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image from Fred Schwarz
(Bad) Haiku from Brant
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.
Click images to enlarge, in some cases, a LOT…
If you want to look for a ‘labor of love’ wargame, look no further than the massive, latest game by Schwerpunkt: World War II Europe (hereafter referred to as WW2E). The game, including graphics, engine, scenarios, and documentation, were all put together by two individuals (Ron Dockal and KC). In the true spirit of a “ma and pa” organization (as Schwerpunkt itself puts it on their own website), this game has been a long time coming and has been greatly anticipated. As it has just been released in recent weeks, GrogHeads is pleased to give you this “first impression” of the game; a full review, and quite possibly some AARs, will be forthcoming.
Since the release of AGW (Anglo-German War) about ten years ago, Schwerpunkt put itself on the radar of many grog-minded gamers, and WW2E looks like much more of the same, at least at an initial glance. The game covers tons of scenarios across the entire scope of World War II in Europe, with a promised upcoming ‘Grand Campaign’ that will allow one to battle across the entire map of Europe. In the meantime, there are dozens of scenarios to wade around in.
Fresh outta alpha, and into beta, the guys at LNLP sent us a sneak peek of a fantastic little tabletop game that’s getting a digital conversion. Note that the graphics are likely to change some over time as the game gets more polished and closer to release.
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No release date yet, but it’s getting closer!
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A light-but-gorgeous wargame for the touchscreen set, Wars & Battles is for the grog-on-the-move.