Archive For The “Reviews” Category
On #TBT, we bring you the occasional classic article – an older review or analysis piece we wanted to rescue
Michael Eckenfels, 8 November 2018
The Schwerpunkt series of GMT games is aptly named: a focused, cohesive effort on a
Box Cover
relatively contracted part of World War II. The first (and currently, only) game in this series, Von Manstein’s Backhand Blow, contemplates admirably the dire situation facing the Wehrmacht in early 1943, with a beautiful map, colorful playing pieces, and a very easy system of play.
BACKGROUND
The German retreat from the Caucasus and Stalingrad is still underway when the Soviets, smelling blood and drunk with victory, give the South and Southwestern Fronts orders to push their offensives to the Sea of Azov. While the Stalingrad pocket had Sixth Army and about twenty-six divisions, the remaining formations of Army Group South totaled approximately forty-one more. If, the Soviets reasoned, their troops could force their way to the coast, the better part of several hundred thousand more hardened German troops could be caught in a massive trap that made Stalingrad look like a minor opening act. (more…)
On #TBT, we bring you the occasional classic article – an older review or analysis piece we wanted to rescue
Michael Eckenfels, 1 November 2018
“Even when I am gone, I shall remain in people’s minds the star of their rights, my name will be the war cry of their efforts, the motto of their hopes.”
What Napoleon Bonaparte said here wasn’t just idle arrogance; his words were truth. Napoleon brought to history a truly glorious time of war (if war may indeed be labeled as such), for he awoke a brutally strong sense of nationalism deep within the bodies of his fellow countrymen, which was enough to bring to France’s doorstep a good portion of the known world for a time.
Napoleon wasn’t just a man of military ability; he knew a basic and powerful version of psychology, something that only can be born in the depths of one’s soul and not learned from a textbook. It endeared him to his men and made them fight like demons. Combined with the brilliant plans and maneuverings of their leader made for a fierce, unstoppable machine – for a time.
On #TBT, we bring you the occasional classic article – an older review or analysis piece we wanted to rescue
Brant Guillory, 25 October 2018
For a while, Better Games had the rights to the name Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer magazine. And they did it justice. I have about 75% of the issues – the magazine lasted only 10-12 or so, but these little gems should definitely be tracked down.
By Avery Abernethy, 24 October 2018
Masks of Nyarlathotep was first published way back in 1984 as one of the first adventures for the then new RPG Call of Cthulhu. It is a huge adventure with the investigators attempting to stop a world-wide conspiracy to bring chaos and destruction to the world. Masks has been reprinted many times and with the advent of the internet will probably always be available for sale online in pdf form. But Masks has remained so popular that its publisher has regularly released a new print edition every decade or so. (more…)
On #TBT, we bring you the occasional classic article – an older review or analysis piece we wanted to rescue
The Splash Screen
Michael Eckenfels, 18 October 2018
• Developed by John Tiller
• Published byHPS Simulations
I haven’t seen a decent Marine Corps simulation since SSG’s ancient Halls of Montezuma, which was, at heart, a lot less tactical than The Proud and the Few . And, while you won’t be storming the gates of Mexico City or fighting off Communists at Inchon, you will be treated to an excellent range of tense, bloody battles that are the trademark of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. (more…)
Jim Owczarski, 13 October 2018
There is a sea-change afoot in wargaming and it is honestly unlike any I have seen in my lifetime. For those keeping score at home, I am old enough to have watched “Good Times” before syndication.
designers should seek, using clear rules and transparent systems, to make a historical “argument”
The coming of the hobby boardgame, particularly the euro, has washed through the industry like a Spring rain. Companies that were once almost exclusively committed to chits, hexes, and CRTs are letting heresies like wooden pieces, cards, and even table-free combat systems into their offerings. Perhaps nothing is bigger, though, than the demand that consims should be more than elaborate statistics, detailed maps, and tottering stacks of chits. There is a desire — which I first heard spoken by Dr. Bruce Geryk — that game creators no longer try to supplant design with detail or, perhaps more accurately, to conceal poor design under a mound of detritus. On the contrary, designers should seek, using clear rules and transparent systems, to make a historical “argument”, if you will, regarding the event they are portraying and let the players make their way through it. In the end the player can agree or disagree with the argument, but through this process the designer will communicate to the player and open up the history on the table. This must not be taken as an excuse for ahistorical nonsense masquerading as simplicity, but instead a demand that designers, well, do better.