Wargamer's Corner

Lock and Load Tactical Digital had another release this weekend. Heroes of the Falklands was released and it's another winner. I've played about half the scenarios so far and I love them. Nice medium sized scenarios with UK Royal Marines and Paras up against Argentine Paras and Commandos is a common theme, with both sides being pretty even. There are light armored vehicles, helos and airstrikes to mix things up, without getting vehicle heavy. Just enough to spice things up. Well worth it!

That's the one I've been waiting for! Woohoo! This is a great tactical turn-based game.

Edit - And I see another set released, "Days of Villainy", which is the Libyan Civil War (Pack 1). The base game is only $5, with an assortment of scenarios from different periods in it so you can try it out. Well worth it.

Slitherine sale on Humble Bundle...

Quite a bit of stuff there. Tempted by the Fantasy General II uber edition (game + 2 DLCs), but it's still a bit pricey.

It's also a bit REALLY GOOD lol.

Qvadriga at $2 is a steal, and Battle Academy 2 and Field of Glory 2 (or Sengoku Jidai, depending on your tastes) are all well worth the offer price.

Yeah, if you loved how FG1 kicked your ass, you'll looooove FG2.

Still trying to figure out why the Phalanx keeps destroying my Legions... There's something in Legion tactics that I have not got the hang of.

Don't look at me, I suck at the game.

Some other games of note from that:
Distant Worlds Universe: Still, in my opinion, the best space 4X game out there - really looking forward to DW2 - but it is admittedly hard to get into.
Barbarossa: Decisive Campaigns: Try to balance competing personalities and objectives set seemingly at random by Hitler (or yourself, as Stalin) while also playing a deep wargame set on the Eastern Front. Very engaging.
Field of Glory II: Miniatures-based ancient combat. Is really good.
Aggressors: Ancient Rome: Very little to do with Rome, except as a time setting. Civilization-ish but there is never peace, there is only war, all the time.
Battle Academy 2: Eastern Front: You like Battle Academy, right? Of course you do. I do too. This is more of it.
Field of glory: Empires: Have not re-visited it recently. If they fixed stuff like they say they have, this could be really good, maybe better than Paradox's Imperator.
Pike and Shot Campaigns: Nice little tactics game from an interesting period in warfare.
Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue: more Eastern Front war times set around Army group South and Kharkov and Stalingrad

Others, for those interested in my take
Heroes of Normandie: Lite card-based wargame thing that was OK enough I guess
Pandora: Decent Master of Magic clone. But merely decent.
Qvadriga: I bounce off this. Other folks really like it, I will let them sing its praises if they want.
Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy: Interesting to start, gets a little too samey after a bit for my tastes.
Polaris Sector: Need to play more. But there's a reason I set it down, so maybe not?

You realize, if you bounce off your Qvadriga, you're going to get dragged.

Qvadriga is a comprehensive turn-base chariot-racing sim that covers the various tracks discovered in the Mediterranean, and builds around them a driver franchise sim, complete with stats tracking and improvement, tech investments (hire your own vet, or blacksmith!), faction allegiances with varied bonuses for each, betting on races, various different chariot elements to build out (do you run heavy and slow, or fast but fragile?), even different types and varieties of horses. And in each race, there is usually a random element unveiled at the start; maybe the track is muddy, or the crowd is throwing garbage onto it because they didn't like a previous race, or maybe someone slipped a bad egg into your driver's breakfast. And each track differs in length and width, leading to different tactics when you finally decide you're ready for a step up and head to a new city. You won't play it forever, you'll dip in and out, but when you're in the mood, damn does it scratch the itch. Feeling your outside wheel slowly failing while holding onto third place, dodging chariot bits and dead horses in the track, and watching that poor Etruscan guy dragged past you at high speed by his panicked horses really gets you in a Roman mood. An absolute masterpiece!

It's an absolute steal for $2. (And I'll buy a copy of the game on Steam for the first person who spots the album reference, and why it might be relevant to the game).

Robear wrote:

It's also a bit REALLY GOOD lol. :-)

I remember reading about it (Fantasy General 2) when it first came out and I almost bit, then I came across something in a review that turned me away from it. Then I heard that the first DLC was really good, and I've been waiting for a decent price. But $43 with the Humble discount for the game, the first DLC, and the new DLC that releases in on 10/22 is actually a pretty decent price for the whole thing, isn't it.

You really like it?

I wrote a review that I had bounced off it the first time I tried it, but I waited a few months and it all clicked the second time around. I think they changed the timing on the tutorial tips or added more or something. Suddenly, instead of being killed by wolves at every turn during the tutorial, I was triumphing over cowardly tribes and trying to decide whether to do a deal with giants. I do like it very much. If you are into story-based turn tactical games, with actual decision points stuck into the fights that affect you as you move along through more scenarios, this will be your jam.

I'm planning to dive back in when the DLC drops. I've been off on a Rogue-like kick and Logistical puzzling for a while now, about time to get back into this.

Robear wrote:

I wrote a review that I had bounced off it the first time I tried it, but I waited a few months and it all clicked the second time around. I think they changed the timing on the tutorial tips or added more or something. Suddenly, instead of being killed by wolves at every turn during the tutorial, I was triumphing over cowardly tribes and trying to decide whether to do a deal with giants. I do like it very much. If you are into story-based turn tactical games, with actual decision points stuck into the fights that affect you as you move along through more scenarios, this will be your jam.

I'm planning to dive back in when the DLC drops. I've been off on a Rogue-like kick and Logistical puzzling for a while now, about time to get back into this.

Cool, thanks. I was just checking the Steam reviews to enable myself get an objective view and they are much more positive than I remember early on. Sounds like the devs are responsive as well, so maybe they did tweak some things.

They do a very good job of unit differentiation, and also having certain unit types work well with other ones. They gain experience and new skills, too, you can guide how each one develops (in your core forces) and thus you become attached to them. Very nice system.

The newest DLC looks pretty good too.

And I remember why I balked on the first game: lack of a branching campaign. But the existing DLC and the new DLC both have them.

Don't spend your rent money on it. Slitherine has more frequent sales than they used to. If you're in the mood for a fantasy romp, go for it; if not, wait till you are. It'll be there.

When they first released FG2, it was almost too hard, poorly explained and it also cheated a bit I think. They patched the hell out of it though, and it became much better.

Robear wrote:

Don't spend your rent money on it. Slitherine has more frequent sales than they used to. If you're in the mood for a fantasy romp, go for it; if not, wait till you are. It'll be there.

This is very wise advice. I bought it anyway.

I don't think you'll be in the Regret Room.

Robear wrote:

I don't think you'll be in the Regret Room. :-)

Ha! Yeah, for the 2 DLC's and the main Fantasy General II game, $43 seemed like a good deal. I bet it goes much lower over time, for sure, but that seemed like it'd be a good price for the next few months.

And I wanted to buy something to relieve stress.

It'll take a while, though. Slitherine has gotten better about pricing, but they run on a long curve.

What do you think so far?

Robear wrote:

It'll take a while, though. Slitherine has gotten better about pricing, but they run on a long curve.

What do you think so far?

I just finished work and got back from a run, next up I have to do taxes tonight and tomorrow. But I'm off until Monday once I get taxes done. So I hope to sample it over the weekend.

In the 'What did you play this weekend?' vein - I've been working on a project during social distancing to play through all of Creasy's Fifteen (now Twenty) Decisive Battles of the World series. This weekend was #5 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest using the proprietary system from Turning Point Simulations.

Here are some pictures of the initial ambush and counterattack plus a little of the AAR. Full link to this and the others is below.

Ambush:

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/sJRY3DQ/IMG-20201018-150959-707.jpg)

Romans deploy to formation:

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/wB5LL4F/IMG-20201018-150959-729.jpg)

Roman breakout:

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/GMS5Jgt/IMG-20201018-150959-736.jpg)

Spoiler:

Our Arminius demonstrates classic patience, waiting for the optimum moment. Despite Varus falling during the initial ambush, German morale suffers as the Romans put up stiff resistance after initial losses, giving time for a substantial contingent of of the XVIII and XIX Legions to escape. Without the devastating victory promised by Arminius, it's likely the Roman survivors will join the Legio I Germanica and return to complete the conquest and Latinization of Germany.

Link - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Tag Link - #twentybattles

Very nice! Thanks for posting that. You should put it in the boardgames group, too, give them a look at the old school style of gaming.

Robear wrote:

Very nice! Thanks for posting that. You should put it in the boardgames group, too, give them a look at the old school style of gaming. :-)

Hahaha.. good idea. Do we just call it 'School' though?

I believe the Old School term is still "Old School", sir. Everything else has changed, but not that. Now get off my lawn!

Those are some pretty serious stacks you've got going there. I think I'd need tweezers to handle that level of congestion.

GioClark wrote:

In the 'What did you play this weekend?' vein - I've been working on a project during social distancing to play through all of Creasy's Fifteen (now Twenty) Decisive Battles of the World series. This weekend was #5 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest using the proprietary system from Turning Point Simulations.

That is a sight for sore eyes. Most welcome!

GioClark wrote:

I've been working on a project during social distancing to play through all of Creasy's Fifteen (now Twenty) Decisive Battles of the World series.

That is a cool project (also the rest of your post is super-cool as well). What are the other five decisive battles in your list and from where are you pulling them? Mitchell?

Great point on the tweezers and I've already made a note to buy some before my next game. It wasn't just the size of the stacks in small hexes but also having both facing and zones of control matter. Definitely a must for this particular game.

tboon wrote:

That is a cool project (also the rest of your post is super-cool as well). What are the other five decisive battles in your list and from where are you pulling them? Mitchell?

Thank you for saying so and I'm glad it's well received here! And yes! I picked up a copy of Mitchell's update to Creasy's classic and have been working from that. So beyond the Marathon to Waterloo fifteen, there's Vicksburg, Sadowa, Marne 1914, Midway & Stalingrad

Next five will be:

- Catalunian Plains
- Tours
- Hastings
- Siege of Orleans
- Spanish Armada

I managed to make it through 3 of the first 5 using the Command & Colors: Ancients system. I'm looking for system options with other applications to get through these without buying too many dedicated one note boxes. I don't know that I'll be able to get away from that though with the siege or long timespan engagements like Orleans or Stalingrad. Nothing against TPS's offerings but, GMT's dedicated Stalingrad would be more worth my money. Conversely, there are like zero other simulations I could find for the Armada.

C&C:Medieval has a Catalunian Plans (West & East) scenario and there's a fan made module for Hastings, so I'll be adding that to my collection soon. Also, there's a rumored expansion which might include Tours, so I might wait to see when/if it hits.

Of course, any recommendations from the group are welcome!

Get the long tweezers with a half-inch or so bend at the tweezing end. Much easier to use than the straight ones.