War of the Chosen was a Downloadable Content (DLC) expansion pack for XCOM 2 released August 2017 for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Chosen follows the same narrative as XCOM 2, but introduces a number of new elements to the game.
Chosen introduced three new enemy aliens called The Chosen, which were elite alien-human hybrid warriors: the Assassin, the Hunter and the Warlock. The Chosen had the mission to defeat XCOM and recapture the Commander.
The Chosen gained new abilities over time, and eventually work up to launching a direct attack on the Avenger. The Chosen would sporadically reappear during missions even after being defeated. They were only permanently killed when their base was destroyed.
is the latest release for Flames of War, covering the US forces in Northwest Europe from September 1944 through to the end of the war, and includes a vast array of artillery options for players to choose from. This is the third post in a series that analyzes the cost-effectiveness of artillery units in FOW, with the previous articles covering the and German forces from the Bagration series of books.
Snipers are an important part of modern war, having gained great importance in the Second World War. , trained to provide highly detailed intelligence on the enemy and engage him only if the opportunity presents itself.
However, in World War Two they were largely employed as marksmen, trained to shoot a man-sized target out to about 300 yards, often with only using iron sights. In practically every tactical-level war game that I have played, snipers have often been ignored. It is a tricky problem as to how to mimic the effect of a single rifle-armed soldier taking that one shot that alters the fate of a battle.
Not all games ignore them, however, and in this article, I will show how that aforementioned problem was dealt with by the developers of . In so doing, I will explore back through the original Squad Leader system and how it first tackled the problem. Finally, I will give an anecdote about how it affected me, the human player, in one memorable match I played many years ago.
The Personal Computer version of Harpoon was released for the DOS operating system in 1989 by Three-Sixty Pacific and it took the gaming world by (Red) Storm (Rising). The naval simulation received raved reviews and I, like many other military officers and others interested in modern naval warfare, rushed out to buy the game. I even invested in an upgraded computer to play it.
At that point, I had no idea that the marvelous game I spent literally days playing was based on a tabletop and miniatures game. But everything comes from something else and Harpoon was no exception. Indeed, the game did not spring Athena-like from Larry Bond’s head.
According to , the then twenty-four-year-old Naval Lieutenant Junior Grade Larry Bond, encountered the US Navy’s official computer wargame, NAVal TActical Game (NAVTAG) in 1976. NAVTAG was the digitized successor to the manual pen and paper SEA control Tactical Analysis Game (SEATAG). NAVTAG only came in a classified version and took three computers to play, limiting its utility.
The new hotness up on the frozen north for is the West German Marder 2. Tournament after tournament, forces built around this unit have placed really well. A unit alone doesn’t make a winning list, dice must still be rolled and the player needs to practice good tactics, yet the Marder 2 lists have performed very well.
The Wargaming Company, publishers of the Napoleonic Ruleset announced on December 19th they have been working to create their own line of figures for ESR.
This is especially exciting as of all the Napoleonic rulesets, ESR is thoughtful in their packaging. When you buy a particular formation for ESR, you’ve always received the exact number of figures that you needed to field that particular formation. Truth be told, I’ve often found an extra figure your two in the pack.
For me, as I’ve been working to paint and base my ESR army this is extremely helpful. I don’t need to be stressing over having to buy yet another package of something to meet some correct minimum so I can play.
There are many people who are much better gamers than I. From them, I have learned so much. I have discussed elsewhere some of my education in gaming, especially in Advanced Squad Leader. Many of these lessons were learned the hard way. I have set up some units illegally, only to have them removed upon discovery. I have miscalculated the Dice Roll Modifiers (DRM) of an attack. I have done many egregious errors.
But none have been as bad as misreading the victory conditions for a scenario. Or, more accurately, misunderstanding them. A of mine here on No Dice, No Glory led to some great discussion out on the internet. One point that kept coming up was that in about one-third of all games, one side or the other will have an incorrect idea of how to win. This article will discuss what players ought to do in order to ensure a complete understanding of how to win their scenario.
The located near Pittsburgh, PA hosted a Flames of War Tournament on December 18th, 2021 The Fabricators Forge is a a hybrid gaming club / store that is funded by members and aspires to be the premium place to play all types of tabletop games in Western PA. They opened in 2021 and this was the fifth Flames of War or Team Yankee tournament that Fabricator’s Forge has hosted since September 2021.
Flames of War Bulge Theme Tournament SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2021
In the greater Pittsburgh area, the local Flames of War community has been having annual Bulge Tournaments for many years. Our original tournaments were based on the Devils Charge and Nuts books from Battle Front Miniatures. We then moved on to The Ardennes Offensive and The Battle of the Bulge books when they became available. When the new Bulge American Book came out, the question was not are we going to have our annual Bulge tournament, but what weekend in December?
Tournament Info:
We used the following points Americans 110 points, 125 Points for the Germans. The point level for the German Players was to represent the original numerical advantage, confusion, and surprise that the German Army had in the first few days of the Bulge Campaign. The German players will be the attacker in all 3 missions. This will be a RED vs BLUE tournament. Each round was 2.5 hours, all games had a hard stop when time runs out.
Books allowed:
V4 Bulge American Book and the would be used only if you have an American Bulge Command Card that calls for an American Unit or Formation out of the D-Day book. Ex: The US 99th Infantry Divisions Battle Babbie’s Card calls for a US Infantry Formation out of the V4 D-Day American Book. The rest of the American D-day Book and the Fortress Europe Book will not be used. The German D-Day and the WAFFEN-SS D-Day Books will be only used, plus the Hetzer Company or PANZER IV/70 Tank Company out of the German Bagration Book. The rest of the Bagration Book will not be used. Nothing from Fortress Europe would be used, including support options. Also, no Soviets or British Units or Formations will be used
The November 2021 FAQ + the More Missions Extended Matrix The German players will be the attacker for all 3 games. In Round #1 the Americans will Defend, Round #2 the Americans could Maneuver or Defend in Round #3 the Americans will Maneuver.
Saturday, Dec 18th, 2022 Tournament Weather Report
The weather here in Pittsburgh was very Ardennes-like, we had misty rain and low hanging fog till mid-day. Then we had misty rain and low-hanging clouds the rest of the day preventing any potential air cover for the US players. The temperature ranged from the low 30s to the mid 40s.
The Authors List:
Enclosed is the list that I used for this tournament. Earlier this year I was one of the No Dice No Glory reviewers for the book from Battle Front Miniatures. Enclosed is the link to my comparison of the new V4 American Bulge Book vs its predecessor, I wanted to try out many of the units that I discussed in my review article. One of my normal Flames of War lists that I play is an American D-Day TD list with various support options. I liked how this list played and will try it again in a nonthemed tournament and see how it plays.
Round #1
The German Players attacked on all seven tables. Across the American front lines, the German players laid down well-placed barrages on several of the tables and disrupted the US defenders enabling the German players to advance along their assigned routes deep into the American Lines towards their Round #1 Objectives.
Nebelwerfer Battery providing fire supportTigers on the prowl advancing towards the American Objectives for Round#1KG FITZ Advancing towards the American Lines
The Germans attained breakthroughs on six of the seven boards. The only American Force to stop the surprise German attack was Task Force Jake’s Dammed Engineers.
The Score after round #1 was Germans 43 Americans 20 a sounding breakthrough for the Germans on 5 out of the 7 boards.
Round#2
Again the German Players attacked on all 7 tables. The German players have lost the effect of the surprise attack and the American players were better prepared in this so-called quiet sector. Depending on the American player some chose to play a more mobile maneuver defense in Round #2 and some chose a more rigid defend option. The George S Patton and Richard Winters cards were very active this round, and large qualities of HAVP 76mm rounds from American Tank Destroyer units came into play and the 90mm armed M-36 Jacksons left their mark on many German tanks in Round #2. Also, the Battle Weary Infantry did not look so tired this round.
American Tank Destroyers and Anti Tank Gun Units Waiting in Ambush.
American Airborne Defending can they stop the German Armored thrust?
The Score for Round #2 was Germans 26 Americans 35 points a nice comeback round for the Americans. But not all of the German Armored Thrust’s have been stopped. Several now are deep into the American Rear areas. Running total after Round #2 was Germans 69 Americans 55 points.
Round #3
Again the German Players attacked on all 7 tables. The American players had to maneuver for Round #3. The George S Patton Jr. and Richard Winters cards again were very active this round, and large qualities of HAVP 76mm rounds from American Tank Destroyer units continue across the front lines. Several of the American players had close games in Round #3, but could not close the deal and turn them into wins for the Americans.
German Nebelwerfers providing artillery support for Round#3 – Many Nebels were werfed
Another German KG trying to find a weak spot in the hardened American linesFast KG Schwille breaking thru the American lines and nearing the Meuse River.
The Score for Round#3 was Germans 38 vs Americans 25 points, for a final total of Germans 107 vs Americans 80 points for the tournament. The Americans could not close the gap created by the Germans in the Round #1 blowout. Congrats to the German players for a well-played tournament.
Some of the armies that were entered
The Winning List
The highest-scoring player’s list is included below and is a good example of the types of lists that the Germans players built for this tournament. Even though they did not have access to a V4 Bulge German, the German players were able to build lists that would have been similar to lists that you could have created with the V3 The Ardennes Offensive book.
Summary
So another annual Bulge tournament is in the Flames of War history books here in Western PA. We would like to thank Dom and the Fabricators Forge team for hosting us again and look forward to a busy 2022 of Flames of War and Team Yankee at Fabricators Forge. One of our goals besides having our annual tournament was to have the tournament different than just a normal 110 point or 90 point blah blah blah tournament. We tried making it a challenge for both sides of the table and still have a great time. And that was accomplished. We also did not let the lack of a V4 German Bulge book stop us from having a good tournament. Congrats again to our German opponents and remember we have D-Day and Bagration-themed tournaments coming up in 2022. Maybe the allies can return the favor back to the German side.
The designation “4X” (standing for “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate”) originated in the Computer Gaming World 1993 preview of Master of Orion by Alan Emrich. In a play-on-words, Emrich rated the game as “XXXX”, referencing the “XXX” rating for pornography. Over time the phrase mutated into “4X” and has been adopted and adapted into a game genre description.
A strategy game must have the following gameplay tenets to be a 4X game.
Explore: the player dispatches reconnaissance units to discover surrounding areas.
Expand: the player lays claim to newly reconnoitered areas by colonizing them, or by otherwise extending their influence into the newly discovered territory.
Exploit: the player collects and utilizes various resources in areas they control, and also upgrades the usage and collection methods of those resources.
Exterminate: the player attacks and conquers, or eliminates, their opponents.
By Patrick S. Baker
By Tom Gall
The designation “4X” (standing for “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate”) originated in the Computer Gaming World 1993 preview of Master of Orion by Alan Emrich. In a play-on-words, Emrich rated the game as “XXXX”, referencing the “XXX” rating for pornography. Over time the phrase mutated into “4X” and has been adopted and adapted into a game genre description.