From: DiCroccoMH@aol.com Subject: Re: GDW's Burma In a message dated 99-06-18 21:04:27 EDT, you write: << Can you offer details ...? Saw this one on the shelf the other day and I've been thinking about it, but can't find any details, reviews, etc. on Web Grog. >> Sure. Burma was published by GDW in 1976. The designer was Bob Fowler and Marc Miller the developer. My copy came in a ziplock with a green rules booklet that included a nice Roger Mac Gowan illustration of a member of Merrill's Marauders on the cover. The components included a 22 by 28 inch three color map depicting most of Burma as well as adjacent parts of India, China, and Siam; 240 counters; a turn record chart; an allied order of battle card; and a Japanese order of battle card. The units consisted primarily of brigades and regiments. Japanese, Indian National Army, African, British, Indian, American, Chinese and Yunnan Chinese are represented in the counter mix. The counters are very clear and bright. They were top of the line for 1976 and still look quite nice in comparison with those published out now. There was only one real scenario. It began in Decmber 1942 and continued for 26 turns through May 1945. The Japanese player receives victory points for occupying hexes in India, while the Allied player gains VP's for the occupation of Rangoon and completing the Burma Road. He also receives VPs for keeping the road open and free of Japanese ZOCs. Rules cover ground, air, and naval movement of units; supply drops; airhead/airfield supply; glider assaults; amphibious assaults; supply (in a very detailed manner); road construction; long range penetration forces; the Indian national Army; and Chinese troops. I believe F&M profiled the game in one of its early issues. At any rate, if you are interested in the Burma Campaign, then I think this is worth a look, at least until The Gamers' OCS opus arrives in the next month or so... Best regards, Jim From: RGS48@aol.com Subject: Re: GDW's Burma, was Re: Looking for games on.... << Can you offer details ...? Saw this one on the shelf the other day and I've been thinking about it, but can't find any details, reviews, etc. on Web Grog. >> This is a regimental level game that, for me, is the wrong scale (There simply weren't enough divisions to make the number of counters numerous enough). The Japanese units are broken down in fictitious "butai" and they don;t operate any differently than do their Allied counterparts. There are rudimentary supply rules for a campaign that was heavily dependent on supply limitations. Fuirther, one of the key victory conditions turns on buolding the Burma Road, so the game becomes as much an engineering game as a wargame. I have tried to tinker with this game but have been unable to shoehorn a system into the game. GDW had a lot of good ideas and a lot of good games (most were hamstrung by badly written rules but that's another story). Unfortunately, BURMA is not one of them. From: Peter Card Subject: Re: GDW's Burma, was Re: Looking for games on.... I bought GDW's Burma when it came out. It has been a considerable while since I had it out and played it, but I rated it pretty highly at the time. The regimental level is about right for the scale of the game, allowing some articulation of divisions, or three high stacks when concentration of force is required. Nothing too extreme. Zones of Control are semi-rigid, and the Japanese infilitration capability allows them to breeze right through the allied lines, capturing the mobility that made them so dangerous. The effect of the Monsoon is captured by telescoping the time scale and drastically reducing movement and combat. In a campaign dominated by supply, the game covers all the essential angles cleanly, and with the miniumum fuss. You need supply units to attack at full strength, and you can burn them to supply isolated units on defence. The Japanese never have enough, but they can capture and use Allied supply units to keep their offensive rolling. You would have to be crazy or Japanese to rely on this, which they did, historically. The allies can draw supply over roads via airbases, giving them a significant advantage. Another feature of the campaign was the use of deep penetration units, inserted and supplied by air. The game covers this nicely, with rules for supply airdrops, "airheads" as used by the Chindits, and both American and Commonwealth deep penetration units. You have to "buy" the Chindits by swapping convential forces for them, so trade offs are required. The Allied player can also use naval landings, allowing the historical capture of Rangoon from the sea at the end of the campaign. Against these Allied advantages, the Japanese player has plenty of tough troops, and the opportunity in the midgame to strike hard into India for the win. The risk he runs is having the Chindits get across his supply lines and strangle him. The American led Chinese forces are a mixed lot, mostly concerned with getting the Burma Road built up to the end game, but potentially dangerous. I fiddled with the rules slightly, adding a divisional integrity bonus. I was young and foolish, but the system is clean enough to take it. Graphically, considering it is a 20 year old design, it looks clean and the map does the job. These days we would expect something altogether more beautiful. I would definitely buy the game, if I didn't already own it. -- ---------------------------------------------------------- email Peter.Card@jet.uk || 100010.366@compuserve.com "But it fell over!" <> Masquerade contestents at Bucconeer hail the winning entry