the franco-prussian war - Strategy & Tactics

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PlaybackAnythingREADER REVIEWor better is considered "above average,"6.00-6.99 is considered "average"while anything 5.99 or less is considered"below average."Question A - What did you think of thephysical quality and layout of the mapsheet?Question E - What did you think of the"completeness of the game's rules [waseve~thing thoroughl~ explained?Question F - What did you think of thegame's play balance [was the game interestingfor bothQuestion G - What did you think aboutthe length of the average game?Question B - what did you rhink of thePlayback is based on reader evaluation of and of rules Question H - What did you think of thegames that is acquired through SBT andamount of "set-up time" needed?folder?MOVES Feedback sections. Readers havelhebeen asked to rate aspects of games on a Question C - What did you think of the~ : ~ ~ or ~ t ~ ~ . a t ~ ; ~ 2 y 0 uscale of 1 (poor) to 9 (excellent). After the physical quality and layout of the unitranking of each game there are a few counters? Question K - What did you think of thecomments from the SPI staff. Question D - What did you think of the game'The numerical ratings given the games game's "ease ofp1ay"Ihow well the game Question L - What did you think of thehave the following meaning. Anything 7.00 "moved along'?? game overall?Player Review: The MarnePublisher: Simulations Publications,New York .Designer: John Michael YoungSubject: Division level game of the 1914battle in which the German armieswere thrown back outside Paris.A-(mapsheet) . . . . . . .5.93B -(rules) . . . . . . . . . . .6.53C- (counters) . . . . . . . .6.69D - (ease of play) . . . . .7.08E - (completeness) . . . .6.55F - (balance) . . . . . . . . .6.29G - (length) . . . . . . . . . .6.59H - (set-up) . . . . . . . . . ,654J - (complexity) . . . . . .6.51K - (realism) . . . . . . . . .6.42Comments: We had 72 players reviewingthis game. 74% would still buy it knowingwhat they do now while 78% felt theyreceived their money's worth. An averagesort of game whose main claim to fame isits ease of play. The Marne deals with themost mobile and fluid battle fought duringWorld War I in the west. Unfortunately,interest in World War I has been at a lowpoint these past few years and The Marne,along with other WWI games, havesuffered accordingly. The Marne is available(boxed) from Simulations for $7.00.Player Review: Tactics 11Publisher: Avalon Hill, BaltimoreDesigner: Charles RobertsSubject: Hypothetical, divisional levelgame of World War II warfare.F - (balance) . . . . . . . . .7.15G- (length) . . . . . . . . . .6.27H - (set-up) . . . . . . . . . .6.14J - (complexity) . . . . . .4.88K - (realism) . . . . . . . . ,354L- (overall) . . . . . . . . . .5.28Comments: We had 262 players reviewingthis game. 54% would still buy it knowingwhat they do now while 70% felt theyreceived their money's worth. Another oneof Avalon Hill's earliest games (it waspublished in the late 1950's). It is one of thefew games left which use squares insteadof hexes. Balance and ease-of-play are thegame's two strong points. But overall, thegame shows its age too much. Avalon Hillhas recently released a new edition of thegame with cleaned up rules as well as asimplified set of "introductory" rules.A-(mapsheet) . . . . . . .5.380- (rules) . . . . . . . . . . .5.84 Tactics I1 is now their "introductoryC- (counters) . . . . . . . .5.83 Game." This review refers to the previousD -(ease of play) . . . . .7.07edition of the aame. Tactics I1 is availableE- (completeness) . . . ,630 (boxed) from ivalon Hill for $5.00.Wargame Reviews(continued from page 24)to fire his rockets, which can be done only 50 times inthegame before he runs out of fuel. His new positionis determined by combining the numbers for thegravity effect with the numbers for rocket firing withthe numbers defining his old . position. Aftermovement comes combat. If two ships have eachother in their field of fire, nothing happens. But if oneship is in an enemy's field of fire, the first isdestroyed. It is sometimes possible to directlyobserve if firing can occur, but a set of charts can beused to determine the situation more accurately, bythe numbers. The instructions are to mount theboard ("Gravity and Plotting Chart") on a bulletinboard material and use pins to indicate shippositions, but as this would eventually destroy theboard, it is better to put it under a plastic sheet anduse grease pencils. In either case, each ship is"followed" by pins or marks indicating its twoprevious positions to enable all to estimate itstrajectory. The game is equipped with outlines andship record sheets which facilitate the calculationsand it all plays much easier than this descriptionsounds. But it takes some practice to learn to pilotyour space ship to avoid alien space, sun space, andstill try to get the enemy. Even if you do the game isnot over since you have to survive 10 more turnsbefore claiming a victory.231. Norad (1973, SDC: Conflict #4, $2.50), byDana F. Lombardy, is a game reflecting the one-timepossibility of nuclear war in the 1960's. The Russiansattack the United Statesand Canada with long rangebombers and possibly a few submarine-bornemissiles. The Americans defend with fighters andground-to-air missiles. The Russians get a variednumber of points for each city they take out and winwith 100 points or lose with less. The only problemwith the game is that it is almost pure chance. TheAmerican player guesses which Russian units are realplanes and which are decoys, while the Russians tryto gtiess which cities are defended by missiles. Thereare variants which add more variables to the gamewithout changing the outcome very much. It doeshave the advantage of being nearly the simplestwargame around - just about as simple as the cardgame called "War" which is played by turning onecard over after another.232. Red Star/White Star 11972, SPI, $7.00), byJames F. Dunnigan, graphics by Redmond A.Simonsen, deals with the possibility of warfarebetween Russia on the one side and the UnitedStates and West Germany on the other. The level istactical - the units are mostly platoons andcompanies for the West and companies andbattalions for the East. The game is closely related toPanzerBlitz and Combar Command, and uses someof the rules of each with a scale nearer to that ofPanzerBlitz. The board gives more terrain tomaneuver over than the PanzerBlitz board and is notas cluttered with hills and woods. Furthermore, thewoods are not nearly as useful to the attackerbecause the movement costs are so high that mostunits cannot flit from one woods hex to another inthe same turn. In the ten scenarios, appropriately, theallies are on the defensive seven times. Generally, thegame is an excellent adaptation of and in many waysimprovement of its forebearers, with severalinnovations dealing with contemporary weapons.However, the game has several problems. If youplay it by the rules, the allies almost can't lose in mostof the scenarios. Now this may make the Pentagonfeel good, but it is likely to annoy the game player.What is the problem? One problem is a devastatingdefensive fire rule that enables U.S. artillery to set upa perfectly impenetrable defense. Fortunately, thereis an out. You can read the tactical notes section (anice innovation in presenting the game) and play bythe defensive firing rule that is implied there insteadof the rule that is plainly written in the main text. Ialso have to object to two other rules which aid theAmericans. The whole point of a wire-guidedanti-tank missile is that the target must be in sight,but the rules allow indirect fire with .AmericanTOWS. Finally, it seems to me that the restrictions onRussian indirect fire are too harsh. It seems likely thatthe Russians have made some improvement in theirartillery handling in the quarter-century since the end
Player Review: ArmageddonPublisher: Simulations Publications,New YorkDesigners: John Michael Young andStephen B. PatrickSubject: Tactical level combat duringthe "biblical" period (3OWBC to 500BC).A- (mapsheet).......5.99B-(rules) ...........6.57C- (counters)........7.09D-(ease of play) .....6.55E - (completeness). ...6.60F- (balance) .........6.84G -(length) ..........6.91H -(set-up) ..........6.42J - (complexity) ......6.27K -(realism) .........6.35L- (overall) ..........6.54Comments: We had 363 players reviewingthis game. 74% said they would still buy itknowing what they do now while 83% feltthey received their money's worth. Al:though from an obscure period (whichautomatically hurts a game in the general"acceptability" area) Armageddon is perhapsone of the "cleanest" of SPl's seriesof tactical games. Nothing outstanding, butgenerally high average ratings. Armageddonis available (boxed) for $7.00from SPI.Player Review: KriegspielPublisher: Avalon Hill, BaltimoreDesigner: Thomas N. ShawSubject: Hypothetical, division levelgame of land warfare.A- (mapsheet).. .....5.63B -(rules) ...........5.67C- (counters)........6.21D- (ease of play) .....6.85E -(completeness). ...6.17F- (balance) .........6.51G-(length) ..........5.62H - (set-up) ..........6.82J -(complexity) ......3.10K -(rrslism) .........2.28L- (overall) ..........3.56Comments: We had 262 players reviewingthis game. 15% said they would still buy itknowing what they do now while 15% feltthey received their money's worth. Kriegspielis apparently a flimsy, hastily throwntogether attempt at a "simple," "introductory"game. It is debatable if the gamesucceeds at this. The game has beenresoundingly rejected by regular garners.Although the game does have good pointswith regard to playability, its game value isapparently quite low. Kriegspiel is available(boxed) from Avalon Hill for $8.00.Player Review: La Grande ArmeePublisher: Simulations Publications,New YorkDesigner: John Michael Youngsubject: DivisionICorps level game ofstrateaic Na~oleonic warfare between1805 and 18d9 in Central Europe.A-(mapsheet) .......6.92B- (rules) ..........,694C- (counters) ........7.18D -(ease of play) .....6.75E -(completeness)....6.89F -(balance) .........6.54G -(length) ..........6.85H -(set-up) ..........6.53J -(complexity) ......7.01K -(realism) ........,690L- (overall) ..........7.17Comments: We had 127 players reviewingthis game. 89% would still buy it knowingwhat they do now while 90% felt theyreceived their money's worth. This is ahighly popular game using the same gamesystem as Leipzig. No single element in thegame really stands out from the others. Thegame is apparently just a well balancedwhole. La Grande Armee is available(boxed) from Simulations Publicationsfor $7.00.Player Review: GettysburgPublisher: Avalon Hill, BaltimoreDesigner: Charles RobertsSubject: Brigade level game of the 1863Battle of Gettysburg.A- (mapsheet).......6.19B- (rules) ...........5.80C -(counters)........6.47D - (ease of play) .....6.84E -(completeness). ...6.04F- (balance) .........4.83G -(length) ..........6.16H -(set-up) ..........6.74J -(complexity) ......4.97K -(realism) .........4.21L- (overall) ..........5.42Comments: We had 283 players reviewingthis game. 54% felt they would still buy itknowing what they do now while 61% feltthey got their money's worth. Actually,there are two distinct Gettysburg games.The original (and present) version whichuses squares and another version (nowunavailable) using hexagons. This is areview of both games. The game is an oldone, first appearing in the late 1950's. It haslong passed its peak of popularity. Balance,complexity and realism are felt to be thegames main weak points. Still, it is the onlybrigade level game available on this criticalCivil War battle. Gettysburg is available(boxed) from Avalon Hill for $7.00.of World War II. Changing these rules will bring thegame somewhat nearer a balance.[Nore: The above was written before I had seenthe RS/RW errata sheet. This document clears upthe two major problems of defensive fire and line ofsight for wire guided missiles. Furthermore, itincludes a new rule which makes it impossible to hideon the edges of woods and villages and this makesindirect fire much less important. I think that withthese changes, RS/WS now has much more of allthe things that made PanzerBlirz the all timefavorite game.237. Revolution (1971, ADA, $1.001, by StephenMarsland, is a little game for 12 to 35 players whichdeals with a hypothetical revolutionary situation in ahypothetical, newly-independent African nation. Theplayers are police commanders, army commanders,labor leaders, student leaders, etc. The idea,apparently, is to win as part of a successful coalitionrather than to win individually. Unfortunately, it isdifficult to tell what the idea is. The game is veryimaginative and innovative and the rules are verysuggestive. However, the rules are not descriptive.They do not finally add up to anything that can beplayed without the personal direction of the designer.This is another of those games not recommended bythe publisher who was also the designer, but it ismore interesting -than the others. aDesigner's Notes (continued from pege 13)specifically for this game. There are still anumber of "holes" in our game designschedule, mostly for S8T 44, 45 and 46. Wehope to have titles for all of these pinned downin the next two to four months. In themeantime we may be doing some "private"games. In the past few months we have beenapproached by the Department of Defense,the Forestry Service and the Marine Corpswith proposals to do "custom" training games.The Defense Department wants a game onmechanized warfare in the Middle East (fromLibya to Iran) on the brigade level. We toldthem we'd merely expand our Sinai game. Sothey're still negotiating. The Forestry Servicewants a game on fighting forest fires. Theypaid $84,000 for a game on that subject andthe game didn't work. We told them we coulddo it for $20,000 and it would work. They'veseen our output of games these past few yearsso they're convinced it can be done. TheMarine Corps wants a game to train juniorofficers in small unit tactics. They even sent amajor up to see us for three days and checkout various approaches. We showed himSniper!, which seemed to fill the bill as far asfighting in built-up areas was concerned. Themajor made up a Marine squad in the gameand, using Marine Corps doctrine and tacticsproceeded to play out the game. Whilecrossing a street he had one fire team throwsmoke grenades out while pouring fire into anenemy held building down the block. Anotherfire team then crossed the street. He forgot,however, that the smoke doesn't take effectfor a turn. So one man was wounded byenemy opportunity fire down the smokelessstreet. "Happens all the time," said the majoras he quickly re-read the rules for any moreunpleasant surprises. The Marines won thefirefight anyway.Although our games are not intended as such,they are used by the military for training. Wewere first approached by the Army InfantrySchool for help and Red Star/White Star wasthe result. If we can, we'll do a "special" gamefor nothing and publish it. If someone wants a"special" game that we feel we couldn't sellthen we'll charge $20,000 and do if for themprivately (it won't get published). This is not atotal loss to our regular customers as the(continued on pege 32)
Page 7 and 8: I.D. will be used to plot the movem
Page 9 and 10: TORPEDOES:Mark/Model Dia - - wt - -
Page 12 and 13: 12AIRCRAFT ANALYSIS(I) F-104: Many
Page 14 and 15: 14THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WARby Omar De
Page 16 and 17: Footnotes is a collection of the ma
Page 18 and 19: in general are a lot of fun, and us
Page 20 and 21: WARGAME REVIEWS by Martin CampionTh
Page 22 and 23: Ma. Austerlirz (1973, SPI, $7.00),
Page 24 and 25: terrain that is more difficult than
Page 28 and 29: CONSOLIDATED ERRATASoldiers and Nor
Page 30 and 31: FeedbackMOVES nr.11, published Oct.
Page 32: SIMULATIONS PUBUCATIONS, INC.44 Eas

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