From: OHara Walter Subject: Mini Review: The Last Crusade CCG Well, I bit on the CCG trend with DIXIE, which I found compelling enough to play a few times and collect most (but not all) of the first set. I really don't give any of the myriad other CCGs much or my attention or gaming dollar. I was mildly interested in Battalions of Fury/Fire/whatever it was, due to the historic interest. Then I read the severe panning it got on the list and elsewhere so I didn't bother. I wasn't likely to invest in a card game after Dixie... until The Last Crusade came out. Frankly, I'm impressed. The game mechanics are easy enough. One guy plays the Axis, one the Allies (translate: Americans and Germans). Each starter deck comes with a number of German equipment cards, a number of German "special" cards, ditto for the American, and a number of terrain cards. For the simple two player game, each player buys (randomly) three terrain cards to place in front of himself and another line is set between this one (randomly). The player sets up an "airfield area" to his left, a "headquarters area" in front of him (just behind the nearest terrain line), and a "supply depot" on his right. Each player gets to choose! his first six starting unit cards, which deploy in the front lines. Reinforcements arrive in the HQ area. The HQ is the "flag" in this chromed up variant of "capture the flag." The victory objective is to capture or destroy the enemy HQ. That may sound simple but it isn't. The card interplay is where this game really shines-- there is enough variability and odd counter-measures you can achieve through card play to rival Magic:the Obssession. Each unit card represents a platoon sized combat element-- infantry, green infantry, armour (specific types), artillery and airplanes. Air cards operate differently from the ground cards-- they move *over* terrain, not through it, down special "air corridors." The range of air units is unlimited BUT special AA cards can shoot at planes as they roar overhead. Each unit card is rated vs. Infantry, vs. Armor, vs. Air and for defense. Cards are played face down unless a succesful recon is played or combat in enjoined. There are also special cards, which can add a combat factor in a certain area (e.g., "Machine Gun teams" can add to the "versus Infantry" and "versus Airplane" firepower factors) or accomplish a wide range of effects. Some of these are amusing, such as "Sarge is hit!" or "Monty throws a fit!" To accomplish attacks, movements, etc., you have to expend supply kept in you "supply depot." I used colored poker chips representing 10, 5, and 1 pts. worth of supply points and it worked fine. My overall rating of this game is that it is a good, easy and playable design that 1-4 players can have a good time with in a single evening-- you will have to buy more decks the more people that play, though. Pros: Easy to learn, easy to play, you *can* (with reservations) play right out of the box (just ONE starter deck can get you started, but it will be a short game). Cons: Pricy at 9 dollars a box, 2 dollars a booster. I found that to get the right amount of cards for FOUR players (remember, that's FOUR not two), I had to invest in four decks, 3 boosters. That's a hell of a cash outlay. There are TOO DAMN MANY special cards in this game-- at the expense of unit cards. Once I had bought all those starter decks, I found that I had a decent American force, but a decidedly ahistorical German one. Much deck-building strategy has to come into play to make the force mix historically correct. As in the real world, the German armor is decidedly better than the American-- so like the real world, I would limit the amount of German tanks in the game. I also gave the Germans more MG crews per deck and the Americans less to reflect the higher degree of automatic weapons per squad on the German side. I repeated the American M-3 and M-4 cards (I have duplicates) to reflect the higher American mobilization. How it played: Well, it was a lot of fun, even if it was abstract. I couldn't resist leaving the American 240mm gun in the deck, which has a range of 4. Basically, the American player (my good friend, Larry the Gun-Toting Psycho), deployed that card in his rear line at the onset, and shelled the hell out of the German HQ during the course of the game. The game became a mad scramble to get a Stuka raid in on that big gun. Eventually, the supply situation favored the Americans more than the Germans, and the Americans overwhelmed our heroic defenders of the Vaterland. Playing time: 8:00 PM to 11 PM. A good time was had by all. Publisher is Chameleon Eclectic. I don't have their address with me, but they have a Web Page with significant coverage of the Last Crusade on it. Cheerio, Walt O'Hara ohara_walter@po.gis.prc.com