The first thing those of us with a PC want to know when confronted with a new game is 'what do I need to run it' (just as those of us who use figures want to know the basing requirements of any new miniatures rules). The requirements for Battleground Ardennes (BGA) are fairly modest in the current climate - a 386, 8 meg of RAM, Windows 3.1 or '95 and a doubly speed CD drive. I have only used this on a 486 and it generally works fine - one of the few recent games that loaded and ran from the 'off', however, on one 486 I did run into problems with the drivers for the graphics. Still, all in all a trouble free programme.

BGA (as perhaps the title suggests) covers the Battle of the Bulge. It does this with 26 scenarios (and one introductory one) set around 3 areas Clervaux, Bastogne and Stourmont (the latter concerned with Pieper's attempts to reach the Meuse). The vast majority of these scenarios are historical with just a couple of 'what if s'. The game is firmly rooted in the tactical, with units being platoons (or their equivalents) and the ground scale is 250m per hex. Each turn is 10 minutes. The size of the scenarios varies enormously, from a few companies a side up to the drive on Bastogne which has elements from 3 German divisions against disparate groups of American defenders.

Many of the scenarios are small actions from various parts of these battles, others combine several of these together to form one large scenario. There is no grand campaign covering the entire fighting, but given the scale of the game it is not surprising. The scenarios are pretty much stand alone affairs, you cannot play one and have the results carry forward to a later scenario. On the plus side however there is a scenario editor allowing you to create your own scenarios from the maps and units.

Just as the size of the scenarios varies so does the length (the largest are not always the longest), ranging from 7 turns up to 43. The average number of turns seems to be around the 25 mark. In terms of real time these will take between a couple of hours to play up to an entire day. With 26 of these scenarios there is a lot of game play in the box.

Real Value

Immediately following the feeling that here is a game which offers 'real value for money' are the first impressions one gets when the maps and units first appear. Whilst BGA doesn't go for full motion video, feature Hollywood stars or make use extended animation sequences it does have one of the best looking playing areas I have seen. There are various views and the player can zoom in and out from these.

The most attractive is the '3D Battleview' which gets away from the traditional flat hex map covered in various counters look. The 3D view is exactly that and makes the terrain and units very inviting, you really do want to grab the mouse and start moving your units across the map! It appears very much like a beautifully produced wargames table.

It is perhaps just as well that the playing area looks so good, for as the game starts you are 'treated' to video footage of the Wermacht rolling forward (with lots of grinning soldiers) and an accompanying soundtrack of 'jolly' German marching songs. This obsession with the prowess of the Wermacht and it's use as a wargaming selling tool REALLY ANNOYS ME and usually is guaranteed to make me ignore the product in question. When will wargame companies and wargamers abandon this worship of the German WW2 armed forces?

Design

There is nothing especially innovative about the BGA design (it is firmly hex and turn based and reminds me of board games such as Panzer Leader), but it is a 'very smooth' and 'good looking' package. What it sets out to do it does very well. The sequence of play will be familiar to most wargamers (somewhat confusingly - to me at least - this appears in the middle of the rulebook) with each sides turns consisting of the following phases:

1. Prep Fire
2. Movement
3. Defensive Fire
4. Offensive Fire
5. Assault
6. 2nd Mechanised Movement Phase

Each side runs through the above sequence and then the other has it's go. Play is therefore completely sequential. I personally am somewhat undecided over what is better for computer wargames - a turn based or real time system (as in Fields of Glory or Command &and Conquer). I used to think the former, now I intend to incline towards the latter.

Accompanying you as you move and shoot with your forces are various sound effects and film clips (such as when you call in a bombardment you get footage of a howitzer battery in action etc.). Although these are initially quite interesting and do to a degree add to the atmosphere of the game. I suspect most wargamers will eventually opt to play with these effects 'off' as they do slow the game down. In addition, when you fire shells burst around your target on the map (and if you're lucky enemy vehicles will be reduced to smoking ruins).

Interface

The interface is easy to use and moving/firing units soon becomes second nature. There are various short cut keys and commands if you want a lot of units all to do the same thing. There are also various 'help' type options which indicate all units which haven't fired, those short on ammunition, those in the line of sight of an enemy etc. Finally, whatever level of Al is used (see below) there are commands which tell every unit which hasn't fired to do so etc. These are all useful and help speed up the game, allowing the player if he wishes, to concentrate on the critical area knowing that other sectors of the battlefield will be 'taken care of'.

Minor Irritation A minor irritation is that when you order a unit to fire a 'windows' box pops up and runs through the entire combat routine, why I have no real idea (to prove the computer isn't cheating?!) which is somewhat ugly and serves no real purpose. Talonsoft put a lot of effort into making the battleground look extremely attractive - why spoil it with this?

There are various options for the AI which you can set for both sides:

• Manual (which effectively means there is no AI - it is up to you to command everything)
• Semi - Automatic which means you give orders at a high formation level (which in this context means battalions etc.) and the computer handles what the individual platoons do and what they fire at
• Automatic where the AI handles everything, and
• Automatic with Fog of War where not only does the AI do everything it also limits what you can see (which in the close terrain and poor weather of the Ardennes often means not very much!).

The standard 'set up' is for the player to select manual for the side he wishes to play and Automatic for the other (with Fog of War if experienced). You can change the AI setting during the course of the game - so if you fancy you can start on Semi - Automatic to quickly get your troops into contact and then switch to Manual once in contact.

Disappointingly the AI does not appear (to me at least) to be that strong, once you have mastered the game and if you are prepared to take time analysing the move of every unit you should comfortably win most of your engagements (I tend to play with a self imposed time limit or by making a lot of use of the Semi - Automatic option).

Combat

Combat is smooth and pretty much as expected. Results of fire are step losses (most units start with 4 -6 steps), morale loss and disorder. There is a fairly wide spread of results but nothing too extreme and I think the balance between expected norm and lucky hit is just about right. The strengths and weaknesses of the various units and equipment featured in the game appear to be in line with historical performance and pretty much everything has a use (of course, some units are more useful than others!). Thankfully, despite the opening songs, German equipment, morale and doctrine etc. is not presented as being all conquering.

It is worth noting that infantry can be quite a valuable resource and in the close terrain that covers most of the battlefields can often stop an ill thought out armoured drive dead in it's tracks. This tends to be especially true when the Fog of War option is used. This can lead to some unpleasant shocks, especially because when one unit in a hex is spotted it does not always mean that all units in that hex are spotted! Whilst there are no specific rules for combined arms etc. the way the game plays encourages this as a tactic and I think this emphasises the basic soundness of the design. Ideally one should hit a defensive line with heavy artillery in the prep fire phase, put in a combined arms assault and then exploit any resulting holes with reserve mechanised forces. Easy to write, not so easy to put into practice, especially as in most of the scenarios you seem never to have quite enough units or time!

Smoke can be a very useful weapon, but smoke rounds tend to be in short supply in most of the scenarios and so using this asset must be considered carefully.

With regard to combat I should point out that the combat results table etc. are accessible (and can be printed out). I applaud for Talon for including this as it's always nice to know where the numbers come from. In addition they would form a pretty user friendly basis for a set of tabletop rules without a lot of extra effort.

Morale

Morale is handled on a unit by unit basis, it would have been nice if there had been some sort of higher morale effect on companies or battalions but I do not feel the lack of this too keenly.

One possible shortcoming is the absence of any real command control system. Whilst it is true that the Semi - Automatic option does cover some aspects of this there is no real encouragement to follow unit integrity etc. Consequently one can detach a platoon to 'sneak' around the back of the enemy and spot for multiple batteries etc. Also you always know your units exact status, and if playing with Manual Al your units will always do exactly what they are told - immediately. As Talonsoft release future games in this series I would hope that this area of the design is addressed.

What is needed is perhaps another AI level somewhere in between Manual and Semi - Automatic. These criticisms aside BGA generally manages to be that difficult beast - a good game and a reasonable simulation with an excellent balance between playability and realism.

Other features of the programme include the opportunity to fight a human opponent either via modem or with a serial cable.

All in all BGA is recommended, not only for those of you with an interest in WW2, but for anyone who wants a good wargame for their PC. 'Cutting edge' it might not be but it works well, looks good and you get a lot of game for your money.

FINALLY, the good news (if you like it) is that BGA is part of a series. The second title 'Gettysberg' is already available and 'Shiloh' and 'Waterloo' are coming soon. Later releases planned include 'Golan '73' and 'Antietam'. With regard to Gettysberg my initial impressions are that this is another solid title. The maps are even better looking and the Al appears stronger (and the options better).

My one reservation would be the obsession with treating units as individuals rather than as small parts of a larger whole. Consequently my 'gut feel' is that the engine is better suited to more modern actions (where there is more mixing and matching of assets and greater freedom of manoeuvre for the low level units) with the platoon as the basic unit. If Talonsoft could crack the command control area of their games the they really would be winners! Be warned - Gettysberg is a big game! It covers the battle at regimental level (Waterloo is at the battalion level) and even the smaller scenarios have a lot of units and cover a lot of ground.

Other Review:

Mind Map & Maneuver

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