EuroFront ReplayTom OlesonIn mid-May there was snow on the ground in the spectacular high Cascade passes as for the third time I drove the thousand-mile round-trip to New Denver BC to play EuroFront with its designer Craig Besinque. The empty roads invite speed but police lurk. The primitive ferry across the Columbia River in the middle of a remote Indian reservation is an interesting experience. WW II in Europe has long been the favorite wargaming topic. Thirty-five years ago I spent a comparable weekend at the Los Angeles home of AHIKSer Fred Webster playing Drang Nach Osten (Russian front). Four days nearly 'round the clock only got us to the first Winter. I wonder if the now middle-aged teen-agers on our teams are still wargamers? There are many titles produced by Columbia Games (800-636-3631) [www.columbiagames.com], including Avalon Hill's Napoleon. The main difference from the usual cardboard-counter game is that the units are small wooden blocks. The blank side faces the opponent, providing fog-of-war. The blocks may be rotated to reduce/increase strength, thereby including production. I have played several of these games but limit my comments to my favorite, EuroFront, their monster WW II/Europe game. It has 380 handsome blocks and a beautiful 4'x 8' map, which makes a striking display. The game may be started at various points. Interrupted by frequent chats, during a 3-day weekend we got from May 1940 to the end of 1943. To be able to conveniently play a monster game on this subject with just one opponent in a long weekend is great! Team play is also fun. As half of a two-man team, I had also recently played another scenario as German West Front commander at the home of one of the best block players, Mike Hoyt, whose enthusiasm for EuroFront also knows no bounds. We both recently bought a second set. This was my first time as Axis supreme commander. Against the designer on his home court, I just wanted to learn, and not lose too badly. The Axis must worry about the Western, Eastern, and Southern fronts, and I was unsure how to balance their demands. I started with a fairly standard invasion of France, then accepted Vichy's offer of an armistice, and proceeded to conquer the Balkans. There are many fascinating variables as to how this will play out. My main effort was to be in the Mediterranean. What delights me most about EuroFront is the challenge of choosing among the various possible strategies. The final phase of my Balkan Campaign was an invasion of Crete from Rhodes. Craig heavily reinforced the island, but by deploying strong air power I prevailed, with British losses. I then betrayed Vichy by a double-phase ("Blitz") invasion of Tunisia, supported by a paradrop. The single Vichy unit miraculously resisted, so remarkable that Craig offered a re-roll, which I declined. In a game like Anzio there is no way a 3-1 attacker will have to retreat, but EuroFront has a more subtle combat system in which results are reasonable but unpredictable. I enjoy this operational challenge. I also have come to regard factor counting as an unrealistic chore. I did not plan to invade the USSR. While I was bogged down by mud in Yugoslavia, Craig toyed with attacking Rumania to capture my oil supply. It takes a while for the Red Army to build up in EuroFront, particularly when not defending Mother Russia. This discourages but does not prevent an offensive strategy. When it became evident that I was after Middle-Eastern oil, he finally attacked at the end of 1941. Craig tied up a strong Italian garrison in Tobruk, and forgot that I might have left my powerful air cover in Crete. The block system encourages such deceptions. As he approached Tripoli, I used air support to break out of Tobruk, slowly (infantry) advancing unopposed to Alexandria. The rest of his army was too far West! I twice came within one die-roll digit of destroying the lone garrison there, which Craig felt would have decided the war. I delayed the Allied advance into Tunisia but finally suffered the historical fate, a bit earlier. Craig then invaded in Sicily and Salerno. Given my experience at Anzio, this could not go unanswered. With strong forces including SS armor, I retook Salerno, with heavy British losses. The Italians fought bravely but Sicily fell. Italy went over to the Allies, but they only had a toe-hold at Messina. That was the end of the Italian campaign. When the game ended Craig checked out my Italian OOB, which was much weaker than he had thought. He regretted not attacking more. Again, fog of war. A key point about EuroFront, however, is that "fog" is not absolute. As combat proceeds, units are revealed, so each side has a rough idea of the other's strength. Craig also invaded in Normandy. I crushed one beach-head, destroying the Canadians, and forced the other units back into Cherbourg. The Allies can invade rather early in EuroFront, but it did not pay off for Craig, nor for my Allied opponent in the team game. The Soviet attack was stymied by a powerful defense along the Vistula and Carpathians. Craig had not noticed that Tito had cut my supply to Greece, but I felt obliged to admit it, causing me to withdraw from there, and helping the Russians turn the southern corner into Bulgaria. I don't know whether Craig is best as designer, player, good sport, or musician, but high marks all around for sure. By the end of the game Ploesti and Bucharest were still in German hands, although Sofia had fallen. As time ran out we judged that the game would have been a draw, possibly with the "German moral victory" requirement achieved. Please look for a better description of that, Craig! Immoral? I learned a lot and have already concocted a completely different strategy for next time. Critics consider the block games simplistic. I consider them elegant. They retain what is crucial, while deleting what I consider non-essential, time-consuming elements. If interested you might start with one of the independent component games of EuroFront such as Med Front or West Front. Craig is one of the most dedicated and supportive designers in the hobby, always refining his games, taking copious notes during play. He recently rewrote the rules, now called "Master Front". I give this high marks with two caveats. Craig has a rules-writing philosophy different from some other designers I know well. In several places he uses what I consider rather vague statements which I would prefer be precisely defined. He expects the players to use common sense, and will not placate rules lawyers. Writing rules is always a conflict between brevity and comprehensiveness. For example, I was confused whether the scenario began with a production phase. This was explained at the start of the scenario SECTION, but not in the rules specific to each scenario. Repetition is convenient, but lengthy. If you want a monster ETO game playable by two in a reasonable amount of time, with the accent on the challenge of grand strategic and operational decisions, look no further. |