From: cmahoney@readysoft.es (Colin Mahoney) Subject: Re: Spanish Civil Wargames On Thu, 5 Mar 1998 21:38:28 -0500, you wrote: |> I don't remember seeing abything about Ebro from Vae Victis of Spain. |> |> Does anybody know anything about this one? |> Yup, I've got that one. The components are really nice, but have a few glitches. The counters were printed back to front, which doesn't matter too muc as a lot of them are two sided anyway. They *are* extremely clear ans easy to read, which is just as well as they carry wuite a lot of information. There are some 1400 of them. The board is in four A2 parts, which placed together just about completely cover my gaming table. Charts are included on the boards; I think in this case it would have been more convenient to have them separate. They are glossy, nicely printed, and an accurate portrayal of the terrain - as far as I can tell from modern maps of the area. Other components include set up and reinforcement charts depicting the units and when they arrive, all on good quality paper. The box smells wonderful when you open it... Individual units repesent batallions, companies, and headquarters, with air units and transport also provided. Command control is not emphasized as much as in the Alea "¡No Pasarán!" series. So far so good. Now for the problems. The rules are exceedingly badly done. They are unclear, and the layout is inefficient - many sections being repeated on various occasions, which just adds to the confusion. Some rules are completely unintelligible - I'm thinking of those for using recce aircraft to extend the range of artillery - but, however, I think an experienced gamer/gruop shouldn't find it too difficult to work out a 'sytem' and get a decent game out of it. One more thing, according to the scenario instructions the Republican HQ sets up some 100km or so inside Nationalist territory... Some examples of play are given, but not many. More extended examples - as in "¡No pasarán!" would have been very useful. Scenarios represent various phases of the full battle - so you get the Republican breakthrough, the battle of attrition, and the Nationalist final assault, as well as the full campaign game. I would have liked to have seen smaller introductory scenarios - the attacks on Fayón and Amposta, say, or the struggle for the Sierra de Pandols/Cavalls. One of these days I might make some up, just to get used to the system - this is another game I have but haven't played. Overall, I'd give this game a qualified recomendation. If you're into the period, and this scale of game, I think you'd like it. I do think it represents good value, at least here in Europe - I suppose in the US things might be different. It's a shame that it apparently didn't get the development it deserved. Hopefully "La battalla de Teruel", due out soon I think, will sort out many of the problems. Finally, if you're into SCW, I can't recommend too highly the above mentioned Alea games. "¡No pasarán! represents very good value, with 900 counters and two different battles (carretera de Coruña and Jarama), with one map each. Alea magazine no24 contains a scenario depicting the invasion of Mallorca, with special rules for amphibious landings. The full game is required to play this,