John G. Curran - 05:05pm Apr 16, 1999 PST (#1453 of 1568) Re: Battle of the Bayous from Liberty Games Picked this up at the Celebrate History Con. Have not had a chance to play this yet, but here is what is in the ziplock. The game covers the New Orleans campaign from late December 1814 to early January 1814 in half day turns. $25 gets you 360 counters (mostly company sized units), a 22 x 34 inch map, rulebook including an interesting and well written historical commentary and (strangely for a ziplock) a D10. I asked the gentleman at the booth (I believe it was Robert Chapman) why enclose the D10? - not usual in a ziplock - but he told me that they had had feedback demanding it!? Regarding Terry Shrum's relationship to Liberty Games (the company producing Battle of the Bayous), the same gentleman (?Mr. Chapman) said that Mr. Shrum was the contractual graphic artist. He had no involvement in the design or development of the game, except in so far as any graphics person would. Mr Shrum is credited with "Graphic Design" and "Rules Layout" The rules, by the way, are pretty straightforward on first read through. Not surprisingly the game looks exactly like the old FGA games. I personally liked the appearance of the FGA games. As has been covered here often in the past, they had many other problems (unplayable, rip-offs, etc). I can only say - do not be deceived by looks, there seems to be no link to FGA beyond the graphics. Designer is Chris Reichman, the developers Robert Chapman and Gene Moyers and a number of playtesters are also listed (Mr.S. was not a playtester). The scale is 500 meters per hex. Map covers from New Orleans south to Lake Borgne, and to Lake Pontchartrain in the east. A strip of the right bank is present with the Mississipi then covering a significant stretch of the west half of the map. The British have 3 possible approach routes. Their movement is severely curtailed by swamps and bayous, which are impassable to artillery. Artillery is one thing the Americans have, and the British are somewhat short of. The units included are of course 'colorful' (as in the Colored Volunteer Battalions), Beale's rifles, Jugeat's Choctaw Indians and the Mississippi Dragoons among others. American gunboats and British rafts are also included. The developer notes are interesting. From the start the game was aimed at the campaign rather than the bloodbath of a battle. It took some time apparently to decide on the exact scale and timeframe. There are two sets of victory conditions. The original specified the British had to take New Orleans, and the victory level depended on how few or how many casualties they took. This proved to be an invitation to a Louisiana version of Stalingrad, with the British often taking the city after the US had fought to the last man. Now the victory conditions include provision for a die roll (triggered by British artillery fire on the city or the proximity of a British unit). Failure on the die roll indicates the US morale is broken and the city abandoned. You can play either set depending on your take on history. There are other games under consideration including Hastings. Graphics for an Operation Hercules game (WW2 invasion of Malta) was also on display. With the caveat that I have not yet played the game, it looks pretty interesting (as well as pretty) and may well be value for money. Liberty Games is at 17790 S.W. Vincent St., Aloha, OR 97007, phone 503-642-4678. Mr. Chapman was anxious for feedback on the game. His email is chapman@ix.netcom.com