Hind Commander

Started by DicedT, September 01, 2012, 04:44:44 PM

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Toonces

#15
Well, I'll start with the most glaring thing first.

Before I bought AWACS I was searching around the internet desperately looking for some solid info on what exactly it was all about, and what came in the box.  I found myself on the Assault Publishing forums (I think) and all these European guys were talking about how the game came in a "Swedish Pr0n box."  They kept going on and on about the box.  Stupid me...I figured that they were calling it a pr0n box because it was so awesome; I'm picturing a Commands and Colors type box in my mind.

No, that's not the box it comes in.

It's this little bitty flimsy thing.  I'm not even sure how to describe it, maybe like the box that a cheap video game would come in back when they put games like Atari 2600 games in those small, throw-away cardboard boxes.  I guess in Europe that's what store-bought Swedish pr0n comes in.  Next time I go to Europe, at least I know what to look for.

Of course it was shipped from Illinois to Hawaii in a manilla media package so the whole thing was crushed beyond recognition.

So, when I slit the package open and pulled out this small, crushed, sad looking little box (that cost $70) I was a bit...shocked.  But hey, at least it came in a box.  Hind Commander comes loose in plastic bubble wrap.

I'll see if I can get some pictures.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

#16
Ok, here are the pictures.  I hope you don't mind, I'm combining A.W.A.C.S. with Hind Commander.

Hind Commander:

I ordered Hind Commander through Picoarmor.com.  It came shipped in the same manilla package with AWACS.   Shipping was included in the price of the package.  I received an email the day following my order indicating it had shipped and it arrived in Honolulu in 3 days. 



The Hind Commander game came in bubble wrap.  The rule book was shrink wrapped separately from the other components.  The rule book is printed on glossy paper with a TON of play examples provided.  As mentioned elsewhere, the rulebook is about 100 pages, half of which are data cards for the various aircraft and vehicles.  A quick glance through the rules shows that it isn't all that complex in the sense that I don't think it will be hard to learn for the average wargamer.

The various chits (lock ons, unknown helo, etc.) come on a paper that is like a postcard.  They aren't pre-cut so you will have to cut them out with scissors.

The game doesn't come with any miniatures, which are pretty much required to play.  The publisher has a bunch of mini sets out for the game already.  I bought the "Red Tide" set.  It came in a small box along with the other items.  The minis are metal, lots of detail, but will need to be assembled.  They do not come with bases or stems, so I'll have to figure that out still.  Also, the rotors appear to be some sort of plasticy paper.  Storing them is going to be a b!tch.



Overall the price was something on the order of $35 for the rules and another $17 or so for the minis.  I think it's a pretty decent value for what you get.  There are a lot of different mini sets available already, so it shouldn't be too hard to find a set that matches your particular conflict.



"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

#17
Arm Weapons and Climb Solo: A.W.A.C.S.

I ordered AWACS at the same time as Hind Commander and they came in the same manilla package.  Really, something like this should be mailed in a flat rate cardboard box, but considering the poor quality of the AWACS box, I guess it wasn't really a keeper anyway.



The game is $70 flat and comes with rules, markers, and 62 metal minis and bases.  Stems are not included.  The whole package comes in a "Swedish Pr0n Box" which isn't nearly as cool as it sounds.  The box was crushed; the best I can compare it to is the same type of box your old Atari 2600 games came in. At any rate, once the minis are assembled they would never fit back in there so the box is essentially a throw-away item.



The rule book is very small, like pocket sized and only a few pages.  The rules look very simple.  Also included are a double-sided postcard-type thing with the data for the US and Iraqi jets and vehicles printed on it, and a few postcardy things with various chits and markers.  A separate bag contains a plethora of cat toys various sized dice used to resolve combat and also mark weapons, speed, etc. on the base of the minis.



Minis are 1/600 scale, same as Hind Commander so I'm stoked because I can interchange vehicles between the two.  Minis seem to be high quality and have minimal assembly required.   



Overall, I think you are basically paying for the minis with this one.  It's designed for solo play although a second player can definitely play the bad guys.  I think these guys are on to a neat idea with basically putting a whole package together like this and I'm sure that any number of additional conflicts will be offered in the future.  Alternatively, a smart wargamer could certainly use the ideas included to make their own rules.

I wish they had included stems.  And, I wish they had offered a solid box.  Overall, this is probably a little on the high side for what you get, but probably not by a lot.  I'll be interested to see how it plays and I'm sure it will be suitable for some air combat with my 10-year old.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

TheCommandTent

^Nice look haul Toonces, looking forward to seeing them painted and in action.
"No wants, no needs, we weren't meant for that, none of us.  Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is."

LongBlade

Sweet googly moogly that's a lot of minis.

A 100 minis you said?

It took me a minute to work out the currency conversion but it looks like about USD 70. that's not bad at all. A lot of love for that AWACs game.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

MKG

AWACS:GW is some kind of experiment. I designed it as fast and easy game and the box was intented for retail sale instead of shipment (I add extra carton when ship p0rn boxes). I plan to publish an extra scenario or a few this week and I work on battle matt (prototype was made):
http://assaultpublishing.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=133

Next parts of AWACS are questionable at the moment. The project reached rather limited financial success, but require sooooooo many work (I have to count all these f%#@%#@ dices and put them to the bags) and my latest "release" consume a lot of time (now she's 1/2 year old and loves to be carried on daddy's arms all the time!). I have to stick to my next rulebook, as I'm tempararely not able to develop a couple of hobby projects (designing and publishing wargames is my secondary job).

Regards,
MKG

Staggerwing

Welcome to the forums MKG! Thanks for the game info. Where do you hail from?
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

MKG


Staggerwing

Cool. One of my best friends' wife's family is from that area.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

LongBlade

Welcome MKG!

I'm sorely tempted to pick up that AWACs game for the minis alone.

Can you tell us a little about how the game plays?
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

MKG

In short:
1. Select the scenario, which describes the situation, goals, players forces and enemy forces (on varied from the difficulty level) etc. In most cases some or all enemies are hidden in the pule. These units are hidden under contact markers and are revealed in certain situations (randomly and/or when players plane get close to it). The scenarios are very varied, from fighter sweeps, infiltrating defences with stealth planes to wild runs in deep canyons. The 3 difficulty levels and random pool means that no game is the same.
2. The game is quick and simple and in the turn has the following phases:
a. beggining phase (mainly reaveling contacts)
b. AA phase - resolvin AA fire
c. player turn, where the player moves his aircraft
d. enemy phase, when the player move enemy aircraft. They are quided by simple, but quicte effective script, which also adds some random aspects.
e. end phase - checking the victory conditions

Generally - fast, fun and relaing instead of realisting. Like B-class movie :)
The mechanic is very simple and based on D6 dice.

LongBlade

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.