Game Review by Jon Gautier
I sometimes wonder how much the personalities of two gaming partners need to match the game they are playing. One particularly aggressive friend of mine always likes to play the attacker, so Ive played the Americans a lot in Bulge games. For many games, Im sure this isnt much of an issue: the differences between the sides probably arent so extreme. But in Compass Games Red Storm Over the Reich they are. In fact, this may be the game for the dominant/submissive gaming pair (you know you are out there).
For my playtest of this at MonsterCon 2007 I was, ahem, the submissive, and that means the Germans. Yes, you panzer pushers (you know who you are, too), the tables are turned in Red Storm and its time for you to find out that payback is indeed a bitch. Oh, yes it is. Red Storm covers the massive Soviet offensive that began in Poland in January 1945 and ended, well, you know where, in May.
To say that the Soviets are attacking in this game and that the Germans are defending is kind of like saying that it was cold at Stalingrad. Its true, but it just doesnt convey the extent of the thing. You could play this game as the Germans and never once want to (or need to) make a single attack (youll actually be forced to attack, but more on this later). Yeah, for the Germans its all about running, delaying, desperately defending strong points, and sacrificing. Theres a lot of sacrificing in this game. You might say that in Red Storm, as in perhaps no other game, the sacrificial speed bump really gets its moment in the sun.
And its just the opposite for the Soviets. Red Storm shows off the late WWII Soviet art of the offense like no game Ive seen or heard of. Its all here: mighty armored spearheads, masses of following infantry, a forest of artillery and rocket tubes, and sky-blackening aircraft. Pretty irresistible in all. Ted Raicer has also crafted a very interesting sequence of play and movement system that shows the Soviet steamroller at its best.
There is a Soviet assault movement phase, followed by a combat phase followed by a limited German reaction phase (armor only). The Reds then get a breakthrough movement phase (no overruns allowed) before the Germans get to move (i.e., run away) and fight (they won't want to: only if Hitler makes themmore on that later). The additional twist is that the movement allowances for the Soviet infantry and mech are determined at the beginning of the their first movement segment by a die roll (yes, the dice have everything to do with movement). The Soviet player now basically allocates his allotted movement points between his assault movement and his breakthrough movement phases. For example, he could decide to not do any assault movement, go straight to combat (hopefully blow some holes in the German line) and then use all his movement points for breakthrough movement. Or, he could use all of his movement to maneuver in the assault movement segment and not conduct any combat or breakthrough. Or he could find some happy medium between the two. Just to keep the Reds honest, there is also a combat duration die roll the Soviet player must make after he allocates his movement points. This roll subtracts movement points from the Soviet total, just to keep things random enough to upset his plans. The net result: plenty of operational mobility for the Reds; just enough, in fact, for their armor to outpace their infantry by mid-game, hee, hee.
So, you may be asking, why would the non-submissive wargamer wish to play the Germans in this game? Well, presumably all those panzer pushing fanboys who play Barbarossa games must have opponents. Perhaps the panzer pushers wouldnt mind playing Soviet-style Blitzkrieg while their ex-Soviet opponents wouldnt mind donning the feldgrau for their retreat-fest? But really, anyone who enjoys making the desperate defense will be happy playing the Germans. And, of course, Ted Raicer has crafted some crafty victory conditions that make this game a real nail biter. Oh, yeah, the Germans are going to lose the war, but the German player has every chance to stick it to the Reds on points. The coolest victory mechanic is the relationship between the victory points allocated for capturing cities, including Berlin (specifically Hitlers bunker) and the shape of the Soviet offensive. Sure, the Reds could just make straight for Berlin, mostly ignoring the flanks of their spearhead, but they almost certainly wont win the game that way because they also need to pick up points for capturing cities all along their flanks. This is the games way of representing Stalins fear of German counterattacks against his flanks and his insistence on a broad front approach. And it forces the Soviet player to painfully reduce all the city strong points that the Germans leave behind to die.
So the Soviets have a lot of real estate to cover and a lot of cities to capture if they are to win this thing. To paraphrase my opponent, Marty Sample, youre having a lot of fun as the Russians until you realize (about mid-game) that you are racing a loudly ticking clock. But it isnt all laugh and delay for the Germans. Raicer has fiendishly added a number of counters representing German refugees, which the Germans must get safely to a Baltic port for evacuation or lose victory points. The refugees are painfully slow, of course, and they also have zones of control against the Germans but not against the Soviets. Folks, there is chrome and there is chrome, but this is chrome. If you are the Germans, those refugees just suck, suck, suck. The other thing keeping the Germans honest are the Soviet early turn automatic victory conditions. If the Soviets rack up enough points early, they win. So dont retreat too fast, Mr. German, if you want to be fighting for the Bunker. And finally, that crazy old Hitler guy makes a pain of himself. The Germans must roll for mandated Hitler attacks during the game. They offer no upside: refuse the attacks and lose victory points; make the attacks and lose precious units. Oh well.
The flow of the game becomes depressingly familiar to the German player after a short time: watch massive holes get blown in your line (and I mean massive: 50 miles of nothing but East Prussian real estate with out so much as a police dog between the advancing Reds and old Berlin); watch helplessly as the Reds pour through; consider giving up; somehow find just enough reinforcements and scrape together just enough battlegroups to form a new line; lather, rinse, repeat.
For the Soviets, I surmise, its more insidious: start romping all over the map; kill German unit after German unit; smile a lot; notice that you seem to keep missing that automatic victory by just a point every turn; realize that auto victory is no longer an option; start sweating as you count game turns left against victory points needed.
In other words: fun for all.
A few other things of note: the Germans get to bombard along the coast with whats left of the Baltic fleet. Pinpricks yes, but a pain for the Soviets and another nice piece of chrome. The combat results table is not all that bloody but not all that mobile either. German units usually die because they are cut off and the Reds breakout in their extra movement phases (there is yet another, exploitation, movement phase during the turn in which the Reds can overrun to their hearts content). Again, this feels right.
And the game, by the way, feels right and offers some nice insight into a subject that just isnt gamed that often. You really get to see how hopeless Germanys position was. You get to see just how good the Reds got at doing what they did. And you get an appreciation for how lousy the defensive terrain between Poland and Berlin is for the most part (why didnt Hitler alter the flow of those rivers, if he was so powerful?).
And last but not least, this is a damn fine looking game. Todd Davis has done a real pretty map in muted greens and browns. He uses nice tan with some red for the Soviets and gray for the Germans. All in all a pretty, functional package.
So is this the game for you? Well, I think it will play great solitaire. And if you or a friend are submissive, er, sorry, like to conduct a desperate defense against the odds then Red Storm is for you. If you and your gaming pals only like to attack, then sorry, youll need to root out a punching bag somewhere.
I sometimes wonder how much the personalities of two gaming partners need to match the game they are playing. One particularly aggressive friend of mine always likes to play the attacker, so Ive played the Americans a lot in Bulge games. For many games, Im sure this isnt much of an issue: the differences between the sides probably arent so extreme. But in Compass Games Red Storm Over the Reich they are. In fact, this may be the game for the dominant/submissive gaming pair (you know you are out there).
For my playtest of this at MonsterCon 2007 I was, ahem, the submissive, and that means the Germans. Yes, you panzer pushers (you know who you are, too), the tables are turned in Red Storm and its time for you to find out that payback is indeed a bitch. Oh, yes it is. Red Storm covers the massive Soviet offensive that began in Poland in January 1945 and ended, well, you know where, in May.
To say that the Soviets are attacking in this game and that the Germans are defending is kind of like saying that it was cold at Stalingrad. Its true, but it just doesnt convey the extent of the thing. You could play this game as the Germans and never once want to (or need to) make a single attack (youll actually be forced to attack, but more on this later). Yeah, for the Germans its all about running, delaying, desperately defending strong points, and sacrificing. Theres a lot of sacrificing in this game. You might say that in Red Storm, as in perhaps no other game, the sacrificial speed bump really gets its moment in the sun.
And its just the opposite for the Soviets. Red Storm shows off the late WWII Soviet art of the offense like no game Ive seen or heard of. Its all here: mighty armored spearheads, masses of following infantry, a forest of artillery and rocket tubes, and sky-blackening aircraft. Pretty irresistible in all. Ted Raicer has also crafted a very interesting sequence of play and movement system that shows the Soviet steamroller at its best.
There is a Soviet assault movement phase, followed by a combat phase followed by a limited German reaction phase (armor only). The Reds then get a breakthrough movement phase (no overruns allowed) before the Germans get to move (i.e., run away) and fight (they won't want to: only if Hitler makes themmore on that later). The additional twist is that the movement allowances for the Soviet infantry and mech are determined at the beginning of the their first movement segment by a die roll (yes, the dice have everything to do with movement). The Soviet player now basically allocates his allotted movement points between his assault movement and his breakthrough movement phases. For example, he could decide to not do any assault movement, go straight to combat (hopefully blow some holes in the German line) and then use all his movement points for breakthrough movement. Or, he could use all of his movement to maneuver in the assault movement segment and not conduct any combat or breakthrough. Or he could find some happy medium between the two. Just to keep the Reds honest, there is also a combat duration die roll the Soviet player must make after he allocates his movement points. This roll subtracts movement points from the Soviet total, just to keep things random enough to upset his plans. The net result: plenty of operational mobility for the Reds; just enough, in fact, for their armor to outpace their infantry by mid-game, hee, hee.
So, you may be asking, why would the non-submissive wargamer wish to play the Germans in this game? Well, presumably all those panzer pushing fanboys who play Barbarossa games must have opponents. Perhaps the panzer pushers wouldnt mind playing Soviet-style Blitzkrieg while their ex-Soviet opponents wouldnt mind donning the feldgrau for their retreat-fest? But really, anyone who enjoys making the desperate defense will be happy playing the Germans. And, of course, Ted Raicer has crafted some crafty victory conditions that make this game a real nail biter. Oh, yeah, the Germans are going to lose the war, but the German player has every chance to stick it to the Reds on points. The coolest victory mechanic is the relationship between the victory points allocated for capturing cities, including Berlin (specifically Hitlers bunker) and the shape of the Soviet offensive. Sure, the Reds could just make straight for Berlin, mostly ignoring the flanks of their spearhead, but they almost certainly wont win the game that way because they also need to pick up points for capturing cities all along their flanks. This is the games way of representing Stalins fear of German counterattacks against his flanks and his insistence on a broad front approach. And it forces the Soviet player to painfully reduce all the city strong points that the Germans leave behind to die.
So the Soviets have a lot of real estate to cover and a lot of cities to capture if they are to win this thing. To paraphrase my opponent, Marty Sample, youre having a lot of fun as the Russians until you realize (about mid-game) that you are racing a loudly ticking clock. But it isnt all laugh and delay for the Germans. Raicer has fiendishly added a number of counters representing German refugees, which the Germans must get safely to a Baltic port for evacuation or lose victory points. The refugees are painfully slow, of course, and they also have zones of control against the Germans but not against the Soviets. Folks, there is chrome and there is chrome, but this is chrome. If you are the Germans, those refugees just suck, suck, suck. The other thing keeping the Germans honest are the Soviet early turn automatic victory conditions. If the Soviets rack up enough points early, they win. So dont retreat too fast, Mr. German, if you want to be fighting for the Bunker. And finally, that crazy old Hitler guy makes a pain of himself. The Germans must roll for mandated Hitler attacks during the game. They offer no upside: refuse the attacks and lose victory points; make the attacks and lose precious units. Oh well.
The flow of the game becomes depressingly familiar to the German player after a short time: watch massive holes get blown in your line (and I mean massive: 50 miles of nothing but East Prussian real estate with out so much as a police dog between the advancing Reds and old Berlin); watch helplessly as the Reds pour through; consider giving up; somehow find just enough reinforcements and scrape together just enough battlegroups to form a new line; lather, rinse, repeat.
For the Soviets, I surmise, its more insidious: start romping all over the map; kill German unit after German unit; smile a lot; notice that you seem to keep missing that automatic victory by just a point every turn; realize that auto victory is no longer an option; start sweating as you count game turns left against victory points needed.
In other words: fun for all.
A few other things of note: the Germans get to bombard along the coast with whats left of the Baltic fleet. Pinpricks yes, but a pain for the Soviets and another nice piece of chrome. The combat results table is not all that bloody but not all that mobile either. German units usually die because they are cut off and the Reds breakout in their extra movement phases (there is yet another, exploitation, movement phase during the turn in which the Reds can overrun to their hearts content). Again, this feels right.
And the game, by the way, feels right and offers some nice insight into a subject that just isnt gamed that often. You really get to see how hopeless Germanys position was. You get to see just how good the Reds got at doing what they did. And you get an appreciation for how lousy the defensive terrain between Poland and Berlin is for the most part (why didnt Hitler alter the flow of those rivers, if he was so powerful?).
And last but not least, this is a damn fine looking game. Todd Davis has done a real pretty map in muted greens and browns. He uses nice tan with some red for the Soviets and gray for the Germans. All in all a pretty, functional package.
So is this the game for you? Well, I think it will play great solitaire. And if you or a friend are submissive, er, sorry, like to conduct a desperate defense against the odds then Red Storm is for you. If you and your gaming pals only like to attack, then sorry, youll need to root out a punching bag somewhere.
