Map of Ukraine 1943/44: Strategy and Tactics 118 - The Tigers are Burning

Although this is an old S&T Ziplock game from way back when (in 1988, when I had stopped wargaming, RPG's and the like, foolish child that I was, instead my head was full of  busy computer science undergraduate stuff). The territory and the underlying terrain are now all too familiar subject matter for students of the 2022 to 2025+ Russo-Ukrainian "Continuation War" (see below, since 2014 this has been fought over between these two protagonists, before that there was the Second World War, before that the Russian Civil War, before that the First World War, before that the Russo-Turkish War, before that the Crimean War and it goes on and on): 

Not sure at all how history will play this one out!

Board Game Geek Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/28271/strategy-and-tactics-magazine-edition

Early Birthday Present to Me: XTR Command Magazine Games #1, #2, #3 and #4 from the 1980's!

The rationale behind this seemingly crazy purchase of (very, very) old and perhaps "superseded" games being .. that it completes a collection and when it is done, it is done and it is also a source of delight to me. I first discovered XTR Command Magazine in the early 1990's, after buying a few editions I then took the plunge and subscribed to it. This allowed me to bag a continuous run from Issue #15 (I Am Spartacus) through to its final edition (sniff) of Issue #54 (When Dragons Fight) as XTR as a company went "pop" (apparently they made a mistake by relocating their print  operation to a Canadian company and suffered from quality issues - that broke them).  Since that time be it through conventions or watching back issue magazine sites [such as Board Game Geek and Second Chance Games]. I managed to get back to Issue #5 (Hamburger Hill). Although I have not (yet) played them all, I have always enjoyed the production quality and replay value, certainly of the ones  I have played. So when the opportunity cane to get them all and 'close the gate' - I thought, "If not now then when?" (see below, the final four compatriots to complete the merry band of fifty two, three of which are magazine and game, one Issue #4 (Lion of Ethiopia) game only): 

Nostalgia: I think my all time favourite XTR Command game is Issue #14 (Victory at Midway), it still makes me sweat - closely followed by Issue #10 Alexandros ;) 

Most innovative - well I think Issue #20 (Cortes: Conquest of the Aztecs).

One of my brother's favourites being Issue #30 (Across the Potomac) when he crushed me in an old school PBM game.

XTR Command Magazine

As a late Xmas treat to myself I completed the damage recovery to my XTR Command Magazine Collection, a loan that was not returned or stuff lost in transit/misplaced - I remember being very keen on doing Sea Lion at some point so I may be in a special box file somewhere, perhaps it is tie for a spring clean. This meant Issue #45 which was missing the Sea Lion Game (annoying as I had the Yarmuk Game and Magazine part) plus I took the opportunity to extend the collection the Issue #9 Inchon too (see below, waiting to be punched - the Sea Lion Game looks good - well the counters do, I cannot comment on the rules yet):

Sea Lion Issue #45:

Inchon Issue #9:

I have the intention of playing quite a few Command Ziplock games this year. Watch this space for AARs.

Command Magazine #11: Hougemont "Rock of Waterloo"

I have always wanted to play this classic early Command Magazine game, "Hougemont: Rock of Waterloo" (some say the early Command Magazine games were the best). I had the chance to bring it 'out of the packet' to play with some wargaming friends the other day in a "get our collective heads round the rules and play test of mechanics" mode. By the end we were getting there but I am sure another read through is required to fully grasp the colour and "hex terrain" considerations. It played well though (see below, a mere thirty years old and still ready to play fresh out of the bag with the counters still in mint condition):

There are plenty of French (see below, three waves of them in fact):

And pitiful few British, Nassau and Hanoverian defenders (see below, these are the reserves released or rather drip fed into the action):

The original on the board units are eight British Guards at the back and twelve German lights sent forwards (see below, top marks if you can spot them all - extra counters are their leaders):

Please excuse the angle of the photograph but the French move from a released row, to a advancing row and then to the board proper. You literally see them coming towards you from afar - with nothing you can do about it (see below, "Thousands of them Sarge!")

Given the numbers a column tried to run round the outside of the board but were caught by a neat game mechanic of off-table artillery - losing 50% of their number (though note, casualties is not one of the victory conditions - capturing objectives is). The other Frenchies chase the Germans away from the hedge they were defending and further into the woods (see below, there is a nice little game mechanic which is a defender reaction (when within eight hexes) in the attackers phase, which allows the defenders to fire and move (back) first so they are simply not "overrun"):

Trading space for firing works well until you run out of space to trade. The German troops are now pushed back as far as they can go. The French have taken enough casualties for Napoleon to commit another "wave". Whereas the British have not quite convinced Wellington of their dire state - this will come soon). The "other" Allied defenders are roving Howitzer batteries lobbing [guessing where the French troops are going to be with an interesting scatter rule] down air and ground burst (see below, only turn two out of ten and it is looking tight for the Allied troops):

We stopped there so we could re-read the fortification rules of the Chateau and 'a thing or two about gates'. There is plenty of chrome and flavour yet to come. I like the thought of transferring this to the tabletop with miniatures somehow!

Command Magazine Issue 34: Death and Destruction and Issue 10: Alexandros

I was doing a lot of rummaging around in the loft and garage and came across my boxes of zip-lock games from XTR Corporation, aka Command Magazine. In their heyday they rivalled and IMHO surpasses Strategy and Tactics. I started looking through them in more detail and ruminating. I (for some reason now lost to me) had separated the magazines from the games in different boxes. Hence I naturally spent a whole afternoon "pairing" them back up. Alas there was a missing copy. I remember having a copy of issue # 34 "Death and Destruction/Gazala" but I had that sinking feeling Ihad leant it out (and although I later asked the person in question) it was never returned - I distinctly remember the Western Desert, Rommel and Gazala being the reason for the request. I had hoped that I had merely misplaced it but alas, by the end of the evening I could see no other place it could be (the "box search" had extended to 'all other corners' of the house. Sharing the burden with my friends is the closing sessions of Ramillies, they commiserated and advised wargames shows and online searches .. so I Googled and end up visiting SecondChanceGames (see below, and came up trumps with Issue#34):

Making a "good" out of a bad I also spotted what I think is arguably Command Magazine's best game "Alexandros" from Issue #10 (it runs neck and neck with Issue #14 Midway [double blind game of the classic battle]). This was one Command Magazine missing from my collection, although I had played with a friends copy and remember the bitter taste of Persian arrows felling my attempt at being Alexander (but it was a great game). As well as a (Macadonian biased) campaign system it had an innovative little tactical battle system which I plan to use with my collection of DBA armies (see below, it seems to be a fore-runner of Phil Sabin's, Lost Battles in gridding the battlefield area - one definitely to play again, whereas Death and Destruction is the "monster game" addition to Proud Monster, aka Barbarossa 1941):

Note: Although I cannot say that I would play "all" of the Command Magazine games, there are quite a few pearls in amongst them. They were heavily criticised towards the end re: play-testing but still retained great insights into the periods they covered. I am left with one remaining "mystery" in that I have the Command Magazine and one game from Issue #44 but the Sealion game is "missing". I have the awful feeling I have put this one "somewhere safe" as part of a project - but where? The searcj parties are still out looking ;)