1 b&w map, 2 player aid cards, five sheets of unmounted counters. Ray F., 1422 Peralta, Berkeley CA 94702 $15. Be it known, right off the bat, that this is a desk-top publication, with all the shortcuts that entails. As if that were not enough, this is yet another Bulge game. So who needs another Bulge game you may ask? Especially one run off on a cheap printer. Before dismissing Ray Freeman's Tigers in the Mist out of hand, be aware that, despite its graphic crudities, this is a unique and interesting design worth looking at. True, Tigers is a sight to produce sore eyes. For $15 you get several sheets of unmounted counters and a black and white map that resembles a Rorschach test for depression. The map uses a point-to-point (or rather circle-to-circle, ŕ la We the People) grid to regulate movement. The points are connected by lines indicating major or minor roads, and those roads are also intersected by bridged rivers. Units are mainly regiments/brigades for infantry and battalions for the armor. The unmounted counters are color coded for nationality, and for the Germans, by branch of service. Each unit is rated for a variable number of strength points. Movement allowances, as well as attack and defense factors, are found on a Unit Factor Chart on the player aid cards, which are very complete and include not only the above numbers, but the sequence of play, stacking limits, movement costs, combat sequence, artillery table, unit quality priority, combat modifiers and bridge demolition and construction costs. Lots of goodies, all in one place. The Sequence of Play features six, alternating Allied/German player impulses per day. The Germans move first while the Allies get to blow bridges. Combat occurs when opposing units occupy the same point and starts with a DR check for artillery availability. The Allies can get support anywhere on the map for a DR of 1-8, while the Germans get it only on 1-6 against the Allied starting front line and 1-4 elsewhere on the map… a neat way of simulating not only German artillery shortages but their horsedrawn gun transport and road congestion. The ensuing combat sequence has defender artillery firing first, with any hits taking effect immediately. In the fire phase, the defender again fires first with hits again being applied at once. Finally, the attacker gets to fire his artillery and fire his maneuver units, followed by German bridge construction. The Allied impulse follows the same order, with roles reversed. With the help of the player aid chart, the sequence plays very cleanly with minimal rule searching or lawyering to get you through the turn. Combat resolution manages to combine two features rarely found in games these days: simplicity and uniqueness. First of all, enemy units have to be targeted according to their quality, and units can shoot only at units of equal or less quality unless no other targets are available. You inflict hits on enemy targets by rolling a number of dice equal to the strength of your firing unit (as printed on the counter). Each die roll equal to or less than the defensive combat strength of the defender kills a step. In addition to the above, there are various modifiers for terrain, supply status and combined arms. Like most of the other game mechanics, the combat procedure is spelled out step by step on the player aid chart. Supply is handled by simply tracing through friendly-controlled areas to a friendly mapedge. Other than the ineffectiveness of the German artillery, the Germans do not have any other supply problems, such as fuel shortages, as they did historically. Which brings us to some of the other items Ray seems to have left on the cutting-room floor, such as weather and air power. Perhaps his intention was to keep the design tight and coherent, but Tigers may be the only Bulge game I've ever seen that omitted the devastating effects of Allied air. Goodies that are present include bridge building and blowing, and German commandos. Perhaps the best feature of Tigers is its impulse system. Although a defender can be attacked only once per turn, the impulse system lets you create reserves to exploit a hole that a successful attack creates. In this regard, timing of attacks and careful positioning of reserves take lots of thought. The play is somewhat reminiscent of They Met at Gettysburg or Breakout Normandy, and as simple as the other mechanics are, the impulse system adds a welcome complexity to the decision-making process. What is most strange about Tigers, though, is why it was never picked up by a professional publisher. Tigers would have fit equally well in a magazine-game or boxed format. It is also small enough, and fast enough, to appeal to all of us middle-aged dice-potatoes with too many kids and not enough time for the things that really count. Meanwhile, hats off to Ray Freeman for taking the initiative to DTP a fine and original little game on a perennial favorite. CAPSULE COMMENTS Graphics: You could draw the map yourself in 10 minutes, and it would look just as good. Maybe better. Counters are acceptable but have to be mounted. Playability: Quite good. Replayability: Depends on your Bulge tolerance. Historicity: The usual historical play-out is most likely. However, its impulse system will allow a clever player opportunities to hand either an overconfident or inattentive Allied player a big defeat. No German fuel shortages, weather rules, or air power stick out as annoying omissions. Creativity: Uses Other People's Mechanics quite adroitly. Wristage: Not an issue. Comparisons: Considering what it attempts to do, it's just as much fun as all the others … perhaps more so than some. Visually it suffers. Overall: A highly original design, and recommended to Bulge lovers who can ignore its graphic crudities. 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