michael arrighi - 06:00pm Nov 28, 2001 PST (#9087 of 9092)
2001 Ukraine '43 PBEM Tournament - Round 1 in Progress: 
http://barbara.michael.home.mindspring.com/uk43tournament.html

All opinions expressed herewithin are solely those of the author.

Out of the Wrapper for me is Winter Fury: Finland vs the Soviet Union:
1939 (WF) (Avalanche Press Ltd). I have Blood on the Snow: The Battle of
Sumussalmi, and was looking forward to WF.

The box is the usual high quality art associated with Avalanche Press.

The game map is 24 x 32 inches. Upon opening the box, I discovered that
the internal dimensions of the box were 11 3/4th by 9 1/4 inches. Yes,
you guessed it. The map was folded so that it is 12 x 8 inches and too
long for the box. Unfortunately, it was "just shoved" in the box adding
a very nice ripple effect. So, the map has its own version of hills and
valleys. This also requires a refold to fit it in the box, to remove the
3-D effect.

I was hoping the map art from Blood on the Snow would be improved and
while its different in WF, the effect on my poor tired eyes is still
similar to one of those 'magic 3-d' posters. There are numerous green
triangles, representing trees, with blue triangles representing the
tree's shadows on a white background. It is nearly impossible to see the
hex sides. While it is an improvement over the Blood on the Snow map,
the improvement isn't substantial. For me, the map art is inadequate.
There is a small graphic on the back, so I wasn't totally suprised but
the map on the back is not a exact reproduction of what is inside the
box. The map does induce, in me, some eye strain.

There is one change to the counters that make the Finnish counters are
little more difficult to read. The background crossed ski's designating
the Finnish Ski capable units are a medium blue, which makes some of the
numbers obscured. In Blood on the Snow the crossed ski's were a light
grey, which did not obscure the numbers. Otherwise, the counters are the
usual excellent production one expects from AP.

To play the game you need the errata from the Avalanche Press web site,
and be certain to get the PDF files, which is different from what is on
the html web page (when I last checked). The weather table and the
movement costs to enter and exits ZOC are missing. Also, the DRM to the
weather roll is not printed on the turn record track as stated but it is
in the PDF errata file. Unfortunately, you can not play the game without
the weather table, as this table determines the number of activaction
chits allowed.

There is some confusing terminology when the rules refer to the the
'dots' as indicating the number of steps but then states that Soviet
units with 2 dots (ie two steps) do not have a reduced strength units.
The dots refer to the stacking costs, which is the number of steps for
the Finnish units. However, Soviet units have at most 2 steps

There is a statement on the back of the rules that indicate that any
reproduction, including electronic, is prohibited.

The rules are in a two column format, a change from the prior games
three column format. I prefer 3 columns but 2 columns has larger type
and may appeal to a novice gamer (if the game were complete).

Overall, the production quality is step down from past Avalanche Press
efforts.

There is a nice game mechanic where Soviet armor units may be captured
by the Finnish player, when they take a 'hit.' The Finnish player
captures the units and may use them at a reduced strength.

There are only 9 and half pages of rules, a set of charts and tables on
inside and back cover of the rule book, 140 counters (a half sheet), and
a single map (24 x 32).

However, all this aside, Winter Fury does look to be a fun game, once 
you get the errata.