Hexed And Countered

Tag: Compass Games

  • The Lamps Are Going Out — World War I (Compass Games) — Gameplay

    The Lamps Are Going Out — World War I (Compass Games) — Gameplay

    Grand-strategic World War I games ask you to hold the whole continent in your head at once, and The Lamps Are Going Out (designed by Kirk Uhlmann and published by Compass Games) is one of the more ambitious takes on that idea. This episode walks through the opening turns of 1914.

    1914 and the plans that shaped it

    The playthrough opens with the historical framing the game leans on: the German Schlieffen Plan and the French Plan 17, both of which the system models rather than just references. I go through the map and its production centers, the seasonal turn structure, and the core mechanics of movement, naval blockade, and ground combat. Event cards (like First-Line Formations) add texture to each turn, and production points are the currency that fuels the whole war effort.

    Blockade, the Big Push, and playing it solo

    Two things stand out early. The naval side is more than set dressing; the North Sea blockade and the naval combat give the Allies a slow, grinding lever to pull. And ground combat, resolved through “The Big Push” and its dice-off, captures the costly, incremental nature of the fighting without drowning you in detail. The German forces push into Belgium while the Western Allies attempt a mandatory and genuinely awkward counter-offensive in the Rhine. Solo, it’s a lot to track at first, but the structure is logical once it clicks, and Part 1 lays the groundwork for the campaign to come.

    The war unfolds across the playthrough series. Subscribe to see where it goes.

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  • Sensuikan: Japanese Fleet Submarines in WWII (Compass Games) — First Look

    Sensuikan: Japanese Fleet Submarines in WWII (Compass Games) — First Look

    The submarine war in the Pacific is almost always told from the American side, which makes Sensuikan a welcome change of periscope. This one from Compass Games hands you the Imperial Japanese Navy’s submarine arm — a force with excellent boats, capable crews, and a doctrine that too often sent them chasing warships instead of the supply lines that might have mattered more. In this first look I go through the box and the rules so you know what you’re getting into.

    A theater that rewards patience

    Submarine games live and die on tension — the long stalk, the firing solution, and the gut-check decision of whether to shoot and give away your position. A first look is the place to see how the sequence of play, the detection rules, and the campaign structure turn that into something you can run solo on the table. If the system captures the patience-then-panic rhythm of undersea warfare, it earns its spot.

    First looks here lead straight into full playthroughs. Subscribe to see this one dive.

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  • The Lamps Are Going Out (Compass Games) — First Look

    The Lamps Are Going Out (Compass Games) — First Look

    The title comes from Sir Edward Grey on the eve of war — “the lamps are going out all over Europe” — and Compass Games’ The Lamps Are Going Out sets out to put that whole catastrophe in your hands. It’s a card-driven, solitaire-friendly treatment of the entire First World War, and in this first look I go through the map, the cards, and the flow of a turn.

    Grand strategy you can run alone

    What makes this one interesting is how it compresses four years of grand strategy — multiple fronts, the home fronts, technology, and the ever-present pressure of national will — into something a single player can actually manage in an evening or two. Card-driven systems are well suited to that job: the deck paces the war, throws events at you, and forces hard choices about where to spend a finite hand. A first look is the right place to see whether that machinery clicks before you commit to a full campaign.

    Gameplay follows this overview, so if the system appeals, subscribe and follow the war as it unfolds on the table.

    Solitaire-friendly first looks and playthroughs, several times a week. Subscribe to follow along.

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  • Combat! Volume 1 and Volume 2 Dual Unboxing

    Combat! Volume 1 and Volume 2 Dual Unboxing

    Combat! Volume 1 and Volume 2 Dual Unboxing

    Game designer Ross Mortell delivers a hefty package of solitaire wargaming in two volumes. The price tag on these games published by Compass Games is on the loftier end of the spectrum. So do these two deliver bang for the buck, component-wise? Let’s find out.

    At the bottom you’ll find the YouTube video of the unboxing of both Volumes 1 & 2.

    Combat! by Compass Games

    What’s in the box(es)

    First things first, these boxes are heavy because they are both p-a-c-k-e-d with stuff.  Compass Games delivers a meaty game and follows it up with a second helping that’s just as jam-packed.

    1. Starting at the top, both volumes contain a rules booklet and a scenario booklet with Volume 2 also adding a Campaign booklet.
    2. Charts are on nice, glossy cardstock and the weapons characteristic charts are really well-done and laid out in a useful, eye-pleasing manner. There are also a couple of play mats, one to track the impulse, initiative and turns and the other for holding the enemy squads and cards for both friendlies and enemies.
    3. The counters are large and thick and printed on both sides. You get more Germans than Americans, although Volume 2 adds an additional squad. 
    4. The unit counters are color-coded by squad, making it easy to identify both your forces and the enemy’s.
    5. The order counters are slightly smaller, making it easy to see the unit counter underneath it, a helpful touch as you can end up with several of these on top of your units.
    6. There are two decks of cards, one for U.S. use and the other for enemy (German) use.
    7. The (thick) paper maps are large and varied and the terrain features are easy to identify. Between the two volumes, there are ten total maps, offering a lot of variety.
    8. Volume 2 adds vehicles and there are nice glossy cardstock sheets with details on each of the vehicles which include tanks (Shermans for the U.S and PzIVs for the Germans), trucks, jeeps and APCs.

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