Tag: Tactical

01/27/16

GrogHeads Reviews Heroes of Steel

Dungeon Crawling Underground!  But how does it play? ~

By Avery Abernethy

 

Heroes of Steel is a turn based, combat RPG set in an underground world. Your four characters follow the traditional meme of a medieval world. This is a small party, turn based, combat sim. There is a story to string the combat along, but you have no choices in character personality or alignment. You are good. Your enemies are evil. You need to kill all of the evil.

To strike down the evil hordes you have a party composed of a fighter, a cleric, a thief and a wizard. There is one variant for each character type. For example, your cleric can be based more on healing or more on combat. The thief can be a bow equipped sniper who opens chests and detects traps. Or your thief can be more focused on a stealthy hand-to-hand combat while also opening locked chests and detecting traps.

HofSteel-Your fighter

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01/16/16

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #85

GARPA!  Special Weekend Edition ~

Invierno Cubano: Castro’s Counterinsurgency, 1959-1965 (GMT Games)
p500 $19, MSRP $28 (not there yet)

An expansion for Cuba Libre, Invierno Cubano expands Cuba Libre to focus on Castro’s initial time in charge, as he consolidated power through his own counterinsurgency.  Factions include Casto’s forces, the rich landowners threatened by the socialist revolution, the escapees to the US that want to strike back at the new government, and Batista’s holdouts hoping to take the country back.  It’s almost like a whole new game on the same map.  Wade ashore at GMT’s p500 site to get your order in!

g85-cuba

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01/1/16

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #84

Give us a break… we’ve been watching football all day ~

 

Forgotten War, The Korean War ASL (MMP)
Preorder price $96

ASL goes to Korea… officially! Seriously, what else do you need to know. OK, how about what’s in the box? 7 countersheets and 4 maps, plus a bunch of rules additions. Now, the caveat – you need the ASL base rules to play, so in addition to your $96 here, you still need a bunch of other stuff to play. But hey, you can finally get off the Eastern front, or the beaches of Normandy, or wherever you’ve been treading water in your ASL games. Storm over to MMP’s site and place your pre-order and re-fight the first conventional battles of the Cold War.

G84-ASL-Korea

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12/19/15

GrogHeads Reviews Tank on Tank West Front

TANKS!  Oooga oooga.  GUNNER-SABOT-WARGAME!  Rumbarumbarumba.  Schwooooosh.  BOOM! ~

Brant Guillory, 19 December 2015

click images to enlarge

Tank on Tank is LNLP’s re-release of their older WWII tactical combat game.  Unlike the LNL Tactical system, this one focuses on – wait for it – TANKS!

Counters are individual fighting vehicles, with additional infantry platoons running around.  The West Front box (this review) has Panzer IVs, Priests, Pershings, and Panthers.  There’s also playing pieces that pon’t part with “P”, like Shermans and Stukas, Wolverines and Armored Infantry.  The maps are 50m hexes, and include a “winter” map on the backside of each of the standard maps.

Inside the Box

Production values are the usual LNLP high-quality, with a standard 1” deep box, individually-cut pieces (no corner clipping!), and vibrant colors and graphics.  The play aids are useful without being obtrusive, and the rules are simple, concise, and compact.  Although the production value is excellent, the West Front box seems a tad sparse for $34.99.  For only an extra $5, the East Front box certainly packs more into the same size box – twice the counters and three times the maps.  You can see the comparison in our previous unboxing article here.

The comparatively sparse West Front box has 1 countersheet, 2 double-sided maps, and the rulebook and player aid card. And dice (pictured).
The comparatively sparse West Front box has 1 countersheet, 2 double-sided maps, and the rulebook and player aid card. And dice (pictured).

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12/10/15

Heroes of Normandy – First Look!

LNLP’s latest release in the newly-renamed Lock’n’Load Tactical System landed on our doorstep. ~

Michael Eckenfels, 10 December 2015

Disclaimer: I am the co-host of the GrogCast, the podcast for GrogHeads.com. As of this writing, our podcast is sponsored by Lock ‘n Load Publishing, the producer of this game. I just wanted that said up front before I dive in. This game truly does look excellent, and that’s my gamer/writer side talking, and is not influenced at all by LnL’s sponsorship of our little podcast. Now, on with the article.

Unboxing articles are kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I get to open this brand new game that usually has just come off the production line and get to be one of the first to lay eyes on physical components. On the other hand, I have no idea what I’m looking at, so I cannot speak to the components; your guess is indeed as good as mine in some cases. Still, it’s pretty cool to take a look at these things.

This game, Heroes of Normandy, is a game in LnL’s Tactical System, and simulates the battles in France in 1944 following the D-Day landings. I have had experience with LnL’s product during Mark Walker’s reign as leader, but that was many years ago. I’ve also not been much of a tactical gamer ever, having cracked my skull against a metaphorical wall whilst playing Squad Leader solo back in the late 80s…that entire experience somewhat soured my outlook and I almost immediately immersed myself in grand strategic games (both PC and board) after that. However, over the last many years, this has slowly but surely been changing.

When GH told me I’d be getting this game for an unboxing, I immediately took to BGG and other sites to find out as much as I could about it…and saw that truly there’s very little out there. (By the time this is published, likely that will have changed. For now, though…yeah, not much.) Looking at the pictures on LnL’s website and those they posted to BGG and elsewhere, as well as checking out the price tag – $89.99 as of now – it was pretty obvious this is a monster game.

Click images to enlarge

HoN-Unbox-001

 

When the box arrived, it was heavy. I mean, HEAVY. It felt like a brick was in the box. So when I opened it and found a thin box inside…I was somewhat mystified.

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