Unboxing: Panzer North Africa (GMT Games)

As part of mail call yesterday, I received a huge package from GMT Games, filled with P500 items.  I figured I would post something about a few of the games I received, starting with Panzer North Africa.  This is the sixth game in GMT's Panzer series (a remake of Yaquinto's Panzer series from around 1979), and is the second stand-alone volume in the series, which created a perfect opportunity for me to pick it up, and see how I like it.  It's quite a large package!  GMT lists the box as 3.5" deep, which I did not verify, but certainly seems accurate.  Speaking of the box:

We have the front and back of the game box.  Very nice looking art, and a striking cover.  The back of the box obviously talks about what is included, but we'll spend more time looking over the components in this article.  The Solitaire rating is a 9, given that a solitaire system is included with the game.  The Complexity of 6 may just be for the basic game, disregarding the advanced rules... but they don't specify, and I haven't played this yet, so I can't really guess.  Either way, this game seems a bit on the complex side.  That's appealing to me, although that does mean this is probably sitting on the shelf a while until I find someone eager to play it, since it might be tough to teach.  We shall see.

The back of the box mentions six double-sided geomorphic maps.  Let's take a look at them:

First thing I noticed when pulling these out was how long they were.  Other games with geomorphic maps (for instance, Advanced Squad Leader) have maps significantly shorter.  It feels a little awkward, but the focus on armor might want longer range in the game to showcase the units effectively, and probably will play just fine.  These two maps are on the same sheet, just on the backside from one another.  One with a giant hill dominating the landscape, and the other, fairly open, but with some rough terrain batches.

All of these maps are really nice looking, I will say.  This set has another very open looking setup, and then a map with some groves around a small oasis.  I think the groves block line of sight, so this one could be quite interesting.  And looks like it has a gully off on the right?  Very cool.

Another open map (these battles are in North Africa, for the record, so this is expected), and one with an airfield with some small towns on either side of it.

Another open map with a (paved?) road, and then a series of hills with a lot of other pieces of terrain incorporated.  That looks like a nasty map to have a fight on.

I worried for a second there that I had already uploaded these.  But nope- more open maps.

Finally, more open maps, but one with a gully down the center.

Admittedly, these are not the most exciting series of maps I've seen in a game, but as I have mentioned- this is North Africa.  If you look at maps of some of the areas of major battle, you see that this isn't far off.  Plus, as we'll see in a second, the maps are designed to be more flexible than they appear.

So, when I refer to flexibility here, what do I mean? Overlays:

These go on top of the map, modifying it. They look incredible, and you get six sheets in this package (first one visible above).

These will turn any map into something interesting and unique.

Included next are a series of books.  Six of them, in fact.

This is the TO&E Manual (Table of Organization and Equipment).  There is a lot of detail about the organization and orders of battle of the formations involved in this theater and period of the war:

There is a ton of information in this book.  It looks like its primary use is for designing your own scenarios (the published scenarios have the information on included units).  A great source of information, certainly.

A 68-page Basic & Advanced Rules book.  GMT provides this online, here.

A 24-page Optional Rules book.  Again, GMT provides it here.

A playbook, which essentially tells you how to read the scenarios, but also provides the solitaire system for the game (the way I will mostly likely get it on the table, alas).

Two scenario books are included, providing 32 scenarios and a campaign game.

The first such book, with its table of contents (so you can see what scenarios are included.

And the second book, with its table of contents.  A decent looking selection of scenarios, from my brief glance.  Plenty of play in this box!

There are eight countersheets included, providing forces for the Germans, British, and Italians, plus a lot of status counters.  I love seeing the turret facing counters, without knowing much about the system, I already know I'll like it, just from that, haha.

The counter art looks sharp, and since this is a stand-alone game, having all the status counters will at least give me some flexibility in buying other expansions (although I guess I won't have I need to play the scenarios in other expansions yet, but I can make up some scenarios).

Next, we have some player aids.   First, a set to help players read the counters/cards:

There is information on both sides of these, and are not duplicated.  We also get a pair of player aid/table cards for the game, with information on the front and back:

Dice are included (d10s):

Finally, we get a bunch of data cards for the units in the game (contents say there are 49 such cards):

There are thick and very nice quality!

Finally, here is a close-up of the front and back of one such card:

You can see quite a number of other sample cards for the various nationalities on GMT's official page for the game, as well.

Without a doubt, this is a great product, with a lot of replay value, and tons of options for playing.  I do not have much knowledge of the game itself, yet, other than reading enough about it to convince myself I would enjoy it enough to order.  But the presentation is fantastic- I can't wait to give it a try.

Unboxing: Norman Conquests: Men of Iron Volume V (GMT Games)

This arrived just a few days ago, and I have been going through it.  I have the first two volumes in the series- Men of Iron and Infidel, and although I have not picked up the following two, it's a series that has always appealed to me.  There were many interesting battles in the Middle Ages, and it’s a period that is a bit of a gap in my collection, especially at this scale.  This year, I feel like I am going to lean harder into these board wargames, and receiving this seems like a great way to start the year.  So, let’s take a look at it.

What a beautiful box cover.  GMT seems to have changed their box style in the years since I last bought many wargames, moving from the distinctive look of the prior boxes to ones where the art takes up more of the box front.  For example, here is the box front for the previous game in the series:

A really good step by GMT, which is not only more attractive on the shelf, but also feels like a more modern presentation.  Opening the box, here's what we see:

The combined series rulebook, at 28 pages of full color.  A brief look through it shows that this game seems to stick mostly to the same rules as the original Men of Iron (Blood and Roses and Infidel had a number of exceptions to the rules, all called out in this rulebook).  If my memory is correct, the original game had both a black and white rulebook and playbook.  This is a very, very nice improvement.

Moving on, we come to the playbook.

From there, you can see the included battles, covering quite the range (over 200 years!).  Some of these battles are pretty well known (Hastings, obviously), but I admit, quite a number were unfamiliar to me.  A good excuse to learn some history.  Another mention- the full color is a very nice presentation for the playbook.

Next we get a pair of player aid cards, one for each player.

In hindsight, maybe some pictures of the inside and back of these would have been smart, but it's been a LONG time since I've really done a post like this.  I'm rusty, okay?  Geez.

Next, the Flight Point/General Track card, helpfully marked with the Flight Levels for the various forces for each scenario (although, it's not clear to me what the Norman Reinforcements flight level of 12 for Stamford Bridge represents, as they are not mentioned as having a different number in the scenario).

The game comes with two and a quarter sheets of counters (double-sided).  Here is countersheet one:

A mixture of game markers, Saxon, Norman, Norwegian, and Papal units.  Very colorful, sharp looking counters, in my opinion.  Countersheet two:

This one includes Royalists (for the armies of King William's son, Henry, and then for Henry III's and Edward Plantagent's forces), and Baronial units (for the army of Simon de Montfort).  Again, I love the look of the counters, GMT does a great job.  Finally, the quarter sheet of counters:

More Royalist and Baronial forces, and the important Shield Wall counters (which are only used in about half the scenarios of this game).

Next up are the maps.  Norman Conquests comes with three paper maps, two of them printed on the front and back.  Map one:

With maps on the front and back, there are maps for four different battles on this one map sheet.  On appearance alone, the maps aren't particularly interesting, sadly, as armies of this period tended to prefer flat, open, terrain (the rivers are uncrossable in these scenarios, except, of course, at the bridge in Stamford Bridge).  The constraints of the impassable terrain likely has some effect on the table though- in the Battle of Fulford, for example, the Saxon and Norwegian armies both have their flanks against both the river and the marsh, limiting enemy maneuver.

Next map sheet:

The inclusion of a Terrain Chart for these two battles at least shows that the terrain is relevant.  Looking at the setup for the Battle of Evesham, this seems particularly true, as the river is still impassable, but a fight over the bridge in the south-east of the map (on the right side, above the town) is going to happen pretty early.  Lots of space to move around these two maps.  Very nice.

Final map sheet, this one not double-sided.

Plenty of terrain to make this battle interesting.  The scenario mentions there is some historical uncertainty over which of these hills was the site of the battle, so they provide two different setups, to handle the two different situations.   So you'll use roughly half the map, however you play it.  Either way, there will be a lot going on, and this one looks like a lot of fun.

Finally, we have the divider, some bags, and dice.

I mentioned it's been a while since I've done one of these, but I also realize I probably should have taken a picture of the back of the box.  I'll do better next time.  In the meantime- this looks like a very well done package, and with the scenarios having reasonable playtimes (1-2 hours for most of them), I am going to try to get this on the table early this year, likely as a solo playthrough.  Very excited to get back into more board wargaming, and very excited to share it with you all.  

How about some new miniatures games?

Like any responsible gamer, I'm always on the lookout for new games to get into.  Never mind that as of this writing I have 359 unplayed board games (only 6 more before I'll finally try that 'new game a day' challenge).  Never mind that I already own, buy, and play about 25 other miniatures games that I don't have time for (not much time for hobbies with a toddler).  Seriously, I'm a gamer- if I'm not buying new games, what's even the point?

Most recently arrived is Star Wars: Shatterpoint, from Atomic Mass Games.  A 40mm skirmish game from the company already producing its most obvious competition that seems to promise fast, action-filled battles and more Star Wars goodness.  I admit, I'm surprised that the game is as different from Marvel: Crisis Protocol as it is (given how easy that would have been, and how successful MCP has been), but I think they've made the right choice in giving this game its own distinct set of mechanics.  It seems interesting, seems like it will be popular, and has the appropriate logo on it to get my interest, so it was a pretty obvious purchase.  I'm sure I'll get a game of this in within a month or so.

Prior to Shatterpoint's arrival, something equally appealing arrived - the first (of the three I purchased) starters for Black Powder: Epic Battles Waterloo.  One of the first miniatures rulesets I discovered growing up was a set of Napoleonic rules in the back of a military history book.  I found it fascinating. I believe I had discovered Warhammer Fantasy by that point (or discovered it soon after, the two events were almost co-occurrent), but the idea of refighting battles with miniatures is something that I love even today (obviously).  Historical miniature games have a specific interest because the context helps add substance to a game.  Having my Dark Elves fight your High Elves over some random piece of land in a one-off battle is fun, but why are they fighting, other than their mutual hatred for one another?  

When armies fought in history, they were attempting to achieve some actual goal, in addition to (or in lieu of) destruction of the opponent's army.  This is why they would fight so hard to hold a farmhouse that gave them a commanding view of a crossroads, or why they would charge headlong into the opponent's guns, knowing that defeat could mean the end of their way of life.  Sure, battling with toys on the table doesn't really convey all of that (other than abstractly with scenario rules), but knowing the 'why' of two armies fighting really makes it all the more interesting, to me.

Napoleonic warfare is of course one of the best ways to experience historical games, with three general 'types' of unit (infantry, cavalry, and artillery), and numerous subtypes under there.  Plus the variety of nationalities and uniforms that take part in the battles, PLUS the wildly varying competence of the generals of the era (between the French marshals, and say, Karl Mack von Leiberich).  There's just so much potential for great games.

These miniatures from Warlord Games are listed as 15mm (despite, apparently, being about 13mm), which is a great scale for large battles, and I've read the rules- it seems like a great system for this period.  My dad bought in, as well, and embarrassingly, he's already way ahead of me in assembly and painting (side note, I'm the biggest miniature gamer in the family, and my dad and brother BOTH get more assembled and painted than I do- what the hell is wrong with me?).

The releases so far cover only the Battle of Waterloo, and the other battles of the Hundred Days, but I'm hoping they expand the range and books to give us other major campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars.

Anyway, instead of writing, why don't I get working on some minis?