From: John Best <cfjbb@EIU.EDU>
Subject:      Re: SPI Compendium

Ah, the SPI compendium!  Let's get going!

>
>1918
>James F. Dunnigan
>WWI     1971    Flat Tray
>Div             2.8 km          255 Counters
>
This is the only one from this set that I own and have played.  I have it in
a ziploc.  The game is misnamed, because it doesn't cover the entire year,
or the entire Western Front either for that matter.  What it covers is the
first of the German "Peace Offensives", Operation Michael.  We've come a
long way in terms of design, but for 1971 (I didn't realize it was *that*
old), this is an incredible piece of design work, and yes, truly shows JFD
to be the Michael Jordan of his era among wargame designers.  For me
personally, this is one of those games in which the relative crudity of the
components in no way whatsoever limits the immense enjoyment I get from
playing it.  And this is a game that's never let me down--I feel like I
learn something new about this interesting situation in which the Germans
came within an ace of breaking the deadlock on the Western Front.
     There are some problems:  Like most of the rules-sets of that period,
there is a maddening or interesting silence (depending on your frame of
mind) on certain issues, and your interpretation can alter the balance of
the game dramatically.  I'll mention one:  The rules say nothing about
advance after combat, if a hex is cleared of defenders.  So you assume you
can't, and then the game (imo) is pretty well balanced.  But if you assume
you can, (because usually you can right?), you'll wonder how come the
Germans didn't win WWI without breaking a sweat.  One other note: I didn't
check on this, but as I recall, the cover sheet of the ziploc, in one of the
most loopy departures from cover art to game topic I have ever seen, shows
*British* troops advancing, in the company of a Mark VI (female) tank.  And
we tolerated it then because we didn't know any better, I guess.  Thanks for
reading.
John Best
cfjbb@eiu.edu