News and Updates
Breakout: Normandy Deluxe Edition — First Look
L2 Design Group surprised a lot of folks by producing a new version of the classic Avalon Hill wargame Breakout: Normandy. Breakout: Normandy has been out of print for a few years now but is still a very popular game and still sees a regular tournament at WBC. Breakout: Normandy is a board wargame covering the first month of the Normandy campaign in WW2. It is an area movement game based on the system debuted in Storm Over Arnhem and recently seen in Monty’s Gamble.
The new L2 version of the game is known as Breakout: Normandy Deluxe Edition and was produced with the support of Don Greenwood the game’s original designer. Breakout: Normandy was one of those classic games that basically got everything right from the start. It was also originally produced with very nice components. So what does the new Deluxe Edition provide different from the original? Thankfully, besides simply getting the game back in print, not much. The map is 10% larger to accommodate the new 3/4″ counters and incorporates the first week of reinforcement displays. The map itself is the typical L2 heavy foldout stock. The counters are slightly larger but otherwise unchanged. The real change is in the rulebook. The rulebook is all new and is in full color and very attractive. The new rulebook incorporates all official errata to the original game and a few minor rules changes.
Don Greenwood describes the new rule changes in the excellent included designer’s notes. He has focused on the fact that after thousands of plays it became apparent that the Germans have a slight advantage in the game. He also does not like some of the tactics that have resulted. To address those he jettisoned the Victory Point for holding the Advantage. “To compensate the Allies for this loss as well as to address their earlier balance problems, Naval Bombardment Impulse join Air Bombardment Impulses in being ‘free’–which added a staggering 12 Impulses a game to the Allied ledger…. To complete the Allied Aid package, Weather Changes…were made less likely by eliminating their occurrence during air and naval bombardment. And lastly, players can no longer guard against weather changes by using the now non-existent End of Day dice roll modifiers.” That’s it.
If you are a Breakout: Normandy fan you will want this edition if only for the new rulebook. If you never played the game before and you have any interest in WW2 you should give the game a look. Highly recommended.
Napoleon!! — Revisited
It’s been a bit over a year since we last posted about a variety of Napoleonic warfare titles and thought it was about time for an update.
- Battles of Napoleon: The Eagle and the Lion — The bad news here is that the company that actually developed the game has folded. Fantasy Flight Games is only the distributor. This means future updates for the game are certainly in doubt. On the positive side Wings of War was in the same boat and recently got picked up by another company so there is some hope BoN will be saved similarly.
- Napoleon’s War: The 100 Days — Battle Pack 1 and Battle Pack 2 are both available. They include new maps and scenarios but no new figures.
Napoleon’s War II that covers the invasion of Russia should be out soon. - Commands & Colors: Napoleonics — GMT Games released its latest addition to the Commands & Colors line. It is probably the most approachable of any of the Napoleonic titles (NW is just as easy but C&C:N blocks are less fiddly than the NW figures). It is a lot of fun and coming soon is the Spanish Army expansion.
- Waterloo — Warhammer Historical has gotten in on the Napoleonic fun as well with their new Waterloo miniature rules. The rules are a large 288-page hardback book “… representing the forces of France, Britain, Prussia or their allies. This rulebook is focused on the campaign and battle of Waterloo, the climax of the Napoleonic Wars, but the rules within allow you to recreate battles from across the entire period (1792-1815) and even beyond.” We have not seen this yet but it sounds good.
- Black Powder — Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson, both of GW fame, produced a new set of miniature rules that cover Napoleonic warfare. Specific Napoleonic supplements will be out soon but the 184-page hard back core rulebook covers the basics. The rules are intended for 28mm but easily modified for any scale. They are perhaps not the best choice for a first time Napoleonic gamer but are well done.
- March Attack — Crusader Publishing has also released a new set of easy to play Napoleonic Rules called March Attack.
- Napoleon at War —
Perhaps the most interesting development is Man at War Miniature Games’ release of the new Napoleon at War miniature rules and miniatures line. We have now seen these in person and they are very well done. Man at War seems to be attempting to do for Napleonic warfare what Battlefront did to WW2 mini gaming with Flames of War. The rulebook is extremely well presented — and FoW-like — and the minis are equal to if not nicer than Battlefront. The miniatures are 18mm and are being released in various boxed unit sets. All of this is designed to make Napoleonic gaming easy to get into for the newcomer. It remains to be seen if Man at War will be successful but if you have any interest at all in Napoleonic miniature gaming Napoleon at War is certainly worth a look. We hope to have more soon. The Meeples & Miniatures podcast Episode 79 has a great review of Napoleon at War. Noble Knight Games is one U.S. based distributor we found that carries the NaW line and we found them very responsive.
[Updated: 21OCT11]
GenCon 2011 Punch List
Well GenCon 2011 is over. We were not there but from all of the various coverage it looked like a good show and had record attendance. Below is a list of all the new goodies we are looking forward to based on the show announcements. Thanks to Russ at the D6 Generation podcast and the Beasts of War for their excellent show coverage.
- Gears of War: The Board Game — We have always been huge Space Hulk fans and the new GoW game looks similar. Initial demo game reports are good and the components are certainly top notch. The D6 Generation have a full review of the game in Episode 86.
- Dust Warfare — After watching AT-43 die we passed on Dust Tactics. But the game has been generally well received and the minis are well done. Dust Warfare is a full blown mini ruleset written by Andy Chambers. If nothing else it will be worth a look.
- Android books — We did not care for FFG’s Android board game but did like the universe it was set in. Now FFG is bringing out two novels, Free Fall and Golem, set in the world of Android.
- Star Trek: Fleet Captains — We almost forgot about this one. WizKids debuted a new board game of exploration and starship combat using unpainted plastic miniatures. We saw some shots of it at the show but never heard any reports on play. It looks interesting. Again, Russ from the D6G snagged a copy — And even painted some ships — and Episode 88 has a nice review of the game (forward to 2hr29min). The rules are available for download.
- Star Wars X-Wing —
FFG got a Star Wars license and will be doing a bunch of products with it. One of the first is X-Wing a tactical space combat game. Many are calling it Wings of War in space but it is really no more similar to it than any other air-to-air combat game. It comes with pre-painted plastic minis (surely with tons of expansions due along soon thereafter) and focuses on fighter-to-fighter combat in the Star Wars universe. Demo game reports were favorable overall and there is certainly more depth to the game not really explored yet by quick demos. But it is meant to be a simple, fast game not any sort of ‘simulation.’ It should be good for some quick fun. We just hope they produce the B-Wing fighter! - Star Wars: The Card Game — Well the world probably needs another Star Wars card game as much as a Wookie needs a razor but we’ll give it a spin.
- 15mm Terrain — Gale Force Nine announced a bunch of new 15mm terrain for Flames of War and the like. The new Desert Oasis is our favorite.
Oddly, even though Steve Jackson Games was at the show, we didn’t hear a peep about the new Ogre 6th edition. We hope this is not a bad sign. [Update: Steve posted an update on the Ogre site, “The status is: Still planned, still the super-fancy as per the prototypes you can see on that page. . . And definitely still not on track for 2011. I warned everyone in May that it might not happen in 2011, and now I can say it definitely won’t. I knew that at the end of June, before I took July off, and I should have shared.”]
[Updated: 10OCT11]
Panzer Corps — Review
The all new follow up to the classic Panzer General is now available from Slitherine. Panzer Corps delivers all of the classic gameplay with all new graphics and a few new features. We’ve played a few scenarios and the game indeed captures all of the fun of the classic. The Wargamer posted a nice review of Panzer Corps. Whether you remember the classic or missed it, if you like a good game check it out.
The Wargamer also has a nice After Action Review of Panzer Corps scenario Operation Husky.
Also available now are grand campaign add-on packs: Grand Campaign ’39, Grand Campaign ’40, Grand Campaign ’41.
[Updated: 23NOV11]
Blue Moon Manufacturing 15mm Sci-Fi — Review
As we have noted in our annual Best Games Not Yet Published, Critical Mass Games, Ground Zero Games, Rebel Minis and Khurasan Miniatures have all been producing some outstanding 15mm sci-fi miniatures over the past few years. With the new release of the Galactic War 1 15mm sci-fi miniature rules by Blue Moon Manufacturing we became aware of yet another 15mm manufacturer. We decided to take a look at the new rules as well as some of the miniatures.
Galactic War 1 Rules
We have only given the Galactic War 1 rules an initial read through. The rules are not bad by any means but if you are looking for innovation or comprehensive options you will need to go elsewhere. On the positive side what you get is a solid set of company level rules with some background fluff on the seven races of the game’s universe. The game scale is 100 yards per inch and each infantry stand is a fireteam and vehicles are based individually. The rules offer plenty of basics such as initiative based movement as well as spotting and command. Galactic War 1 covers infantry and vehicle combat and even handles things such as psychic combat, jump troops and more. Read the rest of this entry »
Spartan Games News — July 2011
Spartan Games is on a real tear this month with new releases and a ton of announcements. To launch it all they completely redesigned their website with a very attractive design that showcases their products well.
Dystopian Wars
First off are the release of the first Dystopian Wars ground forces. Each of the major factions get an Armoured Battle Group plus each unit type is available as separate platoon packs as well. On the naval side new support ships released for each faction such as the Prussian Stolz Class Destroyer. We even got our hands on the big boys with each faction receiving a new Dreadnought class ship. The DNs are truly huge and are about 50% larger than even the impressive battleships. Our favorite of course is the Prussian Blucher class DN. If all of that was not enough Spartan announced the imminent release of the ‘specials’ for each faction including the Prussian Metzger Robot (including both submerged and walking versions), Britannia Vanguard submarine (including both submerged and surface versions), Blazing Sun Ika Class Mechanical Squid (including both submerged and surface versions), and FSA John Henry Class Robot.
But by far the biggest announcement that sent every Dystopian Wars fan into a frenzy was that of the forthcoming Covenant of Antarctica forces. Spartan pulled out all the stops and is releasing a full Naval Battle Group, Drone Fleet Carrier and the Armoured Battle Group all at once. The Antartican design is very sci-fi and fits well with their fluff as the most technologically advanced of all the factions in the game. To top it all off the Naval Battle Group box also ships with a 40-page army guide that includes all of the background, rules and stats for the Covenant of Antarctica forces (also available for separate purchase). And there is even more Antarctican goodness to follow!
Even the boys from the D6 Generation get in on the act and interview Neil Fawcett about Spartan activities and also give a look at how the Dystopian Wars ground forces play goes. Neil makes a surprise announcement that the long awaited Republique of France (RoF) Magenta Class Battleship will be available (in both waterline and flying versions) in limited quantities at Gen Con 2011 and available for all later this year. Craig surprises everyone by revealing that he is now working for Spartan Games as a freelance writer and that he was responsible for all of the great Firestorm Armada fluff on the Spartan site and is now working on more goodies. See Episode 83 and fast forward to 3hr 3min to get right to it.
Firestorm Armada
Spartan has not forgotten Firestorm Armada either. First off we got the new Xelocian ships. The Hantari Cruiser does not have colored ‘power rods’. They are the same clear plastic rods used for the flying stands. The advantage of course is now you can ink them your preferred color.
Then Spartan stopped playing 
around and decided to simply dump all available resin into one model and previewed the upcoming 9″ Perditor Leviathan model. But I guess the mold overflowed a bit so they decided to release Dreadnoughts for all six fleets as well! They also previewed the Directorate Persecution Class DN.
As mentioned, Craig worked on some FA fluff so we would guess we could expect some more of the same and possibly even a new FA book of some kind — Perhaps the previously hinted at Alliance army book? Maybe Russ and Raef can get some info out of him with Neil safely overseas ensconced in his island fortress!
Invasion
If all of that was not enough to deplete your wallet then Neil gave some hints that the new FA-era ground combat game, Invasion, may be released in late 2011 or early 2012.
[Updated: 1UAG11]
Combat Mission: Beyond Normandy — First Look
Battlefront.com released Combat Mission: Beyond Normandy in mid-May. We have had a chance to spend a little bit of time with it since then. For those who have been waiting for a redo of the classic CM the good news is the worth is not only over but was well worth it. The game delivers the play that Combat Mission fans would expect. The new graphics engine is very nice and rivals that of third-person shooters from just a few years ago. The game engine seems equally as solid and our initial games have gone well with no glaring issues.
The detailed spotting and artillery rules are probably the only major changes that veterans will notice right from the start. Otherwise players will be able to jump right in and feel at home. As with the modern-day CM titles both the play and pause and turn-based play options are included. For old and new players alike there is a detailed manual that does a good job of explaining the rules and even includes an introductory walk through to get players into the action quickly.
Scenario selection is good but not great. The game includes 21 scenarios and five campaigns. Hopefully scenario packs will be forthcoming. Of course there is a battle generator as well as a full blown scenario builder included so players are certainly not stuck for new adventures by any means and fan built scenarios will certainly be on the way.
If you have any interest in WW2 tactical combat this is a must get title. And now even Mac owners can get in on the action. Well enough wasting time here we’re gonna get back to it!
Incursion SNAFU — Review
Grindhouse Games’ first expansion for its weird-war WW2 board/miniatures game is now available. SNAFU is a 64-page softcover book that includes new units, new missions, painting guides and an official FAQ. The book follows the Incursion rulebook style and continues the high design and pulp feel of the original game.
Released separately are a host of new miniatures that cover the new units in the book. But as always if you do not want to play the game with miniatures standups are also included (this time as a download only). The Allies get the official release of the MI-13 rules along with new rules and miniatures for Bazooka APE, Zip Kelly and Gracie. The Germans get some new Sturmzombies, the evil Drohne, and the massive Panzeraffe. Rules are provided for all of the new units and their weapons. The stat cards are a separate download and are not included with the book.
The Panzeraffe is a huge model and even makes the Gracie walker look a tad small. The Panzeraffe can be kitted out for shooting or close combat and Gracie can stomp over units as easily as it can gun them down. Both Zip Kelly and the Drohne represent the lighter but more nimble choices. Overall the new units are a welcome addition to the game and will add to a player’s tactical choices.
The meat of the expansion is certainly the new missions. SNAFU includes nineteen new missions in all including six solitaire missions as well as three two map missions. You will need the map expansion or an extra copy of the game to play the larger missions. The Cinematic missions include a couple pages of the needed rules for solitaire play. This is a nice addition to the game and allows for some unique forces. The mission selection overall is a nice mix and, especially when combined with the new forces, increases re-playability considerably.
Rounding it all off are a few pages of painting guides including color recommendations and also a complete FAQ for the rules to date. All-in-all if you have any interest in Incursion this is a must get expansion. If you thought the re-playability of the original was a bit limited this also solves that problem. New meat for the Grinder!
Flames of War — Tropic Lightning
Battlefront’s full entry into Vietnam has officially begun with their release of Wargames Illustrated Issue 282 and the included 40-page Tropic Lightning: Armoured and Airborne Combat in Vietnam 1965-1971 army book.
WI Issue 282 itself includes some nice material including a quick history of the Vietnam War with a look at the forces covered by the game, a battle report, a look at U.S. tracks and helicopters, and lastly a painting and markings guide.
But the main attraction of course is Tropic Lightning. TL includes the army lists for U.S. and PAVN forces as well as the rules changes/additions from WW2 FoW and four missions. The U.S. forces of course have all the really fun toys including M-48 tanks, UH-1 Cobra gunships and a whole lot more. The only glaring omission is the OH-6 Loach helicopter. Both armored and airmobile forces are covered for the U.S.. The included U.S. lists are,
- Tank Company -M-48 heavy
- Armoured Cavalry Troop -ACAV heavy
- Rifle Company (Mech) -Troop heavy in M-113s
- Blackhourse Cavalry Troop -M-113s and M-48s with M-109 support artillery
- Rifle Company (Airmobile) -Troops in helicopters
PAVN forces cover the Tiêu Doàn Bô Binh infantry battalion. This is the only force list on the PAVN side and variety comes from simply choosing among the various supporting forces. These include recoilless guns, mortars, anti-aircraft MGs, and sappers. Booby traps, bunkers and minefields also play a big role on the PAVN side.
The army specific rules for each side only take up a couple of pages each as well as a couple of pages for helicopter rules and booby traps. The only thing that seems to be missing is fast mover strikes (fixed-wing CAS) but one could argue those are out of scale for the game. Thus seasoned Flames of War players will be able to get going with a minimum of work.
There are only four missions included,
- Hot LZ -An assault landing into a contested landing zone
- Indian Country -Where cavalry units are ambushed en route to a pick-up
- Contact! Contact! -Where a U.S. patrol stumbles upon a PAVN force prepared to stand and fight
- Big Bang -A Vietnamese attack on a temporary U.S. Fire Support Base
Battlefront included the wave one model release schedule in WI282 (and they are now on the BF website). Basically the month of April 2011 will see all of the initial models released. It will be interesting to see if anything new gets produced later this year although, besides the OH-6, we are not sure what they might release besides the M-109 and the M114A1, which are the only units in the book not listed for release, and perhaps U.S. supply trucks. Historically, the U.S. did have an odd selection of vehicles supporting supply convoys.
The Radio Free Battlefront Episode 9 podcast has a great overview of Tropic Lightning by Evan, the game’s designer.
Also see Flames of War — M113 Series.
If you are interested in reading more on armor/cav and airmobile operations in Vietnam check out,
- A Hundred Miles of Bad Road
- Marine Corps Tank Battles in Vietnam
- Praying for Slack
- Tank Sergeant
- To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam
- We Were Soldiers Once…and Young: Ia Drang – the Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam
- The First Cav in Vietnam
- 1st Air Cavalry In Vietnam: The ‘First Team
- Low Level Hell
- Chickenhawk
Also see Flames of War Vietnam — Is Back?!
[Updated: 1APR11]
Crisis in the Ardennes — Now Available
Test of Battle Games just released Crisis in the Ardennes: The Battle of the Bulge 1944. It is a campaign book for their WW2 battalion-level miniatures rules Test of Battle. ToB has been one of our Top Picks from the beginning. We haven’t seen the new book yet but the others have all been excellent and should be of interest to anyone who games in WW2 even if not using ToB.
On December 16th, 1944 the German Army launched Operation Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine). This operation, whose goal was to split the Allied armies and capture Antwerp, was the last major offensive launched by Germany in the West. Known as the “Battle of the Bulge” due to the shape of the German advance into Allied lines, it has secured its place in history as the largest battle fought by America in the war, and the nail in the coffin of the Wehrmacht.
If you would like to read more on the Battle of the Bulge check out the following titles,
The View from the Turret 
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