SPQR - introductory Scenario

With the recent publication of the Deluxe Edition of GMT’s SPQR module, I am delving back into this game to increase my library of ‘series’ games that have core rules that can then be used across many battles.

This is a good time to return to the series as the Deluxe Edition has been much expanded to include the previous (and otherwise out of print) spin off modules such as Trebbia. 

Also, the 2nd Edition of the alternative rule set ‘Simple Great Battles of History’ is currently in print, which significantly streamlines the original core rules (Note - while the main original core rules are supplied in the Deluxe Edition, the ‘simple’ rule set is a separate purchase).

I really want to put Trebbia on the table, but it makes sense to put the introductory scenario up first to get a feel of the processes and capability / relationships of various unit types.

Please use the ‘read more’ tab for the rest of this post.

Fighting in the streets 1815

'The Streets of Ligny' is one of the mini scenarios provided in Hexasim's Ligny module from the Eagles of France series.

I have just two boardgames in my collection that take their 'field of battle' type system and apply it to a single built up area setting, where troops fight over gardens, amongst buildings and in the streets and these street plan type maps fascinate me.

The first is The Men of Iron series (GMT) that offers 1st and 2nd St. Albans from Wars of the Roses and the other is this, a system that has covered the whole of Waterloo, Austerlitz, Ligny and Quatre Bras, but here puts a focus on a single village.

This post gives a brief look at my most recent replay. Please use the 'read more' tab for the rest of this post.

‘O’ Group - looking at the gun / armour system

‘O’ Group are David Brown's most recent set of rules (he is also designer of Pickett’s Charge and General d' Armee rules), covering World War Two. Published by Reisswitz Press (a publishing arm of the Lardies), the rules cover action at the battalion level. That is, a typical game would see two to three infantry companies per side, plus assets.

Each infantry base represents a section, they are gathered together to make the basic manoeuvre unit - the platoon. Interestingly, each armoured model is representing 2 - 3 vehicles and is referred to as a section, with two sections forming a typical platoon.

As armour is my primary interest, this was the first part of the rules that I turned to and the rest of this post is going to give way to discussing the gun / armour relationships in the game and the processes that fall out of a typical little vehicle duel.

Please use the ‘read more’ tab for the rest of this post.