The magazine is full of interesting stuff. Rarely for me I actually possess some of the games in question! The game is lovely quality. 1 inch playing pieces, and prints out really well-

Well, I've always loved the old 18xx games, but this is a very good updating of that system. Lot's of systems have been simplified into one. I love the Station/shares which are all represented by the same cylinders. I also like the mechanism for connecting hexes rather than the fiddly puzzles you sometimes have in 18xx games, which leaves you able to concentrate on the finance and planning. There are many subtle twists in this and all in a rulebook of esentially SIX pages, compared to the enpormous convolted rules of some 18xx games The other big plus is essentially two very different games in one box, same bassic chassis, but with slight tweeks: and all the vital tweeks are there on the map. No rules riffling to find out what exactlt triggers game end in the game you are playing. Add to that the possibility of two expansions already out, which means you can already have 6 completely different games with the same simple ruleset. All in all an excellent buy.

I do have one complaint: The low solitaire rating that you guys have given this game. I'm a solo player by force of circumstance, and as this game has only ONE SINGLE auction round at the very beginning, it is very easy to solo play this game.

Same format as 95th. Which means some very clever bits and some not so. I definately like the scenarios, but less the RPG part of the game, but that's just me. Still worth the buy in any case

I love the simple mechanisms for creating chaos on the ancient battlefied. At first it may seem a little abstract, but the idea od troop caualties is a gem. You flip your counter, but till then eeven you don't know exactly what's on the flip side. Could be a leader, they're good, could be simply exhausted, could also break immediately.. At the beginning you choose your counters blindly from the famous opaque cup, so you could get good stuff or bad. But when you position them at the beginning you are not allowed to see what goes where. So you will know how much good/medium andbad there is in a unit, but not where it is. Your opponent doesn't even know the quality of the units you draw from the cup . Good replayability too. Solo not too bad as you don't know the quality of the opponents troops.

Simple, but not stupid at all. Some friends are thinking of SLIGHTLY upgrading rules to give more agency

This is a truly solo RPG in the style of Traveller. Basically when you come across a situation in the plot, you roll very few dice with few modifiers to decide what the OUTCOME will be, not the how, why details etc. Having decided on the outcome, you write in the details according to how well the event actually went. Now I liked this approach It's more akin to guided story telling, and at the beginning seems all wrong after years of concentrating on the details of a scene, shooting, making skill scores and the like. Here you decide how it went first, "The gang gets away,two of us are wounded, the enemy is really mad" You then get to write that into the storyline, which will affect future events. There are various types of adventure styles included, from classic exploring, trade, freebooters, and even military missions. They all have differing tables, though the basic framework remains the same

See Devil Dogs. In this, the Americans defend in the three scenarios. You do get tanks in this game.

When I finally got through the rule book I loved this game. Note the rules are not difficult, some things are not where I expected them to be, so be prepared to read WELL and maybe a couple of times. The idea of activation, and getting completely exhausted by simply moving is really good. The game moves at a good pace but presents you with all the problems that the First World War gave

Liked the campaign system but not a fan of the resoltion of combat

The precursor to the Longstreet Attcks seres by Revolution games. A beaurtiful Rick Barber map, chit pull mechanism which makes it ideal for solo play My only gripe is the combat system which seems a bit clunky at first. You need two rolls on two different combat charts. (the two rolls can be shortened by rolling different coloured dice together, suggested in the rules)

Good little game that I enjoyed. It is a nicely designed product with very pleasing graphics.

OK I have the same gripes for lack of A4 sizes that I have with all games files

However, I think Jean has a lousy printer shop too

I do the map at my copy shop on a single sheet, cost about 5 euros.

Counters fit onto A4 no problem

The cards I did "to fit" and this was no problem as they come out about 90% size which is fine by me, I do fronts and backs separately as a life of pnp gaming it's the only way to go, gluing your own backs to fronts.

Rulebook is not size dependent either, to be honest I go B/W to save cash here

The game as Jean rightly says is fantastic.

Shop around and get a quote before you do printing. I live in Sicily, hardly a metropolis in my little town, but my Copy shop does me good, and I suppose I paid about 20 euros, it was a block printing and prices get lower the more stuff you print in my experience.

But common you guys WE WANT A4!!

A fantastic trip down memory lane for all of us who started RPG Sci Fi with THE great game, probably one of the precursors to this style

OK Basic premise is that this is a great game, the negative points I have are minore niggles. The basic system is very streamlined and gives a great gaming experience with many decision points in each turn. Quick game to set up, very clear scenario instructions, 8 scenarios but each scenario will be infinately variable for two reasons. The event chits you pull and place on the map at set-up will be different. and the terrain you put in each space (there are only 6 called stripes, and with this variety all games will begin differently. Add to that activation tables that depend on dice rolls and you will see each game will be unique.

This is basically Command and Colors on very intellligent steroids! No cards either. The command is given to the armies each turn in points which they can use for the various actions (Move, Fire, Rally, Charge etc) at differing costs per action and often according to the type of unit. Lord dumbo will get less, and can save few, whereas Duc de Smarty will get a lot and can save tons per turn too. (To a maximum of his command value) (Values from 0-3 for minor commanders, 1-4 for C-in-C's) This is the first of a series and concentrates on battles from the late 1600,s to the early 1700's, including Blenheim, and at 3 different scales permitting smaller battles, such as those of the various Jacobit rebellions to be refought as well as giant engagments. The simple rules are then fleshed out with a whole bundle of optional rules which can be added to taste, here you will find rules for "facing" units which permit the indication of formation with further permutation on combat results. Combat is a simple d10 roll to hit according to a large table, including ranged and close combat with diffent roles needed for different units in different situations. Add on to this the delicious National optional rules and you have a game which, never being simple in its Basic rules, becomes very nuanced with all the rest thrown in. A d6 is used for morale, and is rolled against the only number on the unit counter, this will gradually decrease as when a unit is hit it will be flipped to show a lower number

I liked the game a lot. The usual whinge from us poor Europeans is the fact that the sheets are Letter sized and not A4. This is not usually a hassle, but here with terrain tiles that must fit the map hexes, take care..... I didn't. I did all the terrain tiles then discovered the map sections wouldn't fit A4..... The only way round this was to print each letter page onto an A3 cardboard sheet. The units did't matter, as only the title of each unit page got sliced off.