S&T #140 Objective: Tunis
S&T #141 Hannibal
S&T #142 Red Beach One
S&T #143 Rio Grande
S&T #144 Chad: The Toyota Wars
S&T #145 Trajan
S&T #146 Sicily
S&T #147 Holy War: Afghanistan
S&T #148 Cropredy Ridge
S&T #149 Franco-Prussian War
S&T #140 Objective: Tunis
-------------------------
"Clang! Dud. This is that Europa game I was thinking about.
Muddy rules. Crummy map (set up refered to non-noted towns,
etc.)" DM
"Not fond of N. Africa but this game seemed underdeveloped as
well." MP
"Unplayable. You were supposed to put units in towns/villages that
didn't exist on the map. I think the errata was longer than the
original rules." NW
"I pick one to play from this decade, and it turns out to be this
one. I sure can pick 'em huh? Some of the other posters have been
calling it unplayable, and indeed, Kirk Schlesinger (sp?) in a later
S&T called some of the omissions/errors etc, "showstoppers". Actually,
VvB really pushed that Battles for North Africa system to its limit
in this game, imo. That is, the situation on the ground was so chaotic
between the Vichy folks deciding what they were going to do, and the
German airlift capabilities being pushed to the max, that the game
system was just overloaded with all the special rules that were needed
to handle this unusual situation. The basic BNA system is not really
that hard to learn or to play, but the complexity of the situation made
O:T more than your usual "magazine game". I don't think it's really
a dud, but I agree that it sure required some care and feeding to get
it to perform. Thanks for reading." JB
"Don't remember it too well, but something was wrong with it. The
weakest of the North Africa series in my opinion." WS
S&T #141 Hannibal
-----------------
"Nice little game, to bad AH game out with its Hannibal as
this one is not bad (then again i also enjoy 'A House
Divided)" CD
"Gem. Not exactly historical I've heard, but a fun "game." DM
"Dud. Didn't work for me as history or a game. I can accept
one or the other when I can't have both, but it isn't acceptable
to be neither. There's a longish article fixing the problems
published in Simulations Online, which is probably archived on
WebGrogs someplace. Incredibly hideous map, too." DT
"Seemed fun until you figured out that the Romans sit in the cities
until they could overwhelm Hannibal with sheer numbers." MP
"I liked this when I played it." NW
"Liked the game okay, if a bit unhistorical. Never had any luck
with Carthage, however." WS
S&T #142 Red Beach One
----------------------
"Dud. Dull solitare game of Tarawa invasion. I remember trying
to "fix"" DM
"Can't anyone make a fun game on island warfare? Like many
solitaire games, this is more like a puzzle to figure out." MP
"There were major problems with this one, too, AIR, but I managed
to play it. It wasn't that much fun, though." NW
"Fearful errata, but not bad. OK for playing once every couple of
years. The first day tends to be quite tense. If you manage to
survive the first day and night without rolling a major counterattack,
you've nearly won." MS
S&T #143 Rio Grande
-------------------
"Definitely a dud, it might have done much better as a true
GBACW game (ala Wilson's Creek). Big hype. Bigger
disappointment." TES
"Dud. Wasn't this claimed as part of the GBACW series too. I
recall a low number of calvary units running around a big
vacant map." DM
"Sucked big time. Partial ancestor of Royalists and Roundheads." NW
S&T #144 Chad: The Toyota Wars
------------------------------
"Semi Gem. Again, LIC so "boring" but I found it a fascinating
rules/map combo for "study"" DM
"Chad" is a wonderful game, really. I guess not many people
would be interested about the theme, but anyway it plays good
and feels good." PEM
"It was amusing to slaughter hapless Libyans. Personally, given
the emphasis on control of villages and water holes, I think this
should have been point-to-point. I can feel the flames, now....
It certainly gave me some insight into the problems faced by anyone
who might to govern such a place. It is a good companion to the
Nicaragua game." NW
"Excellent. A workable LIC simulation complete with political game.
Feels like a Joe Miranda game even though it's not by him. :-)" MS
S&T #145 Trajan
---------------
"Gem. Gem. Gem. The Ptolemaic (sp) maps, design perspective, chit
play. Trajan goes east. A great game." DM
"Tried it, didn't like it, but enough other people here have proclaimed
it "gem" that I should probably dig it out again. (I still don't buy
the Ptolemaic map projection, though.)" DT
"Great game. The Parthians have it tough, though." NW
"After playing it more than a dozen times, I'm still not sure about
play balance, but this one (game and series) deserves to be rated a
classic. All the Roman history nuts in my vicinity love the feeling
of this game. Only the battleboard rules needed some fixing." MS
S&T #146 Sicily
---------------
"Didn't like the game or the series. The old SPI version was much
better." MP
"First in John Schettler series. Another game with tons of errata.
I eventually managed to play this, and found the system very
interesting. Admittedly, I don't have the experience with op WW2
boxed games that a lot of other people on this list have." NW
"Worst development job I've ever seen, except perhaps for #140 (or
any FGA game). I never tried to use the original rules; played
with the Anzio rules from #155, the errata load is no worse than
the average GMT release, and the mission-based, interactive system
is among the best WWII operational games out there. Plays slowly,
but overall as good as the old SPI Sicily. Great-looking map." MS
S&T #147 Holy War: Afghanistan
------------------------------
"Semi Gem. Semi if you appreciate LIC. See Chad." DM
"Another interesting game. Don't send the RDF into Afghanistan
if you know what's good you! I found this out the hard way." NW
"Good with some flaws. Extremely bloody, land supply seems of
too little importance to the Soviets, and the political game is
unstable (slip out of equilibrium and you'll probably never get
another chance)." MS
S&T #148 Cropredy Ridge
-----------------------
"Overwrought. You actually have to mark units which move, so
they won't engage in combat, and vice versa. With counters not
provided in the counter-mix, mind you. This game is a good example
of how inexperienced designers get overly concerned with simulating
mechanics to the detriment of producing a game which is readily
playable." NW
S&T #149 Franco-Prussian War
----------------------------
"Gem. But then I like Miranda's take on this series Wars
of the Imperial Age with Russo-Turkish War, Austro-Prussian
War, etc. Innovative combat resolution system IMHO based
on chit play." DM
"One of the best S&Ts ever. Everything you want in an magazine
game: new topic, innovative but not overly complicated system,
good historical feel." DT
"Another great Joe Miranda game. I love that battles are so
unpredictable. The game also shows, very clearly, the great
weakness of the French army: high-quality troops which are
virtually irreplaceable, plentiful rabble, and nothing in-between
Another thing I liked about both this game, and Trajan, is that
you really only move around a few stacks per turn, possibly only
one, and consequently, turns move very quickly." NW
"Excellent game and system. I'd rank this with Trajan as a classic.
Not particularly quick-playing though." MS
"Best of the Bunch for me. Like the system and its
later revisions." WS
