Category Archives: Classic Reviews
Classic Reviews: Cactus Throne
Against the Odds Magazine
An early game from Against The Odds Magazine that looks at what was going on while we were recovering from the US Civil War / War Between The States / War of Northern Aggression / “The Wahr” ~
Brant Guillory, 5 October 2016
INTRODUCTION
Cactus Throne is an operational/strategic-level game that covers the war in Mexico between the Republican Mexican government forces, and the Imperial forces of France, Britain, Spain, Austria, and their Mexican allies. The war was originally fought between 1862-1867.
Although there were significant political machinations that affected the campaign, especially in Europe, the game focuses on the allocation of forces within Mexico, and control of the important areas of country.
Some of the political events are included as random events. Additionally, there are events that could have happened, but did not, such as the appearance of both Union and Confederate forces from the American Civil War. Cactus Throne does include some elements of seapower, but only to the extent that it affected the land battles. Ship-to-ship combat is not simulated.
Car Wars – A Trip Down The Memory Fast Lane, Part 2
Continuing his series on Car Wars, Michael rolls back through the memory banks again ~
Michael Eckenfels, 23 September 2016
TRUCK STOP: A CAR WARS (FIRST EDITION) SUPPLEMENT
This expansion, released the same year I bought the original Car Wars, added massive 18-wheelers and other large rigs to the Car Wars universe. It seemed only right, given the fact that tanker trucks were a lynchpin of the Mad Max universe. Besides, these things are righteously huge. Just imagine them armored up with large-caliber guns bristling everywhere, and one wonders how cars, much less cycles, would have a chance in Hades against them.
One could virtually feel the temptation to HULK SMASH and sledgehammer smaller opponents with tons of rolling steel death. (Hell…I have this feeling even to this day.) I had to have the expansion, and so I have owned it for 32 years now. The box has held up well in that time, and I probably haven’t opened it in some 30-odd years, to be honest. So this will be something of a time capsule.
This box is in surprisingly excellent condition. I hope the insides have aged well, too…
Car Wars – A Trip Down The Memory Fast Lane, Part 1
The first of a series, Michael looks back at the wasted years of burning rubber through the blacktop battlefields of yesterday ~
Michael Eckenfels, 09 September 2016
CAR WARS: A MEGA-ARTICLE RETRO LOOK
Back in 1983 or so, when I was transitioning from middle school to high school, hobby stores were a refuge of mine. Mostly I, as well as some of my friends, were into role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. I still remember the modules at this store costing six dollars, which at the time was of course a princely sum for a 13-14 year old. (My first job in 1986 paid minimum wage, which I think was $3.25 an hour.) I’d be lucky to get five dollars from my cash-strapped parents, and having to save that money was a chore of epic proportions, because this was, of course, the heyday of the arcades.
Arcade games like Dig-Dug, Tron, Jungle Hunt, Zaxxon, Joust, and Burger Time hypnotized many a kid into pouring quarters into them, and I was one of the zombies. Saving money was never my strong suit, but when I found something I wanted in the hobby store, I’d save up religiously for it. Car Wars was one of those games.
The Battle of Waterloo: A Comparative Exercise, Part 3
In the finale of our Waterloo comparisons, our resident Napoleonicist continues his side-by-side comparisons with the groggiest of the grog games ~
Jim Owczarski, 23 July 2016
The 201st anniversary of the Great Battle has passed, Spring has turned to the heat of Summer, and, for those who have come this far, it’s time to explore the rarefied air breathed by the more complex simulations of the Battle of Waterloo. (ed note, links to read part 1 and part 2)
I begin with a game to which I react much like that famous speech from the end of so many relationships, viz.: “it’s not you, it’s me.” Martin Wallace is one of the great Euro-game designers of our time and there’s much conceptually to admire in his “Waterloo”, but, despite my best efforts, I’ve never been able to bring myself to love it the way some do.
You can keep your Mona Lisa.
The Battle of Waterloo: A Comparative Exercise, Part 2
Our resident Napoleonicist continues to compare all things Waterloo side-by-side, and ratcheting up the difficulty level on the games ~
Jim Owczarski, 21 May 2016
The nice part about doing a series is one can leave aside the preliminary pleasantries and leap to the business at hand. For those who missed the first journey into the world of wargaming Waterloo (I may need to trademark alliteration that strong), it’s here.
For those already up to speed, what follows is a discussion of some of the medium-weight games to take up this greatest of battles.
It may surprise some that I do not find Richard Borg’s Command and Colors: Napoleonics to be a light wargame. It is, after all, the direct descendant of Memoir ’44, likely the greatest gateway wargame ever made. It borrows its predecessor’s left-center-right battlefield construction; units, though blocks and not little plastic man, are still formed of a few markers each; a hand of cards drawn from a common deck that shares many similarities with Memoir drives the action; and combat is resolved with dice that have symbols rather than pips.
They were on sale. How could I say no?
