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 Publisher:

GameFix
Game Publications Group, Inc.
Editor:
Jon Compton
Copy Editor:
Dave Wood
Contributing Editors:
Alan Emrich, Petra Schlunk, Timothy
Kutta, Dave Wood, Keith Schlesinger, Editorial Page 2
Joe Miranda, Cameron Sette, j on Compton
Paul G. Cooper, Robert Markham
Chief Developer:
Keith Schlesinger The Fix You're In Page 3
Art Director: j on Compton
Jon Compton
Business Manager:
Gary E. Smith Battle Briefs Page 4
Operations Manager: Timothy Kutta
Paul G. Cooper
GameFix welcomes your comments
and ideas. Do you have a suggestion? The Battle ofWinceby Page 6
Disagree with a column? We'd like to Robert Ma rkham
hear from you. You can reach us by
phone, fax, mail, or e-mail at the fol-
lowing addresses:
Game Publications Group
Chronology of the English Civil War Page 8
8795 La Riviera Dr. No. 182 Paul C. Cooper
Sacramento, CA 95826
(916) 362- 0875 Fax (916) 362-0876
Internet: [email protected]
Issue Game: Winceby Page 9
R obert M arkham
Subscriptions: GameFix is published
twelve times a year by Game
Publications Group, Inc. One year sub-
scriptions are $49.50. Overseas sub- Behind the Lines: Joe Miranda Page 21
scriptions are $100.00 for one year and Timothy Kutta
are sent airmail. All funds must be in
US currency by means of an interna-
tional money order or check drawn
on a US bank. All checks must Industry News Page 22
be made payable to Timothy K utta
Game Publications Group, Inc.
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Sacramento, CA 95826,
or call (800) 784-4404 (orders only).
Optional Rules: Bombs Away! Page 23
Keith Schlesinger, M ike A nderson
Note: All rights to the contents of this
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January, 1995 Page 1

 Jon Compton Editorial
T he Failure of the Operational Combat Model

Transparency: a Gaming Definition games is achieved by the side that can best cloned ZOes, and others have even done
I don't play that many games anymore. It manipulate ZOes. away with hexes entirely in favor of area
is not so much a func tion ofi nterest, but time. ever mind the tactical situation, the dis- movement systems. The debate continues
Therefore, when the opportunity comes along position of forces, and the effective usc of over the usefulness and validity of such
to sit and play, I'm usually very selective about firepower. Victory depends on the ability to changes, and in some cases it is quite heated.
the game. It is rare that I will elect to play an manage the order of attacks to cut off the A more radical approach was taken in Bor-
operational level game. escape route of enemy forces. This enables rodino from Games USA, in which the areas
The gaming experience is ultimately es- grossly inferior units to eliminate opponents on the map were deliberately shaped so that a
capism . When I sit before a paper battlefield simply because a wide swath of open coun try . unit could only enter a space if the cardboard
and cardboard troops, I want to deal with the does not happen to be avai lable. This ap- counter actually fit inside. A game I am more
decision-making inherent in the situation. proach is so commonplace in today's opera- familiar with and that in my opinion has come
The rules will either facilitate or get in the way tional designs that one wonders if designers the closest to providing satisfYing operational
of that experience. have ever heard of the fighting withdrawal? coverage is Tide of Fortune from 3W. The
I regularly play Command D ecision wi th a As an amateur historian who has not general feeling of the game, once you spend
group of friends locally. CD is a tactical set of served in the mi litary, I do not feel enti rely th e two full days required to figure out the
miniatures rules fo r WWII ground combat, qualified to define what the "operational" level rules, is one where the game becomes an
published by G DW. Like any game, CD has commander's primary concerns are. I think it organic system that presents the player with
a few things we quibble over, but when I play is safe to say, however, that figuring out how options and assets, wh ile still maintaining a
the game I think in terms of battlefield tactics. to manipulate the enemy's zoe is not one of high degree of uncertainty in almost every
The rules very seldom get in the way. As them. That is not to say that the z oe is not situation. I know that I may be pretty much
players, we do not use rules manipulations to useful, only that it has heretofore been too al.o ne in th is assessmen t, but despite its pro-
accom plish victory. Instead, we apply tactics, .large a factor in any given exchange and de- cedural shortcomings ToF is still one of the
proper use of combined arms, etc. CD is what serves re-examination. best operational level games I've played. It
I call a transparent set of rules. In my view, D octrine ought to be the primary deter- suffers from hav.ing much too steep a learning
good rules remove themselves from the deci- mining facto r in the decisions and situations curve due to its poorly written rules, which of
sion-making process. T he game thereby takes of any operational game. Yet it is a greatly course means that the game will be played by
on a life of its own, and the players become neglected element in many designs. At least very few people. I remain convinced that
the vibrant part of the experience. as far as wars in thi s century are concerned, those few will greatly benefit from expending
t he maneuver element is the primary combat- the energy required to get into ToF.
Operational Failure ant on the battlefield. If the maneuver element
Recently Joe Miranda and I played a game is defined as the battalion, as it is in American Facing the Challenge
of Avalon Hill's origi nal Battle ofthe Bulge. To doctrine, only about 40% of a five-batta.lion When G ame Publications Group was in
put it mildly, Joe kicked my butt. brigade should be committed to an assault, the early stages of for mation, we made a de-
Now, I've never claimed to be a particularly with the remainder held in strategic reserve to cision that GPG would not publish an opera-
good player, but Joe defeated me in a way that exploit any breakthrough. tional level game in a box or zip lock bag. T he
left me feeling .. . well, cheated. I didn't think Sounds about right, doesn't it? Yet how reason for that is simple. In the general
I'd done anything wrong tactically, but my many operational games have you played scheme of things, operational games are al-
large panzer uni ts were effectively surrounded where you committed the entire force at your most always less successful than either tactical
and destroyed by units that, in my opinion, disposal upon first contact with the enemy? or strategic level games. The primary reason
didn't have a snowball's chance in hell ofdoing At that point any semblance of doctrine or for th is discrepancy is that an operational level
it in reality. orderly maneuver disappears, and play rapidly game always deals with a specific battle. This
My defeat in Bulge resulted from my lack degenerates into who can surrou nd what first alone limits the audience of a particular game
of understanding of the fine points of the using ZOes. This is a prime example of rules to those interested in that battle. However, I
rules. That's okay, but not when the rules lack ceasing to be transparent and becoming a think that in general, operational level games
a clear understanding of mili tary reality. method of manipulation that rewards trickery are just not very good games.
and punishes attention to fundamental opera- That does not mean that we've given up
W hat is Operational? tional concerns. entirely on operational games. W e will likely
ow I realize that Bulge is a very primitive publish several in Gamei'!x. So we offer you
game by today's standards. Nevertheless, A New Recipe For Success t he challenge of our first annual design con-
many of the game's basic concepts are still Overcoming the primary problems of the test. The contest is open to anyone, published
presen t even in the latest crop of new designs. operational level combat system and shapi ng or not. In fact we strongly encourage those of
This is particularly true of "zones of control" a new game system that more accurately re- you who have never designed a game before
(ZOes). What it all boils down to is that flects real-life operations represents quite a to g ive it a shot. (See the following page for
victory or defeat in most operational level challenge indeed. Some designers have aban- details about entering the contest.)
Page 2, March 1995 GameFix
 The Fix You're In .Jon Compton

Contests, Details, and Explanations

The First Annual GameFix Design 31, 1995. You may enter as many designs as Big One was origi nally published by 3W as
Contest you like, provided they are aU operational 2 WW, but h as been extensively redeveloped
T llis contest is your chance to design that level. This contest is open to anyone; no pre- by Paul Cooper. I ssue eigh t will have another
perfect game you've had floating around in vious experience is necessary. (Go for it!) Joe M iranda game, but this time the game is
your mind all these years. The challenge is Cybernaut, a science fiction game of computer
simple: design an operational level game t hat Smashing Gremlins warfare. Issue nine will contain a Guadalcanal
presents the player with the same kinds of In issues two and three there were some game from M ike Smith, and issue ten will
decisions and concerns an operational com- strange text kerning problems. Although the have Timothy Kutta's So Sioux Me. Be advised
mander would face. problems that occurred in issue three were that although issues six and seven are etched
Well, maybe it's not so simple. If you have caught at blueline stage and corrected, many in stone, the rest are not and are subject to
not read the editorial at left, you should do so noticed the closeness of punctuation marks to change.
before reading further. the lower case "y," and the tightness of letters
The game's topic can be on just about following capital 'W' in issue two. W e'd like In This Issue
anything, but an engine for modeling twenti- to be able to come out and say this problem Once again you'll notice we've made a few
eth century mobile warfare is what we're really has been corrected, but the truth of the matter more small changes in GameFix. Last issue
after. Without getting too specific, we're is we frankl y don't even know what caused the you probably noticed th e redesigned cover;
looking for a new approach to modeling op- problems in the first place. We spent consid- now you'll see we've turned ou r attention to
erational level combat that removes the erable amounts of time on the phone with the inside of the magazi ne. Much of this
"gaminess" approach of the zoe manipula- Adobe and Corel Corporations, but to no alteration is due to t he insightful comments
tion method of combat resolution, yet retains avail. Speculation has been that the problem of Redmond Simonsen, whose helpful sug-
realism and playabiL ty. was caused by the new Lino650 typesetter, gestions have caused us to continue to re-
In terms of physical components and size, but others think that since the job was run on evaluate our look and impact.
you must use the standard GameFix format: a new Pentium computer, the kerning prob- A new colu mn we've added this month is
llx17 map and 100 or 120 counters or 100 lems are a result of the divide error fault in the Tim Kutta's Behind the Lines, featu ring Joe
playing cards. T he main body of rules must be Pentium processor. Although th ese specula- M iranda in this issue. Joe's thoughtful and
under 5000 words. An additional page may be tions amount to little better than guesses, we sometimes controversial ideas stand out in
included fo r charts and tables. Examples of have stopped running GameFix on both ma- this piece. Tim will continue to seek out
play must also be provided. The rules must be chines. If these actions fix the problems, we'll interesti ng hobby personalities and ask them
organized logically; each section listed in the count our lucky stars and go on. If not, we'll probing questions in future issues. The inter-
order specified in the Sequence of Play. The try something else. [As a footnote, if Corel views will not be limited to designers alone,
rules must also be organ ized in standard out- Corporation doesn't get their act together but will include people whose contributions
line format. (See the Winceby rules for an with Ventura 5.0, a good case will be made for to the hobby range fro m graphic arts to com-
example of our rules formatting.) Submis- switching to Macintosh!] pany manage ment. In this way we think you'll
sions t hat follow these guidelines will be get a broader view of the people who make up
looked upon more favorably. The Dating Game the business end of the gaming indu stry. Tim
The big question, of course, is what does A few astute observers out there will note has even threatened to make me submit to a
the winner receive? Tell him,Johnny: that we bumped our cover date up one month. grilli ng, and I've promised him more contro-
T he winning design will be published in This action does not mean we are going to versy than he'l.l know what to do with.
GameFix, and the desig ner will be paid our continue to run late. The staff at GameF ix is Also new to issue five is the industry news
standard sum of $1000.00 . In addition, the currently attempting to get the magazine dis- feature. H ere you will fi nd out abou t industry
winner will receive a one-year Collector's tributed at Tower Books. For this to happen, goings-on, and other information tidbits. It is
Subsciption to GameFix, along with every the cover date must be well in advance of not a rumor column; don't believe it unless you
boxed game GPG publishes during calendar when the issue actu ally ships, more so even read it here.
year 1996. Further, the winner will be given than if we were on our originally intended You will also find, as promised, the op-
gift certificates for two additional one-year pubLcation schedule. Rest assured t hat tional rules for issue four's Bombs Away.' game.
subs to GameFix, redeemable at any time, GameFix is not skipping a month or an issue. These include rules for solitai re play and vari-
which he may keep for himself or give to able victory.
friends. Up and Coming
All submissions must include two com- Looking ahead, issue six will contain Joe Back Issues Still Available
plete sets of rules, maps, and counters. The M iranda's R edline Korea. RK deals with the We still have issues 1- 4 in stock. They are
components do not need to be of professional potential for conflict with orth Korea in the available direct from GPG for the cover price,
quality, only good enough to allow the judges coming years. Issue seven will have The Big shipping inside the US included. Canadians
to play the game wit hout having to make up One, a strategic level game of the conflict in please add $1.00 per issue shipping, overseas
components. The con test deadline is Aug ust Europe during the Second World W ar. The add $4.00 per issue.
Game Fix March 1995, Page 3
 Timothy KuHa Battle Briefs
Air Force Special Operations, The Special Operations Helicopter,
The Tank That Wouldn't Die, Will the Wolf Survive, A Tiger in the Tank

Air Force Special Operations anywhere, anytime. The bad guys, if they're possible. T he only way to lighten a tank is to
The Air Force Special Operations (AF- lucky, may think they hear the sound of an take off the armor. That, unfortunate!)\
SOC) was established as an independent airplane . .. just before they die. doesn't leave much of a tank.
command at Hurlburt Field, FL. on May 22, The Allison Division of General Motors
1990. Its m ission is to provide unconventional The Special Operations Helicopter pu t forth several innovative proposals to meet
warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance, When the AFSOC decided they needed a the Army requirement in 1960. T hey were
counterterrori sm, and support to foreig n special operations helicopter with long range given a contract to build the prototype of the
fri endly governments. and the ability to carry a heavy load, they took XM -55 1 Sheridan light tank. T he new tank
AFSO C is composed of the 16th Special the Sik orsky H -53 heavy assault transport was 20' 8" long, 9' wide and 9' 8" high. The
Operatio ns Wing (Hurlburt Field, FL.), the helicopter and modified it for their special- hull was made of alu m inu m, and the turret
352d Special Operations Group (Alconbury ized uses. Begun in 1988, the program took was welded steel.
AB, UK), the 353d Special Operations 41 Sikorsky HH/ CH-53 helicopters and T he weight-saving measures and small
G roup (Kadcna AB, Okinawa), the 720th added a sophisticated nose- mounted for- size gave the tan k a combat weight of34,898
Special Tactics G roup (Hurlburt Field, FL.), ward-looking infrared system, an integrated lbs. It was armed with a 152mm dual-purpose
the USAF Special Operations School digital avionics suite, A I APQ: 158 terrai n- gun t hat could fire a conventional 152mm
(Hurlburt Field, FL.), the Special M issions following and terrain-avoidance radar, global rou nd or launch the Shillelagh missile. The
O perational Test and Evaluation C enter positioning satellite navigation , secure com- tank was powered by the six-cylinder Detroit
(Hurlburt Field, FL.), a special tactics group munications, AN/ ALQ: 162 continuous- Diesel, which gave it a top speed of 45 mph
(Hurlburt Field, 1· L.), the 919th Special Op- wave radar missile jammer, ALQ:157 infra- and range of 373 miles.
erations Wing (Reserves at Duke Field, FL.), red missile jammer, ALE-40 flare/chaff dis- T his tan k was, at best, a compromise. It
and the 193d Special Operations Group (Air p ensers, ALR-69 missile warning receivers, d id not have great armor protection nor a
National Guard at Harrisburg, PA.). C o m- and AAR- 47 missile plume detector. Finally, tremendously powerful gun. H owever, it
bined, these units have an active duty strength a computer was added just to manage all the could be quickly airlifted by any of the
of approximately 8,596 personnel, of which other electronics. The helicopter is also ar- U SAF 's transport airplanes; a nd, when de-
1,322 are officers and 7,274 are enlisted. The mored and equipped with mounts for heavy ployed in a defensive position, it could destroy
active component is augmented by 2,493 re- machine guns or mini-guns, lo ng-range fuel enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers.
servists and 465 civilians, giving AFSO C a tanks, and an air- to-air refueling probe. Unfortunately, the Sheridan pleased no one.
total stre ng th of 11,554 people. T he upgraded helicopter is called the Sik- The Sheridan was too ligh tly armed and
The Special Operations units are equipped orsky MH-53J Pave Low. Deliveries of the armored to suit the Army. In addition, it was
wi th a variety of unique and unusual aircraft. new bird began in the summer of 1987; and, terribly complicated and very expensive. Al-
T hey fly 18 AC-130NH Spectre gunshi ps, since thei r introduction to AFSOC, they have though the M551 was put into production in
37 MH-53 Pave Low H elicopters, 10 MH- been used successfully in Operations in Pan- 1966 and served with airborne and armored
60 Pave H awk H elicopters, 2 N C H -53, 14 ama, Iraq, Somalia, and Hai ti. units, it was replaced at every opportunity by
M C-130H Combat Talon I, 18 MC- 1301-l the M -60 main battle tan k.
Combat Talon 11, 11 C- 130NE/ H, 5 E C - The Tank That Wouldn't Die The Sheridan light tan k should have been
130 Volant Solo, and 23 HC- 130 C ombat The M -55 1 Sheridan light tank was built a failure. But, whenever a crisis arose, the first
Shadow aircraft. to meet a 1959 Army require me nt fo r an units deployed we re normally the 82nd Air-
These high - tech marvels are designed armored reconnaissance airborne assault ve- born e D ivision or cleme nts of the 18th Air-
specifically to insert special forces troops into hicle (ARAAV) to support airborne units. borne Corps, and t he M 551 tank was still the
un fri endly environments. The long-range Enemy tanks arc the biggest th reat to para- only tank that could fly on any type of trans-
aircraft are equipped with a variety o f the troopers in the early stages of operations. T he port. T he unloved Sheridan served in Viet-
latest state-of- the-art electronics that allow Army wanted an armored vehicle that could nam, Korea, Panama, and D esert Storm and
t hem to detect, avoid, or jam enemy electronic defeat tanks and that could be airdropped or is currently on the streets of H aiti. Its career
detecti ng equipme nt. M any of the aircraft, airlanded in support of their paratroopers. has spanned 32 years, and there is still no
such as the AC- 130, also bristle with anna- The problem, of course, is evident. The vehicle that can replace it.
mcnr that can suppress and destroy enemy best way to defeat a tank is with another tank,
defenses. Unfortunately tanks are, by their nature, Will the WolfSurvive?
The pilots arc all highly professional , su- heavy. H eavy tanks require large planes to W ith peace breaking out all over, the
perbly trained individuals, adroit at flying carry them, and large planes require large United States avy's Submari ne Service is
low-level, all- weather, nocturnal, deep pene- airfields to land. Airdropping tanks is possi- scrambli ng to fi nd a mission. The Silent Serv-
tration missions into enemy territory with ble, but there is a limit to the size a parachute ice, as it is called , has long been part of this
ease. The pilots and aircraft combined allow can hold. Thus, armored reconnaissance air- country's nuclear triad of deterrence. Irs fleet
AFSO C to deliver specialized combat power borne assault vehicles have to be as light as of ballistic missile carrying submarines

Page 4, March 1995 GameFix

(SSBNs) have maintained a constant under- October 1934 and was discharged in 1936. company of infan try from The Rifle Brigade
sea vigil ready to make any nuclear aggressor H e volunteered for duty with the SS and was moun ted in armored cars and Bren gu n car-
pay for transgressions by obliterating cities accepted into the elite Leibstandarte, Hitler's riers) advanced toward Villers-Bocage. They
and military bases. Undetectable and con- body guard unit. were moving along the road running sou th-
stantly moving under the oceans of the world, Although an infantryman, he displayed a west from Avranches to Caen. The road
these boats have kept the enemy off balance keen interest in the workings of his unit's climbed a steep hill just before it entered the
and, for the most part, honest in their dealings armored battalion and was soon posted to the town; and, while the point clements moved
with the U.S. assault gun section. He fought in Poland and cautiously forward, the rest of the brigade was
Our potential enemies have also built bal- France and then the Soviet Union. H e won strung out along the road below.
listic missile boats, and they too had the ad- the Iron Cross First Class on November 21st Wittmann, sitting atop his well camou-
vantages of hiding under vas t oceans. To find 1941 and had established a reputation as a flaged Tiger tank, saw the Brit ish unit move
them, the navy created a class of "hunter" cool- headed soldier who could destroy enemy forwa rd and watched in fascination as the rest
tanks. He was commissioned in December of the 22nd Brigade slowed and then stopped
1942 after completing officer training. to allow their point element to reconnoiter the
In 1943 he was assigned to a Tiger tank area. Amazingly, the majority of the poi nt uni t
battalion and immediately di splayed remark- also slowed and bunched up along the road,
able prowess with his new tank. He destroyed as a platoon of Cromwell tanks entered the
ten Russian tanks in one day in the fall of village. It was the opportunity he had been
1943. By that time he had already destroyed looking for and he made the most of it.
66 enemy tanks. He continued successful en- He ordered his tanks, positioned some dis-
gagements until he was transferred to the tance to the rear, to attack and then charged
western front in the spring of 1944 as the into the battle himself. As he drew near the
commander of N o. 2 Company of 501 SS column, he opened fi re and shattered the lead
H eavy Tank Battalion. halftrack. The British were caugh t totally by
W ittmann and his battalion went into ac- surprise. The T iger fired 88mm cannon
Artists rendition ofthe Seawoif nu-
tion on Ju ne 13th when the British 22nd rounds and 7.62mm machine gun bull ets
clear submarine.
Brigade (7th Armored Division) swung down the length of the colu mn, destroying
submarines (SSNs) designed to locate and around the flank of the Panzer Lehr Division dozens of tanks, Bren gun carriers, and
destroy enemy submarines. These fast, so- and headed for the village of Villers-Bocage halftracks.
phisticated submarines prowled the ocean in and point 213, the key road junction outside Wittmann t hen continued his mad charge
search of the enemy. Once located, enemy the village. If the British could take Vi llers- by crossing the road and heading into the
submarines were stalked, tracked, and kept Bocage they would be close to cracking the village itself. The Cromwell tanks in the vil-
within range of t he SS s deadly weapons. G erman flank anchored around Caen. lage tried to get behind the Tiger but
The current L os Angeles C lass SSN is an The German defenders had been stretched Wittmann was too smart for such a simple
incredible piece of machinery. D espite their very thin by the invasion. The allies had move. H e traversed his turret to the rear and
effectiveness, the ships of the L os Angeles landed a tremendous number of men and headed down a narrow side street. W hen a
Class were very expensive to build and aged tanks during the first weeks of the invasion Cromwell tried to follow, it was destroyed by
rapidly, becoming outmoded in the face of and had filled the beachhead. ! ow, these units t he T iger's 88mm gu n. Destroying several
rapidly advancing technology. were pressing the G ermans on all sides. more tanks and other enemy vehicles as he
ln the early 1980s, Congress pressed the The G ermans found that moving rein- moved, Wittman n drove his tank out of the
Navy to find a smaller, cheaper SSN. The forcements to the beachhead was a major village and raced back toward German lines
avy complied, and the controversial Seawolf problem . The ever-present allied fighter to get more ammuniti on.
SSN program was begun. Unfortunately, the bombers shot up trains, truck convoys and The action had been short, bloody, and
three Seawolfs under construction have few columns of troops. German commanders vicious. In less than five minutes, W ittm ann
enemy ships to chase; thus, some are skeptical quickly found that they could only move at and h is lone Tiger had destroyed 20 Cromwell
of the submarine's role in the future. night and find cover during the day or risk tanks, 4 Sherman Firefly tanks, 3 light tanks,
The Navy has proposed a cheaper version being attacked and destroyed by allied air- 3 scout cars, 14 half tracks, and 14 Bre n gun
of the Seawolfknown as the New Attack Sub power. earn ers.
(NAS) . T he Navy would like to build 45-55 Wittmann and his company faced a gruel - Despite the obvious setback, the allied ad-
NASs at a cost of $1.3 billion per boat. The ing forced march as they moved from Beau- vance continued . L ater in the day Wittma nn's
hunters now have become the hunted-not vanis to Normandy. They started with six and t he other three tanks in h is company were
by the enemy, but by the Government Ac- Tiger tanks but arrived with only four left. dam aged or destroyed. Ever wily, Wittmann
counting Office. The big tanks arrived just as the allies began made good h is escape. He cont inued to figh t
their attack at Villers Bocage, and Wittmann against the advancing allies unti l he was over-
T h e T iger in the Tank and his men were assigned the defense of the whel med by five Sherman tan ks during a
Michael Wittmann was a German tank area. battle outside Chintheaux. H e and his entire
commander wh o, during the course of the At 0530 on June 13 the point element of crew were killed when the T iger was h it and
Second World War, engaged and destroyed the 22nd Brigade (built around a squadron of exploded.
138 enemy tanks plus countless vehicles and the 4th County of London Yeomanry, armed
guns. H e enlisted in the German Army in with Cromwell and a Firefly tanks and a

GameFix M arch 1995, Page 5

 Rob Markham The Battle ofWinceby
A Clash of Cavalry

Although only a small cavalry engage- nent. H er valuable cargo went unmolested by no fear in battle, but lacked a sou nd grasp of
ment, the battle ofWinceby helped to secure Parliamentarians as it traveled from the coast the larger strategic situation. Politically, he
the county ofLi ncolnshire for the Parliament. to the needy magazines of the Royalists. The also lacked acumen and was eclipsed by Oliver
Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax, whose arrival of Charles Cavendish's command pro- C romwell w ho later would become both the
futu re participation in the English Civil W ar vided the Royalists with a strike force capable military and political leader of a united Eng-
would prove so important, showed land.
their mettle in thi s small but signifi- Fairfax quickly took Tadcaster,
can t battle. but just as quickly lost the town to
The second year of the English RoyaEsts under Lord Goring. Two
Civil War started with hopes of a Royalist victories foUowed, Goring
quick Royalist victory. In the county defeating Fairfax at Seacraft Moor
ofLi ncolnshire, the Royalists held the and Cavendish defeating the
cities of Hull and Newark. Newark, Roundheads at Ancaster Heath.
the strategic key to the region, was Parliamentary morale in the Lin-
considered the gateway to northern colnshire region was truly at an all-
England. It served as a major recruit- time low.
ing center for the Royalists. To shore up t he situation, Parlia-
Parliament appointed M ajor Gen- ..., ment sent Oliver Cromwell to the
eral Thomas Ballard to command a
force of some 6,000 Roundheads to _. __ area with orders to secure Lincoln-
sh ire for the Rou ndhead cause.
take Newark. Aware of the impending Roundhead forces in ottingham
attack, the Royalist gove rnor Sir John under Joh n Gell were ordered to take
Henderson chose to defend the city ewark and to link up with a small
rather than seek battle in the open. force commanded by Lord Wil-
H enderson, a Scot, had started his loughby. The Royalists Cavendish
professional military career in the Im- and H enderson replied by joining
perial H absburg A rmy during the forces and attacking the Parliamen-
Thirty Years War. H e eventually re- tarians near Grantham. In a short,
turned to Scotland, where he received intense battle, the Parliamentarians
a knighthood and the governorship of defeated the Royalists. H owever,
Dunbarton Castle. Just before the Lord Willoughby failed to recognize
outb reak of the English Civil War, he t he extent of h is success and with-
Oliver Cromwell
accompan ied his brother-in-law, drew his forces to ottingham
Lord }orth, to England, where-through of harassing the Roundheads, who h ad been rather than pursuing his beaten enemy. The
Forth's influence- he gained a posi tion on inactive since their defeat at Newark. Hen- less ambiguous success was to come from
the Permanent Council of W ar under King derson, with his enlarged Royal ist force, now Thomas Fairfax's daring night attack of
Charles. H enderson was sent to D en mark to attacked, striking first at the town of Gran- W akefield. T here Fairfax captured 1,500
rai se money and mercenaries for the crown . tham. On 23 March, Grantham fell after a Royalist troops and Lord Goring. Wakefield
By D ecem ber he had returned to England and brief struggle. succeeded in boosting Roundhead morale,
joined the Royalist cause. Upon hearing the news of the Royalist which increased again when W illoughby
Upon his arrival at ewark, B allard imme- success, Sir H ugh Cholmley defected to the seized the town of G ainsborough.
diately attacked the Royalist s. A s a result, he Royalists and ordered the port ofScarborough Cavendish immediately surrounded Wil-
suffered a wound and left 200 dead Round- opened to Royalist fo rces. This turn of events loughby at Gains borough and laid siege to the
heads. His failure to take the city cost him his worried the Parliamentarians who sent town. Short on supplies and lacking man-
command, and h e was replaced wi th the able Thomas Fairfax to seize Tadcaster in an effort power, Willoughby could not hope to break
Sir John M eldrum. Meldrum immediately to stabilize the situation . the siege and instead awaited outside help.
began rebuilding the Parliamentary army in Thomas Fairfax was one of the best cavalry R elief was to come in the form of Oliver
L incolnshire, desperately trying to undo the officers to emerge from the English Civil W ar. Cromwell, who had hurried from Cambridge,
damage done by his predecessor. At the time ofWinceby, he was just beginning gathering what forces he could as he moved
Time was not on Meldrum's side, as the to show the talents that would later make him north. Near Searle, Cromwell defeated
Royalists continued to gain in strength. In late such a great leader. "Black Tom," as his troop s Cavendish's troops, the latter dying in the
February, Qyeen H enrietta Maria landed at fondly called him, compared favorably with battle. The siege was lifted for a few hours
Briddling ton, located in Lincolnshire, with a the Royalists' great cavalry com mander Prince until yet another Royalist force, under the
large shipment of muniti ons from the conti- Rupert. Thomas inspired his men and knew command of N ewcastle, resumed the siege.
Pagc 6, larch 1995 GameFix
Cromwell was sent to Lincoln to get help and
thereby narrowly avoided the fate of those left
behind. I n three days time, the large army of
Newcastle's Royalists besieged and took the
town of Gainsborough.
Mter his success at Gainsborough, New-
castle decided to lay siege to the city of Hull. • Newcastle
ln an attempt to break the siege, L ord Fairfax
Wakefield
senior, Thomas' father, ordered the dikes sur-
rounding Hull to be broken. Newcastle's army
• • Scarborough

Liverpool • Tadcaster • Hull

was not dissuaded, however, but conducted a
lethargic siege. It was so lacking in vigor that
many Round heads, including Cromwell, eas-
ily penetrated the siege lines and successfully
entered Hull. Still, the outlook for Hull was
bleak, because sooner or later even a letharg ic
siege would cause Hull to surrender.
Nottingham •
On September 16, Parliamentary morale
rose with the taking of the town of Lynn by
the Earl of Manchester's forces. Manchester
then divided his forces, sending his cavalry Cambridge
north under the command of Oliver Crom- •
well to join Willoughby and 500 infantry London
north to join with the forces at Hull. Mean- •
while, the governor of Lincoln, Sir William
Widdrington, ordered Henderson's Cavalier
cavalry to Bolingbroke to defend it from an
expected Roundhead attack. As Cromwell's
and Henderson's forces closed, the scene was
set for the battle ofWinceby.
The remainder of Manchester's army pro-
ceeded to Bolingbroke, following in the wake day, when Manchester heard about the Horn- depend on its infantry, who were too far away,
of Cromwell's cavalry. Manchester laid siege castle skirmish, he immediately dispatched and that the ground only slightly favored the
to Bolingbroke Castle on O ctober 9, while Cromwell there. Roundheads.
Henderson's Cavaliers advanced towards the On October 11 in the year of our Lord The Roundheads began the battle with a
castle unaware of the Round heads' presence. 1643, the two opposing forces of Cavaliers charge at the Royalists' center led by Vermuy-
Henderson's first indication of a Roundhead and Roundheads met at the town ofWinceby. den and Cromwell. Widdrington ordered his
presence was at Horncastle, where he encoun- The Roundheads, first to spot their oppo- Royalist dragoons to dismount and fire upon
tered a Parliamentarian garrison. Later in the nents, deployed their forces south of the town. the roundheads. Cromwell's cavalry hit the
With the arrival of the main Parliamentarian dragoons, who had only managed one volley
forces, led by Thomas Fairfax, Cromwell's against their attackers, with a fury a nd scat-
apprehensions about engaging the enemy due tered them. In the confusion of the fight,
to the depletion of forces, because of his hard Cromwell's horse was killed, bu t fortunately
campaigning of the previous month, disap- for the Roundhead cause he survived and
peared. quickly mounted one of his trooper's horses
Now aware of the Round heads, the Roy- and resumed command.
alists began to deploy their forces along a The Royalists under William Saville
narrow front, with Widdrington's dragoons charged Cromwell's right flank in reaction to
screening the rest of the force. Henderson the Roundhead assault. Saville, an ardent sup-
deployed his main force with Lord Eythin on porter of King Charles, thought he would
the left and William Saville at the center and destroy Cromwell's fo rces with his attack but
the right flank. Henderson was confident that faiJed to anticipate the quick response of Fair-
his army, angered by Cavendish's death, would fax. William Saville so ardently supported the
perform excellently. H is intention was to King's cause against Parliament that he or-
strike at the Rou ndheads with his concen- dered his home of Thornhill burned to the
trated forces on the left, while Saville held his ground rather than have it used by t he Round-
right. heads as a base of operations. Soon it was
A s both forces - approximately equal in Saville, not Cromwell, who had his flank un-
Sir Thomas Fairfax strength- jockeyed for an advantageous po- der attack as the Roundheads closed in for the
sition, it became clear that neither force could kill. Qyickly, Saville ordered his men to "face

GameFix March 1995, Page 7

 Roundheads that lessened considerably as
their center and right flank cru mbled under
Cromwell's onslaug ht. A s H enderson at-
tempted to extricate his army from a potential
envelopment, the morale of his troops began
to weaken. Cromwell, with his cavalry now
reformed after their devastating blow on the
Royalist rig ht and center, struck at the re-
maining Royalist force. Henderson's troops'
will to figh t deserted them , and they fled for
their lives with the Roundheads in pursuit.
For the remainder of the day, Roundhead
cavalry sought out and killed the fleeing Roy-
alist troops. Later, names like Slash H ollow
and Slash Lane would be given to places
where Royalists met their end by a Round-
head sword. By dusk there was little left of the
Royalists, and the Roundhead cavalry was
recalled by the Ea rl of Manchester.
Charles I Altho ug h Winceby was a small battle in
john Meldrum
the English C ivil W ar, its ramifications were
about," but alas in the confusion his men great. The Roundhead victory ensured the fall Note on Sources
thoug ht he had ordered a retreat. I n the re- ofBolingbroke Castle and ended the Royalist Winceby is unfortunately not covered in
sulting struggle, Saville's forces disin tegrated siege of Hull. Finally, it ensured that Lincoln- g reat detail in most sources. By and far the
and fled from the battlefield wi th only the shire would remain Parliamentarian. The best source of informatio n on the battle and
dismounted dragoons remaining. early gloom in which 1643 had begun was the basis for both th e article and game is The
On the Royalist left, H enderson and replaced with new hope for the cause of Par- Battle of Winceby, 1643 by David Frampton
Eythin enjoyed an initial success against the liament against the King. and Peter Garnham, published by Partizan
Press.

Chronolgy of the English Civil Wars

In an era dominated by the "Divine Right of Kings," England dared to create Trial and execution of Charles I , 30 January 1649
the first modern democracy. The years of 1642 through 1688 saw England
undergoing a vast governmental change. Charles I, King of England from The Commonwealth 1649-1660
1625 to 1649, touted the theory of the Divine Right of Kings, a medieval C romwell made L ord Protector of the Commonwealth, February 1649
throwback proclaiming the king's absolute power over his subjects, limited Irish Rebellion, 1649 - 1650
only by his noh!ese oblige. This was during Louis XIV's time, when kings sought Naval Reform, 1649-1652
to secure absolute power and destroy all opposition. Unlike Louis, who First Anglo-Dutch War, 1652-1654
succeeded in his quest for power, Chales I's inept handling of E ngland's Creation of Army Military Districts, 1655
political, military, and religious affairs allowed for the creation of a highly Richard Cromwell succeeds his father as Lord Protector, 3 September 1658
effective opposition fu rther solidified by the King's higher taxes and his Restoration of the Monarchy, May 1660
ignoring of the wishes of Parliament. Charles' failure to split the opposition
via social class and economic prosperity finally led to a popular revolt led by The Reign of Charles II 166Q-1685
Parliament on 2 January 1642. Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1665- 1667
Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1672-1674
First Civil War, 1642-1646 Death of C harles II, 6 February 1685
Battle of Edgehill, 23 October 1642
Battle ofTurnham Green, 13 November 1642 The Uneasy Truce, 1685-1687
Capture ofBristol, 26July 1643 James II, a Catholic and absolutist, ascends the throne, 6 February 1685
Scotland joins Parliament against Charles II, January 1644 Monmouth's Rebellion, 6 July 1685
Battle of Marston Moor, 2 July 1644 James attempts to restore Catholicism in England
C reation of the New Model Army, January- March 1645
Battle ofNaseby, 14 June 1645 The Third Civil War: The Glorious Revolution and the Primacy of
Charles I surrenders to Scottish forces, 5 M ay 1646 Parliament
Invasion of England by William III of the Netherlands, November 1688
Interlude, 1646-1648 James is defeated with little bloodshed and flees to France, 11 December 1688
The Scottish give Charles to Parliament for 400,000 Pounds, J anuary 1647 William and his wife M ary (daughter of James II) declared joint rulers of
Charles escapes to the Isle of Wight, November 1647 England, establishing the primacy of Parliament over the monarchy
Parliament renounces its allegiance to Charles, J anuary 1648 Parliament passes the Mutiney Act, which establishes Parliamentary control
over the military, April 1689
Second Second, Civil War 1648- 1651
The Scotts, who are now loyal to Charles, invade England, July 1648
Battle of Preston, Oliver C romwell defeats the Scotts, 17- 19 August 1648

Page 8, M arch 1995 GnmeFix

 Winceb

Units, Examples, Tables, and Setup

Winceby
I. Introduction Fairfax

Winceby uses the R oyalists & R oundheads system, originally published by 3W . It is a ~

- 4 +2
representation of the cavalry battle that took place outside of the small village of
Winceby, 11 October 1643. Overall Leader
Leader
II. Game Components
Each copy of Winceby includes the following:
• One 11" x 17" map
• 100 die-cut counters
M:l
11 4
• 1 rulebook
Two six-sided dice are needed for play, but are not included. Dragoons Dragoons
M ounted Dismounted
A.GameMap
The game map is a representation of the battlefield where the battle occurred. A hex- IAr~~ 0

agonal grid has been superimposed to regulate play. 'l 5

B. Game Counters
110 -'31
Infantry
Game counters represent combat un its, leaders, and informational markers.

C. Game Scale
Each hex is 100 to 115 yards, and each strength point represents 70 to 100 men.
III. Leaders, Facing, Zones of Control, and Stacking
Rout -:l
Rout Out of
A. Leaders M arker Command

There are two rypes of leaders in Winceby, leaders and overall leaders. Overall leaders
are in command of their side's entire force, whereas leaders are only in command of
those units assigned to them. Leaders and the units they control are color coded for Step
Command
Loss
ease of play.
1. Leader Ratings: Leaders have three ratings: Command, Command Span, and Loss Command
Combat Bonus. O verall leaders have two ratings: Command Span and Combat Marker l ncLcator
Bonus. See right.
a. Command: This rating is used to determine whether a command chit
can be changed or not (seeV.B.).
b. Command Span: The number of hexes a combat unit may be away from
the leader and still be in command (see V.C.1).
c. Combat Bonus: A die roll modifier used during Melee. Name
,Subordination
2. Leader Casualties: A leader stacked with a combat unit that is eliminated dur- / Color
Type -
ing Melee is killed if no friendly units remain in the hex. The leader is flipped to
its replacement leader side. It is then moved to the nearest friendly combat unit Combat
Command
under the leader's command. The previous leader's command chit is placed under Rating Bonus
the replacement leader. Replacement leaders that are eliminated are not removed Command
from play. It is assumed that another replacement leader has taken the dead re- Span
placement leader's place.
A leader alone in a hex that is entered by an enemy combat unit is fl ipped to its re-
placement side (if not already flipped) and is then moved to the nearest friendly
combat unit under the leader's command.

GameFix March 1995, Page 9

 Winceb

3. Overall Leaders: Overall leaders are used to control specific combat units as
leaders do, but also have special abilities. The.ir special abilities are as follows:
Type
• Overall leaders stacked with a friendly leader during the Command Phase can
automatically change the Command C hit of the leader. Subordination
• Leaders, within the Command Span of their Overall Leader during the Com- Color Morale
mand Phase, get a -1 die roll modifier on any attempt to change their Com- \
Combat
mand C hit. Movement
Strength
• O verall leaders may change their own Command Chit without a die roll. Allowance
• Combat units assigned to other friendly leaders may trace command to their
overall leader, instead.

B. Facing
A combat unit must face in a specific direction at all times. All combat units must
face toward o ne vertex (point) of the hex it is in and may exit the hex only through a Facing Example
Front hexside (see diagram at right}. All combat units in the same hex must face in
the same direction. Leaders do not need to obey facing requirements.
1. A combat unit may change facing by pointing toward any vertex in its hex. Front
Changing facing after Melee Combat or while still in its starting hex during
Move ment never costs anything. A unit that changes facing in the hex it just en-
tered must spend one movement point. If the unit lacks the needed MP, it cannot
change its facing.
2. Facing affects a combat unit's Zone of Control (Ill.C.) and Combat (VII).

C. Zones of Control (ZOC)

Combat units exert Zones of Control; leaders do not.
1. ZOC and Facing: Combat units exert ZOCs through their Front and Flank
hexsides; they do not exert a ZOC into their Rear hexsides. Exception: Routed
units do not exert ZOCs.
2. ZOC Extension Restrictions: ZOCs do not extend through hexsides or into
hexes into which that combat unit could not normally move.
3. ZOC and Out of Command Units: Out of command combat units may not
leave an enemy zoe. ZOCExample
4. Effects ofZOC
• A unit must stop when it enters an enemy ZOC. It may not move further in
that Movement Phase regardless of how many movement points it has remain- zoe zoe
mg.
• A friendly combat unit negates the effect of an enemy ZOC fo r purposes of
tracing a Command Span, but it does not do so for movement or retreat pur-
poses.
zoe
• If more than one combat unit exerts a Z O C into the hex, there is no addi-
tional effect.
5. Leaving a ZOC: A combat unit that begins a Movement Phase in an enemy
No No
ZOC may move out of that ZOC if it has a Retreat, Stand, Muster,or Reserve zoe zoe
Command, and it is in command. Routed units may also leave an enemy ZOC.

D. Stacking
Stacking refers to having more than one combat unit in a hex at any given time.
T here are no stacking restrictions fo r Leaders or Overall Leaders. Stacking limits ap-
ply at all times during the turn. Unless stacked together at the beginning of a sce-
nario, only one combat unit is allowed per hex. A combat unit may not move
throug h another combat unit.

Page 10, M arch 1995 GameFix

 Winceb

1. Stacked Units: Two combat units of the same type (i.e. infantry, cavalry, etc.) Commands
may begin the game stacked together. Combat units may unstack without cost or
penalty. Restacking is not allowed. Attack Command: AU combat units in com-
mand using the Attack Command must move at
Stacking Restrictions:
least half their movement allowance rounded up
• Stacked combat units are treated as one combat un it, while stacked together. and must end their movement closer to enemy
• A stack moves with the movement allowance of its slower component combat units than they began (meaning at least one hex
unit. closer or be adjacent to an enemy combat unit).
• Combat units may not change their position in a stack. The lower combat unit Combat units with an Attack Command receive
in the stack cannot be affected by combat until the top unit is destroyed. a + 1 die roll modifier in Melee Combat. Combat
• Leaders do not count for stacking purposes. units adjacent to enemy combat units must per-
2. Stacking and Morale Checks: For purposes of morale, a stack checks morale form combat, either fire and/or melee.
separately for each unit, starting with the top unit (seeVII.C.S. fot details on mo-
rale.
Advance Command: AU combat units in com-
IV. Sequence of Play mand using the Advance Command may move
Winceby uses the following Sequence of P lay fo r each game turn. The player whose up to their full movement allowance during th e
turn it is, is referred to as the phasing player; the opponent is the non- phasing player. Movement Phase. They must end the turn at
The scenarios list which player moves fi rst. A game turn consists of the following: least one hex closer, or be adjacent to an enemy
combat unit (i.e. they must move at least one
A. Order Phase hex, unless they are already in an enemy ZOC).
Combat units receive no Melee Combat die roll
Players may attempt to change the current commands that each or any of their lead-
modifiers for having an Advance Command.
ers are currently using.

B. First Player Movement Phase Stand Command: AU combat units in command

using the Stand Command may move no more
1. The first player checks to see wh ether any units are out of command. T hose
than one h ex during the Movement Phase. Com-
un its out of command are marked with an out of command marker.
bat units receive a + 1 die roll mod ifier during
2. The fi rst player then moves all eligible units that he desires to move.
Melee Combat, if defending .
3. The non-phasing player may conduct cavalry charges during the phasing
player's movement.
Retreat Command: AU combat units in com-
C. First Player Combat Phase mand, using the Retreat Command may move
up to their fu ll movement allowance during the
1. F ire Combat Phase M ovement Phase. They must end the M ove-
a. D efensive Fire: AU non-phasing units that have enemy units wi th in th eir ment Phase at least one hex further away from
range may fire. enemy combat units than they started. They re-
b. Offensive Fire: AU phasing units that have enemy units within their ceive no Melee Combat die roll modifiers.
range may fire .
2. Melee: During the Melee Phase, the attacker may conduct melee attacks Reserve Command: AU combat units in com-
against adjacent enemy units. mand using the Reserve Command may move
a. Attacker checks morale of attacking units. up to their full movement allowance during the
M ovement Phase. T hey may never enter a hex
b. D efender checks morale of defending units if any attacking units pass that is closer to an enemy unit than five hexes
their morale check. away. T o determine the five-hex range, count
c. Melee combat is resolved between attacking and defending units that the e nemy occupied hex, and then a further four
have passed morale in steps 1 and 2. hexes. Reserve combat units that begin a turn
closer than five hexes to an enemy uni t may
D . First Player Rally Phase either not move or must move so that at the end
First player attempts to rally eligible routed units. of the Movement Phase t hey are five or more
hexes away from the closest enemy combat unit.
E. Second Player Victory C h eck P hase Reserve combat units receive no M elee C ombat
die roll modifiers.
Second player checks to see whether a victory die roll must be made.

GameFix M arch 1995, Page 11

 Winceb

F - G. Second Player Movement, Combat, Rally (same as B - D) Muster Command: D uring the Command
Phase of any turn in which at least two combat
I. First player Victory Check Phase {same as E) units of a leader's force are eit her routed or de-
stroyed, the command of the leader may be
V. Orders Phase changed to Muster with no command die rolls.
A t th e beginning of each game, place a command marker on the order fo r each com- Combat uni ts with a Muster Command may
mander's units. Commands do not have to be shown to the opposing player. During move up to their full movement allowance dur-
ensuing O rders P hases, C ommands may be changed (see V.B ). (You will also need ing the Movement Phase. They may never enter
to ph otocopy the charts and tables sheets on the back of the map before beginning a hex that is closer to an enemy combat unit
play.) than five hexes away. Muster un its that begin a
turn closer than five hexes to an enemy unit
A. Commands must move so that they are five hexes away at
T here are seven different C om mands; each h as a different effect on the combat units. the end of the turn. Leaders with a Muster Com-
See the right colum n on pages 11- 12 and 17- 18. mand have their Command Span increased by
one hex. M uster combat un its receive no Melee
Units must obey the requirements of their command to the best of their ability. In
Combat die roll modifiers.
some cases, a situation in the game will create a condition where the player will not
be able to comply with the moveme nt restrictions of a Command. In such a case, the
player must reveal the Comm and and demonstrate to the opposing player th at cer- Charge Command: Only cavalry may use the
tain uni ts cannot perform the Command's requirements. The Command remains un- charge command. The Charge command adds
changed. two movement points to the cavalry units with
such a command, increases morale by one, adds
B. Changing Command a +2 die roll modifier in Melee Combat, and
1. D uring the Orders P hase of each tu rn, a leader's Command may be changed. doubles its combat strength du ring melee. A cav-
T o do so, a die is rolled and compared to the leader's C om mand R ating. I f the die alry unit with a Charge Command must move at
result is equal to or less than the Command Rating of the leader, the Command least half t heir movement allowance (any frac-
may be replaced with a different C ommand. Otherwise, no change occurs. A tions rounded up) and must end their movement
leader may always ch ange from M uste r to any oth er command if at least two of closer to enemy units than they began. In-com-
his combat units have been eli min ated duri ng the game or are currently routed. mand units with a Charge Command that begin
The ch ange can be made if there is one eliminated and one routed unit. a tu rn in an enemy zoe may not move; they
must attack. Units with a Charge Command ad-
2. O verall Leaders have special effects on changing Command C hits. See III.A.3.
jacent to an enemy combat unit must perform
C. Combat Units and Command Melee Combat. Fire combat is optional. Cavalry
units may not enter the map as reinforcements
At the beginning of each Movement P hase, all combat uni ts must check to see with a C h arge Command. Non-cavalry units un-
whether they are within the C om mand Span of their leader. Combat units that are der command of a leader with a Charge Com-
not in command are considered to be out of command and receive an "OC" marker. mand are considered to have an Attack
1. Command Span: Each leader has a Command Span Rating. The rating is the Command, except that their morale is increased
number of hexes from a leader a combat unit can be and still be in command. by two.
W hen tracing Command Sp an, count the hex the combat u nit is in, but not the Cavalry Second Combat Option: When attack-
hex the leader is in. E nemy ZOCs block command span into (but not out of) a ing cavalry advances into a hex vacated as there-
hex unless the hex is occupied by a friendly combat un it. H exes occupied by en- sult of combat, the cavalry may advance two
emy combat units always block command span . furt her hexes (within the restrictions ofZO Cs),
2. Command Span Extension: A combat unit outside its leader's Command Span change faci ng, and conduct another attack. This
may be in command if each hex outside the span contains a friendly combat unit second attack occurs after all melee combat has
capable of being commanded by the same leader. been conducted.
3. Effects ofBeing Out of Command: Combat units out of command have the Changing to a Charge Command During
following restrictions: Movement: D uring an enemy movement phase,
• They may not move adjacent to an enemy combat unit. t he non-phasi ng player may attempt to change
• If in an enemy zoe, they may not move. t he command of a leader wh o commands cavalry
• They must attempt to move withi n the com mand span of their leader if th ey and has cavalry t hree or fewe r movement points
do move. away from at least one enemy cavalry un it that is
• T hey receive no die roll modifiers listed for their Command C hit on the M e- moving. W henever an enemy cavalry unit moves
lee Table. within three movement points of a friendly cav-

Page 12, March 1995 GameFix

Turn Record Track

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
See Turn of Entry Chart for turns of entry.

Royalist Command Track

Attack Advance Stand Reserve Retreat Muster Charge 1 Charge 2 Charge 3

Henderson

-- - ~
-- --

Eythin

Savile

r---- - f- -
W iddrington

Parliament Command Track

Attack Advance Stand Reserve Retreat Muster Charge 1 Charge 2 C harge 3

Fairfax

Cromwell

.Manchester

Vermuyden

1-· 1- ·

Hobart
I
Photocopy before play
 Movement Costs Defensive Modifiers

e;~
112 112
+

~ 1 -1

l ." +I +1 +1

0 A A 3 -2 -1

Jp 1 Level

)own 1 Level
+ NA
..+]
NA

+1
2

+1 -1
-2

-1
II
Royalist
Entry
Roundhead
Entry
 Charts and Command Tracks

Melee Table
---
Die Number of Strength Points
I-- -
Roll
1-3 4-6 7- 10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26- 30 31- 35 36- 40 41- 45 46+
0 - - - - - - - - M M M
1 - - - - - - - M M M M
2 - - - - - - M M M 1 1
3 - - - - M M M M 1 1 1
4 - - M M M M 1 1 1 1 2
5 I - M M M M 1 1 1 1 2 2
6 M M M 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3
7 M 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3
8 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4
9 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4

Melee Combat Results: Melee Table Modifiers:

-=No effect Cavalry with an Attack Command when attacking have a +2 die roll mod ifier.
M =All combat uni ts must Cavalry with a Charge Command has a +2 d ie roll modifier and has its strength doubled.
make a morale check Infantry with an Attack Command when attacking have a +1 die roll modifier.
1,2,3,4 = Number of step losses Defending combat units with a Stand Command have a + 1 die roll modifier.
that combat units must suffer. Routed units have a - 1 d ie roll modifi.er.
If attackers occupy more than
Leaders stacked with attacking or defending units add the Leader Combat Bonus to the die roll.
one hex, defender decides
which hex takes losses. All Units attacking defending units through the defender's rear of flan k hexside have a + 1 die roll
combat units then must check modifier.
morale. C heck the T errain Effects Chart on the map for other modifiers.

You Think Dave Wood is Mad?

Just wait'll you see these guys sink their collective fangs into the hobby!

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 Winceb

4. Overall Leaders and Command Span: A ny combat unit may receive command alry unit, the non-phasing player may check his
from the friendly Overall Leader. If the Overall Leader has a Command Ch it, the leader for a command change (see V.B.). If suc-
uni t must obey it. An Overall Leader with no command chit mu st immed iately cessfuJ, a C harge Command is given to the
choose one. leader, and any cavalry unit may now charge the
5. Routed Combat Units and Command Chits: A routed com bat unit follows no enemy unit that triggered the command change.
commands. Its owner must move it one or two hexes away fro m the closest hex [Note: Enemy units and their ZOCs may make
containing any enemy combat units during the Movement Phase. the triggering unit impossible to reach. In such a
case, the charging unit may end its charge in the
VI. Movement Phase zoe of an enemy unit that did not trigger the
During a friendly Movement P hase, a player may move as many of hi s units as he charge. This is the one exception to the rule
wishes, subj ect only to the restrictio ns listed below and in the rules for Facing and above.] Friendly units with a Charge Comma nd
Command. already may always charge an enemy cavalry unit
that moves within three hexes of it. This must
A. Movement Allowance be done immediately upon the enemy unit enter-
All combat units have their movement allowance printed on their counter. The ing the three hex range. The phasi ng player's
Movement Allowance represents the total number of Movement Points (MPs) that movement is halted until a command change has
the unit may use in any one M ovement Phase (within Command C hit and Rout re- been checked and (if it is successful) the move-
strictions). These MPs may not be saved or transferred in any way. A unit does not ment of charging non- phasing cavalry has con-
have to use alJ of its Movement Allowance, but it may never expend more. Combat cluded. T he phasing player then continues h is
units must always move through their frontal h exes. Leaders have an unprinted move. Each leader checks fo r a command
movement allowance of 10. change each time a difFere nt enemy phasing cav-
alry unit moves within three or fewer hexes of a
B. Terrain and Movement friendly cavalry unit.
Each hex and some hexsides on the map contain terrain. The different types of ter- Charge Command Turn Limits: Units with a
rain and their effects are listed on the Terrain Effects Chart. Each type of uni t pays a Charge C ommand may only charge for three
certain number of movement p oints (MPs) to enter each type of terrain. Roads tend consecutive turns. A t the end of the th ree turns,
to speed up movemen t. T o take advantage of a road, a uni t must move along a road the comm and becomes Muster. Units may
(enter a road hex through a hexside containing a road), though it need not begin and change from a Charge C ommand before the end
end its movement phase on that road. of the three turns, but it may only be to Muster.
Other than that one exception, the following
C. Enemy Units and Movement procedure is used: When using the Charge Com-
mand, the comm and chit is placed in the C harge
A friendly combat unit may never enter a hex occupied by an enemy combat unit. A
1 box; during the next turn's Command Phase,
friendly combat unit may enter a hex containing only an enemy leader, causing a
the com mand chit is placed in the Charge 2 box;
casualty (see Ill.A.2.).
the following turn, it is placed in the C harge 3
VII. Combat Phase box. When the next turn's Comma nd Phase
During each Combat Phase , combat is resolved in the following order: Defensive comes, the comm and chit is placed in the Mus-
Fire Combat, Ofl:"ensive Fire Combat, Melee Combat. ter box. Once in Muster, the Muster Command
may be changed on the following turn using the
A. Fire Combat normal command changing procedures. Non-
cavalry units under a leader, whose command
AJl cavalry units have the ability to perform Fire Combat. Cavalry uni ts may only fi re has changed from C harge to Muster, also Mus-
through fron tal hexsides. T o conduct Fire Combat, eligible combat units check line
ter.
of sight (seeVII.B.) and the Range Table. The player then rolls a die and modifies it
by modifiers on the R ange Table and Terrain Chart. Each unit fires separately. Com-
bat units may be fired at more than once, but combat units may o nly fire once. Dragoons and Command: D ragoons, unlike
other units, have two different formations-
1. Range Table: The R ange Table lists ranges for different types of combat units
mounted and dismounted. When mounted, dra-
firing. The player cross indexes the type of unit with the di stance in hexes fro m
goons function as cavalty. When dismounted,
the firing unit to the target. The firing unit's hex is not counted but the target hex
they function as infantry units. Dragoons may
is counted. (See Range T able next page at right.)
mount or dismount on any turn in which t he
2. Fire Combat Table: Using the column that corresponds to the type of combat
Command chit for its leader is Stand, following
unit firing, the player rolls one die, modifies it by range (see Range Table) and by
the turn in which those units enter the map.
Dragoons enter the map mounted. When chang-

GameFix March 1995, Page 17

 Winceb

Terrain (see Terrain £fleets C h art), and then applies the results. (See Fire Com- ing formation, they may still move the one hex
bat Table at right.) that the Stand command allows.

B. Line of Sight & Elevation

Combat units firing at a range of two hexes or more may fire only at targets to which Command Example:
they can trace a Line of Sight (LO S); i.e. they must be able to see it. LOS is traced
A combat unit under K.ilpont has to trace com-
from the cente r of the firing hex to the center of the target hex. I fLOS is blocked ,
mand to Montrose, the overall leader. Montrose
fire is not possible. (See the examples on page 19.)
has an Advance Command Chit, whereas
1. Combat Units Firing at Enemy Units on the Same Elevation: The followi ng K.ilpont has an Attack Command Chit. The
block LOS when firing and target units are at the same elevation: combat unit would use Montrose+s Advance
• A wooded hex at the same elevation Command Chit, because that is the leader that
• Combat units on the same elevation the combat unit traced command to.
• A hex of higher elevation
2.Combat Un its Firing at Enemy Units on a Different Elevation: The following
block LOS when firing and target units are at difFerent (higher or lower) eleva-
tions: I Command Extension Example:
• A hex of higher elevation th at is closer to the target than to the firing unit

I ~ lo~mm~~·--"-
• Woods
• Combat units, if adjacent to the target unit
• Terrain or units can block the LOS between units on different elevations if Command Span
the blocking hex is higher than the lower unit. T o determi ne whether some- In Command by Extension
thing blocks LOS between units on difFerent levels, count the hexes between
the lower unit and the potential obstacle. If this distance is less than half the
Range Table
number of hexes between the firing and target units, the LOS is blocked; if I
the number is equal to or greater than the total di stance, LOS is clear. D istance Dismounted M ounted Cavaby
in H exes D ragoon D ragoon
C. Melee Combat
1 +1 - -
During Melee Combat, the phasing player may attack enemy combat units in his
combat unit's Front hexes (see III.B .). Out of Command and Routed units may not 2 - X X
initiate melee. More than one unit may attack an enemy combat unit together.
1. M elee Requirements: A unit does not have to melee, but if it does there are Range Table Results:
certain require ments: - = May fire; no modifier
• If a combat unit fi res at an adjacent hex during O fi"ensive Fire, it must then +1 =May fire; add number to die ro!J
melee the same hex. X= May not fire
• All combat uni ts in the defending hex must be attacked as one unit.
• Combat units initiating melee must have an Advance, Stand, Charge, or At-
tack command. Fire Combat Table
2. Melee Procedure: The following procedure is used to resolve Melee Combat:
Die Rolf D ismounted Mounted Cavalry
• Attacker announces which combat units are attacking and what enemy com- D ragoon D 1·agoon
bat units wilJ be meleed. The attacker chooses the order in wh ich a series of
melee attacks are resolved. 0-4 - - -
• The attacking combat units check their morale. If a unit fails morale, it does 5 M - -
not rout, bu t does not attack. Units th at pass the morale check must attack.
• Cavalry units that have a Retreat or Stand command being attacked by infan- 6 M M M
try combat units may choose to retreat one, two, or three hexes. 7+ 1 M M
• D efending combat units check morale if at least one attacking uni t passed mo-
rale. If they fail t he morale check, they rout and retreat three hexes to their
Fire Combat Table:
rear. D efendi ng units that pass morale accept combat.
• Both players now total the combat strength of the units involved and each -=No effect
player rolls a die, modified by any leader combat bonus if a leader is stacked M =Target must make morale check.
with attacking or defending units, as well as by terrain, Command C hi t, and 1 =Top unit suffers a step loss; all remaining
rout. Results are applied simultaneously. Note: If friendly units in two or more units make morale check.

Page 18, March 1995 GameFix

 Winceb

adjacent hexes to a single enemy occupied hex are meleeing enemy units in LOS Examples:
that hex, the melee factors of all friendly units must be combined against the
combined melee strength of all enemy units in the hex attacked. Units on the Same Elevation:
• Any morale checks required by the combat result are now made. If all defend-
ing combat units vacate the hex, all attacki ng units from one hex must advance.
3. Melee Combat Table: The Melee Combat Table has a number of colu mns
that correspond to the combat strength of the attacking or defending units. W hen
resolving M elee Combat, each side fi nds the column that corresponds to total
strength and rolls a die. This die is modified by a number of factors, and then the
result is checked on the table's 'Die Roll" column to find the correct line to cross
index for results. Die rolls modified to less than zero are resolved on the 0 line;
and those greater than nine are resolved on the 9 line.
4. Morale Checks: To make a morale check, roll t\.YO dice, subtract one from th e
dice result if a leader is stacked with the combat unit, and compare to the combat
unit's morale rating. If the dice roll is equ al to or less than the morale rating, th e
combat unit has passed the morale check; if the di ce roll is higher, t he combat
unit routs. The owner places a "Rout" marker on the unit and retreats it one to
three hexes within the following restrictions:
• It cannot move across a hexside or into a hex it would not be able to move
across or enter during normal movement.
• It cannot enter an enemy-occupied hex.
• It cannot enter an enemy zoe, even if occupied by a friendly unit.
• If it retreats oft- the map, it is eliminated. LOS between units A and B is blocked because
• Two units stacked together that both fail morale are forced to unstack and re- of intervening hill. LOS ben.veen A and C is
treat separately. also blocked because of the intervening woods
Routed units that cannot retreat lose an additional step instead. A rout marker is hex. LOS ben.veen A and D is blocked because
not placed on such units. of unit E. Unit A does have LOS to E.
5. Step Loss: All combat units with a reverse side have four possible steps to lose.
Units on Different Elevations:
The one exception is dragoon units (see VII.C.6. ). Units with no reverse side
(those with only one combat strength point) may only suffer n.vo step losses.
• For the first step lost, place a Step Loss marker under the unit. There is no
effect on its combat or movement abilities. D educt one from the unit's printed
morale rating.
• For the second step lost, remove the marker and flip the unit to its Reduced
side. The unit will now have a lower com bat strength and morale rating. If
there is no reverse side, th e unit is permanently removed from play.
• For the third step lost, place a Step Loss marker under the Reduced unit. De-
duct one from the unit's printed morale rating .
• For the fourth step lost, the combat unit is permanently removed from play.
6. Dragoons: Dragoon units have n.vo sides- mounted and dismounted. They
may change formation at the beginning of any friendly movement phase. They
have only n.vo steps; remove a Dragoon from play after the third step loss. (See
VII.C.S. for more details).
7. Advance after Combat: If a defender vacates a hex as a result of melee, the at-
tacker must advance all combat units from one attacking hex into the hex vacated.
If the attacker has n.vo combat units stacked together, it must advance both.
VIII. Rally
During Fire Combat and Melee, there is a possibility th at a combat unit's morale LOS bet\.veen A and B is blocked because there
will need to be checked (see VII.C.4). Units make only one morale check per type of is a intervening hill hex closer to unit B th an A.
combat phase, even if required to do more than one check. Therefore, if a unit, as LOS ben.veen units A and C and A and D is
the result of a Fire Combat Phase, was required to make three checks, it would only blocked despite the fact that they are on a higher
make one. level than unit A.

GameFix March 1995, Page 19

 Winceb

A. Effects of Rout: Scenario

A combat unit with a Rout marker has its movement allowance halved (drop frac- Number of turns: 12
tions), has no ZOC, cannot enter enemy ZOCs, cannot Fire or initiate M elee, sub- Royalist (white) is the first player.
tracts one from the Melee die roll when defending, and adds one to its morale check Setup: No units begin on the map. Units enter
dice roll. A routed unit also loses the benefits of a Charge Command, and is treated (see map for lacations) during the owning play-
as if it is under a Muster Command. Any Rout effects take precedence over Muster ers Movement Phase according to the chart be-
Command requirements. low:
B. Recovery
Turn of Entry Chart
During the Rally Phase, each routed unit that is in command and not in an enemy
Z OC makes a morale check. Subtract one from the result if a Leader is stacked with Turn Royalists Roundheads
the unit. If the result is equal to or less than the morale rating, the rout marker is re- Cromwell,
1 Widdrington
moved. Otherwise, the unit immediately routs another three hexes. Leaders stacked Vermuyden
with it may accompany the unit or remain behind as the owner wishes.
2 All other Royalists Manchester
IX. Victory enter, except Array
The Victory Table lists the number of points a side must lose before the opponent
3 Fairfax
begins checking for victory. Each side rolls two dice during its Victory Check Phase.
If the result falls within the indicated range on the table, the rolling side immediately 7 or Roll a die at the Roll a die at the
wins the game. There are no victory levels; you either win or you lose. later beginning of each beginning of each
friendly friendly
Movement Phase. Movement Phase.
On a roll of 6, On a roll of 6,
Credits: Array enters. Hobart enters.
D esign: Robert Markham Note: All subordinate units enter with each
D evelopment: Dennis Bishop leader listed (Array has no leader and is subordi-
Play testing: Jesse Boomer, Alex Kachevsky, Mark Seaman nated to H enderson when they enter).
Edit ing: Jon Compton, Keith Sclesinger, Dave Wood
Graphics: Jon Compton

Victory Table
Parliament Victory Royalist Victory

R oyalist Die R oll Parliament Die Roll

Losses N eeded Losses N eeded
1(}-12 10-12 11- 12 1(}-12
13-15 9-12 14-16 9- 12
15-18 8-12 17-20 8-12
19- 22 7-12 21- 23 7-12
23-30 6-12 24-30 6-12
31-35 5-12 31-35 5-12
36+ 4-12 36+ 4-12
Loss Points: Eliminated or Routed unit = Full
combat strength. Reduced unit = Full minus Re-
duced strength. Overall Leader = 5, other
leader = 3

Page 20, M arch 1995 GameFix

 Behind the Lines Timothy Kutta

An Interview with Joe Miranda

[Joe Miranda, currently the editor of ample, I had the records for the British A rmy
Strategy & Tact ics, is one of the most proli fic of the Indus available. But ever try fi ndi ng out
game designers of modern times. His knowl- what exactly the I ndian Army had in 1965?
edge, experience, and position in the industry Brother! Another major problem is the Com-
give him a unique insight into the wargaming bat Results Table. It's not that the informa-
community.] tion is not available; it's that in many eras you
GameFix: I'm sure many of our readers have to show the effects of many different
would be interes ted in knowing a little about th ings . In Seven Years War(S&T 163), we had
you. Where did you go to school? Military to have all sorts of die roll modifiers to account
experience and such? for leadershi p, troop quality, cavalry, etc. This
j oe M iranda: I have a bachelor's degree in is valid (quantitative versus qualitative fac-
history from UCLA, and a master of science tors) , but also a little sloppy.
in criminal justice, the latter from California GF: You've been around the wargaming
State University, Los Angeles. I'm probably industry fo r awhile. H ow do you view the
one of the few people in my graduating class current state of games?
who actually gets to apply their history de- ]M: I th ink a major problem is what I caU
gree. I served a couple of tou rs in the Army f oe M iranda posing with the color the "decadence of wargaming." W hat I mean
National Guard and Reserve, and was an proofcopies Crisis 2000. by this is that we have all become so used to
instructor at the Special W arfare Center at the standards of wargame design as set by
Fort Bragg. My main military education came game on the riot at the D emocratic Conven- Avalon H ill that only endless baroque elabo-
from reading endless volumes on the subject. tion in 1968 . It had a really bizarre graphic rations are considered valid design. T his plays
And playing wargames. approach that caught the screaming headlines hob with the newcomers, who can't figure
GF: W hat got you interested in the hobby of the 1960s. T his is the sort of th ing that things out. The best approach is to use the
and when? wargaming should be doing. Significantly, its Basic-Advanced game rules. But then a lot of
JM: Back when I was in h igh school I was rules were short enough to be printed on the players feel cheated if they cannot use every
very interested in the military. This was dur- map itself. last optional rule we ever thought of.
ing the post-Tet era, mind you. W hen going GF: What is your favorite period for war- GF: What do you think most of the cur-
to the local hobby shops, I saw these military gaming and why? rent wargames lack in their designs?
games by something called the Avalon Hill JM: The ancient world is fascinating be- ] M : There is not a sufficient appreciation
company. The game boxes seemed to contain cause there are a lot of analogies between then of the cultural and psychological factors. We
an entire world. M y first two wargames were and now. I was reading Ammianus Marcel- have to look at the irrational side of things. In
Afrika Korps and Stalingrad. Upon playing linus' Roman H istory at the time of the 1990- designing Storm if Steel, a strategic game on
them, I immediately realized th is was a quan- 91 G ulfWar and was struck by t he parallels the F irst World War, I had to sim ulate the
tum leap forward in what was available to the between the Roman and A merican cam- psychology of the combatants, all of whom
public. paigns in Mesopotamia, at least on the stra- were willi ng to throw away a century of ra-
GF When did you design your first war- tegic level. But actually I like doing modern tionalism and progress for mutual annihila-
game and what was the title? political games, particularly Crisis 2000 and tion.
]M: Nicaragua, in conjunction with John LA Lawless. T he main thing is to get a lot of GF- I know you like to add Command and
Burtt. This was back in 1987. I had com- information in a fo ur-page rules format; you Control to your games. Why do you th ink it's
plained to Keith Poulter, who was running do this by maki ng most of the combat inter- important and what other "soft skills" do you
Strategy & Tactics at the time, about the abys- action between the players. think are often overlooked in wargames?
mal treatment low intensity conflict was re- GF- W hat motivates you to design a game? ] M : What a lot of people miss is that the
ceiving. H e gave me a chance to put my ]M: A lot ofit is that I want to put together commander's biggest problem is simply get-
money where my mouth was. games I would like to p lay. ting his own people to do what he wants. The
GF: H ow many wargames have you de- GF- What do you fi nd is the most difficult enemy takes care of himself. I think the intel-
signed and which is your favo rite? part of designing a game? ligence situation is also very important. A lot
]M: About 20. Trajan is my favori te. It was ]M: T he order of battle. U nless you are of it is in perception of intent. Sun Tzu has
an asymmetrical situation, with the ponder- dealing with a well-documented period, in- one of his famous cliche lines about knowing
ous Romans versus the mobile Parthians. It formation frequently has to be pieced to- the enemy and yourself, etc. H e's right. This
presented the Ancient Wars system in its pure gether. W e must give multiple kudos to 19th- is something I tried to address with the
form. The idea was to show warfare from the century military h istorians in this regard, as Stratagem Markers in the Trajan series. The
psychological perspective of the participants. they kept fairly complete records - a lot idea was that by choosing different types of
As for other designer's games, I like Jim Dun- better than modern historians, I should add! Stratagems (military, political, intelligence),
nigan's Chicago, Chicago, which was a war- W hen doing a British E mpire game, for ex- this would influence your strategy for the
GameFix March 1995, Page 21
turn. I like to make a wargame a contest of }M: It's a good idea to get more coverage. JM: Great idea, but everyone is becoming
wills as well as numbers. The amount of information you get out of a so overloaded by their e-mail that I wonder if
GF: Do you think the current run of war- wargame magazine, even without the game, they need another input!
games is too simple, too complicated, or just beats any of the popular military history GF: Thanks for answering all the ques-
right? magazines. Wargaming magazines need to tions. Before we go, you should have a free
JM: There is a lot coming from every become more of a voice in the current military forum to express any opinions o.r areas we
angle. I like to have games where the intent debate. One of our advantages is that, by haven't covered. Joe, this is your time.
is obvious. A detailed sequence of play, as SPI getting the wargame, you have a chance to JM: One of the things that bugs me about
used in its later games, is really the heart of a check out the theory by playing the si mula- 1990s America is that, despite the barrage of
well-organized rules system. tion. media the public is exposed to, there is very
GF: There has been a lot of talk about I am constantly meeting people who are little real information out there on contem-
wargaming rules in the industry being too surprised when I show them a current copy of porary military conflicts, and virtually no
simple? What do you think? Strategy & Tactics. A lot of people thought the analysis. What we get is essentially the same
}M: What I would like to see is some sort hobby died when SPI collapsed. The non- news clips over and over again, sort of like
of standardization of basic rules, and then gaming magazine versions will hopefully be a 1984's telescreen war. The U.S. is the only
have plug-in modules for the more complex form of advertising for the hobby itself. superpower in the world, yet the public has
things. SPI did something like this with their GF: There has been some controversy of li ttle grasp of strategic realities, other than on
Strategy I game, two decades ago. It was a late about the size of the gaming magazines. a gut level. One of the things wargaming is
system w hich you could use to simulate any What do you think the size of the ideal maga- good at is presenting both data and analysis.
war in history. zinc should be and what topics would you We need to look at ways of making wargames
GF: As the editor of S&T you've had the include? a tool for understanding the real world. The
opportunity to see many gaming magazines. }M: We need to do a lot more on conflicts several wargame magazines which covered
H ow do you view the current state of hobby in progress. But given the lead time on design the Gulf War presented more information
magazines? and printing, things are often overcome by tha n all the television newscasts I ever saw.
JM: The entire wargaming community has events. We have to look at ways at marketing our-
one of the highest levels of military education GF: How do you think computers will selves to a wider audience.
as a result of reading wargaming magazines. effect the wargaming industry? D o you see At the same time, we have to remember
Your average wargamer is much more knowl- computer aided games like Aide De Camp we are also a form of recreation and produce
edgeable about what is going on in the real becoming a bigger part of the hobby? games that ought to be enjoyable.
world. Wargame magazines probably did JM: The main thing about a board war- Wargaming really took off during a period
more to educate people about the NATO and game is that you can use it as an information ofgenerally perceived Western politico-mili-
Warsaw Pact armies than anything else. An- tool. You can actually look at the map and tary decline, the decade afterTet. Wargaming
other good example is the series on the World counters and get information. There is also was a means to re-evaluate a lot of things. I
War Two North Mrican and Russian Front the physical quality of the game. I like to read also saw it as a way to bring people together
Campaigns done in the early 1970s in S&T. the rules of old SPI games. T hey had a lot of from alJ over. I attended a few SPI playtest
This broke a lot of ground in the area of the information in there. Even if you did not play sessions in the 1970s, and you had anti-war
effects of cohesion on modern armies and the game, it was fascinating to look at the types playing alongside military personnel.
anticipated the development of the U.S. mili- processes they used to translate the historical We have to look at ways of taking advantage
tary's Airland Battle doctrine. situation into a game. As for computers, I of the current angst. A major discussion in
GF:Certainly the hobby is growing and thi nk computer games would work a lot better America is in about domestic conflict and the
changing. What do you think the standard if they could solve the screen size problem. role of the military. I did Crisis 2000 to explore
game magazine wilJ look like in five years? Scrolling around is distracting . Computer some of the options, but mainly to get people
JM: Probably the inclusion of a computer games should emphasize all those things to think a bit.
game disc. which board gaming finds difficult or redun-
GF: What do you think of the g rowing dant, like limited intelligence.
trend of the hobby to have a gaming version GF· What do you think about the concept
and non-gaming version of the magazine? of an e-mail magazine?

Timothy Kutta
Industry News
Rumors Not Allowed

Command Expands into the Big of the pure history version of the magazine. was to challenge the Cowles H istory Group's
Leagues A few months ago, Command decided to line of magazines, which includes titles such
Command Magazine has recently con- increase sales by splitting the magazine into a as Military History, World War II, Vietnam and
tacted several investors regarding the sale of version that included a wargame aimed at the others. However, although Command has
25% of the company's stock. The move is hobby market and one without a game aimed found that sales of the wargaming version
designed to raise capital to fund the expansion primarily at the history market. Their intent have remained strong and constant, the sales
Page 22, M arch 1995 GameFix
of the pure history version have lagged due to available for a reasonable price on the open more conservative path. He is trying to up-
distribution problems. market - that were done over 20 years ago. grade the quality of writing, standardize the
The move is to raise more capital, which Although the SPI line contains many classics, game rating system, and cover current topics
will solve the distribution problem and hope- and dogs as well, most now appear sopho- and games of interest.
fully push Command Magazine into the "Big moric compared to today's modern offerings. Over the years Fire and Movement h as
Leagues" of magazine publishers. Such a Perhaps Dr. Cummins has made a fatal undergone many changes and experienced
move will eventually free more capital for the business mistake. On the other hand, perhaps much turmoil. However, the magazine ap-
wargaming version and, if owners Ty Bomba, the good doctor believes that there is a large pears to have more lives than a cat and con-
Chris Perello, and Larry Hoffman don't take market for the old games. Collectors have tinues production, albeit irregularly, until to-
their new found wealth and move to Tahiti, certainly carried out a vigorous trade in the day. Subscription information at (805) 943-
should result in a better product for the war- games for many years, and the nostalgia of 6832.
gaming community as well. many of the older players may produce profi-
table sales. H istorical Gamer
Schwerpunkt Update The first four releases, Battlefor Germany, The Historical Gamer magazine, published
Issue #1 of Schwe1·epunkt is still available Leningrad, World War I, and the Battle for the by William S. Biles, is primarily aimed at the
(says a reliable source). Ardennes Quad have just been released; but it's miniature wargamer. Now in its fifth year of
too early to get a feel for sale numbers. Will publication, the bimonthly, 32- page, black
GameFix #2 Mailgram they be sufficient to cover the investment? and white magazine displays a good mix of
Many of the GameFix faithful were greatly Will players respond to the old games? Only historical articles, orders of battles, scenarios,
annoyed when the magazine languished in time will tell whether Dr. Cummins' gamble and miniature related articles. It is an inter-
the United States Postal System. Some of the will pay off. esting magazine that appeals to players who
subscribers waited over 26 days to get their love miniatures or Squad L eader or who care
copy. Editor Jon Compton, annoyed at the Fire and Movement to look at unusual h istory articles. The Octo-
delay, contacted the Post Master General and Fire and Movement, the Forum of Conflict ber/November 94 issue featured articles on
delivered a stinging rebuke of the USPS Simulations, has gone through a massive re- the Huai-Hsi Campaign in Ancient China,
methods. (Well actually, he called the post organization over the last few years. John Scenarios for Itsy-Bitsy Wars, Whiff of the
office in Sacramento and is still on hold.) Kisner resigned as editor after the Sept-Oct Grape, Battle of Shrewsbury 1403, an Update
93 issue and was replaced by Tony Zalewski. on 10mm Figures, and Spanish-American
Decision Games Buys SPI Line Mr. Zalewski's tenure was brief; but during Naval Battles. The magazine is published on
Decision Games has purchased the rights his stay he attempted to bring computer war- time, it is professionally done, and with a
to publish the old line of SPI games. Knowl- gaming to the magazine, upgrade the writing cover price of $4.25 is worth the money. For
edgeable insiders estimate the price of the staff, and cover issues that concerned a wide subscription info call606-277-7566.
purchase to be as high as $150,000. The con- range of wargamers. Unfortunately, some of
troversial decision to reissue the games has Mr. Zalewski's ideas clashed w ith those of the On the Horizion
had mixed reactions throughout the industry. owners, and the two parted company after Commandl ssue #3 1 Budapest 4 5;, Issue #32
Many experts wonder why Dr. Christopher only a couple of issues. Bunker H ill
Cummins would waste good money to reissue The new editor, D ave Nicholas, has taken S&Tlssue #171 On to Moscow; Issue #172
a line of games - many of which are still over the magazine and has decided to steer a Russo-Finnish War

Keith Schlesinger
Optional Rules: Bombs Away! Mike Anderson

Playing Solo and Variable Victory

Playing Solo Joker. If no Joker is available, use a black card. considered Tougher.
Playing Bombs Away solo is just like the Shuffie these red cards and Joker thoroughly Axis Deployment
two player game. You play the Axis forces, and and deal out seven cards face down. Set the Draw a free Event card each turn. If the
use the following rules modifications to con- remainder aside. These seven cards will be Event text is printed in green, the Axis may
trol the Allied forces . used to represent the Allied side's personality. use or hold the card normally. If the text is
Preparation Aircraft Toughness printed in tan, it must be used as soon and as
Because there is no Allied opponent to At various times during play, it will be often as possible on the Allied side's behalf. If
fool, the Decoy cards are only used to keep necessary to rank Aircraft on both sides ac- the text is printed in brown, the card is dis-
track of the current game turn. cording to their Toughness. Use the Payload carded.
Allied Personality rating to determine Bomber Toughness, and Allied Deployment
In addition to the normal preparations for the Dogfight rating to determine Fighter Create Bomber Groups built around each
the two-player game, you must obtain a regu- Toughness. In the case of a tie to determine Available Bomber card. Begin with the
lardeckofplaying cards. Remove all clubs and the Toughest airplane in a battle, the Aircraft Toughes t Bomber, and pair it with the
spades. Keep the diamonds, hearts, and one with the higher Turn Number printed on it is Toughest Fighter. Then p air the second

GameFix March 1995, Page 23

Toughest Bomber with the second Toughest pile, then Fig hters are purchased, T oug hest to will affect Economic targets, "M" will affect
Fighter, and so on until all Available Bombers least Toug h . I f there are fewer than two Allied Military targets, and "P" will affect Political
have one Fighter, or unti l all F ig hters are A ircraft in the Destroyed pile, then the Allied targets. Place the selected marker underneath
paired. Any extra Figh ters are placed with the player scores one Victory point for each Air- one corner of the map. The choice remains in
si ngle Toughest Bomber. craft not purchased. effect for the entire game; it cannot be
Allied Target Selection Strategy Hints changed. The marker is revealed when victory
Draw a playing card. Consult th e Strategic A player may conduct a C hance D raw to is determined at the e nd of the game, or each
Target T able and send the group with the least see the Chance umber even in a situation time the Allies play an "Americans/B ritish
Tough Bomber to the indicated Target. where there is no possibili ty of obtain ing a Breaks Codes" event card. Use the number of
success. This depletes the Event deck faster
r- --- devastated targets of the type specified by the

3
Strategic Target Table for a more timely reshuffle. Victory marker to determine how many vic-
Ace Essen/Koln Deployment should be conducted as tory levels to award or deduct from the Allies.
f-- stealthi ly as possible so that the opposing side Allied Primary Target
2 Bremcrhaven
cannot be sure exactly what is being placed When the game ends, check to see which
3 Prague where. target marker (Economic, Polit ical, Military)
I -1 Ploesti Sending only Fig hters to a Target can be is highest on the record track. In case of a tie,
5 Frankfurt useful to kill German F ighters without risk- pick just one of the target types. That number
6 Schweinfurt ing Bombers. is found under the second colum n of the
f- Variable Victory table, which determines how
7 Berlin
I Variable Victory many victory b reis to award o r deduct from
8 H amburg Strategic bombing was hardly an exact the Allies.
I--
9 Dresden science in the 1940s and remains something Final Victory Level
-- Calculate the victory level normally, then
10 Attack last rarger attacked of a mystery even in the era of smart bombs
Remaining groups attack Essen/ Koln and cruise missiles. The Axis adopted long- remove the Victory marker from beneath the
Jack
range plans for such things as installation map, (if it has not already been revealed). If
Qleen Remaining groups attack Ploesti
f.- placement, underground Build, and aircraft the Victory marker is "E ," check the number
IGng Remaining groups attack Berlin of Economic targets devastated; if it is "M,"
production based on its estimate of how the
Joker Reshuffle all red playing cards; AJJies would prio ri tize targets. The Allied air check the Military targets; if "P," check the
include Joker. Draw seven new cards, forces had much g reater short- term flexibility, Political targets. Use the Variable Victory ta-
Etce-down. Draw a new card for the but they still had to make choices that would ble to determine how many levels up or down
current group. affect strategy for months and would ulti- to shift the o rigi nal victo ry result. Then de-
mately determine what types of targets were termine the most freque ntly devastated target
Allied Shooting most seriously damaged. To help recreate the type and use the number found on the record
A ll Bombers shoot before F ighters do. Al- uncertainty surrounding pre-electronic track. Add or subtract levels fro m t he victory
lied Aircraft shoot in order of least Tough to bombing campaig ns, use the following rules. result modified by the Axis victory marker to
most Tough. arrive at the final level of victory.
Each Allied Aircraft shoots at the Tough- Devastated Target Markers Example: The Allies obtain a Marginal
est Axis Fighter over the Target until it is During the course of the game, the AJJied victory based on accumulated victory points.
destroyed. Then the Toughest remaining Axis side must keep track of how many targets of The Victory marker beneath the map was not
Aircraft is shot at, and so on until all Axis each type (economic, military, political) are revealed during the game. It turns out to be
Aircraft at t he Target arc eliminated or until devastated. Place the "E Targets," "M Tar- "M" (Military targets), which the Allies did
all Allied Aircraft have shot once. gets," and "P targets" markers in the zero not concen trate on during the game. Only 1
Allied Bo mbing space of the left-hand colum n of the Victory Mi litary target was devastated, as indicated by
Bombers drop their bombs in o rder from Point Track at the start of the game. the "Military" marker in the ''1'' space on the
least Toug h to most Toug h. Each devasta ted target of the appropriate Victory Points Track. The victory level is
Continue turning cards, determining des- type raises the total by one point. Whenever reduced 2levels. The Allies devastated 8 Eco-
tinations, and carrying ou t combat for Bomb- one of these markers is in the "9" space and nomic targets, though; more than any o ther
er Groups, goi ng from the least Tough to the needs to add another point, place the marker type. T his adds one level in the Allies' favor,
Toug hest Bomber Group. Certain results will back in the zero space of the same column and fo r a total of 1 level subtracted (- 2 +1 =-1).
mandate th at all remaining Bomber Groups flip it over to its "+10" side to show that 10 The game ends in a Marginal Axis Victory.
must head for a particular Target, which auto-
matically ends the process of choosi ng cards
must be added to the number in the space the
marker occupies. The maximum number of
L Variable Victory T able ~
for the curren t turn. devastated targets of each type that count ~
Axis Marker Allied Marker Ejject
Axis Build Step toward victory is 19. If a"+10" marker reaches 0 0 -3 levels
You may not purchase E vent cards. the "9" space, it remains there and cannot be 1 1 -21cvcls
Reshuffle the seven playing cards for the next moved for the remainder of the game.
r--
turn. . _ 2-3 2-3 -llevel
Axis Victory Marker
4-6 4-6 No Change
Allied Build Step After setting up the game, the Axis secretly
Always buy the two Toughest Bombers chooses one of the markers marked "Victory 7-8 7-8 +l level
cu rrently in the Destroyed Pile. If there are E," "Victory M," or "Victory P." C hoosing "E"
'-=
9+
~
'==-
9+ __l_ +2levels _
fewe r than two Bombers in the D estroyed
Page 24, March 1995 Game Fix
 The Armchair Gamer Dave Wood

Belgium: C hristmas, 1944;

including several Asides, and a Prejudice

The ''Bulge" - all those green, exhausted Also, the page presen tation initially mis- shuffled throughout the rules.
Americans dug-in in the snowy woods (Van leads. For example, 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 are run- T he rules sh ould contain complete
Johnson in Battleground); the overwhelming in, without sep arate heads; 5.5, 5 .6, 5.7, and "housekeeping" coverage.
failure of Allied intelligence; the bad flying 5.8 (which, at least fro m the numbering, [A nother aside: "housekeepi ng" ru les com-
weather; the sneaky G erman infiltrators in should be coordinate with 5 .1, etc.) are stand- prise all those th ings the player needs to know
American uniforms and gear; Patton's pre- alone, bold face heads. Similar p resentation outside of the SOP - terrain effects, defi ni-
scient planning and masterful execution of occurs at 16. 1 and 16.2. tions of terms, and so on. G enerally, h e'll need
the move from the South; M ontgomery's These logical lapses are not particularly to know these things before beginning the
hesitation to commit from the North; misleading, merely embarrassing. M ore seri- first step of the SO P.]
McAuliffe's wonderful ''Nuts!" [if that's what ous is the sequence of the headings (see below). Blitzkrieg contains com plete housekeep-
he said]; the German atrocities; C h rist mas in T he rules sh ould be presented in th e order ing coverage, although it is in termixed wi th
Bastogne .... Good stuff: no wonder it's been that the gamer needs to know th em. Blitz- SOP rules, as mentioned above.
the subject of so many films, stories, histories, krieg does not conform to t!lis standard at all. W here app ropriate, the rules should
and wargames. For example, the first thing the player needs cross-reference related rules. T he designer's
This month our review takes a look at two to know how to do in the Sequence of Play is conformance to this standard becomes espe-
of those games: 3W's The Last Blitzkrieg how to check the supply status of his units. cially important to the player when standards
[Blitzkrieg], 1994, M ichael Scott Smith, de- T he section of the rules that deals with supply tvvo through four have been ignored, because
signer; and The G arners' Ardennes, 1994 (part (11.0) is twelve columns away. The fi rst player t he designer now has conde mned the player
of their "Standard Combat Series"), Dean N. is the German, and there is a furthe r restric- to a continual searching back and forth
Essig, designer. tion on German supply another three col- among the rules. If this standard's requ ire-
Blitzkrieg presents the battle at regim ent umns away at section 14.0. ments have been met, the player will have an
and brigade level, with twelve-hour turns and M ore seriously, section 17.0 contains a easier time of it.
two-mile hexes on one 22" by 34" map; A r- number of rules (the "first turn surprise") that Blitzkrieg does an adequate job of internal
dennes works at levels from battalion through reflect how thoroughl y the Germans caugh t cross-refere ncing, but it now and then slips up
brigade, with twenty-four-hour turns and t he Allies off guard. All these rules sig- in one of the most important aspects of the
one-mile hexes on two 22" by 34" maps. O n nificantly affect the play of both sides during process: the references have to be accurate.
the Blitzkrieg map, th e grain runs North- the first game tu rn: does it make sense t hat For example, rule 8.3 proficiency Rating (PR)
South; on the maps for Ardennes, the grain the pertinent rules should come on the next- contains a reference forward to rule 9.23. 8.3
runs East-W est. to-the-last page of the rules? is about comp aring the PR of t he attacki ng
Most of the rules appear in a sequence that and defending units before combat resolution
Blitzkrieg and the Standards will have the player flippi ng back and fo rth and modifying the die roll. Some of these
The rules sh ould tell us how to play the during play. units may previously have been "shocked,"
game. Except for some pertinent quotations T h e rules should sep arate n on- playing in- and the reference to 9.23 is pertinent; but if
at the beginning of each major rules section, formation from playing information. the player reads only 9.23, he will miss impor-
Blitzkriegs rules do not indulge in extraneous [Aside: From some of the comments we've tant information: the reference should have
comment. The rules set forth t he game me- received, there seems to be some misunder- been to 9 .23 and9 .24, which contains impor-
chanics clearly and straightforwardly. The standing about this standard, which simply tant info rmation about how the effects of
writing is clear, understandable, and direct. asks the designer to separate rules used in the shock affect combat.
The rules should be organized logically. Sequence of Play from other ki nds of rules. T he rules sh ould present examples of play.
Blitzkrieg has several logical organization T he gamer needs to know some things (for T here are only two discussion-type examples
faults; they are not particularly misleading, example, the Zones of Control approach, if in Blitzkrieg, and there are no purpose-drawn
because the other rules appear closely enough used) before he begins the steps of the SOP; if illustrated examples. However, the writing in
on the page that the though tful reader can these things h aven't been presented befo re the the rules is clear enough that experienced
immediately see what the structure is. SOP, the gamer has to stop during the SOP, wargamers should h ave no trouble under-
These fa ults consist mostly in dividing a look fo r the pertinent rule(s), and then return standing the rules despite th is scarcity of ex-
thing into one part: thus, 4.1 (but no 4.2); 5. 71 to the SOP.] amples. M ore examples would probably have
(but no 5.72); 6.1 (but no 6 .2); 11.71 (but no Blitzkrieg does not conform to this stand- helped the novice gamer get into t his game
11.72). ard. For example, immediately after 4.0 Se- more easily.
Also, although the 'Table of Contents" quence of P lay comes 5.0 IVl ovement, T h e rules should adhere to the conven-
lists a section "20.0 A utomatic Victory," no 6.0 Stacking, and 7.0 Zones of Control, of tions oflanguage, presentation, and typeset-
such section appears within the body of the which only the first figures in the play se- ting. T he language in Blitzkrieg follows cur-
rules, which goes fro m 19.0 to 21.0 . Presum- quence. The player need s to know about re nt practice well. Sente nces are clear, their
ably, there was originally such a rules section, stacking and Z O Cs before he begins the SO P. meaning apparent, fo r the most part, on fi rst
but we'll never know. The playing and non-playing rules have been reading . T here are some minor discrepancies

GameFix M.arch 1995, Page 25

(especially in punctuation -mostly things color or the color of the number to add dis- and the Germans for each day, and reminds
that an editor should have caught) and incon- tinction to itself: the drop shadow color re- the players that unusual rules apply to certain
sistencies, but nothing that jars the reader. peats the color of the unit's parent organiza- days ("1st turn surprise," ''Peiper breakout,"
The page presentation also conforms to tion. So, for example, the counters for etc.).
the standard. The eye follows the presentation German 6th Panzer Army have black num- Play-aid cards will conform to the stand-
easily, only questioning now and then the bers, a light blue drop shadow, and a light gray ards for rules, counters, and maps. Blitzkrieg
differences of coordination and subordination background. T he si tuation is even worse for needs only the one play-aid card, which con-
among headlines, as mentioned above. On the SS- white numbers, a light gray (about tains the Combat Results Table and the Ter-
the whole, the rules pages are pleasingly non- a ten percent) drop shadow, and a black back- rain Effects on Combat table. The card is
intrusive. ground. The lack of size and poor color selec- easy-to-read, the results are easy to under-
The typesetting also follows the standard, tions create a set of numbers that's continually stand and apply. For some reason, the card
but not as wel l as it could. There is no particu- difficult to read and that sometimes implies uses several weights of three different typeface
lar reaso n, for example, for the number of double vision. families: one would have been enough.
typefaces on the page, and there are far too The map will use color sparingly and con- There are also two "Order of Appearance"
many all-capital headlines for my taste: but sistently. Blitzkrieg's map is a pleasure to look cards, one for the Germans, one for the Allies.
few readers will find the typesetting mislead- at and play on. The basic color for the map is For their unit icons, these cards use a copy of
ing or offensive. a very pale beige, which tends to d isappear the counter artwork (about 25% larger), and
The counters will be designed and exe- nicely during play and avoids the glare of a the problems noted above have been retained:
cuted so that the player can immediately large white area. The terrain features use the you're not getting double vision; it's just an
know whom the counters belong to, know standard symbols for fores ted areas, rivers, ill-advised drop shadow.
what values the counters present, and dis- bridges, towns, roads, etc. I would quibble The game also includes a sheet of "Ran-
criminate necessary information from un- with the colors chosen for rough (a sort of dom Event Cards," which the player must cut
necessary information. Blitzkrieg's counters peach color), road (a bright orange), and town out before play. They're well-conceived and
have been designed for case of recognition: (a gray a bit too close to the gray background produced. (But see further comments about
the background colors for the counters cover for some of the German counters) as a bit these cards below.)
the whole area left over fro m the numbers and unexpected, but these are quibbles only. T he Play-aid cards will contain references to
symbols; and this large area of color (gray fo r colors are both spare and consistent. pertinent rules. Blitzkrieg doesn't make many
the Germans, black fo r the German SS, olive The map will avoid harsh colors. The map references on these card s, mostly because
green for the US, and red for the British) does avoid harsh colors - in the map proper. they're unnecessary; the cards are clearly laid
makes recognition immediate. In addition, There are some shocking deep red borders out and understandable by themselves. The
the unit symbol boxes are colored to identify that separate the playing portion of the map CRT and Terrain Effects on Combat card
the unit's parent organization (for example, from some illustrations and the Game- contains only one reference to the rules, and
light g reen for US 1st Army, red for US 3rd Turn/Air Allocation Track and Terrain it's only marg inally necessary. The Order of
Army). Administrative counters that apply to Effects Chart; other than that, the colors are Appearance cards contain no rules references,
a certain side bear that side's color; counters not harsh. and don't need any.The Random Event Cards
used by both sides have a neutral coloration. The map will accurately represent the sheet contains a reference to the applicable
It's easy to d iscriminate necessary infor- battlefield. I do not personally own the neces- rules section.
mation from unnecessary information on sary references to judge whether the map is Play- aid cards will conform to profes-
these counters; and the printer did a good job, accurate. The major place names all seem to sional standards for tables, charts, etc. There
with nice tight registration and die cutting. be in about the rig ht place. (But see further is a difference between Blitzkrieg's play-aids
Blitzkrieg has 300 counters, of which just com ments towards the end of the article.) that leads me to believe that more than one
under 216 are units in play and the rest are The portion of the battlefield included for person was involved.
administrative. the game seems appropriate (that is, you Except as noted above, the Combat Re-
H owever, the counters in Blitzkrieg are should have enough room to play intelli- sults Table/Terrain Effects on Combat card is
greatly d isappointing in one respect: the ma- gently) for the scale of the game: Liege is at well laid out, easy to read, easy to understand.
jor numbers along the bottom of the counter the northernmost edge of t he map, just to the So are the O rder of Appearance cards. This
(the combat strength, proficiency rating, and west of center; St. Vi th is twenty-five miles person is followi ng the traditional standards.
movement allowance- the numbers that west of the eastern map edge; amur is about But the tables pri nted on the map must be
the player uses to the exclusion of nearly twelve miles from the western edge. Thenar- from a different hand:
everything else on the counter) have been row edge of the map run s North-South, as • The title of the Game-Turn/Air Alloca-
printed with a drop shadow that makes them does the grain. tion Track table would benefit from put-
look, at first glance, as if the printer made a T he map will contain as much playing ting "Game-Turn" on one line and "Air
mistake. Even at second glance, they just look information as it has room for. Blitzkriegs Allocation Track" on the next.
fuzzy. The type itself is large enough to read map contains both a Terrain Effects C hart • The background colors for the cells in
(nine-point boldface), but not large enough and a Game-Turn/Ai r Allocation Track. both tables is initially confusing, then
to bear the drop shadow. (The smallest drop The TEC lists the effects of terrain on aesthetically unpleasing.
shadow I've ever used was fourteen points, movement, distinguishing between non- • In general practice, text should be cen-
and that was against my better judgment: the mechanized and mechanized units. But it tered both vertically and horizontally
rule of thumb among most graphics designers does not show the effects of terrain on com- within the cell. In the Game-Turn/Air
is that nothing smaller than eighteen poi nts bat, and it could well have. Allocation Track especial! y, the dates
gets a drop shadow.) To make things worse, The Game-Turn/Ai r Allocation Track look like th ey're trying to run away
the color of the drop shadow does not offer keeps up with the days of the battle, lists the th rough the bottom of the cell.
enoug h contrast with either the background Air A llocation Points available to the Allies • Subdivided columns (such as the Move-

Page 26, March 1995 GameFix

 ment Costs column in the Terrain Effect this process. Pagc-layour and wo rd-process- two ki nds of rules and between the two books.
Chart) commo nly should have a vertical ing software take the place of the old hot-lead T he rules should conta.in complete
line between them, just like any other typesetter. ow, when things don't fit, the "housekeeping" coverage. The special rules
column except that it begins just below operator can change type size (for example) book for A rdennes badly needs an ill ustration
the major column heading; one is needed for a whole range of pages with just one of its cou nters. Other than that, the rules
here. keystroke. Likewise, moving pieces of text contain relatively complete coverage, al-
• Common practice involves setting the and illustrati ons is as simple as clicking and though it is intermLxed, distractingly, with
column (and row) headings in a type face dragging with the mouse. And, most impor- SOP rules, as mentioned above. A nd much of
(not type family) different from the table tant, merging two separate files into a third, it will remain tan talizingly unclear, due
entries. I n both these tables, the typeface single fi le, is both quick and simple. There is mainly to a severe case of bad writing (see
is identical. no longer any economic or time-saving reason below).
for separate rules booklets. Where appropriate, the rules should
Ardennes and the standards If there is someone out there producing cross- refere nce related rules. T here is some
[Prejudice: I must admit to a long-sta nd ing rules on a hot- lead Linotype machine, he cross-refere ncing in both books (the special
prejudice against games w ith two sets of rules, should join the twentie th ce ntury. AJl those ru les book has more th an the standard rul es
one a "standard" set meant to apply to a series producing two- book sets of ru les on a com- book), but surely not enough. Much of the
of games, and one a "specific" set with rules puter should merge the rules into one booklet interrelatedness of the rules, both within and
that apply to the specific game within that before production and, while they're at it, take among the two books, will only become ap-
series. The p rejudice has, in many instances a careful look at the resulting logic, organiza- parent after much deduction.
(and Ardennes is one), become a postjudice. tion , and seque ncing of the rules.] T he rules should present examples ofplay.
T his prejudice has a number of reasons at T he rules sh ould tell us how to play the There arc no illustrations in the special rules
its foundation. The first is that the player game. Ardennes's rules tell us how to play the book, and it would certainly benefit from
learning the game (and having to refer to the game; but, aside from the two-book business, some, especially for the modifications to the
rules after having "learned" the game) must they do not go about it in a straightfonvard stacking and overrun rules in the standard
continually look back and forth not just in one manner. This is a generalized standard; my rules.
set of rules, but in two sets of rules; and, comment is not about content, but manner. The standard rules contain seven illustra-
especially with a badly organized and badly The rules sh ould be organized logically. tio ns, of which one shows a typical counter
written set of rules, thi s continual back and Both books of rules in Ardennes mostly follow and the others show ZOCs and terrai n effects
forth business can be tedious and frustrating. logical division and subdivi sion in their or- on ZOCs. Illustration three shows how a unit
(Some ofus may remember t his state of affairs ganization. The few exceptions don't mislead: expends movement points in moving through
as of the four th module of Squad L eader:) for example, 2.0 Zones of Control has been various ZOCs; it's misleading until you real-
Another reason is that two-book sets of divided into one part 2.1 ZOC Effects. But, ize that "ZOC" actually means "EZOC" for
rules seem somehow to require the writer to while reading these rules, I have a continual the moving unit. The fo urth illustration
violate the most basic logic and organization sense that little attention has been paid to shows how to t race a su pply line, continuing
and sequencing in their rules - almost as if, coordination and subordin atio n and that the the confusion between ZOCs and EZOCs.
by the very act of scparati ng the rules in to two sections have been numbered (or not: whether H owever, you can figure them out; it's just
sets, logic and organizatio n and sequencing A rdennes's rules arc numbered or not is incon- poor presentation.
disappear as self- imposed requirements on sistent) to present the appearance, but not the But you'll have significantly more trouble
the writer. substance, of logic. with the last three ill ustrations, of which the
Yet another reason is that there's no longer The rules should be presented in the order fi rst two illustrate the same move. In "Exam-
any real reason for separating the rules in this that the gamer needs to know them. Neither ple of Combat part 2," you may find difficulty
way. Longer ago than many of us want to rules book presents the player with rules in in determi ning how unit 14 went from a
remember, the old SPI quad games and their any kind of a recognizable sequence, either streng th of 2 (in part 1) to a strength of 0 in
spin-offs began th is process of standard rules within one set of rules or as an overall , two- part 2: is there a replacement counter in the
and specific rules. I n those days, typesetting a book set. For example, as its first step for the mix? o r did this counter have a strength of 2
set of rules was a matter of sending copy out first (German) player, the specific rules fo r on one side and a strength of 0 on the other?
to a hot-lead typesetter, who set and printed Ardennes requ ires weather determination. Be- And what abou t unit 7 in the same illustra-
long strips of type ("galleys"). The galleys tween the Sequence of Play and the rule fo r tion: did it have the option of reduci ng to a 0
came back to the layout department, who d id weather determination, nine major rules strength?
an initial paste-up to sec how things fi t: if they headings intervene. Likewise, the second step AJtogether, yes, there arc examples; but
didn't, everything went back to the typesetter is US air point determination: eighteen major they tend to introduce more questions than
for different type sizes, leading, line depth, rules headings intervene before the pertinent they answer.
etc. Mter several iterations, a set of rules rule. T he rules sh oul d adhere to th e conven -
would emerge to go before the printer's cam- T he rules should separa te non- playing in- tions ofl anguage, presentation , and typeset-
era for negatives, then plates from the nega- formation from playing information . Arden- ting. T he language in these two books falls far
tives, then onto the press. AJI in all, the whole nes follows this standard in that both rules sh ort of acceptable technical writing: where it
process was expensive and time-consu ming, books put the "D esigner's Notes" (and player's needs to explain, it is confusingly unclear;
so it made at least some kind of economic notes) at the end of the books. The books where it is reasonably clear, the con ten t is less
sense to produce a set of general rules for contain rules about how to play th e game (the than important. ror example,
several games (and print enough copies for steps in the Sequence ofP lay) and other kinds Units that overrun can stack with
the whole series) and a set of specific rules of rules (housekeeping rules), and both kinds those wh ich aren't (adj acen t to the target
(with a shorter print run). have been thoroughly mixed. T he player will hex) and that the hex's stacking total
But today's computers make short work of conti nually flip back and forth between the must be within the stacki ng limit.

GameFix i\ larch 1995, Page 27

(I assure you that I have faithfully transcribed ally own the necessary references to judge is one mile to the hex, then the distance
the sentence and that there are no typesetting whether the map is accurate. T he major place between major points in Ardennes ought to be
errors in this quotation.) names all seem to be in abou t the right place. larger by twice t han bet\.veen the same points
You should note that this sentence appears (But see further comments towards the end in Blitzkrieg. But they aren't. Nor are the roads
in the standard rules book. From its title of the article.) all t hat similar (Blitzkrieg doesn't discriminate
(Series Rules, ver 1.6), we can deduce that the The map will co ntain as much playing between "major" and "minor" roads, as Arden-
rules have been through five previous versions information as it has room for. Appropriately, nes does.)
before reaching this sixth version. I find it Ardennes's map con tains an explanation of the Blitzkrieg's Order of Appearance cards
amazing that this kind of writing could sur- terrain symbols, a turn track, a weather track contain some comments, and the importance
vive th e first rough draft, let alone make its and table, a weather change table, and a US of these may not be immediately clear. The
way into the sixth printed version. air point track. rules reference the cards, without furthe r ex-
The page presentation and typesetting fol- Play-aid cards will conform to the stand- planation . These comments strongly affect
low the more amateur practices, worse in the ards for rules, counters, and maps. A1·dennes play: players should take the time to under-
special booklet than in the standard booklet. doesn't have separate play-aid cards; instead, stand them thoroughly.
T he basic type family is T imes Roman, nine the necessary tables appear on the last t\.vo T he random events cards in Blitzkrieg are
points with two points ofleading, on a twelve- pages of the special ru les book. The informa- an tmnecessary non-even t. There is only one
and-a- half- pica line depth, resulting in an tion in the tables is clear. There are also several random event in the game (at the begi nning
easy- to-read basic presentation. Normal, boxed text blocks, wh ich repeat the SOP, of turn 18am); and there are only ten possi-
italic, and bold faces of this fam ily appea r with some special rules, and the Victory schedule. bilities, fully explained in the rules text. Play-
a H elvetica bold face and a H elvetica con- The information boxes on the map reflect ers should dispense with the cards and roll a
de nsed for various heads. The problem arises some amateurism: many of them have their ten-sided d ie for the results.
from the indiscriminate mixture of these faces text actually touching the outline of the box, Blitzkrieg doesn't have the depth of detail
and all capitals and underscores. For example, without any margi n or white space at all. ofArdennes- for example,Ardennes has both
Times Roman appears as normal face, bold Play-aid cards will contain references to an overrun and an exploitation mechanism,
face all capitals underscored, bold face, and pertinent rules. There are no references to the where Blitzkrieg doesn't. But pay attention to
italics - aU in the same sentence (1.7a) of rules with in these tables. Blitzkrieg's rule 13.0 Armor Reserve: this
only t\.venty-two words! Play-aid cards will conform to profes- short, simple little rule adds immeasurably to
The counters will be designed and exe- sional standards for tables, charts, etc. The your concept of the game (too bad it doesn't
cuted so that th e player can immediately CRT and the Barrage Table are both profes- come earlier in the rules). And rules 13.0
know whom the counters belong to, know sionally laid out, but the Terrain Effects table through 17.0, the random event, and the
what values the counters present, and dis- is an example of amateurism: a horizontal line above- menti oned German sen•p variations
criminate necessary information from un- (intended only to guide the eye across the combined to give me a pleasurable gaming
necessary information. The counters in A1·- table) is two points in weight, over !\.vice as expenence.
dennes meet this standard very well. T he heavy of the stroke weight in the characters I invested about t\.vo hours in studying the
colors are about what you'd expect: feldgrau in the table; and t his line obliterates the de- rules and maps and counters and cards before
and black for the Germans, olive drab for t he scenders of the letters above it. setting up Blitzkrieg for play. I invested many
US. The type is readable at a comfortable hours in flipping back and forth bet\.veen the
playing distance. My only complaint is that Some General Comments two rules books ofArdennes, many more than
using a drop shadow without an outline on In Blitzkrieg, the German ini tial setup will I thought rewarding. My copy arrived from
the playing numbers tends to let the charac- become very important: the setup merely the editor, who (with several other players)
ters break up on the non-shadowed side. specifies a number of units to be set up on "any had spent several hours trying to play it before
The map will use color sparingly and con - [setup] hex with a figure" five, six, or seven (a giving up; it came to him from another war-
sistently. The map colors for Ardennes are reference to a numberofhexes with a red digit gamer, who had the same experience. I would
used consistently, but not necessarily spar- to indicate a setup hex). US units, however, like to tell you that I had a better experience
ingly. The basic color for the map is a plain are placed in specific hexes. The game will with the game, but I didn't. I still don't know
white that almost glares, but not quite. The probably have as many variants as there are what the pink cou nters are fo r, or what the
forests are represented by the standard symbol variations in German initial setup. skull and crossbones counters are for, or what
in a muted grayi sh green; secondary roads are O n the other hand, the five scenarios in the scenarios' "dead pile" means. About half
a greenish brown with a black outline; pri- Ardennes allow no variation: all units are way through the tedium of setting up a sce-
mary roads a bright yellow with a red ou tline; placed in a specific hex. Ardennes setu ps are Ilario, I suddenly remembered an important
cities are red; and the streams and rivers use very tedious: some scenarios require six rules previous engagement and took the trash out.
t\.vo different colors of blue, both with out- columns just for the setup. [Next month, 3W 's B arbarians.]
lines. All in all, a bit too colorful.
The map will avoid harsh colors. As noted General Comments
above, the white on this map almost glares; it I have mentioned that I don't personally
could have been avoided merely by printi ng own the references to make a judgment about
on a paper with a bit of color to it. But the the accuracy of the maps, other than to point
colors for the other features on the map do out that the major points seem to be in the
glare, especially the major roads; during play, right places on both games' maps. H owever,
the map continues to call attention to itself there docs seem to be enough discrepancies
rather than to disappear under the counters. between the t\.vo that some serious questions
The map will accurately represent the should be raised: if the scale of Blitzkrieg is
battlefield. As noted above, l do not person- two miles to the hex, and the scale ofArdennes

Page 28, March 1995 GameFix

 The Forum ofldeas
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It's Topical
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GameFix is put together by people who have been involved in
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It's Thought-Provoking
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Issue #6: Redlin,• Korea
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