SPRING CLEAN.

Fog of War.

I have had a spring clear out of the game shelf recently. Out when "Formula D" in exchange for the above game "The Fog of War". "The Fog of War" is the first wargame design by Geoff Engelstein and the first wargame released by the publisher Stronghold games. You maybe familiar with Geoff Engelstein if you follow the "Ludology" podcast, worth a listen.  The game plays in two hours and is a grand strategic wargame covering the European theater of World War II from 1940 to 1944. One player plays the Axis forces, and the other the Allies. I have introduced miniatures from Memoir 44 to replace the army and navy tokens in this game as they tend to get lost on what is a very colorful map. I would recommend watching the "How to Play" video by the "Board Game Network" if you are interested in this title, as it has proven a great help in learning the rules.

I have sold "Hammer of the Scots" a game which got many many plays and one which I have only good memories off, see a previous post "Spare no one" on one such play. It has been sold because we have worked the game out and there is no more morrow to be sucked from its gaming bone, its replacement is -

Quartermaster General 1914.

I have been following the "Quartermaster General" series of games for a while now. The funds provided by HOTS enable me to purchase "Quartermaster General 1914" the world war one version. Reviews and comments on the geek have been positive so I look forward to breaking this one out at "Qcon" next month. 

Continuing the world War One theme, I also purchased -

                                                                    Fields of Despair.

Fields of Despair: 1914-1918 is a 2-player hex-based strategic level block war game set on the Western Front of the First World War. Players take control of the Allies or Central Powers fighting the war on land, at sea, and in the air all the while making tough economic and technological decisions at home. The component quality for this game is outstanding and some interesting mechanisms for artillery, air spotting, abstracted naval and eastern front warfare make this a game I can't wait to bring to the table.

Finally I should mention "Battle Line"

 Battle Line.

the go to filler game we play at the minute. I traded "Hive" for this Reiner Knizia classic, which is one of GMT's all time best sellers. In "Battle Line" two opponents face off across a 'battle line' and attempt to win the battle by taking 5 of 9 flags or 3 adjacent flags. Flags are wooden meeples. Flags are decided by placing cards into 3 card poker-type hands on either side of the flag The side with the highest 'formation' of cards wins the flag. Simple but addictive, the ideal filler.