News and Updates
We’re Still Here!
I’m afraid we’ve been neglecting the site for Twitter these days. We fixed the Twitter feed and also updated our Top Picks to pull off some defunct titles.
New Look, Same Site
We changed our site theme. Everything else is the same. The Twitter widget was causing problems on the iPad with the old theme. This seems to fix the issue.
Top Picks and Now Playing Updates
We have updated our Top Picks and Now Playing sections.
We are happy to add Dropzone Commander to our Sci-Fi Tactical Ground Combat picks. Hawk Wargames has done an outstanding job with the game.
We are also pleased to finally add the Meeples & Miniatures podcast to our list of top Gaming Podcasts. It has been a long time coming but Neil and gang have really pushed things over the top the past couple of years.
All I want for Christmas…
With the holidays upon us it might not be a bad time to look at some goodies. This has been an especially good year for gaming and the recent months have seen some very high quality releases. Below are just a few items you might want to add to your list…if you’ve been nice! . .
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Board Games
- Star Borders: Humanity 2ed and Star Borders: Aliens are two notable sci-fi titles from Victory Point Games. Surprisingly high-quality components and a quick playing but engaging game system make for a real win. Best of all is that there is more to come.
- Star Wars Armada from Fantasy Flight Games looks like it could be more fun than X-Wing.
- Galaxy Defenders may seem a bit odd but it is a nice co-op/solitaire sci-fi tactical game. Take a little XCOM and a dash of Men in Black and have some fun saving the world. Very nice components.
- Heroes of Normandie from Devil Pig is 15mm miniature gaming as a board game. Tons of options available with even more coming. Fight through the hedgerows in just a couple of hours.
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Miniature Games
- Dropzone Commander is almost impossible to beat with its new plastic starter sets. Hawk Wargames keeps making a great game better. And don’t miss the new 4Ground 10mm buildings either.
- Deadzone is a unique take on sci-fi skirmish. Mantic’s minis require some effort but the game play is worth it. And you certainly don’t want to miss the Battlezones terrain good for any sci-fi game.
- Infinity 3rd Edition made a splash when Corvus Belli released the Operation: Icestorm starter box. The new rules are due out mid-December 2014.
- World War Two gamers are not left out. Both Chain of Command and Bolt Action are excellent skirmish games and the new plastic tanks form Warlord Games are a must. And of course 4Ground once again has you covered for buildings and Crescent Root Studio does even better.
- Dropzone Commander is almost impossible to beat with its new plastic starter sets. Hawk Wargames keeps making a great game better. And don’t miss the new 4Ground 10mm buildings either.
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Computer Games
- Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm Player’s Edition is certainly at the top of the list of computer wargames to check out. Excellent Cold War action.
- Combat Mission: Black Sea gives you more modern warfare with the CM engine moving to a hypothetical conflict in the Ukraine. Available for pre-order.
- Space Hulk: Ascension will scratch the sci-fi corridor itch. Who doesn’t want to give Genestealers a special present?
- XCOM Long War. Thought you were tired of XCOM? Think again. The Long War mod adds a huge host of improvements to the venerable sci-fi tactical game.
- War in the West is out now and could be Grigsby’s finest. Refight the campaigns in the West on a grand scale. Can you do better?
- Wars and Battles is perhaps the worst name ever for a wargame but for the iPad it is one of the best wargames to date.
[Updated: 5DEC14]
Dust Warfare/Battlefield Resources — June 2014
While the state of Dust Warfare vs Dust Tactics is still somewhat confusing [Battlefront released a somewhat confusing set of posts (one and two) regarding Dust Warfare], what is clear now is that Dust Tactics v2.0 is out along with the new Battlefield rules.
If you have not seen them the new Dust Warfare cards are very nice. The new Dust Tactics Kickstarter is also showing probably the next year of model releases for both Tactics and Warfare.
But it was the new Dust Tactics Battlefield rules that got us to update this list. Will this essentially be the new Dust Warfare? Only time will tell but a quick look at the rules shows they are pretty good. Maybe not as good as Warfare but if support wanes for Warfare more and more gamers may simply convert to Battlefield. Only time will tell.
- TheWorldofDust.net (Dust Tactics.Com) — This is the new official home for all things Dust.
- Official Forums — The new official Dust Warfare forums are on TheWorldofDust.net.
- Dust Warfare Force Cards – Older mini sets will have the old Dust Tactics v1.0 cards. New mini boxes and available separately are the Dust Warfare cards.
- Dust Warfare Force Builder — So far there is no official Army Builder app or anything for Dust Warfare. Luckily C. Jackobson decided to just build his own. It is a website that gets the job done and produces basic text output for your army.
- Paolo Parente’s Dust Site — The man who started it all. Here you can see the Premium Models as well as the unique Dust 48 line. There is also Dust Terrain and of course Dust publications. If you can’t find these things at your local retailers or favorite online store you can order from Paolo and he will ship out quickly.
- Dust Warfare PDF Rulebooks — You can get the PDF versions of the rules from Wargame Vault along with the expansion/campaign books.
- Dust Tactics v2 and Battlefield Rulebooks — Starter set Dust Tactics v2.0 rules are available for download as are the Battlefield rules.
- BOLS Review of Dust Tactics Rulebook — A video look at the new Dust tactics/Battlefield v2.0 rules.
- Dust Chronicles — A fanzine devoted to Dust Warfare and Dust Tactics. Very well done.
- Fantasy Flight Games’ Dust Warfare Forum — While TheWorldofDust.net has the official forums FFG’s Dust Warfare forum still seems available.
- BattleTactics TV — BTTV has some excellent videos that cover the Premium Models as well as other aspects of the game.
- Beasts of War Dust Warfare Coverage — The blokes over at The Beasts of War occasionally have some good DW bits including video unboxings of new units. Also see their YouTube Channel.
- BoLS Dust Warfare Coverage — The Bell of Lost Souls occasionally pulls itself away from 40K and covers Dust Warfare.
- Unit Forward — Unit Forward is a Dust Warfare site with excellent coverage. Great photos and lots of AARs and game resources. Also home of Zero Station a Dust Warfare podcast.
- Watch It Played — A series of videos on how to play Dust Warfare.
- Esoteric Order of Gamers — Dust Warfare play sheets
[Note: This post supersedes our November 2013 set of links to Dust Warfare resources.]
[Updated: 10JUN15]
Polyversal — New 6mm SciFi Game
The latest Meeples & Miniatures podcast, Episode #124, has a very interesting discussion with Ken Whitehurst about his upcoming 6mm scifi ruleset Polyversal. The game is being published by Collins Epic Wargames of Spearpoint 1943 fame.
The game was announced months ago but with very little information. Ken’s interview is the best information we’ve had on Polyversal to date. The game will be a 6mm scifi miniatures game covering company to battalion level battles. It sounds very interesting but listen to the show and judge for yourself.
Collins Epic Wargames will be launching the game via Kickstarter sometime later in 2014. They will hopefully be partnering with a number of 6mm mini manufacturers so you won’t be locked into any one miniature line. Even better, the folks they are talking to are the major 6mm manufacturers so if you play any 6mm now you probably already have some of the forces you will need for the game.
We looked at a number of 6mm miniatures awhile back. Unfortunately since then Old Crow ceased production. Aintsy Castings picked up their line but so far have only produced the 15mm models not the 6mm. This is a shame as the Hammer’s Slammers 6mm minis were superb.
But there are plenty of other choices out there and Plasmablast, as we noted, is outstanding as well. We recently ordered some Microworld figures so we’ll report on those later. Oddly missing from the Polyversal list is Ground Zero Games’ Dirtside and Future Wars miniatures. These are also quite good but some of the models are slightly on the small side compared to the other manufactures.
We look forward to hearing more about Polyversal and seeing it hit Kickstarter.
Computer Wargame Picks — February 2014
There have been a great many computer wargames and expansions released over the past few weeks and months. Matrix Games especially seems to be on a roll and there is more still to come. It’s a good time to be a computer wargamer! Here are some of our favorites:
Battle Academy: Fortress Metz — A campaign add-on for Battle Academy. It covers the US 3rd Army in WW2 as it tries to encircle Metz in France. The iPad version of Battle Academy and all its campaigns also works great.
Combat Mission Battle for Normandy: Market Garden — The excellent CM: Battle for Normandy game expanded for Operation Market-Garden. One of our favorite games and favorite battles.
Command: Modern Air Naval Operations — The spiritual successor to the classic Harpoon series of games. We’ve had a tough time getting imto this one because there is so much there but it will probably reward the gamer who puts in the time. “Surface fleets, submarine squadrons, air wings, land-based batteries and even satellite constellations are yours to direct as you see fit – from the lowliest pirate skiff to the mightiest aircraft carrier, from propeller biplanes to supersonic stealth fighters. Every sensor and weapon system is modeled in meticulous detail. You are given the hardware; but you have to use it well.”
Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel — Conflict of Heroes is a great boardgame with a great computer version. “Storms of Steel is a stand-alone expansion to the critically acclaimed tactical computer wargame Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear, the official adaptation of the award-winning board game from Academy Games. Storms of Steel is set in the Battle of Kursk and brings an impressive new campaign, created in part by legendary wargame designer John Hill, to Conflict of Heroes. Storms of Steel adds rules for airplanes, snipers, and over fifty new units.
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Drive on Moscow — Follow up to the excellent Battle of the Bulge for your iPad, Drive on Moscow brings you Operation Barbarossa. The AI struggles in this adaptation far more than in Bulge but recent updates have improved it. Still well worth your time.
Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm — A complete remake of the original Flashpoint: Germany. This is one of the best Cold War/Modern era wargames available.
Lock ‘n Load: Heroes of Stalingrad — Five years in the making, this is Mark H. Walker’s boardgame brought to the computer. It is a very literal conversion and plays almost identically to the boardgame.
Panzer Korps – iPad — The classic Panzer General game redone and brought to the iPad. Works great. Still has the original problem of being too puzzle like but still a fun simple wargame.
Piercing Fortress Europa — A new operational level game about WW2 battles in Italy. It has a huge emphasis on supply. Looks very good.
Unity of Command – Black Turn — A great expansion for another of our favorite wargames. Allows players to play Operation Barbarossa. Also on Steam.
Picket Duty — Now Available
Legion Wargames released their latest solitaire wargame Picket Duty: Kamikaze Attacks Against U.S. Destroyers – Okinawa 1945.
By the time of the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945, the US Navy devised a plan to help ward off the expected kamikaze attacks during the battle for the island. In order to provide an early warning system for impending kamikaze attacks, the US Navy established 16 radar picket stations around the island Picket Duty is a solitaire game where you – as the captain of a Fletcher Class destroyer – fend off kamikaze attacks while performing picket duty off Okinawa. The game covers the time period from late March 1945 to late June 1945. Your goal is simple – survive.
The game comes with a basic game, advanced game, six historical scenarios, two hypothetical scenarios, a mini-campaign and a full campaign. Optional rules are also included. Each game turn is divided into three phases, each depicting an eight hour period. Key crew members are depicted with certain functions, as well as damage control teams. 35 types of Japanese planes are depicted on whopping 1.2″ square counters .
Game features include: Weather – Damage Control – Ammo and Fuel Consumption – Ship Trim and Listing – Land and Ship Radar – Air and Surface Fire Support – Ohka attacks, and more.
The rules are available in PDF. The game designer also has updated errata. Also see the designer’s site.
[Updated: 7DEC13]
Now Playing
We have added a new section to the site, Now Playing.
Our Articles page long ago lost most of its usefulness as the site grew in content. The Category folders and site search are generally more helpful for finding what you need. Our Top Picks section is dedicated to the top classic games in various genres. The site itself lists what’s new and what we are doing, but we decided that a permanent spot that highlighted the games we are currently playing would be useful. This serves two purposes: First it shows what currently has our interest and also acts as a central location for resources on those games.
We will only list titles we like of course but some games may appear and then drop off if they prove less exciting in the long run. But if we are currently playing them or they still hold our interest we’ll keep them listed here. We have only posted a few initial titles but will fill it out over the coming weeks.
You can always access the page via the site’s top navigation link.
Flames of War – Fate of a Nation
Battlefront released its first Middle East module for Flames of War. Fate of a Nation comes as a free supplement with Wargames Illustrated Issue 312
Fate Of A Nation:
Arab-Israeli Wars, Six-Day War, 1967
On 5 June, 1967, Israel surprised the Arab forces massing on its borders with a pre-emptive strike. By the end of the day a hundred thousand soldiers and several thousand tanks were locked in battle — a struggle that would decide the fate of Israel.Both sides had spent a decade preparing for this titanic struggle. Both sides acquired every modern tank they could, and upgraded those they retained from earlier wars. The opening battles saw more tanks in combat than the famous Battle of Prokhorovka between the Germans and Soviets near Kursk in 1943. The clash was swift and brutal. Within days a thousand wrecked tanks littered the battlefields and Israel was victorious..
There a number of supporting release for Fate of a Nation with certainly many more on the way. Here are some of the highlights:
Of course Battlefront is not the only option for Middle East miniatures. Most notably Khurasan Miniatures have a very nice range of both vehicles and infantry with more on the way. We’ll have a comparison between Battlefront and Khurasan soon.
The View from the Turret 
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