Saturday 17 June 2023

Dangerous Books for Men of a Certain Age: Rommel

It always happens, men get to a certain age and they pick up a book and start reading. Then dangerous ideas start forming in their heads. I believe there is a list of these dangerous books; Napoleon, Caesar, Alexander commonly feature in the titles. The wife is also attuned to the warning signs. "You are awfully quiet. What are you reading?" she inquired. "Oh it's nothing", I replied deep in thought, "Just a book about a German general called Rommel." She went and made herself a cup of tea (see below, a free book for audible subscribers a totally unexpected bonus, double plus good - Desert Fox, by Samuel W Micham Jr): 


Fascinating details on the desert war, a theme is developing here. Fascinating to note that he had a great respect for Wavell as an opponent and daunted at how Patton conducted mobile warfare. The last chapter on his death was quite tragic and poignant. Yes it has already got me shifting through board games and models ;) 

Tuesday 13 June 2023

Could (the old) PanzerBlitz actually be the ONE?

One from the dusty alcoves of the loft. Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz is "as old as the hills" (my edition says published in 1970, so that at time of writing this post PanzerBlitz is 53 years old - but it still plays as a complete coherent system. PanzerBlitz stands as a potent influencer on many of the newer board games in the 2000+ era (even if it is as a marmite love-hate relationship, to stimulate a different approach than PanzerBlitz). PanzerBlitz can be seen as answering the same tactical questions still asked by newer games, even crossing into the post 1945 to the modern era. Consciously or unconsciously it has a palpable [direct or lingering trace effect] on modern game mechanisms. PanzerBlitz still has a basic intrinsic value and there is good merit in playing it. PanzerBlitz a recreational game, but one that bears more than a passing reference to tactical WWII scenarios that gives historical results. So could the "old one", be "the one"? I have a wargaming friend who would like to test this thesis out with me (see below, the iconic logo of a platoon of JagdPanthers, not good news if you are in a T-34): 


For a guide to play PanzerBlitz, take a look at the following informative videos from Legendary Tactics.

I am working my way through them.

Footnote(1): Board Game Geek reverence - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2238/panzerblitz

Footnote(2): Extension Counter Site - http://gregpanzerblitz.com/19401943_north_africa.htm

Footnote(3): Pico Armour - PanzerBlitz 3D - https://picoarmor.com/

Footnote(4): Fixing PanzerBlitz: - https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1167422/fixing-panzerblitz