Tag: Operational

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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07/14/13

Panzer Corps Grand Campaign: 1939-1945

Reviewed by Avery Abernethy, 14 July 2013

Developer: The Lordz Game Studios

Publisher: Slitherine Ltd.

 Panzer Corps Grand Campaign: 1939-1945 is an add-on requiring either Panzer Corps or Panzer Corps Afrika Korps to play.  In this add-on the player takes the role of a German Commander of a combined arms force during World War Two.   Panzer Corps Grand Campaign includes ten add-on campaigns each lasting eleven or twelve scenarios.  The campaigns start with 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1942.  After 1942 the campaigns split into the eastern and western theaters of operation.  Choose the East and 1943, 1944, and 1945 will be fought in the USSR, Poland, and Eastern Germany culminating in the defense of Berlin.  Choose the West and you will go in 1942-1943 to defend against raids in France followed by fighting in Italy with German and Italian units.  1944 West covers Italy and then moves to the battles of Normandy and elsewhere in France.  1945 West covers the Battle of the Bulge.  Win enough decisive victories and the player has the opportunity to invade the United Kingdom.

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04/27/13

Small General Eastern Front

GrogHeads is pleased to induct Small General Eastern Front into the Order of the Hex for Excellent Depth in Mobile Gameplay.
GrogHeads is pleased to induct Small General Eastern Front into the Order of the Hex for Excellent Depth in Mobile Gameplay.

Review by Jim Zabek, 27 April 2013

Publisher & Developer: Victor Reijkersz Games

Great gameplay on the go? Believe it! If you’re on an Android phone, you’ve got a new ‘must-play’ game.

About a year ago Grogheads published a review of Small General. Set in a generic World War II-ish environment it to offered a non-historical operational wargame to players with Android-powered devices. Developed by VR Designs, the same development house that recently won an Order of the Hex award for great historical gameplay and Third Place in our Readers’ Choice Awards, it should come as little surprise that a more historically-focused game for Android devices would soon follow.
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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.

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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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10/14/12

GrogHeads Reviews Bomber Command

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Designer: Lee Brimmicombe-Wood

Publisher: GMT Games

Left Hand Reviews, 14 October, 2012

 

How closely can a boardgame come to simulating the Allies’ strategic night bombing raids of World War II?

 

In an effort to cripple the German war machine and bring the 3rd Reich to its knees, the British Royal Air Force conducted countless night raids in the late stages of the war, 1943-1945. The targets included military manufacturing facilities, populated cities, as well as critical supply routes. Despite the extraordinarily high mortality rate of the bomber squadrons, they continued to fight bravely and eventually succeeded in forcing the German High Command to shift to the defensive.

Bomber Command is a tactical wargame in which one player will control the British bombers, attempting to take out key objectives, while the other play represents the German night fighters and flak batteries desperately trying to infiltrate the Allied bomber squadrons and prevent the destruction of not only brick and mortar targets but the morale of the people as well.

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