by J. R. Tracy
We had ten gamers last week as we shipped product in France, visited the future by way of the past, worshipped Ra, and fought for Erebor and a scrap of Mongolia.Dr. Rob, Steven, and Maynard sat down to Le Havre, the first game for Maynard but the most recent of many for Steven and Rob. Steven was all about late-game shipping of product, accruing an impressive mound of commodities in front of him that looked more like the bank than a personal supply. Dr. Rob on the other hand built out a massive multi-building enterprise that steadily produced income and resources, sustaining its own expansion. Maynard was running two strategies simultaneously, buying into heavy buildings while working the commodity cycle.
Steel-drivin' man
I thought Steven might make it close once the Seine bridge opened for business, but Rob's empire proved unassailable. Maynard's approach fell short, as this particular session rewarded single-mindedness over diversification.
The Seulowitz industrial complex
Jim and I were inspired by the weather and pulled the old SPI War in the Ice down off the shelf. Set in the distant future of 1991, the game portrays a superpower struggle for Antarctica. The force mix features hover tanks, laser cats, droids, killer satellites, and more futuristic goodness alongside foot-slogging infantry and extensive air assets.
The system is fairly complex, with an elaborate supply system supporting a combined-arms-focused sequence of play. After weather is determined and supply is resolved, an alternating air sequence allows players to move resources around the map and attempt detection of enemy forces. Then, ground units move, followed by combat initiated by units occupying the same hex. Combat is not guaranteed, however - if one side remains undetected it is invulnerable to attack. Even detection does not reveal the exact composition of a stack - you may find yourself hammering a column of droids while the real threat slips through to your vital base.
Showdown by the Davis Sea
Combat starts with an air phase, with surviving units pushing through to hit enemy ground forces (though AA fire may take its toll). Each side then picks a force posture, with the available options determined by force composition - combined arms allows more choices, while an all-infantry force offers little mystery in the posture matrix. If forces on both sides survive, players may opt to attempt to break off combat, or repeat the process.
Ground units (companies or battalions, hard to tell really) are rated for anti-armor, anti-infantry, anti-air, and electronic warfare (EW); air units are anti-air, anti-ground, range, and EW. Movement rates for ground units vary by unit type and weather - hovertanks zip along when the sun shines, not so much when the wind kicks up. EW plays a role in detecting the enemy, and is integral to air-to-air combat resolution. Range may be the most important air unit value, as we'll see later.
The Battle of Wilkes Station
WitI may be a supply game as much as a combat game. Supply points are bought in batches and delivered to coastal bases, where they are loaded onto transport aircraft and supply convoys for shipment to the interior. Units are rated for per-turn supply consumption, and it is a tricky exercise to budget your needs and get your supplies in place and on time to support your operations. Supply is purchased with Resource Points (RPs), which are victory points for all intents and purposes. You also use RPs to buy reinforcements, lose them when your units are eliminated, and win them when you take an enemy base. Deficit spending is allowed, with reversible VP/RP markers. You get four: 1000x, 100x, 10x, and 1x, giving you some idea of the magnitude of the RP management chore.
Jim and I played the 12-turn USA vs USSR Gradual Escalation scenario, with me taking the Soviets. We each had a budget of RPs with which to purchase our orders of battle and supply. Set up was simultaneous and secret, as we distributed our forces across our existing Antarctic bases - coastal bases could be piled high (there is no stacking limit) while interior bases were restricted to one air and two land units. We each had our natural spheres of influence, but in one corner of the map my Lenin base a mere three hexes away from Jim's Wilkes Station. Jim noticed this and put a lot of units in Wilkes. I noticed it too, and put even more units in Lenin. I had a 2:1 advantage in the air and on the ground - the battle for Wilkes Station was nasty, brutish, and short.
US counterattack in the frozen interior
I had Wilkes in hand and Jim suffered the double whammy of heavy losses on the board and on the RP/VP track. He was now playing from behind, and had to attempt to seize the initiative. Here's where the short-legged air support became an issue - no other opposing bases were within air range of one another. I could station air units on my bases and he would have to march into a well-supported defense. He had the option of building temporary bases using his engineers, but since these had to be constructed in range of my own bases, he would have to weather a counterpunch before getting them established. In the meantime, I could use my RP advantage to get ahead of him on the force curve. Nonetheless, he made a game play for Russia's Inaccessibility base, roughly in the center of the continent. He supported his mech unit with airmobile troops, while I flew in paratroops. It was a much closer fight than we saw at Wilkes, but the Soviets triumphed, and the fate of the Antarctica was sealed.
War in the Ice was a real pleasure. The rules are reasonably tight, and though the supply rules cry out for simplification, they didn't inhibit our enjoyment. After one playing, it's clear experienced players will load up on the Lenin/Wilkes front to establish a stalemate, while conducting a more dynamic campaign elsewhere on the continent. There are many interesting asymmetries in the game, with slightly different force pools and unit costs. Also, the US retains more capability as the weather worsens, so with the scenario starting in the Antarctic autumn, it might pay to play for time, and go over on the offensive once the snow flakes start to fly. There is a three player option which introduces the South American Union (SAU), a prior build-up scenario with more at-start forces, and a science fiction scenario that posits an ancient (but technically adept) civilization beneath the icecap that awakens to wreak havoc. Altogether, a cool nostalgia trip and a good game, worthy of rediscovery.
Red stars over the icecap
Stéphane and Bill introduced Hawkeye to Roll for the Galaxy, which meant that Stéphane and Bill fought for the lead while Hawkeye fought for basic understanding in the early going. Hawkeye eventually got up to speed with a respectable engine but by that time Stéphane had built a lead he maintained to the end for a close win over Bill.
Hawkeye contemplates the vacuum of space
Dave also taught a game, walking Campoverdi through the finer points of The Battle of Five Armies. Dave took the Shadow forces and quickly seized the center of the valley. However, he was a little too good of a tutor, and as Bolg led the assault on the Eastern Spur, Campo piled on the hits. Soon Bolg's bodyguards were depleted and the Shadow general was vulnerable. A five-hit attack burned through his escorting combat units, felling the big lug for a Free People win. Campoverdi, Bolg-Slayer!
Bolg storms the Eastern Spur
Dave and Campo followed up with a couple rounds of Ra: The Dice Game. They split the pair, with Dave really liking the game. He's mastered the parent game Ra to the point that I've lost my copy and every time I find it someone hides it again. Anyway, it's an interesting implementation of the base game, a decent substitute in a pinch if you're looking for a filler.
Coaxing a leaner
Finally, Hawkeye and Stéphane wrapped up the evening with a little Up Front, using the Banzai expansion for a Japanese-Soviet matchup. Hawkeye's Japanese approached carefully at first, but in a sudden burst of impetuosity all three groups rose up in a Banzai charge. Unfortunately for the Emperor's finest, Stéphane had a decent fire card in hand. That card, assisted by a lack of terrain, the movement penalty, and a steady flow of black numbers, reduced Hawkeye's entire Group B to a slick spot on the Mongolian steppe. Short game, but that's two Up Front sessions so far this year, a trend I hope continues.
The group of wind and ghosts