Just finished reading them. I see what you mean @Rod_Humble. They’re just written in conversational language, not technical language; but yeah, it’s weird. :) I think he could do with a nice, no BS step by step sequence of play flow chart in there with notes in each phase about the different chrome things to do/check for/keep in mind. They look great, and I can’t wait to play.
Now if only Legion will answer about the Vassal mod. They are officially in ignore mode IMO. They’ve been emailed, Facebook-messaged, Facebook-commented, CSW’ed and both BGG’d and BGG-mailed. All a week ago. Crickets.
If he can’t answer a simple question about the module (even if it’s “IDK”), then this is the last Legion CPO I do.
Yeah its a bit awkward, I got halfway through before I realise the play sheets had information on them I needed to understand the rules like Quality value. Just awkward.
Honest question, me not being anything close to a grognard (but kinda wishing I had the time): is “beer and pretzels” an insult? And what does it really mean, just simpler (er, “streamlined”)?
Like many things, depends on who is using it. It’s not really an insult though, just a term used to describe a game that is shorter play time, and low rules complexity.
I think it’s a matter of taste. People will generally call games they call too simple by that name. Not that i’m innocent of using that myself, of course.
It’s not an insult on its face, but it can be used as one depending on your perspective. It can either be a name for something you enjoy that you are just denoting as being a simpler game, or something you are being dismissive of as not being “serious.”
All the other responses are spot on. In the context I used it for, it was meant not pejoratively but as one end of a scale. There is a time and place for that kind of game. Heck, I’d play Axis and Allies on the right evening, with the right crowd. But in the discussion around Cataclysm specifically, the game is billed as being simpler, and less time consuming due to it’s unique use of 2 year turns, gaining simplicity not by sacrificing historical grounding or having a game with WW2 chrome bolted on, but by backing the scale in time out. A truly unique approach that had me intrigued just by the fact that they attempted this. And led me to buy it and want to play it.
So, having completely read the rules (only 16 pages)…muddled a few things out and watched some live tweeting of gameplay…I am blown away. The chit pull mechanic as applied here is freaking brilliant. And the supply rules are nuanced but elegantly simple. This looks like a freaking fantastic game…and the replay value looks huge.
Is anyone interested in a Grognard Game Box Art Challenge? Like they do with PC games in the thread? I’m thinking Board Wargames. Pipe in here and I’l start a thread and get the ball rolling if anyone is interested.
I do not like Cataclysm, and am disappointed. However, the now-shipping Skies Above the Reich may be a real sleeper, as long as you are ok playing the Luftwaffe in a solitaire game. That is all for now.
Interesting, while the events around Firebase Illingsworth were occurring in Tay Ninh, the Headhunters of 1/9 Cav were on a CBS Special report doing what they did ISO 1 CAV DIV Ops there… So “unprofessional” looking…
If you’re interested in things like the television coverage of the war, you should read John Laurence’s The Cat From Hue, a fabulous book by a CBS reporter in Vietnam. Heck, he might have been the one doing that story on the 1/9 Cav. The book is at my office so I can’t check. But you should read it.
