GOD SAVE THE KING

Rob Seulowitz Very nice, expecially with the revised map. A sort-of Red Barricades lite, that's less filling (smaller play area) and tastes great (lots more neat toys in the OoB). The down side is that it feels very long, and, since it's not as fluid as RB or the KGPs, it starts to get a bit claustrophobic. On the other hand, the treatment of the historical matter is first rate and the game feels reasonably balanced. However, I've never met anyone who played it to the last scenario date!

The proliferation of 8-morale troops can make for some tedium early on, and the SS-Automatic-Rally is an annoying aspect of both GSTK and KOTH. The KGP CGs and the Famous Lost French CG 'Plains of Steel' (of which I have a copy) likewise suffer from SS CG syndrome. Why aren't there more CGs with 467s??

In short, the Germans could not survive two CG Dates of KOTH if they didn't have 9-morale when broken. The Brits have normal 457s, though, and start with ELR of THREE!!! So they have to prepare for lots of replacing (and remember, folks, that 2nd line Brits cower just like the rest of us).

Likewise, in GSTK the Germans are usually outnumbered and on the attack, so a high broken-side morale keeps them from being pushed off the board. But their FP is so high, and the Brits become increasingly vulnerable to Low Ammo and Low Water, that without 8-morale they'd be nothing but Disrupted HS. The Brits also have a mixture of 648s that are AEs and 648s that are not, so some will ELR down, if I'm not mistaken.

Greg Dahl GSTK is the most underrated CG of modern times. The early version maps put a lot of people off, but this baby rocks. King Tigers scoring critical hits vs dug in British elite. A whole SS platoon dies to a set DC.

If you don't have this one, get it. I don't know when The Third Bridge is coming out, but it won't be soon enough. Its like RB with a big fat bridge in the middle of the map. I know they're running out. If you don't have this one, you'll feel like one large weiner schnitzel when you see it.

The good Dr is right though. I have never seen this one go to the bitter end. It takes one stubborn British player to keep getting whacked by the German in the later scenarios.

My advice for the German is to never come across the bridge from the South side.

BLOOD REEF TARAWA

Rob Seulowitz Seen the revision-in-progress, and I think I'll steer clear of it. Admittedly, I'm not gung ho for PTO, and the size and scale are too intimidating. Currently, the VC are that you win the campaign when your opponent moves to another city or dies.

KING OF THE HILL

Rob Seulowitz The best Eddie's done to date. The map's muddy, but actually quite functional - the encounter will populate the area with plenty of new terrain soon enough, like blazing wreck, foxholes, shell holes and piles of dead bodies. The strategic problems are very tough, with both sides taking turns attacking and counter-attacking. And the toys are supreme! All kinds of neat AFVs and SS 838s plus variant FBs for truely exciting rocket attacks. The CG seems instrinsically balanced since, in most playing, both sides will take a hefty hammering in each CGS. Word has it the Brits are favored, but I know one playing where they failed to reach the Crown at all.

Very short, -- six scheduled dates, of which you'll play only 4 or 5. Should be 2 Night scenarios - excellent night fighting!

Real life? Well, I've been playing it by email for over a year (hi, JC - where's that Prep??). FTF, I'd say 60 hours max. That's - what? - eight to ten Sunday afternoons. The individual scenarios are reasonably sized and can be played in a single sitting (two for the Night CGS's).

Rodney Kinney I'd like to toss in my own hearty endorsement for King of the Hill. It's simply terrific. And it's not just waves of troops being slaughtered by firelanes. We've actually developed a tight little high-TEM Assault-Engineer slugfest over a trench complex that's starting to resemble Red Barricades, while longer-range, lower-TEM battles are going on at other places on the map. The vehicles make the tactics very interesting. Every Infantry advance and defensive strongpoint has to pay careful attention to guarding the flanks because letting an enemy vehicle around behind you gets you into trouble fast. Since no side dominates in armor (Tigers are counterbalanced by 17 pounders and air support), skillful combined arms play is critical to winning the campaign. Very fun!

BERLIN: RED VENGEANCE

Rob Seulowitz I will play this one sooner or later, but it scores so strong on the "nutty" scale (Gestapo Leaders? A Hitler counter?) that it's hard to take it seriously fresh out of the box.

Derrick Beckner The Gestapo leaders are essentially commisars with a few twists, nothing nutty there. Accounts of the battle support the fact that Gestapo teams were more than willing to snuff any male of service age who happened to be walking away from the front. The Hitler counter isn't used, but hey, who doesn't want a Hitler SMC?

Rob Seulowitz Again, it resembles GSTK as a smaller-area urban slugfest, but with the dial going to 11; massive ROBA, late-war tanks bristling with guns but lacking gas, 658s with ELR 0 and all kinds of bizarre special counters.

Derrick Beckner The 658s can be ELR 0, but I belive they start out at 4. You also get 436 SS. In fact, everything the Germans have are considered SS. The only special counter I recall is the Barricade counter, a sissified road block, and the Red Banner which is used in a couple scenarios, but not the CG.

Rob Seulowitz Toy fans will enjoy this more than pure gamers, since it looks very much as though, once the Russians get across one of the bridges, it's curtains for the Wehrmacht. [Of course, that's only an edumacated guess since I haven't played the CG yet - so anyone who has other reactions or even informed opinions is invited to share them.]

Derrick Beckner Uh, it's certainly a guess. But not a good one. :) The Reichstag has a commanding view of the entire battlefield, has 3.5 level towers, and a +4 TEM. Not to mention all Germans are stealthy and Russians Lax inside the building. In one scenario I played, a 9-1 with a HMG wreaked utter havoc on my Russians the entire game, and kept a couple squads with Mortars and a MMG engaged in Counter "battery" fire for the better part of 7 turns. Now just imagine having a quad 20 AA gun, or a kill stack of several MGs on top of the building. Remember that the towers have walls around them, so unlike other rooftops you get a +2 TEM. Of course, you don't want to be up there when the Katys fall. :O

Plus, the Russians are going to get hammered trying to get across the bridges. In CG1 the Germans inflicted somthing like 60 Casualty points to a loss of only 2. Lots of Ruskie armor went bye-bye that day, about six to the 88L from hell. Plus, we blew the bridge on the left side of the board (the single bridge) essentially cutting the playing are in half. The Russians eventually get a lot, and I mean a lot of stuff, but they will lose a lot too.

SUMMARY

Rob Seulowitz On the whole, HOB's strength has been in finding the unique history-based quirks in the encounters they dramatize and coming up with a few CG-specific rules or units to give the encounter it's own distinct flavor.

Production quality has run from awful to OK to almost-but-not-quite-excellent. Rules often have typos or layout problems, but rarely need much substantive errata. GSTK and KOTH are appropriate for semi-experienced gamers and relative newbies, but owning chapters O and P is required. It also helps to be willing to play though the first scenario, identify all your mistakes, then start again.

The above opinions are insightful, amusing and well written but by no means exhaustive. They are not the property of any publishing company living or dead nor have I received any gifts, gratuities or remunerations from anyone at any time ever. No one even sent me a birthday card last year. But I'm not bitter.