Piqued by The Fox’s rather “up” review of Avalanche, I corralled the BROG Crack Playtest Staff into a shot at the other of AP’s releases, MacArthur/Leyte. Invasion games - and they appear to be the AP House Special - always intrigue me, regardless of the era involved, and the graphics were good enough to get the juices flowing … so off we all went, Raiders of the Lost Imelda Shoes, as it were. Leyte’s box is a bit better than its brother’s - a few more colors, and green/blue is far more pleasing than brown; but it sure ain’t gonna get ‘em to pull it off the shelves with a gasp of admiration. The map is in the same mold as that of Avalanche, but greener (jungle-time). the counters are also quite attractive, although the Japanese counters, with their brownish camaflouge patterns - prove to be a bit much in play. It is also difficult to tell which step of a given unit - some units have 3 counters to represent them at various stages - is actually on the map. I also found the rules somewhat less than coherent at times, probably from a desire to say as much in as little space as possible. Conversely, there is nothing in this game that a seasoned gamer cannot figure out. I do mention, though, that Brian should have explained that the “+” modifier for the Weather DR represents bad weather … or at least that’s what I understood it to be. Doesn’t affect play, just understanding of what’s going on. Leyte uses some rather interesting Turn activation mechanics, mechanics that really go a long way to making this an interesting game … probably far more interesting than it has any right to be, given the actual situation. Basically, an undermanned Japanese defense force is stretched to the limit at the beginning to hold on to anything on the eastern half of Leyte, and the one place where they can probably form a solid defense line - across the Ormac-Pinamopoan neck on the western half, is obvious after 3 minutes of play. Successive plays of the game, therefore, will tend to be somewhat the same, with the Japanese back-peddling as best they can, using their “hidden counter” status to confuse and delay the Americans, and then run for the mountains - where the Amis are loathe to venture without first installing some good supply lines - from which they can leisurely retire to the aforementioned defense line and hope they can stick around ‘til game’s end. This sort of channeled play is ameliorated greatly, though, by that Turn Activation Sequence, which is quite innovative and most interesting. Each player has a number of Impulse chits, each of which allows him to do different things: Amphibious Attack, Attack, Choice, Full, Half, or Move, with the options available within pretty self-evident. The “problem” is, that there are more impulses available than each type of chit, so a player must choose what he is going to do each turn. And that depends a lot on the weather, which determines the number of Impulses - and chits - available in a single turn. Add that to the fact that chit selection is blind and random - and not all chits will get drawn! - and you get a sequence of play that creates far more tension and excitement than the innate situation. Leyte is also a game where terrain is truly important, so important that it is the one factor uppermost in each player’s mind throughout. The CRT, which is in step losses - which, in most cases, may be taken as hexes retreated - is totally dependent on which type of hex a defender is in. And some of these hexes, such as the mountainous areas, can be murder to assault. Add to this the fact that all Japanese units play “hidden side up”, so that the US player never knows whether he is assaulting a crack infantry brigade or seven guys with shovels… or even a dummy, and you have a lot of micro-play tension. Which is good, because Leyte is pretty much a grinding, grueling slogging match, with the Japanese player rarely having any counter-attack capability. Adding to the gruel are lots of peripherals, such as stringent supply rules, air and naval support (not helped by the lack of a ship icon to explain what the numbers are), engineer stuff abounding, as well as rules for use of trucks. This gives the players lots to do, lots to consider, which is why I say the game is better at the micro-level than the Big Picture. Let’s face it, the Japanese were not going to stop MacArthur from Returning; it was simply a matter of how long they could delay him, and how many men would they - and the US - lose in the process. Designer Knipple seems to have been aware of this, basically inherent roadblock. He therefore has designed a system/game in which the end result may be obvious and inevitable, but the trip getting there can be quite a bit of fun. Leyte is a clever design, far more interesting than the subject matter, certainly applicable to other, more intriguing situations, and one which many WWII fans, who don’t get too much PacIsle stuff (see the Guadalcanal review, somewhere herein), should find most appealing. CAPSULE COMMENTS Graphical presentation: Except for the dreary boxes, quite good. Playability: Once you get going, not bad. Not a major selling point, especially as the games are quite long. Solitaire not good. Replayability: Better for Avalanche, with its varied strategic possibilities, than Leyte, where the end is inevitable. Also far better for those who like the driving, rather than the destination. Creativity: Very good; some nice mechanics herein. Historicity: High, with good feel for tactics and place, especially in Leyte. Wristage: Acceptable. Comparisons: Certainly can hold its own system-wise with the competition. The AP Avalanche is far less over-reaching than the old GDW game, it of the Never-Ending Turns, although it was still a pretty good game. There were several magazine games, I think, one by Schettler, which, by definition, is to be avoided at all costs. Leyte is far better than the old Island Quad folio from SPI days. Overall: Interesting entries into an already over-crowded game market. Comfortable and worth investigating, if you have the time to play them. from AVALANCHE PRESS 1 22”X34” Map; 720 Counters, Rules book, 5 Playaid charts; boxed. Avalanche Press, POB 4775, Virginia Beach VA 23454. $35. Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. II # 16 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.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com