tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post3095800685250321685..comments2024-01-13T03:07:48.472-08:00Comments on Map and Counters: SPI, RED SUN RISING (1977)JCB IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16490081362549015107noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-84455720902518362962011-10-01T07:20:43.460-07:002011-10-01T07:20:43.460-07:00Greetings Anon:
Yes, both the Japanese and Russia...Greetings Anon:<br /><br />Yes, both the Japanese and Russian sides offer interesting problems that lend themselves well to solitaire play. Unfortunately, as you note, this war was, like the Crimean War, a bit too obscure for most of the players I knew when these games were first published.<br /><br />On the positive side, the GDW version -- which appeared a year before Frank Davis' design --JCB IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16490081362549015107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-40341039913865285712011-10-01T01:11:40.701-07:002011-10-01T01:11:40.701-07:00Red Sun Rising was also a pretty good solo play to...Red Sun Rising was also a pretty good solo play too as I recall. Back in 1980 when I bought the game the subject didn't interest many at my club so I never played a 'real' game. Sold it in the mid 90's, but it fetched a good priceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-12521377930788814692011-09-11T10:53:06.566-07:002011-09-11T10:53:06.566-07:00Greetings Kim:
I don't know of many players, ...Greetings Kim:<br /><br />I don't know of many players, familiar with both games, who would disagree with you. Clearly RED SUN RISING was a more "finished" game in every way: better organized, clearer rules; much better and more attractive graphics presentation (in counters, game maps, charts, and rules booklet); and even better packaging.<br /><br />In spite of their differences, JCB IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16490081362549015107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-55724758408320588652011-09-11T09:29:52.435-07:002011-09-11T09:29:52.435-07:00One of my favorite SPI games. I was glad to have t...One of my favorite SPI games. I was glad to have this and GDW's take on the war with their twin games to get a good choic on what I wanted in the game. Ifelt RSR did a better job on both the land & naval parts copmpared to GDW.Kim Meintsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-61618846480206721652011-09-11T06:33:23.190-07:002011-09-11T06:33:23.190-07:00Greetings Eric:
Thanks, as usual, for your insigh...Greetings Eric:<br /><br />Thanks, as usual, for your insightful comments; also for the recommendation on TIDE AT SUNRISE which I have not yet personally examined.<br /><br />What I found interesting about RED SUN RISING was the several similarities (particularly in its emphasis on logistics and the sheer bloodiness of the land combat system) between it and Marc Miller's RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR JCB IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16490081362549015107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-87854236313773192382011-09-11T05:41:48.166-07:002011-09-11T05:41:48.166-07:00I sold off this game earlier in the year once I go...I sold off this game earlier in the year once I got my copy of THE TIDE AT SUNRISE, which I consider a better game. Still, one can hope that RED SUN RISING might see a redesign/remake someday. It's interesting to compare the two designs. I play THE TIDE AT SUNRISE without the naval option and use the abstracted table system (it has gorgeous ship counters, much like RED SUN RISING) and feel I Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08733489090374129023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-29158229776749034842011-09-11T05:35:40.923-07:002011-09-11T05:35:40.923-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08733489090374129023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-78626579262181953462011-09-10T08:48:41.173-07:002011-09-10T08:48:41.173-07:00Greetings Don:
As usual, you raise a couple of in...Greetings Don:<br /><br />As usual, you raise a couple of interesting points, and although it has been quite awhile since I actually played RED SUN RISING, let me offer a modest defense (although it has been years since I played the game) of Davis' design choices.<br /><br />First, in the case of the Russian torpedo boats, I, like you, was initially struck by their disproportionately high JCB IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16490081362549015107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-13519674394235309822011-09-10T07:54:27.893-07:002011-09-10T07:54:27.893-07:00Greetings Bill:
I hate to admit it, but your crit...Greetings Bill:<br /><br />I hate to admit it, but your criticism is a valid one. When I wrote this passage I struggled with how much in formation to include and how much -- in the interests of brevity -- to leave out. What I was trying to convey was the fact that the main Russian fleet -- having been denied passage through the Suez Canal -- had been obliged to sail from the Baltic all the way JCB IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16490081362549015107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-36834724859968385072011-09-10T07:30:08.533-07:002011-09-10T07:30:08.533-07:00"On 27 May, 1905, forty-five Russian warships..."On 27 May, 1905, forty-five Russian warships, having sailed an astounding 18,000 nautical miles all the way from their regular station in the Baltic Sea, through the Atlantic, and into the Pacific and then the Sea of Japan, finally entered the Tsushima Straight between Korea and Japan."<br /><br />This is a bit poorly worded. The fleet separated into 2 parts. One sailed through the Billnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836956334020662322.post-36369511840430491592011-09-09T19:06:50.526-07:002011-09-09T19:06:50.526-07:00I came up with a variant to make the game more his...I came up with a variant to make the game more historical. As it is with rules as written, the best Russian naval units are the torpedo boats, due to their defense factor being so strong. This is of course exactly backwards, so my variant allows for selecting the number of points in the TB and D units to be attacked. CA and B need to be attacked as whole units.<br /><br />Another thing is thatDonald Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07904992652259586383noreply@blogger.com