Keith Versey I agree with Mike Siggins' comments on the last series of Sharpe, one of the major problems with it was taking the books out of chronological order. God knows in what order the next series will be, are we to have Sharpe's Devil before Sharpe's Waterloo? I am glad there is to be a ban on ASL in PA. It has to be one of the most overblown tedious games ever designed. The original Squad Leader was a far better simulation. The pomposity of the people who design and play this thing "does my head in". Platoon is a more realistic simulation of combat than ASL. CHV: My thoughts in a nutshell. Of course to many people reality (as portrayed in Platoon) is unacceptable and they prefer the controlled (if fantastic) world of ASL where they can bench-test their favourite weapons systems. That is fine and dandy, after all if we looked at too realistic a recreation of our favourite topic I think most of us would blanch. An interesting case of this "simulation of the received reality" is games on the Thirty Years Wars (and they have been a number) in which the designers produces a system in which nations change sides frequently, and then they chatter about the byzantine world of power politics in that period. I may be missing something here but on first reading of the topic hardly anybody changed sides in the war (I guess Brandenburg and Saxony must have) and then only because they were in deep trouble. Yet can you get a game that does not transplant singles bar sexual mores to Central Europe? No you cannot. It seems that an entire era has been given a bad name and no-one is willing to look at the reality. Have you heard about those Hundred Years Wars!!! I ask you!!! I hear she's a bit of a goer!!!! (ED: do not think I have not spotted that breach of the "No ASL" rule, you little toad, its a 3Ws game for you!) . Frank Dunn Haven't we bought On-line yet? Blimey there's an oversight... (CHV: Frank refers, in his jocund fashion, to his employers the Mighty News International and the rather tiny Service Provider with whom the Mighty C was linked to the Internet - causing lots of "rash" down Walthamstow way, spookily enough the very Borough where Frank resides. Circularity, we got it!) I see the Withering is fairly complete in London, so I regularly trek over to Finchley for a fix. The last missive from The Gamers had them doing a 180 degree turn about over selling primarily through retail as sales had slumped dramatically. They seemed surprised. ASL scenarios as valid secondary sources? Pass. I am seriously impressed by Mr Daglish and his personal knowledge of all the tank gunners in 21st Army Group. Hmmm it's at this point in tactical games that I prefer the John Hill approach, even if he did design Squad Leader. CHV: Frank, he that thinks like me is forever condemned to be wrong - pull up a chair and throw an ASL gamer on the fire, your round I think. (Please no fatist puns). Philip Ashworth If you manage to get this message (CHV: It's that e-mail folks) I would like to say how much I enjoyed PA 90.I noticed that your Game kit news didn't include Chariot Lords or Fields of Battle? ( your ancient figure rules).What has happened to these? I like the top ten games idea It is nice to know what other players like to see if you have missed any excellent games.Although it's all very subjective. I quite enjoyed Barbarians for example. Have you seen all the Wargames info on the Internet ie a DBM page although I always have problems downloading material. CHV: Too true mate, if I knew the XModem protocol believe me I would tell it! Geoff Barnard (Yes its him.... one of the Original Great Ones, kerrrrang Wild Stallions!) Greeting Charles, and best wishes for 1996. I've just got the copy of PA 90 you sent me - which among other things tells me you're still active, and also that Issues 87 - 89 have passed me by. You are of course under no obligation to send me them, maybe there's nothing in them of any interest to me. Interested to note the e-mail address, hence this. I've been playing with such things for nearly a year now. There isn't that much about directly about our sort of wargaming. There are some WWW sites, but like most of the WWW there're so superficial and glitzy as to be nigh useless. (CHV: So were is the Isabelle Adjani Fractal then?) Then, I do not reckon that much to the WWW generally. More up your street is a quite good Mailing List from Univ of Kansas about Military History which is reasonable serious, and wide ranging, frequented by academic types etc. If you do not know about that, I'll pass you details, you have to explicitly subscribe to Mailing Lists. I did get the Usenet stuff for PC simulation games for a while as there was a bit in there, but in time found there was just too much about Command & Control, just swamping everything else. Too much like hard work wading through it all. I may have mentioned to you that I'd got a copy of the computer game Tigers on the Prowl - more recently I got the sequel for the West Front called Panthers in the Shadows. Not played the latter yet, although I have played a bit with the maps. I quite like the feel/scale of the thing, although the quality of the games do rather depend on the map/terrain. Some I've played using an 'add-on' map have been very good, especially from the limited intelligence aspects as per Hidden Movement Panzerblitz. Note further to today's news - if you do start a PA Home Page (why ?), you'd better watch the language else those wimps at CompuServe will cringe further before a German 'ultimatum' and put the blocks on you. CHV: Hmmn, better drop the Bavarian authorities a note that my comments on Deutscher Soldaten referred only to nasty Brandenburgers and that I am so thoroughly a Wittelsbach that I have white and blue pyjamas and a Rumpelhelm. Simon Bracegirdle I am pleased to report that I found issue ninety up to the usual high standards, despite some rather extreme and historically dubious views from Mr Daglish regarding those nice chaps in the Waffen SS. The appeal of the Waffen SS for a pan European crusade against bolshevism was a result of the drastic shortage of German manpower on the eastern front. It should be remembered that at the beginning of the war, only the cream of German youth were allowed into the SS, whereas by the end, anyone daft enough to think the Germans had a chance of winning would be welcomed with open arms. The reason these unfortunate souls were recruited into the SS and not the regular army was because the Wehrmacht were not allowed to recruit non-Germans and by 1944 Himmler had secured all responsibility for recruitment following the attempt on Hitler's life. I was interested to read that at least two other people find the game Tito of interest. I picked a copy of this up second hand a year or so ago and thought it was a reasonable stab at the subject. Could this title be getting its second wind now or are the three of us just getting a bit overexcited about nothing? CHV: Well, I have not played it although its concept of turning all that geographical detail into something that incorporated politics, economics and the transport net struck me as interesting. Guerrila did the same. Hence I believe I retained a copy in the Night of The Long Knives. Gamers are odd creatures when you give them detail they complain it is not playable, when it is playable they whine that it is not detailed, and in this case it was (I suspect) too different. If the Wehrmacht could not recruit non-Germans, in which formation did the Cossacks serve who were fighting in Normandy? Nicholas Barker Have played a bit of Bobby Lee using the second edition rules, which make a good game better. Screening with weak units is now very difficult, and artillery has been made both more expensive and less effective. The Union now has more problems with supply when operating in rebel territory and many of its units will be tied up in LOC duties later in the war. A new rule covers melee which is quick and bloody. I am not quite sure about this rule since it seems to overrate the combat ability of cavalry by putting them on a par with infantry in close order combat. Artillery is very vulnerable and ineffective in melee, which seems reasonable. No doubt there are buffs out there who will tell me that I am wrong about cavalry and that they were very effective, in which case I stand corrected. I have also tried a few stabs at EuroWar, Columbia's linking package for the whole of WW2 in Europe in blocks. We have not explored all the options yet but it seems to fit together nicely and play quite quickly (despite the 8' by 4' map) since the blocks are corps/army and naval/air is abstracted which keeps the unit count manageable. I had surprisingly few rule queries. The minors all collapse satisfyingly when attacked (unless the attacker is Italy, which sadly lacks a combat supply HQ and would be ill-advised to try it on with the Greeks - or anyone, really - without German support). You do need a spare room for this one, but I am not sure that it could be described as a monster since you can get through six to twelve months in an evening once you are familiar with the rules. Ken Clarke Called into Just Games yesterday and they had a new Decision game called The '45. I wouldn't have given it a second glance but someone in the shop was asking if it was The King's War. Understandable I suppose given that this has a very King's War like map. No designer credited, couldn't check the rules book for system. Nearly bought it since it was marked up for a tenner, but sharp old Maurice spotted it and declared it a £25 game. I put it back. CHV: Eeeh Ken, you're a caution. Certainly you could do the '45 on The King's War system but the difficulty would be setting the political level correctly so that you could pursue viable strategies. The game is reviewed in this issue and it looks pretty poor. Andy Daglish This is what I have put in a letter to Mike Siggins about Eagles: "Miniatures take a very long time to prepare, to set out, to move around, and to put away. Their only advantage is visual appeal. The formula of success of Eagles includes:- The enticing atmosphere of visual appeal which is better than that of miniatures, an advantage possessed in only small quantity by Dixie, combined with great ease-of-use; A campaign of four battles in one; card set, which is possibly a sensible maximum; Historical appeal for US buyers, shared by Dixie of course; Numerous rules advances, terrain, specials, targeting, leaders etc. Physical weaknesses include poor collation, and uncoated cards that compare poorly with Dixie cards and necessitate the use of Ultra-Pro protectors." Finally Esdevium managed to unpack their magazines after their move to new premises. The latest Paper Wars and [US] Zone of Control are pretty bad in places. The Dixie: Shiloh review was like listening to the engaged tone for five minutes non-stop, its amazing the writer managed an unchanging level of mediocrity through the whole thing. (CHV: Roughing the reviewer, personal foul, 15 yards first down - and quite right too). In ZOC there was a feeling that some of the writers were not masters of their subjects, but other articles were OK. Hispania looks OK, apart from the price. And Middle Earth: The Wizards is simply wonderful, they say, but I'm not surprised people do not like Smaug; putting him on just one 3½x2½ card in portrait orientation cannot have been easy! CHV: Perhaps you should get several cards (front,middle and bum) like in Quirks. I take some of your points on Eagles, it is not necessarily better than miniatures but close enough to make the matter merely subjective.Something we have been a long way from since Hougoumont. Mike Siggins Four of us had the misfortune to play the S&T Thirty Years War game yesterday. I say play advisedly as we managed only one turn. A combination of tedium and desperation had set in by then and we all stopped, quite relieved. The usual half hour set up, with loads of fiddly counters and locations, was followed by a turn in which nothing much happened for three quarters of an hour before I got my turn. The horrendous bookkeeping (cash, diplomacy points, troop maintenance, income etc etc) took ages and I would guess the actual action/decision making lasted no more than 1% of the elapsed time. Probably much less. The game, one of several scenarios, just sat there and cried 'no playtesting'. This is just all the same crappy old stuff - drab, poorly designed, heavy inelegant systems. At least Holy Roman Empire had more flavour, if comparable gaming value and history. CHV: But otherwise he liked it. Holy Roman Emperor was totally unplayable in a sensible time frame Mike. Until designers accept the period needs lots of scenarios or a large lift in scale we will have these problems, look at With Fire And Sword for a Better Way. George Gush I must warn you that any further denigration of the great Murray Walker in the pages of PA would force me to instantly terminate my readership in protest. CHV: Yes, it's Senna, no, it's Senna, it's......Gerhard Berger, no Michael Schumacher, and as you can all see, well actually you cannot, and yes it's George Gush in the PA Lola who is poised for victory, the regulars back at George's local in Tunbridge will be watching on a TV and.....and, I cannot believe this, yes, his readership has fallen off, oh my goodness so close to the line. What a heartbreaking experience.. What me denigrate Murray, George how could you suggest such a thing! Andy Daglish So there's only 78% of CHV left?? (CHV: Or there was 128% before) I guess you would be lost inside an I Play Across 5 Aprils Me T-Shirt because of my super-generous temperament and careful market research led me to do only XXXL, Sumoreader and Wargamer sizes (CHV: I could always use them as bell tents). Will these feelings be backed up by helpful articles, we shudder? Maybe TAHGC knew what they were doing buying that girl's mag. Hispania is rather expensive, Bruno in Paris is pricing himself out of the market perhaps. CHV: Encouraged by the publication of Azure Wish's rather florid production I assembled Andreas Steding's original, phew that a lot of game! As to helpful articles, any gut reduction requires will-power. Something gamers are not well known for, so I'll pass, but perhaps an I Play Across 4 Aprils Me T-Shirt? Sir Martin James KCMG I have taken out a subscription to Command. I cannot justify this on a rational basis , as I never play the games. Tyrone Bomba's approach to design - low on innovation - also does not strike many chords with me. Maybe it is that Ty carries the whole thing off with such panache - a natural marketer. The magazine's enthusiasm appeals to me. Can S&T compete now that Command are talking about two games per issue? Do you know what the respective circulations are? Are either of them anywhere near the old S&T? I visited Virgin Games a couple of weeks ago. They seem to be virtually out of the board wargames business. No magazines and about 15 old titles. Only new game was King's War. CHV: So that's all right then. The blurb at the front of Command says something like 15,000 issues after freebies, or which 6,000 to 7,000 must be Hobby issues, and I would expect S&T to have half that. I subscribe to neither, many of those who do subscribe play neither. I admire Bomba's style but he and his boys have difficulty conceiving anyone else has an intelligent view on anything, you need to wear them down a bit before they shut up. This reflects itself in a very "certain" approach to design, we think therefore we are right. Robert Lesco Is S.L.A.Marshall still in fashion? I think it was he who asserted that in W.W.II only 15% of all soldiers actually fired their weapons in any encounter. It is not a new point - I seem to remember mention of it when the original SL came out. If we still hold this theory to be true, ASL is seriously flawed. Are only that 15% given counters? How do we know it's these soldiers who participate? To me, this is the most serious problem with ASL. Certainly, I do not know anyone who would pull the stunts which I ask of my leaders. Still, if you want to play face to face most people choose ASL so we are stuck with it. It may be something as simple as seriously reducing morale ratings. They get away with it because, with a couple of exceptions, NOTHING is really simulated so there are no grounds for historical comparison. In summary, too much happens. What do readers think of Computer Kingmaker and Third Reich? Any good? Earl Gareth of Tonbridge I have been playing We The People quite a lot (a lot for me, that is - maybe six times in total), and I need some advice and/or analysis. When the two of us first played it, a house rule was quickly adopted that the game did not automatically end if George Washington was captured, as the AH rules instructed. We didn't believe he was that important to the cause, but we did remove him permanently from play. However, since adopting that rule, I have seldom seen the British win a game. On a second point, I find that the French fleet, if it appears, to be a very powerful weapon for the Rebels, and there is no way of getting rid of it (unless I've missed something). I cannot think of any war since Queen Elizabeth's day when an enemy had naval supremacy for any considerable time. (Except for the Baltic in the World Wars.) So, my questions: Was the Washington ends the game rule seen by the designers as the most likely way for the British to win the game? Was that rule put in to counteract the overpowering effect of the French fleet? If we keep the house rule about Washington, can we have another house rule to modify the French fleet, or will this just destabilise the game even further? Perhaps the French fleet could disappear after a certain amount of time, or it could disappear after certain event cards were played, though I haven't searched through the pack for likely candidates yet, or maybe the British could use up a reinforcement card to remove it. CHV: Well my AOL chums on the We The People folder seem to think Georgie Porgie was indeed vital since there was no other Dream Ticket candidate. Good point on the french fleet, I must away to the card deck. Edward Denley I enclose a cheque to renew my credit for Perfidious Albion. I recall the first copy I bought, at Games of Liverpool in 1977. It had a pink cover and reviewed Squad Leader. It may have been issue number 18. I enjoyed Neil Thomas's piece listing his ten favourite games in issue ninety. It was good to read a celebration of the pleasure he had received from the hobby in contrast to letters lamenting its decline. I agree with you that computer games are not a true substitute for a boardgame because I want different things from them. When I need some relaxation after a day of work I would rather play something easy to get into and out of like Ultimate Soccer Manager or a sports game. I did buy Avalon Hill's Operation Crusader game. As usual with computer games it was a pain to install and I ended up having to set up a special dedicated boot up disk for it as you seem to have to for nearly every game. I have experimented a little with it, but you need to invest as much time in preparing to play a computer game with this level of detail as you would for a board game, and it would be just as difficult to set it aside and return to it without losing the thread. Ellis Simpson I spoke recently with Mike Siggins and he tells me that Flowers of the Forest should indeed be ready about now. Since he recommended the game very highly and I trust his judgement (!) I am enclosing a cheque in your favour for £10.00 which hopefully will cover the costs if I have picked him up correctly. If there is a surplus please credit it to my account. If there is shortfall please let me know. I thoroughly enjoyed the last issue of Perfidious Albion. I agree with much of what you said about Friedland. Something the game has going for it is that there are not many on the same topic. It is, so far as I know, the only accessible game on the subject matter. It would be nice to see it more developed so that there was differentiation between the types of combat and a more sophisticated command and control system. However, I cannot immediately see how either would be achieved without adding complexity which takes away from one of the most appealing facets of the game. After reading the review of Bloodiest Day I went ahead and purchased a copy. Your review gave me an accurate foretaste of what I was in for. It is a shame the counter graphics are so poor since the map (apart from the disappearing yellow line) is pretty damn good. Although this particular system suits the battle of Antietam without much in the way of modification I cannot help but think that variations on the impulse system could be used to recreate other ACW battles. For example, it might be possible for one side to activate a number of leaders or a number of zones per impulse according to the quality of the leader or the quality of the units or a random die roll in the WW1 piece on page 9 or some combination thereof. I will leave it to somebody more knowledgeable about the period to suggest what battles might be suitable. A previous book review led me to get a hold of a copy of "Why the Allies Won". I am making my way through this and it appears to be eminently readable, entertaining as well as insightful. Unfortunately I could not say the same about Keegan's book on the History of Warfare. I found large parts of it opaque. I wasn't sure if this was because he was writing to a restriction on space. For example, I wondered whether or not the finished product was actually a summary of a five or six volume piece. Ed Wimble You know Zucker's games are superb regardless of what you think about them. I have been playing them for years and loved every one except for Italy and 1809. But that's a matter of opinion. You have yours and I have mine. I accept this. I guess reviewers must take a stand in order to define themselves. But there is no need to be dismissive. You could be wrong. The ability of being wrong is what separates us from egotists like Berg. CHV: No Ed, it is the ability to admit we may be wrong. I played a number of Zucker's games, I reviewed 100 Days a long time ago. I found it a poor simulation, over long and tedious. These are my opinions arrived at according to my tastes and lights. I do not intend to spend more time on his games until I find out something has changed. I do not have to be open-minded - I have expended money and time and derived no pleasure - as far as I am concerned Zucker is a non-choice. Others have expended the same and derived different lessons - I am happy for them. Are you suggesting that I have to play more of his games as some homage to Subjectivity? Doubtless you are a keen reader of Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins on the same basis? Back to Perfidious Albion #92 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1996 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