Monthly Archives: May 2016

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Into the Wild Blue Yonder (Part Five): Land Campaigns

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In order to distinguish the traditional Down in Flames campaigns that first appeared in Rise of the Luftwaffe from later systems such as the Operations that debuted in Eighth Air Force, the Carrier Campaigns of Zero!, and the progressive Guadalcanal campaign of Corsairs & Hellcats, we’re calling them “Land Campaigns.”  Fully half of the campaigns in Wild Blue Yonder (7 of 13) are of this type, and every one has at least two stages to enhance variety.  Each features a set number of randomly-determined historical Missions in which players select Resources to support assigned Mission aircraft.  The outcome of each Mission does not affect later Missions.

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Delian League Diaries #5

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Pericles Strategy Guide

This installment of my Delian League Diaries is intended offer deeper insight on how Pericles lets you experience Thucydides’ epic history of this long ago war. I thought it would be interesting to discuss some of the key mechanics and their impact on strategy options.

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Pericles Playtest Map. Note that all components shown in this article are playtest components, not final art.

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The Madness Behind a CDG Solo Method

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Hi everyone. In today’s InsideGMT article, we are bringing you something new. I know many of you, like me, enjoy solitaire designs. Most of us who have played wargames for a while can even take a non-solitaire design and play it solo, with no problem. But CDGs are much harder to solo. And that has always frustrated me, because they are incredibly thematic and tell great stories, and I LOVE the “immersed in the story” aspect of gaming. Well, recently long-time gamer and CDG-lover Jose Ruiz has put together a method to help all of us play our CDGs solo, helping us to immerse ourselves into the stories of CDGs without knowing all the cards in the opposing hand – in this case specifically for PATHS OF GLORY. So for those of you who don’t already know him from his presence on BGG or his excellent YouTube channel Stuka Joe, I’d like to introduce you to Jose and to his CDG Solo Method, and publicly thank him for making this contribution to our enjoyment of Card-Driven Games while playing solitaire. Enjoy the article and the CDG Solo Method! – Gene

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The Drang River Valley (LZ MARY): Scenario #3 After Action Review from Silver Bayonet

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Following the recommended order of scenario play, the first is #6 Tea Time, we come to scenario #3 LZ Mary. This scenario depicts the night ambush conducted by A/1/9 and some CIDG Strikers on the NVA 66th Regiment as it was moving into the Ia Drang Valley as well as the subsequent NVA counterattack.

[NOTE: These examples don’t, necessarily, show the best tactics to be used. They are for illustrative purposes.]

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Tea Time: Scenario #6 After Action Review from Silver Bayonet

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Here’s an AAR of the shortest scenario in the game: #6 “Tea Time”.

This scenario simulTeaTime1ates the night attack by the VC on the Brigade HQ. The HQ was lightly defended and cooks, clerks, and other “ash & trash” were pressed into service as riflemen. The HQ was saved, but that safety was bought dearly.

The Brigade HQ sets up in 3909 along with B/6/14 Artillery Battery. The VC set up in the hexes indicated by the Assault markers. I’ve spread out the units so you can see who is involved. The FWA also start with 10 Air Points which represents the HH-1 Aerial Rocket Artillery helos which were operating out of the HQ.

Setup rules indicate that the PAVN player must place at least one Assault marker. He places three and declares which units are Assaulting. Note that, although there are eight stacking points of units available to the VC, only four stacking points may actually Assault a hex. In this case, the bigger H-15 Main Force companies (2-3-9s) will do so as there are four of them and each is one stacking point.

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Delian League Diaries #4

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During a recent session of Pericles, JR Tracy (host and ASL expert) and myself represented Athens versus our worthy Spartan opponents, Roberto and Nate. We played the 1st Peloponnesian War scenario, which can last from 3 to 6 turns, ending when Peace is declared. In keeping with the history, this one ended up being a true death match and went the distance, as no one wanted to declare Peace.

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Conquest of Paradise: Solitaire Rules

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Quite some time ago, Gene asked me to write an InsideGMT article to help support Conquest of Paradise in its pursuit of pre-orders for its new, Deluxe Second Edition printing. Even though there were plenty of improvements from the original printing- such as a mounted map, wood pieces, the new event deck, and improved graphics- Gene wanted more. He strongly suggested a set of solitaire rules for the game.