From: Roberto Chiavini <mumaye@mail.dada.it>
Subject: Eight reviews

FONTENOY (Vae Victis 6)

For the sixth issue of this beatiful magazine, the people at Vae Victis
propose a really simple recreation of the battle of Fontenoy, fought in
1745 by the French against the Anglo-Netherland armies for the control
of Flanders. Historical, the French won the battle and in this game it's
almost impossible to rewrite history for the Allies.

Apart from the stunning graphics, this issue game it's a real shame: the
system it's too easy, the situation it's almost unplayable and the
French player may win the battle almost without moving a single counter.

The combat units are rated for combat/morale/movement, while the leader
counters have only a command radius and a movement factor.

The game lasts seven turns. In each turn both player alternatively move
their five corps commanders (they roll for initiative each couple of
movements) and fight with the units each leader may command. The rules
for movement and combat are very easy, with a CRT which takes in account
with a single die roll the combat ratio, the terrain and the morale
differential of the units. The French army has even a few artillery
units which may almost destroy the poor Allied units which try to take
the redoubts where they stand.

As the Allied player must take the two hexes of Fontenoy and the two
bridges on the left side of the map to win the game, and as the better
part of the Allied army (i.e. the British are on the far right side of
the map), it's clearly almost impossible to have simply a marginal
victory (the Allies have to take only one bridge in this case!!), if the
French player it's not totally mad and, instead of stay defensive,
decide to attack from his fortified position (think of seven different
chateau like the ones in Napoleon's Last Battles and you have an idea of
the task requested to the poor fellow who takes the Allies).

Apart from this terrible victory conditions, the game system moves too
slow and even with only seven turns to play, you need more than 2 hours
of play to achieve absolutely nothing (the CRT it's bloodless).

A real disappointment, the first one (at least judging from the six
games I have played) from this still fantastic magazine.

I rate this game 5 out of 10.