From: GREGORY SCHLOESSER Subject: Atlantic Storm - an overview ATLANTIC STORM This was our first playing at the Westbank Gamers of this new Avalon Hill card game. The setting is World War II andinvolves the Allied attempt to safely guide their goods-laden convoys across the perilous Atlantic andArctic Oceans to supply the beleaguered Allied forces. Of course, the Germans have other ideasand are throwing everything their Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe can muster against the convoys. We played the advance rules which require the victor in battles to share the victory points with all of the players who were on the victorious side in that particular battle. We also played with the rule wherein a player selects the top two convoy cards and plays one of the two, discarding the other. Each player has a hand of six cards representing both Allied and German forces. These forces come basically in three varieties: Surface ships, Air forces and submarines. There are also cards which can be used in any of the three theatres, as well as bonus cards (which add to the value of the regular force cards) and special cards (storms, radar, etc.) which cause unique actions to occur. Each turn the 'dealer' selects a convoy card which is the 'target'. The convoy card has several important factors printed on it: The theatre of operations: Atlantic or Arctic The year of the convoy The victory points the convoy is worth Is the convoy a 'fated' one (that is, is there a corresponding force card in the deck which actually attacked the convoy. If so, the strength of that force card is doubled if actually played against it). How laden with goods is the convoy. When the convoy is revealed, the dealer also names the suit which will be active in support of or against the convoy. The suit can be either Air, Surface, Sub or Combined. Players then each have a chance to place a force card from their hand either in support of or attacking the convoy. Players must be very careful, however, to make sure that the force card they play meets all of the criteria listed on the convoy in order to be eligible to be played: The year listed on the force card must correspond with the year on the convoy The theatre of operations must match (Atlantic or Arctic). There are some cards which are eligible to be played in any of the oceans. The force card must match the 'suit' named (Air, Surface, Sub or Combined). Some cards are eligible to be used in any of the declared suits. Further, you must keep an eye on other cards that have been played to see if they are 'fated' and if you have a force card in your hand which is the affecting ship. If another player played a force card which was 'fated' to be sunk by another particular card and you play that card, you immediately sink that card and take it as victory points. Since card play is in a clockwise fashion beginning with that round's dealer, players must decide on whether to play an Allied card in support of the convoy, or a Germany card in an attempt to sink it. Each force card has a value ranging from 0 - 6, and this may be supplemented with the play of an eligible bonus or special card. Some of the cards have an unknown value which is only determined at the conclusion of card play. This value can range from 1 - 6 (and in some special cases even higher). The ultimate victor of the battle is the one who played the highest valued card(s) for the winning side. That player must distribute the convoy card and any cards which were on the losing side amongst the winning players. Both the convoy card and the defeated force cards have a victory point value and the winning player only has to distribute the cards evenly amongst the winners ... he can choose to keep the high-valued victory point cards for himself and give the 'crumbs' to his fellow allies! Negotiation is a big factor in this game. Table talk is encouraged. Before playing a card, it is very common try to negotiate with the other players and sway them to a particular side (Allied or German). The only way you get to share in the victory points is if you are on the winning side. There is quite a bit of strategic decisions to make in the game. Which convoy card to select? Which suit to declare? Which side to support - Allied or German? Do you play your high valued force card or save it for a later date? Do you use your special and/or bonus card or save them? Victory points are mostly kept secret. Convoy cards must be revealed, but all force cards are kept hidden. One can surmise who the leader is, but one can't be totally sure. The game is played in 20 battles, which after some experience, will likely take about an hour or so. We played with five and this was our first outing, so it lasted a bit longer (about 2 hours). There is quite a bit to watch out for and keep an eye on. A player must, at the play of each card, study all of the factors I listed above. That, frankly, is a lot. It does slow down play. If you have some players who normally take awhile on their turns, it is compounded in this game. Thus, there can be a bit of 'dead' time between turns, but mostly this is alleviated by constant negotiation and attempts at deal-making. That said, the components are gorgeous. The artwork on the cards is superb and the icons and symbols are easy to get used to and understand. The game flows fairly smoothly and there are not too many 'special' rules to slow down play significantly and cause you to run back to the rule book. I won't get into the convoy-by-convoy results of our game, but will say that it is very important to have played the top valued card on the winning side as often as possible. This gives you the chance to distribute the spoils (aka, victory points) as you see fit. Of course, that means you usually get the most VPs. Another important point, which we all discovered late in the game, was to try to hold on to some cards which allowed them to be played in the early 1940 & 1941 years. There aren't as many of those in the game so if you use them early, it is possible that you will be left with no eligible force cards to play if a 1940 or 1941 convoy appears later in the game. After an initial German victory, which was supported by Lenny Leo & I, Darren Arnold and Lenny ran awayfrom the rest of us with repeated victories. Darren seemed to have the upper hand in victory points,but Lenny made a strong charge at the end of the game to close the gap. Still, as the last convoymade it safely across the Atlantic, the ultimate victor was in doubt. The results in Victory Points: Lenny Leo 33; Darren Arnold 31; Greg Schloesser 21; John Moore 19; Jay Ouzts 18 The ratings: Darren 7; Greg 6; Lenny 6; John 6; Jay 2 (yes, a 2!) I was shocked by Jay's rating. I thought the game was fairly exciting and the ceaseless table-talk and negotiation kept everyone involved. Sure, there are times when the declared suit or the convoy's year leaves a player with no cards which are eligible to play (in which case you must discard a card), but you still can participate in over 75% of the battles. Further, I believe that with further playings, one will learn to manage his 'hand' better, which will likely decrease the chances of being left in a 'no-play' situation. Maybe Jay was just in a bad mood! Greg Schloesser The Westbank Gamers: http://home.earthlink.net/~gschloesser