Aussie Gaming Gripes - and Almeida & Bussaco 1810 from Hexasim Games

Back in August, I listed my top most highly anticipated games of the day. Now, 4 months later, I am still yet to own a single one of them. What happened you may ask? Well, some of these games have simply not yet been published - and are expected in 2017. However, FAB Golan and Stonewall's Sword have been out for some months now. 

What has prevented me from pulling the 'buy' trigger here in Australia is either the games cannot be purchased from any retailer here, or - if they can - the retail price is 150-200% on what gamers in the US enjoy. 

Shipping these games internationally has become hideously expensive. Not too long ago, Milsims here in Australia was offering these games at a very attractive price, but the wheels sadly came off of that operation and a number of gamers - including myself - got burnt, with Milsims neither honouring orders nor making refunds. The ratbag running that operation took the money and ran.

I must hasten to add that Milsims has now been resurrected under entirely new ownership. It's too early to tell yet if we gamers will once more enjoy the kind of prices and range of titles of yesteryear. Somehow, I doubt it, as such prices probably contributed to the downfall of a company that had, for so long, been a key part of the gaming retail landscape here in Australia. As a teen in the 70s - when the dinosaurs still walked the Earth - I well remember the excitement of receiving their latest catalogues in the post.

Well, enough of these gripes. At least this new climate of austerity has encouraged me to spend more time with the games that I own - including some that I (ahem) have owned for some time, but never played. More on that in future instalments...as they hit the table. Right now, I am doing a solo learning game from Almeida & Bussaco 1810 - one of the many titles from Frederic Bey's Jours de Gloire Series.

This is the game's cover, provided by Christophe Gentil-Perret on the game's BGG page:

 I saw this title for sale on E-Bay and decided to pick it up after noting just how highly rated these Bey game are. After playing a couple of solo games, my strong impression is that their reputation is well deserved. These games are generally at battalion-scale - here's a snapshot from that battle - again from the BGG site - provided by Remi Carton:

 

You can see the fortress of Almeida in the SW corner of the map, bristling with fixed Portugese batteries. For those of you - like me - who are fans of the Richard Sharpe novels from Bernard Cornwell, Almeida should be well known to you....and you can also spy the 95th rifles in the bottom centre of the above image.

I'm not going to go into detail now about this game system, but will reserve that until such time as I have a couple of 2p games under my belt. However, in my solo games, I've been enjoying the chit pull and order allocation system. With the latter, you can see the 'QG' markers with their horseman silhouettes in the above picture. When specific formations are activated by having their command markers drawn from a cup, their associated order (horseman) markers are turned over, to reveal if they have been allocated orders or not. This order status will have implications for a range of actions, including movement and combat. In the picture, you can see a revealed marker immediately to the left of the fortress, indicating that the British formation has not been allocated orders this turn. A player does have the option of trying for a die roll to see if a formation can receive orders. If this fails, then all they can do is rally.

In contrast to the situation in the above picture (Turn 8), in both of my solo games, the British/Portugese were smashed by overwhelming French attacks. I need to think more about how to put up a more effective defence/delay operation.

I look forward to a face to face game of this in the near future.

Enough of Napoleonics. You may be asking what has happened to the epic Battle of Second Bull Run? Well, after a couple of weeks' hiatus while Roger was traveling, the battle has resumed....with fury. More on this soon.

My Most Highly Anticipated Games @ August 2016

Here are 5 games that I am looking forward to playing - hopefully within the next 12-18 months. Few of these are yet available - some are still sitting on GMT's P500 list, or equivalent.

1. FAB: Golan '73  (GMT)

After having gushed about FAB: Bulge being one of my top 5 games, it's little wonder that the latest FAB release from designer Rick Young has been on my radar for some time. I don't have a single Arab-Israeli War game in my collection, so this is the perfect opportunity to address that gap as well.

I'm hoping that this title will mark a return to the the ability of players to stage breakthroughs in the enemy line and exploit them using armour and motorised units. This feature of the FAB system shone in Bulge.

Check out the map:

FAB: Golan '73 is currently shipping.

2. The Dark Sands (GMT)

This one still resides in the GMT P500 list and is slated for release in the first quarter of 2017. A big North Africa title is another gap in my collection and it is a conflict/theatre that has always appealed to me. It's a very different design approach from Raicer's Paths of Glory - it's not a CDG - but I think anything from Ted deserves close scrutiny. The sister game already in print - Dark Valley - covering the Eastern Front, was well received.

3. Wild Blue Yonder (GMT)

The Down in Flames series was pretty popular back in the 90s, spawning quite a few expansions. Somehow, that phenomenon passed me by (I had a long hiatus from board wargaming during the period). I'm now keen to make amends and welcome the return of this classic WWII tactical series, now given the deluxe treatment. Disappointingly, the title has been on the lists for some time, and is currently not slated for release until the second quarter of 2017. The slow pace in attracting support for it certainly surprises me. I look forward to playing the campaign games and hope that a 3-4 player variant will also be in the offing, allowing for some monster dogfights.

4. Stonewall's Sword (Revolution Games)

This title caught my attention earlier this year as it combines a tactical, regiment-level simulation of the battle of Cedar Mountain, with an interesting chit pull system. I subsequently downloaded the ruleset and Vassal module to give the game a solo spin. What resulted was one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I've had in some time, even when playing solo. The uncertainty surrounding drawing chits - some of which assist you and some of which can hamper your opponent - makes for a lot of fun. You can also formulate strategy as to when you wish to play some of the event-based chits, for maximum effect. 

The counters are very attractive:

...as is the map, though it can be frustrating at times trying to work out the height difference between hexes (someone handily superimposed quick reference numerical height levels onto the map, available as a download from the BGG Stonewall's Sword site). In the image above, in addition to various units and commanders (who are activated by chit pulls), you can see some of the event chits (such as Command Confusion, which can be played on your opponent at an opportune moment in play).

Not surprisingly, I hope to acquire this title in the near future. The designer is Hermann Luttmann, which is a good sign that this is a quality ACW title. I also own his little solo game, In Magnificent Style, which is excellent.  Support for the system in this game is gathering steam, with a further title - Thunder in the Ozarks (Pea Ridge) - in the works from Revolution Games, and one coming out from GMT, called Hammerin' Sickles (Longstreet's attack at Gettysburg).

5. Hitler's Reich (GMT)

Another title on the P500 list, currently yet to make the cut. I wouldn't be surprised though if this title is fast-tracked. It offers a fast-paced and fun card-and-map game for two or more players, that can conceivably be played within a couple of hours. All of this should be tonic to gamers - like me - in a mood for something lighter in style and approach. Mark McLaughlin is one of the designers too, so Napoleonic Wars fans, take note!

The GMT blog devotes some attention to this title and the cards look great. Here's a sample:

I'm following this one with much interest......