Blood and Valor: Part 1- Preview of the Western Front Armies

The upcoming Great War game Blood and Valor from covers many different theaters of the conflict and when talking about the forces and factions in the game it is best to detail the force lists in relation to where and at what time they are found in the Great War.

Players will see that the forces in are balanced to fight against all other forces in the game, so it may be fun to have East African German Askari fight against US Doughboys just to see what would happen. The first book for Blood and Valor covers the fighting on the Western Front, Gallipoli, the Near East and East Africa. This article will give you an idea of what forces are in play for the Western Front.

Return of the 21st Panzer

By Tom Burgess
Battlefront has brought the 21st Panzer into Version 4 of Flames of War.  This is tremendous news for those of us who have some of the very unique kit that the 21st Panzer division fielded in 1944.  This also lays out a pathway to add more formation options to what is provided in the army books.  Hopefully Battlefront will use this format to bring other unique formations into Version 4 in the future. But for now, let’s go ahead and get into the new Version 21st Panzer Division book and cards.
In late 1943, the German command identified a need for a mobile force that could move to quickly counter amphibious landings where they might occur on the French cost. So a mobile force, initially designated as “Schnelle Division West,” was created.  However, the German command simply could not supply this organization with German vehicles and equipment. Alternatively, the force was equipped with captured French vehicles like the S307(f) and U304(f) Half-Tracks and Hotchkiss light tanks. Many of these were converted and heavily up-gunned by Major Alfred Becker’s workshop creating one of the most unique German fighting formations of the war. This formation was eventually was redesignated as the 21st Panzer Division, bringing one of Germany’s most famous panzer division names back on the rolls.

Join the Winter Offensive! January 11th, Lebanon NH

Jeff Mayo and company always put on a good show up in New Hampshire. If you haven’t gotten the chance to play up here in the North East in a while, come to Black Moon games in Lebanon. I’ll be there and I’m hoping to bring some friends.  email Jeff and let him know you’re coming, we have a few spots left. Join the fight and check out the event on our forums today (link below).

The New British Army for Team Yankee v2 – World War III

By Paolo Paglianti

The new Team Yankee V2 rules arrived with few surprises: we already knew they essentially would have been the Flames of War (FOW) V4 “updated” for the Cold War era. However, in the rule book we find a lot of references to the new British army book, scheduled for next February. So, let’s have a look at this update order of battle.

Guess what? When the new Team Yankee V2 rules come to the “picking your force” scheme, the example is straight from the new British book. So, even if we don’t have all the elements, we can a pretty good idea of our future British army will be, or – if we play something different – what we can face next year with an opposing player deploying the British Army.

Team Yankee v2

By Tom Gall

Images by Tom Gall and Troy Hill, some courtesy of BattleFront

World War III

Team Yankee is a WWIII miniatures game set in approx the 1980s covering almost all aspects of modern warfare tanks, missiles, helicopters, strike aircraft, RPGs, it’s all in there.

The game over the past few years has matured substantially with forces that cover NATO (US, UK, ANZAC, Canada, French, Dutch, West Germans), WARPAC (Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia) and Mideast nations including Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Israel.

This article is all about version 2. What’s new? What stays the same?  Throw some screaming big hair metal/punk/rock power tunes into the stereo, crack open a can of new coke and let’s get to it.

Preview: Strategic Command Making the Great War Greater

The Great War games keep rolling out and for junkies of the conflict are in gaming heaven. The next big release is coming to your PC and it is a remake of one of my favorite games; Strategic Command Great War. For those of you who have not played any games in the series (WW2 came out exactly a year ago) they cover conflicts at the strategic level, so you not only control vast armies but also control the means of production, diplomacy and technological improvements of the nation you play.

I am the Law: Judge Dredd Game from Warlord

By Troy A. Hill

Images by Warlord Games, or as noted

Warlord has released yet another blockbuster game this year. My painting table doth overfloweth with models I’m itching to paint to get onto the gaming table.

image and painting by Jon Russel

Joining my fleet of 14 brigs attached to golf-tees, all in various stages of painting, my seven frigates awaiting rigging and sails, my Cruel Seas R-boats, more PT boats, F-lighters, as well as my Soviet Yaks, British Hurricanes, and a multitude of German fighters for Blood Red Skies (not to mention my neglected armies of British Bolt Action Tommies and their guns and vehicles)… now I have to paint up a load or two of Judges, Fatties, Block Gangs, and other Big-Meg denizens.

Yes, the Judge Dredd game has arrived, and it looks sweet enough to entice a gaming binge of Fattie proportions. (For the uninitiated, Fatties are a “gang” within the Dredd verse. Bazooka barfing is a special ability… see below for details.)

NDNG User Content: Aircraft Rules for FoW Great War

By Pete Harris, Derby, UK

I have been playing FoW Great War since it first came out and for several years my colleague Richard Robinson and I ran participation Great War games on the UK wargames events circuit. The new Great War V4 book has really increased my commitment and I now have British, German Stoss and American forces. For some months now we have been working on several sets of additional rules to cover areas that GW does not currently address such as aircraft, off-table artillery, and special trench warfare rules. The link at the end of this article will take you to the first set of rules for using aircraft in Great War. Hope you find them interesting.