|
||
World War One Rules Reviews
Note, each set is accorded a value for money rating. 1 = terrible; 10 is extremely good - must have.
Positive Points
I suspect the rules are designed to give an extremely accurate depiction of just how 'chancy' attacking actually was on the Western Front. The rules provide a large number of decision points which if the player gets wrong will lead to immediate destruction.
Negative Points
The artillery dictates everything. If that goes extremely well the attacker is OK otherwise the sensible attacking general stops the game there and then as there is no point continuing. This is the problem. The rules simply don't give a good game.
It is so easy to concentrate fire on units that they are destroyed immediately or, more likely stopped in their tracks, never to move again. There are fundamental problems in the systems such as when a unit is hit it simply stops and stays stopped the whole game until destroyed. So if a unit is caught just once in a single bound it stops right there and simply dies - it doesn't run for cover even if it is in the open. There are rules to get them moving to safety but it is so hard to do that in reality it hardly ever happens. So all a defender has to to is cause a casualty on the attacking units and then it is safe as they stop and can be destroyed at leisure over the next few moves.
The rules cover divisional and battalion combat forces. The bad points just get worse with battalion level actions.
Very hard to have a good game with these rules. However, some may value the accuracy in scenarios so give it a higher rating.
I have looked at these rules very hard to see if I was making mistakes. I don't think I am.
Overall value for money: 2
Reviewer: TC
Positive Points
Positive Points
Simplicity. These rules are amenable to quick and easy games. The square system takes a bit of getting used to but works fine on westerns front actions where things largely go forward and may then also go back, rarely sideways. My experience is played on tables 20 feet long and ten feet wide. These rules work extremely well there. Because at that level you have to move the guns around and rear support goes out of range etc. A much more fulfilling game.
Negative Points
The rules are less convincing on the eastern front where actions were fluid and the movement was less directly ahead.. Also there are some complexities that don't really add much. Simply ignore them and the game improves.
Overall Value for Money: 7 (but make sure you have arranged the scenario to get best value.
Reviewer: TC
Positive Points
Good, solid old-fashioned set of rules. Has some odd factors that make tanks a bit powerful but the assumption is that the terrain is a major hazard (if you set it right) and so tanks are vulnerable to bogging.
Loads of different actions can be fought and handles the eastern front better than some other sets. On that score, there are plenty of hooks you can add your own scenario rules in such as dummy guns and nasty surprises.
Negative Points
Some weird effects with machine guns that result in incredibly difficulty with attack. They are simply too powerful. The rules are also not that easy to pick up quickly. However, by the third game things go better.
Perhaps a bit complex so not really likely to get to a conclusion in the night except if the forces are small.
Overall Value for Money: 6
Reviewer: TC