Mark Pitcavage - Jun 12, 2005 7:04 pm (#25680 Total: 25716) 10% of all pomposity goes to charity Wacht am Rhein, Jr.: First Impressions, Part 1 of 2 Wacht am Rhein (II) by Decision Games Caveat: Please understand that I have not played this game yet and anything written about it is only a first impression based primarily on visual inspection and a first look at the rules. Nothing here should be taken as a full-fledge game review or a definitive opinion on anything. Also, this is long—2600 words. I apologize for that. But I should note that the best thing about this game is mentioned last, at the end. Well, I got the new Battle of the Bulge monster game a week or so ago, but didn’t have time to give any impressions on it. So here they are, better late than never, I suppose. This game is not really a reprint of the original SPI Wacht am Rhein, but rather a completely new game at basically the same scale, designed by Joe Youst and published by Decision Games. I was pleased to see, though, that Joe Y. was respectful enough of the original Wacht to credit himself with “Game Redesign,” and to make sure that Joe Balkoski and Redmond Simonsen (RIP) were properly given credit for the first edition. That is classy (there are many instances in wargaming where this has not been done). The Box. A lot of people don’t understand why I even talk about game boxes, but I do think they are important. They are the first part of a game a prospective customer will see. This is especially important for a company like Decision Games, which still does have something of a presence in retail stores. The box top is very faded and unimpressive, consisting of a few photos of men and tanks with no particular rhyme or reason about their selection or placement. There is absolutely nothing about the box top which would attract me to check out the game at all. Luckily, the box bottom is much better, comparing favorably to those from many other companies, such as MMP. Whoever put it together was smart enough to use it to highlight the game’s strengths, which are its visuals. So there are map and counter samples for all to peruse and gawk at. The informationals include scale and components, and also a description of the nature of the game—including mentioning the all important fact that there are six smaller scenarios that do not require space for all four maps. The few sentences about what the “new edition” contains that is different from the first edition are probably not needed, as few buyers will have the first edition anyway. My one gripe about the box bottom is the use of the U.S. Army Center for Military History map. Given that professional mapmaker Joe Youst is the person who designed the game in the first place, I don’t know why this (uncredited) map would have been used. Okay, now opening up the box. Counters The first thing I saw upon lifting the cover were counters. Oodles and oodles of countersheets—nine countersheets, to be exact, which I hope is what the game was supposed to have. These are *very* attractive counters, far more attractive, frankly, than the “standard” Beth Queman counters (which tend to use fonts I don’t like). There is nothing unusual about them—this is not Against The Odds here—they are functional and attractive. They are loaded with numbers—the average infantry unit has five values on its front, not to mention other information, and this doesn’t even include a movement factor, which does not appear on the counter. Counters are NATO style, except for the recent fad of using armor silhouettes for armor formations, a fad I detest. Here one of its weaknesses are displayed, as some units which contained both armored and motorized subformations have both a NATO icon and an armor silhouette scrunched together on a single counter. The counters themselves are mostly blandly colored, but this is probably a good thing. Formations do have colored bands to help identify them, though. Unfortunately, the SS and Fallschirmjaeger get their own special colors. All other nationalities only have one color for all their different troops. Much ado has been made about the fact that these countersheets have “corner nibs” as opposed to “side nibs,” which Decision Games have had until recently, and which are heartily detested in some quarters. I have not punched out any of the other recent Decision Games games I’ve purchased recently, so I haven’t experienced their sidenibbedness myself, but I have had bad experiences with side-nibbed counters by other companies such as MMP, so I can understand why some might not like them. All things considered, the counters get a big plus. There is, alas, one big exception to that, which so far as I can see, is the major detracting point in the game. There is a *lot* of counter errata—a whole page worth, in fact. Apparently, many of the countersheets were printed far in advance of the game actually being done, with the result that there are mistakes and other problems with some of the counters. One page of the rules is dedicated to telling players how to go through their counters and “fix” them. In most cases, there are errata counters provided with the game, and it is a matter of identifying the problem counters and throwing them away and replacing them with the “right” ones. However, I am very sorry to say that not all of the counters with errata are replaced. For some counters, you have to “remember” that their values are different than what is printed (or mark up the counters yourself). One unit, the 9th SS Recon Bn, was left entirely out of the game. We are told to “look for correction counters sometime sometime [sic] in the [sic] future S&T.” It looks like the number of these counter problems is few, certainly few compared to the overall number of counters in the game. But this is one of the things that gamers absolutely hate the most and it is a shame that it happened here. I am not sure why the counters were printed so far in advance of the game itself being finalized. Rules After the counters, you get to the rules. There are two rules booklets, a general rules booklet that is 48 pages (!) long, and a scenario book which is *also* 48 pages long. Without bothering to go downstairs to my original copy of Wacht am Rhein to doublecheck this statement for accuracy, this means that the new Wacht is likely to be considerably more complicated than the old one. This does include some six or seven pages of designers notes, too, though. Luckily, however, the type is not too small, and there are numerous illustrations and examples to help the reader learn the rules. At first glance, most of the rules should be fairly familiar and understandable to veteran wargamers. For novices, there is a lot to digest. When the movement rules themselves run on for several pages, you know there is some meat there. I have not read through all the rules, so I stress that I cannot form definite conclusions about any of them. Some rules, however, do seem to be more trouble than they are worth. For example, there is a rule which allows armor units involved in combat to declare that they are “in a standoff role,” and get various changes to the combat. To me, this is complexity without clear payoff. Hopefully, there aren’t too many things like this in the rules. Combat is also fairly complicated; you cannot even intuitively figure out the combat chart without reading the rules. One thing I do like is the supply rules, which require a real supply chain (although thankfully, you are not toting all the jerrycans yourself, as you do with OCS games). I also like the ability to create independent subformations and unit breakdown/buildup. There are also leaders and random events featured in the game, which I’m not crazy about, and wish they had been optional. Upon first reading of the rules, I was struck by how free of chrome they were—the rules concentrated on system mechanics. This is especially unusual for Bulge games, some of which tend to be almost more chrome than system. However, it turns out that all the chrome is there, but for some strange reason the chrome is all in the scenario booklet. There are ten full pages of these chrome rules. I am of mixed mind about this. On the one hand, excluding this stuff from the regular rules booklet makes it easier to learn the basic systems without being distracted by exceptions and special rules. On the other hand, it is obviously poor organization, and players will, I think, often have to struggle to find out where a rule that they half-remember actually is. Many of the chrome items could safely have been included as optional rules, too. I think it is always important to keep in mind that the larger a game is, the easier it is for rules complexity to derail it; this is one reason why many monster games have relatively simple rules systems (this was the case with the original Wacht). The basic rules system in Wacht II is NOT simple, and the heavy layers of chrome add an additional layer of complexity. This is worth considering. Mark Pitcavage - Jun 12, 2005 7:06 pm (#25681 Total: 25716) 10% of all pomposity goes to charity Wacht am Rhein, Jr.: First Impressions, Part 2 of 2 The game comes with a number of scenarios. These include: 1. Fight for Kesternich. The attempt by the U.S. 78th Division to seize Kesternicht on Dec 14-15 (BEFORE the Battle of the Bulge actually begins). IT is basically a learning scenario. It only lasts four game turns and has a small number of units. 2. To Save Bastogne (or, if you are a Twilight Zone fan, To Serve Bastogne). This is a “two to three hour scenario” for tournament style play. It uses a small section of one map and not very many units. 3. Ride of the Valkyries: 6th SS Panzer Army Attacks. This is a big scenario that uses most of one map. It deals with the initial attack of the 6th SS Panzer Army. 4. A Beautiful Skyline: 47th Panzer Korps vs. 110th Infantry Regiment. Another one-mapper. It looks relatively small. 5. A Hard Left: 7th Army and the Southern Shoulder. This is another fairly small scenario, using one map and taking only three days (of historical time). 6. March to the Meuse. This basically combines the various Dec 16 scenarios above into a bigger two-map scenarios. 7. Sparring on the Sauer. A scenario starting December 21, after the first few days of the offensive. Uses part of one map. Relatively small, it looks like. 8. Nuts! Another Dec 21 scenario, involving, you guessed it, Bastogne. Uses one map. 9. The two preceding scenarios can also be combined into one larger scenario. 10. Last Gasp for the Meuse. Depicts the lunge of the 47 Panzer Korps (variously represented as 47 or XLVII in the game) for the Meuse. It looks like it uses two maps. 11. LVIII PzK to the Meuse. Two maps.. 12. 5th PzA & the Meuse River. Rules to combine the two preceding scenarios. 13. The Fortified Goose Egg. I assume this involves the battles around St. Vith. Two maps. 14. The Nibelungen: End of KG Peiper. Peiper meets his justly deserved penultimate fate (his justly deserved ultimate fate will have to wait for his assassination, years later) in this one-mapper. 15. Black Christmas: Big scenario combining three of the above scenarios to show the northern sector of the offensive from Dec 21 to Dec 26. 16. Campaign Scenario: We Cannot Force the Meuse. Big four mapper from Dec 16 til Dec 26 or “extended into a Full Campaign Scenario.” 17. Bastogne-Redux. The final battles for Bastogne. Bigt scenario. One map? Can’t tell. One problem with these scenarios is there is no one place that tells you the maps they use. 18. 6th Pz Army Turns Out the Lights. I don’t know how many maps. 19. Feat of Arms: the US Army Prevails. Hey, the good guys win. Combines the two previous scenarios into a big four mapper. 20. Full Campaign Scenario. Everything for the first month of the battle. As you can see, that’s a buttload of scenarios (far more than the box bottom admits). One glaring omission, though, is the complete absence of scenarios featuring the reduction of the Bulge. Basically, almost half of the battle is missing, since the Allied counteroffensive is not covered. Now, I guess I can’t really complain, because 20 scenarios is a lot. However, dare I say it, but I would like to see an expansion kit…. Play Aids Luckily, there are not a whole bunch of charts and displays that you need for the game (unlike Pacific War and many other monsters). The charts you do get are nice. There are two big-assed combat and terrain charts that are visible by even the most farsighted. There are some smaller charts, on which are things like the random events table and German transport table. There is even (gasp) a *color* turn record track. None of this is, say, Streets of Stalingrad quality, but it is all better than the usual quality of Decision Games materials. Maps Okay, I said I would save the best for last, and for those of you hardy enough to read to the very end, here it is: the maps are absosmurfly incredible. I knew I was going to buy this game last summer when I saw a playtest copy of the maps at Origins 2004. They are just incredible. Words do not do them justice. There is nothing fancy or gratuitously artistic about them—they are very functional. But the level of detail is just incredible. You will actually *feel* like you are moving battalions around in the Ardennes. It is that realistic. You can go on the little paths, get frustrated by the skimpy road net, battle through the hills and forests—it is all there. I mean all there. If you got an electron microscope you would probably notice that the individual trees are marked. This is certainly the most impressive Bulge map I have ever seen and it practically screams at you to play the game. This is not the seductive French mistress of wargaming maps, it is the latex clad German dominatrix of wargaming maps, ordering you to get down on your knees and worship it, and you will. The only problem is that its very detail, combined with its huge scale, may make noticing some of the terrain features a little problematic, especially in the center of the combined map, farthest away from aging wargamer eyes. In particular, the penalty hexsides in constricted terrain hexes may be difficult to spot. When playing, double check your opponent’s moves to make sure no one is missing some nasty terrain feature. Also, the maps are unfortunately printed on glossy paper (although not high gloss, thank goodness), so glare can also sometimes be a problem. Conclusion Well, as I said, this is a first impression, and hey, when I start to play the game, I may discover that it sucks. But I’ll tell you what, with the exception of the counter screw-ups, this is one classy looking game and it looks extremely promising. It costs a whole lotta dough, but unlike some other games (including some from this manufacturer), all the money is in the box. Nobody skimped on this baby—not the designer, not the publisher. You get high quality contents and a buttload of scenarios. Who could ask for anything more? Well, the box wasn’t big enough to include an opponent. But with a game this purty, you shouldn’t have any problems finding one of those.