Four Lost Battles & War in the Ice

Just purchased Four Lost Battles by Operational Studies Group.

Four Lost Battles is a return to the "quadrigame" format encompassing four battles (as individual games that can be linked together) in the autumn of 1813 resulting in the Battle of Leipzig. The game is an update of the classic NLB/NAL system, introducing Hidden Movement, Baggage Trains, Pontoon and Bridge Trains, and other rules from OSG's "Days" Series. Set at the same scale as Napoleon's Last Battles -480 meters per hex and one hour turns- the game retains the Command System of Commanders and Corps "Officers."

This is the first "traditional" (hex & counter) wargame to catch my attention in a long time. This looks like a very interesting game and I am looking forward to playing it sometime soon.

I also acquired a "previously owned" copy of SPI's War in the Ice from a seller on ConsimWorld. War in the Ice is a "stand-out" game for me from the heydey of SPI. Something about the game designed really appealed to me. That something was the logistical element of the game, where offensives across the Antartic had to be supported by the building of bases to support the advance. Nothing new, I'm sure, but somehow, in this game, it all came together for me. One of the those games I regret not buying when I had the chance. Finding an unpunched copy at a reasonable price is like an early Christmas present!

I financed the purchase of these games by selling some more of my Magic the Gathering cards on eBay.

More New Games!

Friday was a very good day, new gamewise... On the way home after work I stopped by my FLGS, Viking Hobby. There I found the new re-print of RA. In addition to RA, I also picked up the latest issue of Strategy & Tactics magazine which includes the solitare game Catherine the Great. In my continuing search for card games of War, I looked for a copy of NUTS! As it turns out, Jessica had moved it to the sale section of the store so I was able to get the game for half-price. (This is only the South portion of the game. I'm still on the lookout for the North set of cards.)

Arrving home and checking the mail, I found that Flaschenteufel (The Bottle Imp) had arrived from Germany sooner than I expected. Also arriving sooner than expected was the first of two packages coming from Amazon.com. This one contained Medici and David and Goliath.

I visited my parents on Saturday (yesterday) and as usual I brought along a box of games. During the day we played Zilch (a dice game), Diamant and Walk the Dogs... Zilch is a family favorite that has attained the status of tradition. It's not my first choice of games to play, but we always have fun playing it. Diamant went over like a lead balloon. Maybe I didn't teach the game right or maybe Mom was expecting a game with more strategy. Either way, I was told to not bring Diamant back next time! (Too bad, it really is a light, fun game.) Finally we played Walk the Dogs which Mom really enjoys. It's a good fit for my family. It's a light strategy game that is simple to teach and fun to play.