Wargames
Epic: Armageddon — Review
The D6 Generation gang have done a great review of the classic Epic: Armageddon. We agree with their review and Russ’ conclusion that Epic: Armageddon is a great game marred by lack of support and a lack of miniatures. But if you don’t mind doing some work you will find Epic: Armageddon worth the effort. It is still one of the best games for a sci-fi invasion or larger grand-tactical conflict. Fast forward to 2hr 38min into the show to get right to the review.
Craig mentions the excellent Epic: Armageddon Handbook 2008 from the TacticalWargames.net site. It is essentially the official rulebook with all errata (as of 2008) integrated into it. Also the original Epic: Armageddon rules and army lists are available, for free, from GW directly. NetEpic is the fan produced version of the early Epic V2 rules (this is basically a different game from Epic: Armageddon).
The World’s End Radio podcast also has an excellent review of Epic in their Episode #48 – Epic WIN. Forward to 0:47:31 to get right to it.
We like to use Litko Aero’s Small Artillery Strike Markers and Blast Markers for blast markers and the Mini Smoke Markers or Small Flaming Wreckage as destroyed markers.
[Updated: 23JAN11]
Close Combat: Last Stand Arnhem — Now Available
Matrix Games has released Close Combat: Last Stand Arnhem. Last Stand Arnhem is a computer wargame covering Operation Market Garden in WW2. It is a remake of the original Close Combat – A Bridge Too Far from Atomic Games. Besides being able to run on modern operating systems at higher resolutions a number of new features have been added to the game. Close Combat – A Bridge Too Far was always our favorite title in the original Close Combat series so this game will be a must get for fans of Market Garden and the original series.
While the new improvements certainly make the game better than the original, the newly remade titles in general still suffer from a number of the issues of the original series: Troops die too quickly, pathfinding is poor, terrain effects often seem minimal, the AI is not very good on attack and you sometimes get the feeling you are watching the game not playing it. But they are still generally fun to play and the new campaign mode adds needed depth.
The Wargamer has a nice overview of the new features in Last Stand Arnhem.
Napoleon!!
For some odd reason or another we recently picked up a number of Napoleonic warfare titles. We haven’t played any of them yet but thought you might be interested in some initial impressions. Please note that we are not generally players of Napoleonic games nor consider ourselves students of Napoleonic warfare. So these comments will be most useful to those with a similar mild interest in the period. Read the rest of this entry »
Conflict of Heroes — News
We just got a flyer from Academy Games on Conflict of Heroes. While we had been anticipating First Men In it looks like it will actually be the last of the current crop of planned games to be released. The current schedule is:
- COH: Price of Honour – This is the Poland 1939 campaign. It is scheduled for an August 2010 release date. Price of Honour is an expansion and requires either COH: Awakening the Bear or Storms of Steel.
- COH: Guadalcanal – This is, obviously, the Guadalcanal campaign in the Pacific during WW2. Playing Japanese and U.S. Marines will be interesting. It is listed with a September 2010 release date.
- COH: First Men In – The one we’ve been waiting for. FMI covers the D-Day airborne invasion of Normandy in 1944. It is set for a January 2011 release.
[Updated: 23AUG10]
Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich — Review
Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge was recently released by Matrix Games. I have only had a chance to play around with the training mission so far but it quickly became apparent that CO:BftB is simply an evolution of the original Airborne Assault series. CO:BftB has numerous improvements but basic play is essentially the same. Considering that Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich is one of my all time favorite computer wargames this is a good thing. It also means if you are considering purchasing CO:Battles from the Bulge then a look at Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich should help you make your decision.
Below is a review I wrote a few years back for Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich. It is too early for me to comment on changes in CO:BftB, but I can mention a few things that have not changed: There is still no ability for units to scale with zoom; no ability to rewind to watch other events; no ability to see a regular TO&E diagram view for formations; graphics and sound are basically the same. But CO:BftB still has the same great game play and it is after all the Bulge!
The Fires of Midway — Now Available
The Fires of Midway WW2 card game is now available. FoM is the second game in Clash of Arms’ War is Hell series. FoM covers Pacific carrier warfare including not only the Battle of Midway but also the battles of the Coral Sea, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. It is a two player game but also includes official rules for solitaire play.
We have had a read through the rules but have not played a game yet. Physically the game is similar to the Hell of Stalingrad game. Unfortunately this means it has the same sort of garish, over designed graphics. But the presentation is functional and the historical photos of the various ships and aircraft are nice. Movement is done on a side map, search is conducted by drawing cards, and combat is performed through card play and dice rolls. All of the major facets of WW2 carrier combat are covered.
Overall the game looks very interesting and we look forward to getting in a game. BoardGameGeek has PDF versions of the rules and tables available for download.
Stalin’s War — Now Available
GMT Games’ WW2 card-driven wargame Stalin’s War is now available. Stalin’s War covers the east front during WW2. Turns are seasonal (with a special turn for June 41) running to Summer 45. Axis units are armies (which can have up to four steps on two counters) and corps. All the panzer units are represented as corps (controlled by Panzergroup/Army Headquarters). Soviet units are armies and fronts, along with their large (but irreplaceable) 1941 mechanized corps, and late-war Guard cavalry-mechanized corps.
There is a bit of errata for the game already but it looks good overall (although we wish game publishers would banish 1/2″ counters). You can get the rules and some series replays in PDF format.
There is a review of Stalin’s War on BoardgameNews.com.
[Updated: 23AUG10]
CO: Battles from the Bulge Videos Available
Matrix Games now has a couple of video tutorials on how to play Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge.
Battles from the Bulge Video Tutorial 1: Getting Started
Battles from the Bulge Video Tutorial 2: Assess, Plan, and Order
Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge — Now Available!
Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge from Matrix Games is now available. Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge is the latest incarnation of the older Airborne Assault series. Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich was one of our favorite operational level wargames so we have high hopes for CO:BftB.
Panther Games brings us to the Winter of 1944 with Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge. Although the Battle of the Bulge is ground that has been visited by wargamers before, it has never been done with this level of fidelity and historical accuracy. The most advanced and realistic model of command decision-making implemented in a commercial wargame, combined with thorough historical research on the battlefields and forces involved in this campaign sets Command Ops apart from the competition.
There is now a demo available. Update 4.1.235 is now available.
[Updated: 23AUG10]
Colonial Battlefleet Core Rules — Now Available
Steel Dreadnought Games, makers of the fine Naval Thunder WW2 naval rules, has released a new set of sci-fi spaceship combat rules entitled Colonial Battlefleet. We have not seen them yet but they sound interesting. SDG provides some nice details of the game. Like all of their products the rules are available as a downloadable PDF.
Colonial Battlefleet features easy to learn rules and exciting game play with minimal time spent waiting between turns. Shooting and damage resolution is easy and yields plenty of carnage. Best of all, Colonial Battlefleet is not a “luck of the dice” game. Although the rules are very straightforward, the game offers tremendous tactical depth and your command skills will be put to the test! There are no cumbersome or complicated systems to slow down play. All your attention will be focused on outmaneuvering and outwitting your opponent – not trying to remember rules.
The View from the Turret 
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