3 33" x 22' maps; 960 counters; Rules booklet; 2 Reference Cards; boxed. Decision Games, POB 4049, Lancaster CA 93539. $50 The Korean War is an odd duck, virtually ignored by gamers and designers alike, and difficult to simulate, particularly at the tactical level. First you had the well trained and led North Koreans running rampant over the poorly equipped South Koreans and their equally unprepared U.S. protectors. Then you had the U. S. and Koreans, running rampant over the exhausted North Koreans after Inchon. Then, the Communist Chinese catch everyone by surprise—well, you get the point. Very seldom were there balanced forces to make a "good' game. The latest release from Decision Games, The Forgotten War, designed by John Desch, tries to buck that trend, an effort at which, to a very large extent, it succeeds. TFW takes a tactical look at three distinctly different battles using the same system (with variations.) There's a North Korean offensive across the Naktong in August, marines verses the CCF at Chosin, and CCF verses the Army at Chipyong-ni. All fast and furious. The components are very good; I was impressed. The three full sized maps are basically brown - good color for Korea - the rough and clear terrain being about all you need. The map scale varies from battle to battle, but it is unobtrusive to the gamer. The counters are excellent as well and nearly bug-free. Each combat unit is rated for fire, close combat and movement, with the ratings clear. The counter colors are bright and stand out well against the brown map. There are infantry, armor, and artillery units, as well as fire markers and other administrative chits. The game also has two player aid cards which didn't come into play much. Unfortunately, the Combat Results Tables are not on the cards, which hurts the Naktong scenario because the CRT is also not printed on that map. A most curious production decision. The rulebook was accessible, with no big holes in the system, and only clarifications needed as play progressed. I had some confusion about replacement of partially eliminated units, but it became clear with play. My only gripe about the rules was their organization. DG has interspersed scenario specific rules among the actual rule paragraphs, and provided a list of the rules exceptions with each scenario (for Chosin there are 19 of these). I understand the concept - put the exception right next to what it is excepting - but it created too much page flipping for me. The game uses an alternating move-shoot sequence, with defenders firing before attackers. Very straightforward and easy to get into. There are no Zones of Control, so things are very fluid, particularly in the Naktong battle. Each unit fires separately, with the CRT based on fire strength. Fire results can be step losses and possible retreats (a separate die roll, although John's suggestion of rolling two dice at the same time saves lots of time). Close combat works on the strength differential between attackers and defenders, with losses and retreats resulting as well. Fire markers are provided and you place the marker on a spotted target within range. Artillery affects all units in a hex. This has a big impact because most of the artillery is UN and can really punish stacked NKPA/CCF units. Artillery-poor NKPA/CCF cannot hurt the UN as much, so stacking is a UN option. How does it play? Very well thank you. The Naktong battle pits a very good NKPA division against very poor US troops who try to hold out until their better troops (27th Infantry Regiment of US Marines) show up to save the day. Unless the US Army acts as speed bumps, NKPA strategic movement will put them all over the map in short order. Unfortunately, there are no real victory points for the NKPA to exit the map, although the attack was part of their attempts to get to Pusan and close the US supply door. Victory is predicated in lost units, with U.S. losses worth twice as much, and on the NKPA staying on the east side of the river. This battle plays well, though, with a lot of action and varying results. Both sides get to play attacker and it's pretty historical, with the NKPA attacking, then digging in and holding on as the U.S. masses better troops and more fire power against them. Good stuff. Chosin is big and a bit clumsy, with stacks nudging each other, but tactically interesting as both sides have a lot of options. Whereas Ted Carlson's Chosin [cf. BROG #20] focused on the terrain north of Hagaru (i.e. the first half of the battle), Desch looks at the entire battle. Victory relies on unit losses (a UN platoon is worth six CCF companies!) and on UN units able to leave the map. There are lots of units, lots of firepower, lots of everything. Historically both sides made many mistakes: Almond's order to hold for two days at Yudam-ni being the worst. Players on either side won't make the same mistakes and can try various approaches. I liked some of the mechanics in Carlson's Chosin better, but Desch's version plays much faster, something that Chosin didn't do, at all. Overall, I found myself studying the various options for each side and enjoying that study as much as the game itself. Then there's Chipyong-ni. When I was studying the battle during my masters work on the Korean war, the image of a surrounded Regiment and hordes of CCF attacking from all sides didn't really sink in. After setting up this battle it did. Unfortunately, as a game there isn't much to say about this battle. You have a circle of UN troops and tons of CCF units attacking from all sides. There are some added rules, like ranged fire, and the time scale is completely different. Wristage is horrific, with artillery, stacked units, wire, aircraft, etc. all requiring resolution. If the CCF player is dumb enough to stack his units early (as I did) UN artillery can destroy a Regiment in one turn. But so far I haven't been able to hold the CCF out for a UN win. Victory is by unit losses, but I never got to the point of adding up the score, as it's pretty easy to see who wins without doing so. Both Chosin and Naktong have more maneuvering and options, which limited my interest in Chipyong-ni. TFW is a very nice package. Good components, interesting situation and more that enough body count to satisfy the wham, bam, in-your-face gamer. I like this one. CAPSULE COMMENTS Graphic Presentation: No work of art, but very good. Playability: A key strength. Simple basic rules; page flipping for exceptions will make it slow a bit at first. Replayability: Very high for Naktong, high for Chosin and pretty low for Chipyong-ni. Wristage: As with most tactical games, very high. Creativity: There is enough chrome to add the feel of each side's varying combat style. Historicity: Very good. Captured the essence of the situations and the period. Comparison: Carlson's Chosin is the only other tactical Korean game I know of and it suffered from rules problems and a slow pace. This one moves! Overall: A winner. Forget Chipyong-ni; the other two battles provide both good history and fun gaming. Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. 2 #25 Table of Contents Back to Berg's Review of Games List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Richard Berg This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com