J. R. Tracy - Feb 29, 2012 12:42 am (49637.) new

Dr. Rob led John, Jim, and Natus in a game of Successors, using the latest
and greatest tweaks. John, with Perdiccas and Craterus, controls the
southeast and the eastern Mediterranean coast, as well as Egypt. Natus'
Ptolemy fled Egypt but took Rhodes and her fleet, and is looking good with
a decent lead. Rob and Jim are not far behind John, and it still looks
like anyone's game.

Sean, Campoverdi, Dutch, Bill, and I tried Academy's recent 1812 game.
Campo had the US Regulars while I had the US Militia, while Sean had the
British Regulars, Bill the Canadian Militia, and Dutch the Native
Americans. This is a very simple game with about four pages of rules
(spread over six pages given the ample illustrations). Forces are
represented by cubes, and moves are card-driven, with unique decks for
each faction. Within a given 'round', each faction has a turn, with turn
order determined by random draw, one player at a time. A given move card
designates how many 'armies' may move and how far. The map is split into
areas and you can move until you encounter enemy forces. As long as you
are moving troops of your own faction, you may scoop up cubes of your
allies.

Battle is interesting, with each faction having a unique battle die.
Possible results include 'hit', 'flee', and 'command decision'. A hit
inflicts a casualty on the enemy, a flee means one of *your own* cubes is
placed in the 'fled units' space to return next turn, and a command
decision allows you to retreat one cube for each such result. The
different battle dice distinguish the factions, with British regulars
having three hits and three command decisions, while the militias each
have two hits, two flees, and two command decisions, and so forth. Each
faction rolls one die per cube, but the Regulars roll a max of two dice
each, while the other factions top out at three dice apiece. Combat is
sequential, with the 'home territory' side rolling first. Therefore, even
if the Americans control a Canadian space, the Canadians will roll first
in that territory. It is a very simple system but provides for some
interesting decisions on whether to fight or run.

In addition to the movement cards (some of which allow waterborne movement
across the lakes) there are 'special' cards which impart some sort of
temporary superpower or rule-breaking ability. Play proceeds until one
side plays all of its truce cards (each faction deck has one such card).
However, the game lasts at least three turns, so each side has a chance to
recover from early misfortune. Victory is determined by who has captured
the most enemy victory spaces - victory is at the 'national' side only, so
there isn't competition with either allied command for a win.

In our game, Chris and I immediately drove for the Fort Eire/Queenston
space, the only double-VP space on the map. We captured it easily and
enjoyed a brief celebration before being hurled back across the border
before we even had a chance to check out the Canadian Ballet. In the east
our gains were also quickly erased, though we lasted longer in the west.
Our biggest problem was the damned Native Americans. Normally a cube can
only use a command decision to retreat to a friendly area, but the Native
Americans can withdraw to *any* adjacent space as long as it doesn't have
enemy cubes. This makes them extremely difficult to kill, and furthermore,
they can create friendly spaces themselves, affording their comrades a
safe haven. This proved crucial when the British and Canadians drove for
Albany. We chased them off, but their Natives infiltrated forward and
ultimately doomed the American cause for a Canadian Turn 3 win.

This was a lot of fun - 90 minutes for a five-player game of all newbies.
I think the American side is the more difficult to grasp - in a large
battle of diversified forces, the Canadians will be throwing eight dice to
five for the Americans. However, the Americans have much more strategic
depth, with VP spaces several moves from the border, while the bulk of the
Canadian objectives are adjacent to the border or at most two spaces away.
There is a pleasing asymmetry between the two sides, and a distinct feel
for each faction. I look forward to trying it a few more times and
applying the hard lessons I learned tonight.