Peter Martin
Spain
Oceanside
California
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They Shall Not Pass is a boardgame based on the Verdun Campaign which lasted from February 21st until December 19th, 1916. The game focuses on the struggle between the German 5th Army (led by Crown Prince Wilhelm) and the French 2nd Army (who eventually would be led by General Henri Petain).
The game includes a 34"x22" map that is glossy (ugh!) and not very attractive, I'm afraid. It is functional, but this map looks like something a "third world" company would have used in the 70's. Again, this is more of an aesthetic concern than a gameplay concern. It includes two playing aid cards and 140 counters that are also glossy (sigh). It's a personal preference, but I greatly prefer a matte finish on the counters to glossy since a glossy finish creates eyestrain for me under bright lights. Over all, the graphics are disappointing, but not a "deal-breaker".
The game consists of nine turns with a familiar sequence of play: Weather, German Organization Phase, Bombardment Phase, Movement Phase, Assault Phase, and Breakthrough Movement Phase followed by a French identical sequence. The organization phase is used to check for supply, rally troops and bring in replacements and reinforcements. The rulebook follows the sequence of play quite well and I didn't find any glaring omissions.
The most important wrinkles in this system are the way artillery is handled, the use of German Pioneer and French Hunter troops, and the rules for digging-in. There are three types of artillery: Army, Corps and Divisional. Army guns can only do barrage and interdiction (limit movement and supply lines to the enemy). Divisional guns can only do Offensive and Defensive Assault support and Corps guns can do anything. However, they can only shoot once (with the exception of the Big German gun that can shoot three times in a turn). Here is the wrinkle: each gun can only shoot once per turn. Therefore, the players have to be careful how and when they use their guns. On top of that, these guns can only move or shoot, so the Germans have to decide each turn whether to fire one more time or move up the guns into better position.
The second wrinkle involves the elite units for both sides - German Pioneer and French Hunter troops. The German Pioneers give an assault bonus on attacks and allow infantry stacked with them to participate in the Breakthrough Movement Phase. However (and here is the wrinkle) if they participate in an assault, they have to take the first damage result. This means it is really easy for the German player to blow out his Pioneers before they get anywhere near Verdun. For the French, the Hunters can change German Infantry ZOC's from strong to weak (allowing for French Infantry to slip through German Infantry ZOC's) and allows French units stacked with them to participate in the French Breakthrough Movement Phase. The wrinkle here is that if Hunter units are destroyed in combat, they cannot be replaced.
The final wrinkle are the rules for Digging-In. This rule really helps the French hold the line before the Germans can reach Verdun. It isn't as good as a trench, but it definitely serves a good purpose for the French early in the game.
So how does the game play? Quite well, actually. The Germans will blow huge holes in the French lines early on and much of the success for the French will depend on how many of their troops survive the first couple of turns. However, if the French can keep their wits about them, starting on turn three they will receive reinforcements. In the games I have played, these reinforcements showed up just in the knick of time to avert disaster. I would call the play balance pretty even, although the more experienced player should probably play the French since they seem to have a smaller margin for error. The game includes four optional rules to balance the game as needed, depending on the player's preferences.
It has become fashionable lately to pick on Avalanche Games because of their spotty track record with game development. I won't argue that point since I have also been disappointed by some of AP's games. If I were to judge this game strictly on its graphics, I would have to not recommend this game. The graphics distract, rather than complement, this product. However, I am a gamer and not an art critic and as I gamer, I can recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun, well-balanced game with a minimum of setup time or rules interpretation. Every game I played was a tight affair which could have gone either way when the game was concluded.
Although Avalanche Games is hardly thought of as the standard of conflict simulations, they've earned your ducats this time. For $20, you get a fun game with a lot of replayability. I recommend it.
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Craig Benn
United Kingdom
Unspecified
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Good review Peter. It's nice to see lots of world war I games coming through these days. You've typo'd the year though - it was 1916 not 1915.
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Tom Hudson
United States
Vermilion
Ohio
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Excellent review. I might get this one based on your comments.
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Colin Hunter
New Zealand
Auckland
Stop the admins removing history from the Wargaming forum.
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just went on to my wish list... Good review.
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Weintraub J
United States
Commack
New York
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Not generally a wargamer, but this review makes it tempting...
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Peter Martin
Spain
Oceanside
California
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Pathirtle wrote: Nice overview of the game, thanks. Now I'm tempted, but... Quote: Over all, the graphics are disappointing, but not a "deal-breaker". I'm afraid I just don't play games that make my eyes bleed.
Hi Patrick, I understand what you are saying and I agree that the graphics are pretty bad. Something that I did not mention in the review was that the hexes are nice and big, so you have plenty of room for the counters in the game. That a plus.
I guess I just look at some of the games I played in the 70's when I was a kid and realize that I've played and enjoyed games with much worse graphics than this game. Being color-blind may have something to do with this, but graphics have never really been a deal-breaker for me. If the graphics are functional and nothing is in really small font so as to be unreadable, I can live with poor graphics if there is a good game in there. Then again, that's just me.
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Peter Martin
Spain
Oceanside
California
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Crom Cruach wrote: Good review Peter. It's nice to see lots of world war I games coming through these days. You've typo'd the year though - it was 1916 not 1915.
Corrected. Nice catch, Craig. I'm glad you and others enjoyed the review. Ugly graphics aside, this one is a keeper.
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Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
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Just received TSNP. So this game looks pretty interesting, pity about the map. Now, it's not as heinous as the Strange Defeat map, since here you can at least tell what terrain features are under the units ... from the next room. The funky colors and textures are definitely a drawback, however. Bright green hilltops? Trenchlines that look like roads? What were they thinking?
Since this is an APL product, you just know there's got to be errata, and TSNP does not disappoint on this score. Within minutes of opening the box, I noticed a bit of counter errata. The 16th Division's artillery unit's flip side should have the "Fired" notation and read 0-2-0 just like every other French divisional artillery unit. As it now stands, when this unit fires, it magickally transforms into a reduced strength garrison. If I get around to it before APL, I'll post the corrected artillery unit flip side. Nothing big, I know, but you just gotta wonder what other "howlers" slipped through...
TT
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Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
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Guess I got to it first...
Here's the fixed "fired" side for the French 16th divisional artillery. Simply print this out and adhere to the flip side of the 16th artillery unit, covering the reduced strength garrison error.
TT
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Dave Dentel
United States
Purcellville
Virginia
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Nice review. I'm glad to see favorable commentary on this game. I like the concept of AP's smaller, cheaper, fast-playing games, but I was really disappointed with the production of Strange Defeat. So I feel better now about wanting to give TSNP a go.
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Brandon Pennington
Spain
Springfield
Missouri
If your orange juice doesn't burn on the way down, then you need more vodka!
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you say the map is 22x34", however the box says 22x27". Which one is correct as I have a 22x28" poster frame I bought for my C&C:Ancients board, but it was too small. If it is in fact 22x27" I will keep the frame, as I plan on buying this game in the near future
Thanks
TGov
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Bob Schindler
United States
St. Charles
Missouri
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I believe that Avalanche was looking for a new design artist. I was hoping that they would stop their production long enough to get the maps and other graphic elements "right".
I still bought the game, but it was $16.00. I can not see paying around $150 for some of their other products if the production values are this poor. Thank you for the review.
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Luis E. Hernández
Puerto de Sagunto, Valencia, SPAIN
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I bought this game and I stop playing as soon as I started. I got disappointed by it. It´s no that I judge it bad, but I was looking for an easy to learn wargame and this is too much for my "battered" mind. They say Difficulty 1.5/5 on the box and I think it is a little harder than this. Also the rules are 24 pages and not 16, as stated on the box.
Many years ago I used to enjoy this kind of games, but I´ve become older and lazier and I look for simpler things...
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Marco Arnaudo
United States
Bloomington
Indiana
"My spoon is too big!"
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just got my copy!
thank you for the review!
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Joshua Gottesman
United States
Las Vegas
Nevada
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Gameluis wrote: I bought this game and I stop playing as soon as I started. I got disappointed by it. It´s no that I judge it bad, but I was looking for an easy to learn wargame and this is too much for my "battered" mind. They say Difficulty 1.5/5 on the box and I think it is a little harder than this. Also the rules are 24 pages and not 16, as stated on the box.
Many years ago I used to enjoy this kind of games, but I´ve become older and lazier and I look for simpler things...
You may never see this, and the new map is MUCH nicer. I really like it. It gets me excited to try out the game.
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I've had this one for awhile, but was just going through the rules for the first time yesterday. I'm eager to give it a try. For me, the trickiest rules the first time through were the supply lines and ZOC rules. I'm going to have to read those again.
Looks like a good little game, though. Both sides have some decisions to make about where and when to move, and how to use their artillery.
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Posted Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:17 am
