Bolt Action: Battleground Europe: D-Day to Germany
$29.95 SRP
Take the fight to the enemy with this new theatre book for Bolt Action. From the D-Day landings to the final battle for Berlin, this volume gives players everything they need to focus their gaming on these final campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations.
Scenarios and special rules offer something for all Bolt Action players, regardless of the armies they collect.
Author: Warlord Games
Illustrator: Peter Dennis
I just finished reading Zombies a Hunter’s Guide. My copy is the limited edition version, it a nice cover with silver gilded pages. Osprey Publishing did a good job with the production of this book, but not as well as Joseph McCullough did writing it.
The first thing that caught me about this book was the style it was written in. Joseph wrote from the point of view that the Zombie Apocalypse was very much alive and well. I loved the approach. It made the book very entertaining.
Even though he’s very entertaining the book includes a lot of information. Joseph includes information on every zombie type there is. Each zombie profile includes a history, creation information, how to identify them, what they are a threat to, and how to eliminate them and prevention techniques.
The book includes a detailed section on weapons and tactics that is a good read for any miniatures player.
If yo are a Zombie fan this is a book for you. It was truly a pleasure to read.
In this Episode Matt Flips Through the small rule book for Bolt Action from Warlord Games. Bolt Action is a historical miniatures game by Cavatore and Priestly that is published by Warlord Games and Osprey Publishing. This book is just full of color pictures and high quality images.
I have never really dove into a historical game but I think i’m getting ready to.
Thor Myths and Legends is a really good intro book who wants to learn about the mythology of Thor and other Nrose gods. If you’re only familiar with the Marvel version of Thor sit down before you read this books.
There are several tales about Thor in this book, many are even complete. Graeme takes a historical approach that references other books and documents that have studied these poems and legends in a far greater detail. But the information is far from dry, he breaks it down so anyone can rad the contents.
As you might imagine many of these stories developed Thor, but what little do we know. Thor was a red head, according to legend. These stories touch upon the Thor’s strength, Loki, How he won the hammer, his hatred for frost giants and more.
There’s even a section on the Marvel version of Thor. It was really cool to see that the myth has evolved into today’s world and still maintains much of it’s origin.
It is only 8- pages but it will keep you entertained for more than an evening.
A Fistful of Kung Fu is a 28 mm miniatures skirmish game that puts Hong Kong fighting films in the game world. Yes this game allows you to do cart wheel kicks! The system offers an array of unique mechanics that can easily be adapted to the D6 systems. We’ll get into that in a little bit.
The Book
Published by Osprey Publishing
Written by Andrea Sfiligoi
It is a bout 70 pages. It follows an easy to follow path that teaches an experienced player how to play in only minutes. There are plenty of charts and easy ti follow diagrams inserted where they belong.
The Game
A Fistful of Kung Fu introduces that skirmish wargamer several new mechanics. The two most important are Quality Q and Chi..
Quality Q is an attribute that basically combines everything physical (strength, and agility for example). You use this to make a variety of checks in game, like combat or acrobatics. Q is also the base for morale checks.
Chi is an ability that comes into play by spending it. It can be used for a wide variety of things.
Ignoring turnover (remaining the aggressor)
Reduce a combat effect
+1 to a single combat roll
Chi Leap
Chi abilities
Motivate extras
Before you start playing you must build a force which is also different from most wargames. In A Fistful of Kung Fu your gang is structured with one protagonist, a first student (mini boss in video games), and minions (kobolds). Your protagonist is a real bad dude. When you create your force you also make your protagonist. He is a lot more expensive than the rest of your team, because he is what your team is really about. While designing him you select several extra skills and chi abilities.
Your first student is just a few notches down from the protagonist so don’t get too cocky with him.
When you finish building a force you will have a gang of 10 to 15 mini’s.
Once your forces are built, the defender will deploy terrain. The attacker will deploy his protagonist. This will alternate until all models are deployed. Then initiative is rolled. The active player will activate all of his models until there is a “turnover”. Turnover is basically the reflection of the two gangs struggling for the upper hand. When one gang fails a check the mechanics might dictate the possibility that the active player can loose initiative. I love this mechanic. It isn’t the simple I go you go method, nor is it the alternate activations system; but it can be both. It does an excellent job of grasping the chaotic spirit of combat.
Combat works pretty much like it does in any other game, except that you can use more than one action at a time. Each player rolls a d6 for the model and adds the C (combat ) score to it, The difference between the two gives the victor an amount points to spend on the effects table. As you might imagine outnumbering can be quite beneficial. Outnumbering grants the larger force a +1 to the roll, a protagonist can’t be outnumbered by a force without a protagonist.
When we played we had a blast. Of course it helps if one player rolls dice well and the other poorly. I managed to pull off feats like disarming, and killing minions with single blows. It didn’t seem fair. But my opponent’s protagonist was a one tough dude. It took me forever to take him down. Especially since he excelled at gun fu. He managed to shoot most of my minions. Heck in the end he nearly killed my model as well. But I ended the game with a combination of aerial techniques worthy of any movie.
A Fistful of Kung Fu is a pleasant surprise that offers a wide variety of game mechanics that are simple to learn. With the crazy activation sequence you always have something to do and never have to leave the table because your’e waiting for your turn.
King Arthur is part of the Myths and Legends series published by Osprey Publishing.
Written by Daniel Mersey and Illustrated by Alan Lathwell.
The book is what you you would expect from Osprey. That is it has a good binding, high test paper, and excellent art through all 80 pages of the book.
I think Daniel does an excellent job of bringing the myth of Arthurian legend into perspective. He takes the reader on a journey through Arthurian history, while showing the potential for the characters existence. He starts with the Medieval model, made popular by Hollywood, then moves to the Celtic model, and finishes up with the historic model. Daniel takes the immense history of Arthur and gives his reader and entertaining and factual presentation.
When I first started reading King Arthur, I was wondering what I would learn. I Always knew there was more to Arthur than I knew. It wasn’t long before I found that the book was difficult to put down. For about a week it became an addiction. When It was all said and down I had learned that Arthur has a lot more to him than I ever knew. Daniel goes into great detail about the stories that form Arthur’s legend. Without spoiling his book, Daniel does an excellent job of talking about the written and narrative history of King Arthur. Some of the more interesting, things to me, were; the accuracy of the legend as it spanned cultures; there are “giants” in the legend, and it may date back to maybe 175 A.D.
To finish out the book Daniel offers up cases that go against the theories of Arthur.
I found the book to be a very good read. I am looking forward to the rest of the Myths And Legends series.
The First World War
$30.00 SRP
Raging for over four years across the tortured landscapes of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the First World War changed the face of warfare forever. Characterized by slow, costly advances and fierce attrition, the great battles of the Somme, Verdun and Ypres incurred human loss on a scale never previously imagined. This book, with a foreword by Professor Hew Strachan, covers the fighting on all fronts, from Flanders to Tannenberg and from Italy to Palestine. A series of moving extracts from personal letters, diaries and journals bring to life the experiences of soldiers and civilians caught up in the war.
Paul Eaglestone’s A World Aflame is an alternate/real history miniatures game. The interwar is set in the years 1918 to 1939. While there are no lists to the game he does provide some sample lists. Nor is there a particular scale to play in, he uses 28mm.
The rules set offers a unique rules that took me a little getting used to. The oddest thing for me is the army construction. With the absence of point values the units become more equipment or initiative based. Initiative is probably the most important factor in the game, since the game uses alternate activations that follow in initiative order. Outside of Construction the rules are fairly simple, that is just like most miniature games you roll the dice to achieve a target number.
There are a couple of simple rules that add flavor to the game. The best of these is a deck of Chance cards. Each card is an event that can be used. These can be anything from sniper to extra ammunition.
If I played A World Aflame on a regular basis I would probably drop the communication and ammunition tracking rules. While they add a certain amount of flavor to depict the era, I think the upkeep isn’t worth the trade.
All in all it is a well written set of rules with a tremendous amount of freedom for game play and scenarios that you create. It isn’t a tournament style game. I think you could create some pretty amazing campaigns though. If you are a Flames of War player the lack of scenarios in the book will slow you down at first.
So is it worth your two cents? It really depends on who you are. If you are a casual player then it a sure thing. If you are looking for a game that is a break from competitive play this is a good way to go. If you are a competitive player looking for competition this is not your best choice.
Dux Bellorum is a 64 page self contained rule book. It focuses on the Arthurian era of history (Ad 367 -793). The book itself features several charts and diagrams to make your game play more enjoyable and easier to learn. The art truly tells the story of the era, while the pictures of the miniatures clearly show you what you can expect on the table. This is the only book you need to play this game. It includes all of the rules, lists and equipment guides for a complete game. The author, Daniel Mersey, used his rules set Glutter of Ravens as a base for this rules set.
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The World of Might & Magic
$ 24.95 SRP
The Heroes of Might and Magic compendium is a lavishly illustrated, hardback guide to the world of Ashan, the setting for many years of Might and Magic games. Featuring exclusive artwork, stories, and fun facts, much of the content from the book is drawn directly from the Developer’s Bible, the internal documents used by the game designers to keep track of timelines and plot developments. The book is divided into sections, examining the nine key factions, their history, abilities, rulers and major strengths and weaknesses. Also included is a history of the world of Ashan, presented as a timeline that covers all of the major events in the world’s history. This book is a complete guide to the world of Ashan, its gods, its people, and its history.
