Received my 2 copies on 4-12-08.

I'll go from the bad to the good

I am a little disappointed in the quality. The game board is a fairly thin sheet of paper. The instructions and counters seem to be OK. However, it did bother me when I opened the box and it was only half full. The box is only 11" x 9" x 2", so there really isn't much here for $40+ including shipping.

(Edit) You do have to make copies of 3 charts, so the extra room in the box is for these copies as well as the unpunched counters. (Edit)

The game play definitely makes up for the lack of components. I played my first game on 04-12-08 and I must say that this game is pretty fun. Even though my crew died a fiery death over Akashi Japan, I still had a lot of fun playing this one. I can't wait to play it with a squadron.

This game is entirely luck based. You roll either one or two six sided dice (supplied by you) and consult a multitude of charts for results. A turn goes something like this: Move airplane; Check off fuel consumed; Check Weather Conditions; Check for Random Events (Engine Malfunction, Instrument Malfunction, Loss of Cabin Pressure; etc.); Check for enemy fighters; if so, resolve attack(s); Drop Bombs; etc.

There is probably 50 charts to this game, so there is a lot of flipping through the charts book. I am sure that some of the charts will be memorized pretty quickly, while others will not come up often enough to memorize them.

At any rate, this game delivers when it comes to simulating a B-29 Bombing mission. I really felt for my team that blew up over Akashi, but another team will take their place because Japan must be stopped!

I was considering picking this up, but am a little concerned about your comment that it is 'entirely luck based'. Does the player make meaningful decisions, or are you just along for the ride?

Geoff

"Just along for the ride."

Great expression for the luck element.
Will add that to my gaming vocab.

So what your're saying is that there's room to store all the counters once you've punched them all out?

I was hoping for something more than just B-17 with more charts, but that's what it sounds like. Can anyone who has played both comment?

I can't yet vouch for play of the game, but from some early KP comments on the design and a play demonstration, it sounds like there are some decisions to make about what altitude to maintain with damage or fuel considerations, whether to press on or abort, and the like.

There will certainly be a lot of mechanical considerations and random determinations; the '29 was a very advanced machine for its time and had a LOT of teething and early operational problems, but that's to be expected if the game is truly modeling a B-29 in action.

Given that these aircraft operated in formations with preplanned objectives, I'm not sure how many decisions a game on this topic could provide the solo player.

I've thought for a long time that a game featuring a B-52 penetrating a number of different environments, from North Vietnam to the USSR, on conventional and nuclear-strike missions would be very interesting, particularly if the game covered a wide span of the BUFF's career from high-altitude nuclear strikes to individual Nap-of-earth nuclear penetration to conventional formation bombing. In such a game upgrades in engines, avionics, weapons and tactics could all be reflected and player decisions would multiply accordingly.

By the way, you're lucky, my preordered copy hasn't landed yet.

"Just along for the ride."

Say it ain't so! I also bought this game, but have not yet received it. Solo wargames have a huge appeal to me as I have nobody to play with now (perhaps with my son in 10-12 years).

The main reason that I didn't pick up Compass Games' Silent War was that I got the impression that you only rolled dice and had no direct control over what happened. For a 30 min diversion, it may be ok, but for a 20 hours stretch, I'd rather invest my time in something else.

Nice to the point review. Thanks Kevin. I look forward to flying squadron missions as well!

If B-29 is anything like B-17, you may be disappointed. B-17 is a great experiential simulation (I greatly enjoy the game) but there are few choices to make.

There are a few decisions to be made, such as: Altitude; Cabin Pressurization; When to bail out; Targeting; etc. However, I would still call it a luck based game.

There is a lot of die rolling in Silent War, but there are also a fair few decisions. It is an operational simulation, but there is alot of choice how to run your operation. And also, you need to pick your targets, choose when to risk a re-attack, how to divide your spreads etc... Many more choices than B-17 (which I also own).

Oh yeah, and what to do when your @!#$%ing torpedo is a dud (AGAIN!!!)

I can't even imagine the frustration of the real submariners with those bum torpedoes. Not to mention you just gave your position away for nothing...

Anyhoo, done hijacking. Back to B-29.

Can't comment on B-29 but I think the appeal of B-17 for me at least is in the variety of different situations for each mission. There is an element of 'role playing' when you are tabling your crew up, and seeing who survives and who becomes an 'Ace' etc. The game really has a 'Choose Your own Adventure' story telling element to it ( a series of children's books that I am fondly reminded of in this game), especially when you are flipping through the charts.

To be fair to B-17, some of the toughest decisions involve positioning your gunners when the bomber is faced with many attackers. There is also a strong element of gambling, considering that you can 'abort' missions before you reach your bombing targets if you bomber is too damaged. This is always an agonizing decision for me, and a really cool part of the experience.

Thanks for the review.

Well... the game is very similar to B-17.

In terms of talking abuot the game, you need to understand that the game first attempts to simulate a conflict, then second makes a game out of it. So imagine you are a bomber commander; The target is set, the formation is set, the height of the formation is set, the speed you fly at is set, the overal campaign strategy is set. Even your bombload is set.

Perhaps a game simulating being a Squadron leader might be interesting - but this is an indvidual plane. So the mission selection, whilst random, is the equivalent of waling into the briefing hut and getting told where, when, and what you are going to bomb.

So in terms of decision making - there is an appropriate level of decision making found in sections of the game. Which means none on the ground, a limited amount during formation flying, and then lots when you find yourself damaged and out of formation!

For example, you chose which fighters you target when they attack you. Do you go for ones most likely to damage your plane, do you conserve ammo for ones not likely to hit. Are crewmen wounded, do you need to transfer ammo etc etc.

The more things go wrong, the more you have to make decisions, including the fateful decision to drop out of formation if the damage allows you to do so.

Then you have that choice about staying in formation for greater protection - or dropping out and trying to make it home alone.

More of a problem in the ETO than PTO...



So - as with a real bomber commander, the decisions only really start when things go wrong - when things go right, there are not too many decisions to make... and on a milk-run with no fighter attacks, you are essentially just rolling on the random results table. But then it it was a real milk run, you would simply fly in a straight line on the course set, hope the bombadier gets the bombs on target and then go home.


HOWEVER - as with B-17, there is a huge amount of tension - and that is where these games shine.

Once you start to name your bomber, and give your crew-men names, and perhaps even using some of the extra elements out on the web that allow you to randomly generate where in the US they come from - you then have an empathy simulator - where you have in your hands the lives of these guys.

I've had some truly exciting moments in B-17 where I've decided to abort and then panic my Navigator who has survived 14 missions is not going to make it... or the Cheif Engineer I named after my brother is not going to survive his wounds.

so, if you have a vivid imagination and can get into the narrative the game creates between the missions, then B-17 and its sucessors really emerge as gem games.

"You are along for the ride"

That sums up bombing in WW2... you have to fly in a straight line and tak everything the enemy throws at you, and pray you don't get the BIP - Bomb Bay - prior to dropping your bombs!


Now I'm biased, I love wargames, and B-17 is one of my favourite games... but I can't recommend enough!

"HOWEVER - as with B-17, there is a huge amount of tension - and that is where these games shine."

Fair enough. I'll give it a try once I receive my copy of the game (I just received my shipping confirmation 30 sec. ago).

Sounds intriguing.

Sorry for the noob question.

I like the concept.
Would you folks recommend this new game, or the old B-17 off ebay?