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A Pragmatic War: The War of the Austrian Succession 1741-1748, 2019, Compass Games.

One of four, soon to be five games using the No Peace Without Spain! (NPWS) system, A Pragmatic War might be the easiest entry into the system in terms of rules overhead, though it is out of print at the moment.

The others are:

No Peace Without Honor! (The Franco-Dutch War of 1672-1678)
Nine Years: The War of the Grand Alliance (1688-1697)
No Peace Without Spain! (The War of the Spanish Succession 1702-1713)

These last three can be strung into one big campaign game encompassing all of the Wars of Louis XIV, The Sun King.

Forthcoming and currently a preorder:

No Peace For Thirty Years! (The Thirty Years War 1618-1648)

The entire series is card driven (two decks, one for events, one for actions). Turns are annual. The game uses point movement, as you can see above. It does a great job of capturing the somewhat formal nature of war during the height of fortification building (the age of Jomini), with securing and besieging fortresses being a necessary prerequisite to moving forward.

I bought this from a seller on the BGG marketplace to complete the four games in the series. Not sorry I did. It's a good simulation of the war, and a fun game besides.

First photo, a view of the entire map at the beginning of Soviet Turn 6. Note that Leningrad and Sevastopol are facing sieges.

Second photo, close up detail of the siege of Sevastopol.

Well, I'm six turns in, so I've got an impression of the game, and I have to say it's favorable.

I posted this one here because I didn't just want to do a review post as an edit to the earlier post, or worse still, a comment.

For the Motherland! (henceforth to be abbreviated as FTM) does some things very well, and quite differently from other Russian front games I've played.

It's basically a UGO-IGO system, that flips the sequence of play on Turn 12 (historical beginning of Uranus/Saturn). In the early going the Germans get an extra movement exploitation phase and go first, starting on Turn 12, the Soviets get that privilege.

The game comes with a pair of double-sided Sequence of Play cards that outline the sequences of play perfectly, complete with rules references by section. Another chart, detailing the Combat Results Table, and a few other frequently used charts are on another card (two copies again). The map is mounted, a single 22 x 34 sheet.

The counters are rounded on 5 sheets (no corner clipping). They appear to be either 9/16" or 5/8". If you've seen the setup of any of Compass Games' other Deluxe Edition games, the presentation is similar.

Once you get the routine down, turns are lightning fast. The CRT has all combat modifiers printed as part of it, so no need to dive into a rulebook for that. The Terrain Effects Chart is in the top left corner of the map (bottom left on this photo).

The supply system is detailed for the Axis (a good reflection of their logistical problems, particularly during Barbarossa, and Fall Blau, a year later), and fairly simple for the Soviets. An interesting innovation (and one I'm just going to encounter for the first time this turn) is the Partisan system. Instead of a fiddly thing a la the various editions of The Russian Campaign, the Soviet simply places partisan counters on Axis supply counters and the Axis then roll a die to determine exactly which units aren't getting supplies that turn as a result (1-3 units per supply counter, total of 5, though only three can be effected by partisans at any particular time at most).

The most interesting thing about the Axis supply system is that Axis units can very definitely outrun their supply units (range of 4 hexes, btw). In this game, this very definitely happened with Army Group Center, and to a lesser extent with Army Group South. The Axis was at the Gates of Moscow by August, but it wasn't until December that they were back in combat supply.

The other interesting thing about the game is variable strength for the Soviet units. When a Soviet unit is adjacent to an Axis unit, the Soviet draws a chit from a cup to determine the Attack and Defense ratings for the unit. If the unit survives the combat, and is able to retreat far enough to no longer be in contact with an Axis unit, the strength chit is withdrawn.

There are three categories of chits, C, B, and A. C are the weakest (all C at the beginning). B is reserved for Shock and Guard Infantry, while A are pretty much Soviet Armor. Even within the three letter categories, however, strength chits are cycled out. Many of the early chits in all three categories have asterisks, which means that if the unit pulls out of contact, or is eliminated, the strength chit is never reused, so the same unit, if it survives a couple of combats, may very well wind up stronger than it initially started.

The CRT is interesting as well. Most results (exceptions are mandatory step loss results, and Attacker or Defender Eliminated results) can be fully satisfied with either a mix of step losses or retreats. So, the defender has a bit of flexibility with most results as to whether he takes losses or retreats.

I've played a number of Russian Front games. At various times, I've played four of the five editions of The Russian Campaign (recommended) including the current Compass Games republish of the Jedko original and GMT's recent publication of 5th Edition. I've also played Compass Games' Russia Besieged Deluxe Edition (recommended), Barbarossa Deluxe by Decision Games (not recommended), and a number of other games on segments of the campaign. If you're looking for a game covering the time period on the Eastern Front (May/June 1941 to May/June 1944), due to the innovative mechanics and the presentation value, For the Motherland! is a great place to start.

What you are looking at here is the opening setup for newish Compass Games - For the Motherland!

It's the Russo-German war from the beginning of Operation Barbarossa to the opening moves of Operation Bagration.

It's a one map game (mounted mapboard, and beautifully rounded counter corners. Two things it does a bit differently than most. First, it flips the sequence of play from Axis goes first to Soviets go first starting with Turn 12 (22 turm campaign game, fwiw), so the Soviets get a double move effectively right around the historical beginning of Operation Uranus. The other thing it does is variable strength for the Soviets. Early on, as happened historically, the Russian side is far stronger on defense than the attack. Gradually, over the course of time, the units improve via a chit pull system, leading them to first be on par with German units, and eventually, stronger.

About to start this one. I'll add opinions when I've played it for a bit.

EDIT:

Sequence of play, which is handily printed front and back on a couple of 8-1/2" x 11" cards, complete with rules references is as follows:

Turns 1-11

Mutual Supply Phase

Axis Movement Phase (includes reinforcements)

Axis Combat Phase

Axis Exploitation Movement Phase

Soviet Movement Phase

Soviet Combat Phase

Joint Admin Phase

Turns 12-22, substitute Soviet for Axis and vice versa. So the Axis has no exploitation movement phase starting in Turn 12, while the Soviets do.

Overrun is built into the rules, costs three MPs to attempt. Note that Overruns are built into the regular combat, and they aren't always going to succeed.

Imperial Elegy - Campaign Game Setup.

Got this in the mail today from Noble Knight Games. It's a card driven game that runs in 7 turns (one turn a decade from the 1850s to the 1910s). It reminds me an awful lot of Victory Games' Pax Brittanica, but that game ran in 4 year turns from 1880 to 1912, and ended with the Great War.

Here, players start post-1848 Revolutions, moving through the unifications of Germany and Italy (if they happen), and move on through the last half of the 19th Century and towards The Great War. Except, The Great War doesn't necessarily need to be Britain-France-Russia vs. Germany and Austria Hungary.

I'm still learning it, but it's a clever design, will probably play it tomorrow. The game will accommodate up to six players, but has a built in solo bot system that can be used to play any European Power (Ottomans, Russia, Austria/Austria Hungary, Prussia/Germany, Britain, and France).

Italy is run by a bot system if unified, and the US can also play a role in the Great War.