Tag: European Theater

09/5/13

Allied Corps – AAR Part 3

When we left off with Part 2 of this AAR the Germans had pulled out everything but the kitchen sink. There weren’t a lot of German forces, but what we ran into was quality. Neberwerfers, tank-busting aircraft, Tigers, V-2s…the list was pretty long. Almost every piece of high-tech equipment the Germans could field late in the war had made a showing and I was the guy having to beat it up. As you may recall, dear reader, I was pushing my way into the Netherlands. I had to take objectives in the north, west, and south. Thus far I had chosen to focus on the west and south, leaving the north until later. Through some kind of luck – simply having troops occupying some rail hexes, I inadvertently captured a train with some hot cargo. That was a pleasant surprise.

Allied Corps AAR-073

With that, let’s pick up the story at Turn 9.

Allied Turn 9

I start by hammering on the troops around Leiden. I don’t need to attack them as I hold the objective, but I take them on for good measure. Note the captured train next to my jeep in the middle of the screen:

Allied Corps AAR-074

Then I move to attack the Nashorn. My Sherman 105s gives it a good shot and inflicts some decent hurt. Then my Hellcats move up and attack some more. The Nashorn drops to a single point left. I send my Sherman 76s to finish it off. They do. Continue reading →

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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02/17/13

PC Game Review of Squad Battles: First World War

A review by Boggit, 17 February 2013

Developer and Publisher: John Tiller Software

Click images to enlarge

 

The recent surge in wargames set during the First World War is leaving Wargamers spoilt for choice. With Squad Battles: First World War, Boggit takes Grog’s view of whether it is a “Breakthrough” or is “Caught on the Wire”.

 

Squad Battles: First World War John Tiller Software’s latest addition to their series of Squad Battles games. Hitherto John Tiller’s Squad Battles have focused on the Modern and World War Two timeframe. The First World War is a new departure for this series so what has changed and does the Squad Battles Engine “work” for the First World War?

 

sbfww

Pins and casualties everywhere as the first wave break against the British line

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01/23/13

Crisis in Command I: Battle of the Bulge for iPad

Developer: John Butterfield • Publisher: Shenandoah Studios

Reviewed by Jim Cobb, 23 January, 2013

Click images to enlarge

Will a staple battle of wargaming look any differently on an iPad tablet? Jim Cobb jumps into the Battle of the Bulge to find out.

botb

New media do not initially bring new gaming paradigms. The first wargames for computers were ports from board games; the first wargames for tablets have been ports from mainstream computer games. Other than tapping instead of mousing, play hasn’t changed that much. With Shenandoah Studio’s Kickstart-supported Battle of the Bulge, a new paradigm may have been developed.

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11/1/12

PC Game Review of Combat Mission: Fortress Italy

Reviewed by Boggit 1 November, 2012

Developed and Published by Battlefront.com

How does the latest Combat Mission game stack up? Charge on, intrepid readers!

Fortress Italy is the latest incarnation of the Combat Mission 2 Series developed and published by Battlefront.com. For those unfamiliar with the series, it is a 3-D real-time tactical squad-level wargame set in Sicily 1943 during World War II. For those familiar with Combat Mission Shock Force and Combat Mission Battle for Normandy, the gameplay is essentially similar, albeit that new features have been added to the game engine and front end and that the battlefield terrain now reflects an Italian setting as opposed to the Near East or France/North West Europe.

The game plays in either of two modes, pausable real-time, and WEGO, where a player plots his/her moves and then watches the moves play out in real-time, rather like watching a film. It’s actually a very nice option to have in the game since it holds appeal to those who like to plot and consider their moves and to those who like the excitement of immediate action and reaction from the moment time is running. It’s quite fun to play one battle in one mode and another in the other mode since although it is the same game, you do get a very different feel to the gameplay.

I had already cut my teeth on Combat Mission Shock Force and Combat Mission Battle for Normandy, so I felt right at home with Fortress Italy. If you’re not familiar with the gameplay then you’ll need to invest some time and effort to get to know the intricacies of the game system. It isn’t that the order system is not intuitive, but the game is quite unforgiving when the pixel bullets start flying and knowing the likely effect of your orders and how things take effect is at first as important as whatever tactical plan you have to achieve victory… (not that mine ever survive contact…).

cmfi

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