Issue #41 Steps Towards a Better

Simulation
Fall 2015

As long as I’ve been in mechanism in Wing Leader to happen based upon the
the hobby the realism vs. where after each air combat air combat games I’ve been
simulation argument has that involves flights/ involved in over the last 40
been going on. While this squadrons you roll to see if years! The players also
article may seem like an- the unit has become so bear some responsibility
other extension of it, actu- separated or broken apart here as to most if they lose
ally it has more to do with that the various stragglers, all of their flight it’s no big
trying to figure flights, etc., just deal, there’s coordination
out what exactly decide to go of efforts even though most
are we doing on home. Now aren’t in any form of con-
the tabletop. By contrast that with tact, and there’s no desire
that I mean are most air to air to live another day in gam-
we really repre- miniatures ing.
senting combat at games that
Then you turn towards
whatever level of you’ve played in.
terrain, which I have al-
rules that we are Certainly it’s at a
WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL GAMING SOCIETY

ways felt was the weakest

playing, or are more tactical
part of miniatures wargam-
have we been level than Wing
ing. Now I’m not talking
reduced to just Leader, but the
about the actual models
pushing pretty concepts are the
used on our tabletops as the
toys around a tabletop that same. No one ever runs for
quality and availability is
resembles a battlefield? home, aircraft push for kills
Warming Order

truly astounding. Gamers

even at hopeless odds, and
This came about as a today can assemble villag-
everyone is on the same
result of playing the new es, forts, mats, and just
page in regards to tactics
Wing Leader game about anything else in the
and coordinating efforts. Is
(reviewed later ), a recent terrain category that you
this the fault of the rules or
WW2 miniatures game, can think of. The only
the players?
and reading a few new obstacle to not having a
military history books. The Well, the answer is a massive amount of high
combination of these things bit of both. Most minia- quality terrain is your fi-
caused me to ponder why tures rules are designed to nancial status!
our games most of the time get a decisive result where
No, I’m talking about
bear little resemblance to possible, so anything that
actually using the terrain in
what happened historically. would end the game prem-
your games. When a game
This isn’t a quest for real- aturely is definitely
is getting set up and before
ism to the extreme, aka frowned upon. I’m sure
the first turn, what do most
Advanced Squad Leader, that many times a flight of
gamers think of? Let’s put
but rather why various aircraft made a firing pass,
a unit of infantry in that
aspects of miniatures gam- got lost in the clouds,
woods as it gets a +1 and
ing and rules don’t address couldn’t coordinate future
then a unit behind that
these issues. attacks, etc., and just made
farmhouse because it will
for home. That’s not going
There is an interesting get a +2. Do (cont. on p3)

Inside this issue:

Special points of interest:
Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Playtest 4
 Battle reports for Battlegroup Panzergrena-
Wing Leader and Genesis Game Reviews 8 dier, Ronin, BFE 2, and Age of Eagles.
Memoirs & Blast From The Past 10  Two new scenarios in Engagements.
AOE: Alternative Opening for Leipzig 1813 12
 Reviews of the new Wing leader and Gene-
Engagements #11 & #12 16 sis games from GMT.

Book Reviews 22  Book reviews, an article on using terrain

chits, and the usual regular features.
Terrain Markers & Using Them in Your Games 24
Steps Towards a Better Simulation (cont.)
(cont. from p2) you ever get a discussion In skirmish gaming players try to set a set of rules:
on fields of fire, overwatch positions, things up so that everyone under their
1. More emphasis placed on terrain.
rally points, channeling attacks, delaying command gets to fire each turn, which in
Carefully explain to all players what
positions, etc.? My guess is rarely, if reality would rarely happen. Yet it does
the various pieces of terrain are and
ever. Yet, read about many of the great with unswerving regularity in our games.
their modifiers or what their role in
battles in history or even small scale ac-
Logistics is another aspect of minia- the game is. A few systems I’ve
tions and you quickly see that terrain is
tures gaming that is often ignored. In seen in the past use hidden markers
right there at the top of the list.
most games each unit starts at full that are only revealed once a unit has
A friend and I recently played the strength, has a full complement of ammo, entered the area. For example, what
South Mountain scenario from GMT’s and if a WW2 or later game has sufficient everyone thought was a gentle
Twin Peaks. Getting the Union forces fuel to drive halfway across a continent! stream turns out to be unfordable
down the main road, deploying into line, We’ve run a few games of once reached and another route
and then attempting to get up the hills to BKC2 where certain forces had needs to be found.
push the Confederates back was a daunt- the chance to run out of fuel,
2. If more than one unit is firing
ing challenge. The reason? Some of the which not only added some
on a target there needs to be some
nastiest terrain that you will ever see on a uncertainty to the game, but it
kind of coordination roll.
battlefield and not many options to get at forces players to think more
the attacker. Now if we had played this tactically in that if they ran out 3. No more “to the last man”
using Fire & Fury, which is our club’s of fuel, where would you want type scenarios. Establish clear
standard set of ACW rules, I think the to be on the battlefield? The limits where after so many losses
Union forces would have rolled their way same needs to go for ammo, combat formations fall back or
to victory. The reasons are many, but particularly for artillery, who break.
mostly due to the fact that recreating the just can’t fire barrage after barrage all
terrain would be difficult, if not impossi- day. 4. Add some variability to ammunition
ble, and the rules just don’t account for it. and/or fuel supplies that will add a
Command and control is another area level of uncertainty to one or both
Defending in woods is a +1 (if I remem-
where things could definitely be im- sides.
ber right), whether it’s in the middle of a
proved. The danger here is that it can
flat farm meadow or on top of a boulder 5. Commands should be organized
escalate quickly into an over the top sys-
strewn hill that just took an hour and a properly and given clear orders for
tem that takes longer to manage than a
half to climb to! the upcoming battle. There should
full turn of the game! Having said that,
Then you have the issue with streams, however, units should not be allowed to be some amount of chaos in the
canals, and rivers. Historically, they pre- wander all over the board aimlessly, cross movement phase of the rules. Not
sented all kinds of obstacles for both at- attach whenever needed, or respond all units acted quickly, followed
tacker and defender. A six foot wide, quickly to unseen threats in every circum- orders, saw threats coming, etc.
five foot deep stream in certain locations, stance. Commands usually had specific 6. Reserves should be identified and
(i.e., Normandy) could break up for- orders covering the upcoming battle and then moving them up should have
mations, force vehicles to search for the usually stuck to them, good or bad. In some kind of process rather than
nearest bridge, etc. Not in most of our most of the games I play in, however, being instantly approved.
games. It’s usually a “subtract 1/2 of orders change a few times each turn!
your movement” type situation and move These are merely suggestions to move
Proper use of reserves is definitely our miniatures games to more along the
on. Also, firing into or out of said stream
not something that you see in lines of a historical simulation. Granted,
would also provide all kinds of
miniatures games. Very few, if any of the above could be expanded
challenges, none of which
any gamers keep a reserve to ei- greatly to almost become a game by itself
seem to be present in most
ther exploit success or shore up a or increase the complexity of the game by
rules.
faltering defense. The reserves a factor of ten. That’s not the idea here.
Then we come to firing. were usually released only when Hopefully, by just adding or changing a
That a wide variety of units absolutely needed, but in most few things in your games you can depict
and formations can all coordi- miniatures games the reserves are far more interesting battles or get players
nate fire on one target has al- up on the front lines by the third to think about more than just rolling dice.
ways been a mystery to me. or fourth turn! This may not be everyone’s cup of tea
While the From Valmy to Wa- and you could be perfectly happy with
We’ve talked about some of the
terloo rules had multiple is- your current sets of rules. However, I
problems about what we’re simulating on
sues, two things it got right were that think it’s good for gamers to look at what
the tabletop, but what are some of the
artillery batteries fire at an area and once they’re playing and ask if it really simu-
solutions? Here’s a few ideas that can be
a firefight starts it’s hard to get out of it. lates the period on the tabletop.
added to your rules or what to look for in

Page 3 WARMING ORDER

Defense in Depth Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Playtest
If you’ve been read- pire) having the rules, this would
ing this magazine for definitely be a bit of s slow playing
any length of time you game at first while we learned the
can definitely figure new rules. Fortunately, the game
out that 1) we play a system is fairly easy to pick up on
lot of WW2 games, and we were doing quite well after
and 2) we can’t seem a few turns. The command system
to stick with the same plays faster than it is explained in
set of rules, and 3) the rules, which is always a posi-
we’re doing WW2 in tive.
yet another scale!
The scenario was set in 1944
Having said all of that,
with the Americans on the defen-
yes, we’re trying a new set of rules again
sive for this battle. There were two
and back to 15mm. This doesn’t mean
infantry companies holding a defensive
that we’ve moved on from the other talked about earlier. The German attack
position running across the board, with
scales and rules usually seen here, but moved down the stream quickly (good
artillery available off board and possible
we’ve “branched out” yet again! command rolls helped) and an American
reinforcements once the action started.
counterattack against the forces in the
This would be our first playtest with The U.S. players, including yours truly,
stream was defeated easily. The Ger-
Battlegroup Panzergrenadier, which is an set up with two platoons up front and one
mans emerged from the stream and con-
operational level set of WW2 rules. By in reserve. Not knowing what we were
tinued their attack on the American left.
operational it means that each stand of facing or how the rules worked, we made
Without the cover of the stream the fight
infantry is a squad and units are orga- a few defensive errors that fortunately
became much more fair and both sides
nized into platoons and companies. These didn’t have the long term effect that we
took casualties. The Americans did get in
rules are definitely “command and con- thought it might. Also, it was another
a few airstrikes which helped to slow
trol” heavy, which at least to me is a good lesson in needing to take the time to ask
down the attack.
thing while for others your mileage may questions about the terrain. The stream
vary. Each turn commanders are able to running along the American right became After a half dozen turns the situation
spend points to activate their various almost a fortress for the Germans while was still 50/50 for the American side.
commands. Once activated the unit can they advanced and was not accounted for The left was holding, the right was barely
then move and/or fire, depending upon in the defense! hanging on, and all of the reserves had
the situation. As usual in games with a been committed. The Germans for their
The Germans attacked across the
strong C&C component, you never seem part hadn’t won the battle, but they hadn’t
length of the American defense and while
to have enough commands or points to do lost it either. They lost one armor unit
they ran into heavy fire on the American
everything that you want, and a few infantry stands, but they were
left, they had pretty good success on the
still in great shape. They (cont. on p5)
With only one player (the game um- right. The reason? The stream that was

Page 4 WARMING ORDER

Defense in Depth (cont.) Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Playtest

(cont. from p4) had made considerable armor knocked out three of the newly would pursue, but probably much more
progress on the American right and had arrived Shermans. The German infantry cautiously, since they were outnumbered
knocked out at least one infantry platoon, finally worked itself through and around in armor still at that point by a 3:1 mar-
plus they had forced their opponent to the American defenses, which were based gin.
commit all of their reserves. off of a series of hedge lined fields. Once
It was a very good scenario that
that was breached the American position
A few platoons of Shermans then ar- showed you can have a good game that
on that side of the battlefield was in trou-
rived to bolster the defense while the doesn’t rely on having armor covering the
ble.
Germans received additional troops as tabletop. Also, having detailed terrain
well. The Germans, undaunted by the After more heavy fighting the Ameri- also causes gamers to think more tactical-
approaching armor, continued the attack. cans failed a 25% break point test, caus- ly and it presents unique challenges com-
The American infantry on the left contin- ing all surpassed units to fall back, which pared to terrain that is just thrown out to
ued to take a beating and by a little past only compounded the problems of the decorate the table without any thought to
mid game the Germans were in full con- defense. When the game was called after it. We liked the rules and the focus on
trol of the stream along its entire length. about seven hours of total game time, the command and control. The game won’t
The only thing that prevented them from group decided that it had ended in a tacti- win any awards for speed of play, but that
going further was the American armor cal German victory. U.S. forces would could just be our group’s playing style
and they had virtually no anti-tank weap- have to fall back towards the town, but and not reflected by the rules. Overall, it
ons. would be covered by armor and the artil- was a good first outing for Battlegroup
lery, plus some MGs. The Germans Panzergrenadier and we’ll try it again.
On the American left the German

ISSUE #41 Page 5

Defense in Depth (cont.) Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Playtest

This game was played with

15mm miniatures with most-
ly scratch built terrain.
Gamers should try scenarios
like this which feature a
terrain heavy tabletop as it
does provide a new perspec-
tive for both sides. Most
WW2 actions were not
fought out in the open and
although doing a tabletop
like this does take some ef-
fort, particularly in the set
up and take down aspects of
the game, it definitely en-
hances the gameplay for all
involved.

Action from the second night where the American armor moves to counterattack or at least stabilize the situation. When the armor ar-
rived the U.S. lines had been broken in several places and the situation was not looking good!

Page 6 WARMING ORDER

Ronin: Ikko-Ikki Bandit Attack Battle Report

We’ve had a lot of fun with Ronin and they had a few missile weapons, so a pretty wild skirmish.
over the last year or so and this was an- this was a tough job for the defenders as However, the superior fighting skills
other great scenario that Rob created. A they were pretty spread out. The Sohei of the samurai and Sohei prevailed in the
samurai lord was away with most of his moved quickly and not only fought the end, but just barely. When we called it a
fighting force, so the village and his fami- bandits, but escorted civilians caught out night the bandits had made some progress
ly was being lightly defended. A group in the open. The lord’s retinue tried to do in their victory conditions, but were just
of bandits decides to attack the village the dame, but ran into heavy opposition. about spent. Including set up and take
and all kinds of chaos breaks out! After escorting the lord’s wife and child down, we spent about 2 1/2 hours on this
back to the house they prepared to defend skirmish.
The scenario was complicated by the
the gate for as long as possible.
fact that there was a group of Sohei Over the years I’ve seen that success-
guarding a temple who helped to evacu- The bandits, meanwhile, were in a ful skirmishes usually are the result of
ate the civilians to safety while the lord’s running fight with the Sohei, shooting at someone taking the time to set things up
retinue did the same, even though they civilians, fighting the lord’s retinue, and and this was the case here. Each layer
were not on the same side. Add to this a capturing certain civilians. Yes, it was had their own summary and goals, which
number of ninja who pretty much fought quite the mess, but pretty fun, too! Add goes a long way into making it a unique
anyone and everyone that came near to this a few ninja, a number of archers experienced rather than something you’ve
them, which made this a hard fight to on both sides who should have broken seen a dozen times before. Next time we
keep track of who was fighting who! their bows and used them as spears, plus need to try out the mounted rules and
multiple melees across the table and you maybe even start a small campaign.
The bandits attacked from two sides

ISSUE #41 Page 7

GMT’s Wing Leader Game Review
Air combat has long of the rules, which was critical to fighter squadron tries to spot an enemy as
been a part of wargaming, me in that this is a very different you can only engage units that you have
from the early days of air combat game from what most tallied. There are modifiers for GCI, no
SPI’s Foxbat & Phantom to of us gamers are use to. The rules radios, positions, and more. Once tallied
the incredible realism of are not that hard to understand and aircraft can move into combat, which is
Birds of Prey and a variety in my opinion it is critical to start where the fun begins.
of miniatures games as with the first scenario and work
Combat takes into account the air-
well, air combat is ex- through it solitaire with the rules
craft’s speed or turn rating, depending
tremely popular with gam- close by. After a few turns things
upon the type of action (head on pass or
ers. GMT has had a lot of start to make sense and by the sec-
turning dogfight for example), modified
recent success with games ond game you won’t need to refer
by skill, position, and more. Each side
such as Downtown, Elu- back that often.
rolls two dice which gives a number that
sive Victory, and Bloody April, which
There are 23 scenarios in the box and could tur into losses or stragglers. Then
show large, complex operational combat.
the designer released four more that are each flight and squadron roll for cohesion
Into this arena comes a new take on air
available as a PDF, so 27 so far, which to see if the combat forced the aircraft to
combat by noted designer Lee Brim-
should keep gamers busy for quite some break up and become ineffective. It is
micombe-Wood called Wing Leader.
time. The scenarios cover almost every here where the underlying theme of Wing
For those of you looking for a hard- aspect of early WWII air combat, Leader resides.
ware intensive game where you can pore which includes the Battle of Brit- Squadrons or
over the aircraft data cards comparing ain, Sedan 1940, the Flying Ti- flights in dog-
armament, rates of climb, turning statis- gers, Coral Sea, actions over fights would
tics, etc., you better turn back now. Each Stalingrad, North Africa, and have a tendency
scenario is on the large operational scale more. Add to this the fact the to break up, run
of air combat, featuring airstrikes against most of these won’t play the out of ammo, or
carriers, raids, Channel attacks, and more. same way each time and there is losses would
Players command multiple squadrons and tremendous replay value here. force them out
flights, not a few aircraft in a dogfight. of the picture.
So, how does the game play?
This is not a
The components are up to GMT’s The set up is fairly easy, with
game where squadrons spend a dozen
usual high standards. You get a rather players placing their squadrons and/or
turns in a twisting dogfight with horrific
bland sky blue paper map with rectangles flights, laying out clouds, the position of
losses. Most fights are over quickly with
to regulate movement, but that’s where the sun, any ground units, ships, airfields,
the squadrons broken and heading for
the boring bits end. The counters for the etc. Finally, each squadron/flight has an
home. There are also sections for bomb-
squadrons and markers, the aircraft data identifier, mission, and any other marker
ing, torpedo attacks, flak, and a whole lot
cards, and the rules plus a scenario book such as Veterans, Green, carry bombs,
more. It speaks well of the game system
are all extremely well done. For the price etc., placed on the player’s wing display.
that even though you may add more to
there is little to complain about. Also, This display is crucial during the game as
the scenario, the complexity hardly goes
you will quickly see that the aircraft, it will hold all of the informational mark-
up at all.
cards, scenarios, and so on are geared to ers attached to the various air units that
early war aircraft, hence the sub title Vic- are on the map. This presents very little Now here is where some gamers may
tories 1940-42. Obvi- map clutter and is easy to see for have an issue. That is, you can set the
ously, there will be more all involved. Each player also has game up, fly all over the map for a few
volumes featuring late a set of data cards for their aircraft hours, and each side runs for home in a
war aircraft or so we that list speed (not movement draw with neither side shooting down
hope! points), firepower, climbing, etc. more than one aircraft each. This hap-
pened quite frequently during the war,
The rules are pre- Basically, one side is the at-
but gamers usually want more decisive
sented in an interesting tacker and one is the interceptor.
results, so your mileage may vary.
format, basically taking Bombers usually move two
up only one large col- squares a turn with fighters mov- Overall, I found Wing Leader to be a
umn of text. The side- ing three where possible. Fighters refreshing change of pace and a new look
bars are used for exam- are usually marked with missions at air combat gaming. Interesting scenar-
ples of play and clarifi- such as escort, sweep, and inter- ios, good game play with lots of deci-
cations on the rules. I cept that can influence their sions, and you can play through most
thought that this was a movement on the map. The Tally scenarios in a few hours. Highly recom-
good idea as it helped Phase is probably one of the most mended for any gamer interested in oper-
reinforce various aspects critical aspects of the game. Each ational level WWII air combat.

ISSUE #41 Page 8

GMT’s Genesis: The Bronze Age Game Review
Let’s face it, vations per player, that will easily take rolls, such as moving the Babylonian roll
there’s not to many up a gaming night. from a 2 to a 5 and dropping the Assyrian
games about the Bib- roll from a 4 to a 2 or any combination of
Each turn players must “pay to play”
lical period in the five shifts. The final result is multiplied
when their activation is chosen. The
wargaming hobby. by 10 to get a percentage which translates
game features the use of silver points,
While the era has into unit losses. It’s faster than it sounds,
which are used to purchase troops,
been a staple on the but there is a lot of strategy involved in
maintain chariots, build monuments, and
miniatures side for moving the die rolls up and down.
so on. Players then draw an event card,
ancients wargaming, I
then can conduct one major action, two You also need slaves, peasants, and
can’t recall having
minor actions, and one recruiting action. money to expand your kingdom. You
seen or played iin that
While there are cards used in the game, need to keep chariots in the field, recruit
many games on the
this is not a card-driven game such as troops when things go badly early in the
subject over the years. Following up to
Paths of Glory or Empire of the Sun. turn, pay for rebuilding of cities, and a lot
the very successful Pax Romana, noted
more. There is also an interesting mecha-
designer Richard Berg and GMT Games With each turn being around 50 years,
nism for chariot technology and manpow-
brings us Genesis: The Bronze Age. the current king or pharaoh is only on the
er limits. I haven’t even mentioned the
board for one turn, then is replaced. This
When you first open the box you’re minor powers or barbarian invasions that
means that on some turns you can have
greeted by a host of components in the come into being through card play, but
someone who is useless or the next com-
now standard GMT quality, which is to they can ruin the best laid
ing of Alexan-
say that everything looks very good. The plans in a single turn. It
der the Great!
map covers Egypt to present day Turkey sounds like there is a lot
For your major
and down to Iraq (Babylonia) with vari- going on and it’s complex,
action when
ous transit spaces and fortified cities. but after the first turn things
you have some-
There are several counter sheets with start moving rather quickly
one good you
quite a few markers, but each player gets and soon you’re not even
need to take
a set of soldiers, chariots, slaves, and consulting the sequence of
advantage and
peasants in a distinctive color. There are play.
conduct as many campaigns as possible.
also numerous units for the various minor
Each leader gets to roll 1D6 for move- Are there any issues with this game?
countries and barbarians that show up at
ment points plus their campaign rating. Very few, if any. My only concern is that
various points throughout the game. As a
The leader and his forces then can move, if you’re playing the campaign game with
nice touch there are two player cards for
fight, siege up to their movement allow- the maximum of five players there’s no
each player that list all of the combat
ance, so there’s no stopping after the first way you’re finishing in a single night.
tables, actions, etc., so no need to print
enemy is encountered. This creates an Also, expect the first turn or two to go
and laminate extra copies. There is also a
interesting dynamic in how far does a slowly as players learn the system, espe-
deck of cards used for events. Finally,
player push their major activation during cially trying to get used to how combat
there are rules and scenario/playbooks.
their turn. You also get to activate four works. Having said all of that, however,
Overall, another nice job by GMT on the
times in each turn through a chit draw this is a rather unique game and worth
components.
system, which makes the game highly your time. The ability to play a variety of
The rules aren’t particularly hard to unpredictable. scenarios with from as few as 2 to a max
get into and understand, plus if you’ve of 5 players is a huge plus. I found the
The combat system is highly unusual,
played games similar to this such as Pax game engaging with well written rules
relying on a multitude of combat shifts
Romana or Sword of Rome, you should that offers some insights into a little
that influence the die rolls, but not how
be up and running in no time at all. Play- gamed period. Highly recommended.
you would think. For example, the Baby-
ers need to focus extensively on the acti-
lonians have 21 strength points
vation system and combat, which is defi-
and a leader with a campaign
nitely one of the most unusual things I’ve
rating of 3 going against an
seen in gaming. The playbook has a
Assyrian force of 10 . Assum-
large number of scenarios and many of
ing no other modifiers, the Bab-
them can be played with two to five play-
ylonians get 5 shifts (2 for 2:1
ers (Egypt, Assyria, Mitanni, Hittites, and
odds and 3 for the king’s tactics
Babylonians). Most of the individual
rating) and then each side rolls
scenarios focus on a certain area and are
1D6. Let’s say that the Babylo-
around three turns in length while the full
nians roll bad with a 2 and the
campaign is ten turns long. You may
Assyrians roll a 4. The Babylo-
think that three turns is pretty short, but
nian player can then shift the die
with multiple players and up to four acti-

ISSUE #41 Page 9

Memoirs of a Miniatures & Board Wargamer Pt. 28
My On Again/Off Again Mountain Miniatures with its reared its ugly head.
Love Affair With ACW selection of 15mm figures and
After a break up of the club, those of
Gaming scenery. The third and final
us who were interested in mainly 15mm
piece of the puzzle was the
For some inexplicable rea- went on, but as the late 90s wore on, an-
release of the Johnny Reb rules.
son, The American Civil War other development changed the fate of
has always been a favorite All of s sudden ACW gam- our ACW gaming. This would be the
period of mine, ranking right ing went nuclear! In the span professional career, not enough time, too
behind the Victorian Colonial of a year we had several divi- many entertainment options, and way too
Era. Not only do I have an sions for each side finished and many periods to play. Suddenly, JR 2 or
entire bookshelf filled about were doing large games such as 3 just wasn’t able to fit a 4-6 player game
the subject, but I own all of Antietam in three different in under the four hour threshold.
the GMT GBACW games and have been phases. ACW battles raged across tab-
Years passed before we were bitten
playing ACW miniatures games for al- letops in our area for several years, plus
by the ACW bug again and we decided to
most 40 years! Still, it’s not like I paint our library of ACW books grew at an
try Fire & Fury. The first few games
units for my ACW armies day and night, enormous rate. When GDW put out JR2,
were acceptable, but the fire and passion
or even a few units a year plus it only we figured that things in terms of ACW
that was present with Johnny Reb defi-
sees the tabletop every blue moon. Why? gaming could not get much better than
nitely wasn’t there. ACW became just
I really have no idea. this.
another game put into the rotation and it
Although I got into gaming back in However, jobs and lives changed, was quite some time before we tried it
1976 it wasn’t until 1978 that I discov- with many of us moving on. I was fortu- again.
ered the ACW period for miniatures. I nate to meet up with a group that was
However, once again, situations
came across one of those Charles Grant interested in the ACW, but was teetering
changed and we went through another
Tabletop Teasers about a force emerging on the edge about whether or not to com-
building phase where we added more
from a swamp to surprise a garrison force mit to it fully. That changed when Old
terrain, new units, and as you can see
and it was set in the ACW period (does Glory came out with their 100 figure bags
from past battle reports in this magazine,
anyone still remember that series?). I of 15mm ACW miniatures. We
that we still game in the
instantly had to find some ACW forces fought several campaigns, major bat-
ACW period, even if it is
and being low on funds (high school stu- tles (some lasting more than three
only occasionally.
dent mowing lawns for income) I went nights!) and amassed a pretty sizeable
There’s been talk of do-
the Heroics and Ros 6mm route plus the collection. In fact, we often had 12-
ing a campaign, but with
Rally ‘Round the Flag rules. 15 players at some of the games!
such greatly varied inter-
It was a good start, but the first few So, what happened? Well, for ests in the group any-
battles that we tried left a lot to be de- one Johnny Reb 3 came out and like more, that is probably a
sired. Not being sure if was the minia- fools we all migrated to it before longshot at this point.
tures scale or the rules, I decided to extensive playtesting. Figures were
At the moment it
change both! So I sold off the 6mm ar- rebased, some small games were
would seem that we’ll
mies and went with Airfix 20mm along tried, and then we went back to the
probably be using Fire &
with the Newbury Fast Play ACW rules. large 10+ player games. The result?
Fury for quite some time. I think that
The 20mm scale was a marked improve- Well, not quite a disaster, but very, very
there is little stomach for converting to
ment and I was able to put together a few close. While JR3 is not a bad set of rules,
28mm, even though the selection of fig-
small scenarios, but the Newbury rules there were numerous problems that we
ures now is truly astounding. I also think
were a struggle to get through, especially were unprepared for. The first thing was
that there is an unwillingness to try new
figuring out the casualties during each that they were far more complex than
rules as well. It could be old age, an un-
firing phase. We tried Stars “N Bars, but version 2, so many of the club didn’t get
willingness to try anything new, or it
it proved to be a bit much for our group at it and were abused by those who knew
simply could be burn out on what used to
the time. the rules. Second, the new
be a very popular period. Whatever the
charge procedure slowed the
It was at this time that I reason, it was a good run and continues,
game down considerably, and
was fortunate to run into three albeit a little more slowly now. I still
finally, after playing the same
things that really got my ACW read a lot about the ACW, buy new
set for so long many gamers
gaming into high gear. The books, and collect new board games. It
simply didn’t like the change
first was a group of like mind- does teach you that when you come
and gave up quickly. Tack all
ed gamers about my age who across something really, really good in
of that onto the new Old Glory
were looking for ACW gam- the gaming world that you should enjoy it
25s that were coming out and
ing. The second was the glori- as long as possible, since you never know
suddenly the divisions of scale
ous catalog sent out by Stone how long it’s going to last.

Page 10 WARMING ORDER

Blast From The Past Pt. 27: GDW Series 120 WW2 Games
GDW was gone introductory wargames and could certain- end the game. All
way before their time, ly be used to get interested people into in all, a very good
caught up in what the gaming hobby. Movement and com- little game that is
could only be called bat are quite simple, with the combat again just a little
the great purge of results being the standard DR, EX, and more than two
gaming companies that DE variety. The set up on all of these is hours to play.
occurred when SPI, pretty quick, so you can pull these off the
1942 is a hard
Avalon Hill, then shelf at any time and be playing in under
game to rate. This
GDW all went under 30 minutes after reviewing the rules and
covers the initial
for various reasons. I set up.
Japanese thrust
always had a fondness
1940 covers the fall of France and the into the Philip-
for GDW games as at
Low Countries. The game has an inter- pines, Malay, and
the time they were the alternative, or
esting set up where the German player Java. Basically, Allied units evaporate in
outsider to big brothers SPI and Avalon
must choose one of three plans to con- front of the Japanese advance and you
Hill. GDW made some unusual games,
quer France and then the French player end up fortifying the objectives while
but quite a few such as Imperium and
needs to deduce where the Germans are hoping that the Japanese player has a
Third World War have stood the test of
going so that they can be stopped. Sim- series of bad die rolls. The naval and air
time.
ple, but very effec- aspect is so abstracted that it truly dimin-
One of the more unique ideas that they tive and it keeps the ishes what their role was in the actual
had were the Series 120 games. These French player campaign. Not a bad little game, but not
small boxed games (some came only in guessing while at a great one either.
zip-lock bags) had a fold out map, around the same time con-
In the end 1940 is the game to own if
100 counters, and could theoretically be straining the Ger-
you’re thinking of trying any of these and
played in under 120 minutes. While we mans. The game is
1941 is a close second. 1942 is only for
are quite spoiled today by companies like actually pretty good
those who are interested in the subject or
GMT, Clash of Arms, etc., with their and the results com-
feel the need to complete the series. The
astounding graphics and components, at pare favorable to
two hour playing time is actually closer
the time these GDW games were state of many other larger,
to three, the components could use an
the art. Also, at a time when wargame better produced Fall
upgrade, and the rules, while functional,
releases were far and few between (OK, of France type
could use a few tweaks here and there.
maybe except for SPI!) these kinds of games.
However, these games are still viable
games were eagerly looked forward to.
Although the French have a lot of despite their age.
While the entire series was made up rules for the operations of their forces,
It is a shame that GDW left us when
games that ranged from the ancient era to they are competitive in this game and it’s
they did. These games along with others
deep space, this review will focus on the no walkover for the Germans. I’m not
in the series, including the excellent
three WW2 games that covered 1940, sure about the two hour playing time as
Snapshot and Dark Nebula, showed a
1941, and 1942 respectively. It’s a my few tries were definitely over that
great deal of promise and it is a shame
shame that there weren’t further games in limit, but under three hours.
that more were not produced. Looking
this series and I’ve never heard defini-
1941 is another very interesting little back, you were more than willing to try
tively what the plans were before GDW
game. This covers the opening of Opera- these games out and give them a chance
vanished.
tion Barbarossa and ends at the start of as there were so few games available. In
First, all of these 1942. It’s primarily famous for today’s market they probably wouldn’t
games are classic hex having some German panzer units merit a second glance, but once upon a
and counter, with ZO- with pretty high combat factors! time they were highly thought of.
C’s, a basic combat The situation does appear hope-
table, and various less for the Russians, but in this
chrome added in for game time and distance mean
the specific games. everything and by the middle of
The rules are in digest the game you can tell that it’s
format and should not going to come down to the last
prove to be much of a few turns.
challenge for anyone
The Russians get more and
with even basic war-
more units, the weather starts to
gaming experience. In
change, then the Germans throw
fact, these are great
everything at one final thrust to

ISSUE #41 Page 11

Alternative Liebertwolkwitz 1813 AOE Battle Report
One thing can definitely be said about The French were already wait-
our gaming group and that is we like to ing in the center of the board when
bite off more than we can chew! We had the Russians and Prussians began
a desire to play Age of Eagles (AOE) to enter. Here’s where the Allies
after all kinds of other games in the last (including yours truly) made the
few months and chose to do the “fantasy” first in a series of mistakes. We
or “alternative” version of the famous thought the road movement would
Battle of Liebertwolkwitz. This was the allow for quicker deployment and
large cavalry clash that preceded the Bat- came on in long columns where
tle of Leipzig during the 1813 campaigns. we should have just entered across
the entire length of the board in
The alternative version from the AOE
whatever formation we could.
scenario book postulates that the large
Then the French did something
number of infantry formations that were
clever and advanced their cavalry
in the area actually got their act together
up to the middle of the battlefield,
and joined with the cavalry for a major
putting the leading Russian and Prussian ilar to the actual battle. The Russian in-
action. If you’ve played any board games
elements into the tactical zone. fantry and artillery, which could have
on the battle or read anything about the
been decisive at this early stage, were
actions on the first day you can clearly In AOE the tactical and reserve zones
locked in traffic jams. Both sides
see several divisions of infantry in vari- is an interesting mechanic to force play-
charged, rallied, and countercharged for
ous locations near the cavalry fight. Most ers to think like generals of that era, using
several turns. In the end the superior
of them for various reasons were never reserves far behind the lines to move up
numbers and quality of the Allied cavalry
organized for the attack or a meeting in large formations to affect the battle. If
prevailed, but at a cost of substantial
engagement, but for this scenario they you are within 18” of an enemy unit you
stand losses and time.
would be. are in the tactical zone. Now why is this
important? The reserve zone units move On the Allied left a nasty fight broke
First of all, this is a big game! In fact,
first and they use different modifiers for out between the Prussians and French/
we didn’t even realize how big it was
the die rolls. With the leading elements Poles on that side of the board. Between
until we started putting labels on all the
moving second and the units in reserve the forests, streams, and villages both
stands, set things up, and then looked at
packed in tightly behind them, there were sides attacked and counterattacked. A
the scenario to see that even more French
massive traffic jams along the length of well timed French cavalry charge at one
and the Austrians weren’t even on the
the Allied deployment. point blew a hole in the Prussian lines,
board yet! We also had to in the interest
but the breakthrough was checked and the
of time cut the roads down to just the By the time the leading cavalry and
isolated French units were finished off.
major arteries or the board would have horse artillery got itself disentangled, the
At the end of several turns the Prussians
been covered in roads, which aren’t that French cavalry were posing a serous
controlled that part of the field and
critical in a battle like this using the AOE threat. What followed was a series of
looked to advance to the main line of
rules. back and forth cavalry charges, very sim-
French resistance. (cont. on p13)

Page 12 WARMING ORDER

Alternative Liebertwolkwitz 1813 (cont.) AOE Battle Report

(cont. from p12) The main problem on few counterattacks that were not very we only had an hour of play time left
the Allied left was that the French artil- effective except that they continually (this was the second night we played this
lery was now formed up and in a great delayed the Russians from hitting with battle), and B) the Allies were in trouble
position. French brigades were in sup- one compact blow. and more than likely not breaking the
port and a killing zone had been estab- French lines. The French were now
The French reorganized to meet the
lished on that part of the field. The first firmly entrenched from one board edge to
attack while at the same time fortifying
Prussian units to advance were met by the other, with two lines of brigades and
their left knowing that the Austrians were
devastating fire and forced back. strong artillery positions. We played one
going to be coming on board at some
more turn with the Russians trying to
The Russians finally got their act point. In the center and French right the
break through and the game was called as
together and the first infantry divisions Young Guard made an appearance and
a French victory.
advanced along with the artillery. The they were shuffled off to provide a coun-
Russian and Prussian reserves were now terattack force in case of any Prussian Yet again we had produced a fun,
organized and left behind in the reserve success. The Prussians, for their part, had exciting, colorful, game that we simply
zone where they could more easily get to basically had enough and were reluctant could not finish! We definitely needed
the front lines where necessary. The to advance into the killing zone on that more players, pre-game night set up, etc.,
Russian cavalry now came under fire side of the board. to make this kind of game a success.
from the French artillery supporting the Now that won’t stop us from doing it
We reached Turn 9 where the Austri-
various infantry brigades in the French again as we’re slow learners, but AOE is
ans were supposed to arrive and decided
front lines. The French cavalry made a definitely a great game system.
that A) we still had a long way to go and

ISSUE #41 Page 13

Alternative Liebertwolkwitz 1813 (cont.) AOE Battle Report

You can clearly see from these images night laying down roads when they were- color coded labels for the various units
that the Allies had some “traffic jam” n’t going to get much use! These images and the most recent AOE scenarios that
issues, which were entirely the fault of the also show that we’ve yet to rebase all of have been posted have that, which is a
players! The battlefield is hard to repre- the Russian artillery to the actual AOE HUGE improvement. Trying to deter-
sent because of the numerous roads in rules (we based them when we were one mine who is commanding who in a game
this area, so we focused on only the main of the playtest groups), so that’s on the this size is a massive challenge and we
ones since in AOE it’s not that critical agenda for the end of this year. Another intermingled commands a few times.
and we didn’t want to spend an entire thing we really need to work on is using

Page 14 WARMING ORDER

What Happened To Research? Editorial
I remember a Saturday back in the late right. That’s not to say that gamers today paint for, hopefully you don’t need a lot
70s (which was our usual game day back are doing anything wrong, because after of figs, and will the game get done in
then) where one of the guys came in all all, it is a hobby and you get whatever under three hours. With those criteria
bleary eyed for our WRG Ancients game. enjoyment out of it by doing things your research about whether or not the rules
When asked why he was so tired, he stat- way. Rather, I (and I think many other portray the period accurately is way, way
ed that he had been up until 3am reading historical gamers) took the time to read down the list of
about Alexander’s pike formations and about various armies, learn about their priorities.
tactics for the battle that uniforms and units, then tried to replicate
I can remember
morning. Now how that on the tabletop. You knew that there
lengthy discus-
many times are you was only one unit of Wheat’s Tigers at
sions over the
going to hear that today? First Bull Run, but today would you be
various aspects of
Most gamers I know surprised if someone had 20 or so units of
WRG rules re-
would just arrive with them on the tabletop? Probably not.
garding historical
their army, set out their
There are several periods that I’ve tactics, army for-
forces, and start playing,
created armies for over the years that mations, mini-
usually without knowing
pretty much forced you to do a large mum numbers of
even the basics about
amount of research. The first would be certain troop
their army or its history.
Renaissance, where outside of Oman’s types, and so on that could rage for hours.
For a long time in our hobby, research book and a handful of Ospreys, there At the time I thought many were over-
was an essential part of what we did. It really is not much to go on. If you think done and often boring, but I would prefer
went hand in hand with ordering figures, the Renaissance is tough to do research that to today where there is little to no
painting them, and then trying to use the on, it doesn’t even compare to the French argument and where most rules are just
actual formations and tactics for that ar- Wars of Religion where there are hardly generally accepted. Research is now
my. In fact, research is what usually led even any uniform or flag plates to go by! done for you by the rules and most gam-
to your choice in armies in the first place, Yet what drove me to build those armies? ers feel that there’s no need to go further.
usually because you could find uniform I definitely had an interest in the periods, A two page synopsis on the dozen or so
info, they were in army lists in most the figures are unique (as is the setting), Crusades is more than enough to know
rules, and you liked how their forces were the games are a lot of fun with strange that a certain set of rules is the right one
used historically. twists of fates due to the army make up, for everybody! After all, how could a
and it seemed to be a challenge. rule book filled with so many beautiful
Those days are now long gone. The
pictures be wrong?
extent of most research now is the cool For many of us in the hobby, it is that
pictures of painted figs and the fluff that challenge of researching the army that Are we ever going to get back to
goes into today’s well produced rule- sometimes drives you to carry through where gamers were in the 70s and 80s in
books. While I think that Osprey has with what to your gaming buddies seems terms of research for the hobby? Not a
done a remarkable job in producing al- like an insurmountable task. It’s also chance in hell. Too many distractions,
most every kind of uniform book known interesting to read about periods that most gaming time that needs to be done in 2-3
to mankind (even though at times the people know so little about. Finally, hour blocks, and the cult of the new has
history is a bit suspect and the uniforms there is the feeling that you’re doing pretty much doomed that kind of think-
are often conjecture), how something that most gamers would ing.
many gamers even take the never even try, which in this day and
So what can be done? Offer to loan
time to buy one? I’m also age certainly sets games dealing with
newer gamers books on a particular peri-
seeing a generational gap the Renaissance apart from others!
od that they may be interested in. If they
forming on this subject,
I also think that research can heavi- want to do an unusual period such as the
where older gamers will
ly influence rules choices, which may Germans in Victorian era Southwest Afri-
peruse the book racks in
or may not be a good thing with to- ca, French intervention in Mexico, WW1
game stores, while most of
day’s rules. Back in the day, if you in East Africa, etc., then by all means
today’s younger gamers
were into the ACW for example, when help them out. Painting a few units,
walk right on past. After
you looked at the rules and saw that building a piece of terrain, or offering to
all, if it’s not in the paint-
they had ported over a Napoleonic or help with the rules might get someone
ing guide in the rules they
Crimean system, then replaced every- into an interesting period. Then, in the
own, how important could it be?
thing with ACW terms, you instantly future they might be encouraged to try
Either I was blessed by being in a knew that the rules weren’t going to something out of the ordinary again.
wargaming group that valued research work. Today that is secondary to what There’s plenty of WW2 and Ancients
when I first started or it might be that most gamers look at in rules, which games, so helping others with research
gamers from that era wanted to do things seems to be are they pretty, is it easy to can bring some new periods to light.

ISSUE #41 Page 15

Engagement 11: Roving Cauldron
Situation: Blue’s fr ont has been tor n 5 1 mech infantry company and artillery available for that turn.
in several places, with Red’s armored one heavy weapons company
Blue Orders: Or ganize the for mations
spearheads driving deep into Blue held
6 1 armor company in the area then proceed to attack Red’s
areas. A number of Blue formations have
forces to create a path to the road exits at
been cut off, but are still at near full 7 1 mech infantry company
R2 and R3.
strength and desperately need to reach
Blue’s new defensive lines. 8 1 armor company
Set Up: Blue r olls 2D6 for each com-
9 1 mortar battalion (3 sections) pany or company equivalent in the start-
Period: Designed pr imar ily for the
ing forces list and places that unit at the
modern or Post WW2 periods. 10 1 airstrike (2 aircraft) locations marked in blue on the map.
Table Size: 6 x 4, but a lar ger table 11 1 armor and 1 mech infantry Units can begin the game in any for-
could be used with more terrain added. company mation designated by Blue.
Terrain Notes: The woods should be 12 1 artillery battalion (off-board 3 Initiative: Blue is fir st each tur n
considered to be light woods. The river batteries of medium artillery) Game Length: No set game length.
can only be crossed at the bridges that are
Red Orders: Pr event Blue’s for ces Game ends when it becomes apparent
still intact. Bridge A is held by Blue at
from escaping off of road exits R2 and that Blue will no longer be able to get
the start of the game and 1D6 is rolled for
R3. forces to safety at R2 or R3.
Bridges B and C, with a 5 or 6 meaning
that the bridge (s) are still intact. The Blue Forces: Special Rules: None
villages are a mixture of wood and stone
buildings. 4 companies of armor Victory Conditions: Blue r eceives one
victory point for each company or com-
Scale: This scenar io is designed for 1 company of heavy armor (if none avail- pany equivalent that moves safely off of
operational level games such as BKC 2 or able use 1 company of regular armor) road exits R2 and/or R3.
Battlegroup Panzergrenadier where one 4 companies of mech infantry
vehicle or stand equals a platoon. Less than 10 points: Red Victory
8 companies of infantry 10-11 points: Draw
Red Forces: Red begins the game with
two forces that have been assigned to 1 heavy weapons company 12+ points: Blue Victory
garrison villages at R1 and R2. These
1 tank destroyer company .Variants: If playing the scenar io with
units may be set up within 12 inches of
the village center, but may move no fur- 1 anti-aircraft company Post WW forces, substitute various units
ther than that distance from the village for helicopter support and ATGMs for
center. 1 recon company anti-tank units. Also , the longer weap-
Off-board support: On the roll of a 6 on ons ranges may mean that the game needs
R1: One battalion of infantry and one to be played on at least a 4 x 8 board.
armor company. 1D6 there are two batteries of medium

R2: Two companies of infantry, one anti-

tank company, and one tank destroyer
company.
Off-board: One artillery battalion (three
batteries of medium artillery)
The remaining Red forces appear ran-
domly throughout the scenario. At the
start of each turn, roll 2D6 for the unit
that arrives, then 1D6 for the location. If
the location is occupied by blue forces,
the units may enter anywhere within 12
inches of the original location that was
rolled.
Die Roll Units
2 2 armor companies
3 1 tank destroyer company
4 1 recon company

Page 16 WARMING ORDER

Engagement 12: Frontal Attack
Situation: Red is deter mined to br eak lowing reinforcements according to this Blue also receives 12 inches worth of
out of the WW1 trench type situation that schedule: mines to cover any gaps.
now exists on the front lines. Red will
Turn 2: One armor unit Victory Conditions: Red r eceives five
launch a frontal assault to overwhelm
victory points for seizing Objective #1
Blue and pus towards the open ground, Turn 4: One mech infantry unit
and five points for each unit (or unit
hopefully encircling Blue’s forces in oth-
Turn 7: One infantry unit equivalent) that exits the board at Objec-
er sectors.
tives 2, 3, or 4.
Period: Designed pr imar ily for the Turn 9: One armor unit
Less than 10 points: Blue Victory
modern or Post WW2 periods. Roll 1D6 for where the reinforcements
arrive: 10-15 points: Draw
Table Size: 6 x 4, but a lar ger table
could be used with more terrain added. 1,2 Objective 2 More than 15 points: Red Victory
Terrain Notes: The woods should be 3,4 Objective 3 Players will need to decide what consti-
considered to be light woods. The vil- tutes the equivalent of a unit as various
lages are a mixture of wood and stone 5,6 Objective 4 parts of units may be able to escape the
buildings. Blue Orders: Hold the fr ont for as board at different intervals. Players will
long as possible and counterattack where need to keep track of which units or parts
Scale: This scenar io can be played
necessary. Prevent Red from seizing the of units have exited the board.
with any game system as long as you
have the necessary forces to represent all crossroads at Objective #1 and exiting .Variants: A gr eat many var iations
of the units. forces off the edge of the map. could be added to this scenario. The first
Set Up: Blue places the entr enchments is to expand the board and the forces,
Red Forces: Red begins the game with
and starting force in the locations marked which while it would give the attacker a
forces either off board and entering on
on the map. Red then positions their better opportunity to pick a point in the
any turn or in the deployment area
forces in the deployment area or keeps defense lines and overwhelm it, the de-
marked by the red lines on the map.
some or all off board to enter on any turn. fender would have more reserves to deal
6 units of infantry with a breakthrough. Another variant
Initiative: Red is fir st each tur n would be to enhance the fortifications and
3 armor units
Game Length: 12 tur ns. give the attacker some engineer units,
3 mech infantry units which would focus the game more on the
Special Rules: Entr enchments-Blue initial break in operation. Airstrikes, a
1 mortar unit receives sufficient entrenchments to cov- preliminary bombardment, and infiltra-
1 recon unit er each unit of infantry deployed in the tion could also be added. Finally, the
front line. These should consist of slit victory conditions could be modified to
Off-board: Three units of medium artil- trenches with the occasional heavier forti- reflect losses by both sides.
lery in direct support. Three units of fication for MGs and/or AT weapons.
heavy artillery are available for the first
three turns.
Red Orders: Br eak thr ough the fr ont
lines and seize Objective #1. From there
send forces to exit the map at Objectives
2, 3, and 4.
Blue Forces:
These initial forces begin on the board at
the locations marked on the map.
5 units of infantry
1 unit of armor
1 unit of mech infantry
Off-board support: On the roll of a 5 or 6
on 1D6 there are two medium artillery
units available for that turn.
Reinforcements: Blue receives the fol-

ISSUE #41 Page 17

To The Wells! BFE II Battle Report
It’s been awhile since our last outing two infantry companies (one
with Battles For Empire II, but since I Indian and one Egyptian) in
had just about finished my 1500th figure a thorn brush enclosure
in my 15mm Sudan collection we figured guarding the wounded and
that it was time to start using them! I had most of the baggage in the
actually envisioned a much larger game, corner of the board. The
but when we got cut down to three play- remaining force consisted of
ers due to some last minute cancellations two companies of Highland-
the scenario was drastically cut back. ers, a unit of the naval Bri-
gade, a Royal Marines de-
The situation is that an Anglo-
tachment, and four compa-
Egyptian force is moving to the relief of a
nies of the Sussex regiment.
town in the Eastern Sudan that is still
This was augmented by a
holding out, despite being surrounded by
unit of the 19th Hussars and
the Mahdi’s forces. This force has fought
two sections of screw guns
a series of running battles and the day of
that were formed up in
decision has arrived. With the number of
square. work of the others. The Hussars gallantly
wounded, supplies running low
charged into one of the Dervish mounted
(especially water), and no end in sight to The initial British plan was to ad-
units, but rolled poorly and were defeated
the enemy’s strength, the wells in this vance slowly in square to the ridge, but to
while one of the Dervish units ventured
area need to be found or the expedi-
to close to the Indians, who poured dead-
tion will need to turn back. A local
ly fire into their flank. The Fuzzy units
guide has told the British command-
died in a hail of fire and the rifle armed
ers that the wells are over a ridge
unit on the ridge made the mistake of
and to the right of their position.
getting into a long range firefight with the
When the game was set up, the Brit-
better trained British infantry and were
ish players could only see up to the
destroyed.
ridge and not beyond.
At this point the square was nearing
The fate of the game would be
the ridge, but not making headway as fast
based upon a D100 roll, with the
as the British commanders had hoped.
British earning percentage points
With more enemy coming at some point
for accomplishing certain objec-
the decision was made to break apart the
tives. For example, they would
square, with one half of the units guard-
receive 100 points for reaching the
ing the flank while in support range of the
wells and destroying enemy units,
wounded camp while the remaining units
but would lose points for each hit
pressed on. Their guide had found a pass
suffered by their units and the loss of the
get the cavalry up there quickly to take a where if the British units went through in
baggage camels and/or wounded. The
look at the surrounding terrain and any column they would not be disordered,
total would be added up and then a D100
enemy forces awaiting them. The square while if you crossed the ridge at any other
roll would determine the fate of the Brit-
moved slowly up, watched by several point you would be. Several British units
ish expedition.
Dervish cavalry units just out of range. formed into column and began moving up
The Anglo-British force consisted of The Hussars moved in front of the square the ridge.
to reach the ridge quickly and this
When the first unit reached the crest,
is where they ran into the first am-
the remaining terrain was placed along
bush.
with the enemy units that they could see.
Two Fuzzy units burst out of To their chagrin, their guide was wrong
cover forcing the Hussars to retire, and the wells were behind a Mahdist held
but not before they suffered a few town! To make matters worse there were
hits from a Fuzzy rifle armed unit two rifle armed Fuzzy units in rifle pits in
on the ridge. At the same time the the front of the town and multiple Fuzzy
four Dervish cavalry units charged infantry units to the right of the town,
into the other flank. However, the ready to advance on the British as they
screw guns, which were to show came over the ridge. More Dervish cav-
their worth time and time again in alry and infantry appeared on the flank of
this game, blasted one of the caval- the British units left behind on the other
ry units while rapid fire made short side of the ridge. (cont. on p 19)

Page 18 WARMING ORDER

To The Wells! (cont.) BFE II Battle Report

(cont. from p 18) The screw gun section bad die rolls, the uncanny accuracy of the large British force and they are a very
that had been hauled up to the crest of the screw guns, and getting the initiative nasty opponent. The combination of
ridge now came into action, hitting the several turns in the row helped the Brit- rapid firing, better to hit rolls, etc., means
advancing Fuzzy units while another ish. Time and time again the Dervish and that the natives need a “good” day to
British infantry unit joined them in Fuzzy units threw themselves at the come out on top. The screw guns were
providing fire support. The naval Bri- strung out British units, but without suc- the heroes of the action, continuously
gade got down the pass and into line just cess. placing their rounds amongst the packed
as the first Fuzzy unit hit them. The Roy- units, causing maximum casualties. The
Near the town and despite taking
al Marines arrived in the nick of time to Dervishes and Fuzzies for their part died
casualties from the rifle armed Fuzzy
support them as the first Fuzzy unit bravely, but simply could not string to-
units the British attack pressed forward.
charged into melee. The close range fire gether a series of good die rolls all night.
The Fuzzies advanced bravely, but they
and steadfastness of the Naval Brigade They continuously failed to rally, per-
were cut down by the British rapid fire.
won the day, despite taking numerous formed poorly in melee, only won the
When the game was called the British
casualties. The remaining British units initiative once in ten turns, and the list
were going to achieve all of their objec-
now formed up and prepared to advance. goes on!
tives and had destroyed so many enemy
On the other side of the ridge the units (over 20!) that they were easily All in all, it was a very fun and fast
British poured volley after volley into the going to be over 120% for the success of moving game. BFE 2 is a great set of
advancing Mahdist forces. The natives the expedition. rules that may look hard, but is very easy
kept trying to coordinate their attacks, but to use for colonial battles.
This was our first time playing with a

ISSUE #41 Page 19

WW2 Skirmish Gaming-A Rebuttal by Rob Coleman
My article in last month’s issue on iar with the rules, the setup, gameplay, Granted it reduces this, but to keep them
WW2 skirmish gaming generated a lot of and the general strategies that work and hidden tends to mean you have to move
comments, more so than almost anything don’t work, you are in for a very long or act in ways that wouldn’t be necessary
else I’ve written about in the past few game that will get boring for players. on a real battlefield. Fog, smoke, dust,
years! I would say about 90% of those rain, snow, battle fatigue, being pinned
Think about the last time you played
fell into the category of, “Yes, we’ve no- down by enemy fire, and more can make
that really complex tabletop or board
ticed something is wrong, but we’re un- you lose your ability to track and follow
game which covered everything from
sure what should be done about it”. The enemy movements, even when they
which way the wind was blowing to how
article at least got people thinking about should be ‘in the open’. Plus, what about
you reacted if you got shot with rifle vs
their WW2 skirmish gaming, which is defiles, ditches, low hills, brush and
shot with mortars, with multiple tables
what I was aiming for. Here is another bushes, and other odd terrain items we
for everything. How much of your time
opinion on the topic. just can’t or don’t model on the table top?
did you spend referencing tables, looking
Matt up a rule for a particular odd scenario, or Part of that problem is what do you do
argue over the correct interpretation of a when a unit moves out of vision or spot-
given section of the manual? Was that ting? Do you immediately hide them
Like Matt said, we’re all avid fans of what made the game fun, or was it enjoy- again? Should you leave them visible?
both history and wargaming. If we were- ing the great scenery and lovely minis How do you simulate the fact that units
n’t fans of history, we wouldn’t be here that had been painted up while trying to could lose their foes or at least parts of
writing a gaming magazine about histori- make your plans work and your enemies them during a running battle? How do
cal games. Matt wrote a rather good arti- fail? As I said, I can enjoy complex to a you resolve a sniper in a tree? Should
cle about some short comings he felt point (Ticket to Ride or Clue, other board you have to measure from their position
WW2 skirmish gaming suffered from. game favorites, are nothing on A&A, and thus give them away even though
Today I’d like to write a rebuttal to that which my family and most of my friends they could often get multiple rounds off
article if only to give another perspective won’t play with me while they without anyone ever learning
on gaming. will play those two) and there where they were at (give or take
are times I actually want to the breaks)? How do you handle
First off, let me say that the problems play a bit more complex, but the fact that a single man could
outlined in Matt’s article are not unique all of the time? Carry that out break off and sneak up on the
to WW2 skirmish gaming. For myself, over multiple game systems, sniper without them ever know-
I’m an avid fan of ancient and medieval and you can spend a bulk por- ing about it? I recently read the
history, and most of the problems Matt tion of your time trying to eyewitness account of a Polish
outlines are true of any wargaming peri- remember what was different Journalist who dropped into
od. As gamers, we have to be willing to between systems. Arnhem with the Red Devils.
suspend disbelief to some extent, and yes He talks about the snipers, and
I do realize that will be to a different lev- I’m not saying beer and pretzels is the
how they could pick off one, none, or
el for different people. Let me at least try only way to go, but you can often get
many troopers before they were spotted.
to put up some different ways to think much more tightly written rules with
Invariably when they are spotted, one guy
about some of these classic gaming prob- them, games can still take a couple hours
sneaks out, the sniper never realizing it,
lems. if you want (depending on how you play
and the sniper gets shot from someone
them), you can alternate actions, and not
nonchalantly walking under their tree or
The first problem Matt deals with is spend all night looking in the book and
hidey hole and popping them.
complexity. I have nowhere near the not playing. I like Bolt Action, as an
experience the rest of the club has with example. I also like Blitzkrieg Com- The other aspect of hidden units, is
historical games, but mander, they enable two differ- that I still haven’t seen a reasonable recce
I have played loads of ent ways to play, and both have rule in a game. Those Greek peltasts who
different games in my their flaws that you have to ac- dressed as herders or painted themselves
life. One of my all- cept when you play them. black for a night recon to ascertain posi-
time favorite games is tions and detail the enemy don’t seem to
Axis and Allies. I Matt’s second argument,
suffer from the logistical issues of then
love the board, the which is hidden movement, has
communicating that back and or aren’t
multiple levels of both direct and indirect counters
taken because point costs are always out
play (economy, de- to it. I myself do like the idea
of sync with the effect those units bring
fense, offense, production, land control, of a hidden movement system, but any
to the table. If a hidden movement sys-
transport, and technology) that tries to system I’ve yet seen has flaws. The first
tem could come up with a way to then
capture the fact there is a lot going on of these is that having extra chits still
encourage recon and have it not be a
when thinking about a major conflict. enables your foe(s) to have some idea
waste of ‘points’ then you might have
That said, unless everyone is very famil- where you are and what’s going on.
something.

Page 20 WARMING ORDER

WW2 Skirmish Gaming-A Rebuttal (cont.) by Rob Coleman
Then we also have the problem that leys before his foe closed the distance. time we borrowed or refought a battle
even though you might get some rules When have you ever seen that on the and had someone other than who was
which do alright with hidden units, you table top with the common 24” range and actually shot/wounded killed/stunned/
haven’t denied vision of the a 6” move that can often get long- whatever have that happen to them,
terrain. We’ve played I er due to multiple move orders, we’ve broken with realism and are tempt-
Ain’t Been Shot Mum, and charges which increase speed, and ing massive what if scenarios. So at
when you know what the so forth. I heard someone give a some point we have to say we’re willing
terrain is beforehand you can really good argument the other to suspend dis-
predict certain things. That day on weapon ranges, and why a belief, that we
tree line over there, going to rifle is only 24” in Bolt Action. I aren’t going to
be a MG there no doubt. Oh, won’t repeat it all here, but the achieve parity,
there is a tower, watch out basic thrust of it was the rifle can and relax and
for something parking in it. obviously shoot farther than that. enjoy being with
Poor knowledge of terrain is A shorter range, in addition to friends and get-
an issue that crops up in any trying to balance things in a par- ting to geek out
bit of history you read about. ticular way, is a way to represent over who was a
Had the Persians known about the moun- reduced visibility, battle fatigue, interven- better fighter,
tain passes sooner do you really think we ing miscellaneous cover, and so forth. the Viking or the
would have ever heard of the Battle of Not being able to shoot beyond that rep- Samurai. Oh,
Thermopylae? Probably not, as there resents the infantryman having to aim at and if someone
wouldn’t have been a battle but a total foes who are probably moving while he is wants to try and
massacre and Greece would not have had as well, haze, dehydration, and other borrow Muskets and Tomahawks spotting
a few days to make ready to face a some- things that would prevent it from being a rules and I Ain’t Been Shot Mum’s hid-
what demoralized Persian host. rifle range 1000 miles away on a calm den deployment and roll them on top of
day in the Utah countryside, far away Bolt Action, I’ll be happy to play it. I’ll
One thing that gets overlooked, and
from any stresses. just also enjoy playing Saga with its well
hence my not so direct comment, is
written and easy to pick up rules set while
weapon ranges. I myself am particularly I’ve probably rambled enough there,
still appreciating the complexity and
guilty of gripping about weapon ranges in but in short, let me say the issues Matt
strategy the battle board adds without
games. Units almost always move to fast describes are not unique to WW2 skir-
needing to stop every few minutes to
vs the range they can shoot out to. Even mish games. They are problems with all
check the rules.
an ancient archer could get in 4 to 6 vol- historical games. Honestly, unless every

Empire of the Sun 2nd Ed. Game Review

Several years ago I re- that necessitated a second edition. game with little effort. The example of
viewed a ground breaking play and the ability to choose shorter
For this new edition the first
board game called Empire of scenarios are huge advantages in learning
thing you notice is the mounted
the Sun, from GMT Games the system.
map board, which is a nice touch.
and long time designer Mark
Next are the counters, which are Now that’s not to say that the game
Herman. It was novel at the
thicker and have had a few color system is any easier! Nothing has
time in that most, if not all
changes on them to help with the changed in that regard, so it will take a
card driven wargames were
inter-service rivalry events which thorough reading of the rules and a few
area type systems. EOTS uses
often occur in the game. The cards turns to understand what is going on here.
your classic hex and counter
have also had several changes that reflect The combination of a hex and counter
backdrop then adds the cards on top of it.
over a decade of game play. All in all, it game with cards that drive the events and
Since it came out EOTS has been one is a very impressive package of compo- operations is not something that you’re
of the highest rated wargames in quite nents. going to get the first time or maybe even
some time. The designer and fans run few times.
The rules have also been slightly mod-
regular games against each other where
ified and even though I have played the Having said that, however, this is still
the results are posted for all to follow
game at least a half dozen times since its an outstanding game on WW2 in the pa-
along, which is great for learning the
release, I had a hard time picking out the cific and has terrific replay value. GMT
system. With the CSW posts in the tens
various changes. After a cursory glance and Mark Herman have done a great job
of thousands, there are a wide number of
and review I was able to get back into the with this revised edition.
strategies, rules changes, and questions

ISSUE #41 Page 21

The Guns at Last Light Book Review
It is hard to think If anything could be said about One of the more interesting parts of
that An Army At Dawn, this book, it is more of a Shakespeare- the book has to do with the operations in
the first book in the an tragedy than it is a history book. southern France, where U.S. and French
Liberation Trilogy by The problems with equipment, plan- forces at first faced little opposition, but
Rick Atkinson, came ning, intelligence, leadership, dissen- then started suffering large numbers of
out thirteen years ago. sion with the Allies, and more are all casualties the closer they got to Stras-
While it was a ground- on display here. The campaigns in bourg. The combination of dealing with
breaking book and took Southern France, bad weather, and so the French, differences between the U.S.
an interesting look at on makes you look at the campaign as commanders and Eisenhower, staunch
the U.S. Army in WW2, one of steady annihilation, very simi- German resistance, plus the terrain and
I think most readers lar to the U.S. Civil War in late 1864 weather made for a grueling campaign
thought the remaining to its finish. The Allies were going to that was very similar to the Italian cam-
volumes would have win, but it was going to cost a lot in paigns in 1943 and ‘44.
been out sooner! Nevertheless, the final lives, material, and time. The
The campaigns
volume is out to complete the trilogy and reader gets a sense of the over-
in Germany are
it was definitely worth the wait. whelming problems that Eisen-
again beset by
hower encountered on a daily
While the first book followed the U.S. politics and
basis and the ultimate victory was
Army as it prepared and carried out the whether or not the
at the point of sheer exhaustion.
North African campaigns, then the sec- Allied forces
ond book followed the brutal slugfest on I thought the book brought out should drive on
Sicily and then up to Rome, this book has several points that are rarely dis- Berlin, which
an entirely different tone. By now the cussed in WW2 history on wheth- makes for interest-
reader has become familiar with the U.S. er or not victory in Europe was a ing reading. At
Army, its strength and weaknesses, the foregone conclusion. The man- this time in the
leaders, relations with the other allies, power shortages towards the end book you begin to
and more. This allows the author to fo- of 1944, supply issues, questionable lead- realize that this story is more about Ei-
cus on the task at hand, namely liberating ership and strategy, etc., are all detailed senhower and the front line soldiers than
Western Europe and ending the war. throughout the book. The narrative also anything else. Various leaders come and
goes over the subject of politics, which go, campaigns begin and end, but Eisen-
Naturally, it’s not as simple as all
seemed to have been ingrained in almost hower and the common U.S. soldier is
that. Not much time is spent on the prep-
every aspect of European operations. what is present at each battle. Eisenhow-
arations for the invasion of Normandy,
Eisenhower played the role of a CEO er’s strategies, dealing with the Allies,
but rather the book opens with the inva-
more than a commanding general and and managing the ultimate victory with
sion and clarifies the problems along with
spent a great deal of his time just getting the G.I’s paying the price for it is what
the opportunities of launching a cam-
the various individuals under him to co- the book is really all about.
paign of liberation from that location.
operate.
The author does a good job of giving the This is one of those books that by
reader what the situation was, anything in Naturally, this book touches on Opera- itself is very good, but when judged with
the past that related to it, and then what tion Market Garden, The drive to the the others in the series becomes outstand-
happens. This is the formula that is used Rhine, and The ing. The only analogy I can come
over and over again throughout the books Battle of the Bulge, up with that is similar is the Lord of
and it is successful. but from a strategic the Rings movies where the third
standpoint. Here film received all of the Oscars.
While many books give you the feel-
the author treats the Here as well the third book is going
ing from both sides or try to keep the
reader to an in depth to get a lot of glory, but most of
reader informed on every level possible,
look at the political that I feel is due to having complet-
the author here keeps his focus on the
as well as strategic ed a trilogy that adds something
U.S. Army. Whether it is describing
considerations of important to the historical record.
Hitler’s plans for the Battle of the Bulge,
each of these more In this day and age where every-
Montgomery’s plans, operations in other
famous parts of the thing has been analyzed to death,
Allied areas, etc. the author always brings
campaign. There is getting something like this series is
you back quickly to what is happening
also a pro and con very refreshing. I strongly recom-
with the U.S. Army. Some readers may
type discussion mend this book to anyone interest-
not like this kind of style, wanting to
about these famous ed in the U.S. Army in Europe dur-
know more from every viewpoint, but I
battles along with ing WW2 and you should try to
appreciated the author’s consistency
the leaders that read the entire trilogy.
throughout the series.
were involved.

Page 22 WARMING ORDER

The Wars of Alexander’s Successors 323-281 BC Book Review
Upon Alexander’s One of the fascinating as- annals in military history and one that is
death the Greek empire pects of this era is that is was hard to explain. A general could almost
that his father and he had one of the first large scale wars appear out of nowhere, toss around some
built up so rapidly was and could be considered almost a bribes, call in a few favors, etc., and he
torn apart in a series of “world war”. The campaigns has a sizeable army and/or fleets to go
wars that pitted many of and battles during these wars take someone else’s territories!
his former commanders ranged from Greece throughout
The one thing that this book desper-
and their troops against the Balkans, to the frontiers of
ately cries out for is maps. There is one
each other. As many of India, down through Syria and
general map before the introduction, but
you who are interested in present day Iraq, and all the way
that’s it. In a book where you have a
the Ancient periods to Egypt. Various armies, fleets,
large number of campaigns and charac-
know, there is little infor- and would be rulers of Greece
ters that are moving over a wide expanse
mation about the Succes- fought actions across the width
of the planet, this would almost seem to
sors that is readily availa- of the Mediterranean area.
be a crime. Trying to understand where
ble.
The reader is also given a healthy dose each of the successor generals were try-
Bob Bennett and Mike Roberts, how- of Greek politics at the time. A flow ing to carve out their empire without
ever, have set out to provide the defini- chart would have been a saving grace maps was extremely difficult. Fortunate-
tive work on Alexander’s successors with here as trying to keep track of who is ly, I own the outstanding GMT game
this first book, entitled The Wars of Alex- loyal and who isn’t to which leader be- called Successors that has a beautiful map
ander’s Successors 323-281 BC Vol 1; comes increasingly difficult. I was ex- which aided me greatly during my read-
Commanders and Campaigns. This book plain the situation to a gaming friend of ing of this book.
is an attempt to explain the roles of the mine who remarked that it was like Game
Also, for
various generals, armies, political situa- of Thrones, but without dragons! Actual-
those who are
tions, etc., during the Wars of the Succes- ly, this is a good analogy in that you can
looking for cam-
sors or the Wars of the Diodachi as it is see that there were many ambitious men
paign maps, or-
also known. and women of that era along with a wide
ders of battle for
cast of characters with varying goals that
While many know or might have the various ar-
come in and out of the narrative.
heard of names such as Anitpater, Ptole- mies, a descrip-
my, Seleucus, Perdiccas, and more, the Most of the book is taken up by the tion of the major
authors take you to the bedside where campaigns that each of the main protago- successor battles,
Alexander is dying and start from there. nists undertakes. Usually there is a brief etc., you’ve come to the wrong place.
Almost immediately problems begin as to biography, what role they had under Al- Battles are treated with a few sentences
who the actual successor is and it is at exander, who they served under after he and done away with, moving quickly to
this point where the authors do a good job died, their family attachments, and where the next campaign, deal, assassination,
of listing out the preliminary players. they start their campaign at. What fol- etc., that make up the book.
Ranging from Alexander’s generals, roy- lows is their military campaigns along
Overall, this is a very hard book to
alty, family, and more, you are quickly with their goals for those campaigns,
rate. There are so few books on Alexan-
able to see the multiple layers of com- which at times seem to contradict what
der’s Successors that this should be added
plexity that were obstacles to each of the they were trying to accomplish. One of
to the library of anyone that is interested
participants. Add on top of that everyone the confusing aspects of the book is that
in the period. However, it’s the level of
having different goals for their armies, often these campaigns are occurring at
interest that needs to be defined here. If
families, and Greece itself, then you have the same time or after other campaigns
you’re looking for an Osprey type book
a bewildering situation. that come up in future chapters. This
with maps, color uniform plates, and a
does cause the reader to sometimes have
Naturally, this sets off a series of as- short summary of the battles, then this
to flip back and forth through the book to
sassinations, executions, bribery, book is not for you. If you want to learn
make sure you understand
and so on that leads to wars about the various generals, the politics of
where these things occur
breaking out over the vast Greek this era, and get a birds eye view of the
in the timeline.
empire at that time. From this campaigns in summary form, then this
point forward it becomes a series I was astounded that book is invaluable. I love this period, but
of putting down revolts or chal- time and time again the after awhile the constant backstabbing,
lengers, destroying support for various successor gener- deal making, keeping track of all the
potential rivals, making or break- als were able to raise characters, etc., begins to take its toll.
ing deals, and basically running large forces to do their There is a second volume on the battles
around the empire putting out bidding. It is definitely and tactics, so I might try that out to see
fires. one of the more unique if both combined are worth the time.

Page 23 WARMING ORDER

Terrain Markers
The first article in this issue dealt with penalties for going through the village Marshy Ground-Waterlogged area that
making our games a bit more realistic and and good defensive benefits. is difficult to cross for infantry as well as
this feature focuses on the terrain aspect. cavalry and very difficult for artillery.
Fortified Village-The village has quite a
Very few games have what could be Artillery and vehicles should have to roll
few stone buildings along with stone/
termed “unpredictable” terrain, meaning to see if they get bogged down while
brick walls along the buildings on the
that most gamers know exactly what the crossing this area.
perimeter.
terrain is, what the movement penalties
Plowed Field-A minor movement penal-
are, and what cover benefits are provided. Damaged Bridge-Bridge has been heavi-
ty to all troops (except vehicles) for
The markers provided here are an attempt ly damaged and only foot traffic can
crossing.
to provide some fog of war for your cross, but at half movement. You could
games. Simply place a marker upside also add a provision that all or some troop Enclosed Field-These fields either have
down near a terrain feature and once a types can cross, but on the roll of a 5 or 6 large hedgerows, bocage, or vegetation
unit approaches it you can then flip it on 1D6 each turn the bridge collapses. marking the borders of the field. There
over to reveal what the real terrain is. could also be stone walls and there
Also, you may want to create some Light Bridge-This bridge will only sup-
should be at least one opening.
blanks so that gamers won’t know if the port foot traffic and cavalry. No artillery
marker represents the terrain they actual- or vehicles can cross. Depress 1-An area that provides some
ly see or it is something different. cover and line of sight issues. The size of
Bridge-A normal bridge that can be
the area could be determined at set up or
Light Woods-Not as dense or as difficult crossed by all infantry and mechanized
by rolling dice once encountered.
to pass through as normal woods. There forces.
should be a minimum movement penalty Depress 2-Large area that is not visible
Ford-An area where the stream/river can
and no disorganization penalty. from the surrounding terrain and it should
be crossed safely with a small movement
provide reasonable cover. This area
Woods-Normal woods. penalty. Roll 1D6 to see how wide the
should be at least twice the size of the
ford is and if vehicles use the ford there
Depress 1 terrain.
Heavy Woods-Area of woods that is should be an additional die roll to see if
much more dense and difficult to move they become stuck. How many markers are set out initial-
through than normal woods. There ly is up to the scenario designer. The
should be severe movement and disor- Shallow-Area of the river/stream that is
normal counters are provided solely to
ganization penalties. not as deep as had been previously
keep the gamers honest as if you only put
thought. Can be crossed by infantry,
out special markers they may avoid those
Woods Path-An unknown path or not cavalry, and vehicles.
areas. In many cases the scenario design-
marked on any map. Troops and vehicles
No Cross-River/stream is far deeper in er will have to roll for the effects or list
can move through the woods with mini-
this area than thought, prohibiting any them separately for when the markers are
mum movement penalty.
kind of crossing. encountered during the game. The other
Sunken Road-This section of road offers important aspect is to make the terrain in
extensive defensive benefits equal to a Steep-Much harder to move than it would the initial set up seem as average as ever.
trench. While moving along the road appear. There should be heavy move- So, for example, if there is a woods on
poses no problem, crossing the sunken ment penalties and no artillery can move your map, then place out an area of nor-
road for cavalry, artillery, and vehicles in this area. mal woods. When units of one side or
would be almost impossible. Rocky Area-The area is strewn with the other reach it and find out it is light
rocks and is treacherous for artillery, woods, then the scenario designer can
Mud-Recent rains and/or thaw has made
cavalry, and vehicles. Only foot troops remove sufficient tree models so that the
this road section almost impassable.
can cross this area and there should be tabletop terrain resembles light woods.
Movement should be 1//4 to 1/2 of nor-
mal speed. If the mud is severe, you some movement penalty associated with There are a large number of other
could roll for each artillery unit or vehicle the area. markers that could be added on top of this
to see if it becomes stuck. Hill Path-A path that is not marked on short list, so feel free to experiment.
any map leads through steep or rocky Craters, rubble, blocked roads, etc., are a
Open Village-The village is laid out so
areas. Infantry, cavalry, artillery, and few that come to mind quickly. Other
that there is a lot of room between the
vehicles may use the path with minimum elaborate markers such as booby trapped
various buildings. There are no move-
movement penalties. buildings, sewer movement in cities,
ment penalties for moving through this
minefields, and more can all be added.
village and little defensive benefit. Ditch-A deep cut or irrigated ditch is Also, don’t be afraid to add multiple
Dense Village-This village has far more encountered. Infantry can cross, but at markers to a terrain feature. An unknown
buildings and they are closer together the cost of most of their movement allow- ditch at the end of a field with mines on
than it first appears. There are movement ance. Cavalry, artillery, and vehicles are both sides could be a nasty surprise!
unable to cross.

Page 24 WARMING ORDER

Terrain Markers (cont.)

10mm Samurai by Magistar Militum Figure Review

Although I al- The figures are a true alry, and command. The figure do come
ready have quite 10mm and are based with the sashimonos attached, which
large forces for the singly. Normally this saves a ton of time, but they take some
Samurai period in isn’t a huge issue, but if effort cleaning them up as the flash seems
28mm, I love War- you’ve painted Samurai to be on that part of each figure. With the
master Ancients and in any scale, then you variety of troops, you can make up almost
the 10mm scale. As know it’s going to be a any type of unit from the later Samurai
we are gearing up for huge challenge regard- era.
a fantasy type cam- less of scale. While the
Painting, however, is at least two to
paign I thought I Old Glory infantry strips
three times slower than the other 6 an-
would help another get a few complaints
cient armies I’ve done in this scale.
member of our club here and there, it does
There’s goo detail on the armor and with
by painting some of his Samurai forces enable you to paint large numbers of
each figure being based separately, it can
for him. The only manufacturers that I them quickly.
take a LONG time to do units properly.
know of in this scale are Pendraken and
The selection is pretty good, with a Still, for accuracy, range, and with the
Magistar Militum, so since he bought the
range of ashigaru with spears, bows, and figures being sold in units, it’s a good
army pack from MM I thought I would
arquebus, plus Samurai foot troops, cav- deal and the units look great on the board.
get started there.

ISSUE #41 Page 25

 I’m beginning to wonder if the miniatures side of the wargaming hobby has hit a ceil-
WFHGS ing in interest levels, at least compared to how its cousin in board games is doing. While
the 70s and maybe even the early 80s were dominated by SPI and Avalon Hill’s board
WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL
GAMING SOCIETY wargames with miniatures gamers scraping to get by in terms of figures, terrain, and
rules, that changed in the late 80s, 90s, and until the last few years. Board wargames fell
Meets every other Friday night in the
on hard times as SPI, GDW, Avalon Hill, 3W, and more closed down. There were few
SLC, Utah area. We play a wide variety
of games in 1/300th, 10mm, 15mm, selections available and miniatures games, led by Games Workshop, the arrival of Old
and 25mm, including Age of Reason,
Glory, and a host of new rules took center stage. I can even recall at one stage selling off
Age of Discovery, Age of Eagles, Fire &
Fury, General de Brigade, Warmaster most of my board games and going full throttle on miniatures. When the Old Glory 15mm
Ancients, TSATF, Phantoms, Mustangs,
BKC2, and more... range came out I was painting multiple armies day and night for years! Even when board
wargaming started to make a slight comeback there was little interest from most of my
Email the editor:
gaming group, including myself.
[email protected]

The best in historical miniatures Fast forward to today and the situation seems to be greatly changed, at least in what
gaming I’m not only seeing but experiencing. Today there are figures in every scale and period
imaginable, hundreds of rules, and new terrain companies are creating things for sale
that we only dreamed about back in the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s. However, with every-
Visit us on the web:
thing that we have now there seems to be a certain level of apathy getting firmly estab-
www.wfhgs.com
lished in the hobby. Try asking about a new set of rules on the various forums and find
out that no one has played them or cares. Gamers can’t agree on what to play and at
times seem confused and/or perplexed about the range of choices. Everyone is doing 20
projects at once and can’t get enough finished to even do a trial game. On top of all that
board war games have come back with a vengeance. High quality games from many com-
panies covering every period known to mankind. For every miniatures period that you
can name I can point to several very good board games that cover the same thing, but
without the expense and time spent painting.

So now we have everything you could ever want in miniatures as well as board games.
Then, to make things even more difficult there are more and more games like Star Wars
Armada that have pre-painted miniatures which are a cross between board and minia-
tures gaming, which also seems to be taking away from the historical miniatures side of
things. It’s rapidly approaching the proverbial fork in the road where gamers are go-
ing to have to decide what they are going to have to give up. There’s no way that any
gamer can possibly be involved in what I term as the three kinds of wargaming; board
games, miniatures games, and “Euro” style wargames without running out of money or
room for their hobby There are simply too many new releases, supplements, etc., to be
able to do all of them well. I remember this happening when I collected sports cards for
Be sure to check out our various several years. In the span of about two years it went from having three companies pro-
campaigns for rules such as WMA,
ducing a few sets to over two dozen producing hundreds of sets. In the end I had to
TSATF, and BFE II on our web site.
choose one sport and one company to support. Hopefully that doesn’t happen here.