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Well, I must be among the last to have received the WO 1918 pack - I preordered it at Second Chance Games, which cost me about $10 less than orderding from MMP.
Here are my first impressions, after having opened (!) the pack and examined the scenarios.
The Deluxe boards are beautiful - and if the original eight ones were to be reprinted in the same style, I would order them within a heartbeat.
Board i : urban with some orchards and woods - not extremely original, but it fits well with the Deluxe usual settings (a concentration of troops in a constricted, constructed area).
Board j : Big meaty 4x3 Factory (or prison, or city hall) and stone only buildings. Me like it!
Board k : rural, orchards and a farmhouse, some woods and brush, no walls or hedges: thank you for moving us out of Bocage and offering a board which can fit with other rural settings - I would even guess that an SK scenario could use it.
Board l : a large hill, up two levels, with woods growing up to its summit and crags. A road goes over its top. The crest lines receive a slight shade of darker brown, which adds to the aesthetics (quite like the LFT Deluxe board hills, but more sober).
Just a remark: the lJ2 building on level 2 could be as annoying as the two hex building on the top of board 9 hill (which is SSRed to inexitence in most scenarios).
But I presume that WO pack boards are quite often one-shot products with a very limited usage in other scenarios. That building is presumably the " large pagoda" which appears in the WO26 scenario Aftermath, so it makes sense to have it in the pack rather than provide an overlay.
So no important deal - and SSRs easily can evaporate that building, as with Board 9.
The scenarios all look great - I haven't played any yet, but they all look appealing.
A lot of unit density - never less than 30 squads per scenario - which is one of the reasons for the Deluxe format.
As for me, I don't care much about that factor, as with low unit density, I find that Deluxe boards have a better immersive effect that the usual geoboards, where the terrain is mostly hidden by the counters - and ASL is for me an experience which goes far beyond an exercise of my poor analytical resources.
The scenarios often have chrome elements, but quite simple to play.
WO24 Dew of Death (Xingzi, China, 23 August 1938) : IJA drops a permanent "WP" FFE with more dangerous effects than white phosphorus, as it represents a combat gas bombardment (ugh!).
As it is placed before setup and can miss the aim up to three hexes, I don't know if it will annoy the defending Chinese or actually help them (as Japanese troops won't want to step into the gas) by chanelling the Japanese path to exit.
The addition of possible "parachuted" Japanese leaders during the game (without Air Drop rules) is amusing - I have doubts that they would land so close to the Chinese and within a 400x650 meter zone, but that little SSR is in full line with the SL/ASL trend to spice up a scenario with easily applied chrome.
WO25 The Replacements (USSR, near the Don, 1 september 1942) : Russian Front as usual? Arr no!
Italians (elite 447)...
on the attack
With combined arms : two platoons of L6/40 - the Italians had to replace the promised German tanks with their own - and a FT (!).
Against a rather usual Russian infantry defense : 12 447 squads - with antitank only MOL capability - and one 45L AT . September 42 still allows the 8-0 to be replaced with a 9-0 Commissar.
One cannot shun an Ostfront scenario with Italians. At least I won't!
WO26 Phoenix Rising (China, Tengchong, 26 July 1944) : American trained Chinese troops, carrying two FT , 4 DC, 2 BAZ43 and the usual MG, attack a well defended hill (trenches, three 2+3+5 pillboxes, three 75 ART pieces - not allowed in pillboxes).
The 26 537 Chinese face a mixed Japanese force (6 447, 7 347).
The Chinese have air support (two FB44 with bombs) and a 70+mm OBA Module.
No PTO terrain (but roads are paths).
A meatgrinder with a big potential of exciting events.
WO27 Checking out (Germany, Aachen, 19 october 1944) : late war urban slugfest, with 18 top notch Waffen-SS counterattacking elite US units (12 667, 3 666) who only have one Sherman to support them - complicated for it to survive in a crowdy, heavily built area.
Perhaps the less "original" scenario of the pack, but Deluxe is mostly about urban fighting, isn't it?
WO28 Dean's Defiance (Korea, Taejon, 22 July 1950) : 18 546 - with a "super bazooka" in addition to two BAZ45 - and two Chaffees defend against 26 447 North Korean squads, supported by four T34/85.
Two SSR add to the feeling of an overwhelming North Korean force:
- Reinforcements which can be programmed to come from the sides of the American lines.
- The spontaneous generation of infiltrated North Korean units (527) within American lines, in a way that reminds of Urban Guerrilas.
The numerous, encircling, infiltrating North Koreans, will give the Americans a hard time.
Their 10-3 leader - representing gallant William Dean (who would receive a Medal of Honor for his playing a very active and brave role in the battle, by destroying a tank in CC) - won't be too much to help them.
All in all, I am looking forward to playing those scenarios!
Perhaps rather FtF than VASL, as Deluxe boards offer a better experience on a real table (cf. my aforementioned remark about immersion).
Of course, this is JMO.
YMMV.
Here are my first impressions, after having opened (!) the pack and examined the scenarios.
The Deluxe boards are beautiful - and if the original eight ones were to be reprinted in the same style, I would order them within a heartbeat.
Board i : urban with some orchards and woods - not extremely original, but it fits well with the Deluxe usual settings (a concentration of troops in a constricted, constructed area).
Board j : Big meaty 4x3 Factory (or prison, or city hall) and stone only buildings. Me like it!
Board k : rural, orchards and a farmhouse, some woods and brush, no walls or hedges: thank you for moving us out of Bocage and offering a board which can fit with other rural settings - I would even guess that an SK scenario could use it.
Board l : a large hill, up two levels, with woods growing up to its summit and crags. A road goes over its top. The crest lines receive a slight shade of darker brown, which adds to the aesthetics (quite like the LFT Deluxe board hills, but more sober).
Just a remark: the lJ2 building on level 2 could be as annoying as the two hex building on the top of board 9 hill (which is SSRed to inexitence in most scenarios).
But I presume that WO pack boards are quite often one-shot products with a very limited usage in other scenarios. That building is presumably the " large pagoda" which appears in the WO26 scenario Aftermath, so it makes sense to have it in the pack rather than provide an overlay.
So no important deal - and SSRs easily can evaporate that building, as with Board 9.
The scenarios all look great - I haven't played any yet, but they all look appealing.
A lot of unit density - never less than 30 squads per scenario - which is one of the reasons for the Deluxe format.
As for me, I don't care much about that factor, as with low unit density, I find that Deluxe boards have a better immersive effect that the usual geoboards, where the terrain is mostly hidden by the counters - and ASL is for me an experience which goes far beyond an exercise of my poor analytical resources.
The scenarios often have chrome elements, but quite simple to play.
WO24 Dew of Death (Xingzi, China, 23 August 1938) : IJA drops a permanent "WP" FFE with more dangerous effects than white phosphorus, as it represents a combat gas bombardment (ugh!).
As it is placed before setup and can miss the aim up to three hexes, I don't know if it will annoy the defending Chinese or actually help them (as Japanese troops won't want to step into the gas) by chanelling the Japanese path to exit.
The addition of possible "parachuted" Japanese leaders during the game (without Air Drop rules) is amusing - I have doubts that they would land so close to the Chinese and within a 400x650 meter zone, but that little SSR is in full line with the SL/ASL trend to spice up a scenario with easily applied chrome.
WO25 The Replacements (USSR, near the Don, 1 september 1942) : Russian Front as usual? Arr no!
Italians (elite 447)...
on the attack
With combined arms : two platoons of L6/40 - the Italians had to replace the promised German tanks with their own - and a FT (!).
Against a rather usual Russian infantry defense : 12 447 squads - with antitank only MOL capability - and one 45L AT . September 42 still allows the 8-0 to be replaced with a 9-0 Commissar.
One cannot shun an Ostfront scenario with Italians. At least I won't!
WO26 Phoenix Rising (China, Tengchong, 26 July 1944) : American trained Chinese troops, carrying two FT , 4 DC, 2 BAZ43 and the usual MG, attack a well defended hill (trenches, three 2+3+5 pillboxes, three 75 ART pieces - not allowed in pillboxes).
The 26 537 Chinese face a mixed Japanese force (6 447, 7 347).
The Chinese have air support (two FB44 with bombs) and a 70+mm OBA Module.
No PTO terrain (but roads are paths).
A meatgrinder with a big potential of exciting events.
WO27 Checking out (Germany, Aachen, 19 october 1944) : late war urban slugfest, with 18 top notch Waffen-SS counterattacking elite US units (12 667, 3 666) who only have one Sherman to support them - complicated for it to survive in a crowdy, heavily built area.
Perhaps the less "original" scenario of the pack, but Deluxe is mostly about urban fighting, isn't it?
WO28 Dean's Defiance (Korea, Taejon, 22 July 1950) : 18 546 - with a "super bazooka" in addition to two BAZ45 - and two Chaffees defend against 26 447 North Korean squads, supported by four T34/85.
Two SSR add to the feeling of an overwhelming North Korean force:
- Reinforcements which can be programmed to come from the sides of the American lines.
- The spontaneous generation of infiltrated North Korean units (527) within American lines, in a way that reminds of Urban Guerrilas.
The numerous, encircling, infiltrating North Koreans, will give the Americans a hard time.
Their 10-3 leader - representing gallant William Dean (who would receive a Medal of Honor for his playing a very active and brave role in the battle, by destroying a tank in CC) - won't be too much to help them.
All in all, I am looking forward to playing those scenarios!
Perhaps rather FtF than VASL, as Deluxe boards offer a better experience on a real table (cf. my aforementioned remark about immersion).
Of course, this is JMO.
YMMV.
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