If, as another review herein opines, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, this Napoleonic game on the battle for Valencia, 1811 - either Sagunto or Saguntum, depending on your lineage and which language tapes you ordered -- is going to open an awful lot of eyes very wide almost as wide as you're going to have to open your wallet. Graphically, this is - far and away - the most impressive game of the past year. It appears that the SimTac folks - and you can call them that only in Spain, as there is a US company with the same name - are intent on publishing an entire series of battalion-level games on the Peninsula War and they're aiming their marketing efforts directly at the Clash of Arms minions, so directly that, upon a cursory perusal, you'd think CoA had gone and had a game printed in Spain. Imitation, here, is surely the most Sincere Form of Flattery. However, although the system has similarities - what tactical systems don't - there are enough differences to ensure that the lawyers for both sides can rest quietly (always with one eye open, in true lawyerly fashion). Nowhere does the resemblance strike home more strongly than with the counters. SimTac, however, while using the basic style of the "La Bataille" counters, has gone them one up - or one further, depending upon one's toleration for color. These are spectacular counters: colored in so many different (but accurate) shades that the countersheet looks like a Whitman Sampler; and spectacularly busy. As with "La Bataille", it takes about two turns before you can remember exactly what information IS on the front of the counter and exactly what that counter represents. The chocolate-and-butterscotch colored infantry from O'Donnell's Obispo Division looked so good we almost ate them, instead of moving them. Even more impressive are the hundreds of informational markers; several look like paintings! They are almost worth the price of the game alone. (But not quite, given the rather toney tab international shipping requires.) The map is somewhat less successful, done in a sort of orangish-sepia, with the mountains looking far too much like terminal acne to be comfortable. The use of a decorated border was a nice touch, though. The rules books and the charts? Probably the best we've seen in the industry. They're in English - and in a pretty good, but not perfect, translation there are one or two howlers - they're clear, loaded with pictures and examples, and printed on coffee-table level stock. The charts and OoB flow-charts are also very helpful, and even the box is classy. There are people who will buy this game simply to look at it. With some reservations, though, that would be a waste. Those of you familiar with the "La Bataille" series will feel right at home with Sagunto, which appears to be "based on", rather than "copied from" the former. The basic mechanics are very similar, but there are enough differences and quirks to give the latter its own personality. The Sequence includes a separate Artillery Bombardment Phase, along with Grand Battery rules. There is a simple, but rather effective - if somewhat odd - Command system that uses several levels of leaders, with aides and HQ's. It doesn't seem like it will work - what command system does - but it effectively, and somewhat realistically, placed great limitations on the Spanish left wing at the battle. There are special rules for - and effects on - committing reserves, which simulate, very nicely, their value. There is no CRT! When firing (small-arms) there's the usual "available fire strength x multiplier", throwing in the target's defensive status, etc. However, this produces a single dieroll modifier, added to a single dieroll. If the dr is above a certain number (usually 10), you've eliminated one target company. It gets a bit more subtle, but that's about it. Bayonet attacks use Morale, but, again, without a CRT. While most (all?) of the required numbers are on the reverse side of the counter -- just like La Bataille -- the no-CRT method seems to speed up play without sacrificing "realism" to any notable degree. (This system surely has its roots in "Miniatures" play, which also appears to be where SimTac came from.) On the other hand, there are some rules that did raise several eyebrows during play - in which the Spanish did quite well, thank you, even with units which couldn't storm a local bodega. Units in line move at the same rate as those in column (except when moving adjacent to the enemy). This is a gross simplification, and produces some rather skewed situations. It costs a unit one-half of its MA to change formation. Well, SimTac, having giveth-ed with the above, has decided to taketh away with this rule. The DRM from Hell. The modifiers for morale checks are so grotesquely large that some aspire to Theater of the Absurd, especially when more than half of those drms manage to reduce passing Morale Checks an exercise in Sheer Luck. Cavalry cannot melee an infantry unit that is able to stand against a charge, even when not in Square. There is not even a Disorder effect! The green-colored Spanish guys were far too effective but, seeing the parentage of the game, we'll give' em that one. Even with it's quirks, Sagunto is a good, solid game. It's relatively small size allows it to be played to conclusion in one sitting, as we did. The situation is fairly tense, and there is much uncertainty, all producing a nice Replayability level. The fact that most of it will be familiar to La Bataille grognards is actually a plus, as the Learning Curve is thereby greatly reduced. But they are far from being the "same game". Both companies have broken the same eggs to make their omelette; but each has thrown in their own special ingredients. If Napoleonics is high on your entr้e list, you'll find this omelette to be a very tasty one, indeed. CAPSULE COMMENTS Graphic Presentation: El Supremo!! Playability: A fairly complex game which, like the "La Bataille" system, plays much easier than it reads. Replayability: Pretty good, as the situation leads to several different approaches for both sides. Creativity: Less formative, more derivative and adaptive. Historicity: Good you'll love the OoB stuff (as usual). Comparisons: A somewhat more accessible "La Bataille", with a bit more chrome (if that's possible). Overall: For Napoleonics and Graphic Buffs, this is a Must Buy. For the non-involved gamer, somewhat less so but still a job well done. from SIMULACIONES TACTICAS One 24" x 39" map; 658 counters; One plasticized Charts & Tables Card; Two OoB Fold-outs; 2 Casualty Sheets. Boxed. SimTac, Aben Al Abar 4, 46021 Valencia SPAIN. Tel. 96-3624195. c. $53 Caveat: SimTac accepts foreign orders by plastic only (or so it seems), as they charge you in PTA's for the game and allow the credit card to do the conversion to dollars. Also, they printed only 500 copies in English. Best call them to see what's happening. Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. II # 12 Table of Contents Back to Berg's Review of Games List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by Richard Berg This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com