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Why Levy & Campaign: Ancients?

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Here the designer of Epipolae: The Athenian Expedition in Sicily, 415-413 BCE (P500), presents his thoughts on why the Levy & Campaign system works well for ancient settings. (All images are public domain from the Illustrated History of the World, 1881.)

Levy & Campaign

The Levy & Campaign (L&C) series of games was designed from the ground-up to model operational-level medieval military campaigns. This includes some modeling of the feudal system of Lords and vassals, obligations and fealty, and organization and service. [1]

Key features in the series include each turn of the game consisting of a Levy phase and a Campaign phase. Each Levy phase is used to muster allies, vassals, capabilities, transportation, and supplies. Each Campaign phase allows players to plan and command the movement and various actions of their Lords and armies, subject to the logistical constraints of the previous Levy phase(s). Each game board has two features: a calendar and a map. The calendar serves as a turn record track that is used to track the availability and service of various Lords and vassals. Each map is point-to-point, where Locales are connected by Ways, which control movement and supply routes. Victory conditions vary, but can be achieved through conquering strongholds, defeating enemies in battle, and ravaging and plundering. [1]

Key Features

  • Levy Phase – mustering allies, vassals, capabilities, transportation, and supplies.
  • Campaign Phase – plan and command Lords and armies subject to logistical constraints.
  • Calendar – track availability and service of Lords and vassals.
  • Map – control movement and supply routes.
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Fields of Fire Deluxe – Vietnam Campaign Mission Book

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The new Vietnam Campaign Mission book from the upcoming Fields of Fire Deluxe is now free to download from the Fields of Fire Deluxe P500 page at GMT Games for anyone with the original game to play with.

About The Campaign

Most Fields of Fire campaigns take place over a series of missions that are set days or, at most, a couple of weeks apart. They depict your company as it fights its way through one intense period of action.

However, the nine-mission Vietnam campaign presented in FoF Volume I, sees you in command of a 9th Infantry rifle company for just over 2 years of action. During this time, instead of the continuous promotion of your surviving units and gradual progress towards a completely veteran company as you may be used to in previous campaigns, your company will likely degrade over time. Not just through casualties, but you’ll also see your best units rotated out of the battalion and sent home and will experience a restructuring of the regiment half-way through the campaign that leaves you with yet more green units to lead into battle.

All the while the missions themselves ramp up the intensity as you are sent into ambushes, or try to lead single platoons on patrols through VC strongholds. Even the safety of the Staging Area is not guaranteed in this campaign. Missions see you dropped by helicopter into the middle of the jungle or trying to defend far flung outposts with no place to fall back to.

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The Last Hundred Yards Vol. 4 AAR: Mission 43.0 — Green Devils’ Last Stand

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Below is an After Action Report for The Last Hundred Yards Volume 4: The Russion Front Mission 43.0, Green Devils’ Last Stand. Enjoy!

January 5-16, 1944. As battle was raging in the Uman Gap, Konev’s 2nd Ukrainian Front launched a major assault against Wohler’s 8th army’s right flank, driving on the important industrial city of Kirovograd. The plan was to encircle the German defenders with the 5th Guards Army passing south of the city and the 53rd Army to the north. The Russians made rapid progress in both sectors overruning the woefully thin German defenses. For the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division, already defending a 21 kilometer front with just 3,200 men, were also tasked with holding the vital road crossing, the Krivoi Rog – Kirovograd highway. For the Green Devils’ Pioneer Battalion stationed at Novgorodka the reckoning was at hand.

Major Sidorov looked at the map one more time while kneeling next to a log in the woods. Majors Sidorov and Semenov had been tasked with taking the village currently occupied by the Germans. The plan was a classic pincer attack. Sidorov with his 2nd and 3rd platoons would to attack from the north while Semenov attacked from the south with his 1st and 2nd platoons. Sidorov split his two platoons, sending the 3rd platoon across the road against the village on the east side of the road and the 2nd platoon directly through the woods.

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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 6 — U.S. Turn 3

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US Turn 3 – The best form of defence.

The US draw a single card – an Engineer. The German draw is pictured below.


During the US Admin phase each player can cycle Event cards they don’t want. The Germans therefore choose to replace an event they can no longer use (KG Peiper) and draw a “Hasty Attack”.

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(Not So) Minor Powers in Imperial Fever

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Imperial Fever is a game of Great Power competition in the period 1880-1914. However, the term “Great Power” is difficult to define and open to discussion. The four players in the game take on the roles of the United Kingdom, France, the Central Empires (which for game purposes comprise Germany and Austria-Hungary), and the Emergent Powers (which include the United States and Japan). However, there are other powers, both in Europe and outside Europe, that were very active or important in this period. Russia, Italy and most certainly China come to mind. On the other hand, other powers such as Spain, Portugal, or the Netherlands, had been major imperial actors until very recently and were still active in the international stage. Even Leopold II, the king of a small and recent country like Belgium, secured an important if notorious role in the colonial race starting in the 1880s.

The role of all these international actors is not neglected in Imperial Fever, even if they do not appear as player factions. The aim of this article is to explain and analyse how Imperial Fever incorporates their actions and influence.

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Filipinos Play People Power

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I was 15 and in the middle of junior high when the titular People Power EDSA revolution took place. As such, the events surrounding People Power stand out as a watershed historical moment during my youth. Interestingly enough, much of the same factions are still involved in Philippine politics, 37 years hence, and the son of then President Ferdinand Marcos, Bongbong, is once again head of state; and is mainly opposed by leftists and factions associating themselves with Cory and Benigno Aquino. Old wounds and issues were once again headlined during the elections and the different sides clashed in social media, and sometimes in real life.

Thus the introduction of the game People Power comes at a precarious time. Many reference the events and personalities of that titular era, and political lines are drawn (You can check my full review of People Power here). I found it interesting to let different types of Filipinos try out the game. From casual gamers, to GMT fans; from people who lived thru the events to millennials who know little about Imelda Marcos; to people with different political leanings and those who are apolitical themselves. Below are excepts from my game sessions with these Filipinos and their reactions and comments on People Power the game.

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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 5 — German Turn 3

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German Turn 3 – Searching for the breakthrough.

Card draws are the same on Turn 3 as on Turn 2. The Germans get a lot of fuel to power their advance, particularly for 5th Panzer Army (yellow), whilst 6th Panzer Army get a valuable Force March. Importantly, the US gets another Garrison, 2 Replacements, and 2 Engineers.

More US units stream onto the battlefield, including three Elite 3-strength formations (20th Infantry, 82nd Airborne, and 101st Airborne. There won’t be any US reinforcements next turn, however, so these will need to be positioned wisely.

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Resisting Revolution: The Resistance

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The new Cuban government that came to power in 1959 was initially very popular, replacing the Batista dictatorship with an apparently moderate liberal regime, and with ambitious plans to stamp out political corruption, to enact land, labor, and education reforms, and to normalize relationships with important trade partners like the United States. However, as Castro and his allies began to strengthen their grip on power and expand the scope of their economic reforms, resistance began to grow, including not only wealthy landowners but also revolutionary veterans concerned by the political direction of the new regime. The Resistance faction in Resisting Revolution represents a loose coalition of urban political opposition, clandestine rural cells, and a guerrilla insurgency in the central Escambray Mountains, united by their commitment to overthrowing Castro but without much popular support or organized structure. In this article I will outline some key features of the Resistance faction and their new menu of Operations and Special Activities. 

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The British Way: Advanced Cyprus Variant

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Testing and balancing four separate games for The British Way was no easy feat, and while for the most part I think we were successful, some players have reported issues with Cyprus after multiple games. While we do not think that the original game, as published, is strictly broken or unplayable, we would like to take this opportunity to offer an advanced variant for players who might have experienced these issues. Cyprus was originally designed as the simplest introduction to the basic mechanical systems found in the multipack, so there is plenty of scope for slightly increasing the complexity while still offering a fast and smooth experience.

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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 4 — U.S. Turn 2

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The Germans kick things off this Turn with a draw of 5 cards, as the US get nothing!

The US then play a Reinforcements card to build up the 1st Infantry which are coming in as reinforcements from Zone A. Another step will see them become a powerful Elite 3-strength unit, so it’s worth investing this in them rather than holding back to repair a different unit later.