From: Markus Stumptner <mst@DBAI.TUWIEN.AC.AT>
Subject:      Vae Victis #12 preview

I got the latest Vae Victis yesterday, colorful as usual.  The issue
game deals with the battle of Vittoria, 1813.  There are only about a
hundred unit counters.  Units have from 1 to 8 steps which are kept
track of on roster sheets.  (In true VV manner, the roster sheets are
printed on the back of the countersheet.)  Graphics are very good as
always, and the eternal VV iconic counters are more appropriate here
than for other eras.  Interestingly, they recommend mounting the
counters on some 5mm thick substance (called "carton-plume" in French
- I don't know what that stands for, probably some kind of light
cardboard) and putting them upright, like a Columbia block game.  The
counter back shows a standardized depiction of the unit type.  Apart
from that, it looks pretty standard.  The countersheet contains a fair
number of new counters for the Champs de Bataille system (actually,
more than there are for the Vittoria game), and there is an article
with strategy discussion, new optional rules, army lists (for Huns,
Visigoths, Gepides, and Ostrogoths), and a new scenario (Catalaunian
Fields, 451).

Articles include some reports on French miniatures tournaments, a
history article on WW2 paratroopers, a miniatures system for ACW
combat, longer articles on AH's Hannibal, the German game El Grande,
and The Gamers' OCS, also scenarios for ASL (Indians against Germans
in Italy 1945) and DBM (Liegnitz 1241), and the usual short
inspections of new releases (books, boardgames, miniatures rules,
miniatures, and computer games).  Their in-depth articles now have a
short summary of pros and cons for each game.

By the way, we played our first game of Fontenoy 1745 yesterday.
Nice little game, but I fear what they say about play balance may
be true - the British don't stand much of a chance.

        Markus