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On War in the East - 4/19/2011 12:57:50 AM

Aolain327

Posts: 11
Joined: 3/18/2011
Status: offline

I am new to War in the East and I have this to say about the game---I love it!

I played the old SPI games in the 1970s through early 80s when they went belly up. Fell out of wargaming till the 1990s when I tried a few of the then new computer wargames. Did not hook me. Played the Tiller Panzer Command games--loved those--but kind of fell away from that for a couple of years.

I took a chance with WitE and I can certainly say, it was money well invested. Now there is a lot to learn, but one can jump in quite quickly...all the chrome that comes with the game can be learned as one goes....just learned about HQ build up today!!

Further, I really like the Slitherine system...so much easier to use than zipping files back and forth.

I will say this, enjoy the 1st 4 turns if you are playing the Germans in 41-45. Heck, I am playing a campaign with a fellow who is the Soviet and he knows exactly what he is doing, and I think he will hand me my head on a platter once winter comes.

Overall, if you like operational level eastern front games, it is worth the money.

My only hope is that they release more senariors and/or do a west front version.

Post #: 1

RE: On War in the East - 4/19/2011 1:13:10 AM

Sabre21

Posts: 8231
Joined: 4/27/2001
From: on a mountain in Idaho
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aolain327

I am new to War in the East and I have this to say about the game---I love it!

I played the old SPI games in the 1970s through early 80s when they went belly up. Fell out of wargaming till the 1990s when I tried a few of the then new computer wargames. Did not hook me. Played the Tiller Panzer Command games--loved those--but kind of fell away from that for a couple of years.

I took a chance with WitE and I can certainly say, it was money well invested. Now there is a lot to learn, but one can jump in quite quickly...all the chrome that comes with the game can be learned as one goes....just learned about HQ build up today!!

Further, I really like the Slitherine system...so much easier to use than zipping files back and forth.

I will say this, enjoy the 1st 4 turns if you are playing the Germans in 41-45. Heck, I am playing a campaign with a fellow who is the Soviet and he knows exactly what he is doing, and I think he will hand me my head on a platter once winter comes.

Overall, if you like operational level eastern front games, it is worth the money.

My only hope is that they release more senariors and/or do a west front version.

Welcome to the forum. The original SPI War in the East was part of the inspiration for this game. Joel is a big fan of it. As to your last comments..yes to both.

Andy

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Post #: 2

RE: On War in the East - 4/19/2011 1:56:34 AM

Ketza

Posts: 2227
Joined: 1/14/2007
From: Columbia, Maryland
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aolain327

I am new to War in the East and I have this to say about the game---I love it!

I played the old SPI games in the 1970s through early 80s when they went belly up. Fell out of wargaming till the 1990s when I tried a few of the then new computer wargames. Did not hook me. Played the Tiller Panzer Command games--loved those--but kind of fell away from that for a couple of years.

I took a chance with WitE and I can certainly say, it was money well invested. Now there is a lot to learn, but one can jump in quite quickly...all the chrome that comes with the game can be learned as one goes....just learned about HQ build up today!!

Further, I really like the Slitherine system...so much easier to use than zipping files back and forth.

I will say this, enjoy the 1st 4 turns if you are playing the Germans in 41-45. Heck, I am playing a campaign with a fellow who is the Soviet and he knows exactly what he is doing, and I think he will hand me my head on a platter once winter comes.

Overall, if you like operational level eastern front games, it is worth the money.

My only hope is that they release more senariors and/or do a west front version.

The game that got me hooked on the Eastern front was Avalon Hills Russian Campaign when I was around 13 or so. Been studying and playing games on the subject ever since.

(in reply to Aolain327)

Post #: 3

RE: On War in the East - 4/19/2011 2:06:17 AM

Aolain327

Posts: 11
Joined: 3/18/2011
Status: offline

I think I played AH Russian Campaign once or twice. I got SPS's "War in the East" soon as it published.

A actually broke my teeth with SPI wargames in High School with the old "Barbarossa." I think I played that one more than any other game (ugly map and all).....I still, however, have fond memories of AH "The Longest Day."

It is my opinion that War in the East comes as close as one will get in replicating the best of the old-school map and counter war games with the advantage or not having to roll dice and easily available opponents. As I said in the OP, two thumbs up to the desingers of this one.

(in reply to Ketza)

Post #: 4

RE: On War in the East - 4/19/2011 2:26:39 AM

Mynok

Posts: 12108
Joined: 11/30/2002
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quote:

fond memories of AH "The Longest Day."

One of the great ones. Still in my collection though I've not gotten any of my local guys to play it yet.

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Post #: 5

RE: On War in the East - 4/19/2011 4:12:51 AM

Klydon

Posts: 2251
Joined: 11/28/2010
Status: offline

Welcome!

I played AH's Stalingrad and quickly moved on to TRC, which I played quite a bit. Have also played Great Patriotic War and 1941 from GDW. I have also played FITE/Scorched Earth a lot. Have also done several computer games starting with a Commodore 64 game back in the day and also Russian Campaign.

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Post #: 6

RE: On War in the East - 4/19/2011 3:02:23 PM

Manstein63

Posts: 688
Joined: 6/30/2010
Status: offline

Ah yes Russian Campaign

where the mountain hexes south of Lvov could hold up AGS for a couple of turns if you were lucky.
Manstein63

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Post #: 7

RE: On War in the East - 4/20/2011 6:11:22 AM

IdahoNYer

Posts: 2616
Joined: 9/6/2009
From: NYer living in Boise, ID
Status: offline

Anybody remember "Drang Nacht Osten" from GDW?

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Post #: 8

RE: On War in the East - 4/20/2011 5:30:56 PM

LiquidSky

Posts: 2811
Joined: 6/24/2008
Status: offline

Yup..played DNO. Then bought the Brand New Fire in the East and later Scorched Earth. Spent much of my youth playing them, though...

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Post #: 9

RE: On War in the East - 4/21/2011 3:01:33 AM

Farfarer61

Posts: 713
Joined: 7/21/2004
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Bought a house with a Rec Room big enough to leave FITE/SE set up permanently for years of play ( in lieu of a pool table). I still have the games and all the counters stored and separated in a giant fishing tackle box the size of display case. ( I had to sell the house :) A doctor friend gave me a huge set of medical tweezers so I could move the giant counter stacks on the map or on/off the off map "Corps storage area".

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Post #: 10

RE: On War in the East - 4/21/2011 3:13:36 AM

PeeDeeAitch

Posts: 1276
Joined: 1/1/2007
From: Laramie, Wyoming
Status: offline

Mike, Brian and I played War in Europe for about 2 years (every Saturday night) in High School. My dad (a doctor) had a spare room downstairs that we set up 2 sheets of plywood on sawhorses. It was glorious, even if we couldn't reach the center that well. We never got too far, I believe we had at least one restart, but it was pure wargame-nerd fun.

< Message edited by PeeDeeAitch -- 4/21/2011 3:14:06 AM >

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Post #: 11

RE: On War in the East - 4/28/2011 4:32:03 PM

nedcorleone1

Posts: 162
Joined: 4/26/2011
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AH Fortress Europa anyone? That first initial setup where the Germans are literally biting their nails trying to figure out the best 'West Wall' defense all the while the Allied player keeps heckling you with "Are you sure you want to do that?" questions? The Allied air force in that game made it extremely frustrating for the Germans (at least until the stormy weather hit). I remember nearly storming out of the room when my dad rolled clear weather during a month where only one number on the die would get you that. Oh man, good times.

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Post #: 12

RE: On War in the East - 4/28/2011 8:30:29 PM

hfarrish

Posts: 734
Joined: 1/3/2011
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It wasn't nearly as historical, but I always loved "Red Storm Rising" the board game when I was in high school...a lot of fun. Second Front was what hooked me for good on the Eastern Front computer games.

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Post #: 13

RE: On War in the East - 4/28/2011 9:32:54 PM

Q-Ball

Posts: 7336
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Chicago, Illinois
Status: offline

"The Longest Day" was my favorite; truly massive! I played it with a friend in high school. We didn't finish though, couple lessons I learned:

1. New high school Girlfriends and wargames don't mix. Chicks don't really think it's cool.

2. Having a Cat in the house and "The Longest Day" is also not a good idea.....that was a mess.

< Message edited by Q-Ball -- 4/28/2011 9:34:29 PM >

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Post #: 14

RE: On War in the East - 4/28/2011 9:58:34 PM

Mynok

Posts: 12108
Joined: 11/30/2002
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Cats are not compatible with wargames, though that never stopped me. My cat growing up liked to chew on the counters. I believe it was my R.E. Lee counter in Civil War she turned into something resembling and old wad of bubble gum. Made stacking difficult.

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Post #: 15

RE: On War in the East - 4/28/2011 10:01:29 PM

Mynok

Posts: 12108
Joined: 11/30/2002
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You know....with two people and two games we could actually play that sucker over Skype ya know. Each guy just has to state what he's moving and where and the other guy replicates on his board. Setup is cake because it's fixed.

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Post #: 16

RE: On War in the East - 4/29/2011 3:30:55 AM

Q-Ball

Posts: 7336
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Chicago, Illinois
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mynok

You know....with two people and two games we could actually play that sucker over Skype ya know. Each guy just has to state what he's moving and where and the other guy replicates on his board. Setup is cake because it's fixed.

Unfortunately, I'm an idiot. I moved in my 20s into a small condo, and tossed all my boardgames; I thought I was too cool for that. Getting married brought me back toward geekdom. Having kids put me fully there. Buying a copy of Longest Day now would be like......$400! Maybe less, but alot.

It only took 4 hours to set-up! That damned Cat toppled the board with Cherbourg on it, thankfully alot of the coastal art and forts were fixed, so it wasn't a total disaster. The Cherbourg board sort of stuck out, so it wasn't totally stable.

It's been awhile, but I remember the interdiction in off-map boxes, the round supply/HQ counters, the Mulberry units, the German unit symbols (no Nato BS there!), all that green bocage. Not to mention the dozen or so trays it took to hold all the counters. Good way to learn, in detail, every unit in Normandy June 6th.

It's too bad, because now I have a huge basement, I could easily set it up away from the wife, kids, and cats, and play it.

Sorry Mynok! Unless you live in the North Shore of Chicago, no dice. At least my stupid cats can't trample on WITP/WITE. As a side note, I played the computer Battlefield game "Battles in Normandy", and thought that was pretty solid.

The other MONSTER game I had was Terrible Swift Sword, by SPI, a game on the battle of Gettysburg. That was awesome! SPI did a whole series on other battles, but Gettysburg was the magnum opus. Anyone play that game?

At heart, I am a US Civil War buff first and foremost, but after Tiller's games, I haven't run into a great CW game....

< Message edited by Q-Ball -- 4/29/2011 3:46:23 AM >

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RE: On War in the East - 4/29/2011 3:58:46 AM

PeeDeeAitch

Posts: 1276
Joined: 1/1/2007
From: Laramie, Wyoming
Status: offline

Terrible Swift Sword, oh I how I loved that. Loved all the SPI series, in fact. Mike and I played these to death...I loved the "Seeing the Elephant" rule for untried units - once I hit 3 max or near max rolls in a row and made a new Iron Brigade...oh, memories.

_____________________________

"The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided. It is sometimes better to abandon one's self to destiny."

- Call me PDH

- WitE noob tester

(in reply to Q-Ball)

Post #: 18

RE: On War in the East - 4/29/2011 4:18:09 AM

Ketza

Posts: 2227
Joined: 1/14/2007
From: Columbia, Maryland
Status: offline

I have many fond memories of my early wargame years.

The day I finally figured out how to use the CRT for D-Day when I was 10 or so.

Playing Africa Corps and wondering why the Italian Divisions had names instead of numbers.

Playing Fortress Europa for the first time and invading in Holland... what a disaster.

Buying Drang Nach Osten from an army captain for 50 bucks and staring at the immense map in utter awe.

Getting Fire in the east and staring at the game for hours. The fresh map. The endless counter sheets.

The high water mark of boardgaming for me was playing Fire in the east teamplay with 6 guys on a side. Intense weekends playing 12-14 hours a day with a great bunch of guys from all over Maryland and Virginia in the mid to late 80s. Those days are long gone.

(in reply to PeeDeeAitch)

Post #: 19

RE: On War in the East - 4/29/2011 4:32:44 AM

Q-Ball

Posts: 7336
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Chicago, Illinois
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: PeeDeeAitch

Terrible Swift Sword, oh I how I loved that. Loved all the SPI series, in fact. Mike and I played these to death...I loved the "Seeing the Elephant" rule for untried units - once I hit 3 max or near max rolls in a row and made a new Iron Brigade...oh, memories.

That was a good game. I bought styrofoam poster board to make the maps rigid, made it easier. The stacking rules were strange, making Hoke's Brigade supermen with the 8-strength regiments. But it was a good game. I liked all the replacement leaders, good system.

I thought the Tiller Computer series did a good job, they were also fun! I think the Gettysburg one came out in 1998 or so, which is a long time ago now....

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Post #: 20

RE: On War in the East - 4/29/2011 3:51:34 PM

Redmarkus5

Posts: 4456
Joined: 12/1/2007
From: 0.00
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quote:

ORIGINAL: LiquidSky

Yup..played DNO. Then bought the Brand New Fire in the East and later Scorched Earth. Spent much of my youth playing them, though...

I still have all three in their original boxes :) Just need a table big enough to lay them out without wifey complaining!

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Post #: 21

RE: On War in the East - 4/29/2011 6:41:14 PM

Mynok

Posts: 12108
Joined: 11/30/2002
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

quote:

ORIGINAL: PeeDeeAitch

Terrible Swift Sword, oh I how I loved that. Loved all the SPI series, in fact. Mike and I played these to death...I loved the "Seeing the Elephant" rule for untried units - once I hit 3 max or near max rolls in a row and made a new Iron Brigade...oh, memories.

That was a good game. I bought styrofoam poster board to make the maps rigid, made it easier. The stacking rules were strange, making Hoke's Brigade supermen with the 8-strength regiments. But it was a good game. I liked all the replacement leaders, good system.

I thought the Tiller Computer series did a good job, they were also fun! I think the Gettysburg one came out in 1998 or so, which is a long time ago now....

Played that and Gleam of Bayonets about Sharpsburg. Never got to play the Shiloh game unfortunately.

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"Measure civilization by the ability of citizens to mock government with impunity" -- Unknown

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Post #: 22

RE: On War in the East - 5/1/2011 8:19:30 AM

sillyflower

Posts: 3509
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Back in Blighty
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mynok

Cats are not compatible with wargames, though that never stopped me. My cat growing up liked to chew on the counters. I believe it was my R.E. Lee counter in Civil War she turned into something resembling and old wad of bubble gum. Made stacking difficult.

Cats not as bad as terriers. My first minatures army was Airfix plastic romans with only a few metal figures. Resuming after lunch one day, only my 2 metal cohorts were left. Still, I didn't mind because my opponent's army had been all plastic so I won!

Luckily he was an animal lover.

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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi

Reply: They already know you're a gamer. What other shame can possibly compare?

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Post #: 23