Today is the 95th anniversary of the battle that is the subject of the game Dire Heroes.  As a thanks to those who have supported the game, I’m offering up a bonus extension of the game that consists of Advanced, Optional and Experimental rules.  I think this will be my last effort for the Great War.  Although there are so many more battles that could be authored on, the nature of the war is actually quite difficult to make an engaging game of.  World War II on the other hand… 

Until then though, I hope you enjoy this bonus offering – Dire Heroes, the Advanced, Optional and Experimental rules.

Cheers!

It is time to start thinking about what to get that wargamer for the coming holiday season. In light of that, I have some suggestions based on the games I have played and enjoyed. Here I break them down in terms of what that special someone likes and what they will likely want next.

Let’s start with those who have yet to play Memoir ‘44, my suggestion – Memoir ‘44! It’s a great game that will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment for 2 players.

Ok, ok….if you are on this site, chances are you know about Memoir ‘44 so let’s see what is a good idea after that. There are a lot of expansions that I can suggest here but it would take up the whole post (see the Supplies page for ideas there). So my recommendation for the M’44 fan is the – Memoir ‘44 Campaign Book:Volume I. This one adds 50+ new scenarios and ties them together in campaigns and Grand Campaigns. The Normandy Campaign is playable with just the base game of Memoir ‘44 (authored by yours truly).

For more Memoir ‘44 players, try the Overlord expansion. It allows up to 8 players and makes for a different play. You’ll need any one of the Battle Maps to accompany it for the full experience (Hedgerow Hell or Tigers in the Snow or the new Sword of Stalingrad).

For those M’44 players who want to get a little deeper into wargaming I strongly suggest Tide of Iron. It’s a much more challenging game but with more control, it feels a lot less random than M’44. If they already have Tide of Iron, and enjoy it, I recommend any of the expansions that have come out, they are all good (see the Supplies page for more). Tide of Iron also has more of a multi-player support with up to 4. Be warned though, it is more time demanding than M’44.

For something different yet still accessible I really enjoyed a couple from the Axis & Allies series. Axis & Allies:D-Day introduces wargame sequences through the use of cards. While Axis & Allies:Battle of the Bulge has a fluid front and deals with the classic wargame problem of supply. Though these games have a limited replay value (not scenario based) they are still a great addition to any collection.

Looking for a good multi-player wargame? I would suggest the following…

Conquest of the Empire is set in ancient Rome and is a fun classic that offers two ways to play (Classic and II). The components are amazing (and right now, the price is amazing!).

Viktory II is another excellent multi-player game that is in the vein of Risk but plays out much better.

Well, that about covers off what I would suggest for the game players holiday wishlist.

While many of you know that I am a big fan of games (ok, wargames more so) what you probably don’t know is that I was trained as an animator.  I recently discovered a website that allows me to upload some of my designs so that they can be made into t-shirts.  The site is pretty cool.  It allows you to make a custom t-shirt at an affordable price.

With the ‘Grognard’ design it can be put on any color or type of shirt.  You can add in text if you like (some suggestions…’Armchair General’, ‘Wargamer’, ‘I will take over this board!’ etc…).  You can even customize the back of the shirt and put more text on there.

I thought some of you might have some fun with this…I sure have.

Enjoy!

Here is my link – Greenbear’s Shirts

Brass Hats is a light turn based strategy game that is quick and fun to play.

Loosely based on WWI there are a number of battles you can get into by downloading the Brass Hats demo.  I came across this game a couple of weeks back while looking for a time filler.  It hit the spot perfectly.

Starting with the tutorials, the demo guides you through 9 levels to get familiar with the variety of ground, air and sea units.  Showing you how to move, transport and fight these move along fairly quickly.

From there, it’s on to the Versus mode.  You can play 10 matches against the computer, a hot seat friend or even online (never did go online myself).  The computer AI was fun but fairly predictable at the normal level (will have to play again on a more challenging setting to get a good feel for the AI).

This is a shareware game and if you purchase it, you can play the campaign.  You get the campaign map (pictured above) that gives you the option of where to fight next.  As you progress, you collect ‘cards’ that can be played during battles with different effects.  From Gas to Mud to Medics and the Blitz, there are a variety of cards that will help you in the battle.  As you gain experience, your card hand increases.

There was no continuity of forces from battle to battle unfortunately and I did experience occasional screen flickers but all in all this was a fun game that was worth the download for the demo alone.  The Campaign was good and challenging especially when there were fog of war battles.  I look forward to trying it again on a more difficult level of AI.

Download the Brass Hats demo from here.  Available for both Mac and the PC. If you get the full version, tell ‘em Brummbär sent ya! Cheers!

Just a quick note that GottaCon is now over and I’m exhausted.  Not only did I stay up late each night but I caught a bug and come the Sunday, I was out of action!

I had a great time though…got in some M’44 (though, only a brief stay on Sunday didn’t see as much gaming as I would’ve liked).  Had a great time playing Shadows Over Camelot on Friday night (I dressed up for the occasion in my kilt).

Unfortunately I didn’t get many pictures after all, too busy gaming!  Hope to do it again next year.  Thanks to everyone for coming out!

Looks like everyone is waiting with baited breath for the upcoming DoW game, Battle Lore. It certainly looks exciting but with over 200 miniatures I can tell my paint brush is going to get a work out. But for the time being…we’ll have to wait for more details.

In the meantime, I’ve been taking a bit of a break from Memoir (don’t worry, I’ll have some exciting news there soon..sign up for my newsletter to get the latest!). Having a few occasions lately where I have had a few people over I have had to look for a good multiplayer game. The standard reply from everyone is “well, we can always play risk”. Said in an almost surrendered tone. Then there was of course the obligatory Axis & Allies…but no one will play that with me since I figured out the sequence (thus the problems with a pre determined set up).

No, we were looking for something more. After being so familiar with the modularity of Memoir I find it difficult to play something without that aspect. We also had 6 people and some of them were somewhat new to gaming so we couldn’t get bogged down in rules. While Risk was rule light, not many people enjoy it besides who wants to be the first person out in Risk?!

Enter Viktory II.

I found this game somewhat by accident. But what a find! It had everything that we needed in a multi-player wargame. It is modular (in fact, the exploration of the map is one of the coolest aspects). It was quick and easy to set up. It had a light yet very functional rule system. Excellently crafted figures, and a whole whack of them (many more than are actually needed which is nice for a change). A brilliant scheme to track the number of units you should have. It even has an option for keeping eliminated players in the game. The only downside is…now I have hundreds of figs I have to paint!!

Viktory II lives up to it’s promise of being a fun fast paced wargame. There is no way one can simply turtle and in the end emerge as the winner. This game has emphasis on the attack. However it’s not a mindless attack, you need to be very strategic with how you go about attacking or you may find your forces on their heels.

I highly recommend Viktory II.

You can find out more by visiting their website – Viktory II.