I’ve always liked games of all kinds. I remember playing checkers and then cribbage with my Dad. As a teenager I wanted to be like Bobby Fisher and also experimented with 3D chess. Somewhere along the way I played a game called Blitzkrieg at a friends house (he had an older brother) and discovered war games. Board games based on military strategy and tactics.
Since I discovered boardgamegeek.com a few years ago I’ve logged many, but not all of my game plays. The game that I’ve played the most, roughly 150 plays over the past few years, is Combat Comnander. GMT Games is the publisher.
I won’t discuss gameplay or mechanics much here. But I will point out that most games, or scenarios, are single engagements. Tactical scale with a small number of squads for each side on the map. A scenario can be played in a couple hours by reasonably experienced players.
The Stalingrad battle pack is different. In addition to individual scenarios, it also includes a campaign with several linked scenarios over varying terrain. The Axis player is trying to approach Stalingrad. The Soviet player is trying to push the Axis player away,
This approach combines longer term strategic thinking with small unit tactics. Here are some comments I posted to the various gaming sites today.
Just finished playing the Stalingrad Campaign game. You should check it out. Definitely some interesting decisions. When would you want to be the attacker, vs. being the defender? How do you manage your division reserves and fortification points for the long haul? How many survivors do you carry over to the next scenario? How many extra people or fortifications do you purchase with vp if you are the defender?
We are switching sides and doing it again.