Tag: Age of Gunpowder

07/20/13

Interview: Chris Fasulo Sr of Grognard Simulations

Interview by Brant Guillory, 20 July 2013

This week, we are fortunate to have with us Chris Fasulo Sr, of the (relatively) new wargaming company Grognard Simulations.  Grognard Simulations burst onto the scene with their Death Ride series of operational games that garnered a great reputation for its combined arms system.  We managed to chisel a few moments out of his 18-hour days to talk about Grognard Simulations and his wargaming background.

 

Tell us a little bit about your wargaming background? When did you get started and what made you stick with it?
This will be difficult as I have an extensive background in wargaming.  It started when I was but a teenager in the 70’s with my first game being the AH classic of France 1940.  I still have it.  This grew through my high school years and I was solidly convinced by my enjoyment of wargaming that I wanted to be in the Army.  So, after having failed at my first semester at college I made my leap into the service.  I enlisted and spent my active duty time in Hawaii.  I found a small gaming group and built my desire to keep it up.  I exited active duty and as a member of NJ National Guard I sought a commission as an officer.  Having succeeded at becoming a Second Lieutenant as an Armor Officer I had so much fun that my gaming and military life began to be one.

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12/27/12

Review of Levee en Masse

Review by Jim Cobb, 27 December 2012

Published and Developed by Victory Point Games

Yes, Virginia, there was a revolution before Napoleon. Gamers’ fixation with the Corsican ogre has obscured a fascinating period before the assumption of First Consulship in 1802. Only Crown of Glory included this period its grand overview of the period. Victory Point Games has addressed this situation by porting their solitaire boardgame over to the iPad and iPhone. Can a simple game capture a complicated time?

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Paris Squares

Levee en Masse’s map shows France surrounded by the English Channel, the Low Countries, the Rhineland, western Austria, Switzerland and the Piedmont in Italy. Naturally, Paris is the center of everything. France’s external foes – Britain, Prussian, Austria, and Piedmont – start in their homelands while the perennial rebels in the Vendee are slightly misplaced in southwest France. A chain of four boxes link enemies to Paris with color guards advancing toward the Isle de France. Circles in the Low Countries and one in the Channel represent possible spots for “Liberation” armies.

 

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07/13/12

GrogHeads Reviews Empires in America

Designed by Joe Miranda for Victory Point Games

By Brant Guillory, 13 July 2012

A perfect blend of size, simplicity, and skill, Empires in America challenges players with an interesting variation on a tower defense scenario, well-blended with a nice dash of history.

Victory Point Games is still considered by some to be a “small” publisher.  If so, I’m curious what the definition of “small” is.  These guys churn out a game a week – and excellent games, too.  One way they’re able to do so is by relying on some well-tested basic mechanics, such as the solo game rules known as the States of Siege series.  These card- and track-movement-driven games provide a player with a significant and well-balanced challenge, in a variety of genres, including the Israeli War for Independence, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Empires in America, the third entry in the States of Siege series, covers the French and Indian Wars in North America.  A precursor to the American War for Independence, the French and Indian Wars were the battles in New World as a part of the larger Seven Years’ War across the globe between various European powers.
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