a draconian Naval Combat table to move any troops by sea, with a 8 INDEPTH 2005 September

9 high probability of failure. Carthage even gets a negative modifier for sieges, while the Romans, predictably, do not. But the true bane of Carthage appears on Turn 6 with the arrival of Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who is Hannibal s equal. Accompanied by an additional 5 combat units, Scipio can be placed in any Roman-controlled port in Italy or Spain. His arrival usually marks the beginning of the end for Carthage, unless the Punic player has built a very strong lead. Essentially, Carthage must come out of the gate roaring. Hannibal must race over the Alps (taking his attrition lumps) and engage the Romans wherever he has a reasonable chance of victory, dispatching his lieutenants along the way to help flip PC markers in Italy. Backed by good strategy card play to gain reinforcements or grabbing the occasional walled city or province, Hannibal can send the Romans reeling perhaps hard enough that they cannot recover, even with Scipio. Important safety tips: (1) Never lay siege to Rome, as it is almost impossible to take and can ruin you in the process. (2) Avoid sailing anywhere, unless it is with a single expendable combat unit. (3) Don t get cocky with Hannibal and his hard-to-replace troops. If he is weakened too much, the game is over. The Romans, on the other hand, must not take the bait, especially in the early turns. A fullstrength army led by Hannibal is a death machine; don t get in its way. Follow the strategy of Fabius (the Delayer) Maximus, and stay away from Hannibal. Better yet, launch your own invasions of Spain, and Hannibal eventually Africa. Sieges and subjugation of those irritating pro- Carthage tribes are fun, and even necessary from time to time, but don t let the political situation get out of hand. Jab with your left hand to keep the attrition going, but hold your right hand back for when Scipio arrives. Session Report As Carthage, Michael was dealt a beautiful hand of strategy cards for the first turn. These included Hannibal Charms Italy, which as one might guess, is the ideal card to play upon entering Italy, as it converts Roman PC markers in each space Hannibal enters. I also was dealt the I have come to Italy card, which also helps win PC markers there. Michael raced Hannibal across the Alps, taking minimal attrition casualties, and arrived with 9 out of 10 combat units, including 2 elephants. Darren, however, was ready. He posted two generals with armies in northern Italy, limiting Michael s gains, which were not helped by the fact that Michael s elephants continually rampaged against his own troops. Darren also played the Numidian Allies Desert card in Western Numidia, erasing Michael s control and setting the stage for an invasion of Africa, which Darren boldly delivered with his very next card. He landed at Hadrumetium. But Hanno (the Carthaginian general who cannot leave Africa) was ready for him. The ensuing battle was close, but Rome got the worst of it, and soon departed. Meanwhile, Hannibal was doing well in Italy. Having secured Gallia Cisalpinia and Samnium, Michael marched south to Lucania, where a strategy card gave him reinforcements. He continued to let the cards drive his play (which is easy when you get the cards you need, when you need them). He picked up the Traitor in Tarentum card and actually managed to use it to steal control of Tarentum. Now he added Apulia INDEPTH 2005 September 9

10 and Lucania to his province list, and the Romans were starting to lose control. Not one to take this sort of thing lying down, Darren went on the offensive. Unable to defeat Hannibal in open battle in Italy, he invaded Spain, the primary source of Carthaginian reinforcements. His siege of Saguntum with Marcellus and a campaign card led to the capitulation of the city and a firm foothold in Spain. Seeing as how, historically, the war began when Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum, Fabius would have been proud. One big difference between Hannibal and We the People is the retreat rules. While the latter game allows an army to retreat to an open space, Hannibal requires that a retreating army fall back a maximum of four spaces to a friendly PC marker. No friendly PC marker or too many intervening enemy PC markers means lots of death, which, as we know, means political hay for the other side. Back to Marcellus in Spain. It would have been best for Darren to Hannibal use Saguntum as a base for future adventurism. Instead, Marcellus was defeated by Hasdrubal s army outside Saguntum. Subsequent invasions of Spain and Africa were not preceded by moves to gain a foothold (PC markers), and when forced to retreat, the Romans were eliminated, instead of just weakened. The same was true in Italy, where the Romans attempted to subjugate the Boli tribe in Gallia Cisalpina. Although they nearly succeeded, they were trapped, unable to retreat through Hannibal s army or over the mountain passes. Rome was on the ropes on Turn 5 when Michael picked up and played the Syracuse Allies with Carthage card. This is probably the worst card in the game for Rome, as it gives Carthage a free walled city, the province that goes with it and a two-point PC swing. Turn 6. Enter Scipio Africanus. Darren brought him and his 5 combat units into Capua. Ironically, Michael had picked up the Capua Sides with Carthage card on the Turn 6 deal. Normally, this is a nearly useless card, as those spineless Capuans won t side with Carthage unless the Carthaginians control most of Italy. Michael DID control most of Italy at that point, which means instant death for any Roman combat units inside the city when he plays that card. Scipio and his 5 units were almost swept into the ash heap of history, until it was realized that he was not inside Capua, as Darren had the right to declare him outside the walls. Scipio, however, was not to be trifled with. After pondering the possibility of sending him to Africa (where he likely would have died) Darren made a brilliant move and sent him to Syracuse to lay siege something that Scipio is particularly good at (two rolls on the siege table, instead of just one.) Syracuse fell quickly back into Roman hands, and there was nothing Michael could do about it. Michael was beginning to think that things were going to unravel, as they often do for Carthage after Turn 6, but surprisingly, they did not. The Romans continued to suffer military setbacks. When Scipio finally did go to Africa, he was outnumbered by the accumulated Carthaginian reinforcements and eliminated. The Romans sued for peace on Turn 7, and a long suffering Hannibal player finally found his victory. Hannibal is easily my favorite card-driven game, and perhaps my favorite war game. The asymmetry, the turns of fortune, and the historic nature of the game make for a good conflict simulation and great fun, without an undue amount of calculation or brain burning. I highly recommend this game; it s one of the best. Michael Albergo 10 INDEPTH 2005 September

11 LOTR: The Confrontation A ndrew and Bill played a quick game of LotR: the Confrontation, a game in which the light and dark forces battle with asymmetrical forces in a fairly abstract battle for Middle Earth. Bill played the Fellowship and Andrew took the dark side. The opening turn of the game saw Andrew s Orc figure advance into the mountains and kill Pippin. Bill was then able to remove the dangerous Orcs by attacking them with Gimli, who was fortunately on an adjacent space, on the next turn. Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation Players Score Rating Andrew 2 4 Bill 3 4 Overall Rating: 4.0 Our time: 25m Rules explanation time: 10m Subsequent turns saw each player repositioning his forces in his own territories without many direct attacks against the enemy. Bill decided that he had to attempt to cross the mountains, however, so he attacked Andrew s character in Moria, expecting to find the Balrog. He actually wound up finding Shelob who defeated his character and returned to Gondor. Both sides traded characters with Bill using Gandalf to kill several of the more powerful enemies, including the Cave Troll. Unfortunately Gandalf s forays into Mordor left him advanced all the way to Gondor and of little use to Frodo who needed to be escorted through some tough remaining characters including the Witch King. At this point, Andrew used a Nazgul or Black Rider and successfully located Frodo and Sam, although Sam did manage to kill the Ringwraith and avoided Frodo having to retreat on that turn. Bill then made a near-fatal miscalculation. Assuming that the character furthest back in the center of the board was the powerful Witch King, Bill advanced Merry (who automatically kills the Witch King) onto a mountain space with Legolas in the center of the board. Unfortunately, this would have allowed Andrew to bring forward another of his characters into the space next to Frodo and prevent his retreat from a possible attack on the next turn. Fortunately for Bill, Andrew had forgotten which space Frodo had been located in and assumed that the piece that Bill had just advanced (Merry) was Frodo. Andrew then attacked and destroyed Legolas and Merry in the mountains, which ultimately allowed Bill to move Frodo forward into the mountains parallel to Andrew s rear guard forces (who could not attack him sideways) and slip away to a lucky victory. Bill Herbst HUNGRY FOR LIBO NEWS? Visit for the latest information, reports, ratings and standings from the Long Island Boardgaming Organization s sessions. INTERESTED IN JOINING? Chris (lemur@libogroup.com) to get the ball rolling! INDEPTH 2005 September 11

12 Wizard Kings W izard Kings, one of the more recent offerings in war-gaming, offers up an in-depth strategy game, while keeping the tone and rule set light and easily understandable. Published by Columbia Games in 2000, Wizard Kings is a strategy war-game set in an exciting fantasy environment. Each player assumes the role of one of the Wizard Kings, locked in a struggle to control the world. Each player chooses an a race to rule over, and then drafts his starting army from the types of creatures available to that race, each of with comes with its own specific beings, powers, advantages, and disadvantages. The core game lets players choose between commanding Orcs or Elves but other expansion armies, such as Undead, Dwarves, Amazons, Barbarians, Warboars, Werebeasts, and Mercenaries are currently available. As a commander of one of these great races, players build fortifications, ready spells and march across the map in a bid to conquer their opponent s territories and achieve victory. At the start of a game, each player chooses a mini-map from either the 4 maps available in the core game, or one of the 8 extra maps that are available as part of an expansion. Each player should do their best to choose a map that will work with the army they are playing, while at the same time minimizing the effectiveness of his opponent s forces. In a very interesting play choice, the game board is created after each player picks a map, putting them together to create a unique playing area. Even better, each map piece is designed so that, no matter which way it is turned, the map fits together with each other map available, making a concurrent game world each play. After a game board is created, players then draft their starting armies. All players agree on a predetermined point cap for their drafted army, then players draft the best army they can muster with the points allowed. Each unit in the game, made from wooden square blocks with a picture and unit info on one side, has a cost associated with it. This cost is based on a combination of the unit s movement speed, movement type, combat speed, combat strength, and whatever special abilities it may have. In another unique twist, each unit can be upgraded in strength levels, for an additional cost. The information for each level of a unit can be seen by rotating the unit clockwise. As a unit is wounded in battle, the unit block is rotated counter-clockwise to reveal his weakened stats. Overall, this is a great idea to get a lot of information on one very small wooden block, but Wizard Kings Players Score Rating Andrew 4 3 Brian 16 3 Overall Rating: 3.0 Our time: 2h-30m Rules explanation time: 45m admittedly, the constant turning of blocks can get a tad confusing at times, especially when there are multiple units placed within 1 map hex. Once troop drafting has been completed, players then place their armies as they wish, on each of the cities located on their section of the map. Cities are numbers 1-3, which represent how much gold each one will generated for its owner each round, so the higher numbered cities are the more valuable. Game play in Wizard Kings is pretty standard fare. A round consists of both players rolling for initiative, then a movement phase, where each player in turn gets to move any pieces they choose. Movement is followed by combat. In this phase, any map hex that contains units with warring armies is resolved, until either 1 side is killed, or retreats. The final phase of the game is the build phase, where players count up all the gold they have accrued from cities this turn, and use that money to either upgrade 12 INDEPTH 2005 September

13 Wizard Kings existing units, or purchase new ones. Game play continues in this manner until one player can claim to own cities valued at least 15 gold pieces by the end of the turn. At that point, that player is declared to be the winner. Without Question, Wizard Kings is an enjoyable ride. Game play is light, and straight forward, and the subject matter is fun. The fact that all a players units blocks are placed with the information facing it s owner, hiding what that unit is from the enemy, a la fog of war, is another nice touch. Where Wizard Kings is found lacking is the fact that the first player to lose a city becomes SEVERELY disadvantaged, so much so, that if the first player who loses a city, is not able to RETAKE that city within a turn or two, he/she will be destined to lose the game. Since cities are the only way to generate gold, an early loss of a 2-point city represents a 4-point gold point difference between 2 players. This difference will allow one player to get more reinforcements than the other, ensuring that the first player can more easily take a second city, then a third, et cetera. There just doesn t seem to be any wiggle room in this game for losing a city, and there should be. At WargameDaym Andrew and Brian waged war in the Wizard Kings universe. Andrew chose to play the Amazons, while Brian selected the Mortod (Undead). Andrew chose 1 Charmer (level 4), 2 Charmers (level 3), 3 Bowlyns (level 2), 1 Harpy (level 2), 3 Chariots (levels 1,2 and 2), 3 Guardians (level 1,2 and 3), 2 Castles (level 2), 1 Undine (level 1), and 2 Amazons (level 1). Brian s opening army consisted of 2 Necromancers (level 4), 1 Vampire (level 1), 2 Deathblows (level 3), 2 Varghons (level 2), 4 Zombies (level 3), and 2 Castles (Level 4). Andrew chose Map 5 (Barrenlands), which consisted of mostly desert and mountain regions (to work with the Amazons desert and mountain abilities), and 1 large lake. Brian chose Map 12 (Azure Shore), which was a large land mass filled with marshlands and forests. Brian started the game with a brutal, frontal assault, attacking 3 of Andrew s cities on the first turn. After the dust settled, Brian took one city valued at 2 gold pieces with a massive force that consisted of 2 wizards and ground and flying forces. INDEPTH 2005 September 13

14 Wizard Kings On turn 2, Andrew tried an offense on Brian s Eastern-most city, but was repelled, losing a Bowyln and Chariot in the process. During turn 3, the two realized they had mad a critical error in the game on turn 1. On Brian s assault, he had moved his wizards to capture Andrew s city, but he had moved them further than their legal movement allowance. The early loss of Andrew s city had been a huge blow, so the players tried to compensate for it by removing some of Brian s units from play that he had bought with his extra money that he received from the city. Brian also let Andrew s flyers for the turn move than they should legally be allowed to. While these Band-Aids helped a bit, these fixes weren t really enough to swing the board back to an even playing ground. The players agreed to continue the game paying better attention to unit s movement limits. The extra reinforcements Brian was getting over Andrew started to pay off, as he was able to eject Andrew from another city. At this point the ratio of gold pieces awarded to players each turn was Brian s 13 to Andrew s 7. Andrew, sensing that he would lose the game without making an huge assault quickly, assembled a huge force led by 2 of his wizards and finally captured Brian s Eastern-most city, forcing Brian to retreat a bit to protect his other home cities. Andrew then moved his huge army through Brian s territory, winning another huge battle, but it cost both sides greatly, and with each turn garnering Brian more reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before Andrew s attacking force was crushed. From there, the game simply consisted of Andrew doing everything he could to retain his remaining cities. He moved his wizards back and forth, defending where he could, but the slow wave of Brian s recruits proved too much for Andrew s forces. In no time, Brian took 2 more of Andrew s cities, giving him a total of 15 hold pieces. While it is true that Wizard Kings needs some balancing issues to make the game a better competition between 2 players, one cannot say that the game isn t fun, innovative, and worth a look for any lover of a light yet engaging war game. Andrew DiGregorio 14 INDEPTH 2005 September

15 Mission Command: Sea his game arrives in the T guise of a watered-down game of conflict suitable for father-son family time or a light introduction to the concept of wargaming for those without a competitive bone in their bodies. It plays with a deftness and fluidity that sets it solidly in the camp of beginning grognardry, but this does not strip the enjoyment from a game of Mission Command. For one, the game components are lovely, and the rules allow for some latitude of strategy while appealing to the newcomer. Chris and Darren sat down for a naval contest, with Darren having chosen the Sea Game over the Land and Air versions based largely on Michael s recommendation. Darren rolled low and set up in a highly-closed configuration, constructing a narrow-four hex passage of egress to his carrier, initially guarded by both destroyers. Chris opted for a more flexible, open setup, with three small exits. An initial overview of the pre-game aroused a significant feeling of reservation in Darren, as it looked as if flexibility would allow for more potential and chances to address the battle s needs. The first move reinforced the folly of Darren s dense setup, as the structure of the game pieces precludes the possibility of planes and ships occupying the same hex (unlike other wargames, in which air and sea power can operate in the same space, simulating the manifold levels of open-sea warfare). A cluster of ships and planes gathered at the mouth of the bay like a poorly-prepared clot of metal. Darren advanced aggressively with his first fighter, and Chris fired a 6 to draw first blood. Chris began his third move engaging Darren in the sky, with Darren taking out one of Chris 3 fighters and losing one in the process advantage to Chris thus far, as his dogfighting put him up 2 to 1 with jets. Darren came back with a Harpoon destruction of one of Chris destroyers in the fourth round. Chris re-rolled a tie in hopes of killing Darren while surviving, but rolled a 2 to fail. The fifth round began with three Harpoons falling short on 1/2/2 rolls (Chris needed 3/4/4 to reach Darren s destroyers), and the specter of Poor Dice Mission Command: Sea Players Score Rating Chris 6 3 Darren 5 4 Overall Rating: 3.5 Our time: 1h-22m Rules explanation time: 18m Rolling seemed firmly attached to Chris back. Chris was able to fire one Harpoon past Darren s defenses, sending Darren s first destroyer to Poseidon s realm. Chris returned all four planes to his carrier for a second go at sinking Darren s second destroyer. On the other side of the board, one of Darren s planes advanced unmolested deep into Chris territory, causing much anxiety as it approached within 4 hexes of the as-yet-unscathed carrier, but it was armed only with a Sidewinder. Chris early dice unluck briefly reversed itself as Darren lost his second destroyer to a 6 roll (the exact roll needed). This left him without any defense against Harpoons, but the narrow inlet was difficult to approach without running into interference. The open design of Chris sea area allowed for more avenues of entry, and Darren hit his carrier once with a Harpoon as Chris planes reloaded for the next attack, then rolled a 6 for a fighter move, followed by a 6 Harpoon launch, moving Chris doom within two spaces. A final roll of 5 propelled the death-laden projectile into the hull of Chris home ship, sealing the victory for Darren. Darren Velez INDEPTH 2005 September 15

16 W ar Of the Ring represents the epic battle between forces of good and evil in Middle Earth. One player represents the side of good, the Free Peoples and the other player represents the Shadow Armies. The Free Peoples seek to get the Fellowship of Ring to mount Doom to destroy the one Ring while holding off the Shadow Armies relentless assaults. If the Shadow Armies are able to control a certain number (10 pts.) of the Free Peoples Strongholds the Shadow Armies are victorious. The Free People win if they can successfully destroy the Ring. Alternatively, they can achieve a military victory if they can conquer a certain number (4 pts.) of Shadow Armies strongholds. The military victory is difficult for the free peoples though, as they are reluctant to fight against Sauron, and have to be mustered into action through the Free Peoples attempts at political pressure or if they are attacked. While the Free Peoples are trying to move the Fellowship the Shadow Army is also searching for the Ring and attempting to corrupt the ring bearer who is at risk every time he moves. If the ring bearer receives too much corruption Sauron can also win. The game was played by John who controlled the Free Peoples and Bill played the Shadow armies comprised of Sauron, Isengard and the Southrons and Easerlings. John started by moving the Fellowship, Bill only used one die for the search but was able to spot the Fellowship and inflict 2 corruption. John activated Legolas in Rivendell. Bil activated Sauron s army. John activated the elves and moved them further towards war and played Grinborn the Old and War of the Ring activated the North Units. On the second turn John was able move the Fellowship successfully. Bill was able to successfully muster and moved the Isengard nation into war. John moved the Northern Army to Rhosgobal. However, they were far back on the political track and the move would prove to be useless as they couldn t be used to attack or defend. Bill began moving his armies, and was able to successfully muster troops to move into Rohan. John brought the elves to war. Bill attacked John in Lorien with an army led by a Nazghul and which contained two elites. John immediately moved his troops into the Stronghold to defend against Bills attacks. While the attack had commenced, John separated Gimli from the Fellowship in Carrock to attempt to rally the dwarves in Erebor. John continued moving the Fellowship. Bill was able to muster more troops in Dol Guldor and lay siege to Lorien. The battle initially went well for John, as Bill lost a few of his units and John lost none. However, Bill was able to move more of his troops to Lorien. The siege continued. Meanwhile John tried moving the Fellowship again and again was spotted. He got caught with 3 more corruption and rather than take the corruption he sacrificed Gandalf. John made a mistake here as he didn t realize that to bring Gandalf back into the game as Gandalf the White required that Saruman be activated by Bill, and Bill hadn t yet activated him and was in no rush to do so. John was able to remove the corruption he had just accrued and was able to move Gimli to Erebor and activate the dwarves moving them closer to war. On turn 5 Bill was victorious and took Lorien. John was able to muster the dwarves and bring them to a state of war. John was able to recruit dwarves in Edoras while Bill moved Sauron armies into Dol Guldor and moved the Southrons into war. John tried moving the Fellowship and was again discovered and had to halt the Fellowship. Bill then sent his armies into the Fords of Isen killing all of John s troops there. Boromir separated from the Fellowship and made haste towards Rohan. John faced a problem in that Rohan and Minas Tirith were not close to war and Bill was mustering all his troops to attack there. 16 INDEPTH 2005 September

17 The elves were ready for war, but were far from either location. Bill then brought Saruman into play. John was able to get Boromir into Edoras just as Bill attacked it with a large army led by Nazghul. John was able to play the Eagles are Coming card to drive off one Nazghul but Boromir and the army were forced to retreat. Bill then invaded Pellagir and successfully took over. John was able to bring Gandalf back into the game and Bill attacked Gondor. The fellowship was able to hide itself again, after not being able to move.bill continued his sieges, driving John s armies into strongholds in Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth. John recognizing that the Fellowship were nowhere near mount Doom and that Bill, if he were successful in toppling Minas Tirith as well as Dol Amroth would win militarily counterattacked Bill who controlled Dol Guldor. Bill began his siege on Minas Tirith and successfully defeated it. John meanwhile had moved his Elvish armies, led by Legolas, up through Lorien and attempted to retake it. Battles raged as the two sides fought over the various strongholds. Bill, after defeating Minas Tirith then amassed his armies as well as mustering War of the Ring War of the Ring Players Score Rating Bill 12 5 John 4 4 Overall Rating: 4.5 Our time: 4h-10m Rules explanation time: 1h-45m Nazgul to take Dol Amroth. John was able to play the card Ents Awake to kill Saruman and deprive Bill of an extra die, but things looked dire for the Free Peoples. Legolas and the elves were able to seize and retake Rivendell after much battling, though it depleted him of all units save for one as well as Legolas and a leader. John also continued his attacks on Dol Guldor. Bill was forced to retreat into the stronghold and the attacks drove him down to a single unit. The attack hurt John as well and he too was knocked down to a single unit, so was unable to continue the attack that turn. Bill had an events card up his sleeve and was able to bring 3 units into Dol Guldor. The game nearing its end, John was able to muster the Northern Tribes into war, though they would prove useless. Bill was able to complete a successful attack on Dol Amroth bringing him close to victory. John s only option at that point was to try to halt Bill s military victory and waged an attack against Lorien which Bill currently controlled, with a small army led by Boromir. The Free People s were successful in the attack and took back the Elven city, but Boromir and a single unit were all that were left to defend against Bill s attack. Before the attack, John was able to move Gandalf and some units into the Stronghold to defend with Boromir. On the next turn Bill attacked Lorien with a large army led by 3 Nazgul. Bill was successful in defeating John s army and killed Boromir and Gandalf in the attack. John had one last chance and was able to move the Dwarven army Gimli had mustered, which joined with all the remaining Fellowship: Aragorn, Pippin and Merry into Dol Guldor. Bill moved all his Nazgul and a final battle was fought. Bill was successful, achieving military victory as well as killing off the Fellowship. Bill was successful early on searching for the Fellowship and drove John up in corruption points. John was unable to move the Fellowship quick enough and spent a few turns trying to get the fellowship to a city to heal as opposed to continuing on. Bill was also successful with his military onslaught and towards the game end John had to spend all his dice trying to counter Bill s attacks and wasn t able to advance the Fellowship any further. John Reiners INDEPTH 2005 September 17

18 We the People W e the People will be long remembered as a classic of modern wargaming design for its innovative use of the card-driven system that has spawned an entire genre of very popular subsequent games. It is one of those rare classics, however, that has the good fortune of being an excellent game in its own right and is still a very enjoyable middleweight strategic simulation of the struggle for American independence that can be played in two hours. Each player controls either the British forces seeking to crush the American rebellion or the American troops who are attempting to sever their governmental ties to England. As would be expected therefore, each side must fulfill its own specific victory conditions in order to represent the different historical goals of the two opponents. The British forces can win an immediate victory if they manage to capture George Washington and the Americans can win automatically by ridding the 13 colonies completely of British troops. As both of these victory conditions are difficult to achieve against prudent play by one s adversary, victory is more often decided upon the war s end (1783 at the latest but it can be as early as 1779 depending on the timing of the fall of Lord North s government in England). At the conclusion of the war, the Americans need to have political control over 9 of the 13 colonies (control of Canada may also be counted toward this total) while the British must control 6 of the colonies to ensure victory at game s end (Canada may not be counted toward this total). If neither side achieves its victory conditions the game is a stalemate and the war is assumed to have been resolved by a diplomatic compromise. Both sides begin the game with very few military units on the board in The game begins with a reinforcements phase in which the British place a specific number of troops which varies by year into their reinforcement box for activation. On later turns both side will place any generals captured in battle into their reinforcements boxes as well during this phase. The second phase represents the true heart of the game as it is then that each side draws and plays seven strategy cards todetermine the actions of its forces during the year. The action cards fall into two categories: operations cards and event cards. Operations cards are used to move generals with their armies, place political control markers and bring in reinforcements. Each operations card has a rating of 1,2 or 3. The rating of the card determines the particular general that can be moved with a given card as some generals are more difficult to motivate into action than others. It also determines how many political markers may be placed and (for the Americans) how many troops may be brought onto the board as reinforcements. The event cards represent a specific historical moment that had great influence on the conduct of the war. Generally an event card will be played by the side it helps and discarded if it appears in the hand of the enemy. There are some historical events of such importance, however, that these cards may not be discarded but must be played regardless of whether it helps or hurts the player who receives it. The play of the seven cards alternates between the opponents throughout the turn and forces each player to make difficult choices regarding his options. As this is (at least on the surface) a wargame, card play will result in battle when the operations cards are played to activate generals in order to lead armies into spaces occupied by the enemy forces. 18 INDEPTH 2005 September

19 We the People has an innovative system to resolve combat as well. Instead of determining the results of combat by measuring the relative power of the forces and consulting a Combat Result Table after a die roll, each player receives a hand of Battle Cards whose number is determined by the relative strength of the forces involved. This number is generated by adding the number of troops involved in the battle with the general s battle rating, and then adding in a modifier to represent the presence of militia in favor of the player who has political control of the province. The attacker then chooses a specific battle formation from his hand and plays that card against his opponent. If the opponent has a matching formation, he counters with it and the battle continues. If the defender parries the attacker s play successfully, he may attempt to roll under his general s battle rating in order to counterattack and continue the battle as the new attacker. If, at any point, the defender cannot match the formation, the attacker has won the battle and the defender will suffer casualties as determined by a die roll. At the end of the card-play phase after all battles, movements, and events have been resolved, there is a brief winter attrition phase in which forces outside major cities in the Northern colonies are lost from exposure to the elements during the winter months. All of the military action is of secondary importance ultimately to the battle for the hearts and minds of the people as simulated by the struggle for political control. Political control markers are placed under military units that are located in a region at the end of the year We the People We the People Players Score Rating Michael 10 5 Bill 4 5 Overall Rating: 5.0 Our time: 3h-10m Rules explanation time: 15m and then the political control markers of a power that are isolated are removed from the board during the political control phase of the game. As the game progresses, this shift of political markers in the colonies becomes the key struggle of the game to which all military actions are subordinated. Although We the People is a game that offers players of varying abilities the opportunity to compete because of the randomness of the card draws, it is both strategically and tactically deep and rewards skillful play. The card driven system gives the wargame the tension present in the best Euro games by offering many tempting choices of actions per turn while strictly limiting one s abilities to take advantage of them. The strategy cards also provide an interesting fog of war element; despite the fact that both players have an omniscient view of the locations of armies on the board, neither player really knows what forces the other has the means to activate at any given time. The battle card system is also unique and adds a level of drama to the battles that seems missing in the combat resolution of typical wargames which generally employ the cross referencing of charts rather than the gut-wrenching decisions and guesses about what cards your opponent has hidden that We the People offers. The components of the game are very functional with a brightly colored mounted map of the Eastern United States with the various colonies clearly distinguishable and simple illustrated counters to represent troops and leaders. At WargameDay, Michael commanded the Americans and Bill lead the British. Michael began aggressively in 1775 by using a campaign card to lead Benedict Arnold and Washington northward into Canada for a series of attacks which resulted in the Americans gaining control of the unofficial 14th province (which they held throughout the game). Bill concentrated his efforts on the South and used his reinforcements (3 units under Burgoyne perhaps the worst general in the game) to conquer Charleston and eliminate the American presence South of Delaware. Michael also placed political counters shrewdly throughout the turn to achieve political control over the Mid-Atlantic states and form a defensive barrier against political infiltration by the British, while Bill had placed a few counters in the South to support his attack on Charleston. The Colony count at year s end was Americans 8 - British 2. The year 1776 offers the British copious reinforcements for the first time in the game. Bill used them under Cornwallis to defeat Greene s army in Newport, which had been INDEPTH 2005 September 19

20 We the People surrounded by the British, and seize control of Rhode Island. Michael placed enough political control counters to take control of New York, where Washington spent the winter safe from attrition. Colony count Americans 6 - British saw the high point of British power as Bill received his strongest hand of strategy cards and he was able to use several 3 ops cards to maneuver his stubborn generals around New England. Bill surrounded Benedict Arnold, who was in Lexington, Mass. and destroyed his army of 5 units by denying him the opportunity to retreat. Bill used Burgoyne to seize control of Georgia in the South. Colony count Americans 7 - British 5. Although 1778 should be an excellent year for the British as they are able to receive 8 reinforcement units, Bill was unable to use these reinforcements effectively as he had a hand of strategy cards that were not able to activate his generals frequently enough to allow him to contain Michael s forces and turn the tide. In fact, Bill chose to place the reinforcements (which arrived leaderless as Bill had not lost a general in battle yet) in Newport as it was the only region in which he had a competent leader. Michael used his reinforcements to bring Lafayette into the game with a small force that was able to take control of North Carolina from the British and keep Burgoyne on his toes in the South. Late in the year Bill had placed some political markers and maneuvered his generals into positions in the hopes of wresting New York from American control but Benedict Arnold returned from captivity with reinforcements to beat back the British advance. Bill had two strategy cards this year that would bring the war to an early end; he chose to play the earliest possible end to the war last as it seemed the Americans would benefit from a longer war given the current situation and the trend of decreasing British reinforcements on subsequent turns. Colony count Americans 8- British 4. The year 1779 was to be the deciding year of the war unless one of the players received the remaining Lord North s Goverment Falls card. Both players kept a close watch on the political loyalty of the various colonies. Michael played the Declaration of Independence card in this year, which gave him a number of political markers in contested colonies. He also used Lafayette in the South and managed to shift South Carolina to American control without ever directly engaging Burgoyne militarily. Bill was forced to try for the tie as the win was out of reach. He had again drawn poorly and did not have an opportunity to move his most powerful generals as he did not have a single 3 ops card for the second turn in a row. He maneuvered Cornwallis around New England in an attempt to secure his control over Massachusetts and gain control over New Hampshire by some late year drop offs of troops along his line of march. Unfortunately many of his moves were negated by the actions of Benedict Arnold who stood poised to take over Massachusetts with the play of the final card of the game. Bill, therefore, chose to attack Arnold with Cornwallis and again won the battle at the cost of a valuable 2 ops card. Bill s final card was the French reinforcements for the Americans. Of course, holding this card meant he was unable to counterattack any of the final American maneuvers in the critical last turn of the game. The final colony count was Americans 10 and British 4. Although the game is long outof-print and demands a relatively high asking price, We the People is one of the classics that belongs in the collection of every strategic gamer with an interest in history. Bill Herbst 20 INDEPTH 2005 September

21 Lightning: D-Day his fast-moving ( lightning-quick ) card game, T from Decision Games, offers some slight tactical decisions; but mostly, the gameplay is straightforward. There s rarely a time when, given the opportunity, a player WON T launch an attack against his opponent. On occasion, depending upon hand size, there may be a situation that doesn t call for an attack, but, by and large, this game is engineered to be fast and bloody with each side blasting away at each other. In fact, the non-structured setup (you can play cards on your turn, any time during your turn) really lends to the frenzied feeling. The game is definitively skewed towards the Axis, initially; and then towards the Allies. Darren began as the Axis, and was fortunate enough to draw TWO force cards that didn t require an action to attack. On the first turn, Darren eliminated two unrevealed force cards from Chris hand. On his first turn, Chris was only able to activate forces, but none had the ability to attack, so on Darren s second turn, he obliterated all the face-up Allied forces. Fortunately, Chris was able to start stockpiling Stragglers cards which merely count as 1-pt force cards. Additionally, he was very cognizant that the victory conditions do not measure losses or kills; but rather, quite simply, how many beaches the Allies hold at the END of the game. Darren continued to tear through the Allies like a buzzsaw, and by Turn 5, managed to completely vacate four of the five beaches, which would ve been a fairly dominating Axis victory. However, Chris went last, and was able to fill in three of the four empty beaches with Stragglers Lightning D-Day Players Score Rating Chris 4 4 Darren 1 4 Overall Rating: 4.0 Our time: 30m Rules explanation time: 10m cards, denying the Axis its victory, and claiming a convincing victory for the Allies. The game itself is a great filler; but, it lends itself too much to a situation where the players aren t playing the game, but rather playing THE game (i.e., it makes very little sense for the Allies to put up any real fight, because all they need to do is hold the beaches at the end of the battle). I d rather see a scoring mechanism similar to Age of Steam or Firepower where TWO components make up the victory point total maybe 3 pts. for each beach held, plus one for each kill this way, the Allies would actually HAVE to defend its forces, even if it knew it could just dump Stragglers on the beaches in the last turn. Chris Palermo Visit for the latest LIBO news. INDEPTH 2005 September 21

22 Tears of the Dragon valanche Press is probably best known for its A Panzer Grenadier system squad based combat that rivals Advanced Squad Leader. However, the company has put out its share of more family-oriented games (sadly, not with much fortune). Airlines (and Airlines II) has been described as a card game where you never hold any cards. And, Tears of the Dragon may be a bit of a misnomer, as the game may be better described as reducing its participants to tears. Gameplay is fairly standard, even dumbed-down some, from average wargames. There is no terrain, movement is easily handled, and the theme is at least, reasonably interesting. The problem is for a wargame, there is NO motivation to attack; and the penalties for attacking are substantial! Consequently, the game is more boring than anything else. The game features two warring sides the Forestri, a more warfaring side, and the Gorganunn, a side more experienced in magic. On each turn, the sides roll for initiative, with the high roll gaining it for that turn (in subsequent turns, the side that did not receive initiative gets a +1 die roll modifier). The side winning initiative then decides whether to activate the standard 1 leader (and units) or one unit, as well as one wizard or to roll on the activation chart, which does feature a 50% chance to activate MORE; a 20% chance to activate the same; a 10% chance to activate less, and a 20% chance to have your opponent interrupt the move with his own activation (and subsequent action). These two mechanics initiative and activation are the lone bright spots in the game. It s all downhill from here. Activated units may move. The goal of the game is to explore the eight ruins, take minimal damage entering the ruins, and secure the wisdom contained within. Additionally, if a leader is ever captured through a battle, the capturing side can steal wisdom from that leader for a location the capturing side has not visited. Once a side has wisdom from eight ruins, they can sail to the victory island and begin a colossal dicefest (more on that later). The rules to the game are incredibly vague, and many questions go unanswered. For example, leaders provide defensive bonuses but when? how? According to the rules, combat is solely determined by the attacking side s ability to hit. So, we changed the rules, and created our own combat rules a roll off of dice plus each character s intrinsic Tears of the Dragon Players Score Rating Andrew 9 2 Chris 5 2 Overall Rating: 2.0 Our time: 3h-25m Rules explanation time: 35m strength plus any modifiers from the leader. This at least made the battles seem more realistic. There are two monumental problems with the game the first is that, in battles, the defender ALWAYS gets the first attack, and the results are applied BEFORE the attacker s first attack (subsequent turns are simultaneous, but, frankly, big deal the damage is done on the first attack). This makes attacking a desperate move. The second problem is that each side can only activate one wizard per turn. This restriction hamstrings the Gorganunn player, since his strength is in the magical use. On the other hand, if the Forestri player gets good activation numbers, his military strength is substantial enough to just roll over the Gorganunn player. This point was driven home rather forcefully in the game between Andrew and Chris. Both started out collecting wisdom from the ruins near their castles. The first major hit in the game occurred when Chris sent his wiz- 22 INDEPTH 2005 September

23 Tears of the Dragon ard into the ruins to search for a new spell, and was killed. This was the first in several steps that turned the tide. A huge battle in the middle of the field resulted in both sides being eliminated. In fact, this was the shining moment for the Gorganunn army sure, they were all eliminated themselves; but at least they took down the Forestri army. That would not be repeated, however. More and more, the Forestri s military superiority was on display, repeatedly rolling over the magic-heavy Gorgannuns In a desperate move, with Andrew securing more wisdom, and coming close to having enough to sail for victory, Chris sent one wizard to recruit Terromax the dragon (recruiting Terromax is hard enough, keeping him recruited is also difficult). On the first recruit attempt, Terromax refused; on the second, he was secured. He immediately leapt into battle, and was promptly killed on the first volley of fire, without ever having placed an attack. Now, with no other options, Chris began all-out attacks on Andrew s armies, but the military superiority was far too much. In the meantime, Andrew was able to set sail for the island. The end game, truly, makes the rest of Tears of the Dragon look like a Nobel Prize-winning design. There are so many confusing aspects, it would be impossible to list all here. First and foremost, however, is the ship combat. The rules say, after four hits, the ship sinks. However, the ship does not have an intrinsic defense value, which begs the question is the combat unit vs. unit? And if so, do the units reduce when hit? Or, do they stay full-strength, assuming the SHIP is actually taking the damage? Finally, Andrew made if to the island. He hustled his leader and wizard up the tower, and rolled to win, you need to roll a 1-3 on a 10-sided die; but, your odds are increased by 2 for each wizard and by 1 for each leader up to a maximum of 7. In this case, Andrew s chance was 1-6; and he rolled an 8. At that point, his ship/men, etc. are transported to ANY port of the opponent s choice to restart the journey. Chris continued sacrificing units in an attempt to get to the sailing ship, and Andrew repeated the above process not once, not twice but three times, each time failing his final die roll and being transported back to a port. Ultimately, with all of Chris leaders and wizards captured or dead, Chris conceded the game. The end game simply makes the game unplayable. Up until that point, there are at least SOME redeeming characteristics (mainly theme) that make the game occasionally entertaining. However, the endgame dice rolling fest simply defies logic, and turns a not-really-strategic game, into a not-even-remotelystrategic game. It has the same effect on the game s enjoyment, overall. Chris Palermo INDEPTH 2005 September 23

24 Firepower B ridging the gap between Tactics and other entrylevel tactical wargames and the complexity that is Advanced Squad Leader, Firepower presents a flexible framework around which to conduct small-unit conflicts on the man-to-man level. The game, unfortunately, does not take full advantage of its position as a potential transitional step between basic rules and its more substantive brethren, presenting solely Basic and Advanced rules, with no accommodation for a programmed introduction to progressively more-advanced concepts and allowing for the selective addition of optional rules. For example, Chris and Darren sat down for a standard 6- on-6 Basic Game showdown in the Firepower world, each having read only the standard rules, but hungry for SOME additional complexity. Darren suggested an incorporation of rules for wounding rather than the if you re hit, you re dead paintball mentality of the basic set, but no such rules were to be found, and certainly not available in a piecemeal, add as you wish fashion. The rules read in a straightforward fashion, only presenting representations of rifles, light machineguns and grenades, and avoiding the complication of factors such as movement and elevation/line-of-sight. Of course, for those used to paying attention to these factors in squad-level miniatures conflicts and elsewhere, the LACK of these rules (for example, the prohibition of firing from a hill to ANY other elevation, even a lower one!) presents a degree of complication that one might not normally expect. In the interests of simplicity, Firepower makes some odd rules decisions the inability for those on higher ground to rain fire down on their less-well-positioned counterparts is merely the most glaring of these. In addition, a lack of adequate movement factors makes even the most basic positioning a study in tedium - or so Darren and Chris thought. But, alas, more about that shortly. For the Darren-Chris game, the Basic Game board setup was employed, with a system of roads, a goodly number of hills, trees, rough and scrub, but few hedges to provide firing cover. Darren chose the side with the lone, sparse hedge and the crossing of the moderate road system. He split his units into two disparate groups, hoping to gain the advantage by moving more units more frequently. Chris chose to set up in three groups, advancing at a run to attempt to rush the midway point, and looking to use height to his advantage. Firepower Players Score Rating Chris 2 2 Darren 11 2 Overall Rating: 2.0 Our time: 57m Rules explanation time: 45m Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, this advantage is seen only on the defense, as it imparts no benefit to the attacking unit (in fact, any fire whatsoever is prohibited across hill hexsides). Chris early tactical advantage, one grounded in sound combat philosophies, went for naught under the restrictions of the Basic Game. The futility of moving and aligning oneself for an elusive good shot became evident as both players struggled to wheel and maneuver. Something seemed wrong as Chris commented, the game supposedly reflects the maneuvering of soldiers over the span of seconds in a fast-paced warzone, but even so, six rounds of dreadnought-speed crawling across a huge board seemed too few for any definitive action to be resolved. Even so, Chris advance across the board was fairly rapid, resulting in the elimination of one of Darren s riflemen, but the defense of Darren s light machinegunner and rifleman 24 INDEPTH 2005 September

25 Firepower (prior to his death) blunted the assault, as the machinegun mowed down each of Chris attackers. The players attentions turned from the suddenly-barren side of the board to a careful advance through the hill-lands on Chris side. Sloppy positioning let each player down as each recognized deficiencies in both the game and his location. It was simply too difficult to move properly even allowing for the short timeframe of each Impulse, it seemed like the soldiers were moving like automatons (step forward, pivot slowly to one side, sorry, you don t have enough Movement Points to do anything else, even to fire) rather than agile modern commandoes. Darren finally advanced past the midway point of the board, protected by the hills absolute cover, while Chris light machinegun and last remaining rifleman made a final stand. The threesome of Darren s officer (pistol) and two rifles descended from their hill, dispatching Chris machinegun and essentially closing his chances at victory. Chris rifle killed his counterpart on Darren s tan team, but Darren s remaining RFL unit snapped off a coup de grace for an 11-2 victory. It was only after some reflection on the molasses-like movement of the Firepower rules that realization finally descended upon the two players. A quick morning communicated what had been forgotten throughout the contest each Impulse allowed for TWO separate actions, not simply one. Thus, Chris and Darren had each moved half as much as he was allowed, making for a handcuffed firefight. This truly explained the difficulties both felt in being limited in movement. Bearing in mind this glaring error, the game certainly bears a second look, as the structure of the rules seems solid and capable of providing an enjoyable foundation for quick and bloody modern skirmishes. Darren Velez Next Month in INDEPTH: 2-Player Short Games (Kosmos line) Here are the top players in six wargames played by LIBO. We the People Battle Cry Hannibal Avalon Hill Avalon Hill / Hasbro Avalon Hill Mike Albergo 0.21 Mike Albergo 0.25 John Reiners 0.17 Chris Palermo 0.19 Bill Herbst 0.10 Mike Albergo 0.11 CK 0.19 Andrew DiGregorio 0.05 Darren Velez Brian Stone Brian Stone A.M. Palermo John Reiners John Reiners Andrew DiGregorio Bill Herbst Jeremy Waite Bill Herbst A.M. Palermo A.M. Palermo Brian Stone Andrew DiGregorio Chris Matusiak Chris Matusiak Chris Matusiak Chris Palermo Chris Palermo Darren Velez CK CK Deb Dozier Darren Velez Deb Dozier Jeremy Waite Deb Dozier Jeremy Waite Joe Dozier Joe Dozier Joe Dozier Hammer of the Scots War of the Ring Iliad Columbia Games Fantasy Flight Games GDW (Game Designers Workshop) Darren Velez 0.43 CK 0.63 Chris Matusiak 0.41 Mike Albergo 0.43 Brian Stone 0.33 Chris Palermo 0.11 Bill Herbst Bill Herbst 0.25 Brian Stone A.M. Palermo John Reiners A.M. Palermo Andrew DiGregorio Darren Velez Andrew DiGregorio Brian Stone Mike Albergo Bill Herbst Chris Matusiak A.M. Palermo CK Chris Palermo Andrew DiGregorio Darren Velez CK Chris Matusiak Deb Dozier Deb Dozier Chris Palermo Jeremy Waite Jeremy Waite Deb Dozier Joe Dozier Joe Dozier Jeremy Waite John Reiners John Reiners Joe Dozier Mike Albergo INDEPTH 2005 September 25

26 Iliad n Iliad, two players reenact the I battle between the Trojans and the Greeks. The chits represent specific heroes, major and minor. There are cards the represent certain actions that the gods can do to intervene with game play. Each player begins the game with 10 heroes and each turn they get one more hero to enter the game as well as start with 3 action cards and receive one more each turn. The heroes and action cards are brought in randomly which can very much effect the way the game is played. At WargameDay, on the 2 nd turn the Trojans began to venture beyond the rivers surrounding Troy. The Greeks decided to attack their strongest faction of heroes with the strongest Major Hero the Greeks currently had, Menelaus. Menelaus attacked a Major Hero of the Trojans and the battle was fairly even except the Trojans end up with the ability to kill Menelaus on a roll of 1. The Trojans rolled a 1 and killed Menelaus as the gods decided to not save him. The Trojan hero was merely wounded on the battle field. Now two strong Minor heroes were left behind and were attacked by the Trojans. This time the Trojans killed Meriones, who died while inflicting minimal damage on the Trojan hero. Since Menelaus is a Major Hero this brought Achilles out of his camp to seek revenge. However Paris was waiting for this. As Achilles came out of his camp and charged towards Troy. Paris, with the aid of the gods, sped up to him and slaughtered Achilles before he had the opportunity to attack any Trojans. Achilles was unable to kill Paris so the Trojans had 17 VPs to the Greeks 0 VPs. In the following three turns Agamemnon, Ajax Jr. and Diomedes all joined the battle and tipped the scales of war in the favor of the Greeks, however, there was a 17 point lead to overcome. Attacking from the western side of Troy were Agamemnon, Diomedes and Patraclus (seeking revenge for Achilles death) who began their assault on the considerably weaker Trojans left over. They begin to tear through the heroes near the beach but every one of them were subsequently saved by the gods. On turn 7, Diomedes made it past the river which the Trojans unwisely left open. He decided to attack the weakest opponent to attempt to close the lead the Trojans held but merely inflicted a wound of 3. The Trojan Iliad Players Score Rating Chris M 21 4 Brian 2 5 Overall Rating: 4.5 Our time: 2h-45m Rules explanation time: 35m hero counter-attacked and could only cause a retreat on a roll of one which would prevent the Greeks from scoring that round. The Trojans rolled a 1 and prevented the Greeks from scoring points yet again. Meanwhile Epistrophus was left on the battlefield and was wounded. He was unable to make it back to Troy because he was surrounded so Patroclus descended upon him to inflict the final blow. Patroclus killed him but, again, the gods saved him so more VPs were taken from the Greeks. Patroclus then ventured towards Troy and waged war on the weaker Trojans. Paris wanted to prove his honor and decided to join the battle but, apparenty, was unaware that he was worth 7 VPs! Diomedes immediately attacked Paris and the gods addd as much power to his fight as they could muster but Diomedes merely wounded him which did the Greeks no good. Overall the Greeks were robbed of 9 VPs due to gods saving the Trojans and about 15 VPs that could have been gained with rolls of 1 or 2 and sometimes 3. The Trojans seemed heavily favored by the gods this time around and won a stunning victory, Brian Stone 26 INDEPTH 2005 September