A Kursk based boardgame

[Norm S]

The latest C3i magazine has a game dealing with March – October 1943 on the eastern front.

It is based on the excellent introductory system, Battle for Moscow by Frank Chadwick, with a couple of really nice extra twists.

I have done a bit of a write up over on the blog for those interested.

LINK
http://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2021/03/battle-for-kursk.html

[deephorse]

Thanks for the review Norm.  I don’t usually read blogs, but being a long-time player of what I call ‘SPI-style’ boardgames, and owning a very large number of them, I was interested enough to dive in.

The opening few paragraphs made me doubt the game, especially when the battle of Kursk itself would fit into a single game turn.  I also couldn’t see how being on the offensive was justification for not receiving reinforcements/replacements.  But as I read on I could see that this was just a mechanic to bring about the effect of offensives running out of steam, and that made sense.

By the end of your review I felt quite favourable towards the game, and if I didn’t already own a lot of similar games, and if my gaming budget was not already allocated to a different project, I could have seen myself looking for a copy of this.  Thanks again for a well written review Norm.

Play is what makes life bearable - Michael Rosen

[Norm S]

Thank you. With Kursk in the title and then the set up looking very ‘Kursk like’, my mindset was automatically pulled in to expecting a Kursk game ….. even though I could see the timeframe on the turn track!  A strange thing indeed, that only hit home when 2 turns into the summer campaign, the Soviets were launching their first offensive …. the time for Kursk had passed!

Like your good self, the Kursk SPI game is rather imprinted on my mind. I think a lot of the SPI line could stand up to a modern reprinting with very minor tweaking and inclusion of errata.

[Guy Farrish]

Nice review Norm. Thanks.

I’m very tempted. Like Deephorse my money is theoretically allocated elsewhere (about 30 times over!) but I am wondering if there shouldn’t be a COBRA meeting to override current priorities.

I have scars from seventies East Front boardgames (Drang Nach Osten and Unentschieden anyone?) and wonder if this might not be the rehabilitation experience I need? Three hours seems eminently manageable compared to the 12000 minutes brochure figure for Drang Nach Osten!

[deephorse]

COBRA eh?  Now that (IMHO) is a very fine boardgame, and one I’ve played many times.  Always solo though.  I play all my boardgames solo.  And Drang Nach Osten gets a mention too!  I can’t remember when now, it’s that long ago, but I took part in a play by mail (remember that?) game of Drang.  I was allocated a tiny Soviet command somewhere in the wilds of Finland, with probably no more than 6 counters to command.  I never knew how many people were taking part, but it must have been a lot if all I got was 10 hexes of the Arctic to defend.

Anyway, each week I’d look forward to the next envelope arriving, showing me how much territory I’d lost, and how few units I still had left.  But actually I must have done quite well, because one week I was told that I’d been promoted and moved to a more interesting part of the Arctic with instructions to defend that.  We’d all been given a photocopy of the rules (did photocopiers exist then?  Well, we all got a copy of the rules somehow), and my teenage self took my task very seriously, and I agonised over how to move my meagre forces for days before sending my orders back in.

I can’t remember how long this lasted for, but ultimately the final letter arrived informing me that Stalin was dead and it was all over.  PBM Drang had entertained me for a long time, and when I had enough money it inspired me to buy SPI’s War in the East.  During a long period of unemployment, around 1980, I played the full campaign solo, and it hasn’t seen the light of day since.  Not because it’s bad, I think it’s pretty good, but who has a spare 6 months to throw at a game like that?  Actually probably quite a few people might have had that much time in 2020/21.  I’m seriously thinking of breaking it out again and playing it for one last time before I get too old to bend over a huge counter filled map for hours/days/weeks on end.

Thanks for bringing back those memories Guy.

Play is what makes life bearable - Michael Rosen

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