The depleted state in which Strategy and Wargaming found itself last week can be attributed to several things at once: The first being that your favorite digital innkeeper was battling the first symptoms of COVID (now beaten), and secondly, there wasn’t a lot of things going on news-worthy. That opened some hours for me to pour my thoughts on Campaign Series: Vietnam– a game I wasn’t particularly excited for but ended up surprising me. I doubt I’ll keep playing it now that I’m done reviewing it, but if Vietnam is your thing, you need to give it a chance.

Slitherine and Matrix Mega Sale

The fine gentlemen at Slitherine and Matrix are currently running a Steam Mega Sale on their catalog with on pretty much every game available with some sort of discount (except for Combat Mission: Cold War). Here are my personal recommendations:

Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive (15% off) – “Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive is the best operational-level wargame I’ve ever played, period. The decision to stay away from the more abstract aspects of other operational level wargames and to bravely implement novel features should serve as a textbook example of how a genre, considered by many to be stale and long past its prime can be propelled to new heights with the right knowledge, passion, and inspiration” – Read my whole review here.

WARHAMMER 40,000 – Battlesector (35% off) – “Warhammer 40,000 Battlesector strengths lie with the fact that it’s a weird mix between that familiar feeling of X-COM-Esque turn-based combat, beautifully realized 3D models and effects that are rarely seen in other Warhammer titles and a brutality so over the top it can only begin to make sense within the grim darkness of the far future” – Read the whole analysis here.

Field of Glory II: Medieval (50% off) – “Field of Glory is no War In The East 2, nor it needs to be. On the surface, it’s a simple enough game with an acceptable low bar for entry, helped a lot by a simple and intuitive UI, but the more battles you play the larger the pool of tactical possibilities seems to be. Couple this with an increasing ability to gather more information and player will soon find themselves pondering over the field like Kasparov over a chessboard” – You can read my entire review on its expansion Reconquista by going here.

Crusader Kings 3 Royal Court DLC Out

The seminal Royal’em’up got its first major entry after releasing all the way back in September of 2020. Crusader Kings III: Royal Court takes the throne room to a whole other level by giving players absolute control of it, will you build a courtesan’s dream and pamper your subjects with a display of wealth and treasures? Or use it as another power projection tool at your disposal? Here’s a feature list of what’s available, just have in mind the player reception of the DLC hasn’t been positive.

• Royal Throne Room: A visual representation of your royal court will reflect all the accumulated majesty and prestige of your dynasty. Only kings and emperors have royal courts, so climb the ladder of power to bask in your own majesty.
• Hold Court: Interact with vassals and courtiers as they come to you with their problems, seeking a royal judgment.
• Grandeur: Increase the quality of life at your court with fancier trappings and better food, all the better to impress your rivals and attract higher quality guests.
• Inspired People: Talented artists, craftspeople and thinkers can be commissioned to work on new projects, adding treasures and artifacts to your court. The higher the grandeur of your court, the better the quality of creator you will attract.
• Court Artifacts: Put your arts and crafts on display, and pass these items of great renown down the family line. All artifacts can be stolen in war, building a legacy of ownership and personal claims down the centuries.
• Hybrid Cultures: Make the most of a multicultural realm, developing a new way of life that is specifically adapted to your varied population and geography.
• Cultural Divergence: Split from your traditional culture, adapting it into something new that better fits your situation or aspirations.

Field of Glory II: Medieval – Storm of Arrows Out Now

Currently working on a review on this one but medieval constables familiar with prior DLCs should already know what to expect from my impressions: The best Medieval wargame of all time just keeps getting bigger and better, taking the warfare all the way to the 15th century. Storm of Arrows was released on the 10th of February and will set you back 12,99 euros or your regional equivalent. Here are its features as listed on its Steam page.

• Coverage for the following nations and factions from 1270 AD until just prior to the introduction of Swiss-style pike tactics and Hussite war wagons: Anglo-Irish, Aragonese, Austrian, Berber (Hafsid), Berber (Marinid), Bohemian, Breton, Burgundian, Castilian, Danish, English, Florentine, Free Canton, Free Company, French, German (Imperial, Feudal and City armies), Granadine, Hungarian, Irish, Italian (Guelf), Italian (Ghibelline), Lithuanian, Low Countries, Milanese, Navarrese, Neapolitan, Papal, Polish, Portuguese, Rus, Scots, Swedish, Swiss, Tatar, Teutonic Order, Venetian, Welsh. Each of these has their own historically-based banner.
• 45 new 14th and 15th century units.
• 96 more army lists allowing historically realistic armies for each of the above factions and their allies at different dates during the period, and bringing the total number of Medieval army lists to 242. In addition armies can include contingents from historical allies. This gives around three hundred thousand permutations. You will never run out of new matchups to try.
• 8 more historical scenarios covering key engagements of the period on an epic scale: Courtrai 1302, Laupen 1339, Crécy 1346, Kulikovo 1380, Aljubarrota 1385, Castagnaro 1387, Grunwald 1410, Agincourt 1415.
• 48 more historical matchups added to Quick Battle mode, increasing the total to 198, playable from either side.
• 5 more historically-based campaigns covering major leaders and conflicts of the era: Hundred Years War (English), Hundred Years War (French), Sir John Hawkwood, Henry of Trastámara, Władysław II Jagiełło.
• Sandbox campaign expanded to include all the new army lists, allowing you to lead any nation (and their historical allies) against any other nation (and their allies) – giving over eighty thousand permutations.
• Time Warp modules expanded to include all the new army lists.

Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive Out on Steam

The best operational/tactical wargame of all time rushed into Steam a couple of days back alongside Storm of Arrows, on the 10th of February. I’ve written enough about Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive enough in this place, so there’s plenty to read on that already. However, if you enjoy operational and tactical level counter pushing, World War 2 and the Battle of the Bulge interests you, you cannot go wrong with the Ardennes Offensive. Some of its features down below:

• Ardennes Offensive adds line of sight to the Decisive Campaign Series for the first time: hills block line of sight and Recon is now more important than ever.
• Hexes are no longer owned. You can expect enemy troops to infiltrate your lines without you noticing.
• The Supply System has been overhauled. This overhaul includes the introduction of traffic congestion rules, which can especially impact the Fuel deliveries to your Units.
• Intercept Fire makes advancing in open terrain a hazardous affair, but also brings dynamisms to the game with enemy Units acting while you are moving yours. Make the call: If you don’t want to leave your Units some Action Points then they can’t react to enemy moves the upcoming turn.
• When attacking a hex, you can now also choose between different intensities of attack ranging from a Probe Attack to an All-Out-Attack.
• It is possible to create Kampfgruppes on the fly, Scrap equipment and even use on-map Truck Units to transport other Units.
• Complete rehaul of the hex graphics as well as the Unit graphics. As a result, DC: Ardennes Offensive comes with a fresh-looking map, unit counters as well as new and matching troop and landscape illustrations.

House of Harkonnen Revealed

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Not a lot is known about Dune: Spice Wars, the videogame, not the series mind you. The developing team is releasing information piecemeal so this time the spotlight is on the House of Harkonnen from Giedi Prime – a house of brutality and power. It seems the powerful family will play mostly by using underhand tactics and the strength of its units on the battlefield.

• Troopers, armed with razor-sharp blades, are able to enter a berserker rage when injured, ignoring their pain and increasing their strength the closer they are to death.
• Vanguards are masters of combat, and excellent assassins, who revel in blood and death, slaying their targets one after another in an unflinching and unfeeling fashion.
• Gunners, experts in demolition, equipped with experimental explosive weapons manufactured in secret. Their damage is so extensive that their troops are often wounded and killed by their own fire, for the glory of the House.
• House Guards, ruthless killers, unstoppable war machines who will follow and carry out any orders given to them without hesitation.
• Stealth Probes, disposable and inexpensive mechanical units, were developed for the sole purpose of espionage and murder from the shadows.

The Necrons Are Late in Battlesector 40,000 Dev Diary

After announcing that the Necrons were coming to Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector later this year, my curiosity for more information on their playstyle has been hard to satiate. Fortunately, The Black Lab Games team released a massive Dev Diary. This, however, came with the less-than-fun news that the beta testing for the new expansion will start in March, after missing the January deadline. If you applied for the beta, keep an eye on that email inbox of yours.

The developer diary goes behind the scenes on the processes used to bring the Necrons to… life -Ah! Have fun reading the whole thing on Slitherine Website.

WARHAMMER 40,000 – Daemonhunters: Gameplay Preview

That’s all for this week, folks. Stay tuned for a couple of reviews arriving soon on the site as well as a pledge for your time to help me build the best 100 List of the Best Wargames of All Time.

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