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.
Recently I accepted an invite from Professor Sebastian Bae to attend the “finals” for his wargaming class at Georgetown University. This marks my second time helping him out, last spring I headed up to the US Naval Academy to do the same thing with his Midshipmen. What better way to have a final exam than to play some of the games his students worked on this semester.
Every year, our wargaming club in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, runs a one-day tournament for club members at the final meeting of the year. Named Remember December, this event was first run in memory of Nick Garden, a valued member of the club and the wider New Zealand wargaming community, who passed away in 2015. The 2021 edition of Remember December was held on 11 December, playing in a 1100pt Early-War format.
The Early-War era of Flames of War has always been my favorite. The oddball vehicles, the wide range of nations represented, and the generally weaker stat lines, all combine to create a game of huge variety that feels very different from the way that the Mid-War and Late-War eras play, despite using identical rules. While there has been no recent indication of the timeframe for Early-War being re-released for V4, for now, it is still able to be played using a conversion of the V2/V3 lists.
A few days ago, I received a game in the mail. It was a copy of , a magazine game from Strategy and Tactics magazine. This was published in 1983 and was set in the late 1980s. As I was setting the game up, I noted some obsolete terms, such as “USSR” and “Leningrad”.
I simply smiled and then out of curiosity I went to my games cupboard to have a look at my collection. The majority of my games are based on the Second World War; however, a sizable number of my games simulate combat between two factions, one of which no longer exists! Although some of my games date from the Cold War itself, such as those in the series, I have some that were made well after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989! This got me thinking: what is the appeal of simulating combat from a war that never happened? In this article, I will look at the history of these games and then wax philosophical as to why they keep such great appeal.
Looking for a 15mm-25mm ruleset for 18th Century warfare? has recently published their new rules Red Coats in the Wilderness. In this article, we’re going to have a look at the rules and what they have to offer.
If you are like me and enjoy horse and musket or have a deep curiosity about gaming out actions especially on the North American continent dating roughly between the Seven Years War to the War of 1812 this is a ruleset to look into. As written the rules cater to the French and Indian War, however as played Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 actions work very well with the system.
This time period and location demand a set of rules which models company and battalion level games which are different in scale as compared to the large-scale battles that were happening in Europe at the time. These smaller battles are what Red Coats in the Wilderness is tuned for.
Scale
The rules include charts for both 15mm and 25/28mm, and movement in inches or centimeters. A single figure represents 10 men and an artillery casting is representing one or two guns.
Each inch on the battlefield is approximately 15 yards and each turn roughly equals 10 minutes of modeled action.
From the first, Steel Panthers had an active fan-base which developed new scenarios and posted them online to share with other fans. One of these super-fans was David Heath.
After founding The Gamers Network, an online game review site, in 1998, Heath went on to play-test some games for SSI as well. He also made friends with Joel Billings, the founder of SSI, and Gary Grigsby. Wanting to do more in the gaming world and “loving Steal Panthers”. Heath had several conversations with Billings and Grigsby, finally convinced them to give him the source code for Steel Panthers to develop “a fan base edition of the Steel Panthers Series”.
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.
