High Ground:

Tactical Board Game

reviewed by William Greenwald

Produced by Crown Tactic Inc., 493 South Main St., Canandaigua, NY 14424, High Ground consists of a color game board with various terrain types, colored unit blocks, colored pegs and flags, two 6 sided dice, a rule sheet and chart, 'additional attack' cards, the usual requirements of a board game. High Ground also features a 16 page booklet on the strategy and tactics of 17th Century warfare. A useful information guide to arms and armies of this fascinating era. Also discussed are the concepts of supply, linear tactics, battle field strategy and many useful tactical maxims.

The playing pieces are molded blocks of blue and red plastic whose shape designate infantry, cavalry, artillery, and supply. Each unitwill have pegs and a flag that are removed as 'casualties' during play. When a unit is destroyed, loses all pegs, the flag is given to the winner of the attack and will be used in assessing the outcome of the battle when the game ends. A point count system is used in this determination.

Game play uses a move-countermove system with maneuvers and attacks being accomplished by the single unit with the exception of a 'Switch' maneuver which involves two adjacent units. Similar to 'Castleing' in chess; a vary handy move indeed. Movement is governed by a 'movement point' allowance with limitations as to terrain. Attacks are adjudicated with die roll comparisons on a chart and are also modified by terrain. This system combines both firing and melee in the same attack roll, but different attacks at different targets yield manyvaried results. The game ends when one of the player's 'Crown' square (HQ) is captured by their opponent.

One of the nicest features of High Ground is the supply/reserve unit system. It requires some strategy to intermix moves that have the necessary reserves when they are needed. Another feature is that it is possible for the enemy to block the movement of the supply unit and thus prevent reserves from arriving. Players must keep their line of supply open.

High Ground is a fast playing game. Experienced players can play to a conclusion in about 30 minutes. Even though the game board has a fixed setup and equal forces per side it is still easily adaptable to different scenarios and the rules can be adapted to miniatures. It's a fun game to play. Price is $30.

The Reviewing Stand

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