WW2
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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Conflict of Heroes — Mobile Reference
Academy Games announced a mobile friendly reference site. It is a ‘web app’ designed for use on mobile devices that contains all of the major reference info needed to play the various Conflict of Heroes games. Very nice.
While it is just a mobile formatted web page, there is a way to get it to install as an ‘app’ on the iPad and other mobile devices so that it works while offline.
[Updated: 14FEB11]
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.
IJN — Available Soon
Compass Games has a new expansion for their great solitaire WW2 naval wargame, Silent War. IJN adds a ton of Imperial Japanese Navy ships to the game. IJN is in pre-order now but should ship before the end of the year.
Bring added realism to your submarine campaign with IJN, Imperial Japanese Navy, the first expansion pack for Compass Games’ award winning SILENT WAR. Every Japanese warship down through the large destroyer escorts and the major auxiliary cargo ships and tankers are provided in two full countersheets with 336 new playing pieces for the game and rules to integrate them seamlessly into the game. IJN, Imperial Japanese Navy also brings new rules to SILENT WAR such as loners, crash dive, and targeting escorts, rules introduced in the follow on game, STEEL WOLVES. A must have expansion pack for any dedicated SILENT WAR player. Requires SILENT WAR to play.
Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg — Now Available
Matrix Games has released a new WW2 operational-level computer wargame, Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris. Decisive Campaigns simulates Germany’s invasion of Poland and France in 1939 and 1940 (and also includes a hypothetical “Sea Lion” invasion of Great Britain). The game looks very good and covers battles that are not often seen in wargames. If you like operational level games give it a look.
The Wargamer has an after action review of Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris and also some designer’s notes.
There is a small (15.8MB) version 1.04d patch available. The designer, Victor Reijkersz, has made high resolution versions of the maps available for use in planning, etc.
[Updated: 18JAN11]
Normandy ’44 — Now Available
GMT Games’ new regimental level boardgame of the combat in Normandy in 1944 is now available. Normandy ’44 covers the D-Day invasion itself and the following three weeks of combat. It makes a great alternative to the five-map monster game The Battle for Normandy, but it does not cover the southern battles and Operation Cobra like that game either. Normandy ’44 has GMT’s typically great components with an attractive map and nice looking counters. You can get the rules in PDF. There is now a VASSAL module and Cyberboard module available.
Each turn represents 1 day. Each hex represents 3.8 kilometers (or 2.3 miles). Most units are regiments or brigades though most of the armor units are represented as battalions.The game uses a simplified Ardennes ’44 system: Move, Fight and Reserve Movement. All non-tank battalion units are rated for Troop Quality, while all armor units have a Tank Rating. In each battle these ratings are used to provide shifts for either the attacker or defender. Other important shifts are provided by air power, naval support, artillery and/or Tiger tanks.The game includes a 22 turn Campaign game, a 7-turn Tournament Scenario that focuses on the Allies linking up the beaches, and a scenario covering the battle in the peninsula and the capture of Cherbourg. In addition, there are rules for allowing 3 or even 4 players to play the game.
[Updated: 15OCT10]
Forged in Battle Miniatures — Review
Forged in Battle is a new historical miniatures company. They produce 15mm resin and metal WW2 miniatures. The line includes both infantry and vehicles. The FiB infantry are traditional metal figures and are packaged in sets usable for Flames of War or other WW2 fireteam based games. We did not compare them directly but looking at them in the store they appear to maybe be a just a bit smaller (slighter) than the FoW infantry minis but we are not sure. Comparing the infantry figures that came with the 88mm guns they are less chunky than FoW figs. The quality seems just fine. The line is expanding but they currently have infantry for American, British, German, and Russian forces. Read the rest of this entry »
15mm Buildings and Terrain — News
Battlefront announced it is delaying the release of its new Italian terrain pieces. The Ruined Monastery, Vineyards, and Rural Roads will not be released for 6-12 months due to “overseas issues.”
More curious is the lack of mention of the European buildings announced last year and shown in Wargames Illustrated issue #268 in February of 2010. We hope these will still be released.
The Miniature Building Authority released a new addition to its Townhouse line. Townhouse Row E is now available and includes a corner building. All of the Townhouse buildings are fully painted and well done overall.
Also see, 15mm Pre-Painted Buildings — A Few Choices.
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.
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]
The View from the Turret 
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