Anyone got any experience with any of the new games coming out of Compass Games?
Breaking the Chains
Enemy Action Ardennes
Balance of Powers
Bataan
End of Empire
just wondering if they're any good, especially considering the prices
^^I'm in the same boat. I was interested in Enemy Action Ardennes, but the Canadian price point of $145+ quickly sent it tumbling down my wishlist...
Breaking the Chains is the one I'm familiar with. I was curious about how it handled the South China Sea situation and as noted by Jon Compton it does a better job than Red Dragon/Green Crescent but still doesn't quite find the mark for really shedding light on the situation.
When I was playing Red Dragon (in its first incarnation) I felt like they had modeled it after the JPN Imperial Navy tactics and strategy in WWII.
Jon did a good interview, (will look up the podcast link if anyone is interested) and published a piece in the first issue of Counterfact magazine on the subject and the book he recommended on the subject, Anti-Access Warfare-Countering A2/AD Strategies by Sam J. Tangredi, is as good as he said it was on the subject.
I passed on BtC myself and have been working on notes for my on take on the situation that would include their 'unsinkable aircraft carrier force' i.e. the islands they are manufacturing in the disputed area to gain legal claim to the resources found there.
I thought they had some reprinting of Breaking The Chain's components? Or revising some of it?
I hadn't heard about that. I kinda stopped following it after I realized it wasn't gonna scratch the itch.
The design issues though are the real show stopper for me. It's difficult to model this new world of conflict we live in. So many designers just sorta reach into the past and pull up something and then buff it with chrome.
It's the problem I have with so many of Joe Miranda's designs...he models the parts he knows and then pushes everything else into a bucket marked 'Netwar/Hyperwar' and makes a track that catches all the cyber, social, political,etc material. I give it to Brian Train for making his games a little steeper learning curve but he tries to actually work the new world of conflict into the game itself so that you feel a sense of what a conflict is like in Lebanon or Ukraine today (and catch his own take on Lebanon and not the one that ended up in Modern War magazine if you want to play it...big stink about that).
In general, IMHO Compass games are good stuff and worth the money.
Of course I have never paid retail for them...usually purchase pre-order (at a good discount), or from discount retailers like CoolStuff.
I have Balance of Powers, but like many of my games I just haven't had the time for it...yet...:) I have read the rules, and it is everything I wanted in WWI grand strategy game. Politics, corps level units, commanders, air units, and even a naval game with CAs, BBs, BCs...leaders etc. I am planning on getting it to the virtual table in the next month or so...so will let folks know how I feel after that.
Some other points
-Compass games always have excellent components (with the exception that I have yet to see a mounted board).
-Compass supports Vassal...critical for a game like Balance of Powers.
-They hit their shipping dates with precision...in my experience at least.
I am also really excited about some of their upcoming releases.
Blitz a World in Conflict is 'fast play' World in Flames
Fatal Alliances, a WWI version of World in Flames
Red Poppies Campaigns: The Battle for Ypres, picking up where Worthington Games left off.
I have some other really great Compass games...and these quality games have kept me as a loyal Compass gamer.
-Steel Wolves...solitaire game of U-Boat Ops in WWII.
-Silent War...solitaire US Submarine campaign against Japan
-Operation Skorpion, Halfaya Pass, May 41
-Storming the Reich, Ted Racier does Normandy to Berlin at the divisional level. Sister game to Red Storm Over the Reich
-The War, monster game of WWII in the West
For me, Compass is number three in my library, right behind GMT and MMP.
I received my pre-order of Enemy Action: Ardennes in the summer. Will take me a while to get it to the table but have peeled off the shrink wrap and am impressed by what I've seen so far. While not cheap, it comes in a double wide box crammed full of wargaming goodness, including three full maps. Also, John Butterfield! Don't think I'm going to regret my investment.
Luckily, this pre-order was charged at the time I ordered, so didn't get screwed by the recent 25% drop in value of the Canadian dollar...although the publisher did demand an extra $19 for shipping before they sent it off. Not sure what would have happened if I'd refused.
oops. I lied about Enemy Action Ardennes being double wide. It is standard book case sized, but 3'' deep. So still bigger than most ;)
Greetings,
Have you tried the new War Storm Series Games?
La Bataille de France 1940 was released in May-June, and now is going to be released A Las Barricadas about the Spanish Civil war, using the same rules set.
As far as I know in few time a new title shall be available: Paths of Hell (Eastern front).
Best regards,
Jose Manuel
I remember when it was first being introduced about 5-6 years ago and Niko was posting about it back at WGer.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on September 28, 2015, 04:09:34 PM
I remember when it was first being introduced about 5-6 years ago and Niko was posting about it back at WGer.
I'm cooperating with Niko in this game series... I hope soon I can tell you something about this cooperation.
Red Poppies is the one I'm waiting on. The beta AAR's over at the Consim forum look great.
Just recently bought Nations in Arms and the original Silent War from Compass Games. Components are nice, yet I still feel the games are just a tad over-priced, especially since the maps are not mounted.
Compass Games hits another new release shipping date with laser accuracy.
World in Flames, Blitz! A World in Conflict, hit my doorstep on time as expected.
Fast play World in Flames.... Can't wait to play it.
Here is BGG page.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42997/blitz-world-conflict
So here's to wishing that GMT could pick up the same great shipping habits.
Well here I am again... A real sucker for Compass' newest releases:
In the last two months, these hit my doorstep:
Absolute Victory: monster game of WWII, all fronts. Thankfully, a vassal module on the way.
1866: Card Driven game pitting Austria-Hungary against the Prussians. Think Pursuit of Glory with needle guns.
On to Paris: The Franco Prussian War done up in the style of Victory Game's Civil War.
Fall of the Third Reich: fast play mini-monster by Ted Racier, 1943 to the end in Europe
Games on the pre-order list I am waiting patiently for:
Reprint of L2's Russia Besieged
Triumph of the Will: Ty Bomba pits the Germans vs. the Japanese in 1948.
Red Poppies Campaigns Vol 2, Limanowa. John Gorkowski takes his WWI tactical system east, with the Russians vs. the Austrians
South China Sea: John Gorkowski (again) does modern naval confrontation.
Revolution Road: the opening battles of the American Revolution
Guam: company based combat
Saipan: company based combat
Sovereign of the Seas: strategic struggle to control the seven seas in the 18th century.