From: Robert Gamble Subject: Review of Invasion: Norway (GMT) Greetings. I've just recently gotten back into the Wargaming Hobby after having played since about 13 years of age (first game was Tactics II) up until I went to college and moved more into Role Playing (though Star Fleet Battles scratched the wargaming itch to some degree). Not sure why, but the desire to pick up a new game came on rather strong and so I found myself in the local gaming store, and eyeing the various GMT titles. 'Invasion: Norway' turned out to be the winner because of having elements I'd always wanted to see in a game, amphibious landings, air, land and sea elements, both sides appearing to have attack and defense opportunities during the course of the game. Currently I've played through the Quickstart scenario, read the rules, and then set up and played a bit of the 'Operation Bueffel' scenario. I plan to try a full campaign scenario relatively soon, but thought I'd give my first impressions: The Good: Graphics: I'll have to admit, this game has some of the best designed counters that I've seen in a wargame. Nice touches are found throughout, such as different colored squares within the German counters to show which Formation they belong to (this being important because negative modifiers are applied to the CRT for attacking a unit with more than one Formation). The map itself is nicely done, although with the quite varied terrain, often more than one type within the same hex, it can be difficult to sort out terrain effects initially. Here the color scheme is again one of the better that I've seen in a map. The box itself is quite nice, I've always enjoyed a relatively clean, white box with pictures like the one on the front. Rules: For the most part, clear and well done. Easy to read, and I very much like the way that Designer's Notes have been placed in the game. Rather than being combined into one section at the end, various rules have a small Italicized Designer's Notes section, explaining what the rule itself is simulating historically and why it was done this way. The rules are _not_ simple, since almost everything that either player can do can be reacted to. In spite of this, solitaire play is indeed quite possible since there is not much that is simultaneous or hidden from your opponent. The only notable example I can think of is during Naval Combat when both players must simultaneously choose whether to Withdraw or press the attack, and even this is usually pretty obvious what the best choice is for both sides. Options: While there are only two scenarios, there are numerous choices of _how_ to assault Norway for the Germans as well as variants that can be chosen by each side, including deciding to follow the Historical Allied doctrine of amphibious assaults in Norway (basically, the British refused to do an assault on a defended position) or allowing the Allies to land anywhere they wish. These variants look to have a major effect on how the battle goes, allowing replay variety. Quickstart: Quite simply, I loved this idea. Basically, they've given you a Game Replay where as soon as you open the game box, and have the counters cut out, you can set up a game and start to move pieces, reading what happened in the 'replay', including the appropriate charts, explanations, analyses, etc. The replay goes through the 'Invasion Turn' where German units have landed in Norway, and afterwards the suggestion is to continue the game yourself from that point. While all the rules are not explained by this point, you have a very good idea how game flow goes, and some of the mechanics and that makes actually reading the rules _much_ easier. Gameplay: If you enjoy a game where _much_ thought in all phases is necessary, then you'll enjoy this one. In no way is this a Beer and Pretzels game in spite of the Medium complexity rating given on the back of the box. Forgetting a stack of transports in port could lead to them all being wiped out by a single surface combatant (since units in ports can't retreat during combat), organizing attacks so that only one Formation and only one nation is involved (except if you need more units to stack the odds further in your favor), handling supply (which is quite elegantly done in my opinion, bringing Supply Points and Air Supply Points from the Strategic map areas in Germany and Britain to Norway, and then expending those points for attacks or defense), etc keeps each player always thinking. The rules are relatively simple, deceptively so, but the complexity of the strategies is anything but simple. Historical Commentary: This is one of the best descriptions of a battle and the participants, along with the reasons for how things were done, that I've seen in a game in a long time. Turned out to be a very interesting read. The Bad: There's not much here offhand except for the complexity level. While this was included in the good part of the review, the complexity _can_ be daunting. There are so many choices to make of where to invade, how to organize your Supply, where to move your naval units, etc that a momentary lapse in judgement at a critical point seems like it could be even more fatal than in many other games, and far easier to make such a mistake. You _must_ have a general plan in mind, and not lose sight of that plan because simply moving counters will not work. Again, this really doesn't belong in the 'bad' section, but is about the only thing I could think of.. However... The Ugly: Errata: I found the Errata file on www.grognard.com and was appalled, not so much by the rules fixes (of which there were mostly clarifications), or even the rather large error regarding one of the counters (with major effects on play balance), but by the number of fixes that were given for the _maps_. Roads missing, weather zones being placed wrong, terrain fixes... I don't see an easy way to make these fixes beyond destroying the map with markers or such. The alternative is to try to memorize all the changes or keep a sheet of the errata next to you and check each hex that's used to see if there's an errata for the area in question, until it becomes second nature. Errors in the rulebook and on one counter are acceptable, even though I could wish that there would be later editions of a game that take these into account, but errors like those found on the map really soured my initial reaction to the game. I plan to continue to play it, but it's much more of a 'chore' than I'd anticipated. Overall: In spite of the errata, this game does seem a quite worthwhile purchase for me. Innovative supply system (at least the first of its kind I've seen), strategic planning of how to do invasions, followed by the actual tactics involved in the conquest of the cities of Norway, mean that there's a great amount of detail and possibilities. If you get the game, _do_ look at the errata on www.grognard.com for the game, especially regarding the bomber unit which has a fix that's needed for it. In fact, I would advise looking at the errata first, to see if you consider the game worth wading through the fixes. Anyone else who's played the game, I'd appreciate your comments on it. Robert gambler@vxc.uncwil.edu