Ted Raicer for MIH/CH I was never a great fan of Ted Raicer's designs. Whilst many enthused over his games I was always left feeling somewhat underwhelmed. The only exception to this being his All Quiet On The Western Front, purchased on the strength of a couple of reviews and much enjoyed. I have also always been a fully paid up member of the hex Mafia, and consequently avoided area based games. As this is both a Raicer design and an area based impulse game I approached this title with a bit of a hill to climb. RTC simulates the Battle of Cambrai, the first great tank battle in history, as the game introduction describes it. Many of you will have heard how this game was produced with a very flimsy box. I too had heard this but forewarned was not forearmed. I was not prepared for just how very flimsy the box really is. It is also worth noting that whilst the 352 large unit counters are good and the rules short, the map is dull and lacklustre. Some of this design has much in common with other impulse area games. Units are fresh or spent, becoming spent via movement and combat. Spent units have a weaker strength making them more susceptible to enemy counter strokes. Generally one player activates units in one area followed by the opposing player doing the same for units in one of his. This continues until both players have completed all their moves and combats, completing a game turn. RTC differs in that the player with the initiative, the British at first but generally switching to the German player later, continues moving and fighting until he either loses a combat or voluntarily passes to the opposing player. This then continues till both have completed their actions. This reflects the linear nature of battles on the Western front during WW1more accurately than players activating there forces area by area. It was this difference that led me to purchasing this game. Combat is resolved as in other impulse games. Each player rolls a die with the end result being modified for various reasons. These include the strength and number of unit’s involved and divisional integrity for the attacker. The differences between the two values are referred to as casualty points. A player has to spend, (flip to weaker side), retreat and eliminate friendly units with each action being worth a number of points. The owning player takes a number of these actions with the units involved, sufficient to match the casualty points inflicted by his opponents forces. Artillery units, of which there are plenty, may barrage, which results in fresh enemy units becoming spent or eliminated, or hurricane barrage, more destructive but Artillery potentially run out of ammunition making them unavailable on later turns. The initiative players Artillery only may also use barrage to reduce his own movement costs into areas adjacent to enemy units or to increase the enemy’s movement costs via interdiction. There are also special rules for Tanks and Stosstruppen, which may continue moving if an assault clears a hex and they have movement points available. Tanks, unfortunately, are very prone to breakdown and will most likely have disappeared by mid game. Stosstruppen may trace supply through areas containing units of both sides, through not through areas with enemy units alone. I very much enjoyed playing this game. It does an excellent job of simulating Cambrai, with simple rules but effective simulation. I am advised the rules have a few over sights. For example, I am told it is nowhere stated that units are flipped to their spent side after they have been activated. I never noticed this and had no problems playing the game. However, it would not appear to be a good choice of game for those with little experience. If you purchase a copy, and I think anyone with an interest in the topic should, then be sure to visit Web Grognards where a player aid sheet, compiled by a fellow gamer, can be printed off. Something like this should really have been provided with the game. It lists the procedures and modifiers for Artillery barrage, combat etc. Critical Hits web site also features a five turn scenario on the initial British offensive. This is a long game so it is very welcome. Ted Raicer advises that he has a German counter attack scenario that hopefully should be made available in the future. Back to Perfidious Albion #102 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. 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