"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."

Title: A Scourge of Stone and Spirit: The Siege of Harfleur, 1415
Price: $*
Designer: Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics Designer: Tim Allen
Publisher: High Flying Dice Games
Published Date: 2022

Subject:  The siege of the port of Harfleur France by the English King Henry V, in 1415 during the 100 Years War.   

 A little history:  This battle was part of the 100 Years War (1337 AD to 1453 AD, actually 116 years long). In Mid-August 1415, Henry V invaded Normandy with an army of around 10,000 men to besiege and captured the port of Harfleur after a gruelling five-week siege on Sept 22, 1415.  This is also recorded as  the first time in a siege that gun powder cannons were used.

With winter coming and his force already depleted to aprx 6,000-7,000 men by the fighting and a wave of bloody flux (aka dysentery - still a killer of a million+ a year in this day and age), Henry decided to withdraw to English-held Calais and regroup.  What happen after the siege a month later is the "Battle of Agincourt" occurring on Saint Crispin's day, 25 October 1415AD.  

 

This campaign of Henry the V was also in the Late Middle Ages, forever immortalize in the equivalent of a TV movie,  Shakespeare's play "Henry V", around 1599.  A very good play, click here if you would like a free pdf of it.

Abbreviations Used:  WA=Wall Area, M=French Militia Unit, FMaA=French Men At Arms, EMaA=English Men At Arms, FP=French Player, EP=English Player, ERL=English Resistance Level, FRL=French Resistance Level,  EB=English Breach marker (the back side of the EMaA), EAL=English Artillery Level, EML=English Mining Level, CF=Combat Factor, CD=Card Draw, LDR=Leader, ACT=Activation, TM=Turn Marker, TRT=Turn Record Track. PBG=Pocket Battle Game, 1D6= one die-6 sided, RE=Random Event. I am going to do my best to use these in the review and I am NOT going to use the obvious abbreviation for Breach Marker.

Hey, I've seen this before:   Why yes, yes you have. 😲 The gaming system has been used in few other games that Paul has designed.  I recognized one, but he put me straight onto the others.  The first is the pbg "Nothing So Well Lost: The Siege of Rhodes", "Guarding the Land: The Siege of Fort Griswold" (the last review I did and the one I recognized), "Not Men But Devils", and "Surrender Unto Caesar". 👍 

Note: Being part of a small group of games that are not the same, but very close is a good idea. I know when I like something, I wouldn't mind playing a few other games like it.

Player Supplied Components: The player will need to supply 1D6 and a deck of cards or purchase the card set from HFDG. (1.0) 

Components and Physical Quality:  The graphics designer or "artist" is Tim Allen.  With (at the time of this review) 109 games in print, Tim looks to be on every game publishers list of artists.  Also, the principle artist used by Victory Point Games (I wish they were still active in the publishing world), and used by others such as High Flying Dice Games, his work is legendary. 

Game Map: The game map is of the surrounding area around Harfleur France and is presented to us as area movement.  This is IMHO about the only correct way to show the siege of an entire town.  At 8.5" x 11" in size it is larger than a PBG, but small enough to take on trips.  How small? Heck, I bought the game within a few days of it coming out, but lost it until a few days ago.  I had used it as a book marker in a large book.  Thank goodness I needed to look at that map of Gettysburg last week!  😁

Counters: The counters are double sided and small in number, only 21 total.  Also, the counters are 18mm (bigger than usual, very NICE for these old fingers). 

The English have 9 Men At Arms on one side and a wall breach on the other, 1 ERL marker, 1 EAL marker, and 1 EML marker.  While the French have 2 men at arms and 4 Militia. These are on both sides with one side being a reduction, 1 LDR, and 1 FRL.  There is also a turn marker. (1.0)

One will need to mount the counters.  If you never mounted counters before, you can click here to see how to do.  

Of course one can purchase mounted counters from HFDG, but one will need to cut them apart using a #11 knife or a utility knife.  Price is $* for this service.  Why do this? Well, lining up a front and back is a little bit hectic to get it "just right" and if you like thick counters....  

Note: $* means I have no idea of the cost these days.  Things change too much these days and I don't want to go back and have to change the blog again.

Complexity: The game is considered introductory, though  there are 3 variant rules to increase the complexity, such as taking into account an Impatient King, Boggy Ground, and Critical Walls.  I would recommend that all 3 variant rules be used. (12.0, 12.1, 12.2) 

Is There a Card Set: You bet! Here is what the HFDG card deck looks like.  Pretty snazzy, these are. Why get 'em?  Well, you won't have to do all sorts of removing cards to get the cards ready for play. And these are designed for the game. Order from HFDG by clicking here. Enter which card set you want on the last page in the box at the bottom.

Setup Time: About 5 minutes, if that long.  Actually longer to get the card deck ready than game setup.

Playing Time: Anywhere from 30 mins to maybe an hour.  Me, I am use to the gaming system and play (the card draw is actually a favorite of mine), 20 min to 45min easy.

Solitaire Playability:  Very rare do I have the time to play a live opponent.  I gamed this one solo and found it to be fun and exciting.

Addenda: Yes and it is below-

Page 1, 2.0 Play of Game (correction): The player that draws the first Joker card performs a Random Event DR check.

On Page 3, 11.0 Random Events, DR = 6. (count sentences)
Sentence 3 - clarification - If a French unit is returned to play, it enters reduce.
Sentence 4 - If the DR result is <  there are no reinforcements.  Put an underline under the < sign as it should be "less than or equal to".
Sentence 5 - remove the words "or less" after "DR result was 1 or less".

Note: as of Oct 27 2023, the above addenda has been fixed in the game rules. 

Card Deck Setup: Using a regular deck of cards, remove all the face cards, separate the cards into two decks by color, a red deck for the British Player (BP) and a black deck for the French Player (FP).  Each player gets a "Joker", too. Shuffle the deck.  Remember, Aces are not consider face cards and are "odd" or "1".  (1.0)

Rule Differences: The rules are very polished and straight to the point.  If you have played PBGs and most of HFDG games, then you will know of the card draw system.  I am going to only touch on the little differences this game has.  

Note - Numbers such as (2.0 or 6.0) after the sentence refers to the rules section where you can read the rules.

The game has 7 turns consisting of many rounds.  Players turn their top card over and highest card wins the round - 

1) If the winning card is odd, the winner can do 1 ACT then the loser of the round can do 1 ACT. (2.0)

2) If the winning card is even, then the winner can do 2 ACTs and the loser of the round gets 1 ACT.  (2.0)

3) If the CD is tied, then no one gets an ACT and play proceeds to the next CD. (see 2.0)

4) If a joker is drawn, then the person who drew it rolls on the Random Event table. (2.0 and 11.0)

5) When a joker is drawn a second time, play stops. The turn marker is moved to the next turn, decks are reshuffled, and play begins again until the FRL is reduced to 0 at the end of any turn, or no later than turn 7.  Any other result, the FP wins. (9.0 and 10.0)

6) No EMaA starts the game on the map. The EP brings them into play by first creating Breach Markers. Up to 3 breach markers can accumulate in any one WA.  And on the back of the EMaM are the "Breach Markers"(2.0).

The Game has a few differences when it comes to the Activations (ACTs). Each ACT allows a side to do one of the following (3.0):

1) Bombardment (see 4.0) (both) or
2) Mining (see 5.0) (EP only) or
3) Assault (see 6.0) (EP only) or
4) Counter-mining (see 7.0) (FP only) or
5) Sally (see 8.0) (FP Only)

Other things that can be done in an ACT-
1) The EP can recycle "Breach Markers" by voluntary removing them from the WAs (no ACT required) during that player's portion of a Round. (3.0)

2) Also the FP (only) may move 1 (odd CD) or 2 (even CD) unit(s) (this is a free move) to and from any WAs before performing an ACT, but ONLY if the FP wins the round. (3.0)

Play-Balance:  The primary focus is on the English as they need to be attacking to win the game.  I have played 20 or so games and out of them, the English have won 15 or 16, I lost count.  I believe it is probably 60% to 40% in favor of the English.

Summary: Why a card draw system? Simple. Battles are chaotic affairs. Nothing goes right 100% of the time and those things that do, one chalks it up to the war gods picking a side.  Using the cards for movement and attack shows how command and control basically goes right out the window. People hide, run away, with too much smoke, battle noise, and confusion reigning supreme.  Nothing is perfect.  Outside of using an umpire to manage a game, using a card draw simulates these problems well.   

Using area movement, the breaching of the town's walls, mining, counter-mining, the French sally forth using a card draw system and area movement shows a lot of thought and play-testing to make this game work and feel like a siege. 

Though the game's footprint is small, the rules are finely written and mesh well together.  I believe this is the first, if not the only game to show the siege of Harfleur and though this is a small game, the design of it is truly huge.

This siege of Harfleur and battle for the town is the start of Henry V's reign as king, leading up to one of the most important English battles in history a month later, Agincourt.

I do believe you will like this game. Not many counters, but a lot of good play.
-ab

The game’s afoot.
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry “God for Harry, England, and Saint George!”

William Shakespeare's Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1

 

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information. Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong.

Guarding the Land

Another PBG, one of the newer ones, and a very spiffy game it is, "Guarding the Land, The Battle for Fort Griswold".

Title: Guarding the Land, The Battle for Fort Griswold
Price: $ free when bought with something
Designer: Paul Rhorbaugh
Graphics Designer: Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: LPS, Inc
Published Date: 2023

A Little History: 

Headed by that infamous traitor to this country, Benedict Arnold (a Brigadier General btw, as the British were silly pogs for accepting him. Arnold pretty soon shown his true colours as a whinger), he commanded the infamous attack on New London, CT area with attacks led by Lt Colonel Edmund Eyre across the Thames River against Groton, CT and Fort Griswold, on Sept 6th, 1781. 

The actual attack on the fort has several names, but the most infamous is "The Fort Griswold Massacre".  The story goes that when the militia force led by Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard surrender, he was killed by a British Officer's sword and the British continued firing on and bayoneting the defenders.  Unfortunately, this story is backed up by several survivors.

There is a pdf of a historical book written on the Battle of Groton Heights that is available for free. If you would like to read it, please  click here to download. 

Be warned, it is 439 pages of reading, written on March 25, 1882 for the Groton Heights Centennial Committee. I couldn't get away from the computer while reading because it is interesting and goes into a whole lot more history than what I can or will do in this review. If you are stuck with reading it, mea culpa.

Abbreviations Used:
IU=Infantry Unit, AP=American Player, BP=British Player, BASA=British Assault Staging Area, ARL=American Resistance Level, BRL=British Resistance Level,  AM=Assault marker (the back side of the British IU), AC=Artillery Crew (treat as IU), CF=Combat Factor, CD=Card Draw, LDR=Leader, TM=Turn Marker (use a coin or make your own), TRT=Turn Record Track. I am going to do my best to use these in the review.

Subject:
The British attack on Fort Griswold, Sept 1781. (dang, we already know this. sorry for the repeat.)

Scale:
Area movement.  I am thinking about 250 yards or so for each area.

Player Supplied Components:
1D6 and 1 set of playing cards is needed. 

Components and Physical Quality:
Yes, a bigger than life 4" x 6" in size game and the standard high quality that most game companies can't match with their overpriced games, pretty much for free. Amazing.

Counters:
The game has 17 counters that need to be cut out. The breakdown is as follows - 8 British counters (7 BP IUs and 1 BRL marker) and 9 American counters (6 AP IUs (2 of these are Artillery Crew, treated the same as infantry), 1 ARL marker, and 2 LDRS (Col Ledyard and Capt Latham)).

The counters have a front side and a reduced backside, except the BP IUs, who have an AM on their backside.  Important to know as the British must be flipped to their AM side to be able to assault - cold steel up da bum. Hear about the peanut walking down the street? It was assaulted.  Of course that makes an ass... a... ah, never mind.

Card Deck Setup:
For regular card deck - Divide the deck into black and red.  Remove all face cards (Jack, Queen and King) and 9 to 10 cards. Give black cards+1 joker to the American player (AP) and red cards+1 joker for the British (BP).  Each player shuffle their cards.

YES!  There is an HFDG card set available.  From HFDG, cost is $*. Order from them by clicking here. Enter which card set you want on the last page in the box at the bottom.

Do you need it? Why not!!! 😀  Has all the imperative information on the correct cards and you don't have to hunt for a card deck and set it up correctly.

Complexity:
Introductory, but a nice intro game. Perfect for teaching younger people a fun game AND history to boot (but don't tell them that they are learning!).

Game Map:
A nice overhead view showing the fort, with the area divided in zones. The fort areas have a red circle with a white number, while the white circles with black numbers are general non-fort areas. 

There are two red circles that are NOT Fort Griswold proper (for setup), but are part of the American fort defense complex and do count for the BRL and ARL changes. These are areas 1 (River Battery) and 13 (V shape redoubt). You can see these on the game map above.  

And last but most important, there is a red zone marked British Assault Staging Area, where all British IUs start the game.

Mark, as always, does a very pleasing job on any graphics that he puts his name too and this is no different. If you look at the game map, one will see the ground is not solid green but has shadows.  Nicely done.

Playing Time:
About 20 to 30 mins if that long.  This is one short game, once one has it figured out. 

Addendum: 
None, none at all.

Solitaire Playability (Scale 1 to 10):
I found it works pretty well solo and it is about 65% to 35%, in favor of the British winning whether 2 player or solo.

Here are the rules.  Probably not much help to you, but  you should be able to print these out. 

the rules of the game

Game Play:
The game has 8 Turns, each with many Rounds. In general, play occurs with the side winning the Round declaring which ACT(s) it will undertake, then moving, firing at targets, conducting Assaults, and checking for success, followed by the other side.

To start a Round, players turn over the top card from their decks. The highest Card Drawn (CD) wins the Round. If the winning CD is odd (ace, 3, 5, 7), that side can do 1 Activation (ACT) or pass, then the loser may do 1 ACT, or pass. If the winning CD is even (2, 4, 6, 8) that side can do up to 2 ACTs, then the loser may do just 1 ACT. On ties, neither side can do any ACTs.

First side to draw a joker gets no ACTs that Round, but the other side gets 1 ACT.  When the second joker is drawn, the Turn ends immediately (with no ACTs performed). 

Remember, the first round of the 1st turn, the BP rolls 1D6 and has that many acts. The American player gets no acts for the first round. On the second round, do a CD as normal.

Activations:
A unit can perform only one activation per CD but can do so multiple times in   a turn. For example, either move 1 unit or fire 1 unit (see Movement, Fire Combat) and/or Assault (BP only, see Assault) or and the BP can also recycle IUs during his portion of a Round (bring back the dead) or voluntarily remove them from an area and return them to the BASA (no ACT required).

Each ACT allows a side to perform one of the following:  Move 1 IU/Leader (AP and BP) (See Movement),  Fire with 1 IU (AP and BP) (see Fire Combat), Assault (BP only).  Assaulting requires 2 ACTs and allows BP to flip all his IUs in one Area to their AM side. (See Assault), Re-enter a previously eliminated British IU to the BASA (BP only) or Voluntarily removed a BIU from any area and return the BIU to the BASA  for NO ACT COST.

Movement:
Both sides can move an IU/Leader from one Area on the map to another adjacent Area via an ACT. A Leader moves for free with any friendly IU he is stacked with (no ACT needed) or 1 ACT if alone, can move to the nearest friendly IU on the next American ACT.

Up to 3 IUs or AMs can stack in any one Area (Leaders don’t count). Neither side can move/deploy an IU/Leader to an Area occupied by the other side. Only the BP can move units to and from the BASA to and from any adjacent Area.

Exception: AP player (only) can directly move an IU/Leader to/from Area 1 and Areas 8, 9, and 12 using an ACT; units do not have to move through Area 4 (this models “the covered way”).

Fire Combat:
Both sides IUs may conduct Fire against adjacent enemy IUs/Leaders. Indicate a single firing and target IU. Roll 1D6. 

For the BP, add +1 for an unwounded Leader in the same Area and +1 if the target is in a red # Area. A roll < (equal to or less than) the current BRL is a hit, flip the American IU to its reduced side, otherwise no effect. If already reduced, either reduce the ARL by 1 level or eliminate the IU (AP’s choice). 

On a roll of 1 (regardless of modifiers) flip a Leader (BP’s choice) in the Area to his wounded (0 modifier) side; if already wounded, eliminate the Leader. 

When the AP fires, he also roll 1D6. Subtract -1 if a Leader is in the Area with the firing IU. A roll < (equal to or less than) firing IU’s CF eliminates the target IU, otherwise no effect.

Assault:
The BP (only) may attempt the Assault ACT against defenders in red # Areas (only) by expending 2 ACTs for one assault.

Flip all IUs adjacent to the target Area to their AM sides. Use the CF printed on the IU side as the AM’s CF value.

Add them all together and subtract all defending AP’s IU and Leader CFs in the Area to find a net + roll modifier. Subtract 1 from the BP’s total if attacking a Fort Area. BP then rolls 1D6. A roll of 1-2 is 0, a 3-4 is +1 and a 5-6 is +3. Add this # result to the net + roll modifier.

The Assault succeeds if final total is > (greater than) the current ARL. Reduce 1 defending AP IU (flip over) or remove from play if already reduced. A roll > (greater than) than twice the current ARL reduces 2 AP IUs (or remove 1 if it has 2 steps). For even rolls, if a Leader is present, flip him to his wounded side; if already wounded, eliminate him. If the Area is now empty, the BP can advance his assaulting AMs, up to stacking limit (3), into the Area.

The Assault fails if final total is < (equal to or less than) the current ARL. Flip 1 AM to its IU side and remove it from play (and again, it can be re-entered by the BP).

Before the Assault is made, the AP can try to move 1 Leader from anywhere to the Area under Assault (free move) to improve his chances (once per Assault per Round per Turn). Roll 1D6. Add +1 if the Leader is wounded. A roll < to the current ARL is successful, otherwise the Leader cannot move. Flip all AMs back to their IU sides when Assault is resolved.

BRL Changes:
Increase the BRL by 1 level, but never above 4, for every 2 red # Areas that have at least 1 AM on them at turn end (and no AP units present). Reduce the BRL by 1 for every combination of 3 IUs or AMs eliminated by the AP.

ARL Changes:
Increase the ARL by 1, but never above 4, if there are no British IUs/AMs on the map at the end of any turn. Reduce the ARL by 1 the instant when: Leader Ledyard unit is eliminated. For every 2 American IUs, or Leader Latham, eliminated.

At the start of even numbered Turns only, the AP must check his overall morale. Roll 1D6. Add +1 for every 2 (round down) red # Areas with at least 1 BP IU in them. A roll < 4 is no effect, otherwise reduce the ARL by 1 level.

you will need this.

Play-Balance: 
I found the game is about 65% British to 35% American.  Hopefully you can do better. It is a battle where the defenders were overwhelm. Think "Alamo".  But it can be won.  I am not going to say how to play, as that is why you are playing and need to figure out, but either side can win or lose.  

Summary:
I like this little gem of a game.  I was invited to play test this game and stuck it out.  It was fun and I learned a lot about the workings of game publishing.  LPS, Inc and HFDG are bringing out more of these pbgs, so it can be safely said that pbgs are not a fad anymore due to amount and types of them now.

If you need assistance with this one, let me know. I will try my best to help you out. 

Thanks for taking the time to drop by, always a pleasure.  And I will probably add more to this review, but right now... no. 

oh yeah, one of my favorite jokes - What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?  "SUPPLIES!"

-ab

UPDATE: There is a very good expansion for this game included with the recent ATO Annual 2022.  Worth the price of the annual for the main game is "Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga".  A nicely done updated re-print.

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information.  Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong.

 

 

‘O Death, made proud with pure and princely beauty!’

Blade and Bow is a set of four different ancients battles played on four different game maps while using a core set of rules.  This is the first of this "quad"- type game.

WARNING: I have tried to like this game. I tried playing it several times, but always had to stop and start over again.  Plus for a first time ever, an Ancients game did not hold my interest which is strange as I have played some winners, such as De Bellis Antiquitatis, quite a few others, and some losers.  There are many reasons why, so keep reading if you are interested, and you will see what I like and don't like.

Title: Blade & Bow
Price: $*
Designer: Mike Nagel
Developer: Mike Nagel
Graphics Designer: Mike Nagel
Publisher: War Diary Publications (WD)
Published Date: 28 Sept 2023

Subject:  Blade & Bow isn't about two gangs singing, brandishing switch blades and dancing with women, "Nahhh, Suh!", it's about combat in the Ancient world, covering the Greeks, Persians, and Romans in this first go around.

Scale:  Not even going to try and figure this out. Whatever it is, it works I think.

Game Area:  Four different parts of the ancient world covering four battles from 490 BC to 479 BC.

Player Supplied Components:  The player needs to supply MORE DICE as the attacker can use up to 8 dice with only 4 provided.

Components and Physical Quality: There are no hexes on the game maps, but instead the game maps are divided into squares.  Different for sure, but according to the game designer fitting to the style of how ancient battles were conducted, linear, I think. 😁  

 

But what is truly nice is the game box, well made and it is big enough to fit 1 or 2 counter trays in it (depends on who makes the trays).  That is very good.

Counters:  These counters are 1" x .5" in size for the units, with the info counters looking to be .5" square.  

The box says that the counters are laser cut, but to me if they were, they would have no tags.  There are tags, not at the corners, but in the middle of all four sides. See below graphic in the small yellow circles.

Note: Makes it more difficult to remove the tags this way.  Have to shave the sides with danger of slicing off more than what one wants too, including a finger.

Anyway, the counters are thick, some of the thickest I have seen since the old Battleline Games, with various shades of blue and red for both sides. Notice from the graphic to the left as each counter has a lot of info!  I can't read the counters, unless I grab my readers and a magnifying glass. Too small of print.

Not to mention there are a few counters stacked on the bottom of the unit counter, used for information to show the different "ranks" from 0 to +6, (aka density markers) and the counters have a backside to show if they are disrupted. 

Game Maps:  At 17"x22" in size each, the 4 game maps are a shade of green with unit setup spaces, camps, hills, and rivers. Rivers are in blue, roads are lighter in the green colour. Hills and trees are black or a very dark gray (if you look at the trees, there are shadows).  The maps are very busy, with all the rubble, trees, shrubs, bush, what have you.

No expanding on the artiste palette here. And I can see if someone has difficulty seeing certain colours having a time with these maps, especially with black/dark gray ink used on green. 

Cards: Yes, accordingly to the new way of making a game, a game is not complete unless cards are needed. Seems every damn game I have bought has cards that need to be used... and I have grown so use to cards, if a game doesn't have then, I feel cheated for some reason. Oh well. 😁

The cards look to be regulation size, with a nice background and a lot of info on the front - a lot of information. If you sleeve, these took my Dragon Shield side loading sleeves (AT-13101) at 63mm x 88mm or 2.5" x 3.5".  

Why Dragon Shield? I got a ton of sleeves of various sizes and manufacturers and these were just the first ones I grab. Good for meeeeeee. 😂

Player Aids:  Yes, several PAs are included with the game. Such as the terrain chart on one side with a detailed leader / unit diagrams, unit facings, Sequence of play, etc on the other.  And there is the important Tracking Chart (not shown).

Scenarios:  The scenarios are of Marathon 490 BC, Thermopylae 480 BC, Plataea 479 BC, and Mycale 479 BC. Each has a scenario card listing the amount and type of units available to each side, victory conditions, etc.

Setup Time:  From 15 minutes for Thermopylae to possible 20 minutes+ for the others.  Got to dig out the counters, the density markers, leader counters, etc. 

 

Playing Time:  The designer says that a game can be from two to three hours long... right... My first game was a couple of hours and was Thermopylae.  We only got thru to the beginning of turn 2 when I gave up.  Next game was at 4 hours, to turn 3, and at that point I couldn't take it any more and "skedaddled" the hell out of the game.  Then had another try, but after re-reading the rules becoming more frustrated, so no.

 

Complexity:  The game is rated somewhere between low to moderate in complexity. Maybe to someone who plays tactical games such as Squad Leader and the like of the new tactical ones from Lock n Load, GMT, Compass and I am sure a few other companies make them too, this game would be "easy" or low complexity. But it was hard to next-to-impossible for me.

What I did not like or soap box time:  I found the game very hard to play and understand. The rules were very confusing and seems to need a lot of extra counters for nothing, but to show how many lines of troops or the density of a unit - lol, as bad as having 4 counters for unit breakdown in some games.  If I want to play a miniatures game, then I would break out my Ancients 15 minis and go to town.  But I don't, I want to play a board game.

Another thing I do not care for is the game using "bucket of dice"  for it's CRT with possibility of rolling up to 8 dice depending on the scenario or card draw. 

1's or 2's hit, while 5's or 6's can reduce an enemy dice roll (9.4.6 "Resolve the Melee"). Too much noise and shades of Risk or Tunnels & Trolls (a RPG) with it's gobs n gobs of dice.  Maybe it is the feeling of power that one has if they roll lots of dice? I don't know.

And re-rolls are possible (rules 9.4.7, 9.7.4.1, and 9.4.7.2). WHAT?!? I can see Leonidas yelling at Xerxes, "DO OVER on those archers!".  Huh?!? I guess. NO, thank you, as what is rolled is rolled.

That's it:  And from here I am ending this review.  Not so much a review I guess. Did I waste my money? Hmmm, probably, but it gave me a chance to see a game from this designer/developer/graphics designer and learned not to waste anymore of my money on any of his other games. 

At first, I wasn't going to write this review, but after seeing and reading that Nagel gave himself a 10 rating on BGG to balance out the ratings (from my original "2", that was down graded to a "1" to balance out his rating. Why not? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. 😏 ) and commented that I did not play the game, I decided "well, go for it" as that statement he made is truly false. Of course I tried to play it 3 times! No play, no review.

My favorite set of Ancient mini rules was and is De Bellis Antiquitatis. Great set of rules, even today, simple, fun, and cost effective for minis, but I know Phil Barker didn't appreciate or like anyone calling "shenanigans" on his rule sets, maybe it is the same here? I don't know, but possible. 

 

And I do have a favorite wargame of this period and it is HFDG's  A Clash of Chariots: The Battle of Kadesh, 1274 BC. Sort of one of those "waddle" games, though with hexes. Nicely done game is what I say.

 

Now some folks may like this game B&B and that is good as not everyone likes the same type of ice cream - I like coconut ice cream myself (thank you Southeast Asia tours) and only want enough people to like it, so it still gets made and sold over here. 😋

 

Note: $* means I have no idea of the cost as it is of two different prices.  Things change too much these days and I don't want to go back and have to change the blog again.

 

Off the soap box:   But to show I am not a beast (oh meow), here is some info for y'all -

 

if you would want to read the rules of the game, a pre-War Diary low res pdf is available here. It is a little different and only 20 pages, versus 23, but that is probably because of the designer's notes at the end and the low-res graphics do suck, but with enough squinting, ok.  Take your time, read the rules fully, don't hurry thru them. And make up your own mind.  

 

And after reading the rules, if you would like to purchase  this game, please go here. If you are a WD subscriber, you can get the game at a reduce rate.  

 

Note - you can subscribe at the same time as buying the game. War Diary is a great gamer magazine and offers the mag in both a paper copy or pdf (cheaper).

 

You may want to look at some of his other games, revamps of two Avalon Hill Games - 1914 and Guadalcanal.  New maps, counters, and rules, etc.  They are on the same page as Blade & Bow. 

 

Folks may like this game, then my best to all. Enjoy and sleeve, as nacho cheese and finger crud is not good for game cards (or baseball cards as "Comic book guy" found out). 

 

And please do notice, I do not use the new fangled idea of using BCE (Before Common Era) or CE (Common Era). These were from liberal thinking jerks who wanted to get religion out of everything.  I remember while in college a new history book and geography book came out that replaced BC and AD with this crap.  No, I told the professor, I will still use the old way.  I never got dinged for that.  

 

And though the title of this review is from Shakespeare, King John, Act 4, Scene 3, it fits the game for everything, from game maps to the counters to the rules. They are pretty, but (here is the second part of the quote)...

 

'The earth had not a hole to hide this deed'

-ab

 

 

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information.  Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong. And, if you don't want your graphics used for this review, let me know. I will remove them FAST. 

"Grant me Night... or Blücher!"

 

Title: "Grant me Night... or Blücher!"
Price: $0 free with a purchase or buy The Waterloo PBG Pack from ATO
Series: Pocket Battle game #29
Designer: Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics Designer: Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: LPS, Inc
Published Date: 2022

A little history:  The absolute essential ingredient for a French victory at Waterloo was for the Prussians not to arrive, as the Prussian assault on this village of Plancenoit was the single biggest factor that cost the French a victory at Waterloo.

Up until now Wellington was on the back foot and would have been beaten without Blucher's army. In the second stage of the battle, the Duke said: "Give me night or give me Blücher"*.  The Duke got his wish, finally the green uniformed Prussians and their allies arrived in the afternoon.

To halt the Prussians Napoleon first dispatched Lobau's corps, and two cavalry divisions, and then part of his Imperial Guard. Napoleon's force available for attacking Wellington was instantly reduced by over 10,000 men. Napoleon had started this day with an infantry reserve of 36 infantry battalions, keeping Plancenoit cost him 25 of them. Only 8 battalions of fresh troops were committed to the last attack on Wellington's ridge, of these only 5 were in the front line.

For the main battle, which had yet to begin in earnest, Napoleon had less men than Wellington. If Plancenoit was lost, the battle was lost, if the battle was lost, so was the campaign and with it the Emperor's throne."(Adkin pp 381-382, 390-391, Adkin - "Waterloo Companion)".

*Note: the actual quote is "give me night or give me Blücher", a prayer during Battle of Waterloo at about 5.45 pm on 18 June. Book reference is "The Military Maxims of Napoleon by Napoleon Bonaparte" by David G. Chandler and William E. Cairnes on page 143.  Though alternate wording may have been "Night or the Prussians must come", as quoted by David Howarth, "Waterloo: Day of Battle" on  page 162.  I tend to go by  Dr. Chandler's writings. 

Subject:  This pbg concerns the actions of Napoleon's attack against the Prussian's at Plancenoit.

Abbreviations used:  inf = Infantry, arty = artillery, AF = Attack Factor, DF = Defense Factor, PBG = Pocket Battle Game, MP = Movement Points, CD = Card Draw, ACT = Activations, "Allies" = Prussians & Silesians, mp = movement point, bldgs = buildings, GT = game turn, counters = units, "d" or 1d6 = six sided die, ">" = greater than, "<" = less than, ">" greater than or equal to, "<" less than or equal to math symbols.

Scale:  A quick guesstimate, if I may, considering that the infantry units can fire up to 1 hex away,  a hex is aprx 100 yards with the units representing battalions. Why only 1 hex? The area is actually a mess, with gullies, small hills, brush, farm fields, town, etc.  But, this is really not important.

Complexity:  Introductory!!!

Description of Play:  Either player draws a card (CD). The color and type of card allows one player to activate up to 3 units. Once activated, the unit can either move one hex or preform fire combat or flip a unit over from a reduce state to full strength. When the joker is drawn, the game turn is over.  Reshuffle the deck, advance the turn counter and play up to 5 complete game turns.  

Note: I am assuming that anyone who plays these games, at least takes them to a print shop and blow up the back side of the game incase of 1 or 2 things - 1) to have the rules in a more readable format and 2) to have a copy of any terrain aid (as in this pbg).  One can't pick up the game to double check while playing!

Components and Physical Quality: The game comes as on a standard size 4" x 6" postcard. The card is very nice and can take a lot of plays.  Printing is very good. The rules along with a small player's aid listing the terrain with it's corresponding card modifiers and unit breakdown are on the backside with the game map on the front.  Counters need to be cut out for playing.

Counters:  The game has 17 counters. Prussians have 9 (7 inf, 1 arty, and 1 leader (von Muffling)) counters and the French have 7 (6 inf, and 1 arty) counters and 1 game turn marker. Allies are green and use the "red" cards and French are blue and use the "black" cards.

Note: There is no difference in the game between the Young Guard or Old Guard except the AF and DF. There is a difference between the Prussians and the Silesian Rifles (SR) as von Muffling cannot stack with the SR.

Rather than write down all the rules, here they are.  Pretty self explanatory. There may be a couple of areas that might need clarification, these are the following:

1) To be able to use the arty units in support (+1 CD modifier) (either French or Prussian) does require 1 activation for the use of.  If arty is used and the combat CD is either an "even" or a Face card, the arty support marker is no longer available for that turn. It will be available again starting on the next turn.  Hmmm, do I use the arty for this attack or do I save it for later?

2) All terrain costs 1 mp to enter, but terrain does have a attack CD modifier of -1 CD with a possible  DR check, except clear.  The DR check is for units in stone bldgs - if attacking a unit in a stone bldg hex and it is hit, another DR is needed to see if they are affected - on a 3 or less, the unit is not affected and on a 4 or better, they are hit and reduced or if reduced, eliminated.  (those European stone bldgs are strong stuff). 

Roads do not have an effect on game play and there are no Zones of Control.  Fire combat range for inf units is 1 hex. For arty, add a +1 to the combat CD and can be used anywhere on the map.

And you may notice in the rules under "combat", it is stated "All infantry and cavalry units have a fire range of 1 hex."  What?!? 😲 What cavalry?  There are no cavalry units in the game. Well, knowing ATO, they probably have some type of add-on planned for the game in a future issue of Against The Odds, magazine.  Sneaky little devils.  

Play-Balance:  It looks and plays like another finely balance PBG.  It can go either way for Prussians or for the French, especially if von Muffling is killed early. 

In reality, it was a horrific bloody battle that could have gone either way. 

Summary:  I like this little pbg.  It is fun, has a few great new rules that can be added to other Napoleon pbgs such as flipping a reduce unit back to full strength with an added DR on whether is successful or not, or attacking a unit in a stone bldg with it's added DR frustrations.  

I do hope you will grab this little game and play it. If so, let me know what you think about it, as I am interested in hearing how you do with either side.

And sorry, it has taken me so long to get out this review. As it is said in Rocky Horror's "Time Warp" - "time is fleeting", life has been challenging lately, but it is getting better.  I hope to get out more reviews on different other type of games.  

Thanks for reading!

-ab 

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information. Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong.

Notice anything different?

Well, white instead of a dark background, font has changed and made larger.  Maybe this will help folks who need larger print to read better. And for folks who are color-blind, the colors won't disappear into a dark background.  Also, putting back when I can remember the graphics into the correct review.  However, rest assure, I may not remember who gave me permission, but every graphic I use has permissions.  

I do need to state that I don't format for smart phones of any type. Sorry, but since I don't use one, it never entered my mind that people would squint their eyes to read anything so small.  Monitors, laptops, even iPad type should be do-able.  I only use black or color lettering against a white background now, not as many graphics, and honestly, until Blogger does this automatically in reducing text or whatever is needed for those who do use smart phones, I am guessing I am out in the dust.  It's fun being a Luddite, but I do have a new battery power Toro mower!

Still, can't find where Google has put the photos when put into a blog post, but I found most of them on a dvd disc.  Yea for back ups.

And I bet you think I only play HFDGs or LPS. Well, I do branch out to other various designers and companies. And I have a new Compass Game coming Friday, WW1 Air Combat, "Western Front Ace: The Great War in the Air, 1916-1918" by Greg Smith and I am looking forward to it. 

 

Update: It came and it is very good and fun!

Lots of good reviews for this game, plus the fact I have been playing his "American Tank Ace" game, even taking it with me to the hospital in August. Nurses thought I was nuts with dice rolling instead of sleeping.  Though I have yet to play a Sherman, I like the M-10 and the M-18 Hellcat tank destroyers too much. Greg provided the two different mats and rules on BGG for the M-10 and M-18. This game is addicting and brutal!!! 
 

ATA is very well designed, not with a lot of the down in the dirt rules like Patton's Best (yes, I got that one too, still), or like ASL (I really dislike ASL and SL because those who play it, think that is combat - HA!). 

 

ATA uses a simple system that gives a lot of historical feeling while playing.  I really recommend this game.  And you can get it from "A Gray Rooster Sales LLC" too. If you are overseas, use their Ebay store.

I have most of Greg's games, especially all of his solo games, I just like them. But to be honest, I think the most brutal solo game he has out is "The Hunted: Twilight of the U-Boats, 1943-45".  This was not the "heyday" of the U-Boat, but their ending. 99% of the games out there are just games, however, this game truly makes one wonder why did the young men in the Kriegsmarine become submariners (and hopefully you pronounce this word correctly!).  Errata and rule book for both Compass Games can be found either on Compass Games website or BGG where Greg actively supports all his games. 

There is also a new solo WW1 flying game "Aces of Valor" from Legion. Looks to "one up" on the DVG Leader series.  Rules are here.  

 

Lots of goodies for those who solo game.

Well, enough on all that.  Time to get off the butt and finish up the last PBG on Waterloo.  Soon.  I've been a house husband far too long with the healing. Doc yelled at me and said, no walking outside, take it easy, take the pain pills (that I am glad to say I am OFF of them! So thank you Miss Oxy for making me feel good, but you and I have to part company.  No wood working, no getting any kind of cuts or scrapes, but I see him on Sept 12 to get cleared and watch out! I got to winterize the house, garage, and the feral cat house.   

 

Update: I passed the Doc's test, and yes, I got back into walking and wood working. Plus I got my house, garage winterized and working on the new cat house, too.

Take care and if the site doesn't look ok, send me an email or a comment about where it is sucking.  :)

-ab

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information.  Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong. And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog.

New idea from "Against The Odds" magazine

For years people have been after ATO to sell them just their Pocket Battle Games (if you don't know what these are, here is a link on this blog that yaks about them). Finally the time has come and ATO has listen to us.

UPDATE: Here it is almost a year since ATO began selling these and now more of these PBG packs are available.  Here is the link!

Available now are three different PBG packs for shipping:

1) The Trouble Waters PBG Pack
Comprised of 5 postcard size playing maps with 100 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces, 1 page of rules for each individual game and 1 deck of playing cards. Don't forget the zip lock bag!

2) The Waterloo PBG Pack
This pack is comprised of 4 postcard size playing maps with 80 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces, 1 page of rules for each individual game, 1 page of rules for the campaign game and 1 deck of playing cards. And a zip lock bag to keep it all together.

3) The Peiper PBG Pack
This pack has all 4 postcard size playing maps with 40 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces, 1 page of rules for each individual game, 4 pages of rules for the campaign game, all Charts and tables on 1 card-stock sheet and 1 deck of playing cards. Plus the special ATO zip lock bag (ok, I am joking, it's a regular zip lock bag 😁 ).  

This set I bought, not because I didn't have everything all ready, but wanted to see how well the packs were put together. The packs are very nice. But do me a favor, tell ATO when you buy these where you saw them available (HERE).  Trying to prove a point to ATO.

And if you are a follower of this blog, then you know I like 'em, the PBGs, a lot. 

Right now I got my eyes set on the Waterloo and Trouble Waters, but I have a couple of lawns to mow to get the money.  That will be in a few weeks as I am still under the care of my surgeon for the new left hip replacement I received in August 2023. 

Take care and good gaming. IMHO, you can't go wrong with these PBG packs.

-ab  

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information.  Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong. And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog.

The Online Gaming Store to end Online Gaming Stores

I don't know what happen to my older posting about "A Gray Rooster Sales LLC", but it is gone. Google strikes again! I will try to re-write it, but it won't be the same as the first post I made, please remember that if you had seen it before.

I use Gray Rooster as it is a very reliable and trust worthy site.  They do use PayPal for payment.   Not only do they have an online presence but also can be found on one of 4 places - 

• Amazon,  
• Ebay,  
• Board Game Geek,  
• and Farce (oops) Face Book,
  
• online @  A Gray Rooster Sales LLC

Note - if you live any other place than the US of A, use his Ebay store for ordering.

What I have found is that some games are not available at each store, but I always tend to buy from his regular online store, not worrying about the other sites.  

Dan is the man's name and yes, he has an African Gray Parrot.  One of the world's longest living and smartest birds.  A lady friend of mine had one and he was smart. Whenever I showed up to work on her computer, he would yell out "computer broke".  Like I said, very smart. 

Two types of shipping is offered - UPS or USPS.  All the important info is in red on his online site.  Pretty easy to navigate. He sells games from ATO, Revolution, Compass, DVG, GMT, Legion, Worthington, and a few others. Now, not all games are available, as these publishers do keep back some of the games for them to sell at outrageous prices, but enough of publisher's games are available to make it worthwhile to visit this store.

I like this site so well, that the last 35 games I have bought came from Gray Rooster.  And no, I don't receive any type of kick back. I just like the way he does business and his sensible, "treats you like his best friend attitude" he has. Not many places do business like this anymore.  Reminds me of the old brick and mortar hobby stores from the 70s & 80s.

There is not much more to say, but go take a look and if you haven't use Gray Rooster before, give them a try.  

👈 👈 The quality of service will amaze you. And the quality of his shipping the package to you will amaze you as well.  When I use other gaming companies, the game is just thrown into a box, rattles around a bit and sometimes a corner is crushed.  Not with Gray Rooster. 

👈 👈 It will take you 20 minutes to open that box and remove all the water tight plastic just to get to the game.  It is that good of shipping protection.  

Don't believe me? 😉

👈 👈 Look to the left 👈 👈 and there is one of the last games purchased from "A Gray Rooster", still in it's protective wrapping and the extra bubble wrap with their card in the lower right, sealed against water damage.  Yes, they are that good.  👍

-ab  

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information.  Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong. And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog. Long story, but it was Google who removed them.