Gaming

Following a successful campaign, is due to release additions to their in the coming months. These additions include a variety of US and Russian miniatures including nine-man fire teams for both nations. The metal models come in a healthy variety of poses as they shoot, move, and communicate around the battlefield. This month we’ll take a look at the US miniatures.

Clean sculpt lines make painting them painless although even the best sculptor in the world can do nothing about the challenges of painting OCP camouflage. My one criticism is that the shoulder straps of the US load-bearing vests come off as noticeably high and cleaning the flash around fiddly-bits like the carrying handles of the US M249s can be precarious.

By Tom Mullane

This is Part 1 of a series of articles that will cover the campaign missions from the back of the new British D-Day book.

Up here in Danbury, CT things have calmed down enough for me to feel comfortable getting in a few games with my friend Shane.

As wargamers go, Shane is a professional. He has every army for Flames of War, including more Russians than I’ve ever seen in one place. Shane doesn’t just play Flames, he is also a big Bolt Action player, 40k player, Firelock Models, and even has some beautifully painted Napoleonic Minis in 28mm (a mark of sophistication in my opinion.) – note, the author doesn’t have Napoleonics.

I’ll also take the opportunity to put a plug in for his Blog – . He taught me quite a few tips and tricks as a painter, and a gamer in general. Shane is generous with his time and patience. He’s just a stand-up guy….

Which is why over the next few missions I will try to destroy him.

By Matt MacKenzie

A hot release of the red machine is upon us, Flames of War has a brand new Soviet forces book for 2020. Grab your vodka, there is a lot to cover, and be careful what you shoot at, most things in here don’t react too well to bullets.

These releases are putting the final touches on the revamp of V4 that Battlefront took on a few years back. With where things are in the world right now, you have ample time to get some models painted and have some socially distanced battles in the very near future.

While Desperate Measures was a decent book and had lots of lists to choose from for your Late War Soviets, Bagration sticks with giving you the basic lists and the addition of command cards once again offers you a few more choices.

By Chris Wolz

A letter of reflection on how to approach gaming in a COVID19 world. 

An excellent article was outlined by Mr. Reed on how this pandemic has affected the gaming community as a whole. I think it was well written and informative in laying out how this pandemic has affected the gaming industry and the individual gamer. The article got me thinking about how to get back to enjoying this wonderful hobby but still maintaining a good deal of safety and responsibility. 

About myself, I am currently both a licensed paramedic and a third-year medical student currently doing rotations in a large, community hospital system. I do not intend this article to be taken as personal medical advice, as I am not in a position of authority in which to give any personal medical advice. With that said I hope this article does lessen some anxiety and does allow some to make a better-informed decision.

This should be a starting step of gaining the knowledge needed to make the decision on whether to return to the gaming store, convention, or friend`s house. I do not stand in judgment of anyone’s opinion or choice when it comes to their own health. That is for you to decide, I merely want to offer some insights for you that may help you to make a well-informed decision about your own well being.  

By Tom Gall

There are a good number of quality WWII rulesets in existence, let’s explore some of these rules, point out what their strong/weak points are and compare what might draw you to one over the other.

The rulesets considered in this article are : by Battlefront, by Too Fat Lardies, by Warlord, by Plastic Soldier Company.

Each of these rules is generally company level actions with support, for the most part, feature individual models, and focus on the WWII era. All are D6 based. All have extra material that offer campaign experiences, lists, and flavor to feel like you’re been given command with a battle to win. All are either point costed and/or have a list building system which makes it easier to put together a game.

This week, we’ll look at two of the four: FOW and Battlegroup. The other two systems will follow in a later article.

As a Soviet player with tons of models, I have been patiently waiting for the Soviet Bagration book for . After getting a good look at this book, I will be making a lot of lists. Two songs I have found to match the energy and sheer amount of awesome coming out of this new Soviet Late War extravaganza have been my inspiration. The first one is Energia by The second is . Listen at your own risk. You may become a Communist.

By Tom Burgess

When Warlord expanded their Bolt Action campaigns in the Pacific to include Campaign: Mariana & Palau Islands I was ecstatic to see that they included coverage of the US Army in this campaign.

Though US Army Divisions serving in the Pacific far outnumbered the US Marine Divisions, addressing the US Army is always a second thought in Pacific wargaming if it gets any attention at all.

Kudos to Warlord for not leaving the US Army out on this book. One unit that I have always wanted to model, 2nd Platoon, Able Company, 1^st Battalion, 322^nd Infantry Regiment in the Battle, fought its first battle on Angular Island.

By Preston Jacob

Komerades! The long-awaited Soviet entrance to late war is finally here! With the upcoming release of the Bagration Soviet book. Soviet players are finally getting their first late-war book outside of Fortress Europe.

This covers the campaign in the east during 1944 as the Soviet army pushed the Germans back towards the west, taking back the land and territories claimed by the Wehrmacht from 1941 to 1943. As everyone knows, there was a serious big gun arms race between Germany and the Soviet Union, and we finally get to see some of the big guns seen in the Eastern front make their debut in this book, along with some command cards to upgrade them!

I’m sure players are excited for all the units and formations in the book, but I know I always look forward to the command cards as they open up more options for units and lists. Without further adieu, let’s get started!

By Tyler Stone

The crew over at just unveiled their ‘Ports of Plunder’ range of scenery. These affordable MDF kits are the result of a collaboration with , and have all of the quality the community has come to expect from 4Ground’s scenery. As I type this, my fellow TotS podcaster Glenn van Meter is working on assembling and reviewing a few of these excellent kits.

By Kreighton Long

Last week Warlord Games made the new book available for pre-order. This latest addition to their inventory of Bolt Action supplemental materials provides just over 150 pages of new content for fans of the 28mm World War Two skirmish game.

Focused on two campaigns in the South Pacific, this book attempts to provide engaging scenarios and unique unit and theater options for players representing the Japanese and United States combatants of the war.

The battles for the Marianas and Palau Islands all occurred during the summer and autumn of 1944, half a world away from the violent crescendos of the Normandy landings and Operation Market Garden in western Europe and Operation Bagration in eastern Europe.