From: "Chester E. Hendrix" Subject: Re: [Ardennes] BOB info Skip- Following are the BOB files. My Designer's Notes that appeared in MOVES, the BROG review and (the second) PAPER WARS review. I thought I had the first one, but I guess I didn't. I don't know how to download these onto your database thingie so I am just forwarding them to you. Sorry for the length, hope it doesn't send things into a spiral. Your Buddy, Chester ********** >>>The following was published in MOVES>>>> HOW TO MAKE A BETTER BULGE GAME You know the routine. You walk into the store and look for something with tanks or panzers that you can sink your teeth into. Something new that will be worth playing more than once. Whoa. Green and red box? Are Santa’s elves moonlighting at some game assembly plant? BASTOGNE OR BUST (BOB). You chuckle at the title and decide to check it out. Just as you thought- another Bulge game. Hmmm. The entire map is on the back of the box. That’s a nice touch. The counters are presentable (hey! those planes look sharp and the red stripe on the SS unit makes it look like a black widow!)- and what’s this about a Von der Heydte unit that actually gets on the map? Off- board movement and combat? That’s different. You wonder what else is different. Well, unless you can talk the store owner into opening the shrink wrap, or take it home, you may never find out. And you’ll miss out on the best Bulge game ever done. I can say that because that was what I designed it to be. My design philosophy is very simple. It is a mixture of the John Hill (design-for-effect: does the game you have produced feel like the battle it simulates?) approach and my personal take on two of the Holy Grails of wargaming; 1] Complexity. If I have to spend more time in the rule book than I do on the map board I feel I’ve wasted my money. 2] Playability. Everybody likes a little bit of chrome, but when I sit down to push cardboard, I want it to be a meat-and-potatoes experience. This is a game first, and a simulation second. If you like to approach your wargames from the opposite emphasis, there are lots of copies of CAMPAIGN FOR NORTH AFRICA still out there unpunched. For a good reason. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate things like GULF STRIKE. I just have no intention of buying or designing them. That is another crowd and I tip my hat to them with as much respect as I would expect in return. As in the world, this hobby takes all kinds. So what kind is BOB? I designed BOB to be the last word on low to medium complexity Bulge games. I enjoy playing Bulge games but I never found one that satisfied me. So I decided to make my own. First off, let’s face it. The Germans had maybe a 1 in 20 chance of getting to Antwerp. The area of the map is the realistic area that the Germans could affect. If the field commanders had been able to commit their troops in a more sane manner, they had the capability to effect the shoulders of the map area (those mystical places that other Bulge games have you “exit units off the map” to). I have represented these with an Off Board Movement Chart. Since these zones represent (for the most part) Allied staging areas, I have restricted the ability of German units to exploit them while giving Allied units unlimited stacking ability. This unlimited stacking is moderated by allowing the Allied player a maximum of six stacking points of units face-up for each of the eight zones which surround the board. The Off Board Movement Chart also plays an integral part of the Victory Conditions because all these areas represent territory the Germans never got hold of. If you can do better than Runestedt, you should be rewarded (and vice-versa). While the map may appear peripheral to the OBMC, just remember- the map was the BATTLE AREA- the OBMC Zones represent the OBJECTIVES of the attack. I tried to show by integrating the two, that either one by themselves doesn't give the feel of what the Bulge was all about. I have designed these Zones to reflect what they are and how they work. Only Allied face-up units can defend in a zone, but if Allied units in a Zone attack, everybody gets to attack. My rationale here is that as staging areas, most of the troops are en route to assigned positions and there only temporarily. If attacked, they restage. If ordered out, they will attack on their way to their assigned position. Not so with the German troops. They are there to hold the shoulders and gain ground. In the event they perform beyond expectations (actually capture one of these zones), OKW will feel the assault is going well enough to risk more troops in reserve or holding other positions in the line. Thus the variable reinforcements available whenever the Germans can get units into one of these areas. I have also simplified Allied reinforcements by having them appear in the appropriate Zones. Each Zone has multiple hexes on the map it connects to which on the one hand, gives the Allied reinforcements maximum flexibility for entry, it also gives the Germans multiple opportunities for capture. The supply rules are fairly straightforward, but there is a small twist in the OUT OF SUPPLY rules that simulates the drastic difference in supply support between the Wehrmacht and the Allied units involved (who had access to air resupply not to mention falling back onto their own lines of supply). When German units are OOS, their attack, movement and defense factors are halved as you might expect. But to show the superior Allied supply capabilities, when they are OOS, they only lose half of their attack and movement factors- their defense factors remain intact. A simple solution to what could have been two extra pages of rules. One thing I notice about the Bulge that just doesn’t come through in most other games is the impetus the attacker had. For the first week, the Germans rolled through the American lines just about everywhere that they could bring superior force to bear. As the odds got more even, they tended to lose steam. As Allied reinforcements began to pour in, the same thing happened in reverse. Right about now you’re probably saying ‘duh!’. So did I. But the feel still wasn’t quite there until it hit me- the attacker at higher odds hits harder. And I mean HARDER! Not just the extra die roll modifier for the Germans on the 16AM turn, but everywhere they have initiative and concentration of force. The same goes for the Allies. So how do you build this abstraction into the game? I did it by shifting the odds between the 3-1 column and the 4-1 column on the Combat Results Table (CRT). In virtually all board wargames, the CRT is built like a step ladder as you advance from one odds column to the next. By essentially throwing out the normal 4-1 column and moving the 5-1 column in it’s place I accomplished a number of design goals. First, it puts back the feel of initiative. When the Germans are rolling, the Allies are taking a beating. When the Allies go over to the offensive, the Huns are gonna feel it like they never want to. The ambiance of the game changes subtly, but dramatically precisely at the time it should and without lots of extra rules. Second, it reinforces command control. By giving a die roll modifier for divisional integrity (HQ+ any 3 divisional units gains a +1), this is the equivalent of a column shift. Because of the structure of the CRT, at 4-1 odds or better, divisional integrity becomes the equivalent of a TWO COLUMN shift! This is a powerful incentive to keep divisional units close together where they can be most effective. Thus there was no need for command and control rules. Third, it gives the Allies the ability to hold out in fortified towns for days at a time (as actually happened). In most Bulge games, units hold out in towns for as long as the German player wants to ignore them. It is usually not a problem to get enough units to knock the Allies out of any town you want to. In BOB, two regiments of infantry and a combat engineer battalion can cause the German to have to commit three full divisions plus independent units and artillery just to get a 3-1! That’s a lot of units. And one of those divisions is going to have to be a Panzer Division. Even then, you’re going to have to roll a 5-6 just to knock out one or two units. You might be there a few days. Another area of trying to simulate the feel of the Bulge is in the Engagement combat results rules. These are designed more to reflect the 'pinning' effect of units engaged in combat having a tough time disengaging. The loss of ZOC shows small disasters where pinned units lose their ability to control ground (read: overextended attacking units) and be able to move when ordered (ENG markers are removed AFTER the movement phase) and also deals with retreats after combat. One group that played BOB were disappointed in a WWII game without overrun rules or a mech movement phase intimating BOB doesn't quite measure up to 1996 standards. I purposely left these out because the Bulge is one battle where a squad or company well placed (say at a crossroads) not infrequently held up a regiment or two for half a day or more (one or two game turns). One way to simulate this is to NOT HAVE overrun rules OR a mech movement phase. Without them, you get the feel of frustration at your advance being halted by green troops thrown in your way (who happen to dig in better than ANYBODY expected). Sure, you blow away the unit as a cohesive force (eliminate the counter), but the remnants stop you cold (no more movement until next turn). I suppose you could try it with overrun rules (say X-1 odds allows you to expend half your movement points to eliminate any unit) and a mech movement phase (3 movement points per armor unit after combat) and see if it still plays as a balanced game. I don't think it will. I predict a boring cakewalk. The biggest distinction between mech units vs. leg units is the 'bullet' next to the movement factor. Virtually all German & Allied armor have it (as well as Allied infantry- most units had adequate truck capability), but none of the German infantry do. The 'bullet' reflects much greater road movement capacity (as it should). Increasing one or decreasing the other would skew the relative abilities of both. During playtesting we tried giving leg units 1/2 and mech units 1/5 (we ended up with leg units at 1/3 and mech at 1/4), plus various combinations. 1/3 & 1/4 worked best. I apologize to those who feel the mechanics don't seem like a big step forward, but I wasn't trying to produce a game that would dazzle with chrome and fancy mechanics and added complexity. I wanted to produce a game that would foster repeat play without burnout that gave the feeling of the campaign. Another pet peeve of mine is weather rules. Just as you get used to the movement factors and how far you can expect units to go- bammo! Now you gotta spend twice as much time trying to refigure who can go where and how. Plus, doesn’t the Bulge just sort of nudge your brain about what the weather’s biggest effect was? I don’t remember it being the ground troops. Rain or snow, they slogged on and on. Actually, for the 18 days of the Bulge that BOB covers, the effects on the ground troops and their movement over the terrain was not the day to day story. What changed day by day with the weather was Allied Air availability. And THAT affected German movement more than anything the weather did. So, instead of including weather rules, I included die roll modifiers to Allied Air availability (you roll for it on most turns) based on the weather. Not only does this streamline play, it puts more unpredictability into the game (which is what I tend to think of when considering the effects of weather). Instead of rethinking the movement factors vs. the terrain for all the pieces on the board, we alter the amount of Allied Air Units interacting with the board. Allied Air performs one of two functions. Combat support (+1 die modifier) or air interdiction (German units entering the hex must stop movement, German units under a placed Air Unit may only move 1 hex). A simple, elegant method of handling not only weather, but Allied air superiority and the devastating effect it had on German ground movement. I have also given the Einheit Steilau Commandoes more flexibility. On their turn of entry, they are not required to enter the map. They can hang back in the OKW staging area (another zone on the Off Board Movement Chart connecting to the map) for a turn or two before entering. The Commandoes only move on the board the turn they enter it and they function by the simple expedient of halting the movement of the first Allied unit that enters the hex. If the German has made dramatic gains in territory, the effects of the Commandoes will be minimal, but if the advance has been slowed, their effect can be most aggravating. And speaking of Commandoes, remember that little parachute battalion you get in almost every Bulge game you buy? The one that you hardly ever get to see on the board and can never understand why they bother to put the darn thing in there? Well, if any of the other designers had been aware of the facts of the ill-fated drop of the Von der Hydte battalion they would know that because the drop was a failure, and that the battalion had been dispersed over such a large area, that for about two days (four or five game turns) the Allied commanders were doing a headless chicken routine convinced they had as much as a division of Fallschirmjaegers in their rear. So how would you simulate something like that? I took the direct route. If the battalion doesn’t drop intact, then it becomes a Commando unit that functions like the ES units- which is what it actually did historically. So in BOB, the Von der Hydte unit gets on the board every game! Thank you. As far as playing Bulge games in general goes, I believe the reason we keep returning to this particular battle (or for that matter, playing any board wargame), is that we have the idea in the back of our heads that if we had had control of the available troops, we would have secured the objectives. I have tried to cater to this inherent mind set by giving the German player (who has the initiative in the beginning after all) maximum flexibility in his set up options. Each Corps has its own section of the map in which it can set up freely. Army assets (independent units assigned to the Corps as needed) may be placed within any of the appropriate Corps areas as desired by the German player. The Allied player has greater versatility in reinforcements as far as where they arrive and whether they actually enter the board or not (which allows them to affect German reinforcements drastically. Command and control which (admittedly) the historical commanders never had, but as wargamers, we cannot help but have (not to mention 20-20 hindsight), indeed we MUST have in order to make a competitive game out of it instead of a simple choreographed replay we could just as well read in any book. After all, isn’t that why we play these games? >>>>>>This was published in MOVES>>> The following was published in BROG- Bastogne or Bust by John Leggat for Berg’s Review Of Games I suspect that the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944 is the single most simulated battle in history. Every year we seem to find another version making its way to the market. Most of them are designed by die hard Bulge afficionados like Danny Parker and Randy Heller trying their hand at getting it right. So it is that Bastogne or Bust becomes the latest entry in a lengthening list that runs the gamut from dog to dynamite. Designed by Chester Hendrix, Bastogne or Bust is an operational level game published by Terran Games as a Second Edition - a bit confusing because I don't remember a first edition. The map and counter graphics by Mark Simonitch are up to his usual stunning standards with lots of color, excellent terrain definition and very readable hexes, features of increasing importance for us aging gamers. Graphically, Bastogne or Bust is light years ahead of earlier Bulge efforts like Avalon Hill's classic Battle of the Bulge (1981), Pacific Rim's plain old Bastogne, Crossroads of Death (1991) and the long defunct OSG's Dark December (1979). Game components include a full 22 "X 34" map; 600 single step counters (mostly regimental level); a booklet with nine pages of rules, designer's notes and play strategy; set up, terrain and combat charts for both sides. Physically, it's a very nice package with plenty of player aids. The rules are well written and complete. The simulation is pretty straightforward and, as Bulge games go, Bastogne or Bust plays and feels about right. The German player sets up first and freely within certain defined Corps and Army level boundaries. Most of the Allied set up is fixed. Still, it takes a good thirty minutes to set up as there are lots of counters to organize and place and the German has to have a plan for his attack. The German goes first each turn and the sequence is basically move, combat, supply. Units move either with or without a road bonus and, of course, while roads facilitate rapid penetration and movement across the map, the German must control the river crossings to take advantage of his mobility. The Allied player can blow a specific number of controlled bridge and must decide which ones warrant his limited capability. Only "striped" units exert a zone of control and these are all infantry regiments. Units must stop when they enter ZOC but, in a subsequent turn, may move away or one hex from ZOC to ZOC if they have enough movement points to do so. Stacking is six stacking points per hex, representing three infantry regiments. There are other minor phases within the turn sequence depending upon the circumstances of the game, including placement of reinforcements, bridge repair, building improved positions and forts. All the special German units are present, including Von Der Heydte's parachute battalion, Einheit Steilau Commandos and the 150th brigade. For the most part, these are a minor annoyance to the Allied and the battle is unlikely to turn on them. Air units can be used for ground support and the Allies can use their air to interdict the roads, slowing German movement. One innovative feature is the inclusion of a chart which allows units to be placed and held adjacent to the map in "zones" which, in turn, lead to rear areas which facilitate more rapid movement around the perimeter of the map. The designer's intention is to minimize the "shoulders" around the edge of the map that create an "edge of the world" effect. As with most Bulge simulations Bastogne or Bust has German units entering from the west and Allied units entering from the north, south and east edges. But, unlike most games, these units can be held on the edges and expand the edge of the map. In fact, it is very important for the German player to capture and occupy the zones around the edge of the map and, each time one is taken, the German is rewarded with an optional reinforcement die roll that can cause reinforcements to enter earlier than usual. Capture of at least one zones is a prerequisite for launching the German 15th Army offensive. Supply is simple. Trace five hexes or less to a road leading off a friendly edge. Neither side can trace through an enemy ZOC unless a friendly unit is present and the Germans must own the terrain to trace through it. Supply is checked at the end of the phasing player's turn. German units found out of supply are halved for all combat and movement. Allied units are only halved for movement and attack. The German player has an opportunity to capture a supply dump or two and/or Liege which can reduce the effects of fuel shortage. Capturing Liege also reduces the likelihood of fuel shortage. All units have an attack and defense strength and combat is voluntary, with odds computed traditionally by comparing the total strength of the attacker to the strength of the defender, adjusted for terrain. The attacker can add ranged artillery and, if enough is added to a battle, a +1 DRM is also given. Almost everything else comes in the way of a die roll modifier, including German first turn surprise, divisional integrity, the benefits of improved positions and forts, air on the attack and artillery on defense. Combat is resolved with a single die on a table running from odds of 1:3 to 7:1. The combat table is interesting, with eleven different types of combat results, lots of them requiring losses on both sides. Units are all single-sided so, when a loss is called for a unit is eliminated. If the combat calls for a retreat, the unit is "engaged" or disrupted for a turn if the retreat result number exceeds the units' movement allowance. Units can't be retreated through enemy ZOC regardless of the presence of friendly units. As with most Bulge games, terrain is a bugger and the German is continually frustrated by his inability to move where needed. Hendrix has done a nice job in recreating the difficulty of movement through the woods and across the rivers. In Bastogne or Bust, it's very tough to capture garrisoned towns and forts which hold key road junctions since units are doubled and receive a DRM of -1 and -2, respectively. Zones act like forts for defense so they are also very tough to take. Also, forts can ignore retreat results, so you have to destroy the enemy to take the hex, requiring attack odds of at least 2:1 or better. While I'm not an authority on the Battle of the Bulge, I've played a bunch of simulations and put Bastogne or Bust on my list of better ones. Both players are challenged, yet it seems balanced so either side can win. As a singlenmap version, it does a very nice job of simulating the problems encountered by both sides. For me to like a game, it must have good graphics in addition to a good design. Bastogne or Bust has both. One major drawback is the length of the game. Bastogne or Bust has just the single campaign scenario and, at two turns per day running from December 16am until January 2pm, the simulation has 36 turns. Even the speediest players will find it tough to finish a game that runs its full course in the six to eight hours advertised on the box. Still, if you've got a couple of days, Bastogne or Bust is worth the effort. Graphic Presentation: Very good, with functional terrain that is easy to read. Playability: Excellent, with a simple turn sequence. But a full game will take at least 12 hours to complete. Decent for solitaire. Replayability: Like most Bulge games, you either like them or you don't. Play will tend to follow a pattern for opening moves, then it becomes wide open. Historicity: Seems good - got the right units, map looks right, Germans kick butt in the first half of the game while the Allies try to hold on until they get enough reinforcements. Creativity: Very good, with some nice touchs, especially zone and area movement. Wristage: One die, who can complain? Comparison: As a single-map version, right up there with the best. The rules are concise and clean. But, if you want the best of Bulge, stick with the multimap versions if you've got the time, space and stamina. Overall: A good value offering a decent simulation and game playable in a couple of days by moderately intelligent people. With more than 20 Bulge games available, it's tough to pick the one that does it all. >>>>The following was published in PAPER WARS>>> "Bastogne or Bust" by Chester Hendrix, Published by Terran Games Inc. Review written by Rick Wagoner rick.wagoner@Sun.COM for PAPER WARS I. The Beginning: The place: Origins 94, San Jose, California. The dealer’s room is a-buzz with activity. All the biggies are there. "Doc" Decision, Lou Zocchi, GMT, The Gamers and many more. In front of a booth a man is out in the isle apparently hawking his game. As I passed by he caught my ear with his catch phrase "I hate games where I spend more time in the rule book than on the map." I stopped by to view his game and was impressed with its elegant design and playability. All without a simplistic look about it. The more we talked the more I liked what I heard (Chet has this way about him - he suffers from an excess of personality!- Just kidding Chet!) one thing led to another and another BoB convert was born. This was Version one. What is being reviewed here is Version two. The elegant design remains untarnished and gains from improved graphics and a slight rules rewrite. Chet remains very accessible to his fellow gamers. He has a version of the AHIKS PBM sheet available for a SASE. You can write him for one at: Chester Hendrix 915 12th Street Marysville, CA 95901 He is also available by email at: chendrix@jps.net II. Game Description: As the name suggests, Bastogne or Bust (hereafter BoB) is an operational game of Hitler's last offensive in the Ardennes during the winter of 1944. BoB is the brain-child of Chester (Chet) Hendrix and is published by Terran games Inc. P.O. Box 743, Newark CA, 94560. Chet has touted that BoB is "the first Errata Free game." And after playing it for the past two months, I'm inclined to agree. Game scale is not listed, but in a conversation with Chet he indicated that the scale is approximately two miles to the hex. Unit force points are likewise not scaled, but as a reference, Peiper's unit has 15 attack factors and is of regimental size. III. Components: One mapsheet by Mark Simonitch. Three countersheets (two full sized and one half sheet, 600 counters total) also by Simonitch. Two OOA (Order Of Appearance) cards titled "Start & Reinforcement Card" but referred to as the OOA chart several times in the rules, one for each side. Two "Terrain and Effects Charts" (referred to as the PAC - Player Aid Card- in the rules), one for each player. One OBMC (Off Board Movement Chart) that also contains the TRC (Time Record Chart). One twelve page Rules Booklet with designers notes. One Game Box with artwork by Joe Youst. Two 6 sided dice, one for each player. The counter art is very nicely done with green shades reserved for the US forces, Khaki for the British, Black for SS, and Blue for Commando and Luftwaffe with Grey shades left over for the German Panzers and Infantry. You really get your pick of unit types in BoB. With five major unit classifications (Infantry, Armor, Armored Infantry, Recce and Special Units) and forty-one (yes, that's 41) specific unit types for your gaming pleasure. More on these later. Mark Simonitch's map is an interesting one. When I first unfolded it, and laid it out, it didn't impress me. But as I played on it, several features became apparent. Firstly, the map grain runs East to West. Not North to South the way most maps are arranged. Since the battle tends to wage from East to West having the grain of the map run this way makes sense. Secondly, after a few turns of slugging it out, the boring pattern for the ground cover (a white mottling over a green base) really began to look like snow covering the Belgian fields! Talk about a subjective map! All the familiar landmarks are present. Liege, Clervaux, St. Vith, Rochefort and, of course, Bastogne. The familiar rivers are present as well. There is one notable about the rivers: If a river is present in a city hex, it does not exert any special combat modifier. The rule book is only twelve pages long, only nine of which are rules. The other three are the TOC, unit designation chart and the designer's notes. While there are few examples of play, the rules are well laid out and quite easy to read. The player aids are well thought out and quite functional. All tables required to play the game are contained on these charts with no map space committed to charts of any type. The PAC (Player Aid Card) contains several player aids: the CRT, the TEC, an abbreviated sequence of play, an Allied and German die roll modifier chart and lots more. The most innovative chart (and one of the best features of the game) is the Off Board Movement Chart (OBMC). This play aid controls where units go when they exit the map, who they can have combat with while they are off the map, where they can move to and where they can re-enter the map. Contained in the middle of this chart is the Turn Record Chart. Two charts for the price of one! IV. Play Overview: The sequence of play in BoB is a variation of the Igo-Hugo method that we have all cut our teeth on. The turns are twice daily, an AM and PM turn per day per side. The Sequence of Play is a series of 19 phases , 9 German and 10 Allied with the German player moving first in all turns. Sequence of play: German Time Record Die Rolls German Fieldwork Emplacement German Reinforcements German Movement German Optionals German Engaged Marker Removal German Combat German Fieldwork Completion German Supply Check Allied Air Unit Removal Allied Time Record Die Rolls Allied Fieldwork Emplacement Allied Reinforcements Allied Movement Allied Engaged Marker Removal Allied Air Unit Placement (combat) Allied Combat Allied Air Unit Placement (interdiction) Allied Fieldwork Completion Allied Supply Check Note that the German player has an optional phase where optional German reinforcements are received and placed in the OKW area for deployment during the next German movement phase. The Allied player has three Air phases. One for Removal and two for Placement of Allied Air Units. The German player receives a small number (10 points worth for the whole game!) of Air Support. The receipt of these units is controlled by the TRC and when the German receives air points he places them during his Engaged Marker Removal phase. It is important to note that Supply is checked AFTER combat for that turn is conducted, not before. Zones of Control (ZOC) are rigid with respect to movement, but combat is voluntary. Not all units exert ZOCs. Examples of units that do are Infantry and Mechanized Infantry. These units have a white or red stripe across their combat/movement factors as a designator. All units get a 3X MF increase when moving along a contiguous road, but some units get an increased Road Bonus Movement (RBM). Certain units are eligible for a 25% MF increase if they have the "Bullet" next to their MF. This results in a 4X MF for these units. NOTE: Examine your units carefully! Many Allied Infantry units are eligible for this bonus but lack the traditional "Mechanized" unit symbology. Traffic jam rules are non-existent. Chet states in his Designer's Notes that they were unnecessary. And after a few game turns, he's right. Ya got yer tanks, yer roads, yer trees, all the ingredients for a really big traffic jam. So why write rules for the obvious? No good Bulge game would be complete without Supply rules and BoB has a set that is simple to understand. Units out of Supply behave differently depending on which side they belong to. Allied units have their attack and movement factors halved. They get no RBM and their Artillery cannot make any ranged or defensive attacks. German units behave similarly, with the addition that their defense factors are also halved. All ZOC capable units loose their ZOC while out of supply. Combat is a traditional odds ratio method ranging from 1-3 to 7-1. Results are a rather "retro" style of Attacker Eliminated to Defender Eliminated with various retreats and exchanges in between. Quite bloody with all the DRMs available. Advance and retreats are conducted in the usual ways with legal movement requirements the chief regulator of advance after combat or survival after retreat. The most innovative feature in BoB is the Off Board Movement Chart. The chart, and it's attendant system, was created to answer the question of "Where does this unit go when it exits the map?" The OBMC consists of eight inner "Zone" boxes and four outer "Area" boxes. Units can exit the map, move between Zones, move to outer Areas or back onto the map. This movement system has a number of restrictions concerning the German player, but relatively few for the Allied player. For instance, the German player is prohibited from entering any Area except the OKW Area (Eastern most area). They are likewise prohibited from moving from Zone to Zone, but are free to move to any Zone from the map itself. This becomes important when the Germans attempt to activate the 15th Army Offensive rules that allow them additional units. The Allied player must be aware of these possibilities and be ready to act decisively to deny the Germans this opportunity. Combat in these off board Zones is possible and has its own set of restrictions. Ranged artillery and combat engineers can assist in combat. Allies can conduct pincer type encirclements from the map and adjacent Zones while the German player may only attack from the map to a Zone. Since the Supply rules work so well at getting you all that ammo, we would be remiss if we didn't tell you how to blow up a few things in BoB. Bridges are fair game in BoB. The Allies can drop bridges like bad habits. And the German engineers are right behind them trying to rebuild these needed structures. Fuel dumps can likewise be blown although the rules for destroying them is in the German Fuel Shortages rule section. And speaking of German Fuel Shortages, if you are unlucky enough to get hit with this you will watch your Panzer and Panzergrenadier units crawl across the map at the torpid pace of one hex per turn. So grab those fuel dumps while you can! If you get bored blowing things up, Forts and Improved Positions are available as constructable defensive positions. Forts are better, take longer to construct and are Allied options only. Both provide DRMs for combat. The rules for Artillery are a separate section altogether. Combined arms benefits and defensive fire are all explained in detail. My only suggestion is to move this closer to combat, where the other unit's combat benefits are discussed. A minor nit. German Special Artillery units are discussed in this section too. These include Nebelwerfers, Brumbars, the 502nd SS and 13/33 Self Propelled Artillery battalions. One word of caution here, the 502nd SS and 13/33 Self Propelled Artillery DO get the 20+ DRM that other German artillery receives. This might not be apparent from the wording of the paragraphs on German Artillery. Air units are available for interdiction or ground support missions. The Allies have substantially more air power that the Germans and can use it liberally when the weather permits. The Germans have a scant ten points of air power so they must use it wisely, because when it's gone, it's gone. Allied Strategic Bombing effects present themselves in an increased effectiveness of interdiction. V: Special Units: As mentioned there exists a plethora of special units. Engineers, Bridging Engineers, Flak units, the ESC and GRD brigades and ,Yes Virginia, we have Commandos! Both the Einheit Steilau and Von Der Heydte units are available for use along with the 150th Commando Brigade. Alas there is no Otto Skorzeny counter. Commando units, like their real life counterparts, are useful in the rear areas to slow up the Allies in crucial situations. The 150th Commando Brigade packs a good combat strength at 7 and can therefore be a decisive unit in combat situations. While not actually a unit, the 15th Army Offensive does rate a special mention. This is a particular situation, brought about by the German player, that can allow certain optional units to be brought into the game. To understand the importance of this, careful scrutiny of the OOA chart and victory conditions are required. I'd like to see a section added to this rule that spells out the benefits and dangers of this offensive. So how does the game play? I can sum it up in two words. Pucker Factor. And a high one at that. Like most of you, I've spent many hours pushing Panzers (pink and other colors) around only to find myself blocked by a "historical" game that left me with few options and little chance of a really Big Victory. Most "Bulge" games are fairly well balanced, but don't provide the excitement that this situation cries out for. But BoB delivers. Just like Von Rundstedt would have liked to. Both the Allies and the Germans have the opportunity to blow it big time. What makes this game work is a combination of the Off Board Movement Chart and a well integrated combined arms combat system. The weather has been factored into the variable air unit arrival rules. You can praise or cuss this choice. I'd have preferred a system that allowed me to choose where my air units went depending on the weather that day. This would have made the Allied player choose between the tactical interdiction or strategic supply suppression missions. But the present system does work well. VI. Closing: All in all I found BoB to be a well designed game that won't sit and gather dust on my shelf. It is an excellent vehicle to introduce new gamers to the hobby and offers a great deal of replay value. When the "Charlies" come around this year, I'm casting my vote BoB's way. How about you? >>>>>>>Anything else? Your Buddy, Chester -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/1/_/486304/_/977676075/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> What Bulge game are you playing this month?