ASL First Fire

I have purchased or subscribed to two gaming magazines in the past few months, both of which are relative newcomers to the wargaming scene and both of which promise a new game in (or available with) each issue. The first was "Against the Odds", to which I first subscribed back in December. The second issue I've received (Volume 2, Number 3 overall) arrived a few weeks ago. The other was "Armchair General", which has just published its second issue. Both are game- and history-oriented, but take very different approaches to their subject matter.

"Against the Odds" is published quarterly, the newest issue being its seventh overall. AtO includes a game in each issue, with printed (glossy stock) mapsheet, mounted counters and rules. One of the attractive things about AtO is that its subject matter strays (for the most part) far beyond the Second World War and the American Civil War, perhaps the two most common areas of interest for many publications. The games released to date in AtO have ranged from the Battle of Thermopylae to the Battle of Khe Sanh, with "Napoleon at the Berezina" among others in between. Of the two WWII-era games published so far, one of them ("North Wind Rain") is a "what-if" game covering a hypothetical attack by the Japanese against the Soviet Far East. Upcoming games include "Fortress Berlin" covering the last days of WWII, but also games covering the Battle of Grozny from 1995, the Battle of Mohacs ("Sulieman the Magnificent" by Richard Berg) and the Battle of the Somme.

The current issue features "A Dark and Bloody Ground," a depiction of the fighting over control of the Ohio frontier at the end of the 18th century between the Native American nations and the armed forces of the newly formed United States of America. The game is designed to be played equally well between two players or as a solitaire game. As with the other games from AtO, the rules are included in the center of the magazine and a high-quality mapsheet is included along with mounted counters. The physical quality looks good and the mapsheet, as has been the custom for this series, is very attractive visually, using maps and pictures from the era as a basis in order to capture the feel of the period nicely. "Go Tell the Spartans" from the previous issue, about Thermopylae, also was a departure but again seemed to give a nice feel to the game. Both seem to be of high quality and should make for interesting playing. GTTS has generated a number of questions, and a draft second edition of the rules has been provided online, with plans to publish them in a future issue. While errata are never welcome, the AtO staff is to be commended to their attention to these issues, which has apparently saved GTTS as a game, according to feedback on the Consimworld site.

The articles also are welcome. Many have been historical, with a few intended as a view on wargaming in general. The current issue includes a historical background on the Campaign for Ohio by the game's designer, Paul Rohrbaugh. Other articles include a review on "aerial assassination" attempts during WWII, a review of the 13th century battles between the Mongol and the Muslim forces, and an overview of the myths surrounding Alexander, written in anticipation of an upcoming movie on that topic. John Prados, designer of Third Reich, has a column on historicity in wargames. John Compton has the second part of his three-part series on the future of gaming, which to say the least has generated a lot of discussion online.

Overall, this is an impressive series of magazines. The subjects addressed are intriguing, the articles appear well written and make interesting and informative reading, and the games seem to be very well done, both in design and physical quality. This is well worth looking into.

"Armchair General" on the other hand takes a more traditional approach in its choice of subject matter, as the cover pictures of Patton and Eisenhower would indicate. The emphasis through the first two issues has been on World War II (primarily the American experience) and, to a lesser degree, the American Civil War. Part of the World War II emphasis is clearly related to the upcoming 60th anniversary of the "D-Day" landings in Normandy. Where "Armchair General" breaks new ground is in its presentation of those subjects. Rather than dry historical articles, the emphasis is on a "You Are There" approach, not just relating the events but often making an effort to put the reader into the situation. For example, a series of articles entitled "What Next General?" tells the story of a battle, while asking the reader to consider different options on how to proceed at critical points in the battle. In the first issue, the reader is asked to take the place of General Robert E. Lee as the Battle of Gettysburg unfolds. In issue two, an alternate history scenario is presented with General George C. Marshall planning the invasion of Fortress Europa as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in place of an incapacitated Eisenhower.

Other articles are even more interactive. A series entitled "You Command" presents a tactical situation in detail (as a German tank leader preparing for a British counterattack in North Africa in issue one, and as a Airborne company commander trying to retain a captured bridge on D-Day in issue two), and then asks the reader to outline a plan to carry out the objective, providing a map on which to sketch out an appropriate deployment. The plan can be submitted as part of a contest, with winners to be announced in a future issue. Another highly interactive article which has stretched over both issues is "Fire and Steel," an "Interactive Combat Story." In this series, the reader becomes a tank commander storming Omaha Beach, given a narrative but occasionally asked to make specific choices as to how to proceed, with the next part of the narrative (and the reader's "survival") depending on what option was selected.

There is some more traditional fare, such as the "Battlefield Leader" articles, which have so far concentrated on coverboys Patton and Eisenhower. "Walk Where They Fought" is another series which presents history with a twist. These articles provide highly detailed maps of battlefield areas (Omaha Beach and the 82nd Airborne's targets areas inland from Utah Beach have been presented so far) combined with a narrative summary of the battles in question along with a guided tour of the areas as they exist now. These should be a fantastic resource for anyone fortunate enough to get to tour those battlefields.

Each issue has, as promised, delivered a new game. However, unlike "Against the Odds," which supplies the game and all materials with the magazine, "Armchair General" takes the Desktop Publishing (DTP) approach, providing the game materials as a downloadable file from the website (a required code number is printed in the magazine), with the player responsible for printing the materials and mounting them as necessary. For those of us (like me) who are not particularly facile with such "arts and crafts" procedures, the editors have promised on the website forum to issue these games for sale in the future as a "pre-packaged boardgame." The first issue gave the gaming world "Operation Iraqi Freedom," a simulation of the Coalition forces' invasion of Iraq in 2003. Game number two is "Gettysburg: The Battle for Cemetery Ridge," a brigade level game covering the first day of the battle. I haven't played either yet (although both claim to be solitaire-suitable), but both appear to be fairly straightforward and not too complex. Both were designed by Mark H. Walker (designer of Lock 'n Load).

Both of these magazines make nice additions to both the historical magazine and wargaming genres. They would certainly be worth investigation by both the wargamer and the military history buff.