by English Computer Wargames Computer software rules for table-top games. "Hard pounding, this, gentlemen; try who can pound the longest" Wellington before Waterloo. No minimum PC requirements are suggested but some time ago I used them on a 386 16mhz with 2MB Ram so we should have no problems these days. Installation from the CD to hard disk is not automated. However, the instructions supplied are simple and the system runs in Windows 95 or 98. Hard Pounding has two main parts a "Campaign" program and a "Game" program. You start by loading the "Campaign" program and follow the step by step manual. This takes you through the creation of the armies. Officer and unit details can be generated automatically. However, all aspects of both can be defined or re-defined by yourself. So your model army can be entered as it already exists and set to your figure and table size. You want the front line of your Russian Hussars to carry lances that's no problem. Want your favourite unit to do well? OK, tweak the morale, experience and other ratings! The database is staggering with around 160 fully detailed armies featuring 1900 troop types. Weapons, well there are 175 small arms and 98 artillery pieces. If you use the autoname feature for officers, you have more than a million names from 26 languages. Or you can write your own. Having created the opposing forces you save them to a floppy disk and load the "Game" program. Then off to battle. On the first move of a new game print out the armies and number your units and commanders accordingly. The "Game" move consists of four "Phases": In Phase 1--Update. You move officers, give orders, change formation etc. In Phase 2--Movement. The program tells you where and how far each unit has moved. Subject to orders, formation, troop type etc. You also declare charges. In Phase 3--Shooting. You enter the number of the unit firing. Then the range, in centimetres and the number of the target unit. The program does the rest including recording casualties. Oh yes and you will be told how far musket balls go beyond the main target and how far cannon balls bounce. So units behind target units may also take casualties. In Phase 4--Melee. You learn which units accepted orders to charge, whether they charged to contact or moved forward and halted. The casualties are worked out. An officer may be dead or Colours taken. You then save the move, click "Update" and return to Phase 1. Various other questions, options and reports appear in each phase but I have mentioned most of the basics. When the battle is over return to the "Campaign" program. Select "Battle Recovery" and work out what happens to both armies in the days following the battle. Then go to "General Update" where you issue further orders reward the officers or court marshal the cowards, retrain units, create reinforcements etc, etc. All good fun and you can print the information for reading later. Like every computer program ever written you will no doubt come across bugs. Just save at the end of each move (two mouse clicks) to be on the safe side. If the years 1789-1830 are not your interest, two other sets are offered which follow the system reviewed: "Over the Hills 1660-1789" and "Blood and Iron 1830-1904". A friend tells me ECW have been play testing a medieval set called "Fields of Slaughter" which should be available this year. I have no further details so they may not follow the same game system. These rule sets are worth having for the database alone. I have used them in both solo and opponent games. To date they are by far the best rules I have used. [Thanks for the time taken with the above Jack. I know just how hard it is to be objective when reviewing games and I believe you have achieved the Solo Wargamers Association long standing high standard, of honest reviews 'By wargamers for wargamers'. Kenn] Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #131 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Solo Wargamers Association. 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