From: Doug Murphy Subject: Quick Review: Competitive Edge 12 (long) OK, so I'm feeling prolific today. What before my wonderous eyes did appear the other day but CE12! I thought Jon Compton would never do it. Congratuations to him for a fine issue. 30 pages. $7.95 cover price. His editorial unfortunately rants against wargamers who diss nonwargames; I see his point but thought he deserved more a "we did it!" screed but it's his nickle. His industry news is a tad stale: Ted Raicer at Command and John Kranz opening Virtual Wargamer page. He reviews a few comp. games, profiles a game store in FL and many weird, weird RPG supplements (it's a sick RPG world out there, folks). There's designer notes and a strange guest editorial which is meant to be humorous about FASA and the Battletech trademark -- the author claims FASA has a trademark infringement suit possibility against mechanized units in the USArmy. This is obviously written by a sci-fi gamer who hasn't a clue that mech units of all sorts existed PRIOR to FASA and B'tech existence which kind of torpedos the humorous point... There are two games; a Battletech clone called Battlechrome that of all things reminds me of GEV. A relatively simple game of 'futuristic anime battle machine combat' -- roll init., move & opp fire, resolve combat, transform certain units, move air units. 3 scenarios between a few of these 'mechs' and convent. forces. There are relatively few counters as multiple counters cover the same unit with diff. levels of damage -- careful upon clipping folks. The counters are clip-out on a centerfold of heavy paperstock and in a really nice touch, they printed both maps with only OSS ads on the flip sides -- cost them an extra four pages to do it this way but unlike other OSS games, you don't have key tables or other map/rules on the flip of the gamemap. The 'mech game is simple with some interesting chrome -- it has the added advantage of being playable essentially on any basic hex map -- terrain is simple ; roll agianst a to-hit number depending on the weaponry; the target gets a saving roll (nothing I haven't seen in similar min rules). Minor nits: photocopy the counter manifest before clipping or you'll be challenged to link unit with damaged partner (or one could glue 'em back to back...you need good eyes to read unit names and some info, but nothing too serious and the counters are well-laid out. The conv. unit silhouettes use an overhead view which are impossible for these old eyes to distinguish from one another but it's not too bad. In a nutshell, this is a simple, playable game that after some minor memorization will be easily playable. A d6 is required. For grognards, the core of this issue is a very interesting solitaire game called Der Kessel about the last days of the Stalingrad pocket. A d6 is required. As designer Gary Graber noted, his game starts where others end. I've tinkered with it a little. Basically, you're von Paulus -- do you attempt to breakout, stay put, consolidate your pocket or watch and wait for opportunities to arise. 11 x 17 map with interesting graphics. The pocket is broken up into little boxes, linked by lines a la House Divided. There are 18 steps in the sequence of play; draw chit for random event, weather, roll on tables for Luft. & relief force comittment, determine Inititiative Pts, resolve Airlift, conduct Unit Upkeep, perform Actions by expending Ips and supply, resolve Ger. attacks, Hoth relief force progress, remove Hit markers, check if Sov start the Final Offensive, resolve Sov attacks, adjust Strategic Indicators, check for German collapse and Victory. Consim's own Danny Holte playtested it along with Eric Pass. I'm interested in their opinions. I'm going to have fun with this -- certainly gives you more perspective on Paulus' dilemma! In my opinion, the mag is worth the price if only for this intriguing game. Doug Murphy From: Dave Kohr Subject: Re: Quick Review: Competitive Edge 12 > Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 12:34:15 -0600 > From: Doug Murphy > Subject: Quick Review: Competitive Edge 12 (long) > > OK, so I'm feeling prolific today. What before my wonderous eyes did > appear the other day but CE12! I thought Jon Compton would never do > it. Congratuations to him for a fine issue. 30 pages. $7.95 cover price. Unfortunately, it doesn't say if another issue will ever appear, much to the consternation of subscribers like myself. > The 'mech game is simple with some interesting chrome > [....] > In a nutshell, > this is a simple, playable game that after some minor memorization will be > easily playable. A d6 is required. It would be a lot more playable if the rules were complete. I found some gaping holes, such as, what do DeathWebs really do, why are some attack values repeated on some BattleFrames, and why doesn't the "rescue" scenario use those hostage counters? I realize I might be able to puzzle through these things, but there's no excuse for OSS trying to cram the rules into 3 pages and leaving out important explanations in the process. That's why I asked previously if anyone else had been involved in blind-playtesting this game: that's the best way to catch this sort of problem. _Der Kessel_ was blindtested, and it shows in the difference in rules completeness between the two games. As you said, _Der Kessel_ is an intriguing game. I particularly like the way it represents the trade-off between using resources to break out of the encirclement, and weakening the overall German strategic position. Dave ---- Dave Kohr Silicon Graphics, Inc. Mail Stop 22L-178 (415)933-8694 From: Doug Murphy Subject: Re: Quick Review: Competitive Edge 12 -Reply >>> Dave Kohr 08/01/97 12:58pm >>> Unfortunately, it doesn't say if another issue will ever appear, much to the consternation of subscribers like myself. --- Dave, I had written my sub off a year ago and was stunned to see this issue. I'll believe issue 13 when I see it. > The 'mech game -- would be a lot more playable if the rules were complete. I found some gaping holes, such as, what do DeathWebs really do, why are some attack values repeated on some BattleFrames, and why doesn't the "rescue" scenario use those hostage counters? I realize I might be able to puzzle through these things, but there's no excuse for OSS trying to cram the rules into 3 pages and leaving out important explanations in the process. --- Well said. I'm not that much interested in the subject, but frankly guessed at the effect of much of what you mentioned. ..._Der Kessel_ is an intriguing game. I particularly like the way it represents the trade-off between using resources to break out of the encirclement, and weakening the overall German strategic position. --- It certainly gives me more of an appreciation for Paulus' predicament. Doug Murphy