Nations at War
The Best Games Not Yet Published – 2011
Another new year and new games and miniatures to lust after! Once again we present our annual look at the games and miniatures we are most anxiously awaiting in 2011. Our 2010 prognostications did well. As always, there is no guarantee any of these titles will be published in 2011, nor that they will be any good if they are, but we are always optimistic.
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White Star Rising — Now Available
Lock’n Load Games released the first game in their new Nations at War Series: White Star Rising. NaW is basically the WW2 version of the their excellent World at War series. White Star Rising covers tactical battles in the European theater through 16 scenarios and features a nice mix of U.S., German, and British forces. The components are top notch although the mounted 11″x17″ map boards seem to be prone to warping. The rulebook and charts are in full color.
The 20-page rulebook covers all of the major aspects of WW2 tactical combat including off-board artillery, smoke, air support, mines, and more. WSR includes a Battlefield Chaos and Fate Point system that adds some random elements to the game.
White Star Rising retains the smooth tactical play of its predecessor yet has just enough subtle modifications to give it a nice WW2 feel. Ranges are reduced, movement is a bit slower and weapons somewhat less deadly. One major criticism made by some was that 60mm+ mortars were far too powerful at killing tanks compared to actual AT guns. When playing a ‘normal’ game we did not find this to be the case but if someone wanted to exploit the full potential of the rules this was probably an accurate critique. LnL responded with an official rule change that says mortars can only disrupt, not reduce, non-open topped armor units. This change will be reflected in an updated PDF version of the rules.
WSR is a great WW2 tactical game and if you liked the World at War series you will certainly like WSR as well. If you enjoy platoon-level tactical WW2 combat games you should check out White Star Rising. The next title in the series, Desert Heat, covers combat in North Africa from 1941-43.
White Star Rising — Beta Rules
Lock’n Load Publishing posted a PDF of the beta rules for their upcoming WW2 tactical board wargame, White Star Rising. The game is the long awaited World War 2 version of the World at War system. The rules are basically complete but do not include any scenarios and will receive some final polish before publication. Overall nothing surprising in them as they are basically the WaW rules with some minor tweaks. It does look like WSR will ship with a nice selection of formations for the Americans, British and Germans.
The View from the Turret 
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