Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Three "... a real winner ... a masterpiece ... innovative and unique ... a must-buy!" -Forthcoming Review by Joel Toppen (to appear in Paper Wars) The Habit of Victory When I was given the opportunity to review The Habit of Victory for Paper Wars I jumped at the opportunity. The Habit of Victory (HoV) is the newest offering by the Operational Studies Group. This is the second game to use the "Series 2X" rules set which first appeared with Napoleon at the Crossroads in 2006. In HoV, however, veteran wargame designer Kevin Zucker has teamed up with Mark Herman to bring a fresh look at Napoleon's Polish campaign (December 1806 - June 1807). Kevin Zucker has designed a number of operational level wargames from the Napoleonic era. Mark Herman is well-known in the wargaming community as the designer who brought us the innovation of "card-driven games" or CDGs (We the People, For the People, and Empire of the Sun). In HoV, these two outstanding designers team up to bring us a new innovation: Card Assisted Game. So, while HoV uses the Series 2X rules from Napoleon at the Crossroads, HoV also uses two decks of cards to assist the flow of the game and render an even more elegant grace to the design. The Components: The box artwork on HoV is superb. The packaging design work by Knut Grünitz is first class. Inside the box, you will find two rulebooks: one containing the "Standard Series 2X" rules and one set of "Exclusive Rules." There are also a number of charts and organizational displays, one sheet of counters, and a single 22 x 34" mapsheet. The Series rulebook is laid out very nicely. It is arranged in order of the Sequence of Play which for me helps me to learn the game faster. You can literally punch out the pieces, set up a small scenario (there are 3 small Battle Scenarios), and work your way through the rules. The Series rules also contain an excellent index which greatly speeds things up when you need to look up that rule you thought you read somewhere but can't remember where. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Four The Exclusive Rules rulebook is likewise well crafted and arranged in order of the Sequence of Play. The first 7 pages contain rules which pertain to all scenarios (Battle and Campaign). These rules are necessary to playing the smaller, shorter, Battle Scenarios. I should point out here that the Battle Scenarios do not utilize the cards. Veteran Napoleon at the Crossroads players should be able to play the Battle Scenarios within minutes of opening the box. The remainder of the 34-page Exclusive Rules rulebook contains the rules for the Campaign Scenarios as well as the Scenario setup charts and another indispensable index. My only complaint with the rulebooks is that I don't particularly like to have two rulebooks. I'm playing and think I remember a rule, but which rulebook is it in? This translated into slightly more of a learning curve than I had anticipated. Having said that, let me also say that once you've got the series rules down (and they are relatively simple, the Series rulebook being about 20 pages in length), you'll find the Exclusive rules mesh nicely and things will flow smoothly in play. The counters are gorgeous. Upper echelon leaders have portraits on the front of their counters which I like very much. All information on the counters is readable-no tiny fonts for those with poor eyesight. The color scheme is colorful and looks very nice on the map. Leader and vedette counters are double sided with a generic flag of their nationality on the reverse side (French tricolor for the French or Romanov double eagle for the Russian-Prussian Coalition). This serves to provide a fog-of-war element which is essential to gameplay. When on the map, leaders (inclusive of the formation they lead) and vedettes are placed face-down. In order to identify enemy units, you must move adjacent to them and potentially engage in battle (combat is mandatory for forces in an enemy zone of control) or use vedettes (small cavalry formations) to scout and identify enemy forces. This provides a nice element of tension in gameplay. Combat formations like brigades, divisions, and corps are placed on organizational charts off map which should be hidden from the view of the opposing player so as to maintain the fog-of-war element. Units commanded by a given leader are placed on that leader's track on the organizational display. The organizational display also serves to mark the strength of each combat unit which can rise as replacement strength points are brought in or units are merged, or decline as they take losses from attrition or combat. The map artwork by Joe Youst is also fantastic. The map, in fact, is quite striking. It is both easy to read and looks great on the table. One look at the map and I couldn't wait to clear some table space for it! It looks Napoleonic. It is difficult to explain, but great map artwork like this "takes you back" to 1806-07. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Five Like the counters and the map, the cards also look great. Both sides have a deck of 50 cards. Each deck has its own artwork on the back: The Coalition deck sports a beautiful portrait of General Bennigsen while the French deck has the famous portrait of Napoleon at Eylau. In contrast, the face of the cards is somewhat plain-only a few cards have any artwork on their face. Nevertheless, the cards are very functional and the wording on them is both clear and concise. I'll have more to say about the cards, specifically, how they work, later in this review. Gameplay: HoV follows a standard "I go-you go" format. Each scenario specifies which side, Coalition or French, goes first in each turn. HoV provides two different types of games: Battle Scenarios and Campaign Scenarios. Battle Scenarios are shorter than the Campaign Scenarios, use fewer special rules, and are not card-assisted. They are a great way to learn the core rules, but when compared to the Campaign Scenarios, are not nearly as fun or interesting in my opinion. The Campaign Scenarios on the other hand, are longer, more complex, and are card-assisted. The Campaign Scenarios are three in number: the Pultusk/Golymin campaign (6 December, 1806 - 8 January, 1807), the Eylau campaign (26 January- 13 February, 1807), and the Friedland campaign (4 June - 28 June, 1807). Each campaign can be played to completion in about 4 hours or less if both players are familiar with the rules. HoV also provides a grand campaign (6 December, 1806 - 28 June, 1807) which requires a considerably longer period of time to play to completion. Each turn follows a very specific sequence of play. First, before either player's turn is started, the weather for that turn is determined. The turn track contains the historical weather conditions for that turn as well as a die roll modifier to be used if players wish to dice for the weather conditions (I recommend this approach as it adds more uncertainty to the game). Each player's turn begins with a Command Phase. In this phase the active player receives Administrative Points which he will use to move forces led by leaders around the map. Simply put, Administrative Points represent logistics. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Six Here is where cards enter the game. Each Administrative Point in HoV is now represented by a card (5 APs = 5 cards). Cards are used to move forces about on the map. Each card has a movement allowance for infantry and cavalry on it. When you wish to move a force on the map during the Movement Phase you play a card from your hand. The force in question has a number of movement points as determined by the card played. Furthermore, each card also has a small attrition table on it. After moving a force with a card, the strength point size of the moving force is cross-referenced with the number of cards remaining in the player's hand to produce a number of strength point losses inflicted on the force. Attrition losses can be increased by weather conditions and/or forced marching. Here's one example of how the attrition table works: I want to issue a Movement Command to Bennigsen who commands a force of 11 strength points of infantry and 2 strength points of cavalry. I play the "Sortie" card. This card gives infantry 3 movement points to use and cavalry 4 movement points (signified by the "3/4" at the top of the card). Since Bennigsen's force is comprised of both infantry and cavalry, the force may only use 3 movement points. Once the force has moved, I check the attrition table on the bottom of the card. Assume I have 5 or more cards in my hand at the present. I cross-reference the strength point size of the force, which is 13, with the number of cards I have remaining in my hand which is "5+". The result on the table is "0+". My force suffers zero attrition casualties if the weather is good and this is not a forced march. If the weather is sufficiently bad (like snow or rain, mud, or heat), or if this is a forced march (see below), the "+" indicates I will suffer a +1 attrition strength point loss. In the case of this example let us assume the weather is bad. Bennigsen's force loses 1 strength point. I adjust the strength of one infantry division on Bennigsen's track on the organizational display. So how does one get more Administrative Points/cards? In the Command Phase, the active player rolls dice and consults a chart which will determine how many cards he will draw from his deck. A key concept in HoV is the "Center of Operations," an HQ unit which according to Kevin Zucker represents "the less mobile sections, including field hospitals, parks, commissaries, bake ovens, wagons, scribes, and anything else you wouldn't want with you when in contact with the enemy. The Center of Operations was the terminus of the Line of Communications which led, ultimately, back to France; the furthest point that civilian teamsters would travel." The further the Center of Operations is from a Supply Source, the fewer cards a player will receive-if any. Conversely, if the Center of Operations is very close to a Supply Source, the player will receive several new cards which he will use to move troops. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Seven After receiving Administrative Points or cards for the turn, the active player must play one card as his "Operational Intent" card. The Operational Intent card will serve a number of purposes throughout the turn. For one thing, it card may be used to move a single force later during the Movement Phase. The movement ratings on the card will also be used by any force which uses Initiative Movement, a form of movement which does not require the play of a card (other than the Operation Intent Card), but is rather chancy as a die roll is required to determine whether the force in question can move at all or with all the movement points provided by the Operational Intent Card. Once the Operational Intent Card has been played, the active player may then reorganize his strength points on his organizational display. During this segment, replacement strength points may be received and forces re-organized. The Command Phase is followed by the Movement Phase. During the Movement Phase, cards are used to move forces on the map. These are considered "Movement Commands." As stated above, Movement Commands require the play of a card. Once all desired Movement Commands have been issued, Initiative Movement may begin. To move a force during Initiative Movement, a die roll must be made against the force leader's initiative rating. This die roll will result in one of four things: the force is given a number of movement points equal to the Operational Intent Card played earlier in the turn, or the force is given a reduced number of movement points, or the force is given one movement point, or the force is given zero movement points. Once the Movement Phase has been completed, the Combat Phase begins. The first segment of the Combat Phase is the Forced March segment. The non-active player may now play a single card and use its movement points and attrition table to attempt to move his forces in reaction to the active player. As with Initiative Movement, forced marches must be diced for. Often, this is the means by which forces about to be clobbered can refuse battle and avoid combat. Conversely, a force may be reinforced via a forced march. Two factors will impact forced marches: weather and cavalry. Bad weather makes it easier for a force to exit an enemy zone of control and thus avoid an impending battle. An advantage in cavalry strength points on the forced-marching side also helps a forced-marching force leave an enemy zone of control whereas a disadvantage in strength points will hinder an attempt to leave an enemy zone of control. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Eight After all forced marches are completed, battles are fought. Both sides in a battle secretly and simultaneously choose one of two different types of battle they wish to engage in: pitched battle or pursuit. The Operational Intent card serves a function here as well: some (not all) cards have the word "pitched" at the top. In order to be able to choose "pitched battle" the Operational Intent card played at the beginning of the turn must bear the word "pitched" at the top, or the card used to move adjacent to an enemy force must bear the word "pitched" at the top. A pitched battle will typically result in casualties for both sides as they bang away at each other in multiple rounds. In a pursuit battle, the loser will retreat and the winner will pursue. In a pursuit battle the winner will usually take a few casualties while the loser who retreats suffers casualties in proportion to the length of pursuit. Essentially the losing side will trade space for time. Weather and an advantage or disadvantage in cavalry will impact how many casualties (if any) the retreating force suffers. For example, a cavalry force which retreats before an exclusively infantry force will often times escape without harm after having inflicted a few casualties on the infantry force. Here's an example of a pursuit battle: French General Murat and 3 strength points (SPs) of cavalry bump into a Coalition force during their movement phase and stop. The card, "Conflagration" was used to move Murat's force. This card allows pitched battles. Before the battle type is chosen by both players, however, both sides are given the "approximate" size of the force they are facing in battle (rounded to the nearest '5'). Murat discovers he is facing Bagration with approximately 10 SPs. The French player wisely chooses "Pursuit." The Coalition Player finds he is facing Murat with approximately 5 SPs. He decides he can tolerate a pitched battle and so he chooses pitched battle. Bagration has 1 SP of artillery which fires at Murat but causes no significant casualties, the rain having impacted the result. Next the exact sizes and constitutions of both forces are compared. Murat really has 3 SP of cavalry and Bagration has 8 SP of infantry and 1 SP of artillery (which in HoV signifies heavy guns; lighter pieces being factored into each SP). Murat is attacking so the odds will be adjusted in Bagration's favor to 1-3. Things don't look good for the French! Fortunately the terrain is not bad. Murat rolls a single six-sided die. He rolls a 3 which bears a '3-2' result. Murat loses the battle. Because the loser (Murat) chose a "pursuit" battle, a retreat and pursuit takes place. First, however, the winner (Bagration) loses 2 SP (his end of the "3-2" result). Then, Murat retreats his force 3 hexes (his end of the "3-2" result). Bagration then must dice on the pursuit table to see how far he pursues Murat. For each hex of pursuit, Murat will suffer 1 SP of casualties. Bagration's pursuit, however, will be impacted by: 1) the rain, 2) his lack of cavalry, and 3) the initiative quality of his opponent. Ultimately, only a die roll of '1' will result in a 1-hex advance and any SP loss for Murat. In our example, Bagration whiffs on his pursuit roll. What is actually quite typical of the Napoleonic period: Murat launched a successful cavalry raid on a large body of Russian troops who, due to their lack of cavalry came off rather worse than the French. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Nine Pitched battles in HoV are much more violent and can leave lasting results (a la Friedland), or leave both sides exhausted (as in Eylau). Here's one example: Napoleon moves into contact with a Coalition force during the Movement Phase. The card played to move was "Evasion" which does not allow for a "pitched" battle. Vedettes have informed him that the force he is moving into contact with is rather small. In the Forced March segment, however, Bennigsen forced-marches his large force of 16 SP two hexes in order to reinforce the division which has been approached by Napoleon's force. This forced march is accomplished by playing a "Sortie" card. The attrition caused by this forced march is 2 SP (1 due to force size and +1 due to forced marching). Desiring a showdown, Bennigsen chooses to fight a pitched battle. Ultimately, Napoleon has 1 SP of artillery, 10 SP of infantry, and 3 SP of cavalry. Bennigsen has (after merging his forces), 2 SP of artillery, 14 SP of infantry and 4 SP of cavalry. The weather is fair and the battle is in open terrain. Napoleon's artillery fails to cause any significant casualties. But Bennigsen's artillery inflicts 1 SP loss. Napoleon's total force size is reduced 9 infantry (if possible, I never use cavalry to soak up combat losses as the cavalry are needed for pursuit or in case of disaster, to prevent a devastating pursuit) and 3 cavalry. As his is the smaller force, Napoleon attacks on the 1-2 column of the combat table. Napoleon's luck holds, however, as he rolls a '1' which bears a '2-3' result. Bennigsen is the loser and since he, the loser, chose to fight a pitched battle, casualties are inflicted on both sides: Napoleon loses 2 SP and Bennigsen loses 3 SP. Since this is a pitched battle, Bennigsen must now counter-attack. He does so on the 1-1 column as he is now the attacker and Napoleon is the defender. He rolls a '4' which bears a '2-1' result. Bennigsen's force loses another 2 SP and Napoleon's force loses 1 SP. Again Bennigsen loses. Since he, the loser, chose to fight a pitched battle, another complete round of combat must be waged. Napoleon is down to 6 SP of infantry and 3 SP of cavalry. Bennigsen's force has been reduced to 9 SP of infantry and 3 SP of cavalry. Again battle type is chosen. Again Napoleon again chooses "pursuit" and Bennigsen chooses "pitched" (although he could choose "pursuit"). Napoleon again attacks on the 1-2 table and throws a '3' which bears a '2-1' result. Napoleon's luck fails and he loses. Since he, the loser, chose to fight a 'pursuit' battle, he must retreat 2 hexes. (At this point, the pitched battle becomes a pursuit.) Bennigsen's force loses 1 SP but may pursue. Artillery cannot be a part of a pursuit so Bennigsen detaches General Gallitzin with his 4 SP of cavalry to pursue. With a die roll of '1', Gallitzin's cavalry pursuit successfully presses Napoleon's men closely and at the end of his 2-hex pursuit, Napoleon loses another 2 SP-one of which is his artillery SP-his heavy artillery train! The butcher's bill of this particular battle is: 6 SPs lost by the French and 6 SPs lost by the Russians. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Ten Finally, the active player's turn comes to a conclusion with the Morale Phase. Here, France's "Paris Morale" track is adjusted. Paris Morale can increase due to the French capturing certain key locations on the map (like Warsaw), or decrease due to enemy proximity to certain locations (like the strategically valuable crossroads of Allenstein). Paris Morale can also be increased when the French win a critical victory in battle or decrease when the French lose a critical victory in battle during the turn. The Card Assisted Game System: Some people love Card Driven Games; others dislike them. HoV is not a Card Driven Game. It is a Card Assisted Game. Cards are important, yes, but unlike in a CDG, in this game a player is not going to be totally hosed by a "bad hand." For one thing, cards are primarily used to move forces. The movement ratings on the cards in the 50-card deck have only a few very low movement point cards (which have very low attrition losses) and only a few very high movement point cards (but with higher attrition losses). Most cards have average movement ratings (and thus, average attrition losses). The cards in HoV have some additional more subtle uses. As stated above, one card play each turn is mandatory: the Operational Intent card. All other card plays are optional. In addition to the movement and attrition information, each card has an instruction or "event." When a Movement Command is issued via a card play, the player may choose to additionally trigger the event. A number of events aid in besieging citadels, others aid in movement or combat. Some card instructions have an "Order Acceptance" rating on it. In order to trigger the event, a die roll must be made to see whether the orders are received and carried out. A failed die roll results in the loss of one strength point from the ordered force (representing losses due to blundering and confusion). But if successful, these cards allow a player to perform some special actions. For example, the "Probe" card allows the recipient of the order to end its move in an enemy zone of control and then immediately (i.e. before the Combat Phase) reveal all adjacent enemy units. This intelligence could then be used when moving other forces as the Movement Phase continues. What the cards ultimately do is provide a nice layer of chrome with no cost in playability. In fact, the cards greatly streamline movement and attrition (when compared to other games in the series). The orders acceptance mechanic on some of the cards adds uncertainty and tension. All this makes for a very clever and playable design. _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . _ _ _ ... _ . Operational Studies Group News April 22nd, 2008 Page Eleven Conclusions: The only things I don't care for in the game are minor indeed: The card faces are the same color for both sides. I would have preferred that the Coalition's card faces use a different color or shade of color than the French. This does not affect play in any way. It is purely an aesthetic matter for me. The other issue is the two rulebooks. As stated earlier, however, once the core rules from the Standard Rulebook are digested, everything meshes very nicely. I like this game. A lot! Habit of Victory has given me many hours of enjoyment while providing some great historical insight into a fascinating period of history. The Campaign Scenarios are all very well balanced. Furthermore, the Exclusive rulebook, in the introduction to each campaign, provides the players with some tips as to what they should do in the campaign. This information eliminates the "what do I do now?" dilemma that confronts many of us when we set up a new game. _One question that some gamers might ask is, "How does it play solitaire?" Let's face it, ours is not exactly a mainstream hobby. Finding human opponents is not always easy and many of us simply enjoy the historical insight provided by a game. In Habit of Victory, like a block game, the fog-of-war is a key element. Still, in my experience, I found it to play surprisingly well solitaire. Habit of Victory is a real winner. Congratulations to Keven Zucker and Mark Herman for crafting a masterpiece. Habit of Victory is innovative and unique. If you are a wargamer even remotely interested in the Napoleonic era, Habit of Victory is a must-buy you won't regret! OSG REPORT OPERATIONAL STUDIES GROUP PO Box 50207 Baltimore, MD 21211 USA www.Napoleongames.com Kevin 1(410)367-4004