From: Roberto Chiavini Subject: One more review Blood & Iron (Pacific Rim) I've approached this ten year old game (but more than twenty years old in its original project, according to the words of designer Mike Beninghoff) with trepidation and more than a simple curiosity, as I'm in the final stage of design of my game on the campaign of Bezzecca (a part of the Italian-Austrian war of 1866, that it's a scenario in this game too). And after a couple of try, I must say that the game is not bad, but not too exciting (probably a little out of fashion for today design standards) for the approach that mr.Beninghoff have decided to take, based totally on morale. The game has six different scenarios for the various war fought by Prussia and Austria in the period 1864-1870, involving also the Danish (in the Schlewig-Holstein scenario of 1864), Italy (with France in 1859, solitaire in 1866) and France (the Franco Prussian War of 1870). There is also the scenario for the Seven Weeks War of 1866 that put Austria and Prussia one against the other. A very rich menu for the fan of the period, as no other game that I know of has so many different and variegated scenarios as this design, at least at this scale (35 km each hex, other than the Danish War scenario that use a smaller scale at 10 km hexes. Graphics are dated, but not unpleasant (it's a good game even in this field, considering its 10 year old birthday), while the system is probably too simple to totally satisfy today's tastes: each turn is divided in a movement phase, a combat phase, a rail movement phase (sort of a strategic movement phase, but a very interesting touch for a game on this historical period) and a naval combat phase (used only in the two 1866 scenarios, for the war in the Adriatic Sea between Austria and Italy). Between the movement and combat phase of the active player, the opponent has his rally phase (a nice touch, as you may see below). Each unit is rated for combat, movement and morale. There are HQ units (important for attack coordination and for improved stacking values - 15 points instead of the usual 12) and leaders (another nice touch: a few units have a special leader unit assigned, that favorably modifies this unit combat and morale rolls), plus rules for supply train (only the Prussians) and artillery. Movement is standard, with corp-sized units in HQ range (2 hexes, 3 for the Prussians) exerting a ZOC, while combat is a little more elaborated: even if the game use a ratio CRT, the only results that you obtain are morale check for both sides, with positive or negative modifiers. The only way to eliminate a unit is to overrunning it (with really high odds - there are a few incongruences in this odds reading the rules or the CRT printed on the map, but not too serious) or to inflicting a second disruption result. In fact, each time the unit checks morale it rolls two dice and if the modified value is greater than the morale printed on the unit, it becomes disrupted (or is eliminated if already disrupted). So, the trick of the game is to attacking a unit and pursuit it in the following turns to obtain another disruption result and eliminate the unit. There are also other interesting option, in particular the one to reinforce an ongoing combat (as an HQ may try to makes a battle last two or three turns) with other units adjacent to the attacking or defending HQ. Supply is pretty standard (you have to trace a line of supply up to five hexes to a city in your initial territory, or to an HQ or to a train), like also the rules for replacement, garrisons and so on. I've tried the introductory scenario and the Danish War scenarios and both of them are at least playable, even if the situation seems at the start not good for the Danish (but the victory conditions are particularly hars for the Austro-Prussian). The 1866 Italian-Austrian scenario is probably too favorable for the Austrian, but a good Italian player may have his chance to win at least a marginal victory. All in all, a dated approach to a series of almost unheard of little wars (certainly unsimulated at the time of publication, now more known even in the wargaming hobby, thanks to a handful of daring designer and the DTP field), but not without its merits even for today players. I rate the game 6 1/2 in a 1-0 scale.