This review first appeared in IPW, the newsletter for all discount games club members. Contact colin@allusedgames.demon.co.uk for details. HITLER'S LAST GAMBLE Board Wargame - 3W If I had to compile a list of my favourite 5 board wargames, this would certainly be one of them. Designer Danny Parker has become somewhat of an authority on the Ardennes Campaign of 1944; wit ness his batallion level monster 'Dark December', 'Battles for the Ardennes' and research contributions to AH's 'Battle of the Bulge'. His 'final' bulge project, 3W's 'Hitler's Last Gamble' (HLG) could, in my opinion, be the finest 'Bulge' game in the hobby yet. The counters are very nice indeed, with little armour silhouettes and the map is quite acceptable, except for the much criticised fact that slope hexsides are non-directional, leading to mass confusion about which way is 'up and which 'down' - extremely important in both combat and movement. Unfortunately, 3W did a very sloppy job in rules and OOB. Apart from the appalling amount of spelling errors in German names, some essential rules are missing or wrongly stated. The full list of errata published in Strategy & Tactics #130 are, therefore, a must and I would also strongly recommend the critical review and designer's noles in Wargamer Vol 2 #17. The basic game gives plenty of opportunity for movement and combat with added reaction and exploitation phases. The advanced rules add sections on air units, fuel restrictions and the effects of combined arms/armour superiority. I would recommend having a go at most of the optional rules as well. For example, highly recommended for a historical flow of the game is the 'road space' rule. The resulting traffic jams will give the German player, especially, some moments of intense - but historical - frustration as he tries to get his crack Panzer reserves past the 'snails' in front. One important tip for the Allied player; get your all-important engineer units to strategic river crossings as soon as they're able to move. Sometimes they are the only thing standing between the Germans and a quick drive to the Meuse river and they are a great help in fortifying the weak units available at the start of the game.