Covering the Philadelphia campaign of the American War of Independence, this operational study covers the attempts of the British forces to end the rebellion begun in 1776 and eliminate Washington’s army. It marks a pivotal and crucial point in the beginning of the struggle for independence. Consisting of a 34” x 22” map, 280 playing pieces (representing Brigades and Divisions), off board army displays, rulebook and historical commentary, as well as a dozen scenarios.
"When you're at Khe Sanh, you're not really anywhere. You could lose it and you really haven't lost a damn thing."
That is how B.G. Lowell English, the assistant commander of the 3rd Marine Division summed up his branch's rational for not wanting to fight for Khe Sanh. Unfortunately, Theater Commander Gen. Westmoreland felt differently - even years later, when he wrote his memoirs.
"Khe Sanh could serve as a patrol base for blocking enemy infiltration from Laos along Route 9; as a base for SOG (Studies and Operations Group) operations to harass the enemy in Laos; as an airstrip for reconnaissance planes surveying the Ho Chi Minh Trail; as the western anchor for defenses south of the DMZ; and as an eventual jump-off point for ground operations to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail."
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A Dark and Bloody Ground is a simulation of the five-year struggle for control of Ohio in the Old Northwest Territory. One player assumes the role of the leader of the United States armed forces (militia and regular US Army), while the opponent operates the various Native American nations, and their potential allies from Great Britain and Canada. The game can, however, be played solitaire with little effort.
By the beginning of 1954, both the French and Viet Minh realized that the war in Indochina was nearing an end. Ho Chi Minh had requested cease fire negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, and the French government was looking for a way out that would give them peace with honor. Both sides felt that a "big win" on the battlefield would finally secure at the peace table what they had been unable to obtain in six and a half years of war.
The site of this battle would be near a village called, in Vietnamese, "Seat of the Border County Prefecture" located in a distant valley of north western Vietnam near the Laotian border. The French high command, under General Henri Navarre, reasoned that such a remote location could not be successfully attacked. General Vo Nguyen Giap thought the position was nearly impossible to defend. The siege of Dien Bien Phu would be the result.
La vallée de la mort ("Death Valley") is a simulation of this epic siege that ended the French colonial presence in Asia and marked the beginning of a 21 year struggle for national unification. The game is designed for 2 players, one taking the role of the French commander of the fortress complex at Dien Bien Phu, the other of General Giap, commanding the Viet Minh forces laying siege. The game and scenarios are small enough to be played solitaire, however.
Each turn of the game represents one week. Each assault impulse represents one day. A point of combat strength represents 150 to 200 men, 6 aircraft, 5 or 6 guns, or a single tank. An inch on the map corresponds to 700 yards.
Also included in this issue is a bonus mini-game on Na San in late 1952. This smaller battle, similar to Dien Bien Phu, the French won, but lulled them into thinking their strategy was correct. Compare just how much each side learned about the other over the course of the two battles!
Full color 22"x34" map
280 full color die-cut 1/2" counters
Rulebook length - 15 pages
Charts and Tables - 1 page
Complexity - Medium
Solitaire Suitability - Medium
Playing Time - 4 hours
Each game turn is six hours; there are three day turns and one night turn for each calendar day. Each sea hex is approximately 25 nautical miles across. The game map is used for all Task Force movement and movement by air units. Two tactical displays are included, one for naval surface engagements and one for air attacks.
Wargame + Magazine by Clash of Arms
Kulikovo 1380 is a game covering the battle between the Golden Horde clan of Mongols and the collected principalities that we know as Russia under the growing leadership of Muscovy, and the Grand Prince of Moscow, Dmitri Ivanovich, later entitled Donskoi for his victory at Kulikovo (which is right near the Don River). For 150 years, Tartar armies had readily destroyed all Russian opposition, and Kulikovo was the first sign that Russia was starting to emerge from Tatar domination. It would take several centuries more.
Kulikovo is considered a major turning point/battle of the Middle Ages, in that it not only showed that a western-style, 'heavy' army could defeat the Mongols, but it was also the first major step in the unification of the various Russian principalities under the leadership of Muscovy.
Kulikovo is an accessible, fast-playing, fun game of low complexity. Gamers who have played ATO’s Suleiman the Great (ATO #9), and/or GMT Games’ Men Of Iron should find all of this quite familiar.
160 full color 5/8" die-cut counters
Rulebook length - 7 pages
Charts and Tables - 2 pages
Complexity - Low
Playing Time - 3 hours
Design - Richard Berg
Development - Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphic Design - Craig Grando
Magazine & Wargame by Clash of Arms
"June 3 1864. Cold Harbor. I was killed."
Thus read the last diary entry, found in the pocket of a dead Union soldier. He had made the entry himself, while all around him, other soldiers were writing names and home addresses on slips of paper and pinning them to the back of their coats.
These veteran soldiers knew what was coming, although it seems their commanders did not. Three full corps launched a disjointed attack against well-entrenched Confederates. In just eight minutes, the attack had petered out. Over 7000 Federals covered the Virginia soil. A few minutes later, the orders came down to renew the attacks, but at each level, from corps commander to captain, the orders were "followed" only by increased firing -- most of it blindly -- while remaining in position.
In the beginning, it was Churchill's idea... a way of putting the old "pre-dreadnaughts" to useful service and making a show of strength in the waters off Istanbul which would, he said, cause immediate regime-change and take Turkey out of the war. It was thought very little infantry would be needed.
In the end, when the last Allied troops evacuated, the casualty count for both sides topped half-a-million. (And Churchill lost his job.)
Miniature armies - carefully painted and labeled with unit names, strengths, and abilities - have been found in Egyptian tombs, suggesting that "wargaming" goes back a long time.
Of those miniature armies, no units take more precedence than the chariots - the "panzers" of their day. Keep in mind that horses of this period were too small to "ride" with a man on their back in a "cavalry" way. Only chariots offered a battle platform faster than sandals, and provided the "shock troops" of their day and a platform to designate the aristocracy and elite peoples. Alexander and the Roman legions might sneeze at chariot power... but not for another 900 years!
Kadesh must be the chariot battle of all time. Sources conflict and disagree, but there may have been as many as 5000 chariots in this twisted, confused, and bloody battle, fought to determine the borders between Egypt and the Hittite confederacy...
It was sort of like "Pearl Harbor" all over again, but worse. Twice as many allied deaths, 400 ships lost, while the authorities resisted both the proven convoy system and the common-sense approach of simply turning the lights out on coastal cities.
It could have been much worse. While Stalin knew about Pearl Harbor in advance, Hitler did not. The Kriegsmarine started Operation Drumroll with just FIVE submarines and were navigating with US tourist guide books. But, with cities alight, US destroyers sitting in port, and merchant ships sailing with navigation lights burning, the Germans called it, "The Second Happy Time."
Some say the publicity campaign, "Loose lips sink ships" was not really about keeping information from German agents (which were almost non-existent) but to keep people from talking about the Allied disaster happening within sight of America's shores. It got so bad the British sent ships and planes to help America defend the East Coast!
Paukenschlag ("Operation Drumroll") covers Germany's attack on America, from January to June 1942, using the historical U-boat capabilities and optionally, adding the German long-range bombers which could have taken part. The game board is based on the sea maps the U-Boat commanders actually used themselves, covering the East Coast, Gulf, and Caribbean. Key elements like radar, "Huffduff," German "Milkcows," and a carrier task force are included.
Movement is simple. Decisions are complex. The next move is yours.
Americans seldom notice the enormous changes that the Napoleonic Wars caused to the Western Hemisphere...things far larger and with much greater effects than our own War of 1812.
The Louisiana Purchase really started it, as Napoleon sold Jefferson a large block of land that really "belonged" to Spain. In shifting their forces to try and limit American expansion, the Spanish-loyal authorities opened the door to losing the remainder of two continents. Guerra a Muerte depicts the 14 year struggle that saw Spain's possessions in the hemisphere change from "almost everything not U.S." to "Cuba and Hispanola."
As in the American Revolution, the local population could be divided into "patriots/revolutionaries" on one side, "loyalists/Royalists" on the other, and a huge middle block of those who wished to stay out of battle-- over which both sides exerted tremendous pressure, making these episodes as bitter as any period in history. The game title means, "War to the Death," and comes from a proclamation Simon Bolivar made to all Spaniards in Venezuela-- "support us or else."
Warfare took place from the remote northern border with America to the tip of the continent now shared by Chile and Argentina. Progress ebbed and flowed, with territories changing hands several times and the intensity and size of battles slowly escalating.
The overall war is a fascinating struggle of varied elements, from Spanish and "Royalist" troops to formed patriot units, militias, armed mobs, Indians, and mercenaries. Actions include slave revolts, naval assaults, guerilla war, battles with a hostile environment, and the interplay of politics with economics...all depicted and intermeshed to affect overall play as they affected real events. The game offers a map from "New Spain" to "Rio de la Plata," with area movement, one-year turns, and 280 half-inch counters.
Guerra a Muerte offers a chance to understand a hardly-heard-of period of Western history, the effects of which are still with us today.
Map - One full color 22"x34" mapsheet
Counters - 280 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces
Rules length - 12 pages
Charts and tables - 4 pages
Solitaire suitability - Average
Playing time - Up to 6 hours
A Civil Wars Special
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Clash of Arms Games continues the highest standards in wargame design and production with "The Battle of Monmouth". Volume VI in the acclaimed Battles from the Age of Reason series, this is the second game to explore the battlefields of the American Revolution.
"The Battle of Monmouth" explores the fateful events of June 28, 1778 when the Continental Army led by George Washington attacked Sir Henry Clinton's British and Hessian column as it withdrew from Philadelphia and retreated across New Jersey to New York...an event that signalled the tide had turned in the war.
Four scenarios explore this dramatic situation:
* Lee's Repulse;
* Washington's Stand;
* The Battle of Monmouth Courthouse (the entire engagement);
* and The General Engagement - a "what if" exploration of a possible second day of battle.
Components:
* 2nd Edition Standard Series Rules booklet;
* Exclusive Rules booklet containing Special Rules, Scenarios and Historical Commentary;
* Two 22" x 34" full color, period-style maps;
* Over 400 counters, both full color and black & white;
* American and British Unit Rosters;
* Cardstock charts & tables;
* Two 10-sided dice.
Old Testament Wargame by Clash of Arms
The Campaigns of King David is Rob Markham's multi-player simulation of the struggle for supremacy in the biblical area of Israel and its immediate neighbors during the reign of King David. Two to five players attempt to achieve their victory conditions (control of cities). The game is 7 turns, each with 5 separate sections. Four of the sections play very quickly (Initiative Determination, Diplomacy, Drawing Phase Chits, and determining if
victory conditions have been met. The fifth section, Phases, has 12 Actions. Each Action consists of one specific type, movement/combat, obtaining resources, obtaining food, army maintenance and building, etc. The 12 Actions are chosen randomly with the first six shown face up, allowing the players to know the order. The remaining six are displayed face down, providing some uncertainty as to the next Action to occur. As there are 15 Action chits from which to choose, players never know exactly what will occur the second half of the Phase sections. Players must husband their resources and food to maintain their field armies, build and re-equip units, improve fortified cities, and wage battle.
Play is balanced, with each nation's victory conditions tailored to its historical situation. Game duration ranges from 3 hours for a two-player game up to 5-6 hours for a five-player game.
Contents:
1 Rulebook
1 22" x 34" (8.7 cm x 13.4 cm) map
500 5/8" (.25 cm) counters on three sheets
Charts & Player's Aids
Dice necessary to play the game
Close Action supplement.
Second volume in the Close Action series, provides 20 scenarios that cover naval actions during the US War of Independence.
Naval Warfare in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, 1777-1783
Monsson Seas is volukme three of Mark Campbell's naval warfare Close Action Series.
This set of special rules and scenarios covers the campaigns of French Admiral Pierre-Andre De Suffren and his battles with the British Royal Navy in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
In the year 431BC, the Greek world was dominated by the Athenian Empire, due to their naval supremacy of the Aegean. Only the Spartans dard to challenge their might through the strength of their unsurpassed hoplite troops. The result was a 30-year conflict that ended in the destruction of Greek dominance in the ancient world.
Two to four players use military force and political influence in their struggle to control the city-states of ancient Greece. Playing time ranges from 4-10 hours for short scenarios, to 20+ hours for the full campaign game, as players mobilize forces four times a year, and deploy them three times each season. As the leader of the Athenian Empire, can you save Athens' glory from the Spartan onslaught? As the leader of the Peloponnesian League, can you free Greece from Athenian tyranny without destroying it in the process?
Players have a full range of strategic options, including sieges, constructing and destroying fortifications, razing enemy cities, foraging and raiding. Event Cards provide both random events (such as storms at sea, bad omens, the crippling plague at Athens, etc.) and strategic targets (city betrayals, rebellion of Athenian regions, Persian support, the Sicilian Expedition, among others).
Fleet units represent 25 triremes, the light war galleys of the ancient Mediterranean, plus associated transport vessels. Hoplite units represent 1,000 heavily-armored Greek infantrymen. Each cavalry unit represents about 400 men and horses. Light infantry includes all types of lightly armored footsoldiers, including missile troops and barbarians, with each unit representing between 1,000 and 5,000 men.
The rules allow for historically accurate periods of peace, where both sides caught their breath while preparing for a renewed struggle. The Epic of the Peloponnesian War is a complete simulation of this conflict.
Scenarios include the introductory Argive League scenario, played on only a portion of the map; three scenarios each covering only a portion of the war; and the full Campaign Game for 2-4 players (adding Thebes and Corinth to the Peloponnesian side as the third and fourth players).
Rules and Historical commentary
2 maps, 22" x 34"
560 counters
118 event cards
Charts
Dice
