Wargame Magazine?
Since getting into wargaming I’ve been eager to learn about all the specific things that make this corner of the hobby unique from the rest of board gaming. Learning things like terms describing the scale of games, terms like CRTs, LOCs, and DRMs, and some of the examples of types of games: CDGs, Hex and Counter, and Area Impulse have been fun to uncover. One of the things that I found unique was the idea of wargame magazines and why they were so popular?
I’ve had other hobbies that had magazines: Nintendo Power when I was a kid was awesome if you had a copy; and Guitar World with tabs of popular rock songs was cool in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. However I was a bit skeptical on why there was such a market for magazines for wargames. It wasn’t until I heard how part of the allure was unique scenarios and even complete games that came included in the magazines that it started to make sense. In all fairness, I have checked out the also excellent online only Punched from Cardboard Emperors and actually contributed to issue #4 which you can find here: Punched #4. If you haven’t checked that one out you should do so as soon as you finish this article.
That said I still wanted that “classic” wargame magazine experience to check out. So when I had a chance to get a review copy of C3i’s latest issue I jumped at the chance to see what it was all about.
I’m sure to those of you that have stacks and stacks of magazines this is nothing new, but hopefully, you’ll indulge me anyway. For those of you reading who are new to the hobby and interested in wargame magazines yourself. I hope that this post will give you just a little glimpse at what it is all about and if they are things you want to start adding to your collection as well as games themselves. So with that let’s get to business…
The Issue Itself
Before getting into the games which are always fun, I wanted to make sure I gave the magazine itself the credit it is due. If you are passionate about the hobby, this issue is chock full of neat articles from personalities BIG in the hobby.
I could probably fill multiple posts just going over all the articles in this issue, but I thought I’d take the time to show a couple of the ones that stuck out to me as I read through the magazine. However I could have just as easily pulled out any of the included articles and still would have had plenty to say about their thoughtfulness, information, and contribution to wargame fans that, like me, hunger for more depth into the hobby.
Levels of Warfare – Volko Ruhnke
Right out of the gate Volko dropped an article that was very interesting talking about the aforementioned levels of warfare: What makes a game Strategic, Operational or Tactical? Some games can touch all three aspects to some degree and anyone that’s had a discussion at a Con or online knows that us wargamers LOVE a good debate on vocab, terms, and genres. To solve this he included a very detailed breakdown that is definitely something that any serious gamer will find interesting and in depth for sure. Plus, who doesn’t love these charts?
Fog of War “Moonshine” – Jerry White
Another article that I found really interesting was by Jerry White discussing “Moonshine” or Fog of War in games and how it is modeled. He then took an interesting look into the concept and how he took a unique approach to his smash hit (and currently on P500 re-print) Atlantic Chase. His analogies to a safety having to pick a good line to track down a ball carrier in football was a good way of framing some of the core mechanics from the game. Without spoiling too much lets just say that this really has me waiting for that reprint so I can check this one out!
War Game Definitions: Harold Buchanan and Volko Ruhnke
Again this article comes out with another oft-debated topic! This time the age-old “That’s not a wargame!” This time we get the dual views of both Harold Buchanan and Volko again making his appearance. Though a shorter article than some of the others I found this a good one as usually I find my self on Discord, Facebook, Twitter, or even with some of my friends having this debate. To hear from two very well known designers and influential people in the hobby was really fun and a neat little article. I’m sure you’re dying to know what they thought…well I don’t want to spoil the surprise!
Ethics in Gaming – Trevor Bender
A very poignant and brief article here that I think is important for all gamers to read. Are we using good manners and treating everyone at the table with respect? I found this one to be an interesting topic as I start getting back to face to face gaming more and more frequently and definitely worth a bit of reflection as the box opens and the set-up starts to make sure in being a good gaming partner. While I’d like to think I’m a pretty good player, there might be a couple on this list that I might have done once or twice.
Scenarios In the Magazine
Even not including the separate printouts, games, and other goodies that came in the package the magazine itself has a couple of interesting scenarios that might be worth checking out. I don’t have either of these games, but for avid collectors, this might be the kind of thing you are looking for.
First up Two Lost Battles – Flying Colors and Serpents of the Sea. For you age of sail fans, this might be right up your alley. The article spells out the details of the scenario and the magazine included a couple counters as well to check out
Next up was an interesting little article talking about the unsung heroics of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and how important it was to the Normandy Invasion during World War II. The single page article gives a little bit of background and the next page finishes the article and then makes some suggested scenario changes to Mark Simonitch’s Normandy ’44. To round out the magazine the end spells out some of the other counters and markers that were included in the game that are always welcome to the avid collector.
Games and Scenarios
Of course, to seasoned veterans, this comes as no surprise, but again to those new to the hobby this is where wargame magazines get interesting. Included with the magazine are a bunch of extra scenarios, a sheet of counters, and in this one 2 complete games. I’ll walk through these extra additions and cover what you get.
Labyrinth ISIL High Watermark 2015 Scenario
A single cardstock printout covers a Labyrinth scenario for the popular game by Volko that simulates the war on terror. While Labyrinth is another title I’ve yet to explore this sheet walks through a short Scenario that bridges the two expansions for the game: Awakening and Forever War. Knowing how popular the game is this is one I’m gonna hang onto as one day I plan to explore Labyrinth.
SPQR Battle Module – The Battle of Lake Trasimene, 217 BC
The next inclusion is for the popular SPQR, Volume II of The Great Battles of History Series. This one has its own rule book and a full map sheet and leader counters. I haven’t got to explore a lot of ancient games so this one will stay neatly back in the bag, but again those of you that are fans of SPQR I could see really wanting to explore a new map and battle with the system.
Solitaire Game: Roman Disaster at Teutoburg
This one is a nice addition. It is a very simple solitaire chit pull game that has the rules and the board on a single fold-out cardstock. This one is a perfect weeknight game, or would be a great addition to keep in your briefcase or desk drawer and pull out while on lunch break to get a couple rounds in while taking a break.
Game set up
When you open the game on the inside the top half contains the rules of the game and the bottom page the board. Included were 38 counters that represent Germanic barbarians from various tribes as well as chits that correspond to numbered random events.
To set up simply put all the barbarian forces in a cup, give it a good shake and pull three counters out and put them on the 3rd attack row. Then put in all the event chits and give the cup a good shake. Lastly you must provide seven D6. Six of those are called to be white (I used blue in my games) and the last a single red die. Put the six matching dice in the holding box in the upper right corner and keep the red die to the side. You are ready to begin.
Rules overview
So the first thing that came to mind playing this game is the mechanical similarity to a game that I have in-app form I play a lot to kill time: Deep Space D-6. Both games share a similar premise. You are going to roll some dice, and those dice will give you each unique action: Attack, reset your cohesion, raise your morale 1 space, change a die face, or if you roll a dreaded 1: your chaos builds.
After rolling the six dice you match up the dice to the numbers you rolled and immediately take the action and return the die to the holding box, except any ones you roll. Those have to stay in the chaos box representing the chaos of war as your roman legions face waves of barbarians. If you ever get three dice of 1’s in the chaos then you pull a chit from the cup and add it to the horde and then put your dice back in holding.
All 5’s equal a hit with additional 5’s past the first die roll each giving a +2 to your hit. Each hit means one counter can move down one row, if you ever move the counter off the board it is permanently removed.
The second phase of the turn involves pulling two chits from the cup. If the chit is an event you resolve it. Some of these are good, but many are bad. If the chit is a barbarian then you place it on the 3 line of the attack.
Then you roll the red die and for each enemy counter if the die equals what is listed then you take a hit to your cohesion. If your cohesion goes to 0 or the counter as an M printed on it then the hits lower your morale. If your morale ever hits 0 you lose the game. Each counter that hits you moves up a row. This means that they will take more hits to remove, plus any counter that is on the first row deals double damage on hits.
Repeat all these steps again until you lose or you empty the cup and push back the forces!
Verdict
There isn’t much to the game, but with a single sheet of rules and a handful of counters, I really wasn’t expecting much. It is however a very good little siege game. If you’ve played video game shooter games that feature horde mode, then you’ll get what this is about. Much like the aforementioned Deep Space, this is one that I don’t expect will result in a win very often. You usually just can’t roll enough 5’s to keep up with the steady stream.
I suspect that most games will be 30 minutes or less and you’ll probably be yelling at your dice and desperately switching them out, but all in all it is a fun little solo game and a nice addition to a magazine that already is chock full of good stuff.
For those of you interested my game ended in utter defeat. With a title that starts with Roman Disaster, you really should see it coming.
The other nice addition was the historical note on the back of the game giving some background to this battle which I found a great little touch for a historical game of this size. Definitely worth having as a good travel game for sure.
Burma: The Forgotten War, 1943-1944 by Mark Herman
As I’m sure many of you have been waiting for, the item in this magazine that I’m sure has most people excited is the game illustrated on the cover, Burma. This is a small stand-alone scenario for Empire of the Sun that includes rules, and all the counters needed to play the game much like South Pacific from an earlier issue (now included in reprint editions of the full game).
This one had me very excited. I’ve played several CDG games and have been ready to start digging into more rules-dense games. Up to this point, most of my games have been light to medium complexity, but I think I’m ready to take that next step. Also, I’ve been really wanting to explore some hex and counter games. With this in mind Empire of the Sun has been on my short list for some time, but another smaller scenario with low counter density to use to ease into the system couldn’t come at a better time.
That said I plan to cover this game in a full review/AAR as I walk through my first game with the system. So stay tuned for more Burma news in the future. That said I’ll post a few pictures of me punching and setting up the game to whet your appetite!
Closing
To wrap up I really enjoyed my time with C3i nr 35. All the articles were top-notch and very informative and the number of gaming variants, scenarios, and counters was very good. The small solo game was a nice addition to have, and having another mostly land-based Empire of the Sun scenario in Burma to explore has me very excited to dig into the classic system.
For any lovers of wargaming and historical board gaming this is definitely worth your time even if the included variants and scenarios aren’t games you have. Burma looks to be a good entry into a famous system by the legend Mark Herman, and you’ll have a good little weeknight/lunchtime solo game in Roman Disaster in Teutoburg. I can now see what the allure of a wargame magazine is and why C3i has a reputation as the best in the business. Stay tuned to hear my thoughts on Burma in the near future, but until then happy gaming!
In the spirit of honesty, I was provided with a review copy of the magazine but as always do not take any money for reviews/previews.
