From: Markus Stumptner Subject: Vae Victis #7 - Abbeville 1940 Yesterday I received Vae Victis #7 in my mailbox. Since it's not yet March, that would make it the least delayed game magazine on the market, but since it doesn't have to cross the Pond, that would be unfair. It definitely holds the record for the fastest mailing ever, though. It's poststamped March 10, that means it arrived more than three weeks before it was sent! Apparently the French postal service is preparing the field for the next strikes so the delays will appear smaller :-). Anyway, the game is about the French counterattacks against the German bridgehead at Abbeville at the end of May, 1940. 1 hour per turn, 500 m per hex. The usual nice map, the usual iconic :-( counters. About 100 unit counters, lots of status markers. I've only glanced at the rules so far. The sequence of play is a bit Balkoski-like: Both players roll for initiative, the winner tries to activate his multi-unit formations (usually by rolling 7 or less on 2 dice). If he fails or passes, the other player gets his turn and so on. The French have mostly tanks, some inf and art, while the Germans are mostly infantry with lots of AT guns and no tanks at all. The usual mix of boardgame and miniatures articles, a quarter of the countersheet is taken up by ersatz counters for a miniatures campaign discussed in an article about the Mexican- American War (I believe there's a scenario about the battle of Palo Alto). Markus