Tag: Board Games

04/10/15

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #68

Wargames, skipper!  Off the starboard bow!

Trenton 1776 (Worthington Games)
$14,000 of $2500 goal, ends 21 April 2015

The Worthington Gang is back with another battle from the American War of Independence, and this time it’s Washington’s iconic river-crossing-to-surprise-the-drunk-Hessians-on-Christmas campaign.  And let’s face it, the Battle of Trenton was pretty much the high-water-mark for the historical “good things that have happened in New Jersey” list.  It’s part of a series that Worthington kicked off with New York 1776, and expect more to come.  So march on over to their Kickstarter campaign and fire off your pledge to snag one while they’re hot.

g68-trenton

 

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04/2/15

AARsday! Playtesting Warfighter: Asian Thunder

2 April 2015

What does the game development process look like?  It’s not always pretty.  There’s a lot of hand-scribbled work along the way, as these pics from an old playtesting game of Warfighter: Asian Thunder from BayonetGames demonstrate.

Game1Setup

The setup:  The Iranians are closing on Salyan, their first objective on the road to Baku, Azerbaijan.  “North” is to the left on this map.  The Azeri civilians in Salyan might offer some resistance to the Iranians, as the Azeri reinforcements come charging toward the city.  An American company has landed at the airport, but is not prepared to advance into Salyan in between the Azeris and Iranians until the situation develops.

One player is controlling the Iranians, the other has the Azeris and Americans, and the civilians.

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03/28/15

GrogHeads Reviews: World At War Compendium 2

Is the new Compendium for you? Read on!

Jim Owczarski, 27 March 2015

And now, as a public service, a simple decision matrix to help you determine if you should purchase “World at War: Compendium #2” (hereafter Comp2) from Lock ‘n Load Publishing.

  • Are you a fan of the World at War series’ take on the Cold War gone hot?
  • Are you enough of  fan of this series that you have purchased many — not to say all — but many of the games, modules, and expansions that have come out since the release of Eisenbach Gap?
  • Even if you are a fan of the series, did you neglect to pick up issues 8-14 of Lock ‘n Load’s “Line of Fire” magazine?
  • Are you a fan of the Bauhaus font?

If you answered “yes” to all of the above, there is no reason that I can think of for you not to pick up Comp2.   It’s available for a scant $49.99 from www.lnlpublishing.com  You’ll be glad you did.  Thus endeth the review.

If, on the other hand, you answered “no” to any of the above, read on; matters are a bit more complicated.

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03/27/15

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #67

Two games, two gizmos, one GARPA.  Enjoy!

Holy Roman Empire (One Small Step)
$14k of $7k, ends 13 April 2015

An update to a venerable and revolutionary game, OSS’s Holy Roman Empire is a graphic feast that updates the original with the incorporation of older errata and the greater integration of the tactical battle board.  Counters, cards, player mats, and a host of scenarios round out a solid package for a true multi-player wargame with a heavy political layer that will keep your game group grogging for the long haul.  March over their Kickstarter campaign and tithe your gold to the lords of wargaming.

G67-hre

 

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03/13/15

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #66

GARPA AT SEEEEEEAAAAA!  OK, not just afloat, but there’s a pair of naval-heavy games for you this week to go with some gargantuan aircraft and more RPG hi-jinks.

 

Captain’s Sea (GMT Games)
P500 – Made the cut!  P500 price $45, MSRP $65

A ship-to-ship combat game with a mixture of a square grid (!) and octagonal counters (!!) that covers the actions of the fledgling US Navy in the early 1800s.  Battles include US ships against both British and French opponents, and focus on commanding a single ship through skillful maneuvering and solid crew allocations to weapons and rigging.  Flying monkeys and subsurface atomic bombs round out your arsenals (just kidding!).  Sail over to GMT while it’s still ‘officially’ on p500, but know that you’re going to get it, since it made the cut and is going to head to production sometime soon.

G66-CaptainsSea-1(RBM)

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