From: Avalanche Press
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Eastern Frontis a new War Game from Avalanche Press.
I have reviewed a game in the Panzer Grenadierseries previously (Beyond Normandy) where I commented on the rule set there. As I play it more often, I learn more about this multi-faceted game and its rules. I will expand on the Panzer Grenadier rules in this review.
Eastern Frontis a cardboard counter (chit) based war game set in the opening year of the intense struggle between Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941 and 1942. It contains 112 separate scenarios, or game situations, based on the actual battles. As mentioned, the game is part of the Panzer Grenadiergame series. According to the web site, this version is a total revision of the game released in 2000.
Eastern Front contains 660 playing pieces which include the troops and weapons of the Soviet Red Army, the German Wehrmacht and Romania’s Armata Romana. All chits are based on units used between 1941 and early 1942, including the Soviet T-34, the Germany’s PzKw IV, German commandos, Soviet tank-hunting platoons, Romanian cavalry, and more. There are eight mapboards that represent typical terrain found in the Soviet Union at the time of the war. They can be placed together in many possible combinations to form the playing area.
From the website:
“On 22 June 1941, German, Romanian and other Axis forces launched a surprise attack against the Soviet Union.”
Expanding on my last review of the rule set, one of the primary keys about Panzer Grenadier is the placement of leaders. Not only does this game simulate combat and strategy in a typical World War II setting, but it also simulates the important of good leadership and the proper allocation of that leadership. Movement and combat is highly reliant on where you place your leaders. It is possible to move without a leader but a unit can not do much beyond that.
There are several types of leaders and some are ranked while others are not. Tank leaders are assigned to a specific tank unit and do not have rank. Regular leaders (ones that the game actually supplies chits for) can be quite effective if played right. There is a hierarchy to leaders based on rank, and they have stats that add to combat and morale checks. Leaders are as important if not more important than your units.
Playing it more and learning the complexities a little further, Panzer Grenadier makes an exceptional effort to simulate logically all the fine details of platoon level combat. The more I review games like this, the more I see through the similarities and understand the subtle differences. Many of these chit-based games, on the surface, are similar – movement points and terrain costs, disruption, combat and armor values, activating and deactivating. The differences come in the how and why you move your units and how you kill your enemy’s units.
Also, to increase playability, there are differing strengths of leaders and they are drawn randomly at the start of the game. Each leader has two sides, even, and the player flips them like a coin to get the final leader they will be using.
Another aspect of the game I like is the way the rulebook is written. Key facets of the game found in the text are accompanied by reference numbers, allowing the reader to find where the author expands on that part of the game. Also, it repeats rules in different places several times. This game has a few “little rules” one has to remember and for me, it takes someone repeating it a couple of times for me to finally get it.
Game flow is more than just turn by turn action. I particular like this aspect of the game because it brings in even more detail. The game supplies a time card to track what time it is during the game, each turn taking 15 minutes of real game time. Each scenario has a start time. Daylight and nighttime effect things in the game, most notably spotting or line of site distances. Bottom line – you can’t see anything at night. Nope, they didn’t have those nice night-vision goggles back then.
From the website:
“This touched off the most vicious war the planet has ever known, as millions of men (and sometimes women) fought fanatically in a war of annihilation that ended only when the Red Army of Workers and Peasants planted its banners on the Reichstag in Berlin.”
Eastern Front comes with a ton of challenging scenarios for one to explore the mechanics and nuances of Panzer Grenadier. They vary from simple assaults to sneak attacks; from the taking of a bridge to defense of roads. Victory conditions are clearly stated. The scenario book also includes a couple of optional rules: Fog of War and Special Events. The end of the book contains a random events generator and new order table.
The mapboards were well made. The counters are a little larger than ones I have seen in the past and that’s a good thing. The layout of the chits is clear and uses color-coded numbers for the different values.
In conclusion, I played Axis & Allies miniatures not too long ago and have started collecting them because I like the game a lot. I am a World War II nut. After playing this game again and really giving the rules a full read over again, A&A seems so ‘light’ to me. The strategy behind this game really gets you into the details of command and control in ways I had not seen before. This is a very detailed game and with detail comes complexity. However, I do not believe that it is as complex as it could be. Where there is complexity, there is a logical reason for it. And it is not inappropriately or overly complex. It has a very consistent rule set and does not jump around using different mechanics.
What I like most about this game is the detail. It is just enough to keep my interest and not too much to keep me from playing the game. Examples of the detail of the game are the night and day combat, engineer units, spotting rules, offboard artillery, friendly fire rules for bombardment, and some of the special rules and special units. I also like the way the rulebook is written, very clear and concise. It is written like they really wants to teach a person to play.
I did find a minor production error on one chit – missing the picture image on the only Romania aircraft (IAR-80). Also, if certain units are going to be considered armored fighting vehicles (AFV) and others are not for a particular campaign box, I think the chits need to be labeled as such in some way. Also, I did have a level of sticker shock at the price of the game.
This is not a game for the light at heart, but it is not so overwhelming that a general war/board game fan can not pick it up and play. I am not confident that this game can be played in 30 minutes, no matter what scenario, but I did not get a chance to play all of them.Eastern Front is an excellent expansion for this series with great opportunities to play different battles in the most grueling battlefront in World War II.
For more details on Avalanche Press and their new War Game “Eastern Front” check them out at their website http://www.avalanchepress.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Eastern Front
From:Avalanche Press
Type of Game:War Game
Game Design by:Mike Bennighof, Brian L. Knipple (Game Series Design and Development)
Scenario Design: Mike Bennighof, Brian L. Knipple, William Sariego
Developed by:Doug McNair
Cover Art by:Peggy Gordon, Terry Strickland
Number of Pages:Rules – 16; Scenario book – 112
Game Components Included:660 playing pieces, eight mapboards, dice, two reference sheets, a rulebook and a scenario book
Retail Price:$ 74.99 (US)
Number of Players:2
Play Time:30 minutes to many hours
Item Number:STK #0310
Website:www.avalanchepress.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung