Review of COMMAND 35: Mason/Dixon & Balkan Hell:
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Let me begin by acknowledging that I am one of those who thought SPI's
Dixie was a good idea gone wrong, strangled somehow by the firm's
game mill.  So I am an aficionado of the "Second American Civil War" and
other alt.hist.  

XTR has a good game here.  There is room for lots and lots of fun
variants too. This one arrived about a week ago and I've been able to get
through 2 of its 3 scenarios solitaire thus far and the '95 scenario once
FTF.  Basically, it posits the CSA winning the "first" ACW with
re-matches in '17, '40 and '95.  Designed by Chris Perello and developed
by Ty Bomba.

For a monster, counter density for the scenarios is surprisingly low.
One standard size Cmd mapsheet (with the Bosnia game cleverly printed
on its reverse -- so all those who want to play both games
simultaneously, need another copy), one table & charts card and 538
counters (not all in play at once).  Map is generally stylized with easily
recognizable terrain: cities represented by dots, outsized rivers and
such, and covers a good chunk of N. America west to about Denver.

Units are 2-step divisions, 1 step regiments and brigades.  You get 
all sorts of flavors: paratroops, marines, infantry, light inf., 
trucked inf., motorized inf., mechanized inf., cavalry, tank ('17), 
armor, riverine, airmobile, mech cav, trucked light inf. and 3 flavors 
of arty.  NATO icons except for ships, tanks and planes which are 
silhouettes.  Each counter has attack factor, defense factor and 
maneuver rating (more on that later).  Player turns cover 2 days for 
the '95 scenario or 10 days for the others.  A full turn series covers 
about a month:

Air phase
Naval phase
First game turn: First player move/combat  Second player move/combat
Second game turn
Third game turn
Production phase.

Game complexity I'd guess is about 4.5 on a scale of 10: relatively easy
for beginners (especially if guided through it) but with enough quirks in
its mechanics for grognards).

Generic movement allowances by unit type.

One must take cities with VP values to win different levels of victory.

Easy production and supply rules --- Resource points are received each
production phase and are spent to produce new units, replace
destroyed ones, enhance ops or can be saved.  Trace LOS to various
sources.

Interesting characteristics:
Supply can be traced through enemy occupied hexes -- when stacked
fewer than hex max.
Stacking in excess of hex max. is allowed w/ those units being "in
reserve"
Maneuver ratings have an interesting impact on combat: if each attacker
expend less MPs than their maneuver ratings, the attack is considered
"prepared" and gets benefits.
Combat makes use of multiple dice with additions and subtractions to the
number of dice used rather than the more usual individual drms (more
dice being worse)
Combat results has the most varied use of EX that I've ever seen, but it
works: AX, HX half exchange, EX, LX low exchange, SX super
exchange...
Certain units must advance after combat into the opponent's hex.
Similar advances create "pockets" of defenders with effects on
move/supply.
Air and naval ops are pretty stylized.  The air system reminds me of the
GMT system in Korea 1995.  The naval system is akin to that in Seven
Seas to Victory.
Weather (snow & hurricanes) have terrain and movement effects.
There is a semi-independent Native American nation and counters for Central
American and Mexican units -- CSA-allied.
If one moves a GHQ, all friendly units are OOS for movement.
One uses defense strengths as a rule in figuring exchanges.

The three scenarios are lots of fun.   Since unit setup is non-hex
specific, every play can explore different strategies.  1995 covers a
higher tech CSA strike against USA without Naval and Production
phases.  It is the quickest game with very few counters; 1917 has a
USA strike south for N. Orleans.  1940 is the longest -- a
German-oriented USA vs. the Allied CSA.

Quibbles: There was an unfortunate number of typos throughout the
rules -- some impacting play.
3.4 Each player sets up six of the 12 Sequoyah (Nat Amer) units.  The
first player to do so is considered the invader, the other the protector of
Sequoyah.  Does this mean each player hovers over the map, waiting for
the other to place his units?  We guessed this sentence referred to the
movement of units into Sequoyah.
6.6 Air supply does not allow and eliminated to be placed in the Eliminated
Units box.  We guessed "an eliminated unit"
7.3 The number of corps markers is/is not a design limit.  We guessed is.

Command 35 also contained a not-so-mini-game Balkan Hell, Ty Bomba's
take on what might've happened in Bosnia-Herzegovina if the
Croat/Bosnians tried for a military win in fall 1995 vs. the Bosnian Serbs
et al.  As someone who did much research for a possible game on this
subject, let me start by saying Ty certainly got it right.  This game would
certainly make an interesting tool for some of our local media denizens
who suppose themselves Bosnian experts.

Also, this is a nice, simple game with no ZOCs, no replacements or
reinforcements but plenty of interesting rule twists.  One map: the
reverse of Mason Dixon with a largely stylized map of Bosnia (but plenty
accurate in overall terrain -- by "stylized" I mean if you're looking for a
nice topo map of the area, you're in the wrong game).  352 counters
which are wonderfully large (for my ham-sized fingers) with
wonderfully large numerics and NATO icons (for my weak eyes) and on
the reverse, wonderfully large setup hex numbers.  All have attack,
defense and movement factors.  Lots of color (green, gray, black, gold,
red, blue and white units) as benefits the different force match ups.  The
rules say theres a player card as well: we guessed this info ended up
on the map because there was no card in my game.

All units either mech or non-mech with one or two steps but lots 
of interesting types: special forces, static militia, light infr, 
mountain infr, road motorized light infr, anti-tank, cross-country 
motorized special forces, arty, road motorized infr, combined arms, 
armored infr, tank, heliborne sf.

Winning is fairly straightforward but a bit out of the ordinary in that at
game start, the Crot/Bos starts with 91 VPs.   If they reach 121 by game
end, they win. 115: Serbs win.  One wins or loses VPs instantly for
taking or losing a town or city anywhere on the map.  If certain units are
elminated or certain areas taken, one gets VPs as well.

Turn sequence is basic IGO/UGO with a twist, the rebel serbs mech and
Yugoslav special forces move in the middle of the Crot/Bos turn.  So it
goes Crot/Bos move; rebel serb mech/sf move; Crot/Bos combat; then
serb combat, serb movement.  Game ends after 9 turns or a bit earlier on
a die roll meaning a UN ceasefire is imposed.

Supply is traced traditionally: units can be OOS or in one of two 
flavors of supply: defensive or full.  Stacking has restrictions for 
different nationalities together.  Movement is pretty traditional with 
the caveat that hills are the rule across the map, there is little 
road net, and river valleys serve as conduits to movement rather than 
blocks.  Just scanning this map was eye-opening for me to imagine the 
attempted movement of any sort of NATO heavy armor.   Interesting use 
of markers to denote rail lines "cut" by Serbs.  Combat is pretty 
traditional: results are in step losses.  An interesting twist is 
without ZOCs units need not retreat in any particular direction, 
allowing retreats into good positions.

Special rules cover arty, anti-tank units, special forces, "safe havens,"
Bos command limits on multi-hex attacks and rebel Serb tanks.

This game is easy to play and pretty timely.  Makes Command 35 a heck
of a bargain since both this design and Mason Dixon are eminently
playable.  However, it just screams for a future variant with NATO/UN
reaction force units vs. various local setups.   BTW, I forgot to mention
NATO airpower is abstracted into the game on the Crot/Bos side.

Doug Murphy