THE ‘ALSO RANS’: S&T INSERT GAMES THAT FAILED TO MAKE IT ONTO MY ‘TOP 20’ FAVORITES LIST, PART IV

S&T Issues #’s 62, 63, 64, 66 & 68


INTRODUCTION

The following list represents the fourth installment in my series of relatively short descriptive reviews covering S&T magazine games published during what is sometimes referred to as the “Golden Age” of SPI: the 1970s and 80s. These are S&T insert games that did not make it — sometimes for painfully obvious reasons — onto my “TOP 20 FAVORITES LIST”. Some of the early S&T titles featured in this particular post were well-received when they first appeared, either as simulations or as games, some were not. Two of these titles are interesting because, although designed by the same person, Richard Berg, they are very different both in terms of their historical setting and their simulation architecture. One of the designer’s two titles, VERACRUZ, seems — in my view, at least — to come together very well, both as a game and as a simulation; however, the other Berg design featured in this series, THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, although it may capture many of the key elements of “siege warfare” during the fifteenth century, just doesn’t seem to work that well as a game. That being said, all of the titles in this collection, whether deservedly or not, have more or less faded into obscurity. Still, whether widely popular, moderately well thought of, or even generally reviled, I believe that all of these games are interesting at least from one standpoint: their place, however fleeting, in the history of game design and development. I hope that you, my fellow players, agree with me.

FIVE MORE S&T PROFILES

16. Strategy & Tactics (S&T) #62, SOUTH AFRICA,

included a game of the same name and, like the other magazines in this series of posts, S&T #62 (May/June 1977) dates back to the “golden age” of SPI. This particular issue featured the following articles:

  • South Africa: Vestige of Colonialism, by Brad Hessel
  • Simulation: SOUTH AFRICA: Death of Colonialism, by Irad B. Hardy and Redmond Simonsen
  • Fulda Gap: The First Battle of the Next War, by Steven B. Patrick
  • Outgoing Mail, by The Editors
  • For Your Eyes Only
  • Briefings
  • Feedback, Vox Populi, Vox Dei

S&T #62 Magazine Game: SOUTH AFRICA: Death of Colonialism, designed by Irad B. Hardy with graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen, is a hypothetical depiction of the violent military/political struggle that virtually everyone who was familiar with the South Africa of the 1970s was sure would soon occur, but which never happened. This, of course, is because neither Irad Hardy — nor anyone else, for that matter — could, in 1977, foresee the grand political bargain that would ultimately be struck between Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk in 1994; and which, with one courageous stroke, would finally bring about both the end of apartheid and the peaceful transfer of power from the Afrikaner minority to the Black majority in South Africa.

SOUTH AFRICA is an operational-level, two-player simulation — based very loosely on the PGG Game System — of the struggle by that country’s powerless Black majority against South Africa’s dominant White government, and of the White minority regime’s expected military response to such an existential threat to its continued exercise of power. In view of the fact that the designer modeled his simulation around the volatile political and racial fault lines that were clearly apparent in 1977, the game pits South Africa’s Black Nationalist (BN) revolutionaries (in the guise of both irregular and paramilitary forces) against the formidable conventional combat power of the Republic of South Africa’s (RSA) police and military services.

Each Game-turn in SOUTH AFRICA represents one week of real time, and each hex is sixty kilometers from side to side. Terrain, which affects both movement and combat, is limited to eleven types: clear, city, road, track, river hex-sides (bridged and unbridged), rough, mountain, Karoo (scrub), bush, and forest. Because of the game’s scale, zones of control (ZOCs) exist only in occupied hexes; in addition, there is no limit on stacking. Interestingly (or frustratingly, depending on one’s viewpoint), the length of the game is open-ended: essentially it will go on — for however long it takes — until the BN forces ultimately win (a foregone conclusion, in the eyes of the designer) or — should the RSA player decide to be stubborn and go for a draw — until the players mutually agree to abandon further play due to exhaustion, boredom, or both. For this and other reasons, I personally consider this title to be one of the worst magazine games ever published by SPI; it is also, in my opinion, Irad Hardy’s most disappointing design effort, ever. This is not to say, by the way, that SOUTH AFRICA has no redeeming features, at all. To be fair, there are actually a few interesting ideas buried under the layers of defensive political-correctness that Hardy has seen fit to ladle onto this seriously-flawed design. For example, combat units in the game — besides displaying the traditional combat and movement values that one would expect — also have special “ambush-evasion” ratings which, not surprisingly, are higher in the case of BN and SA police units than they are for conventional units. There is also a rather interesting economic subroutine contained within the architecture of the game system. Alas, the design’s few good parts, intriguing though they may be, are not enough to salvage the game as a whole. Regrettably, in the designer’s rush to convince us — as if any of S&T’s subscribers actually needed persuading (even in the mid-1970s) that apartheid was morally reprehensible — of his untrammeled support for the BN cause, most of these good features tend to get lost.

As a simulation, SOUTH AFRICA attempts to deal with an interesting, if unusual, game topic. Given the post-1977 history of the region, of course, it (happily, as it turns out) fails utterly in this department. Unfortunately, it also misses the mark — just as completely, I would argue — when evaluated purely as a game. This is because, distilled down to its essentials, Hardy’s design only pretends to allow players to examine the possible military events that might have transpired had White and Black South Africans not reached their historical political accommodation. In actuality, since the game’s ultimate winner has been predetermined before play even starts, it hardly seems worth the effort — in my view, anyway — to bother setting the game up in the first place. That being said, I’m sure that, despite its flaws, there are still a few players who probably like this title. And for the few masochists out there who actually enjoy staving off defeat as long as possible when playing the RSA, SOUTH AFRICA offers — as a means of modifying the Standard Historical Scenario — a collection of randomly-selected (political/military) variants each of which might have influenced military events in South Africa, had a large-scale Black Nationalist revolt actually taken hold. SOUTH AFRICA includes the following components:

  • One 22” x 34” hexagonal grid Map Sheet (which comes with all Game Tables, Game Charts, the Terrain Key, and the Turn Record Track incorporated)
  • One Sheet of 200 ½” cardboard Counters
  • One 8 ½” x 11” set of SOUTH AFRICA Rules (with Set-Up Instructions and Variant Table) stapled in the magazine

17. Strategy & Tactics (S&T) #63, VERACRUZ,

included a game of the same name. This issue of S&T dates back to the “golden years” of Simulations Publications, Incorporated (SPI). This was the period when James Dunnigan and Redmond Simonson were still running things at the most prolific game publisher of its day. Content-wise, a copy of S&T #63 (Jul/Aug1977) featured the following articles:

  • Veracruz: US Invasion of Mexico, 1847, by Richard Berg and Joe Balkoski
  • Simulation: VERACRUZ: US Invasion of Mexico, 1847, by Richard Berg and Redmond Simonsen
  • The Historical Impact of Disease, by Sterling Hart
  • Outgoing Mail, The Editors
  • For Your Eyes Only
  • Briefings
  • Feedback, Vox Populi, Vox Dei

S&T #63 Magazine Game: VERACRUZ: US Invasion of Mexico, 1847, designed by Richard Berg and Redmond A. Simonsen, is a two-player operational level simulation of American general Winfield Scott’s campaign against Mexico, which took place between March and September, 1847. General Scott’s invasion was intended to bring an end, once and for all, to the Mexican War — which had begun in April 1846 — by capturing the enemy capital, Mexico City. And true to his plan, on September 12, 1847, Mexico City fell to Scott’s forces after a bloody day-long struggle. This victory brought Scott’s brilliantly conducted campaign to a successful conclusion; even more impressive than the capture of Mexico City by American forces, however, was the fact that Scott’s ultimate success was achieved in spite of the fact that his 8,000 man army had marched and fought its way deep into the heart of the enemy’s country and, further, that it had been outnumbered at every stage of its seven-month long campaign.

The game mechanics of VERACRUZ are intriguing. The game is played in game turns composed of two multi-phase player turns. In addition, there is a joint Disease Attrition Stage that occurs every four game turns, starting with turn seven. Each game turn begins with the Mexican player turn, and follows a set sequence of player phases: the Mexican Supply Phase; the Mexican Reinforcement Phase; the Mexican Guerilla Phase; the Mexican Political Phase; the Mexican Movement Phase; the Mexican Rally Phase; and the Mexican Combat Phase. After the completion of the Mexican player turn, the American player executes his own series of actions: the U.S. Supply Phase; the U.S. Reinforcement Phase; the U.S. Movement Phase; the U.S. Rally Phase; and the U.S. Combat Phase. A single game turn is equal to one week of real time, and each hex is five miles from side to side. VERACRUZ is twenty-five turns long. The game offers only the historical Standard Game; there are no additional scenarios or optional rules.

Interestingly enough, Richard Berg’s VERACRUZ — in spite of the unfortunate jingoism underpinning this episode in American history — is really a surprisingly good game; and I don’t say this lightly. The opposing armies are very different in their capabilities, and, although the Americans enjoy a significant edge when it comes to toe-to-toe combat, General Santa Anna’s strategic situation is far from hopeless; in fact, of the two opposing forces, I personally find the Mexican army to be the more enjoyable, if challenging, side to command. VERACRUZ is certainly not a simple game — for starters, just accounting for the effects of both leadership and morale on combat can trip up the unwary — nonetheless, it is always interesting, surprisingly nuanced, and a lot of fun to play. Moreover, I find it hard to understand how any player could not like a game that includes, among other things: leaders, guerillas, pack animals, fieldworks, sieges, and (my personal favorite) a special rule for El Vomito.

Finally, in addition to being a very good game, I also consider VERACRUZ to be both a first rate simulation of Winfield Scott’s brilliantly executed campaign against Santa Anna; and a persuasive argument that — despite the fact that the “bad odor” of the Mexican-American War has largely faded with time — the gifted Scott is still one of the most underappreciated military commanders in our country’s history. VERACRUZ includes the following components:

  • One 22” x 34” hexagonal grid Map Sheet (with Turn Record/Reinforcement Tracks, Terrain Key, Terrain Effects Chart, National Morale Tables, U.S. Supply Table, Mexican Army Holding Boxes, and U.S. Division Holding Boxes incorporated)
  • One sheet of 200 back-printed ½” cardboard Counters
  • One 8 ½” x 11” set of VERACRUZ Rules (with Initial Set-up Instructions) stapled in magazine

18. Strategy &Tactics (S&T) #64, RAID,

which also included a copy of the game of the same name. A copy of S&T #64 (Sep/Oct 1977) includes the following featured articles:

  • Raid! Commando Operations in the 20th Century, by Mark Herman
  • Simulation: RAID! Commando Operations in the 20th Century, by Mark Herman and Redmond Simonsen
  • CANADIAN CIVIL WAR: Separatism vs. Federalism in Modern Canada, by Steve Goldberg
  • Outgoing Mail, by The Editors
  • For Your Eyes Only
  • Briefings
  • Feedback, Vox Populi, Vox Dei

S&T #64 Magazine Game: RAID! Commando Operations in the 20th Century, designed by Mark Herman and Redmond A. Simonsen, is a tactical (fire team) level, two player simulation of commando tactics and operations from World War II to the near future. Design-wise, the game is very reminiscent of FIREFIGHT (1976), with a smattering of SQUAD LEADER (1977) thrown in. Each game turn represents one to two minutes of real time, and each hex is twenty-five meters from side to side. The game turns are symmetrical; thus, both players follow the same turn sequence: Command Control Phase; Direct Fire Phase; Movement Phase; Suppression Marker Removal Phase; and Indirect Fire Phase.

As the preceding turn sequence suggests, this particular simulation of small unit tactical operations mainly focuses on direct fire, maneuver, and close assault, with special emphasis on command and control, and target spotting. Somewhat surprisingly, morale — usually a critical factor in tactical level games — is accounted for, according to the designer, only as an abstract component of command and control. The four-color hexagonal grid map is simple, but functional. Terrain varies from scenario to scenario, but tends to fall into one of eight basic categories: clear, medium (broken), heavy (jungle), mixed (rice paddies, fields), building, cliff, fortified strongpoint, and coastal. In addition, like FIREFIGHT, elevation is marked on the game map and is differentiated in ten meter increments. On the whole, RAID! seems to be a workmanlike rendition of commando-style operations; however, I should also note that players who do not care for FIREFIGHT — although there are a number of important differences between the two game systems — will, if they are anything like me, probably not like this game, either.

RAID! offers a mix of eight historical and hypothetical commando actions for players to try: Entebbe: 3 July 1976; the Dawn Raid; The Son Tay Raid, 21 November 1970; Convoy Ambush; Tragino Aqueduct (Italy): 10 February 1941; Litiani River: 8 June 1941; Assault on South Vaagso (Vaagso Island): 27 December 1942,; and The Sweep. In addition, because the gaming possibilities of these types of small unit actions are almost limitless, the designer offers some advice to players on how to design their own scenarios. RAID! Includes the following components:

  • One 22” x 34” hexagonal grid Map Sheet (with Terrain Key, Terrain Effects Chart, and Turn Record Track incorporated)
  • One sheet of 200 ½” cardboard Counters
  • One 8 ½” x 11” set of RAID! Rules (with Scenario Instructions, Direct and Indirect Fire Combat Results Tables, and other Game Tables) stapled into the magazine

19. Strategy & Tactics (S&T) #66, THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE,

when it was originally mailed, included a copy of a game of the same name. S&T #66 (Jan/Feb 1978) contains the following articles:

  • The Siege of Constantinople: The End of the Middle Ages, 1453 A.D., by Ralph Vickers
  • Simulation: THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE: The End of the Middle Ages, 1453 A.D., by Richard Berg and Redmond Simonsen
  • Descent on Crete: The German Airdrop on Maleme, 20-28 May 1941, by Eric Goldberg
  • Outgoing Mail, The Editors
  • For Your Eyes Only
  • Briefings
  • Feedback, Vox Populi, Vox Dei

S&T #66 Magazine Game: THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, designed by Richard Berg with graphics by Redmond Simonsen, is an operational/ tactical simulation of one of the great turning points in history: the Muslim siege of the great Christian city and capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. In 1453, the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet II, invested the Byzantine capital with siege engines, siege towers, artillery and an army roughly fifteen times larger than that of the city’s garrison. However, this contest was not as uneven as it might at first appear. Arrayed against this powerful Muslim host was the strongest fortified city in all of Christendom; a city that, in the course of its long history, had already successfully withstood over twenty sieges. This then is the challenge presented to the opposing players in the game, THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. The player commanding the forces of Mehmet II must attempt — using artillery bombardment, mines, siege craft, and infantry assaults — to battle his way past the city’s formidable defenses and into its largely defenseless inner precincts; in contrast, his opponent, who plays the role of Emperor Constantine XI, has a completely different goal: to prevent, at all costs, Mehmet’s troops from capturing, by storm, this ancient European bastion which, for centuries, has stood as bulwark between the Muslim east and the Christian west.

The game mechanics of CONSTANTINOPLE, although not particularly complicated, nonetheless are, to put it kindly, more than a little cumbersome. The map scale is 200 yards per hex. Combat units, although they may freely move through hexes containing other friendly units, may never finish a turn phase stacked with another friendly combat unit. A single catapult or siege tower may occupy the same hex as a single combat unit, and leaders, not surprisingly, may stack freely both with friendly combat units and with other friendly leaders. Each game turn represents approximately two days of real time. This time scale, however, is only a rough approximation of either real or game time. In terms of actual play, once the Turks have tunneled under the city’s outer walls and/or Ottoman artillery has opened a breach in the city’s defenses, the real fun begins: the assault by Mehmet’s various infantry divisions (all starting from their pre-assigned staging areas) against Constantinople’s Christian defenders. Thus, on any game turn, beginning with turn two, the Ottoman commander may opt not to bombard, but instead, to order (assuming, of course, he has drawn a sufficiently high “assault capability” chit) his infantry and siege equipment (catapults and towers) forward in an attempt to cross the “Foss” (a large moat-like ditch that shields much of the outer wall) and to storm the Byzantine units defending the city’s walls. When such an assault turn occurs, the individual game turn is broken down into a series of ten impulses (or mini-turns) in order to represent the intense and prolonged action that occurs during this type of attack.

And “prolonged action” really doesn’t do justice to the die-rolling marathon that typically results when a major Ottoman infantry assault finally begins. Play, in short, bogs down dramatically once an assault actually comes within range of Constantinople’s walls. There are, for instance, die rolls during each side’s “engineering phase” to determine whether the assaulting force succeeds in filling in parts of the Foss so that the Turkish siege towers can be moved adjacent to the city’s walls; and there are die rolls to see if the Byzantine defenders can empty the Foss of debris. Both players will roll to resolve simultaneous “missile” fire attacks; and then there are mêlée attacks against adjacent units which require two sets of die rolls: one roll (with two dice) to see if the target unit is even affected; and another die roll (one die, this time), if the first roll is successful, to see what damage, if any, is actually inflicted. This sequence will be repeated, unit by unit, and impulse by impulse, until either the Ottomans succeed in pushing combat units totaling at least twenty-five attack factors into the city (in which case the Turkish player wins the game), or until the tenth impulse of the game turn in progress ends. A complete game, by the way, is twenty-seven turns long.

CONSTANTINOPLE offers two scenarios: the comparatively short (2 hours or less playing time) Assault Game; and the longer (4+ hours) Land Game which covers the entire siege from start to finish. THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE was designed by Richard Berg and Redmond A. Simonsen and includes the following components:

  • One 22” x 32” hexagonal grid Map Sheet (with Turn Record, Terrain Key, Impulse Track, and Sequence of Play incorporated)
  • One Sheet of 200 ½” back-printed cardboard Counters
  • One 8½” x 11” Rules Booklet (stapled into the magazine)

20. Strategy &Tactics (S&T) #68, KHARKOV,

like the other magazines in this series, came with a copy of a game with the same title. A copy of S&T #68 (May/Jun 1978) contains the following articles:

  • Kharkov: The Soviet Spring Offensive 12 May to 21 May 1942, by Stephen B. Patrick
  • Simulation: KHARKOV: The Soviet Spring Offensive 12 May to 21 May 1942, by Stephen B. Patrick and Redmond A. Simonsen
  • Agincourt: The Triumph of Archery Over Armor, 25 October 1415, by Al Nofi
  • Outgoing Mail, by The Editors
  • Briefings
  • For Your Eyes Only
  • Data File 004
  • Feedback, Vox Populi, Vox Dei

S&T #68 Magazine Game: KHARKOV: The Soviet Spring Offensive 12 May to 21 May 1942, designed by Stephen B. Patrick with graphics by Redmond Simonsen, is an operational level (division/regiment) simulation — based on the popular PGG Game System — of World War II combat on the Russian Front. The game begins on 12 May with the opening phase of the first major Soviet spring offensive of 1942 in southern Russia. This two-pronged attack was directed against the thinly-held German lines on the northern and southern flanks of the Axis-occupied city of Kharkov; for Red army planners, this large-scale offensive had two ambitious goals: its first aim was to destroy the bulk of the German forces in the immediate battle area; its second and even more important objective was to restore Kharkov to Soviet control. Unbeknownst to Russian planners, however, the Germans had ambitious plans of their own. Thus, five days after the start of the Soviet attacks around Kharkov, the Wehrmacht suddenly unleashed an offensive of its own in southern Russia, “Operation Fredericus”, against the hitherto inactive Soviet forces that had been covering the Russian front well to the south of the Kharkov battle area. This then is the challenging set of problems that KHARKOV sets before the two opposing players: the Russian commander must press his attack in the north as hard and as long as he can, but, at the same time, he must also fight to prevent the Soviet army’s position from collapsing in the south; the German player must also find the right balance between two very different objectives: if he hopes to win, he must fight a skillful and tenacious defensive battle to hold onto Kharkov in the north, while he attacks all out to cripple the Red army in the south.

Because the basic design for KHARKOV has largely been borrowed from PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN, most of the game mechanics will immediately be familiar to those players who have already tried the earlier, “Battle for Smolensk” game. For example, the combat system is odds-based and losses can be taken either as “steps” or as retreats; also, like PGG, overruns and “disruptions” largely drive the offensive flow and tempo of the game. Moreover, the characteristics of German units in KHARKOV are virtually identical to those in PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN, both in terms of combat power and available steps; on the Russian side, the majority of Soviet units still have only one step, but unlike the older game, a limited number of Russian combat units in KHARKOV have replacement counters which allow them to lose an additional step. Stacking is limited to three units per hex; Soviet mechanized units, unlike their German counterparts, still do not have a second “mechanized” movement phase; and most Russian units begin the game as “untried” units, although (happily for the Russian commander) there are no “0” strength units in KHARKOV. In addition, the supply rules for the newer game are very similar to those of its predecessor; however, while Soviet and Axis allied (Rumanian) headquarters units still represent a critical component in broadcasting supply, headquarters units can no longer be “disrupted” or permanently eliminated due to combat, as they could in PGG.

In view of the differences between the 1941 and 1942 campaigns, the two game designs, despite their many similarities, are not identical. One notable difference is in the scale of the two titles: a complete game of KHARKOV is ten turns long (two turns shorter than PGG), and each game turn is equal to one day of real time versus two days in PGG. Also, the hexes in KHARKOV — although this seems to have no discernable effect on play — are 6.9 kilometers from side to side which is only about two-thirds the size of those in its older East Front cousin. Moreover, game scale is not the only area where the two games differ. For example, German infantry divisions may break down into regiments in KHARKOV — something that they cannot do in PGG — and these regiments may, at the German player’s option, give up their zone of control (ZOC) to form defensive “strong points”. Another interesting change that appears for the first time in the Stephen Patrick game is the ability of German units to pay a movement penalty to exit Soviet ZOCs. The rules to the newer game also benefit the Russian player in a number of important ways. One welcome improvement (at least in the eyes of the Russian player) is that the Red army — reflecting the hard lessons learned in 1941 — is a more formidable offensive force than it was in the older game. The reasons for this improved combat capability in KHARKOV are several: first, assaults by the Russian units attacking around Kharkov receive a special “Breakthrough Morale Bonus” odds-column shift on the first four turns of the game; in addition, Red army units that begin their movement adjacent to Axis units can — during the first two game turns, only — infiltrate through German ZOCs; finally, although the Germans still enjoy a significant advantage in air power, the Soviet player has one air point available on each game turn that can now be used to support ground attacks.

KHARKOV is certainly not a groundbreaking design, but, it does add a few clever new wrinkles to the basic architecture of the PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN game system. Moreover, Stephen Patrick’s design seems to do a pretty good job of capturing the quasi-independent, “double battle” dynamic of the fighting in this sector of the Russian Front during the early sparring of the 1942 campaign season. That being said, for those players who either like the PGG game system or who are interested in combat on the Eastern Front, I recommend this game highly: while it is not the complete “panzer pusher’s romp” that PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN is, it nonetheless offers the German player an opportunity to conduct an exciting mobile campaign in the south; only this time around, the Red army actually gets to conduct a real offensive of its own in the north. A complete game of KHARKOV includes the following components:

  • One 22” x 33” hexagonal grid Map Sheet (with Turn Record/Reinforcement Track, Combat Results Table, Soviet Morale Bonus Table, Terrain Effects Chart, Soviet Army Reserve Holding Boxes, Soviet Eliminated and Replacement Boxes, Axis Eliminated and Regimental Breakdown Boxes, and Victory Point Schedule incorporated)
  • One Sheet of 200 ½” back-printed cardboard Counters
  • One 8½” x 11” set of Game Rules (stapled into magazine)

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THIS LATEST BATCH OF ‘ALSO RANS’

As I noted un a previous post, installments in this ongoing (and lengthening) collection of S&T descriptions — starting with Part III in this series of posts — have been organized to reflect a more orderly and complete list of magazine issues than was featured in either Part I or Part II of this project. Where gaps in the numerical sequence of S&T issues do appear, readers should assume that I have probably already profiled the missing magazine game in a separate post. Moreover, because of the relative obscurity of several of the titles covered in this particular post, I have fleshed-out some of these profiles a little more than usual. That being said, I sincerely hope that my readers will find this expanded treatment of S&T magazine/game descriptions both interesting and useful; particularly, as I currently plan to add additional installments to this series of posts as time goes on.

Related Blog Posts

  1. THE 20 BEST S&T MAGAZINE GAMES FROM THE “GOLDEN AGE” OF SPI
    A Subjective List of My Personal Picks of the Best S&T Magazine Insert Games Published during the 1970’s and 80’s
  2. THE ‘ALSO RANS’: S&T INSERT GAMES THAT FAILED TO MAKE IT ONTO MY ‘TOP 20’ FAVORITES LIST, PART I ,S&T Issues # 38, 41, 43, 45 & 48
  3. THE ‘ALSO RANS’: S&T INSERT GAMES THAT FAILED TO MAKE IT ONTO MY ‘TOP 20’ FAVORITES LIST, PART II ,S&T Issues #’s 37, 39, 42, 44, & 46
  4.  THE ‘ALSO RANS’: S&T INSERT GAMES THAT FAILED TO MAKE IT ONTO MY ‘TOP 20’ FAVORITES LIST, PART III , S&T Issues #’s 52, 54, 56, 58 & 59

5 comments:

  • Well, I was/am one of those masochists who played South Africa, again and again, and found a lot in its subsystems to take to other game designs. I also liked Raid! very much!
    I guess this makes me pretty weird.

  • Greetings Again Itmurnau:

    You aren't the only one: I actually had a few friends who liked both games, much to my surprise. Of course, they were just as surprised, for their own part, that I didn't hate 'THE PLOT TO ASSASSINATE HITLER'; I guess you just never know.

    If I actually had to choose between 'SOUTH AFRICA' and 'RAID', however, I am afraid that I would have to pick 'RAID' as the better game, no question about it. Maybe I'm being unfair, but 'SOUTH AFRICA' made the SPI "sports" games look pretty good; and I hate "sports" board games!

    Best Regards, Joe

  • I agree with you re Vera Cruz - I always thought that it was an overlooked little jewel of a game that didn't get the wider acceptance it should have because it was set in a much less well-known war.

    Raid always struck me as bland for some reason, I jst could never work up that much interest in playing it.

    Enjoying your comentary
    Cheers
    John

  • Greetings John:

    Thank you for your kind words.

    Yes, I think that Berg came up with an interesting game system for 'VERACRUZ'; one that seemed to capture the key elements of the campaign, but which still presented both sides with real opportunities for clever play.

    'RAID' was, as you note, a major disappointment; but then, my own willingness to give this title the benefit of the doubt had probably already been dispelled by my unhappy experience with its cousin, 'FIREFIGHT': a game that promised much, but delivered surprisingly little.

    Best Regards, Joe

  • Ah, for some reason Part 4 wasn’t showing up but found it now! Join me up to the masochists who like the game South Africa, and indeed I’ve just reacquired it. I’m doing that for quite a few of the SPI titles after disposing of them some years ago…including Vera Cruz which I think was a smashing simulation. Happy gaming…

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