War is morally questionable, at best a compromise between inaction and horrific aggression. The societal and human costs are often extreme. There are benefits, however. Achieving independence. Ending tyranny. Freeing an enslaved population. Often, violence is the only remaining option. Rapid technological advancement is another benefit. One typically overlooked due to its insignificance in contrast…
Whenever people liberally throw around words like “innovative” or “unique” with recently published games, I can’t help but clench my jaw. It’s a difficult pothole to avoid, as the promises spat by titles in the crowdfunding era are necessarily braggadocios. We’re all guilty of this from time to time. It’s natural to pile on superlatives…
Zurmat is a small Pashtun district south of Kabul. In 2007, It was a tense region with a fragile sense of order. The Taliban moved throughout the villages and roads at night, issuing threats to dissuade cooperation with the Afghan government. Zurmat is also a wargame. Some soldiers write about their experience. Tim Densham designs.…
I find it hard to believe the Company of Heroes board game is five years old. This splendid adaptation of the popular real-time strategy PC game was a story in 2021. My review contained a healthy amount of enthusiasm, and it occupied a key position in my top 10 of the year. A lot has…
The opening sequence of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver depicts a New York with enough grit that you can feel it on your teeth. It’s a feral hour of the night. DeNiro’s sedan is cruising down a street awash in the radiant soul of the city. There’s a shot of the vehicle’s quarter panel. Beads of…
Paolo Mori and Francesco Sirocchi’s Battalion: War of the Ancients caught my eye not because it’s a modern reworking of the duo’s 15-year-old Pocket Battles, but because it’s operating in a gray area that calls to my affinity for mass battle miniatures games while requiring none of the commitment of such an endeavor. This is…
Burning Banners is a bit of a darling. Published by Compass Games, it’s an asymmetric fantasy wargame built upon the foundation of traditional hex-and-counter conflict simulations. It doesn’t boast an innovative action system, there’s no Euro-style engine building, and it includes zero miniatures. It’s progression through reinterpretation, finding expansive creativity in the well-tread mud of…
Mark Herman is a fascinating wargame designer. He’s responsible for ironclad classics such as Fire in the Lake, Churchill, and Washington’s War. There are nearly a hundred titles to his name, all things considered. Rebel Fury is the first volume of publisher GMT’s Civil War Heritage Series. This is a new collection of games built…
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs) were a fixture of U.S. military doctrine during the Vietnam War. They consisted of small teams of well-trained soldiers with a versatile armament and skillset. These units traveled deep into enemy-held territory to perform a variety of tasks. They are also the titular subject matter of Mike Lambo’s 17th solitaire…
“The young women of today, free to study, to speak, to write, to choose their occupation, should remember that every inch of this freedom was bought for them at a great price. It is for them to show their gratitude by helping onward the reforms of their own times, by spreading the light of freedom and…
Player Elimination 