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RichardV — 2006-12-26T10:58:11+00:00

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RichardV — 2006-12-26T10:57:58+00:00

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RichardV — 2003-08-20T12:15:00+00:00

Thread: User Review

RichardV — 2003-08-13T16:20:01+00:00

Shining Path is a very interesting game, and unlike most others I know, except its bretheren by Brian Train such as Algeria and Tupamaro. It deals with the guerilla war in Peru, but makes the fundamental realization that guerilla warfare is not really about controlling chunks of territory, it is about controlling public opinion. The battle is waged on a map of Peru, but most of the action happens on the record tracks as popular support for the Goverment and the Rebels rises and falls, and as morale of the army, police and politicians decays. The two sides are completely different: the guerillas can not destroy police or army units, but are themselves constantly losing cadres to cordon-and-search actions by the government troops. Instead the Sendero player must stage stage strikes and terror attacks to sap the morale of their opponents and destroy the economy reducing the ability of the government to mount effective action against the guerillas. Game play is quite simple: players build units, deploy units, and then send them out on missions, spending action points for each mission. Missions are chosen from a menu that includes things like Riot, Propoganda, Robbery and Intimidation for the guerillas, and Garrison, Intelligence, Civic Affairs Program and Cordon-and-Search for the Government. Success is determined by die roll, usually with one or two simple modifiers.

Good things about the game: the graphics are quite good, and I love the cover. The asymmetry of the two sides makes for a very interesting game. It plays in about 90 minutes. Simple rules create quite a lot of flavour, so that for instance the police units feel different from the army units. The game is very cheap. The map focuses the action and the system is simple enough that it creates a good feel. In the somewhat similar game "Nicaragua" from S&T magazine, every political action had so many modifiers that it felt more like an accounting exam than a game of guerilla warfare.

Bad things: you have to assemble the counters. The rules are not really that clear, and some features could have used a bit more development as not all missions are equally useful. I am not sure it is very balanced (seems to favour the Government). There is a fair amount of luck (random events, plus key die rolls).

I like it and recommend it if you like fast-playing simple wargames, and you're not obsessively parakeet-ish about components.

Game: Shining Path - The Struggle for Peru

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Thread: User Review