On the Net by Alan Poulter2001 Gamers Choice AwardsThe Strategy Gaming Society 2001 Gamers' Choice Awards are: General Strategy, Multi-Player category: The Princes of Florence (Alea) General Strategy, 2-Player category: Battle Cry (Avalon Hill/Hasbro) Historical Simulations: Drive on Paris (The Gamers) Battle Cry was also a strong contender for the Historical Simulations Award, along with Ukraine'44 (GMT) and Risorgimento (GMT). Drive on Paris though was a worthy winner and had to fight off stiff competition, unlike last year when Paths of Glory (GMT) romped home. Designed by Al Wambold, Drive on Paris is a Standard Combat Series game on the mobile campaign on the Western Front in 1914. For more information see: http://homepages.about.com:8088/strategygames/wizzk.html Avalon Hill/HasbroAxis and Allies: Pacific, the Pacific component of Axis and Allies: Europe, is out. Players familiar with the original game and Axis and Allies: Europe will find this game easy to pick up. There are a significant number of new rules that distinguish this game, for example for US marines, Kamikaze air strikes, first turn attack benefits for the Japanese and more. Since the Japanese only start with a measly 19 IPCs (production points) they must grab as much as possible as fast as they can from the far stronger, but dispersed, Allies who start with 85 IPCs. To win, the Japanese must either capture an Allied Capital (US West Coast, New South Wales, or India) or pick up a moral victory by picking up 22 victory points (they get 1VP per 10 IPCs of production per turn). The Allies must either capture the Japanese Mainland or force the Japanese to endure a turn where they gain no IPC VPs before they reach the 22 needed to win. Avalon Hill's site is at: Critical HitFrom Critical Hit is the long-awaited Genesis '48 module for their Squads and Leaders (tactical World War 2 ground combat) series. It has fifteen scenarios, twelve of which cover the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The other three are set during the 1956 Suez Crisis. There is a map of the old city of Jerusalem, used in the campaign game and two of the 1948 scenarios, and a kibbutz overlay for use in some of the scenarios. The map is one of Critical Hit's best, a marked improvement over previous efforts. There are special rules for the wall (rebuilt in the 1500's by the Turks), the Jaffa Gate, the many cemeteries, Dome of the Rock, and other unique terrain features. There are plenty of unique unit types and equipment. It is an impressive package all together. Also from Critical Hit are two new scenario packs. The Total East Front Pack 1 contains eight scenarios set in the Eastern Front. Half of those cover fighting in Vienna in April 1945; the rest range from Kursk to Operation Bagration. The other scenario pack, Total Pacific Front Pack 1, has eight scenarios set in the Pacific. Four feature Australian troops, one has New Zealanders in action on Nissan Island. Two have US forces (the 37th Division in action on Luzon in 1941 and 1945) and the last features Filipino guerrillas (US Army Forces in the Philippines, Northern Luzon) in action in June 1945. Overall, a very interesting mix. The GamersFallschirmjaeger is the eighth game in the popular Standard Combat Series from the Gamers. Designed by Al Wambold (who designed Drive on Paris, see above) this game covers the airborne invasion of Holland in 1940. Although this conflict sounds one-sided, the Dutch nearly managed to take the bridge which enabled their beleaguered airborne units to be reinforced by the Panzers. GMTNew from GMT is Kasserine, yet another game on the various campaigns for Tunisia (Moments in History released one last year) throughout the five month campaign there in 1943. This game is by veteran design Vance von Borries. Opinion is that this game's map is clearer and the rules slightly shorter than the competition. In the rumour department GMT seem to be ramping up to produce zillions on games based on the game system used in We the People (Avalon Hill) and Paths of Glory (GMT), known affectionately as 'weepypog' based on the acronyms of these two game titles. Next up from GMT will be Wilderness War, on the French & Indian War and later will come Thirty Years War, which is gathering advance orders quickly through GMT's P500 pre-order system. In design are Barbarossa to Berlin, grand strategy World War 2, from Paths of Glory designer Ted Raicer, and as yet untitled games on the War in the Pacific and Vietnam, from We the People designer Mark Herman. GMT have recently released a swarm of new P500 proposals. Remember, the idea of P500 is for these games to achieve 500 pre-orders before they are issued. These are, in alphabetical order: Across the Rappahannock (Glory II) - more American Civil War battles using the Glory system Alexandria - in the Great Battles of History series, this game uniquely allows both land and naval operations at the same time, showing Julius Caesar's clash with the Egyptians in 47BC. Guilford Courthouse/Eutaw Springs - more battles in the well-received American Revolution series Medieval - a Richard Berg designed multi-player set in early Medieval Europe Prussia's Glory - four battles of Frederick the Great, using a new game system Reds - a Ted Raicer design on the Russian Civil War, originally slated for publication in Command magazine This Accursed Civil War - five battles from the English Civil War 1642-1646 by designer Ben Hull, using his acclaimed Musket and Pike Battles series already seen in DTP format Von Manstein's Backhand Blow - an Eastern Front game from designer Dirk Blennemann These are an impressive bunch and the only problem seems to be that if they all make 500 orders, them GMT is going to have to pull out all the stops to get them published this side of 2002! GMT are at: Guild of BladesThe War to End All Wars box set edition, with newly revised rules and an upgraded physical edition, will be out by the time you read this. This game is an Axis and Allies variant set in World War 1. It will contain 1300+ card stock units, 190 plastic unit stands, new Generals rules and General, revised Russian and Bolshevik Revolution rules, increased diplomatic options for the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Japan, the USA, and China, and adjusted submarine warfare and convoy rules. For more details see: Jolly Roger GamesThe reprint of Greg Costikyan's old game in SPI's Ares magazine, Barbarian Kings, has finally appeared, to a less than enthusiastic reception. The game is quite pricey for what is a simple, Diplomacy-like game set in a fantasy world. The game itself has not been upgraded either so owners of the original need not buy a new copy. MMPJust out from MMP is Grant Takes Command, the seventh game in what was Avalon Hill's Great Campaigns of the Civil War series. This edition covers Grant's Spring 1864 campaign around Richmond. Its two maps were done by Rick Barber which are back to the standards of the original games. This is the first non-ASL (Advanced Squad Leader) game from MMP. MMP are at: Omega GamesOmega Games, after a long gestation period (around five years), have finally released 1864. The game plays as two folio sized games, as well as a full-sized map game for the entire summer to winter campaign season of 1864. The maps are based on the point to point system used previously in East Front Solitaire and other Omega Games. There are lots and lots of white area boxes though on the maps, enough to drown out the physical terrain. The rules are reasonably short and there are five scenarios: campaign game, East, West, March to the Sea, and the Valley. Units are corps and divisions with strength points, troop quality, and overall leader bonuses. Magazine GamesThe latest Strategy & Tactics #205 features a Joseph Miranda design, Boer War. It is an operational level simulation of the Second Boer War (1899-1902), fought between the forces of the British Empire and the Boer republics of South Africa. Three scenarios are offered, covering "The Conventional War," "Marching to Pretoria," and the full campaign game. Advance warning: in Strategy and Tactics #211 will be Rough and Ready, a re-titled version of BSO's earlier DTP effort, Las Batallas De Los Gringos. This is one of Richard Berg's best designs for his BSO line, and will make an ideal magazine game, with short rules and fast game play. From the OSS Games web site (http://ossgames.com/): "It is with sadness that we announce that Jon Compton has left One Small Step to pursue other interests. Mike Anderson will take over the role as head of OSS, and continue to produce GameFix, Competitive Edge, and all other scheduled projects. Mike has headed up the design department at OSS since its inception, and is the ideal candidate to pick up the mantle. Jon can be contacted at jcompton@speakeasy.net. He has elected to focus on music and is currently in the studio with members of planet X (www.xplanetx.com) recording his first demo CD. We at OSS wish him luck and best success." Hopefully this will not affect the appearance of GameFix magazine which has been irregular to date. Panzerschreck #6, the Summer 2001 issue of the DTP 'zine-with-a-game published by Gary Graber, is out and it contains 3 games! The first game is Jellicoe versus Scheer, a two-player WWI naval combat sim that is an evolution of the Dogger Bank system that appeared in Panzerschreck #5. This game is reminiscent of the old Jutland (Avalon Hill) in that the ship counters are moved on the tabletop (or floor) using rulers. The second game is Fall of Constantinople, a solitaire treatment of the siege of 1453. The player controls the Ottoman Turks while the system handles the Christian defenders on a point-to-point map. The third game (a mini-game) is Nam Diary, a two-player tactical game of a firefight between US and NVA troops. For more information see: http://www.homestead.com/minden_games/index.html Vae Victis #38 is now available, containing L'aigle Foudroye 1870 (about the Franco-Prussian war). Apart from Vae Victis there are two other wargaming magazines containing games which are not published in English. Alea is published in Spain and is up to #27, which contains two new games for its Shadow of the Eagle (tactical level Napoleonic battles in Portugal and Spain) series and No Pasarán! (operational level Spanish Civil War battles) series. The first, Gamonal 1808, covers the battle of November 1808 for the northern approaches of Madrid between Napoleon's Grande Armee and the combined Anglo-Spanish Armies. The second game included is Quinta del Biberón: Balaguer 1938. It is on the offensive of the Republican Army of the East, reorganised after the crushing defeat of March-April 1938, against the Nationalist bridgehead over the Segre river at Balaguer. There is a list of Alea games at: Alea Iacta Est is a newish magazine published in Italy, with issue#2 due out soon. It does have a web site at: http://www.ancientwars.com/rivista.htm DTP gamesMarkham Designs have just released Arginussae, on the Athenian naval victory on the Athenian naval victory over Sparta in 405BC. It uses the same game system as his earlier Salamis and, like this earlier 'monster' DTP game, has nearly a thousand counters (albeit most of them are status markers) and eight maps. Like Salamis, this is a limited edition game, 75 copies all told have been printed. From Schutze Games come some interesting releases. Dark Continent is a 2-5 player game of economic and military colonialism in Africa. Bushido Denied: Bataan and Corrigedor by designer Paul Rohrbaugh shows the defence of the Philippines in 1941. Schutze Games are at: http://www.geocities.com/schutze_games From Ben Hull (see above under GMT) as a DTP game comes Nördlingen 1634 - Habsburg High Water Mark, the newest instalment of his Musket & Pike Battle system. It is a limited print run of 50, half of which are already reserved. The intriguingly named ZRCV Flying Flat tops, from Sierra Madre Games, is an alternate history game about the big American airships of the pre-World War 2 years that carried aircraft and how they could have evolved had they not unfortunately been prone to crashing in flames. You need the earlier Luftschiff, on World War 1 zeppelins, to play ZRCV, which is pretty much a solitaire game along the lines of Avalon Hill's B17. A newcomer to DTP publication is Norman Smith as his first release, Senlac Hill, on the Battle of Hastings 1066, has just appeared. Besides a traditional battle scenario, two alternative scenarios are also provided. This game has been well received and Norman is hard at work on a game on the battle of Stamford Bridge. For more information see: http://www.btinternet.com/~norm.smith/ Computer WargamesTalonsoft is no more. Its new owners, Take 2 Interactive have fired the Talonsoft staff. Arab Israeli Wars will be the last Talonsoft game. Take 2 will retain the logo and name Talonsoft, and it may use the name in upcoming titles, but Talonsoft as a wargame producer is no more. That leaves Matrix Games and Shrapnel Games as the only wargame-producing companies around, and both of these only sell through net outlets. See: It is not just game companies but review sites as well. The Gamers Net has been closed down by parent company iEN, formerly iMagic. However its staff have resurrected it as Militarygamer.net at: If you thought board wargaming was in a poor state, computer wargames are worse off. At least board games can be produced (if necessary by DTP) for a small audience. Computer games are much more complex to produce and there is no mass market for them, as there is for more general strategy games. Two games worth looking at are Sid Meier's Waterloo, the latest using the same 'real time' game engine as in Gettysburg and Antietam. There is a demo on its publisher site at: The other is a computer conversion of AWE's Europa Universalis. It does have a publisher web site but no demo is currently available: http://www.europa-universalis.com/ MonsterConMonsterCon was held over the May Bank Holiday weekend in a plush hotel in Tempe, Arizona. It was notable for two reasons. First, the games played were all 'monsters', big complex games with lots of maps and units, some of them long out print and extremely valuable. Amongst the games played were: Empires in Arms (ADG/Avalon Hill) grand strategy Napoleonic Summer Storm (Clash of Arms) on Gettysburg War in the States (SPI), American Civil War Wacht am Rhine (SPI) on the Battle of the Bulge Highway to the Reich (SPI) on Arnhem Korsun Pocket (Peoples Wargames), Enemy at the Gates (The Gamers) and the East Front series (GMT), all Russian Front World War 2 World in Flames (ADG), Totaller Krieg (Decision Games) and War in Europe (SPI/Decision Games), all grand strategy World War 2 Vietnam (Victory Games) Not all of the above were played to a conclusion, despite pre-planning effort and several days continuous play! The second notable feature was that MonsterCon was organised by John Kranz, who runs the Consimworld discussion board. He used the discussion board both to promote the event and to organise game publisher support. John's organisation of the event was praised by all. So MonsterCon was unique as a con designed to play solely 'hard core' wargames and organised/promoted almost entirely via the Internet. It was a great success and John will be organising another one at the same time next year. For pictures see: http://www.consimworld.com/monstergamecon/photojournal/ and for discussion/reporting see the MonsterCon folder on Consimworld: Winston HamiltonWinston Hamilton, owner of GR/D, who publish the Europa series, died unexpectedly. Carl Kleihege and Arthur Goodwin have purchased GR/D Games from his estate and will be continuing to publish games. See: Last update 07/10/07 by Paul
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