October War....

Why it is brilliant!

October War (OW) is one of those SPI games that has lurked in my memory for nearly 40 years. It appeared in a 1977 issue of Strategy and Tactics magazine. It currently resides in an SPI flat plastic box with three other significant S&T games from the same era (Cobra, Kharkov and Ney vs. Wellington). All of these games were played in my youth with friends, all of them were real classic player's games. 

40 years seems a lifetime ago. In historical terms, OW was a description of current events. The Yom Kippur War had taken place only in 1973. Data was derived largely from open source reporting. In warfare terms we see Shermans and Centurions vs T55s and Saggers. The first war featuring massive use of anti-tank missiles. In game terms this is the descendent of Panzer Blitz via Panzer 44 and Mech War 77. 

So why do I think this is game is so great?

• All units are platoons (see above) and linked very much to their real world prototypes. It feels like you are playing with real units. This is reinforced by the use of step reduction rather than an abstract disruption status caused by combat. When a unit has taken casualties you know it is down to one tank!
• It has multiple scenarios based on the Sinai and Golan Front battles. These are historical rather than abstract. There are also two multi-scenario campaign games, one for each front.  
• The sequence of play is integrated: The turn starts with a direct fire phase, each side takes it in turn to fire one unit. Who goes first is a 50:50 die roll. This is followed by a similar movement phase for units that have not already fired. This includes opportunity fire. Each player makes choices all the time.
• Any unit attempting to move or fire has to roll for "panic". An SPI fetish with very random panic results. In this game it makes every decision fraught with uncertainty, despite issues with the concept (its a bit gamey!), it works.
• Overruns can be attempted. Who goes first in an overrun depends on a die roll 1-5 Israeli and 6 Arab. A massive incentive for the Israelis to use overruns and disincentive for the Arabs. Every now and again the Arabs get to shoot first, much to the surprise of the Israelis.  
• Indirect fire is pre-plotted in advance.
• Combat effects include step losses and suppression
• There is no melee, all combat is fire combat.

The fact that this game has remained so firmly fixed in my mind after all these years is due simply to the fact that it is unpredictable and very very realistic. You can feel the heat and smell the smoke.

The Golan 73 game has set me off down this road again. I can't see why this approach was not retrofitted to Panzer Blitz/Leader. Compared to OW, Arab Israeli Wars by AH was a developmental dead end. I wonder if we can use OW in a miniatures game? Hmmmmh!

There are more details about the game, including the rules, on BGG. One very nice thing is some great scenario cards......

   
Fantastic stuff!

Is that a Bulge game...

or are you just pleased to see me?

Its that time of year again, Dark December, and time for romp in the Ardennes. This always brings back memories for me. My first board wargame was Ardennes Offensive by SPI. This came out in 1973 and I persuaded my Mum to get it for me for Christmas. Having spent the previous couple of years poring over my Purnell's History of WW2 battle books, Bastogne, Market Garden and Normandy Beachhead, I'd reached the conclusion that a handful of Minitanks and a couple of boxes of Airfix soldiers were not going to produce the game I was after. I saw an ad in Airfix magazine and for the princely sum of £3.99 I eventually got what I was after. That was a top Christmas and many happy months were spent playing the game.

As an early SPI game it came with a basic three colour map (black, white and blue) and loads of counters. It was, quite simply, the best OOB I had ever seen and immensely changed the way that I thought about WW2.

St Vith and Bastogne hold on, the American southern flank (at the top!) nears collapse

There were some issues with the game, it too easy for the Germans to advance in south as shown in the picture. There were a lot of German assault gun brigades, vastly over rated and a real pain for the Americans. However, the terrain analysis and road movement rules gave a really good picture of the issues faced during the battle. The Germans rarely win in the game which I think sums up its realistic view of the fighting. One notable German win was caused by an error in the timing of the US airborne reinforcements which delayed their arrival in Bastogne. My chums and I thought that showed the strength in the game design.

Although there have been many bulge games since, and I have many of them, this one still holds a real fascination for me. Happy thoughts and memories of family, youth and friends. If I get half an hour this weekend I'll go and have a look at it and say hello. This one is definitely never for sale.