Tag: Tactical

11/8/14

The JTS Interview

By Boggit, 8 November 2014

John Tiller and Ed ‘Volcano Man’ Williams take us on a tour of their new releases

 

German infantry advance though a ruined East Prussian Town ©Deutsches Bundesarchiv
German infantry advance though a ruined East Prussian Town ©Deutsches Bundesarchiv

John and Ed, thank you for agreeing to talk to Grogheads about your recent work. Both East Prussia ‘14, and Panzer Battles: Kursk, the Southern Flank are recent releases and show some interesting developments in John Tiller Software games

Ed, I know that you’ve put many years of research into the First World War Campaigns. What attracted you to the period in the first place, and do you have any favourite campaigns you’d like to explore?

Ed Williams: I have always been interested in World War One for as long as I can remember. I am not sure what initially attracted me to the subject, perhaps it was the movie Lawrence of Arabia, but I recall my desire to read and watch movies and documentaries about the war all the way back in grade school. About ten years ago I was attending college and I took a history class taught by an excellent professor (Dr. Robert Bruce) and the class covered the war, but not all the boring economic and political stuff, it was purely about the battles and the conflict itself.

I suppose it was that class that piqued my interest, but it did so at a perfect moment since I had just finished the HPS Korea ’85 game some years before and I was basically twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do.

So, I had the experience to develop a new title, the free time to do it, and a renewed spark of interest in the subject matter. I took the interest and came up with an idea of a World War One game using the Panzer Campaigns engine at its core, but of course it would need to be modified. I set about creating a list of modifications that were necessary and I presented them to John, and he was receptive to the idea, made the appropriate adjustments, and so I intentionally charged forward before I had time to think about how difficult of a task it would be.

As for my personal favourite campaigns, I am interested in all campaigns of the war but my personal favourites would have to be anything in Palestine and Mesopotamia, the Galicia campaign, and the 1918 battles.

The first bombardment at Tannenburg by I ArmeeKorps field artillery starts auspiciously with the disruption of a Russian unit - an assault will soon follow. New features like radio intercepts now add to the game experience in East Prussia 1914
The first bombardment at Tannenburg by I ArmeeKorps field artillery starts auspiciously with the disruption of a Russian unit – an assault will soon follow. New features like radio intercepts now add to the game experience in East Prussia 1914

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10/24/14

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!

g56-seas

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10/17/14

A Visit With LNL Publishing – Old Roads Well Trodden

Jim Zabek, 17 October 2014

Following up his visit to Colorado, Jim drops some more Lock’n’Load news in our lap.

Click images to enlarge

Old Roads Well Trodden

Last week Grogheads published my initial take of a visit to LnL Publishing. Along with me, Dave Lowry also visited LnL Publishing and his article can be found on Clubfantasci.com. Between our articles a number of questions were raised by readers regarding the direction of the company. It is not the intention of this article to address every question raised, but rather to share additional information which should give readers a sense as to the overall direction LnL Publishing will take. Hopefully many of the questions out there will be given answers.

LnL Publishing’s roots are firmly established in traditional tabletop warming. Readers concerned that LnL might depart from those roots should rest at ease: all that printing equipment recently purchased is of little use to electronic games. Yes, LnL is interested in expanding its horizons into different genres and media, but gamers should rest assured that Mark Walker continues to work on boardgame designs.

What can gamers expect to see in the near future? I already hold in my hands (well, technically it’s in the chair next to me as I type) World at War Compendium 2. A reprint of Compendium 1 is also in my possession. Printed and sealed in a plastic bag, it lacks only counters, which have to be printed overseas, in order to ship out the door.

LNL-comV2-3
The new Compendium includes additional maps, along with the scenarios, counters, and AARs.

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10/10/14

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #55

GARPA hits the speed limit!

 

Toulon, 1793 (Legion Wargames)
Preorder price $50, MSRP $70

An area-based game of Napoleon’s siege of the city, this game spans the latter half of 1793, and includes rules for multi-player, international cooperation, spies, and logistics.  The usual ‘siege’ necessities are present, to, of course – forts, attrition, and defensive positions all matter – but there’s a bit of room for the defenders to counterattack and maneuver if the attacker leaves the wrong opening, so it’s not a pure ‘tower defense’ scenario, especially since the whole game opens up with the French maneuvering into position for the siege in the first place.  The map is designed to evoke the period maps of the Napoleonic age and, well, you can see for yourself, eh?  It’s on preorder for $50 right now, so grab it before the price goes up as it goes to press.

g55-toulon_map_sm

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