A VICTORY LOST REVISITED.

As the early morning fog clears, Alexoff tightens the collar on his fur lined Marshal's coat, he notices the harsh and bitter winter wind beginning to pick up and the sound of the churning of the 1st Soviet Guard Armies tank engines. Suddenly, a flurry of flashes and thundering explosions signal the start of  "Operation Saturn". It has begun, Marshal Alexoff smiles "now it is the fascists turn to pay the reapers bill."

Meanwhile, outside Tatsinskaia in Tzars Nicholas former summer palace General Field Marshal Von Breen's command staff begin to grow worried as desperate reports from the front reach them. East of  Boguchar a 150 mile wide breach has been blown in the front line. Forward positions which have borne the brunt of the Reds offensive have evaporated under the onslaught. Von Breen and his aids are bent over the situation maps, they quickly identify that Ivan has chosen well, hitting Italian and Hungarian formation. Von Breen realises desperate measures are needed, "Contact Kleist's HQ immediately and advise them of the situation, they will need time to organise the 1st Panzer Armies withdrawal, no time can be wasted if they are not to be trapped like Paulus".

So begins my some what melodramatic post with Al (Marshal Alexoff) and my (Field Marshal Von Breen) return, via vassal to the wonderful "A Victory Lost" and its chit pulling goodness. I have played a number of other hex and counter chit pullers recently including "A Victory Denied" younger sibling of AVL and Revolution Games "Konigsberg," but none of them match the streamlined and elegant nature of this classic. With its low learning curve and its random chit draw mechanism, this game is ready made for repeated plays and revisits following long periods of absence. 

Enough idle chitter chatter, time to form the Kampfgruppen and try to stabilise the front, der Fuhrer will not be pleased.

AVL CARD HQ's.

Selection of German HQ's.

I have been doing a little card crafting. I spent this evening creating some cards to replace the HQ chits used in "A Victory Lost". Instead of drawing the cardboard chits from a bag these cards will act as replacements being shuffled instead. Makes one want to break out this great game again.

Russian HQ's.

AVL.

VASSAL - AVL.

Following on from my face to face game of "A Victory Lost" with Al, we have gone online and started playing AVL on vassal, using "Skype" for communication. It will be quite had to return to the physical copy of the game as the vassal implementation is a joy. Features such as HQ command range, units automatically marked as moved, reinforcement line identification and in/out of supply shading makes the online version much easier and less awkward to play. So a big thank you to the creative geniuses and designers of the module Brent Easton and Dominik Derwinski.

A VICTORY LOST REVISITED.

It's been quite a while since I last posted on the blog, a case of blog fade - well almost. I have decided to create some fresh content as the tec savvy, digital age modern kids would say.  The game that sparked this mini resurgence, only time will tell whether its a last kick of the old goat or a phoenix like rebirth, is "A Victory Lost".

A description from "Board Game Geek" gives the background to the game.

 "A Victory Lost" is a simulation of the intense mobile fighting between the Axis and Soviet forces in the southwestern USSR, from the completion of the Soviet encirclement in December 1942 to German Field Marshall von Manstein's famous "Backhand Blow" counterattack. The Soviet forces aims to trap and eliminate the Axis forces that are in full retreat from the Caucasus, while the Axis forces must successfully withdraw and attempt to restore the front line by launching a desperate counterattack. The slightest mistake might turn victory into a rout."

I acquired this game three years ago and even made an unboxing video for it, a video which the wife teases me mercilessly for, calling me a weirdo for making a video about the contents of  a box, the cheek!

Shortly afterwards I promptly sold the game as I couldn't see my fellow afflicted grognards buying into this traditional hex and counter wargame and become followers, in the way of the tweezer. Picking up the a fore mentioned  item in order to move the counters, as large fingers and thumbs make playing the game almost impossible. Mental note- purchase large medical tweezers on ebay. But I always had a yearning to return to this classic, a bugle call in the deep recess of my mind calling me to return to arms, you will tell me if I am been a tad over dramatic won't you. 

So last week I repurchased AVL and retired to "Valhalla" the war room, to break it out. Two days later I resurfaced having read the rules and played a couple of solo game, it was wonderful. Well the game was wonderful, the wife's wrath less so! The chit pull mechanism which activates command HQ's was strangely addictive and created a real sense of tension in the game play. The timing of each chit pull and HQ activation can be vital, in either creating breakthrough's for the Russians or plugging gaps in the line if Axis. The rules are simple and elegant and come in at only sixteen pages. While the rules may be simple the tactics and strategy are compelling and engaging. I invited Al, my fellow warrior in crime, over and taught him the basics for a learning game. Thankfully he took to it like a panzer commander to a Tiger (a tank to the uninitiated) as I had hoped he would, despite my concern over the off putting small and fiddly counters. 

I love when a game leaves behind memorable in game stories, like on this occasion when the German 4th Panzer Army managing to break out of what had became known as the "Kotelnikovo pocket" by securing a vital bridge over the Don as the red hordes were closing in for the kill. Or the Russian armored division holding a vital town and tying down much needed Axis troops and armor for a turn, which were desperately needed elsewhere on the front.

All in all a wonderful game which will see much table time in the weeks ahead. Much to Al's relief, as he is tiring of the seemly endless new games having to be learned in recent times. The curse of the shiny, as the Magpie would say or weirdo as the wife would say.

A VICTORY LOST UNBOXING.

"A Victory Lost " is a game I have been after for some time. It has been out of print and has recently been reprinted by MMP. The game designed by Tetsuya Nakamura was originally published in Japanese. It uses chit pull, dice roll, hex and counter mechanics and is set on the East Front during WWII and starts during the months after the Stalingrad disaster and the Russian offensive through to Manstein's famous "backhanded blow".

Check out my video above for a short unboxing.