Tag Archives: Naval Warfare
GrogHeads Reviews Fleet Commander: Nimitz
Fleet Commander: Nimitz from DVG (Dan Verssen Games)
Michael Eckenfels, 7 March 2015
THE GAME
Fleet Commander Nimitz is a grand strategic game covering the struggles in the Pacific during the Second World War, from the start of 1942 through 1945. This is a solitaire game, where the player takes the role of Chester W. Nimitz and tries to stem the Japanese onslaught. Success or failure is measured by Objectives on the map (such as Alaska and New Guinea), and these change depending on the Campaign you choose to play. Victory is determined by the number of Objectives you hold; the more, the greater your level of victory. However, if you fail in stopping the Japanese tide across the Pacific, failure is not measured by a Japanese invasion of the mainland U.S. or Australia. Instead, interestingly, failure results in you losing your job.
The game has a ton of beautiful (if at times mystifying) components, a relatively clear rule book, and game play that requires a playthrough or three in order to wrap one’s mind around the concepts. The fact that I have gone back to this game again and again to learn its intricacies is largely due to its magnetic appeal. The game does draw me in, even though it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Fleet Commander Nimitz – First Look!
A look inside DVG’s new solo Pacific Theater game
Michael Eckenfels, 26 December 2014
I am a board game addict. Card games, dice games, board-and-cool-bits games, name it and I’m all over it if I like the theme. I’ve also done some manuals for board games. What I’m trying to get at is, I’ve seen a lot and played a lot, and it’s really tough to impress me. With unboxing, that first impression is all important; even though I have yet to play Fleet Commander Nimitz, this unboxing was a glorious experience with only a few ‘huh?’ moments.
Fleet Commander Nimitz is a DVG game born from a Kickstarter campaign that ended up cultivating 50% more cash than the goal needed, and as such there were a couple of stretch goals reached – namely, a mounted Battle Board and a counter tray. When I opened the shipping box and took out its contents, this stack is what greeted me:
As far as I can tell, the mounted Battle Board and the counter tray are not included in the game itself, and you cannot get them unless you preordered the game. The DVG page does not indicate that either are included, at least not at this time. Perhaps there will be a ‘Deluxe’ version of FC: Nimitz in the future? Who knows…
The counter tray is pretty nice, but it’s almost laughable insofar as its capacity is, compared to the insane number of counters that come with this game. I know at least one GH forum member that went to Walmart to buy his own storage containers from the crafts section, and that’s something I will likely need to do. Another important question that you might be thinking: will it all fit back in the box? I will answer that shortly.
GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #56
Brant Guillory, 24 October 2014
Not another GARPA!
War & Seas (Wargame Process Edition)
P500 for $49, or 39€
There’s a definite ‘ooh and ahh’ factor to this one. It’s an age-of-sail slugfest with a build-your-own-ship twist. You kit out your ship by the use of mix-and-match blacks that represent cannons, crew, officers, etc. and the blast away. The combat dice are not normal d6s either; they are multi-symbol faces that apply numbers to the actions you’ve chose. It’s a small fleet action with built-in multiplayer support, and well, did we mention it looks cool? Go get a p500 order in now and get this thing made already!
GrogHeads Reviews Picket Duty
Dive into this solitaire WWII game and stave off the attacks on your destroyer.
Michael Eckenfels, 3 August 2014
Picket Duty is a solitaire board wargame that focuses on giving you ‘spiritual’ command over a Fletcher-class World War II destroyer during the Okinawa campaign. Your job is to guide the crew as it fends off wave after wave of Kamikaze and ‘special’ attacks while at its duty, or picket, station. Most Fletcher-class destroyers served in this ‘Picket Duty’ capacity to provide early warning to the larger and more valuable fleet targets, such as aircraft carriers, supply ships, and troop ships. So, of course, Kamikaze planes sometimes focused on these destroyers to pave the way for other Kamikazes to get a good shot at those targets.
The game, unfortunately, focuses on little else other than Kamikaze and ‘special’ (or, normal) Japanese aircraft attacks. There is no surface-to-surface combat action, nor DD-vs.-submarine action, or any land-based fire support. Given the complexity and amount of work put into this title, though, it’s hardly a surprise. I just wish it might have done a little more. For the purpose of fighting off hordes of Kamikazes, if you want to feel like you’re the only ship in the American fleet and getting all the attention of these deadly attacks, you’ll very likely love this game.
Tuesday Screenshot – Picket Duty
We’ve shown you the unboxing on Picket Duty, and we’ve got a review coming up. But for today, here’s a tease of the game on the table.
click to enlarge
