CLASH OF ARMS GAMES Quick: Name the best wargame company around today. Not an easy question to answer is it? "Best" can be defined many different ways: best graphic design, best playability, best historical accuracy, best rules completness, best value for the money. One wargame company stands out in al of these areas and may in fact be the best wargame company around today, that company is Clash of Arms Games. Although Clash of Arms Games as been around for many years, few people seem to be familiar with the company or its product line. The company started by redesigning and reprinting many out-of-print and highly-acclaimed Marshall Games Napoleonic titles, then branched off and producted a number of well received games such as ... and .... One of the company's recent releases is Edelweiss, volume III of the Winter Storm series that details the battles of Army Group South on the Eastern Front on a huge scale. The Campaign ____________ "My generals have all read Clauswitz, but know nothing of war. We need the grain of the Ukranie...and the oil of the Caucasus." --A. Hitler Edelweiss was the German code word for the third pahse of their "Case Blue" summer offensive, and the operational plan for the invasion of the Caucasus in late July of 1942. The German objectives were dictated by both military and economic imperatives. Hitler's obsession with oil to fuel his expanding Riech made the petroleum works at Maykop, Groznyy and distant Baku the primary targets of the German advance. Only one of the major production targets was ever taken, and no significant ecenomic benfit was realized due to the massive damage there. Still, Hitler saw a virtue in denying the Soviets the use of the fields, and continued to press for operations aimed at securing unconquered areas to the east and south. On the military side, the Germans hoped to secure all the Black Sea ports to neutralize Soviet naval operations there, and persuade Turkey to join the Axis alliance. These goals were never achieved. A combination of terrain, supply problems and tough Soviet reistance brought the German offensive to a standstill like a wave breaking against the rugged mountains of the Caucasus range. Further, the German adventure in the Caucasus tied down two entire armies which might have intervened decisively in fighting to the north around Stalingrad. By the time the Soviets launched the winter counter offensive in November, the german position in the Caucasus had become a major liability, by early January they were in full retreat to the north, in a race against time for survival itself. (From the Introduction of the Exclusive Rules) The Components ______________ Edelweiss comes packaged in an attractive bookcase style box that falls somewhere in size between a standard SPI-style bookcase box and a similiar monster game box. The multi-color cover art shows a soldier scaling a mountain with a representation of an Edelweiss flower in the background while the box bottom is covered by a portion of the map and a description of the game. It may seem a tad silly to spent time describing the box, but the point here is that Clash of Arms cuts no corners. Their attention to detail and prefection in the graphic presentation of their wargames is refreshing and very much appreciated! Let's move on and see what's found inside the box itself. There are 720 beautiful die-cut and perfectly centered counters on heavy cardstock. Clash of Arms has earned a great reputation for its elaborate counter art and Edelweiss does not disappoint! Unit commanders are depicted individually in artwork done from real-life still photographs. Military units are broken down into seven different types: Combat, Support, Headquarters, Irregulars, Transport, Aircraft, and Naval. In addition to a wealth of combat and supply information on each counter, each military unit has a small insignia in the upper left hand corner showing its actually historical battle standard! Not only is this visually appealing, but its also a tremendous aid in keeping units organized by parent division during game play. The maps are equally impressive. These maps are without question some of the most detailed, functional, and visually appealing maps to appear in any wargame in years. Those of you longing for the days of SPI monster games with their huge sprawling maps will not be disappointed! The four 34" x 22" maps cover the area from the Black Sea/Sea of Azov down to the Caspian Sea in the east, and from Rostov down to the Turkish frontier and the Caspian mountains in the south. My only complaint is a minor one, apparently the printer used the wrong ink on the middle map of my copy and a pipeline that should have been blue is black instead. Hardly noticable and in no way detracts from the gorgeous artwork and intricate design of the mapboard. Also inside are two very well written rulebooks with a Historical Commentary (one set of Standard rules, and an Exclusive rulesbook for Edelweiss.) Two 17" x 11" Army Organizational Charts and a Charts and Tables booklet printed on heavy cardstock are used as play aids and combat/terrain effects charts. The rules are written in classic SPI style and broken down into shaded and unshaded rules. The basic game can be learned quickly by reading the unshaded rules, while the shaded rules add chrome and much more detailed to the game. This is a very nice touch since both the standard and optional rules are listed under the same section, there is no need to hunt through the rulebook trying to find out what part of the rules the optional rules have changed - its all on one page! The Exclusive rules are done in the same manner and include four scenarios ranging from an introductory one-map scenario to a full blown campaign game that would take days to finish. Physically, Edelweiss is truly a work of art and a standard for other wargame designs. Initial reports on playability and the game's mechanics from players on the GEnie network have been very favorable and in a future of Simulations Online we'll print an in-depth review of the game. Game Design: John Schettler Game Development: Warren Kingsley, Hnery Robinette Map Research: Rick Barber, John Schettler Graphics: Rick Barber Historical Commentary: John Schettler Production Coordination: Bob Pigeon, Stephen Rawling Box Cover: George Wolstenholme Charts & Tables: Cynthia Rawling Typing: Carolyn Quattrone Playtesting & Collation: Vince Baron, Chip Bickley, Jim Butler, Brady Dalton, Gerald Kapuscik, Warren Kingsley, Adrian Page, Geoffrey Rawling, Stephen Rawling, Henry Robinette, Tony Rogers, John Schettler, Ed Winble, Dale Woods Edelweiss should be available at your local wargame store, if not then scoll the owner and place your order with one of these fine wargame mail order companies: THE RECON COMPANY THE WEEKEND WARRIOR Military Hobbies 8116 Van Noord Avenue P.O. Box 4201 North Hollywood, California 91605 Clifton, New Jersey 07012 Tel. 818-988-1441 Tel. 201-365-1469 or order direct from Clash of Arms Games: CLASH OF ARMS GAMES Box 668 King of Prussia, PA 19406 Tel. 215-935-7622