WW2
Midway — Now Available
Naval warfare fans have an opportunity for a new look at a classic battle. HPS Simulations released its latest addition to its Naval Campaigns computer wargame series, Midway. While it is the fourth game in the series it is the first game to include air combat.
Midway features 36 scenarios ranging from small 10 minute actions covering a specific air attack to 12+ hour scenarios covering full fleet actions with dozens of ships and hundreds of aircraft. These scenarios include the entire battle of Midway as well as specific actions, such as attacks on individual carriers and recreations of each attacking wave of aircraft. There is also a “what if” scenario based on the Coral Sea action not having been fought a month earlier. But aside from Midway, the game also includes the historical carrier battles of the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and the Philippine Sea, as well as a hypothetical IJN-USN confrontation at Pearl Harbor.
New 15mm European Village Set Coming Soon
As indicated a year ago, Battlefront has a new 15mm European Village set in the works for its Gale Force 9 Battlefield in a Box series. The recent issue of Wargames Illustrated (issue 268 – February 2010) gives a nice description on page 54,
These buildings come in a multitude of different styles and textures, including a corner store building…Included in these samples were various village wall sections…The buildings and walls come out of the box pre-painted and each level of the building is removable.
The article has a number of pictures of the buildings and walls and they do indeed look great. This will be an excellent set and a must get for 15mm European front gamers.
The Best Games Not Yet Published, 2010
Another new year, another new set of games and miniatures to lust after! It is time for our annual look at the games and miniatures we are most anxiously awaiting in 2010. Our 2009 prognostications did pretty well so here we go again. As always, there is no guarantee any of these titles will be published in 2010, nor that they will be any good if they are, but we are optimistic.
Read the rest of this entry »
New DVG Games
Dan Verssen Games (DVG) has a couple of interesting new titles coming out soon. Phantom Leader is the latest in the Hornet Leader series started almost twenty years ago with Hornet Leader from GMT Games published in 1991. This was followed by Thunderbolt/Apache Leader (A-10s and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters). They all began as solitaire board games but have only been available as VASSAL games for a long time. Phantom Leader brings the series back into print. Phantom Leader puts you in the role of a squadron commander and you have to manage your pilots and aircraft and then plan and fly combat missions including target selection, weapons loadouts and more. The game is card driven and both U.S. Navy and Air Force options are included with a variety of aircraft besides the F-4. Phantom Leader also adds a political element to your strikes that seems quite fitting for a Vietnam era game. The rules are available online as well as some after action reports. If you have an interest in aerial warfare, or were a fan of the old games, you should give Phantom Leader a look.
Also coming soon from DVG is Frontline – D-Day. It is a WW2 tactical card game for 1-4 players. You can play as the Americans, British, or Germans in the D-Day 1944 battles and follow-on Normandy battles. What is interesting is that there is also a solitaire mechanic included in the game. The rules are available online as well as AARs and some play sheets.
Naval Thunder: Battleship Row — First Look
We finally got around to grabbing a copy of Steel Dreadnought Games‘ new World War Two naval miniature rules Naval Thunder: Battleship Row along with the first expansion Bitter Rivals. Battleship Row is based on their naval system debuted in their World War One ruleset Naval Thunder: Clash of Dreadnoughts. While Clash of Dreadnoughts fell just shy of beating out Mongoose Publishing’s Victory at Sea: Age of Dreadnoughts as our favorite quick-play naval rules, Battleship Row is the set that sends Victory at Sea to the bottom. Read the rest of this entry »
Warhammer 1944?!
The gents over at the D6 Generation podcast have one whopper of a rumor. In their Episode 44: Year in Review & Carnage 2009 they report that they heard Games Workshop might be working on a World War Two era game. The only details they had were that it would be an in-house project and that the scale might be 20mm.
If this is true it would certainly be a huge departure for Games Workshop. While Warhammer Historical has been around a long time it was not a direct part of GW. More importantly it has never had any model support from GW. The idea of Games Workshop producing historical WW2 figures seems rather far fetched. Moreover, 20mm would seem an odd choice considering the vast number of historical 20mm choices currently in the market including large numbers of highly detailed scale kits from the major model manufacturers. On the other hand, 20mm is the best skirmish scale (or ‘army scale’ in GW terms) for WW2 (and was considered the ‘one true scale’ by many battalion-scale WW2 gamers for years). One could even imagine, with GW’s size, that deals could be made with other manufacturers — what if they got Dragon to do a line of branded ‘GW armor’ kits?!
The genesis of this rumor comes from a Wargames Illustrated report about the recent Warhammer World convention where Forge World demoed a set of WW2 rules. Warhammer Historical is now part of Forge World and apparently a staff member wrote the rules. So it is most likely the release will be just a set of rules and not a set of miniatures or any new line from Games Workshop directly.
Of course this is all just a rumor, but it is certainly something for which to keep an eye, and ear, out for over the coming year.
Note, our favorite 25mm scale World War Two figures and vehicles are from West Wind’s Berlin or Bust (BoB) line. Their World War II Separate Head System (SHS) is also very good but is 28mm and does not mix with BoB. The Secrets of the Third Reich line is 28mm and mixes with the SHS just fine (as do the Incursion miniatures). The Bolt Action line is also a good 28mm option.
[Updated: 29NOV09]
Flames of War Releases — 2010
Battlefront announced a truck load of upcoming releases for Flames of War. They detailed their plans not only for the rest of 2009 but all the way through to July 2010 — although we suspect they will still have a few surprises.
The focus is on airborne operations and Operation Market-Garden in particular. Also of note are the new hill and forest sets, new spray paint, a new Eastern Front book, four river expansion boxes, and the Vietnam releases.
Wargames Illustrated 268 will feature Operation Market-Garden. February 2010 sees the release of the A Bridge Too Far book. In April we should get Firestorm – Market Garden to pull all the new material together.
Mid year, Battlefront changes gears and a new late war Italy book will be out followed by the first of the early war releases including the first early war army book.
It is going to be a great, but expensive, year for Flames of War fans.
Heroes of the Blitzkreig — Review
Armchair General magazine has a nice review of Lock ‘N Load Games’ Heroes of the Blitzkrieg. HotB is the latest addition to LnL’s WW2 tactical combat board game system. The rules are the new V3.0 rules and it was the first game to include the new graphic design with small, super high gloss map panels.
The second edition of Band of Heroes is also available. It also includes the V3.0 rules and new map panels without the halo hexes.
Joe Steadman from The Dice Tower also has a video look at the game.
[Updated: 17DEC09]
Hell’s Highway Coming Soon!
When Flames of War first came on the scene there were three things we could not wait to see: D-Day, Operation Market-Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge. Well we got D-Day and now the first Market-Garden book, Hell’s Highway, is almost ready. Battlefront recently posted their Hell’s Highway design notes. Still no word on the Bulge though….
Flames of War — News
Some interesting news from Battlefront on Flames of War.
Early War, what’s the plan?
As JP has previously mentioned work is underway, and we are aiming to release the three primary sourcebooks over the next 4 years. The first book will focus on the German invasion of Poland and France. The second book will cover the Africa campaign. The third book will cover the war in the east. Read the rest of this entry »
The View from the Turret 
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