Post by Whiterook on Aug 14, 2024 8:52:53 GMT -5
Newest Playtests! West Front ‘44, which is a soon-to-be-released game in one of the Decision Game’s, magazine game issue in 2025.
NOTE: Pictures shown below are mock-up game components and not in Final form yet, as it is now in Bravo Testing.
This game is a 2-Player offering, featuring the campaigns along the Rhine in the Winter of 1944-45 (December - March). The Allies are attempting to establish beachheads across the Rhine River, while the Germans are planning for their Ardennes counteroffensive. Unlike the alt-history game I tested last for Ty Bomba, this is a true historical simulation from Joseph Miranda.
I’ve read the rules and have been working on those the past three weeks, editing and proofing. I setup the game yesterday and will be starting my first game.
GAME 1
Unlike my previous playtest game, where their were hex coordinates that defined the specific hex the units were setup upon… this game has you setup each sides’ units within up to a specified number of hexes away from urban areas, on your side of the frontline. Not having a specific idea on mechanics play yet, I used best judgement on unit placement based on Attack Factor strengths concentrated on hotspot areas; I wasn’t really thinking in terms of geography and objectives, to be honest!
It seems evident that the main action will start in the triangle made up of Strasbourg, through the Ardennes into the Eindhoven sector, and up to the tri-cities of Ruhr (where you see the clear circular Objective markers). I expect heavy fighting within that triangle, with German push for Antwerp. They only have 6 Turns to do the deed, but the game can be extended (with penalties) to 8.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
There are two ways to win West Front '44: Sudden Death and End Game”
My commitment, as usual is to try for four game-playthroughs. It uses the Boots/Manstein’s War system to model command, control, and logistics on an operational scale. Though I’ve not been familiar with that particular system, it utilizes a lot of mechanics I’d used in my last playtest game on the Bulge; notably, Lines of Supply and Communications, though this system is far more aggressive in penalties for not being in supply and communication with the front(s).
The general structure of the game is for each player to randomly draw Command Markers (chits) from an opaque containor each, which subsequently activates sub-Commands at the Corps and Battalion-level, as well as a few surprises in additional operational capabilities, like air, naval, and even major operations units like Wacht am Rhine.
As you can see above, the map is gorgeous! …I would say the best I’ve seen yet in a playtest. The tables are all on the map, so no- separate charts. The alpha testing phase typically fleshes out the majority of bugs, so play should be somewhat straight forward. As are many of these DG offerings, there’s a LOT of fiddly bits (rules) to wrap your mind around, so the first game will likely be pretty rough
My first impression prior to start, to *get right* are:
As you can see from the battlefield…
…the Germans are east (top of map is east) of the frontline (you might juuuuust be able to make it out, but it’s the small dotted line running haphazardly North the South/left to right on the map); the Allies are all up in their grill on the other side of the frontline…no sides’ unit has breached the frontline yet, so the image is a pretty good indicated too, or where it is. Green are Americans, tan is British, light blue are French, dark blue are abstract Allies, and the Germans are Gray.
The German, Ardennes Offensive is pretty evident, with probably half the German strength pushed past the densely forested region already at game start in the direction of the Netherlands (and a few minimal forces within). Antwerp is about the middle North side of the battlefield and the historic target of the “Bulge”. The Bastogne/Nancy sectors are not yet threatened and the Battling Bastards aren’t really represented at this operational-level of the game.
Combat takes place in adjacency, so there is already a nasty brew up impending! Question is, will the Germans dilly-dally with the Allies, or push to Antwerp? Honestly, I have not idea yet, as I have no clear defined idea of how the mechanics play out. All I know is, enemy ZOCs are going to be a bitch and a half!
This should be a fun game to play, and so far, I’m most jazzed about this one at start, before I’ve even played it!
NOTE: Pictures shown below are mock-up game components and not in Final form yet, as it is now in Bravo Testing.
This game is a 2-Player offering, featuring the campaigns along the Rhine in the Winter of 1944-45 (December - March). The Allies are attempting to establish beachheads across the Rhine River, while the Germans are planning for their Ardennes counteroffensive. Unlike the alt-history game I tested last for Ty Bomba, this is a true historical simulation from Joseph Miranda.
I’ve read the rules and have been working on those the past three weeks, editing and proofing. I setup the game yesterday and will be starting my first game.
GAME 1
Unlike my previous playtest game, where their were hex coordinates that defined the specific hex the units were setup upon… this game has you setup each sides’ units within up to a specified number of hexes away from urban areas, on your side of the frontline. Not having a specific idea on mechanics play yet, I used best judgement on unit placement based on Attack Factor strengths concentrated on hotspot areas; I wasn’t really thinking in terms of geography and objectives, to be honest!
It seems evident that the main action will start in the triangle made up of Strasbourg, through the Ardennes into the Eindhoven sector, and up to the tri-cities of Ruhr (where you see the clear circular Objective markers). I expect heavy fighting within that triangle, with German push for Antwerp. They only have 6 Turns to do the deed, but the game can be extended (with penalties) to 8.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
There are two ways to win West Front '44: Sudden Death and End Game”
- Sudden Death Victory
If at any time a player has fulfilled the following conditions, the game comes to an end and that side wins an Epic Victory:
1) Allies (one of the following): (a) Allied forces control all three Ruhr hexes, Saarbrucken and the To Berlin hex. Or: (b) Germans fail to make a mandated Panzer Withdrawal (…still figuring this out, but basically, after the Allies capture their first German city, the Germans must start a withdrawal of armored units, which are out of the game once withdrawn and do not count towards victory points; at the first failure to withdraw panzers from the battlefield, looses the game immediately!).
2) German: German forces control Antwerp, Verdun and Epinal. - End Game Victory
End Game victory is determined by comparing victory points (VP). A player gains VP at the end of the last turn of the game for:
1) Friendly units currently occupying objective hexes. If a victory hex has more than one VP type, use the single best one.
2) Specific enemy units that are in the opposing player’s Eliminated Units Display at the end of the game. For multi-counter units, elimination counts only if the last step has been eliminated.
My commitment, as usual is to try for four game-playthroughs. It uses the Boots/Manstein’s War system to model command, control, and logistics on an operational scale. Though I’ve not been familiar with that particular system, it utilizes a lot of mechanics I’d used in my last playtest game on the Bulge; notably, Lines of Supply and Communications, though this system is far more aggressive in penalties for not being in supply and communication with the front(s).
The general structure of the game is for each player to randomly draw Command Markers (chits) from an opaque containor each, which subsequently activates sub-Commands at the Corps and Battalion-level, as well as a few surprises in additional operational capabilities, like air, naval, and even major operations units like Wacht am Rhine.
As you can see above, the map is gorgeous! …I would say the best I’ve seen yet in a playtest. The tables are all on the map, so no- separate charts. The alpha testing phase typically fleshes out the majority of bugs, so play should be somewhat straight forward. As are many of these DG offerings, there’s a LOT of fiddly bits (rules) to wrap your mind around, so the first game will likely be pretty rough
My first impression prior to start, to *get right* are:
- Line of Communication (LOC) will be my biggest hurdle to *get right*: You basically have to have your units (counters) within LOC (distance) of each other to remain in Supply… or else, you get penalized, such as movement factors/allowances being cut in half and bad shifts on the Combat Results Table (CRT). LOC is in supply when units are the number of hexes away (exclusive of the unit hex) from any friendly Depot (has a small circle, half colored, on the map hex) =/< the units’ Movement Factor; or, having a Mobile Logistics Unit (MLU, which is a counter with a small black box in the upper right corner that is its Supply Radius) within range of that other unit and a Depot. What this translates to mechanics-wise, is that there is likely no sweeping forays across the battlefield, unless moving un its by railway (which allows you to cover great distances if applicable criteria are matched).
- The aforementioned Railway movement mechanics; though they seem pretty straight forward in theory, they will take getting used to in actual execution.
- AirPower has me totally confused at this point! I need to sit back down with those as I start play and in its applicable Phase, figure it out on the fly (…pun intended!).
- I expect Special Command Markers will be tough to get used to. These are 1-use markers that may be pulled (randomly) from chit-draw, that allow a 1-time big bonus to combat. Examples are Wacht am Rhine, and Patton and Montgomery chits that allow bonuses on the CRT.
As you can see from the battlefield…
…the Germans are east (top of map is east) of the frontline (you might juuuuust be able to make it out, but it’s the small dotted line running haphazardly North the South/left to right on the map); the Allies are all up in their grill on the other side of the frontline…no sides’ unit has breached the frontline yet, so the image is a pretty good indicated too, or where it is. Green are Americans, tan is British, light blue are French, dark blue are abstract Allies, and the Germans are Gray.
The German, Ardennes Offensive is pretty evident, with probably half the German strength pushed past the densely forested region already at game start in the direction of the Netherlands (and a few minimal forces within). Antwerp is about the middle North side of the battlefield and the historic target of the “Bulge”. The Bastogne/Nancy sectors are not yet threatened and the Battling Bastards aren’t really represented at this operational-level of the game.
Combat takes place in adjacency, so there is already a nasty brew up impending! Question is, will the Germans dilly-dally with the Allies, or push to Antwerp? Honestly, I have not idea yet, as I have no clear defined idea of how the mechanics play out. All I know is, enemy ZOCs are going to be a bitch and a half!
This should be a fun game to play, and so far, I’m most jazzed about this one at start, before I’ve even played it!
