I've just picked the latest (no. 22, Sept-Oct 98) issue of Vae Victis and it includes a neat-looking game about the battle of Crete (which is very convenient since I've just finished reading Callum McDonald's "The Lost Battle, Crete 1941" !). Each day is 3 turns (2 day, 1 night) and the 92 counters (+ markers) represent brigade headquarters, infantry battalions, tank platoons and artillery batteries. The map is area based with Crete divided into 11 strategic areas, three of which (Maleme, Heraklion and Rethymnon) have their own separate maps further divided into zones (which are coded for terrain type and objectives in addition to the terrain actually illustrated). Some of the rules features : In two player games the Allies must deploy according to a historical setup and the Germans must use the historical drop zones ! Limited Allied movement during the early turns (see below) prevents the Ally player from exploiting this too much. Players activate units zone by zone. Combat is either within the same zone (assault) or into an adjacent one (firefight). During night turns, there are no combats and no units are allowed to move into an enemy ZOC with *one* exception, the 28th Maori battalion can do both! Allied forces are very static : most HQs cannot move and the player can only activate 1d6 zones for movement (with a -5, -4, -3, -2, -1 penalty in the first five turns). Any zone containing or adjacent to German forces can be activated for combat. Solitaire rules are provided but only the German side can be controlled by a player. Apart from that, the contents are: 5 page article with one scenario on using artillery in ASL (part 2 of a series of an intro articles) 2 page review of Simtac's Rivoli 1797 2 page article on playing boardgames by mail (with about 10 lines mentioning the existence of email !) 3 page article on the Bannockburn campaign with a DBM scenario and "Champs de Bataille" (DBM with hexes) army lists and counters 10 page feature on the Egyptian expedition of 1798 4 page "France 40" expansion set for the "Guerre ‚clair" rules a Pegasus Bridge scenario for Section d'Assaut rules (loosely based on ASL) 1 page review of GRD's March to Victory (Europa-based game covering WW1 on the Western Front 1914-1916) Back to Frontline Vol. 1 Iss. 2 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Rolfe Hedges 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