Man, I buy too much stuff. I really do, don't I? The problem is, I really like supporting different designers/publishers/series/whatnot, and when new stuff comes out, I feel compelled to keep at it. Alas, until I get a product that isn't great quality, I have no real reason to stop. The trials of a board game collector, I guess.
Anyway, on to today's topic, Velikiye Luki: Stalingrad of the North by Legion Wargames. What does my opening have to do with this? Well, Legion Wargames caught my eye because they had a CPO (similar to GMT's P500 system) for a game on the Russo-Japanese war, a conflict I was interested in, and a game that seemed very intriguing (funnily enough, by the same designer as today's subject, Michael Taylor). Looking through the preview components, I fell in love, it is going to be a great game... when it comes out (I came across it several years ago, so it has been a while). While looking at the game, I decided to see what else the company had on offer, and there were a lot of designs that grabbed my attention. A solo game about the B-29 Superfortress? Or a great looking game on the battle of Dien Bien Phu? Well, there was a lot to like (although these were not out yet either, I did CPO them and have them now). I have been keeping an eye on Legion since then and have purchased most of their releases as they come out. They do not put out a huge amount of product each year, so keeping up has not been too bad at all.
Velikiye Luki: Stalingrad of the North came out late last year, and I waited a little before ordering it so that I could combine shipping with other releases coming from Legion Wargames that were coming out (in this case, Invasion Malta, and the Target for Tonight expansion). It has gotten complimentary reviews so far, and it is pretty inexpensive for such a nice-looking package. It is a ziplock game, but it has a fantastic looking table footprint, and good-looking rules. Let's take a closer look at the contents.
First, the front and back of the ziplock:
The front is a cover page on thick cardstock, which is very nice, and will be used whenever I move this to a permanent storage solution with some other games. The back is the back of the rulebook. It contains a small map from the Soviet perspective, but there is no description of its source in the rulebook.
Moving on, we have a one-sided terrain chart, on nice card stock.
Next up is the map, measuring 11" x 17".
Feels very clean, and very well presented. The size of the hexes is quite roomy, when you compare them to the size of the counters, which is extra nice for a game that may be a really perfect introductory game.
Speaking of the counters, let's have a look:
There were some errata for some of the counters, but they have been fixed with stickers applied by Legion Wargames already. The counters look very nice and clean and are cut well.
Finally, we have the rulebook, which is only six pages of rules.
And really, given that the front page of the rules is all background, the rules are only five pages! I have read through the rules, and it seems pretty standard wargame fare, ZOCs, replacements, combat which is not mandatory. Again, this seems like a completely perfect intro wargame. Might be just the thing to try with my nephew (and my brother, if I can get him to try it). We will see.
And that is a quick look over the components for this game. It is very affordable and has Legion's typical great quality. Definitely recommend taking a look!