Hexsides and Hand Grenades

Last week, I received my copy of Anzac Attack , the expansion for Lock 'n Load Publishing's Forgotten Heroes II .   Since then, I've been immersing myself on a daily basis in the game, trying out various scenarios here and there.  The first scenario, Amgrunts , provides the player with a large-scale battle with a really interesting historical background. Background Amgrunts  pits the US Marines of the 1st Amtrac Battalion versus the NVA in an area of South Vietnam called Cua Viet, located just north of Hue City.  The Cua Viet waterway was an important supply channel that could be used to ferry equipment and men deep into Vietnam to vital strongpoints such as Dong Ha.  For this reason, maintaining control over the mouth of the waterway in and near Cua Viet was essential for the Marines. In 1967, the 1st Amtrac Battalion, was tasked with building defenses and constructing operating bases in the area in and around Cua Viet,   As things started to heat up...

Well, it seems that the post office is considerably faster than I expected and some superhero managed to send through my copy of Anzac Attack in record time. I pre-ordered this one a while back and I've been looking forward to playing it for a long time.  Let's take a look at what we've got in the box: Lock 'n Load's Forgotten Heroes Anzac Attack Expansion:  I wouldn't want to mess with the dude on the cover. The cover art looks great and I knew the photo was the right choice because my wife immediately said it was scary.  We've got the standard Lock 'n Load cover art here with the photograph up top and the counters at the bottom.  The box is pretty sturdy and it's just the right size to fit all the components inside.  Well done. Two new maps included with Anzac Attack The two maps included in the box look nice.  They are a bit less reflective than the Forgotten Heroes II maps, which I personally like because that means less lens flare w...

Bathed in the soft glow of your NATO command bunker's monitors, your fingers tremble slightly as they carefully type a single dreaded word - "MIDNIGHT" into the WARCOM computer.  You hesitate for a brief moment before finally hitting Enter.  Sweat pours down your brow. With the missile command authorization out of the way, a virtual smorgasbord of horrifying strike plans is laid out in front of your eyes.  After finding the right launch plan, you type it in and watch the large screen on the wall go red as 8 chemical cruise missiles streak from left to right on the map towards Warsaw Pact command HQs deep behind the Iron Curtain.  In an instant, 20,000 people are dead - many of them innocent civilians.  But you barely have time to register what has happened before news of a retaliatory strike comes your way.  A few minutes later, the report comes in - a battlefield nuclear weapon has airburst over US V Corps, wiping it off the face of the planet. W...

Line of Fire magazine issue 12 has several excellent scenarios that expand on Lock 'n Load Publishing's Forgotten Heroes II, its game of modern squad tactics set in the Vietnam War.  One of the first scenarios in the magazine is called "Ambush!  Relief Attempt During Operation Attleboro", which was created by Peter Bogdasarian, who designed such games as Tank on Tank and the Corps Command series (which includes "Dawn's Early Light" and "Totensonntag") among others. Before we get into the AAR, I'll talk a little about the scenario's historical background.  During Operation Attleboro in October and November of 1966, the Americans conducted Search and Destroy airmobile missions against the Viet Cong near Tay Ninh, located just south of the Cambodian border in War Zone "C".  Conducted in two phases, Phase I went relatively well for the Americans from the start of September but in early November, four US Army battalions became pa...

7th Fleet was the third release in the Fleet series from Victory Games released way back in 1987.  This time focusing on action in the Far East, the three huge three map offering was one of the most ambitious Fleet release yet as it included not only Soviet and US units, but ships from a number of other nations, such as Japan, China, North and South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam (even Canada makes a token appearance with a single ship in there). By the third time around, Victory Games had had a chance to carefully expand and refine the rules to include just the right amount of chrome and basic game changes that it could be picked up quickly and easily by Fleet players old and new.  The game's 12 scenarios are carefully crafted and balanced enough to please anyone and keep players entertained for a long time as they battle it out for control of the Pacific. Victory Games:  7th Fleet (1987) In the game's first scenario, civil war in the Philippines has broke...

"Overlord Begins" is a scenario from Lock 'n Load's Band of Heroes expansion "Swift and Bold", which focuses on the British efforts in Normandy and Holland during 1944.  It's an impressive expansion with 12 scenarios and 83 counters. Although it is tough to find these days, I hear it will be included in the upcoming new edition of Band of Heroes. "Overlord Begins" depicts the landing of the 6th Airborne Division's D Company in the early hours of June 6th, 1944.  The company's mission was to take and hold the Caen Canal Bridge over the River Orne, a vitally important strategic target.  With the bridge in British hands, it would help speed the passage of friendly units as they pushed south of the beaches while at the same time preventing the Germans from easily reinforcing their coastal defense units later on in them morning. In scenario terms, the British win this one if no German units are within three hexes of the bridge by sce...