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Banish All Their Fears by David Fox and Ben Hull

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Banish All Their Fears by David Fox and Ben Hull

There was very little material available on Banish All Their Fears before its publication, and so it largely flew under my radar. However, when some images came out right before the game was printed and shipped it triggered something in whatever the wargamer equivalent of my lizard brain is and I got weirdly excited about it. I reached out to GMT Games about a review copy, and they kindly provided me with one. Then it sat on my shelf (as these things do) while other games took up my time. In those intervening weeks I started to develop some concerns about the game. For one thing, I finally tried Ben Hull’s Musket and Pike series and struggled to really get invested in it (despite how beautiful the latest version is). Worse still was the buzz around rules and printing issues on BoardGameGeek (BGG). I hadn’t found Musket and Pike’s rules that easy to follow, and if these were worse, I despaired that I would never actually play it. Nevertheless, when I managed to clear some other games off my schedule, I determinedly set about reading the rulebook and setting up the game. Over the past few days, I have been slowly playing through the Blenheim scenario (chosen because it seemed to have fewer errata issues) solitaire, and I have been pleasantly surprised by what I found. I think this could be a real gem of a game, and certainly one I prefer to Musket and Pike, but I do also have some reservations. I think it makes the most sense to start with some of my reservations first, as they inform much of my experience playing Banish All Their Fears.

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SDHistCon 2024 Second Front - We Intend to Move on Your Works Panel

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My podcast co-conspirator Pierre and I were invited to present a panel on We Intend to Move on Your Works at the online San Diego Hist Con Second Front in 2024. In this panel, chaired by Andrew Bucholtz, we discuss the origins of this project, how we balance thinking critically about games with our own personal game preferences, and how we feel about the project so far. This was originally streamed live at the convention, but it is available as a recording on YouTube.

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SDHistCon 2024 Second Front - Interview on Reviewing Games

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I was recently lucky enough to be interviewed by Andrew Bucholtz from the team behind San Diego Hist Con about how I came to review historical games and my own philosophies and opinions on reviewing tabletop games. The interview was recorded live as part of their online SD HistCon 2024 Second Front convention and the recording has been saved to their YouTube Channel.

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Successors (4th Edition) by Mark Simonitch and Richard Berg

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Successors (4th Edition) by Mark Simonitch and Richard Berg

Originally published in 1997 by Avalon Hill, Successors was built on the foundation laid by 1993’s We the People, the first Card Drive Wargame (CDG), but its most immediate inspiration was Mark Simonitch’s Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage released in 1996. There’s something about this era of CDG design that really stands out when looking back - the somewhat Go inspired element of political control and the emphasis on point to point movement always stand out to me. I’ve never played Hannibal, although I’ve heard it’s amazing, but I am very familiar with We the People and I could see both its influence and how Successors moved beyond that simple foundation to make a far more robust game. Successors also brought something new and exciting to the table: more players. So far as I’m aware this was the first multiplayer CDG and it laid the groundwork for Here I Stand, one of my all-time favorite games. Given this history, as well as the fact that it was co-designed by Richard Berg, a designer I am fascinated by, I was very excited to finally play Successors. The deluxe 4th edition from Phalanx Games had sat on my shelf for at least 18 months sadly neglected until earlier this year when I finally managed to get it down, punch it (find out I was missing a piece), and play several games of this majestic and sharp masterpiece of wargame design.

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SPQR: Deluxe Edition by Mark Herman and Richard Berg

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SPQR: Deluxe Edition by Mark Herman and Richard Berg

I am a massive fan of Richard Berg’s Men of Iron system, but I bounced off Great Battles of the American Civil War (GBACW) pretty hard. This meant that I approached SPQR, the second volume in the Great Battles of History series, with both excitement and trepidation. Men of Iron and GBACW were originated by Berg, while in contrast Great Battles of History started as a Mark Herman design before it became a collaboration in subsequent volumes. I want to recognize that up front, because in this review I will probably be talking a lot about Richard Berg because it is his hex and counter designs that I am more familiar with – I know Herman’s card driven games better than his traditional hex and counter designs.

There is no denying the legacy of GBoH, I can see its legacy in many of the games I have played, including Men of Iron and Ben Hull’s Musket and Pike, and tracing that lineage as I was playing it was really interesting. This is a system with an impressive legacy to go with its significant heft in terms of scope and rules weight, I can see why it has more than a dozen volumes and a significant fanbase. In my case, I had an interesting time playing SPQR and I’m glad I’ve tried it, both for its influence on later designs and for aspects where I think it is still superior to those games, but at the end of the day I don’t think SPQR is a game for me. In this post I hope to explain what clicked with me and why ultimately I decided to pack it back into the box and pass it on to someone else.

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Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath

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Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath

I was slightly worried when I first opened Stu Horvath’s Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground (Monsters from here) that what I had gotten all excited for was essentially an encyclopedia. Not that the existence of an encyclopedia of tabletop RPGs would be a bad thing, but they tend to be incredibly dry reading and I wasn’t excited to tackle one from cover to cover. Thankfully, while the format resembles an encyclopedia the contents are distinctly their own thing. The feeling that Monsters most closely evokes is that of having been invited into the basement of a genial but intense RPG aficionado to be walked through his collection one item at a time. The book oozes a sense of familiarity and enthusiasm that make coverage of even the driest, or most bizarre, RPG supplements a fascinating trip down a branch of the hobby’s history.

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Forbidden Lands by Free League Publishing – a GM’s review

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Forbidden Lands by Free League Publishing – a GM’s review

Forbidden Lands is a fantasy roleplaying game with an emphasis on exploration and survival that uses the Year Zero system from Free League Publishing. After a bit of a hiatus from tabletop RPGs last year I finally managed to scrape together a group of friends with availability for an in-person RPG. We’ve in theory been weekly but as is the way of these things it’s usually more like bi-weekly. The players are a mix of seasoned veterans and total newbies to tabletop roleplaying, and collectively we have all been having a great time. The Year Zero system is easy to understand but offers plenty of depth and the world of Forbidden Lands strikes a balance between offering a deep background to explore while also leaving space for improvisation and creativity. All of this comes in an excellent package that could be a great entry point into the hobby or, alternatively, a great new system for people who have only played D&D before. I think I’m in love, basically.

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Korea: The Mobile War by Jim Dunnigan

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Korea: The Mobile War by Jim Dunnigan

First on my docket for operational games on the Korean War is the original, Jim Dunnigan’s design from 1971. This doesn’t seem to be a particularly beloved title these days, based on BGG ratings and anecdotal evidence I’ve gathered on social media, but as the first game on the topic (as far as I’m aware) and one that was published within twenty years of the war’s end, I couldn’t help but want to try it. I can’t say that my experience was comprehensive, I played the opening scenario and just dabbled with the system, but I have some initial thoughts just from pushing counters around for a few hours.

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Wargaming Korea: 1950-1953

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Wargaming Korea: 1950-1953

Partly inspired by some potential changes in my own life and partly because this year marks the tenth anniversary since my grandfather passed away, I’ve found myself with a newfound interest in the Korean War. I’m resisting the urge to turn this into a research/game project of a similar scale to We Intend to Move on Your Works, but I intend to at least dip my toe in and I would like to have a little structure as I dive deeper. With that goal in mind, I recently read The Coldest Winter and I’ve a short reading list to tackle over the rest of this year. In terms of games, I’m focusing only on operational games that look at the whole Korean peninsula – nothing tactical for the moment. I don’t want this to balloon into a huge life consuming project, so I’m only planning to play at most a handful of games.

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My Grandpa's War

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My Grandpa's War

Today marks the tenth anniversary since my grandpa died. He was 91, he had recently had major surgery and ended up going to hospice where he died peacefully. I was 3,000 miles away doing my PhD in Dublin, Ireland. Few people had as large an impact on me as he did. He taught me how to ride a bicycle but more than that he was just there for most of my childhood being himself. I have, unsurprisingly, been reflecting on him and his impact as this anniversary approached. When I was last in Virginia I found copies in my brother’s house of some memoirs he wrote in his final years, and I thought this would be a good time to share one: in this case, his memory of his time at war.

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The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam

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The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam

Due to a confluence of factors best discussed elsewhere, I’ve recently experienced a surge of interest in the history of the Korean War. While digging around looking for books on the topic, I heard a recommendation for David Halberstam’s book on the podcast Wargames to Go. Luckily my local library had it, so I picked it up, not fully realizing that it is nearly 700 pages long. This is a pretty dense book with a lot of terminology and specific military information but Halberstam’s background in journalism shows as he breaks down complex information well and keeps the story engaging without being too overwhelming. Overall, The Coldest Winter is a very good book, but I also think it is a book with some very clear limitations.

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We Intend to Move on Your Works ep. 9: GCACW

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For episode nine of We Intend to Move on Your Works Pierre and I dive deep into Great Campaigns of the American Civil War with Stonewall Jackson’s Way II. We have a lot of thoughts in this one, I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we did recording them!

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Norman Conquests (Men of Iron V) by Ralph Shelton (and Richard Berg)

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Norman Conquests (Men of Iron V) by Ralph Shelton (and Richard Berg)

I am a certified, card-carrying Men of Iron obsessive so of course I was excited when I heard a new volume in the series was coming out. That excitement was dampened slightly by the knowledge that since original designer Richard Berg had passed away, he would not be continuing the series himself. Still, carrying on that legacy was an all around positive even if I had slight trepidations about what that would mean for this new entry. I am pleased to report that while it is not a perfect game, Norman Conquests is an admirable addition to the Men of Iron series. At time of writing, I have played all but two scenarios in Norman Conquests and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am saving the remaining scenarios because I like to savor my Men of Iron experience. It’s not like we get a new entry every year, you know.

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Stonewall Jackson’s Way II (GCACW) by Joseph M. Balkoski, Ed Beach, Mike Belles, and Chris Withers

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Stonewall Jackson’s Way II (GCACW) by Joseph M. Balkoski, Ed Beach, Mike Belles, and Chris Withers

Few wargame systems have as much veneration from their fans as the Great Campaigns of the Civil War. However, despite its dedicated fans it still manages to feel somewhat obscure - a series that is often out of print and intimidating for new players to get into. For those in the know, this system has been a touchstone of the hobby since Stonewall Jackson’s Way was published by Avalon Hill in 1992. The series was originally designed by Joe Balkoski until 2001. When Avalon Hill’s catalog was bought up by Hasbro the series was taken up by Multi-Man Publishing (MMP) who worked with other designers (including Chris Withers and Ed Beach) to update the old Avalon Hill games into new editions with revised rules and graphics.

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Triumph and Illusion: The Hundred Years War Vol. 5 by Jonathan Sumption

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Triumph and Illusion: The Hundred Years War Vol. 5 by Jonathan Sumption

First, a confession: I have not read volumes 2-4 of Jonathan Sumption’s staggering multi-volume history of the Hundred Years War. I read and reviewed volume one over a year ago but with the release of volume five last year I decided to skip straight to the end. Since I’m currently writing a book on the end of the Hundred Years War this was the volume most relevant to my current research and I wanted to get right to it. This is also the part of the war that has received the least coverage in English, so I was very excited when I heard it was finally coming out. Most English language histories of the Hundred Years War skip over the very end of the war with only the lightest of detail – everything that comes after Jeanne d’Arc is summarized in just a few pages. I was keen to read Sumption’s lengthier take on both la pucelle and what followed.

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Podcast: Shiloh: April Glory by Tom Dalgliesh and Grant Dalgliesh

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In the final episode of season one of We Intend to Move on Your Works, Pierre and I finish our journey through Shiloh’s woods by discussing Shiloh: April Glory from Columbia Games. This is another classic Columbia Block game, similar to their game Shenandoah that we covered on episode two of the podcast. How did we like it compared to Shenandoah and the other Shiloh games we played? Listen on to find out!

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Tanto Monta: A Story of Disappointment

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Tanto Monta: A Story of Disappointment

I think it is safe to say that Tanto Monta: The Rise of Ferdinand and Isabella by designer Carlos Diaz Narvaez was my most anticipated game of the year. I adore Here I Stand, and Tanto Monta took that core system and applied it to the years right before Here I Stand begins, which includes the Italian Wars, a topic I am fascinated by. It also decreased the player count from six to four. Getting six people together who are all willing to spend a day playing through the Protestant Reformation is probably the single greatest barrier to playing Here I Stand, so this was really promising. The back of the box promised the same complexity as Here I Stand and a play time of 3-7 hours, which we should always take with a grain of salt but still it looked good for this being an excellent way to get a dose of more Here I Stand more often. It also came out at the perfect time – my copy arrived just in time for a gathering of myself and my fellow We Intend to Move on Your Works partners in crime. The four of us convened in Pierre’s house for me to teach them all Tanto Monta, expecting a day of epic gaming with great friends. To quote a somewhat infamous review of Virgin Queen: it was a fucking disaster.

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Learning Musket and Pike by Ben Hull

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Learning Musket and Pike by Ben Hull

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the Musket and Pike Dual Pack by designer Ben Hull as part of the BoardGameGeek wargame Secret Santa this past Christmas and I am very excited to have it. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for this era of warfare and the GMT multipacks are a great way to get a big helping of a system for not too much investment in money or space (the former obviously wasn’t really a concern since this was a gift, but the latter always is). On top of that, the Dual Pack is a stunning production. The maps all have this lovely linen finish, and the counters have new art in a woodcut style that I adore. Also, there are double size counters and I love double size counters. It’s just a very nice object to hold and manipulate, always something I look for in a game.

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2023 in Review - Top 7 Favorite Books

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2023 in Review - Top 7 Favorite Books

Every year I set myself a target number of books that I want to read before the year is over. For the past few years, that target has been 50 books and with only one exception I’ve managed to exceed it. However, while I managed to meet my target in 2022, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with how I did it. Reading 50 books didn’t leave much room for the kind of doorstopper reads that I enjoy from time to time. So, with that in mind, I decided to lower my target for 2023 to 40 books - and at the same time to be less stringent on what constituted a book for the purposes of recording my reading. I managed to read exactly 40 books, just barely making my target, but I also read some hefty tomes so I’m pretty happy with the result. Just like for 2022, I’ve decided to pull out some of my favorite fiction and non-fiction I read last year and discuss them, in brief, below.

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Preview: Rebel Fury by Mark Herman

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I was lucky enough to be invited by Fred Serval to be his opponent for an early preview of the final version of Mark Herman’s latest American Civil War game: Rebel Fury. We played the Chickamauga scenario, which Mark recommends as the best starting point in terms of length and complexity. Rebel Fury expands on his game Gettysburg, originally published in C3i Magazine, but has a few neat changes. The combat system has been pretty substantially overhauled, with more factors to consider around unit positioning and support between units, but the change I liked most was how headquarters now have to postures they can assume, one which benefits them in battle but limits their command range and one that allows for a wider range of movement but cannot add a DRM in battle. This is a promising looking system and I’m keen to try more. You can see our full play through of the first two turns (just under half a full game) of Chickamauga here: