WW2
Stars and Stripes Forever — Review
The folks over at Test of Battle Games have released a new expansion for their WW2 miniature rules Test of Battle (aka Command Decision 4). Stars and Stripes Forever covers U.S. forces in the Mediterranean and European theaters from the Torch landings until the fall of Germany. SaSF is a 52 page, soft cover, black and white book. Unlike a lot of game expansion products that feature new rules and units and other game items, SaSF has a very focused purpose. It simply provides the historical TO&E (Tables of Organization and Equipment) for all U.S. forces. This includes great details such as a listing of all infantry and armor divisions and where they served along with detailed ToB-formatted force organizations. Also included are great notes on doctrine as well as a full equipment table with all game information. It also does have one page of additional rules for U.S. reconnaissance troops, armored infantry, and artillery battalion FDCs. Moreover, the book is sprinkled with historical posters from the period often seen on the home front such as “Buy War Bonds” and “Your metal is their might”.
While Stars and Stripes Forever is intended for use with Test of Battle it is an excellent resource for any company/battalion level game and is also a great reference for anyone interested in the U.S. Army during World War Two. Recommended.
Band of Heroes — Review
Lock ‘n Load’s Band of Heroes is a board wargame on World War Two squad-level combat. It has been out over a year now but with new expansions on the way I thought this would be a good time to look back at the original game. The Wargamer has an excellent review of Band of Heroes. I agree with the reviewer’s comments especially those on the rulebook. It works OK for reading through but is terrible as a resource for looking up rules during the game. Also the terrain identification issue has been solved with the Terrain Chart Supplement. The map boards are very well done but they have a very garish hex grid superimposed on them that is very distracting and also makes determining the hex, especially hexside, terrain type tough at times. This hex treatment came under considerable fire after the game’s initial release and LnL released a pack of ‘haloless maps‘ with a much toned down pattern. The maps in the Not One Step Back expansion are of this same haloless design and Swift and Bold does not have any maps. Boardgame Geek has an excellent BoH reference sheet. Version three of the LnL rules are currently in playtest.
The new Line of Fire magazine includes BoH information. LnL also has an excellent 32-page demo of BoH. It includes printable map, counters, reference cards, a scenario, and most of the rulebook so you can try the game out for yourself.
Overall Band of Heroes is an excellent WW2 tactical wargame and with its ongoing expansion is more complete and much easier to digest than even the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kits and unlike Combat Commander includes vehicles. Recommended.
Line of Fire — Review
Lock ‘N Load Games just released a new house magazine, Line of Fire. What is interesting is that it is a PDF only publication. Unlike Mongoose Publishings’ Signs & Portents online magazine, Rackham’s recently announced electronic conversion of Cry Havoc, the fan produced Firebase, or even Games Workshop’s Black Gobbo, LNL is selling Line of Fire for $16.99. Whether gamers think what they get is worth the money remains to be seen, but it is nice to have some support for LNL’s games. LNL says it hopes to produce the publication quarterly. Read the rest of this entry »
Combat Commander — Update
GMT Games has released two new expansions for Combat Coommander: Europe. First is Combat Commander: Battle Pack #1: Paratroopers. Paratroopers is a small expansion that comes in a cardstock folio with two new 17″ x 22″ maps (giving four new maps) and 12 new scenarios. The scenario mix is excellent and will be familiar to any Band of Brothers fan. Paratroopers is an expansion and requires CC:Europe to play. We hope to see more of these battle packs. Highly recommended.
The second expansion, Combat Commander: Mediterranean, ships in the same sized box as the original and contains new counters, three decks of cards, six new map sheets (giving 12 new maps), new player-aide cards, and the latest version of the rulebook (with minor errata over the original). CC:M adds Britain and the Commonwealth; France and the Allied Minors; and Italy and the Axis Minors to the CC system. Oddly, considering its size, CC:M is not a standalone game and requires CC:E to play. Many of the new maps are certainly interesting and if you like the theater and new forces this is a nice expansion.
Carriers at War — Review
Matrix Games released Carriers at War a few weeks ago. It is a very well done remake of the original. Overall the game will require you to spend a bit of time with the game manual to learn a number of the game mechanics but it will be time well rewarded. If you enjoy WW2 carrier warfare it is a must get game.
The Wargamer has a nice Carriers at War review so we will not bother doing one ourselves. One note, the author of the review, Bill Trotter, has a relationship with Matrix Games, but nonetheless we agree with what he says about the game.
Do not forget to get the v1.02 update.
Carriers at War Now Available
Well with no pre-announcement or fanfare Matrix Games now has Carriers at War available for purchase. You can order the game by mail or download it directly for $49.99. Carriers at War is a computer wargame of WW2 fleet carrier air and naval operations in the Pacific theater from 1941 to 1945.
See the review.
Coral Sea — An After Action Report
Matrix Games recently posted an after action report on their upcoming Carriers at War naval game. It is a few pages long and includes screen shots of the game in action.
Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #3 — First Look
ASL Starter Kit #3 from Multi-Man Publishing is now available. As the name suggests, it is the third — and I believe final — game in the introductory line of Advanced Squad Leader games. ASL is generally considered the premiere wargame of WW2 tactical combat. ASL also has one of the largest and most complex set of rules of any wargame. The Starter Kits were designed to ease players up to the full ASL rules. They have generally succeeded better than anyone anticipated. Read the rest of this entry »
15mm Pre-Painted Buildings — A Few Choices
We recently picked up some new pre-painted 15mm buildings.
The 15mm buildings from The Miniature Building Authority are part of the EuroVillage series. They have a number of designs including a new apartment building and factory. We got the Townhouse rows. The buildings are cast in something that feels like a ceramic but is probably not. The molding and detailing is crisp and clean. The painting is also well done and should be acceptable to all but the most discriminating painters. All the buildings have a nice feature where you can take the top off and it leaves a ‘ruined’ bottom half. This is great for destroyed areas or just for access to the interior. The only problem is, at least with the Townhouse Row, the inside is too small to fit a regular infantry stand for Flames of War. Smaller stands, including FoW leader stands, fit fine. Read the rest of this entry »
Victory at Sea — FAQ
Mongoose Publishing released an official FAQ for VaS. It is two pages and contains a few clarifications and some errata for IJN destroyers.
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