Tag: DVG

11/21/15

TANKSgiving! GrogHeads Reviews DVG’s Modern Land Battles

tanksgivingheader

TANKSgiving kicks off with a bang!

Jim Owczarski, 21 November 2015

Click images to enlarge

Dan Verssen’s Modern Naval Battles has rolled past its 25th birthday and is making its way to its 30th.  I’ll pause for a moment and let that sink in with those who were already adults when it was released.  Bitter reminders of our mortality aside, the game has been and remains a popular choice for grogs interested in playing a game that feels crunchy and lets them indulge their love of technology while not requiring days or weeks to play.

Enter, then, Modern Land Battles: Target Acquired, a 2-6 player non-collectible card game that tries, in its own abstract and simplified way, to simulate mechanized land warfare in the period following the Second World War.  I’ve already done a piece un-boxing the game (Modern Land Battles – First Look!) so what follows is a review of the game’s mechanics, level of simulation, and overall flow.

As indicated in the earlier article, MLB allows two players or teams of players to select from seven national force pools:  United States, Arab Multinational, China, Great Britain, Insurgent, Israel, and U.S.S.R.  And while I did discuss some of the vehicles before, it would hardly be TANKSgiving if I didn’t offer a few more shots of lovely, lovely AFVs.

I keep wanting to shout "Wolverines!!"
I keep wanting to shout “Wolverines!!”

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09/16/15

Modern Land Battles – First Look!

Jim Owczarski, 16 September 2015

It is sobering to note that the original “Modern Naval Battles” card game dates back to 1989.  It and its offspring have remained one of the more successful titles in the canon of Dan Verssen.  I must confess myself, however, to be not the greatest fan of modern naval battles so I’ve somehow managed to give it a miss all these years.  Now, however, comes this box in the mail and matters are different:

Oh...my...
Oh…my…

It’s not the “Field Commander” or “Tiger Leader” monster box and it’s all together lighter than either.  Inside is a rule book, a sheet of counters, a wee bag of four 10-sided dice, and a lot of nicely-done cards.

 

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07/31/15

DVG’s Tiger Leader – First Look!

There’s plenty of chatter on the new release from DVG.  Michael shows us what’s in the box!

Michael Eckenfels, 31 July 2015

The DVG ‘Leader’ series is really going gangbusters. Phantom Leader, Hornet Leader, Tiger Leader…plus numerous others. The demand is out there, and DVG keeps churning out good products so far (the three I mention, I own, with Tiger Leader just arriving on my doorstep). I’ve not played anything outside of the ‘Air’ Leader series…back in the day (early 90s to be specific), I loved playing the original Thunderbolt/Apache Leader by GMT, which I know DVG has also done. (I’ll be going after them in a month or two to see if I can get a copy of that one to see how it has changed.)

This particular game – Tiger Leader – according to the back of the box, “places you in command of a German Kapmpfgruppe in the most decisive campaigns of WWII!” I’ve seen the Let’s Play videos that DVG posted on YouTube discussing this game, and even with pre-production artwork it looked pretty good. I can’t wait to get this to the table to see how it plays. Watching is one thing…playing, something entirely different!

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The box in all its glory. There’s something rather cathartic about getting a brand new board game. A nice heavy mailing box, nice solid product inside, shrunk-wrapped and pristine. It’s like my woobie or something.

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07/11/15

GrogHeads Reviews DVG’s Hornet Leader

Does Hornet Leader take flight?  Michael buzzes in to let us know.

Michael Eckenfels, 11 July 2015

In Hornet Leader (this version is the recent remake), the player controls a squadron of either U.S. Navy or Marine Corps aircraft through one of several campaigns, which include both real-world historical events and hypothetical ones (more hypothetical, though, than real-world). There’s tons of cards and counters you use to record, fight, and try to keep your squadron alive long enough to earn enough victory points to get a good enough rating for your campaign.

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07/1/15

Hornet Leader – First Look!

 Unboxing DVG’s Hornet Leader

Michael Eckenfels, 1 July 2015

The arrival of Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations (hereafter referred to has simply Hornet Leader) at my doorstep was something I was greatly looking forward to. For one, I was a HUGE fan and player of the original Thunderbolt/Apache Leader game, from 1991 when it was made by GMT. I absolutely loved being in control of my own squadron of Warthogs and Apaches and taking out targets in modern air-to-ground (and sometimes, air-to-air) combat.

I’ve head good things about Hornet Leader, but don’t really know what to expect as the game seems more balanced between air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. There’s also a choice between playing a US Navy campaign or a US Marine Corps campaign.

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The game box is huge, probably close to two inches thick and with a bookcase-sized height and width. It’s very nicely designed, though personally, I’m not a huge fan of the F/A-18 Hornet. Rather, I’m more excited about the possibility of controlling F-14 Tomcats and A-6 Intruders. This game will let you do those, and many more.

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