I thought this list was about wargames...

Nailed it. I currently own both, but am trying to trade the new one. From the perspective of the solo game there was no significant improvement between the two editions and I prefer the flavor of the original.

It will be interesting to see how fast the reprint sells; my perception from the forum here is that this game didn't quite scratch the itch people thought it would and reviews have been quite polarised. To me it's very fiddly and none of my non-wargaming friends are interested in it (which was the basic reason for me buying it). When I'm reunited with my copy (which I left in China when moving back the UK), I'll be trading it...

Superb artwork though; can't disagree with that.

I was amazed at how half-baked the rulebook was. The Kings Commissioner rules, a central part of the game, just did not work as written. I struggle to imagine how the game could have been play tested with these rules. GMT was relatively fast posting the various rule patches, but I find myself soured on the whole package.

I never played the original, but found this game to be fun... have tried a full 5 player game, and it kept us entertained.

Actually, it's quite good fun when you have a good pirate and you want to cash him in 'retire' - then suddenly you feel the whole world is against you!

Very good wargame: learnable, playability, time invested and historically speaking.

They obviously failed history class!

Great game. Everybody I've introduced to this game also likes it a lot.

A good solid game. The system mirrors the confusion of a very confusing period of history quite well.

If you are one who like perfect plans and cannot think quickly about rapidly changing situations then this one might not be for you. Chaos reigns here but it's good fun.

Not a bad game, and I find I like it a little better each time I play now that I've sort of learned to ride the wave of chaos a little better.

I missed out on A Victory Lost, so I am looking forward to picking this up.

I do have Red Star Rising: The War in Russia, 1941-1944 though...

Pre-ordered as I've always found this particular campaign of interest.

FYI - "A Victory Lost" is being re-released in late September 2008 (confirmed by Brian Youse of MMP). I'm looking forward to getting a copy when it comes out as I missed the boat dispite .. . or perhaps because of the buzz.

Sadly, Pat Hirtle's review, now deleted from BGG, was instrumental in changing my mind. Warriors of God was also key - MMP's IGS series has really impressed me of late and I find members of the series a refreshing change of pace from other games on my shelf.

I'm on the fence with this and AVL. I'm not a big E Front fan so do people think the game plays well enough to overcome that? I'm a big fan of Normandy but concede just how one sided that situation is and don't play strategic level games as much (TME for example). How woluld these 2 E Front games compare to the Normandy situation for game players?

an interesting question Scoobysnacks. I'm thinking that the East Front situation that's most like bocage filled Normandy is the slugfest in Stalingrad. Maybe you should consider "Breakout Normandy's" great grandson, "Storm over Stalingrad" listed below.

Personally, I prefer the free-wheeling battles of maneuver (a tough word to spell indeed ) found on the eastern front, particularly in its early days.

But the situation in Normandy is interesting as well

When will we get it....... that's all I want to know.

-M

After Richard Berg's remake of Blackbeard I'm gonna take a wait and see attitude with this one. Sometimes they don't get the redo right and the original is the better game.

The reprint rules, counters, cards, and map have all been posted on line if you're curious to take an advance look. I've only played Successors once, but this reprint looks mainly to have just cleaned up all the errata (which is a good thing, in my opinion). I can't wait for it to get here!

I would like to give this a try.

I'm a CDG veteran (not that I'm any good at the games...) but I was wondering what the unique system here is.

Just from what I've heard, there's an islamic revolution meter as the Turks try to stoke the flames and then there's the uniqueness of the situation itself.

Wondering how that plays itself out. Is it hard to move through most of the map? Do units cluster on railways as a result? Is there attrition in the game?

As a Paths of Glory fan I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of this one.

I'm looking forward to learning the game and the history behind the game at the same time. The mapboard is truly impressive.

Jihad points occur for various reasons. The number of Jihad points determines the number of tribe counters that operate on the map. Furthermore, the Jihad points determine whether or not rebellions are possible in various sectors of the map.



The attrition is identical to Paths of Glory except for one other element, severe weather attrition (it happens if you attack in mountains in winter). As for movement, it's entirely possible to move across the map, and from various directions. It's quite a fluid game, with breakthroughs and rapid advances entirely possible. Railways affect only strategic redeployment, so there's no clustering of units on railways.

Thanks for your answers, Neil.

You will have to balance multiple fronts, all of which are important:

Caucasia, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt/Palestine, the Balkans.

And in addition, there are several cards allowing seaborne invasions, which can bring Gallipoli or Syria into play (or Smyrna) as fronts.

The basic rules for PURSUIT are the same as PATHS OF GLORY. There are several elements that distinguish PURSUIT from PATHS OF GLORY:

The Russian Revolution will likely happen, but the timing is determined upon the ability of the Russian player to gain increasing Victory Spaces (thereby pushing the revolution back one turn each time) -- this gives a tense tug of war feel to the TU-RU conflicts and gives the Russian a high incentive to invade neutral Persia (for the VPs).

We are dealing here predominately with smaller units on a smaller scale -- lots of divisions (or smaller) units. Corps are your large units, and some of these begin unorganized and can then be built using divisions on the map. That allows players to choose when to concentrate firepower, giving up flexibility and frontage coverage.

The Severe Weather Check applies during combat for Mountains in Winter (outside Syria/Palestine, of course) and for Desert and Swamp in Summer. Weather was a hugely destructive factor in this theater, including malaria as perhaps THE largest source of casualties in Mesopotamia and the Balkans.

Railroads are vital for Strategic Redeployment of corps and also for divisions through desert. Otherwise, movement is freely up to the players.

There are more Supply Sources on the map and small units can be placed directly on them (rather than only into the Reserve Box), speeding up play. Also, the British player can bring units in at ports.

These are some of the factors that give PURSUIT a unique feel drawn directly from the smaller scale of units and logistics, as well as the unique dynamics of the regions involved.

Players report a constant, delightful tension -- one has described it as "the Wild West version of PoG"!

I have it, I've played it, and I like it!

This is a really good game even though I have a tendency to detest CDGs. Manoeuvre is a great way to kill an hour. Jeff Horger's WWII game (apparently similar to this) is on P 500:

http://www.gmtgames.com/stormbreaks/main.html

Quiet you! You've caused me to spend enough money already!


-Will

This game is wonderful. The unsung hero of 2008 light war games.

-M

do you think? it has a huge # of ratings on this site for a wargame. personally i have no interest in this game at all, but BGG users seem to have taken a shine to it.

A good, fun little game. I have no regrets buying it. Just make sure you shuffle your decks very well between plays, which I'm sure is a no-brainer.

I'm on this one, but preorders have slowed to a crawl. There have been rumors that MMP is looking to ax some of the games whose orders are languishing. I sure hope this isn't one of them.

I have been meaning to pre-order this for some while - sheer inertia and the fact that I've never pre-ordered from MMP before has stopped me.

What I'm really looking for on the Crusdaes (1st thru to fall of Antioch) is something around the complexity/fell of 'War of the Ring'. 'Kingdom of Heaven' is probably closer to this than the recent 'Onward Christian Soldiers' but still somewhat heavier.

If you want the game, pre-order it. It has been climbling very slowly, and if it doesn't take off soon, MMP may pull it from their pre-order all together.

I placed my pre-order last night. My first from MMP. Looks really cool.

Same here. I have four games on preorder from MMP but this is the one I am most excited for.

Can't wait.

Lee and Neil are plotting layout and play examples.

I'm betting you will see a really big spike when this thing gets some real artwork.

Agreed. This one needs the full-on Simonich treatment very badly. I pre-ordered based on the subject matter. Hopefully is better received than the previous 30-Years War effort.

It got a beautiful treatment and looks amazing now.

This might be released relatively soon. I've got my order in and am looking forward to it. I think I have a WWI itch too.

I couldn't have put it better.

SCS games are interesting. They're a bit like puzzles, I really enjoy them ... for half a dozen plays, and then they never hit the table again. It's not a bad thing, they get trade, etc. I enjoy them, will probably buy the next one released, but they don't stay in the collection of decades either.

Now if only I could get a copy of Fallshirmjager (sic?) ... that I'd enshrine

This series grew on me very quickly. Its VERY easy to pick up in a war game sense and a lot of fun to play. The game is like crack....any expansion will satisfy the craving for more....for a little while!

I'm not much of a tactical WW II guy. Give me a strategic level WW II game and I'm happy but give me squad level and I can take it or leave it. This is likely the only tactical level WW II game that's I've really enjoyed to the point that I would suggest to someone that we play it some night over something else.

I only wish I had a partner to play CC with I had Europe for a while, but after many failed attempts to find a gaming partner for CC:E I traded it away.

Not just grognards ... newnards as well.

Personally, I'm cold on this family of games. But then I don't much care for tactical WWII games either.

September pushed back to December.

But the rules were just made available and it's going to be an awesome game. Many details unique to Pacific Theater with tweaks from all of the CC play that's gone on.

Bought it (after a month of internal dialogue "should I pay that much for a game"), played the 2 intro scenarios solo. A lot more manageable than I thought it would be, I've enjoyed it so far. Hoping for some f2f games.

Played F2F and by Vassal and it is a great game.
Easier and faster than it looks, except for the diffy assaults. And don't forget the mastepiece of components.

I'm still waiting for this to become available again in the UK - have it on backorder - hurry up Gamestore/shipping-container or wherever it's stuck.

My concern exactly. The situations in Market Garden seem more dynamic and free flowing. I'd love to see spin off game with just the short scenarios from TDC as a gateway into the system.

Maybe I need to borrow a friends copy ... mental note, get more friend with copies of TDC.

If you're sitting on the fence on this game, you'd better hurry. It's almost sold out at MMP. It is one of the most playable 'monster games' out there.

Further on the horizon, I believe Adam Starkweather's working on a D-Day game using this system which covers the Commonwealth beaches.

I'm eagerly awaiting this one. The system seems very interesting.

Talking about solo games, this year also saw the release of Field Commander: Rommel from DVG and soon they'll release the second game in the series: Field Commander: Alexander the Great which is looking very nice...

I can't find this one on the GMT web site. Have a feeling it will be on your 2010 geeklist as well.

it's here

http://www.gmtgames.com/p-111-fields-of-fire.aspx

it is being done
I should know I am doing the art for the cards and counters

Thanks I searched for Field of Fire.

Then you, sir, deserve my compliments. I like what I've seen on the posted examples!

I've yet to take the plunge into Bowen's new designs, mostly because I've found the rules tricky to wrap my head around, they don't seem terribly soliatire compatable, and I just plain haven't gotten around to buying one.

But his system set in Gettysburg ... about as close to a must have as I can imagine.*

Hidden troop strengths, now if only their were dummy units to further the fog of war.

Oh yes, I'll give a copy of this title a good home.

* Setting the system at Antietam ... that would be the definition of "must have"

I'm a sucker for any games of Bowen. His games are awesome. The Look. The play. The quality!

THIS will definitely my jump into his system. Friend of mine will buy the Nappy line so I can play these but this one is interesting me so much that we might both buy it.

The only reason I haven't played any of of the games from Bowen is simply I'm not a big Napoleonic buff. I know it sounds odd but when it comes to history I like Medieval Europe and then jump forward to the mid 19th century.

Imcredible proposal!!! Dying to beta test it when the time comes!°!!

As a Naps freak, I can't describe myself as anything but resentful that Bowen is wandering away from my period of choice.

I was REALLY hoping for a Borodino.

That said, I love this whole approach and am down hard for this one.

And while I'm on the stump, let me say that I've never had a better experience dealing with a game co. than when I called Bowen (actually, I called the company line and GOT Bowen) to get a replacement board for one of his games. Well worthy of our support.

Jim