Warning Order

Issue #19 Command & Control:
Fall 2007 Is Realism Possible in Wargaming?

Most gamers have heard control”. They like to pre- or units don’t react to
of The Charge of the Light tend like they’re on Mount threats quick enough be-
Brigade, Frederick’s turn- Olympus, issuing com- cause their orders don’t
ing movement at Leuthen, mands to the mortals be- allow them to.
and Davout’s rout of the low. There’s no surprise
To answer the question
Prussians at Jena- flanking maneuvers to
about whether or not com-
Auerstedt. However, worry about, units do ex-
mand and control should be
probably few have read actly as ordered, and the
in wargames, you need to
about the Mexican Army game comes down to at-
go back to the early days of
sitting still even when they tacks based upon points
the hobby and see how the
were being outmaneuvered ratios to chance of success
rules we use have pro-
at Cerro Gordo, the debacle plus the roll of dice. I’ve
gressed.
at Villers-Bocage in 1944, been in games where there
or the ill advised, impetu-
ous charge of the Swiss
pike at Bicocca. The com-
WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL GAMING SOCIETY
mon theme of all of these

actions was the presence of
or lack of command and
control.
Now ask yourself,
could any of these things
happen during your gaming
Warning Order
nights? The answer is

probably not. As wargam-
ing rules continue to trend
towards playability versus
realism, command and
control is seen to be adding
a layer of unwanted com-
are command and control When I first got into the
plexity. Two of the most
rules and some gamers hobby in the mid-70’s,
popular historical wargam-
simply come unglued when there was WRG, Newbury,
ing rules sets, Flames of
their units can’t move or a and several other rules sets
War and Warhammer An-
huge attack goes in piece- for various periods. The
cients, have no command
meal. big thing back then was
and control system or so
written orders and depend-
little it is usually ignored But that is exactly what
ing upon the rules, this
during play. has happened on battle-
could be quite complex or
fields throughout history.
I’ve been in this hobby very generic. This system
Attacks don’t always go off
for a long time and I think introduced an element of
as scheduled, reinforce-
that some of this is due to command and control by
ments get lost on the wrong
gamers wanting “absolute (cont. on page 6)
road and arrive hours late,
Inside this issue:

Special points of interest:
Treachery! A TSATF battle report 2
• Review of Ambush Blitz and an interview
Memoirs of a Miniature and Board Wargamer 8 with the author.
Blast From The Past 9 • TSATF battle report.
Interview with Ambush Blitz author Jerboa 10
• Warmaster Ancients battle report.
Ambush Blitz review 13
• Book, movie, and board game reviews.
Warmaster Ancients Battle Report 14
• Regular features such as Blast From The
Board Game Reviews 17 Past and more...
TSATF Scenario: Treachery! Scenario Replay
Our group had not played The Sword wife, then
and the Flame for quite some time, due to get them
the fact that one of our members had to over the
move away and he took about half of the bridge
group’s figures with him! So after a long where
rebuilding process, we were finally able they
to do another game on the Northwest would be
Frontier. held hos-
tage. A
The year is 1898 and the tribes along
second
the frontier are getting restless again.
force
The local British commissioner and his
would
wife have been invited for tea and to talk
advance
over the local tribe’s grievances at the
across the
home of the local tribal leader. Taking a
river and
platoon of British infantry along for an
pin down
escort, the group is fired upon when the
the de-
Pathans spring their ambush too early.
fenders in
The commissioner, his wife, and the pla-
the fort
toon of infantry get into the walled com-
while a
pound and barricade themselves in. At
third force British troops form a firing line to engage the Pathans emerging from the
the fort the firing has been heard and the
would riverbed.
garrison is ordered to stand to. The sec-
position
ond platoon of the company who was out
itself in
on patrol near the river turns around and
and around the village to prevent rein- ployed into skirmish formation and began
heads for the compound. Meanwhile,
forcements from reaching the defenders to move towards the sound of the guns.
with the advantage of surprise now gone,
at the compound. The Mgs and screw guns were deployed
the Pathans launch their assault.
along the fort’s towers to provide long
To win, both sides needed to get the
After choosing sides both teams set range support.
commissioner and his wife either to
up. While the British were very limited
safety in the fort or across the bridge to The first Pathan tribe quickly sur-
in their set up, the Pathans had several
the tribe’s territory to be used as bargain- rounded the compound and launched a
options. The Pathan leaders decided to
ing chips in future negotiations. The probing attack against one of the walls,
launch a full scale attack on the com-
British force had the advantage of fire- which was defeated. The second Pathan
pound in an effort to overwhelm the de-
power, but the Pathans were in a good force crossed the river and moved up
fenders, seize the commissioner and his
position and were towards the ridge near the fort while the
able to make the third Pathan force waited patiently for the
British come to Indians to get a little closer to the village
them for a before they opened fire. The stage was
change. set for a running battle that would see
wild swings of fortune for both sides.
The first two
units out of the Imperial Forces Order of Battle
fort were the two
Indian infantry • (1) platoon of infantry at the com-
platoons. They pound.
quickly formed
up and prepared • (1) platoon of infantry on patrol near
to move against the river.
the village with a • (2) platoons of British infantry at the
secondary objec- fort.
tive of trying to
provide support • (2) platoons of the Rifle Brigade at
to the defenders the fort.
in the compound.
The British infan- • (2) screw guns w/crew at the fort.
Pathans crossing the river in an effort to tie down the British in the try platoon that • (2) machine guns w/crew at the fort.
fort. was on patrol de-
Page 2 WARNING ORDER

TSATF Scenario: Treachery! (cont.) Scenario Replay
was now pretty severe. Although a first
and second attack were repulsed, the third
actually saw Pathans get over the wall
and kill several of the defenders. The
British redeployed their remaining de-
fenders while a fresh Pathan unit attacked
the rear wall. This too was beaten off,
but several more British lay dead or dy-
ing in the compound and the defenses
were by now severely undermanned.
The two remaining Pathan units on
the ridge decided that it was now or
never. They launched a charge directly at
the two British infantry units that had
deployed into a line outside of the fort.
Despite tremendous odds and taking nu-
merous casualties, they hit both British
platoons. The first melee was going well
A unit of Pathans in the village tion of the compound. This worried the for the British, but then the Pathans
opened fire on the Indians that were de- three Pathan units that were in the proc- started to roll good and it became an ava-
ploying into formation outside of the fort. ess of surrounding the compound, so one lanche as British soldier after British
This triggered a heavy response from the unit was turned around to meet this new soldier went down in hand to hand com-
artillery and machine guns in the fort that threat. bat. By the end of the first melee the
were covering that area, but in a theme Pathan unit was destroyed, but the British
As the two Indian infantry platoons
that would be repeated often during this platoon was reduced to eight effective
neared the village, they were met by fire
battle, they scored few hits. The remain- soldiers. The second Pathan unit was
from the village and a charge from the
ing British infantry in the fort were now also destroyed, but the second British
brush/scrub behind the village. The
filing past the Indians towards the side infantry unit was now down to half
charge was launched too early and was
that faced the ridge overlooking the river. strength. This seemingly suicidal charge
met by devastating fire from one of the
The Pathan force that had crossed the Indian infantry platoons. The second crippled any chance of the British infan-
river now approached the ridge, wary of Indian infantry platoon was now involved try from the fort being able to get to the
the firepower inside of the fort. One of in a serious firefight with a Pathan unit compound or to provide effective sup-
the units tried to cross the bridge to inter- deployed in the village. Both sides were port. The survivors redeployed near the
cept the British infantry platoon on patrol taking hits, bit so far they were both hold- fort walls to await the next attack.
and in a rare showing of good die rolls, ing their ground.
the artillery and machine guns in the fort The second In-
virtually wiped it out in one turn. dian infantry unit
now moved to
The British infantry platoon that was
support the first
on patrol continued to move in the direc-
in an attempt to
take the village
Pathan Order of Battle
and secure that
• Three units (60 figs) deployed near flank. Mean-
the village. while, after the
success of de-
• Three units (60 figs) deployed on the stroying the
opposite side of the river. Pathan unit cross-
ing the bridge,
• Three units (60 figs) deployed off
the artillery and
board near the compound.
machine guns
• Units that routed off board or de- went back to
stroyed were able to return the follow- their bad die roll-
ing turn as fresh units, simulating a ing and could not
large number of clans hanging back hit anything!
off board waiting to join the fighting The pressure Savage fighting at the compound as the British defenders throw back
and plundering. on the compound the first assault.
ISSUE #19 Page 3

platoon had taken reverses left them with only a few effec-
too many casualties tives still in the village. By the end of
and was forced to third round of melee the Indians were
retire. falling back to the fort.
Suddenly, all of The Pathans finally had more warri-
the British platoons ors inside the compound than British
were below half defenders. Fighting back to back, the
strength and barely British defenders held out for awhile, but
able to hold their then were overwhelmed as they fought to
positions. It would the last man. The commissioner and his
be left to the Indian wife were led out of the compound and
platoons to attempt back towards the bridge as hostages.
a relief operation.
The lone Indian platoon that was still
The first Indian in good shape was too far out of position
platoon had already to do anything about it, even if they were
repulsed a charge to roll decent for movement. The remain-
and a second charge ing British infantry platoons that were
The British platoon that was out on patrol moves towards the that actually got now under strength were engaged in
sound of the gunfire in an effort to reinforce the compound. into hand to hand some long range firefights with the
combat. The sec- Pathans. The artillery was still providing
ond Indian platoon support, but it was clearly not going to be
As the defenders in the compound charged into the village, attempting to use enough. The machine guns had been
continued to get whittled down with each shock action to clear the village and a brought out of the fort, but were going to
attack, the British infantry platoon that path to the compound. The first attack be unable to bring effective fire on the
was on patrol and was moving to help the went well as the Indians won melee after party escorting the hostages.
defenders now took center stage. The melee. The first part of the village was
platoon moved directly towards the com- After some half-hearted attempts to
cleared and another Pathan unit was left
pound on what at first appeared to be a re-establish a blocking position and with
in ruins, streaming back towards the
suicide run. However, the Pathan unit no fresh units to go block the bridge, the
mountains. The Indian platoon continued
that was trying to intercept them was British commanders tried to come up
the attack, moving among the village
destroyed on the bridge by long range with an effective plan to prevent the
buildings and engaging in a series of me-
fire, prompting the force that was attack- Pathans from escaping with their prize.
lees.
ing the compound to break off a unit to After a few minutes of debate the British
engage this new threat. This time the melees did not go well side conceded as they simply did not
for the Indian infantry. For awhile they have the strength to prevent the Pathans
Not wanting to waste time with form- held their own, but then a quick series of from fulfilling their victory conditions.
ing into a slow moving line, the British
infantry advanced quickly in open order,
only changing formation when a Pathan
unit appeared to be closing. The first
charge by the Pathans was defeated be-
fore they even got into melee and the
survivors retreated before the British
advance. Another Pathan unit that was
behind the village now pressed forward
with its own attack and braved the storm
of bullets from the waiting British. After
causing several casualties in hand to hand
along with long range sniping, the British
platoon was cut to 60% strength.
Still the British infantry platoon ad-
vanced, throwing a scare into the Pathans
who were attacking the compound. The
remnants of two Pathan units now took
up positions and began firing on the pla-
toon as it advanced. Finally, the British

This was one of the best Sword and
Flame games that we had played and
that’s saying quite lot since we’ve been
playing it for over 25 years! The game
was close, both sides had a shot at win-
ning, but there were several series of
hand to hand combats that did not go the
way the British had hoped. The inability
of the British artillery to score any hits
the first few turns, the Indians doing well
in the attack on the village, then faltering,
and the incredible Pathan attack on the
two British infantry platoons outside that
fort that wrecked them.
We did not have any cavalry painted
up yet and I think that was one of decid-
ing factors against the British. Colonial
cavalry is essential for any kind of fron-
tier action like this scenario as it can
function both in the screening role and is
useful for getting to any crisis quickly.
With any luck we will have some cavalry
actions ready for the next TSATF sce-
nario.
The first Afghan tribe reaches the walls of the compound as the British deploy to meet the
As with many of these types of
threat.
games, both sides played well enough to
win. There were no serious errors on
either side that were worth noting. All
players were into the scenario, there was
god cooperation, and no “wandering off”
where sometimes players lose sight of the
scenario objective and create objectives
of their own!
A final note about the miniatures and
terrain. The figures used were mainly
Old Glory with a few Foundry thrown in.
For the current price the Old Glory
Pathans are tough to beat and look good
painted up. The village buildings are
from Monolith in their Middle Easter
line. The compound is from Crescent
Root Studio and is a beautiful piece of
terrain. If you have not tried out anything
from this company I strongly suggest that
you do. They have a growing range of 15
and 25mm Middle Eastern buildings that
are well worth the money. The fort is
from the French Legion range by Old
Glory from ages ago. It’s lightweight,
paints up fast, and looks good on the ta-
bletop.
The Northwest Frontier offers colo-
nial gamers a wide variety of troop type Pathans moving up under cover of the hill to pin down the British reinforcements emerging
and scenario possibilities for the Colonial from the fort.
gamer.
ISSUE #19 Page 5

Command & Control (cont.)
having gamers write down objectives for area were few and far between, but All three of
various forces under their control. Units by the late 90’s something began to these systems
still did what they pretty much wanted as stir and the subject moved forward had supporters
the orders were subject o much interpre- again. and detractors.
tation and arguments, particularly in An- The important
Suddenly, you had three rules sets
cients games, broke out frequently. thing here,
that used command and control sys-
though, was at
The next development was the use of tems other than the chit/counter and
least gamers
chits/counters to simulate orders. Two of writing orders systems that had been
were discussing
the most popular gaming systems of all prevalent for a long time. The rules
the subject and
time, Johnny Reb and Command Deci- sets were DBA, Piquet, and Fire &
how to effec-
sion, used this instead of written orders. Fury. DBA, which is an ancients
tively simulate
This had a profound impact on the hobby game with a dozen units a side, used
command and
as all of a sudden gamers had to guess a D6 to give command points which
control . While
what their opponent was going to do and could be used to move units. While
playability was
there was an element of planning in- this was not novel, the sheer amount
important, back
volved in giving your units a sequence of of gamers who played or tried this system
then it was not the burning issue as it is
orders to carry out a quickly made it into one of the
now.
task or seize a critical most popular ways to simulate
objective. command and control. So we come to this decade and the
command in gaming issue has once again
I think it was at this Piquet did the same for
been taken up with a new approach that
juncture in the history using card activation to simu-
first appeared in Warmaster Fantasy, but
of the hobby where the late command problems.
is now used in Warmaster Ancients and
“great divide” over While card activation was not
Blitzkrieg Commander, two very popular
command and control novel either, until this point it
historical rules sets. Each commander is
occurred. Up to this had not really been used to
rated for command and you need to roll
point most gamers took simulate events, movement,
that on two dice to issue an order to a unit
it for granted that you and a whole host of other
or a series of units. On the surface, not
had to write orders, but items on the miniatures battle-
very novel, but when combined with the
not many people fol- field all at the same time.
opportunity to issue multiple orders, the
lowed up on it. As Until Flames of War came out
chance for a blunder, and the fact that if
long as the orders that this system used to spawn
you fail a roll, that commander is done, it
were written were “in the spirit of the some pretty nasty disagreements among
takes the issue to a whole new level.
game” and didn’t seem too unrealistic gamers usually centered around how
(highly subjective!), then it was back to much chaos is too much? Another recent approach was the sys-
focusing on dozens of charts and tables tem developed for Warmachine. In this
Fire & Fury, and its Napoleonic
for the combat. Now all of a sudden your fantasy miniatures game warcasters use
cousin Age of Eagles that came out sev-
orders mattered and there were serious their points to cast spells and order units
eral years after, took a different approach.
consequences if you guessed wrong, to perform various functions. The system
Here you used a series of charts to roll for
thought about it too much, or were just a works well as it forces players to make
each brigade and after applying various
bad tactician. A lot of gamers didn’t like tough decisions, which is what command
modifiers you ended
this…. is all about.
up with a result that
So this is where, in the late 80’s-early told you if your bri- There have been other
90’s, that historical gaming split into two gade could move its rules sets that have had inno-
different groups on the subject. There full movement, half, vative command systems
were those who wanted some element of or had to sit there. over the years. One of the
command and control, while others just Battles For Empire is best, if not the best, was The
wanted to run their gaming units as they another set of rules Complete Brigadier. Each
saw fit and command be damned! that uses this method player commanded a brigade
for the Victorian Co- of mixed units and you had
Throughout the 90’s there seemed to
lonial era. It does a to issue orders on a log. The
be a kind of WW1 stalemate on the sub-
great job of simulat- interesting part here was that
ject. Johnny Reb and Command Deci-
ing an attack by native you generally had to issue
sion were still going strong, but rules like
forces as they are all them in a series as you could-
Empire and From Valmy to Waterloo still
moving at different n’t get to all the units person-
used a variation of the orders/orders writ-
speeds. ally each turn. When the
ing for larger units. Innovations in this

Command & Control (cont.)
shooting started trol system where something could go ers to command and control is to start
the problems be- wrong, especially where each side is so them off with some of the simpler com-
gan. Officers evenly matched, is too horrifying to mand systems such as Blitzkrieg Com-
were issuing new contemplate! Others simply don’t like mander, Warmaster Ancients, or DBA.
orders, you forgot one more factor to consider when play- This is much better than taking a Flames
about units still ing a game where they are thinking of War gamer and introducing him to the
marching off away about weapon ranges, objectives, de- command system of From Valmy to Wa-
from combat, and ployment, and more. Still others ques- terloo! If they still have interest and
more. It was a tion the need for another layer of rules would like to try different systems, then
little more com- on top of everything else. move forward by steadily adding layers
plex than the aver- of complexity.
Now I can understand the necessity
age set of rules
of not needing a command and control For myself, I think that command and
and the combat
system for games like The Sword and control in whatever form adds greatly to
system left a lot to
the Flame, small scale 1:1 skirmishes in the game. You need to raise your level of
be desired, but the
the French and Indian War, or Wild decision making and you need to take
command system was outstanding.
West shoot outs. But when you’re play- into account the fact that things might not
Other systems come at us from the ing a Napoleonic game with 500+ minia- go as planned! Then, you need to have a
world of board wargames. Many Napole- tures representing several corps, please backup plan in case things go really
onic and ACW sets of rules use some don’t try to tell me that command and badly! The other part about playing in a
kind of command system that could be control isn’t necessary or it wasn’t an game with command and control is being
applied to miniatures games. The important part of warfare in that era! able to react to what your opponent(s) do
Gamer’s/MMP American Civil War Bri- or don’t do. Opportunities may develop
While there is no way of representing
gade series has an excellent command or you may need to stay flexible to
the stress, uncertainty, and chaos of the
and control system where players write counter a good move. This takes out the
battlefield, adding command
orders on slips of paper clock like element of some games where
and control to any set of rules
and they are logged. you know what they’re going to do or
can at least add a degree of
When they arrive at the what special rules they’re going to use
realism. Whether it is using
intended commander every game.
written orders, dice that deter-
there is a chart to check
mine how many units move, What will be the next trend in com-
for acceptance or delay.
chits with orders on them, or a mand and control for miniature
A little work, but it does
series of charts and tables, wargames? I tend to think that most
a good job of showing
there are numerous ways to things are cyclic, meaning that what’s old
the problems of coordi-
add this element of warfare to will be new again. I think that once the
nating forces across a
your tabletop battles. current trend of dumping a bunch of figs
battlefield.
on the tabletop for a one hour game burns
I’ve always found it inter-
Many of you are itself out, you may see a return to slightly
esting to watch gamers who
now wondering why I more complex games again. I think that
have played skirmish games,
did not include the com- the day of the 10 hour Empire/Tractics/
fantasy, or sci-fi, when they
mand system that is WRG 6th days are gone, but I think that
first play a wargame that has
prevalent in many sets of rules, namely gamers will start wanting a little more
command and control in it. Invariably,
keeping units within a certain distance of complexity and realism inserted into their
the first questions involve, “The units
their officers or NCOs. In my thinking games and that’s where command and
might not do what I want?”, “I have to
those aren’t really command and control control mechanisms can have an impact.
pre-plan my moves?”, or “I could get
systems, but an artificial mechanism de-
flanked or cut off by issuing the wrong Certainly in this age of eye candy and
signed to keep a player’s figures/vehicles
commands?” high production values some enterprising
from wandering too far away from each
designer can come up with a new system
other. This mechanism gives the appear- Some will gravitate towards this type
or a way to retrofit existing games. For
ance of command & control, but there’s of game, but at least half won’t play it
example, a supplement for Flames of War
no decision making involved and no again, usually because they can’t make a
with command cards for officers would
chance of failure. decision or the uncertainty of each turn
probably do extremely well as would a
drives them crazy. For most of today’s
The rise of points driven miniatures varying movement system for many other
gamers who have grown up with moving
wargames has had a huge influence on games.
units all over the tabletop with impunity,
whether or not gamers use command and
it can be a sobering experience. Command and control is a vital part
control. If you’re into tournaments or
of the battlefield and gamers should try to
not, the inclusion of a command and con- I think a better way to introduce gam-
experience this as often as possible.
ISSUE #19 Page 7

Memoirs of a Miniatures & Board Wargamer Pt. 6
Campaigns Part One Soviet commanders got a few regi- in the 70s and
ments (yes, we had hundreds of early 80s of the
At some point in every gamer’s life-
vehicles on the board!) in a giant gaming hobby.
time you should try a campaign at least
traffic jam, so the U.S. commander In this cam-
once. I’ve been involved in quite a num-
asked for release of theater nuclear paign two U.S.
ber of them for better or worse, but usu-
weapons! The probability was carrier battle-
ally they have been good gaming experi-
something like rolling a 12 on two groups were
ences. I think the best part of campaigns,
D6s, then rolling a 6 on a D6, fol- trying to inter-
particularly if they are done well, is the
lowed by a 1 on a D20. Guess cept a large
planning. In fact, I’ve found that the
what? He rolled it and about two Soviet task
planning is probably the most exciting
Soviet regiments went up in a tactical force with troops moving down the Rus-
part of the campaign with the battles be-
nuclear blast! sian Pacific coastline.
ing almost secondary in nature. There is
just no way to substitute that thrill of The Soviet commander on the spot This was probably the most complex
your side sitting around a map and trying was fired and from then on the new com- campaign I ever played in. Keeping track
to formulate a plan while trying to figure mander (an Air Force EOD guy) ran their of air groups, CAP, submarine escorts,
out what the opposition is going to do. In side with an iron fist. Tactics changed and patrol aircraft taxed all of us. After a
fact, if your gaming group is civil and and the Soviets achieved their objectives. week of campaign time we were beat.
gives everyone a chance to speak, you All in all, an enjoyable campaign. The good thing about this and the other
end up with an almost real life staff ses- campaigns and something that stuck with
My second attempt at a campaign was
sion with everyone giving their views to me is that there is a tremendous feeling of
during the heyday of Starfleet Battles.
the commander, who then must make a not knowing what is out there. To me
One of our group set up a huge hex map
choice. this is one of the most exciting reasons
of the Star Trek known space and we
for playing a campaign, but for others it
used the campaign rules in one of the
can be a horrifying experience because
hundreds of supplements that the game
most gamers want to be “in the know”
had. There were several players and the
and don’t like unpleasant surprises. I
game included production, repairs, etc… .
think that it forces you to look at your
Again, there was great excitement when
options more carefully and your decisions
we started and the first few battles were
in a campaign can have serious conse-
very critical. About halfway through the
quences in game terms.
campaign it got bogged down. The rea-
son is that there were so many ships by Naturally, when gamers talk about
“Back in the day”, when complexity that time campaigns the one subject that comes up
was the rule rather than playability, our that it sim- is why they rarely if ever get finished.
gaming group did a lot of modern micro- ply became I’ve played in about twenty campaigns
armor gaming. We used several rules WW1 trench and only two have actually gone the dis-
sets, including Combat Commander, warfare in tance. I think the reasons for this are
WRG, Challenger, and Tacforce. One of space! varied and there’s quite a few of them.
our members worked in the G-2 section First, when one side starts losing, espe-
So far, I
of a National Guard unit and got me a cially if there are some major disasters at
had learned
very nicely done map of a section of the start, the losing side loses interest
a few valu-
West Germany, which became the basis quickly. Then, gamers being gamers,
able lessons
for my first campaign game. everyone starts to wander off on new
about cam-
periods or a new figure range comes out
Basically, the campaign was about a paigns.
and everyone moves towards that. Also,
Soviet mechanized corps attempting to Number one
for some gamers it’s hard to play the
get past a U.S. defensive line that had was that they were a lot of work to set up,
same period over and over again for a
several battalions and some armored cav- especially for the referee. Number two
long period of time.
alry. The campaign was pretty ambitious, was that the excitement of the deploy-
but back in the 70s and 80s campaigns ment and first few turns is hard to keep I think that campaigns were played a
with a lot of paperwork were the norm, so up through the entire campaign. Number lot more in the 70s and 80s than they are
nobody seemed to mind. There was a lot three was that campaigns create very today. For one thing, everyone seems to
of excitement as each side made its initial interesting battles that your gaming group be in a hurry these days and can’t spend
deployment and first moves. would never regularly game. more than a few hours a week on the
hobby, so getting into campaigns is diffi-
The campaign generated several inter- Another early campaign involved
cult to say the least. But this section on
esting battles, including one in which the more hypothetical NATO vs. Warsaw
campaigns is just getting started…..
Pact warfare, which was pretty prevalent

Blast From The Past Pt. 5
When I first got Now, one of the bad things
into the hobby it about the quads was that back
was primarily in in the SPI glory days when they
board games with were pumping out games as
some miniatures fast as they could, not all of the
gaming every so games in a quad were good. It
often. During that was almost as if for a few of
time the one con- them they were added on at the
stant in the universe end just so they could get to the
was that Simulation four game requirement! Also,
Publications Inc, or some of the games either didn’t
SPI, would pump seem right in terms of scale or A good game that only goes wrong dur-
out an incredible they had so many exclusive ing the end game. This is where if the
amount of rules that ti almost seemed as if Israelis held on at the beginning they go
wargames. you were playing some other on a killing spree at the end which isn’t
game series. too much fun for the Syrian player!
One of the innovations that SPI gave
us in those days was the “quad” game. The quad games covered virtually all One of the best quads was Napoleon’s
This was four folio sized games in one of of military history, from sieges in the Last Battles. This featured all of the fa-
the standard SPI flat boxes. Each of the Middle Ages to hypothetical NATO vs. mous battles from the Hundred Days that
games featured a small map, usually Warsaw Pact confrontations. From out of culminated in Waterloo. Each game was
around 17 x 22 inches, 120-200 counters, all of these games (and there were quite a pretty interesting and very different from
a series rule book and an exclusive rule few) came a few gems that I will discuss all of the others. The mandatory attack
book for each particular game. here further. Hopefully some of these rules did a good job of portraying opera-
will get re-worked under decision games tional level combat from that era and the
At the time the components were cut-
and re-released, ala Drive on Stalingrad end result was pretty satisfying. Decision
ting edge, but pale in comparison to to-
and Napoleon’s Last Battles. Games upgraded the game several years
day’s highly polished board wargames.
ago including some new campaign rules
The maps had only a few colors, the One of the best games that came out
which tied all four games together.
counters were the standard NATO sym- of quad was the Arnhem game. The
bols with little information on them and game starts out with the airborne troops There were many other good games
rulebooks looked like a technical manual. having already landed and they get the from the Blue & Gray quads, the Pacific
However, for the time they were adequate first turn, which gives them a good op- quad, and the earlier Napoleonic battles.
and no one was complaining too much. portunity to seize the bridges. The Ger- The great thing is that you did usually get
mans then begin to get heavy reinforce- one great game in each quad and some
One of the really good features of the
ments and this is where you can see the average games, but they were all from the
quad games was that once you knew the
problems that the Allies had. The road same theme and getting into the games
standard or series rules, it was just a
leading to Arnhem is just was easy.
question of reading each game’s exclu-
too long and there simply
sive rules. This made it pretty easy to try Today, the quad game
aren’t enough troops to
all the games in the quad pretty quickly. has been replaced by larger
secure it and prevent the
Not only that, but some of the quads were boxed games with more com-
Germans from cutting the
also in a series, so when you bought say ponents. An example of this
road in several places. A
for example, Modern Battles II, you would be GMT’s Gringo,
good, quick game about
could open a game and get into it within a which would have made a
Operation market Garden.
few minutes. great quad back in the SPI
A good one from the days. In Gringo you get a
Modern Battles series was series rules booklet, and a
Golan. Here, a massive scenario guide with specific
Syrian attack goes in rules for each battle. There
against the dozen or so is a separate map and count-
Israeli units stationed on ers for each game, so there is
the Golan Heights. The first several turns definitely a quad type feel to the game.
are pretty nerve-wracking for the Israeli The only thing missing is the old SPI
player as the Israelis attempt to block the counter tray disguised as a box! Will the
road exits leading to the heart of Israel. quads ever come back? Probably not.
Once the armor reserves move up the But I still cherish the games that I own
Israeli forces can go on the counterattack. from them and I will keep playing them.
ISSUE #19 Page 9

Interview with Ambush Blitz Author Jerboa
I received a copy of Ambush Blitz (reviewed must be complete, technically sound and
after this interview) and was intrigued by preferably independent from the miniatures
the rules. I contacted the author and he makers’ commercial strategy. Rule writing
was kind enough to give this interview with is technical stuff, fairly complex. It should
his thoughts on the rules and wargaming in not be influenced by factors external to the
general. game, like selling schedules, miniature
series that are going on to sale next, unit’s
1) How did you get started in the hobby? composition for maximum profitability, etc.
Well as a young kid, even before I knew Finally one of the key points about WWII is
wargaming existed, my favourites were the very fast technological evolution seen
Timpo Toys miniatures, mostly Knights and over the period it lasted: roughly from the
Western. With those I imagined my first biplane up to the fighter jet. Therefore I
battles, full plots, without rules but with lots wanted a set that could be used from 1939
of action! Later as a school boy I to 1945, generic enough but fully integrated
‘discovered’ the Airfix HO miniatures and and capable of transmitting the clash of the
was immediately hooked. The battles in- continuing evolution into the gaming table.
volved larger bodies of troops: I remember All of this without artificial boundaries or
playing the Soviet versus Marines boxes,
time ‘resets’.
without having a clue that they were allies,
not enemies - yet. So basically Ambush Blitz was borne be-
cause I wanted to play a few WWII com-
As time went by we made up the first tank
bined arms battles.
rules, where tanks alternately ‘fired’ a num- fight.
ber of cm equal to the gun calibre. From born to published it was a crazy jump:
3) With all of the WW2 rules out there the enthusiasm of friends and an irresistible
The first real wargame I came across was currently, why did you decide to publish driving force, the raw will to share some of
Napoleonic wargaming by Charles Grant, I Ambush Blitz? our joy with fellow gamers.
was maybe 14. It was a revelation to
‘discover’ dice as a wargaming tool. After Because we wanted rules to play WWII. 4) What was your design philosophy for
that it was the age for WWII rules, also by the rules?
The options we had were either outdated,
Grant, and then house rules, together with a
unsound, lengthy/unplayable or were of- I have extremely strict design criteria,
long time gaming friend – Jose Ventura. It
fered in a commercial bundle I’m abso- though these are quite varied accordingly
all started because he wanted his Germans
lutely not interest in. with the objective and period. Yet all of my
to use the Strumgewehr!
larger projects share common features:
First by 1988 Ambush Guerrilla had been
In summary, maybe I cannot say I was a
published online. I believe that this was one
wargamer since I was born, but the ten-
of the first modern games that broke with
dency was conspicuously seen thereafter.
the I-Go-You-Go routine and probably the • the player should play the role of
2) What are your favorite periods and first game where the non active player the General or higher commander
why? could fire back – the simultaneous firefight in the table – his responsible deci-
concept. Therefore games that hang with sions must not to be taken over by
My favourite periods are ancients and the old alternate turn routines just feel out- the “system”;
WWII. dated to my core gaming group.
• the rules should promote histori-
Ancients because I’ve always felt intrigued Other options proved unsound, as requiring cal tactics, yet remain as universal
by ancient history and artefacts, since high bookkeeping: like keeping track of and neutral as possible;
school. ‘fatigue’, ‘damage points’ and
And recently I’ve discovered that under- similar; while overall not provid-
standing a little of ancient military history ing a satisfactory feel for WWII.
allows me to better comprehend contempo- Besides this time I did not want a
rary and seemingly unrelated appalling skirmish (we have our own rules
events. for that - unpublished) I wanted a
WWII is an old passion, boosted by the old strategy feeling, as WWII was a
BBC series “World in Flames”, that I ea- large affair.
gerly watched in my early youth. Those I’m also very strict about what
epic B&W images, which still reflect as wargaming rules should be to
silver sparks in my imagination, have influ- qualify as proper rules, such as
enced my perception of The War, as no those that I would play, or discuss.
other later source could. This may be an old fashioned
I’m also slightly interested in WWI dog- view, but for me wargaming rules

Interview with Ambush Blitz Author Jerboa (cont.)
• the rules should aim at a strategic Realism is meaningless in game
scope, where the quality of play is terms. If you have a ‘realistic’
related to the number of options approach to events, in the limit
allowed to the individual decision you are doing nothing more that
maker; recreating those events. Therefore
if your ‘realistic’ simulation is
• the same rules should not artifi- correct than you should arrive at a
cially restrict the decision span, ‘real’ outcome: the same as had
preventing creative alternatives, been seen in the original event.
while not losing verisimilitude; This contradicts the logic of gam-
ing itself, where both players aim
• luck – or probability weighting – at a fair fight with an uncertain
should remain an accepted and outcome.
integral part of the game, in order
to negate predicted outcomes; Ultimate realism is a copy of real-
ity, a re-enactment, not a game.
• the rules should favour playing
skills, in spite the luck factor; Reality is many folds more com-
plex than the largest rule book that
• bookkeeping - if any - should be was ever produced: I see no funda-
restricted to an absolute mini- ment to claims about that that
mum; ruleset being more realistic than
other.
• no written orders;
Each wargamer is an individual
• players should have access to and through the game he under-
simple calculating algorithms that goes a subjective experience that
completely dispense with chart may get him close to his own per-
consultation after some experi- ception of the reality. In fact only
ence. close to what he perceives that the
ple set of rules requires a fair amount of reality about a particular event was. This
For Ambush Blitz the objective was a fast subjectivity has many implications.
unpretentious game that still retained the investigation, which will sometimes be only
full flavour of WWII battles. A satisfying subtlety apparent on the final product. The first is that no game will ever appeal to
game that could be tailored to any size In the middle development I was severe in all gamers, because each individual experi-
without special rules and that could still be dropping non essential elements, like rigid ences ‘reality’ in a slightly different way.
completed within the average practical club organizations and the points system. The The second is that each wargamer is poten-
(very short) playing time. game flew more natural as scenario driven tially a rules writer: when he has the knowl-
In fact ABlitz is so light that it can be taken and by focusing on the spearhead units, edge he will feel the necessity to express
just as a side project, to be played along as those that made the difference on those himself through his own model, driven by
you develop a more complex and time con- critical days. The technical data related to his unique perception of reality (in this case
suming project. the equipment was also reduced to a mini- of an historical event).
mum, but that minimum left hopefully still
But having a simple objective does not retains the main elements which - again- did The third is that when someone states that
automatically tell you what the straightest make a difference. “a certain ruleset is more realistic than
path to accomplishment is. Building a sim- other” that can be - more often than not -
The key factor, the end point, is the simply decoded as: ”I like this better than
delicate balance between playability that”; it will bear no other real significance.
and verisimilitude.
Now your objective should be other rather
This is a difficult balance to reach than ‘realism’: to build a model composed
and That is the game. Anything of a number of procedures - rules – that
affecting this balance will destroy the somehow ‘feel’ like they could have hap-
emotional and physical experience of pened, that can transport you within the
that we call wargaming. historical framework where the action had
5) How do you feel about the developed. That’s verisimilitude, our only
never ending debate in the gaming true and dear aim.
world about playability vs. real- But I will not run away from the question:
ism? in a debate about ‘playability vs realism’ I
I though that that discussion had will stand where playability is.
been exhausted in the 80’s. 6) Are there any plans for supplements,
ISSUE #19 Page 11

Interview with Ambush Blitz Author Jerboa (cont.)
scenarios, or more material for Ambush venture from a player to other players, a ful end.
Blitz? player’s driven project. The future of Am-
I have some clear ideas on what the original
bush Blitz is within your hands.
The idea behind Ambush Blitz was to pro- Ambush-Guerilla rules should evolve into,
vide a ruleset as complete as possible, 1939 7) Are you working on any future pro- but again the current running projects take
to 1945. jects? all of my free time.
Yet the project is not closed, the rules re- My generic skirmish for large figures (3 to
lease might have just been a first step. 10 a side) has been completed, enjoyed
Well, it’s a lot of work and not lacking some success with players, but I have no
Since the release many support files have projects! plan to write the full rules for the moment.
been made public into the rules site and
The ancients and medieval set, Arcane War- All of this has been taken just as a hobby;
many more are planned:
fare, is splitting into two, the classical rule- from where I stand I see no perspective of
• special artillery counters: mostly set and a much lighter version, to be called making real money out of wargaming. In
because with indirect fire each Arcane Battle Composer (ABC), all to be fact I’ll be happy only to recover the book
battery is locked to target hex, freely downloaded from my site. investment back.
that should be remembered; The continuing work on ancient army lists This means that in my rules writing play-
• more data cards; is extremely demanding and currently look- ability, or design quality, takes precedence
ing as a lifetime endeavour. over any commercial considerations, hope-
• more equipment data, including
I’ve several times been enticed by friends to fully for your pleasure.
all WWII weapons that actually
work on a proper playable Napoleonics set.
saw action; I’ve laid down a few principles that I hoped
• more beginner aids; someone else would pursue, but without my Good gaming all,
direct involvement the project stalled. I
• painting guides; cannot honestly see when the time will
come for me to lead the project into a fruit- J
• more scenarios.
Scenarios are now the most important as-

pect of the game. But I’m very demanding
about scenario quality and investigation
standards. In this period we are spoiled for
information, sometimes we even have ac-
cess to both side accounts, the only way to
establish a fair knowledge on what really
had happened. But it is often not easy to
scale down that information to game terms.
When I have enough quality scenarios
available for a particular front (like desert
1942 or NW Europe 1944); or a campaign
(like Barbarossa 1941 or Kursk 1943); a
scenario book might be released.
I also dream with an expanded set of special
counters, standard and artillery.
But it is my compromise to provide the full
rules in the rules book, only to be tuned as
required by specific scenarios. It is out of
question to replace the main rules by infor-
mation provided elsewhere.
The core rules are proving very solid; any
significant development will only take place
in a second edition, if we ever reach that
somewhat ambitious stage!
It is also planned that most support files
will be provided free, as they are now.
Like my other running projects, this is a

Ambush Blitz Rules Review
Ambush Blitz is a most things will be killed off which include merging units, combined
interesting set of WW2 rules. fast and lots of destruc- arms modifiers, suppressive fire, hull
Over the last five years tion, then this is the sys- down, and more. There is also a section
we’ve seen dozens of new tem for you. The com- on engineers and air support, so gamers
rules sets for this period re- bat system covers fire- should be able to fight almost any action
leased, including Flames of fights, units that are of WW2 with the existing rules.
War, Blitzkrieg Commander, stacked in the same hex,
There are 13 scenarios presented like
and many more. So how saves, and more. Once
the one in the picture below with a color
does Ambush Blitz differ and you get the command
map, set up info and special rules. Again,
should you buy these rules to system figured out the
this is a strong point of the rules and the
add to your collection? combat system will be
scenarios could be used for other games.
pretty easy to use.
First, the rules are profes- The scenarios cover the bocage fighting
sionally published with color So the basic com- in Normandy, the invasion of France in
covers and pictures, which is mand, movement, and 1940, and lots of East Front scenarios,
always a big plus in my combat rules take up which are always favorites for most
book. The actual rules only take up only about 11 pages and if you include WW2 gamers.
around 20 pages with the rest of the book the section on indirect fire, then 13 pages
The final section is taken up by army
devoted to scenarios and optional rules. with plenty of pictures and diagrams is all
lists, of which there are six that cover the
Now there is some new terminology that that you will need to read. In today’s age
major combatants of WW2, including the
you may have to get used to, such as Off- of gaming where playability is king and
Japanese. While no means as compre-
Grid Indirect Fire, MST (Manufactured reading rules is frowned upon, this set fits
hensive as some other lists, they do give
Structures, i.e., houses), etc., and some the bill nicely.
the gamer more than enough to work
common terms like indirect fire is re-
What I do like about this is that the with.
ferred to as “curved fire”. So with that
author did not try to overwhelm the
aside the rule book is laid out well and it Now this is not to say that the rules are
gamer, particularly if they are new to
won’t take long for experienced gamers not without problems. The language
WW2 gaming with fifty pages of rules,
to get the hang of it. barrier definitely shows itself in the rules
charts, and diagrams that they need to
with some sentences needing to be read a
Now the system was designed for learn before they set a vehicle out on the
few times, unfamiliar terms, and you can
1/144th scale models and a tabletop that tabletop. The added complexity comes in
easily tell that this work was translated
either uses hexes as terrain or some sort the way of several pages of optional rules
into English. If there is ever a new ver-
of mat that has a hex grid overlaid on it.
sion or if a PDF version is released
Fortunately I had a hex mat for my air
some of this needs to be worked on.
combat games with big 5” hexes that
worked well and you can safely use any If you’re like me and collect
scale figures for the game, so my Blitz- rules, then there are some good
krieg Commander forces did double duty ideas here and well done scenarios
here. The author has recently released a are always welcome. After going
document that addresses other alterna- through this system and trying out
tives to the hex grid system and no doubt the various mechanics I’m not sure
enterprising gamers can find their own where it fits in with the rest of to-
alternatives. day’s WW2 sets of rules. More
involved than Flames of War, a fo-
In many ways this game is similar to
cus on command and control similar
Blitzkrieg Commander in that command
to Blitzkrieg Commander, but not as
and control lies at the heart of the system.
comprehensive as say Command
Along with the command system is an
Decision. I applaud the author for
activation system that has units in either
getting his ideas out there in the
the Ready, Done, Idle, Watch, or Pinned
gaming community and making a
states. HQ units then use orders to acti-
fine first effort by going for the pro-
vate units in the Ready or Watch states.
fessionally produced rules book. I
While this seems simple at first, the many
think that this set of rules and how it
states of units and the rules for those
plays will appeal to gamers looking
states will take a few turns to get the hang
for something more than Flames of
of how the system works.
War, but who don’t want to take the
The combat system is quick and bru- plunge into Face of Battle.
tal, so if you’re looking for a game where
ISSUE #19 Page 13

Assyrians vs. Egyptians Warmaster Ancients Battle Report
I had been painting up Egyptian and The Assyrians with the heavy infan-
Assyrian armies for Ancient Warmaster had two units of try and archers in the
for almost two years, so I was excited heavy chariots, two middle. The Assyrian
when there was an opening on one of our units of cavalry, left had a unit of cav-
group game nights to try the system out. several units of arch- alry, some skirmish-
Our group had at one time several ers and infantry, plus ers, and the unar-
Warmaster Fantasy armies and we also a few skirmishers. mored infantry and
play Blitzkrieg Commander, so most The Assyrians, with archers.
everyone was familiar with the command their heavier armor
Meanwhile, the
system and how it works. After explain- and higher unit costs
Egyptians countered
ing the differences between the fantasy had less units than
with several units of
and the ancients versions (and there are a the Egyptians, but
chariots on both
few) we were ready to try it out. what they lacked in
flanks, the infantry and archers in the
numbers was more than made up by ar-
Both sides had exactly 1420 points, center, with the entire line covered by
mor saves and striking power with the
which is all that I had painted! For the several units of skirmishers. After finish-
chariot units.
Egyptians this meant six units of chariots, ing deployment and answering a few
a lot of infantry and archers, several units During set up the Assyrians opted for more questions about units and the com-
of skirmishers, and four units of Sherden a strike at the Egyptian left, positioning mand rules, we were ready to try our first
and Philistines as mercenaries. the chariots and cavalry on that flank, game of Warmaster Ancients.
The Battle Begins

The Assyrians started off and spent a lot of close to the Egyptian starting area!
well, being able to move time chasing them
Then a good series of die rolls for the
most of their units, but the down, which gave
Egyptians got their units out into the mid-
Egyptian turn resulted in the Egyptians a
dle of the battlefield, ready to come into
only three out of about 25 chance to deploy
close combat with the Assyrians. By turn
units actually moving! This to met the threat.
five it was only a matter of who would
was a trend that continued By turn 4 the As-
start the festivities as both sides had
into the second and third syrians had ad-
plenty of units within charge range of
turn as well. The Assyrian vanced their entire
each other. It would be the Egyptians
chariots had been distracted battle line and
who got the battle moving forward.
by the Egyptian skirmishers were dangerously

Assyrians vs. Egyptians (cont.)Warmaster Ancients Battle Report
The Egyptians chariots in a series of Again, the main combat occurred in
attacked the Assyr- charges that left both the exact center where the remaining
ian left flank with sides crippled. The skirmishers and archers from both sides
vigor, driving back Assyrians with their concentrated. By this time the Assyrian
the Assyrian cavalry armor saves were heavy chariots had either been destroyed
and skirmishers, plus taking a fearful toll or driven off, so the remaining Egyptian
pushing up some on the unarmored chariots had little to worry about on the
archers to stall the Egyptian infantry, Egyptian left and they began to move
Assyrian advance on but for every Egyp- towards the center.
that side. On the tian unit that was
Turn seven saw several exchanges of
Assyrian right the defeated another
archery fire and an advance by more As-
heavy chariots were fresh one took its
syrian infantry that charged into several
finally getting into some close combat, place!
Egyptian infantry units. By this time
but although they had some success, they
By turn seven the Assyrians were many units were below half strength and
were getting whittled down slowly by the
consolidating their lines in preparation giving successful commands was becom-
numerous Egyptian archers.
for a new attack while the Egyptians were ing difficult at best. The Assyrian left,
It was in the middle where the most hastily trying to reorganize themselves which was still more or less intact, re-
fierce combat occurred. Both sides com- after the turn five and six combat left fused to move during the two turns that
mitted infantry, archers, cavalry, and their army scattered across the board. their presence was greatly needed.
Finale & Summary

On turn eight both sides only needed to even with the large num- as the Assyrians got
lose one more unit and they would have ber of units on the table- too spread out by
to withdraw. The Assyrians chose a lone top. Two of the players advancing too fast!
Egyptian infantry unit and attacked, but had never played an-
Overall, this is a
rolled badly. The subsequent Egyptian cients before and like
great system and fun
counterattack and pursuit killed off the the game. Certainly the
to play. Already I
Assyrian unit and they reached their bad command rolls at
am going to expand
break point which ended the game in a the start hurt the Egyp-
both armies to 2,000
very close Egyptian victory. tians, but their large
points for a future
numbers of units com-
The system played well and fast, slugfest.
pensated for it at the end
ISSUE #19 Page 15

Notoriety in Gaming-Gone Forever? Editorial
There was a time in the web sites, forums, online chat, cell diverse opinions, not to mention outlets
hobby where some gamers phones, RSS feeds, and the list could for voicing one’s thoughts, that the hobby
were larger than life. Every go on forever. As an example, up has fractured into seemingly thousands of
magazine and catalog men- until the 90’s, around 80 million peo- tiny groups. Each of these groups has
tioned them by name, gamers ple got their daily news from the their own agendas, their own heroes, their
who didn’t even play any of major networks. Today, the number experts, and very few, if any, are inter-
the periods written about by is around 20 million and dropping ested in the views and opinions of others,
some of these authors knew daily. Why? The proliferation of especially if they conflict with their own
who they were, and their web news site, RSS feeds, and 24/7 viewpoints.
opinion was held in high cable channels means that you don’t
On one hand this is good as it shows
regard, even if you didn’t have to wait until the evening to get
the remarkable strength of the hobby.
always agree with them. your daily dose of news.
That a new set of rules can be published
The first group of these would include Well, the same thing that is happening or made available online, then a Yahoo
legendary gamers and hobby contributors to the news area is also happening to the group is formed and fans talk about it is
like Donald Featherstone, Charles Grant, entertainment industry, software, educa- good in that interest is created, rules and
Tony Bath, and Phil Barker. In the 80’s tion, book publishing, and figures are sold, and maybe the
and 90’s others such as Scotty Bowden, yes, even with hobbies. The hobby expands a little. At the
Frank Chadwick, Stuart Asquith, and proliferation of rules, figure same time it’s bad as there are
more produced rules, books, and manufacturers, terrain mak- thousands of gamers who could be
wargaming articles in many publications. ers, paints, reference mate- missing out on valuable informa-
You may not have played ACW or board rial, etc…, has experienced tion, discussions, and don’t have
games, but you knew who John Hill was. an incredible growth. Back time to join any of the 50+ WW2
Same goes for Larry Brom in regards to in the 70s and 80s there was Yahoo groups to learn about ar-
colonial gaming, Jim Dunnigan for board no way that a gamer could mored warfare on the Italian
wargames, or Gary Gygax for fantasy. conceive the incredible num- Front.
ber of historical periods and
Now compare this situation to today’s The big question remains about
figures that are available
wargaming hobby. I think you would be where is all of this going? Per-
today.
hard pressed to find one or two gamers sonally, I think that the era of big
out of ten who could name anyone in- There was a time when the WRG 7th names in the gaming industry is over and
volved with Flames of War, which is one edition Ancients came out and there was same goes with authors like Stephen
of the most popular gaming systems to- Phil Barker, defending the rules in the King, Tom Clancy, and more. Don’t get
day. On many gaming threads you’ll see pages of The Courier. Even though I had me wrong, there will still be successful
someone praising the genius of some not played ancients in years I followed gaming systems, rules, and develop-
sculptor or rules author and get zero re- the debate and so did most of the ments, but most gamers will never know
sponses, probably because no one outside wargaming world. Why? Because he the person that created them. Game com-
of a handful of people have ever heard of was an important figure in the hobby and panies and rules authors are going to start
them. his debates contained valuable informa- targeting very selective audiences, so
tion and insight into the period and rules only those people who own the rules will
So, why is this happening? And, is it
writing. Today, when Col. Bill Gray, get the inside scoop, the author’s design
good or bad for the hobby?
author of Age of Eagles, and one of the philosophy, or views of history. There
Actually, this has been coming down most knowledgeable people on the planet will be no willingness to go read some-
the pike for a long time, but it is only just about the Napoleonic period, defends a one else’s rules because all of your time
now reaching our small hobby world of rule on historical grounds, maybe a cou- and energy will be spent reading about
wargaming. Fewer and fewer people can ple of hundred gamers will this one system on the Yahoo
name their politicians, most have never notice. Why? Because there’s group, blog, forums, etc…, so
heard of 90% of today’s music groups, another hundred sets of Napole- you won’t have any time to try
and the television networks are losing onic rules with their own sup- out anything else or read differ-
viewers right and left, so obviously some- porting Yahoo Groups, loyal ing opinions.
thing is going on here. fans and supporters who think
When everyone has a blog,
that their rules system or author
As I work in a university this subject who is going to read your blog?
is the guiding light on the sub-
gets debated fairly often. The most plau- When there’s 1,000 sets of Na-
ject and everything outside of
sible explanation is that there is just too poleonic rules, who wants yours?
that is rubbish.
much “stuff” out there. By “stuff” I The age of giants is coming to an
mean podcasts, satellite or cable TV What is happening is that end, even in the hobby world,
channels, radio stations and programs, there are so many products and and that is a shame.

A Victory Lost by MMP Game Review
Every so often a game offensive to save Stalingrad has stopped the Germans are assembling mobile
comes along that does and a massive Russian counterattack be- forces for a counterattack. The final few
live up to the hype. A gins the game. The system uses a series turns will see the panzers going on the
Victory Lost by MMP of activation chits that allows HQ units to offensive to cut off Russian drives while
does just that, especially activate combat units in range of them. the Russians try to hold onto their gains.
after all the praise it This is simple, works well, and there is
Overall, this is an excellent game,
received on several definitely some strategy in placing and
which is surprising because nothing here
game sites. The game is using them. The big problem? You can’t
is really ground breaking or new. It is
moderately priced at pick all of the HQs that you have to acti-
simply just a system that works and pro-
around $40 and for that vate each turn!
duces a pretty tense and interesting game.
you get a map, counters, illustrated rule-
Naturally, this creates an entire series My only complaint is that the combat
book, and a reference card.
of desperate situations for both players as table isn’t bloody enough and there
The counters are functional and you the Germans need to get out of the trap should have been attack counters for the
do get a set of armor/mech counters with and the Russians need breakthroughs. Stavka chit to help you track activated
armor silhouettes if you want to replace The first part of the game sees an ocean units, but these are very small problems
the standard NATO style counters. The of red sweep along the lines while the in an otherwise outstanding game.
map is simply beautiful and the rulebook Germans fall back, trading space for
is in full color with several examples of time. The Russians continue the on-
play. Set up is easy with color coded slaught while the German reinforce-
counters and map positions, so experi- ments begin to arrive. Manstein shows
enced gamers should get into this pretty up and the Germans begin to activate
quickly as the rules are only a few pages. more commands each turn.
The situation looks dire for the Ger- By mid game the Russians are bear-
mans and their allies at the start. The ing down on the victory locations and
Winged Horse by Decision Games Game Review

Games on the The game covers the 1965 or the early doesn’t help that the NVA/VC have bases
Vietnam War, war period of the Vietnam conflict. The already in some of the U.S. player’s op-
especially good U.S. and ARVN have a lot of firepower erational areas!
ones, are pretty and can strike quickly all over the coun-
Overall, this is one of the most inter-
hard to find. try. They can usually defeat any NVA or
esting and unusual games I’ve played in a
When I first saw VC force militarily, but herein lies the
long time. For the NVA/VC player de-
this game I was- most interesting part of the game.
ception is the order of the day while scor-
n’t too im-
Both sides score military points for ing as many political points as possible.
pressed, espe-
seizing territory, killing units, etc…, but For the U.S. player you spend the game
cially for the
both sides can also score political points. chasing an elusive enemy and trying to
time frame cov-
The NVA/VC player can score points by bring your firepower to bear while guess-
ered, but as I began to read some of the
occupying towns, forcing the U.S. player ing where the next offensive will come
reviews it started to sound more and more
to chase him into “sanctuaries” like Cam- from. For the $25 or so asking price this
interesting, so I bought a copy.
bodia, etc… . Basically, the U.S. side is is well worth the money.
The map covers all of South Vietnam trying to defeat the NVA/VC militarily
and some of the border areas surrounding (not too hard) and politically (very
it. The map and the counters are func- tough), so this is not your standard
tional, but probably won’t win any wargame.
awards for outstanding graphics. Once
What makes things harder is that the
you set the map up you can start seeing
NVA/VC player has dummies and you
why standard strategies didn’t really ap-
aren’t ever sure where the next offensive
ply in this war as the NVA and VC virtu-
is going to occur. South Vietnam is a
ally had the country surrounded.
large country with long borders and it
ISSUE #19 Page 17

Miniatures Campaigns Using Board Games
A question that often comes up is you’re using miniatures rules the tactical the level of game that your group regu-
“How can I use a board war game as the map is not needed, but the operational larly plays. If you do regiment level
basis for a miniatures campaign?”. As I maps are fantastic for naval campaigns. ACW, then taking a scenario from The
already discussed campaigns earlier in Each one is arranged in an offset grid Gamers/MMP Seven Pines would do
this issue and how much fun they can be, which would be ideal for maneuvering nicely. However, if your group plays
this is a good question. The answer will forces for battles and makes keeping Fire & Fury then it would be just as easy
depend upon how much time you really track of the forces involved easy for the to just play the entire board game as a
want to spend on a campaign. referee/umpire. miniatures battle, since they’re at the
same scale.
There are thousands of board If you’re into complexity, then 1807:
wargames, but probably only 10% of The Eagles Turn East from Clash of Of course the only setback to this line
them would be considered suitable to Arms would be a good campaign system. of thinking is that some of these games
convert into a miniatures campaign. This campaign uses leaders on the maps, can run you upwards of $75 and how
Why? Well, most board wargames either but the strength of their commands is many times are you going to use them?
are at a scale that will not translate easily unknown, mak- If you’re only plan-
into miniatures, are too tactical in nature, ing it a great ning to use them
or have so many pieces (so called way to simulate once, then maybe a
“monster games”) that it’s not practical to the fog of war. cheaper and more
even start a campaign. The trick is find- There are rules beneficial alternative
ing the era and the game that’s right for for stragglers, is to look at DTP
your gaming group and the type of cam- hospitals, forag- games.
paign that you wish to represent. ing, and many
DTP stands for
other aspects of
For this, strategic Desktop Publishing
a campaign that
board wargames are and this has been a
gamers rarely
probably the best. A growing trend in the
think about. My
game where the board wargame com-
big pet peeve
board is broken into munity. There are
with this game
areas, such as Co- several companies that are putting out
series was the combat system, but with
lumbia’s block some high quality products on some un-
miniatures rules you can easily replace
games (Hammer of usual battles. The great thing for gamers
that, making this board game an ideal
the Scots and Cru- looking for campaign materials is that
example for Napoleonic campaigns.
sader Rex are two these games are usually small, are gener-
examples) will sim- Another good Napoleonic campaign ally around $15-20, and are great subjects
plify movement and for miniatures would be the OSG/Avalon for short campaigns.
paperwork for a Hill Napoleon at Bay game.
An example
miniatures cam- This covers the 1814 campaign
of this is Togo-
paign, plus they have and the amount of territory that
land 1914 by
the “fog of war” it covers is truly staggering, es-
Khyber Pass
already built into the pecially considering the size of
Games. This
game with their hidden blocks. Depend- the forces for the campaign. I
covers the
ing upon the amount of miniatures that think that players would find it
French and Brit-
you or your group has, they can be scaled very challenging trying to come
ish drive to
to fit the strength of the blocks. For ex- up with strategies for that kind
knock out the
ample, a strength three block of English of a game. For myself, however,
most powerful
knights in Crusader Rex might be 300 this kind of campaign really gets
radio transmitter
points in Warmaster Ancients or 3,000 me going. I’ve always thought
in Africa during the First World War.
points in Warhammer Ancient Battles. the most fun part of doing a campaign is
The game has a small map, under 40
the planning and trying to guess where
If you’re into naval battles then the units, and would be ideal for generating
the enemy is. Well, in this
Second world War at interesting miniatures battles if your
game setting it’s like looking
Sea or Great War at Sea group is into that period.
for a needle in a haystack!
series from Avalanche
Both sides’ forces could be Obviously there are more than enough
Press might be the an-
anywhere and finding them will board games that can function as the ba-
swer to your prayers.
be difficult. sis for a miniatures campaign. Choosing
Each game comes with
the right scale, size of forces, and length
an operational map and What kind of board game
of the campaign is up to you.
a tactical map. Since you choose is also based upon

Onward Christian Soldiers by GMT Game Review
To say that sades. There are sections think, with modifiers for
Richard Berg covering movement attri- leadership, army size,
designs a lot of tion, siege attrition, fleets, tables for formation and
games would be leaders, and a complex effects, terrain modifiers,
a mild under- treatment of cities and cas- and more, which can pro-
statement. With tles. The rules are well duce some unpredictable
Onward Chris- written, but there are many results. Couple this with
tian Soldiers different rules for the vari- siege combat, which
Berg tries to ap- ous Crusades, which can again gives you a lot of
ply card driven cause a little bit of confu- options, and getting
mechanics and a sion as you try to remember the special things just right with your forces is going
chit activation system into the same game rules for the different periods. to take some practice.
dealing with the First through the Third
Trying to get seven players together So, is the game worth $70, reading
Crusades.
for a two day, twelve hour game of the the different rule books, and spending the
For a $70 game you do get some qual- First Crusade might prove difficult, but I effort to learn the game system? I think
ity components. There is a beautiful map did try out the smaller scenarios for this if you are really interested in this period
of the Middle East, two card decks, review. First, the then the answer is yes. If you only have a
and over 500 counters for all of the situation is extremely passing interest then my advice would be
factions. You also get a rulebook fluid and some players to play Crusader Rex instead. There is a
for the seven player, 10-12 hour might have problems level of detail here that is not for every-
First Crusades game, a second rule getting adjusted to this one. I think that the Second and Third
book for the Second (two player- type of game. There Crusades games will get the most play as
two hours) and Third Crusade (two are so many options, they are much shorter in duration, but
player-five hours), plus a quick avenues of attack, then you can’t use the beautiful card
start guide with two small scenar- towns, cities, etc…, decks that are only for the First Crusade.
ios. In other words, there’s a lot of that coming up with a However, getting 5-7 players for that
stuff in the box. good strategy will take game is going to be tough. The game
many games. systems does an outstanding job of por-
The first thing that you notice
traying the combat, factions, and armies
when you start to read the rules is The combat sys-
of the time, but not many gamers are
that this game isn’t for those look- tem is far more de-
going to want to put this much effort into
ing for a quick game on the Cru- tailed than you would
it.
Nero’s Killing Machine Book Review

Part of a series on While in Britain the 14th really made legionnaire.
the Roman legions, its mark upon history, playing the central
The one thing that drove me crazy
this book by Stephen role in the defeat of the largest army that
was the lack of maps and the never end-
Dando-Collins con- the tribes of Britain ever assembled.
ing political battles which influenced the
cerns itself with the Outnumbered 23:1, the 14th cut through
legion and military operations. It can get
history and exploits the enemy army and forced them to with-
so confusing at times as to who is on
of the Fourteenth draw in panic. From that point forward
who’s side that a flow chart is needed!
Legion. the 14th was regarded as the rock stars of
their day. Overall, this is an interesting book
The 14th did not
that focused on Roman military opera-
get off to a good start I thought that the battles and military
tions across several centuries. Although
during Caesar’s Gaul campaigns and for operations were described well and I
the politics at times can be confusing to
years it was referred to as an unlucky unit learned a great deal about this period that
say the least, the military operations and
as disaster seemed to follow its every I did not know before. The details about
the vast number of opponents that the
step. You do learn of the campaigns in the uniforms, armaments, auxiliaries, and
14th fought is fascinating. A good read
Germany along the Rhine, the legion’s enlistment periods were interesting. I
for those interested in the actions of spe-
time in Africa and Spain, then to its as- also thought the author did a good job of
cific legions.
signment in Britain. portraying the mindset of the common
ISSUE #19 Page 19

Can someone tell me what it is about the NATO vs. Warsaw Pact theme that game
WFHGS
designers keep going back to? I got my start in gaming during that era and I can
remember some good times playing micro-armor battles, the Victory Games Fleet
series, monster games of GDW’s Third World War, and hundreds of Harpoon sce-
narios. It was fun to discuss the strategy, the equipment, and possible outcomes be-
WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL cause so much was unknown at that time and it was a very real possibility. But guess
GAMING SOCIETY
what? IT DIDN’T HAPPEN! Now, however, games like Harpoon: High Tide,
Meets every other Friday night in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. S&T’s Group of Central Forces Germany, and many forthcoming and proposed titles
We play Age of Reason, Age of Discovery, Age of Eagles,
Blitzkrieg Commander, Flames of War, Phantoms, Wild West, continue to revisit this subject. There are also numerous threads on TMP about
TSATF, Battles For Empire, and more...
gaming it with miniatures using various rules sets. Why? With what we know now,
Warning Order is published three times a year.
E-mail: mirsik1@juno.com
the Warsaw Pact would not have fared too well and it never happened, so I’m unsure
about what the point is. I can see wanting to game a Chinese invasion of Taiwan,
Syria vs. Israel in a Golan Heights rematch, or other hypothetical conflicts, but go-
The best in historical miniatures ing back in time for this seems odd. Is it for old times sake? Does it bring back good
gaming. memories of long lost gaming periods? To me it’s kind of like gaming a 1920s Japan
vs. U.S. war, the 1946 stuff that’s out there now, or a Russian invasion of Afghani-
stan during the British Victorian era. These things might provide an interesting one
Visit our site at: time game, but to devote a lot of resources and time to them seems odd. However,
www.wfhgs.com my views won’t stop anyone from trying these periods. I’m already looking forward
to the next thread on TMP titled, “How can I use my Zulus and Zeppelins in Boxer
Rebellion games?”
Letters From Iwo Jima Movie Review

I finally had a is no air support as all the planes get the Japanese were overwhelmed. At first
chance to see this withdrawn to the home islands and the the defense causes horrific casualties on
well acclaimed fleet has been defeated. the American forces, but the desire to be
film and I was killed in battle, suicidal charges, and
The story does an excellent job of
hoping that it mass suicide soon weaken the defenses.
portraying the average Japanese soldier
would be better
and the island defenses. You can almost The movie is beautifully executed
than Flags of Our
sense the frustration as one by one, Ku- with outstanding acting. I thought that
Fathers. While
riayashi’s commanders ruin his battle the suicide by hand grenade scene in the
only part of Flags
plan by not following orders and going caves was tough to watch, but overall, it
was actually
off on their own. Through a series of had a feel very similar to the German film
about what hap-
flashbacks you get to learn more about Downfall. There’s almost a gruesome
pened on Iwo
some of the soldiers before they arrived fascination about watching the demise of
Jima, Letters
on Iwo Jima and of their commander’s a country at the end of a war and you find
takes place entirely on the island.
time spent in America. yourself glued to the screen watching the
Famous Japanese actor Ken Watanabe events unfold. Although much of the
The battle scenes are
plays General Kuribayashi, who arrives conversation is
also well done and you do
shortly before the American invasion. fictionalized, from
get the feeling of inevita-
Upon arriving he instantly sees that the my reading the
bility in the film. By the
current defense plan has no chance and events portrayed in
size of the American fleet
he reorganizes the defenses. It is at this the movie seem to
off of the island and the
point that you see the main problems with have a high degree
endless stream of troops
the Japanese armed forces at this point in of accuracy.
arriving on the beach it is
WW2. There are too many commanders Highly recom-
obvious that it was only a
who each have their own objective and mended.
question of time before
teamwork essentially doesn’t exist. There

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Issue #19 Command & Control:

Fall 2007 Is Realism Possible in Wargaming?

mon theme of all of these

nights? The answer is

Inside this issue:

Page 2 WARNING ORDER

ISSUE #19 Page 3

Page 4 WARNING ORDER

ISSUE #19 Page 5

Page 6 WARNING ORDER

ISSUE #19 Page 7

Page 8 WARNING ORDER

ISSUE #19 Page 9

Page 10 WARNING ORDER

ISSUE #19 Page 11

Scenarios are now the most important as-

Page 12 WARNING ORDER

ISSUE #19 Page 13

The Battle Begins

Page 14 WARNING ORDER

Finale & Summary

ISSUE #19 Page 15

Page 16 WARNING ORDER

Winged Horse by Decision Games Game Review

ISSUE #19 Page 17

Page 18 WARNING ORDER

Nero’s Killing Machine Book Review

ISSUE #19 Page 19

Letters From Iwo Jima Movie Review

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