Firstly another offering by Chris McDowall – The Doomed
This one is available for pre-order from Osprey and looks like a worthwhile investment for those interested in the Post Apocalyptic Sci-Fi genre. There is not much available on this one and i have copied and pasted from the Osprey site all that is available at the moment.
Description
A quick-playing, rules-light skirmish wargame of Horror hunting set in a bleak sci-fi world on the brink of impending doom.
Hunger, Hatred, Domination, Oblivion, and Ruin. The world is dying, poised on the brink of falling to one of these great dooms. Factions pursue their own interests, as likely to be the heralds of the world’s destruction as they are its saviours. Horrors – monstrous abominations that defy logic, science, and nature – roam the land. Bands of hunters follow bold leaders, seeking out and destroying Horrors, gaining fame as word of their deeds spreads amongst the desperate survivors. Rival bands compete for prestige, clash over ideology, and pose as much of a threat to each other as the Horrors they hunt.
The Doomed is a quick-playing, rules-light skirmish wargame in which small warbands of hunters compete to hunt unique Horrors in a bleak sci-fi world. Scenarios are defined by the Horror being hunted and by the Conflict in which the hunt takes place. Each Horror has its own strengths, weaknesses, and tactics, often breaking the rules in unique ways, and must be approached carefully – stealth, cunning, and brute force will all have a role to play. Each Conflict, meanwhile, provides a distinct set-up for the scenario and a secondary objective that pits the warbands against each other as well as against the Horror. Campaigns build towards a climax, with hunters gaining prestige and renown, offering access to new, unique options for their warband. In the background, the five dooms also grow in power, threatening to deliver their own climax to the campaign if the hunters are not successful enough.
The next is from the prolific pen of Joseph A. McCullough. The Carpathians is a new supplement for Silver bayonet, and also on pre-order from Osprey.
Description
Recruit new soldiers, face new foes, and explore the mysteries of the Carpathian Mountains in two new campaigns, one competitive and one for solo or cooperative play.
High in the Carpathian Mountains stands the crumbling Castle Fier. Once home to a powerful warlord, the castle cast a dark shadow across the nearby villages, until crusaders attacked with sword and flame to put an end to its menace. Though history passed into folklore, the ruins of Castle Fier remained shunned by all as a cursed site. Now, horrors have been seen moving at night. An army gathers. Something has awoken in the ruins. With the political situation in the surrounding region becoming increasingly unstable, France, Prussia, Britain, and the other powers have dispatched their best agents to investigate the ruins, eliminate any threats, and acquire any treasures that could prove useful in the ongoing fight against the harvestmen… and each other.
The Carpathians: Castle Fier is a supplement for The Silver Bayonet: A Wargame of Napoleonic Gothic Horror, in which the special units must fight their way through the ruins of a menacing haunted castle. It features two campaigns – one competitive and one for solo or cooperative play – as well as new monsters to fight, soldiers to recruit, and treasure to unearth.
Another one available for pre-order is from Helion. The Helion Wargaming series is less about the how to and more about giving gamers the tools and knowledge to play the period. I have always liked the history of the Monmouth Rebellion and their title on this one is excellent. I also have their Three Ages of Riome series which is also very good. I have no reason to think that this one would be any different.
The Spanish Civil War is often seen as a socialist against fascist war, but this is not always the case. The people living in Spain during the 1930’s had more to them than either being left, or right wing and it is a misconception to put them in “boxes” for ease of simplicity. Spain was not only a hotbed of political ideals during the period but also a place of religion and the old way of Spanish life. When the Republican Government got into power all these conceptions were thrown into the melting pot and what came out was a modern war, the like of which had never been seen.
This war was seen as a testing ground for some of the major powers at the time and their influence would be revisited during World War Two. Saturated bombing, tank tactics and new weaponry were used to an extent never seen before in Europe and would dictate the future. It was the scene of some horrendous atrocities which would only be overshadowed by the next major conflict. Many lessons were learned, including the large movement of troops in a short period of time (the Army of Africa to Spain by the Condor Legion and the Italian Air Force) or how to defend areas against modern weapons (the Republican Army around the University in Madrid). There were also tactics used from the previous World War including trenches which were employed to hold up the advancement of troops and still showed they were necessary even against more modern armies.
As in any civil war the uniforms, other than those of the international participants, were similar on either side at the beginning of the conflict but as time went on there became differences following the aid from “sponsor” countries. Together with these changes the appearance of other armies in Spain led to a myriad of varied uniforms and weapons which are included in the book.
The war lasted for just under three years with numerous large battles taking place, some of which are regularly written about, but in addition there are even more smaller fights which took place. Most of the smaller actions lend themselves to time limited wargames which are playable in one session each, giving the players an achievable objective.
The last one has been around for a few years but I have only just come across it.
I have really enjoyed Ash Barkers “Last Days of the Zombie Apocalypse” and will pick this one up based on this. He has some excellent ideas and mechanics and any of his rules are well worth a look. This one is available from Book Depository for AU $40.52.
Description
In the blasted, radiation-scorched, wastelands of the Earth’s surface, towering mecha do battle, defending the interests of one of the few remaining arcology governments, providing security for wilderness outposts, or seeking out loot and supplies as a mercenary company. With detailed rules for designing and customizing your mecha, from size and propulsion type to payload and pilot skills, and a campaign system that allows pilots to gain experience and skills as they patrol the shattered Earth, Gamma Wolves is a fast-playing game of post-apocalyptic mecha warfare.
I look forward to picking up a couple of these.