Prufrock's Wargaming Blog

Prufrock's Wargaming Blog

Friday, October 30, 2015

Invading Russia with NO RETREAT

I've had this game called 'No Retreat' from GMT sitting on the shelf for a while now. I've pulled it down and set it up a couple of times, but although the rules are supposed to be quite simple the game suffers from the 'nicely printed colour rulebook which came with the game contains so many mistakes that it's pretty much useless' syndrome.

This syndrome (common though it is!) still annoys me enough to take a while to get over it, but somewhere in the vicinity of three years later I've at last printed out the living rules and got cracking on it.

The campaign game starts off with Barbarossa and continues up until the fall of Berlin. There are shorter scenarios as well, but the idea is for people to be able to play through the Russian campaign in a sitting, using reasonably simple rules that encourage innovative game play.

The game is hex-and-counter, but has a small number of counters (by normal hex-and-counter standards), and is played on an attractive map with large hexes and good production values.

The rules are not too different from earlier classic board wargames except that this game uses cards to add in another layer of decision-making. The cards can be used as events (Soviets must make three attacks this turn; Germans can advance an extra hex after combat, etc...) or to do bonus actions (move by rail; force an enemy unit to attack; bring on a replacement unit, and so on). This means that there are a lot of options in play and many different tactics to try, depending on how you use your cards.

My game is of course solo - there are solitaire rules, but I'm not using them because I want to learn the two-player game - but I can see how this style of game would be a real winner if you were lucky enough to have a player of roughly equal skill and enthusiasm not too far down the road.

Despite it taking me a while to work into it, I think this will be a keeper. For the record, the Germans got off to a fast start and have taken Leningrad early. The Russians are up against it, but have a huge whack of reinforcements and replacements to bring on (when they have the cards) so it will be interesting to see whether they can take advantage of the stretched German line.

After German turn, Sep/Oct 1941

You know, with the GMT sale now on, I may even grab another game or two in this series. They have the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign - both of which are of interest to a New Zealander!

12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. A reasonably quick-playing version of the whole eastern front shebang, that's for certain!

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  2. Dude, I played the crap out of this. I have many face to face and PBEM's of this game. I had a blast with it. The designer gave excellent support on BGG so I had no problems with the rulebook issues when it first came out. The 50 percent sale had me buying No Retreat: Italy. It reminds me a bit of Anzio by Avalon Hill. You must keep this in mind though, do not buy either of the others you mention thinking they are going to be just like Russian one. They are somewhat similar but each has it's own ambiance.

    Cheers
    Kevin

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    Replies
    1. Cheers Kevin; appreciate the advice (and the picture!)

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  3. What looks good about this game is that there seems to be a low amount of counters and a smaller map. In short, it looks like a good strategic game and does not force you to be too overly fiddly. I have not played but it might be one worth checking out.

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    Replies
    1. You've summed it up better than me, John! Might be a good one for you to play with your lad at some stage, even?

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  4. I have been *so* tempted to buy this game. Over the last 5 years or so I have acquired about 6 WW2 European operational games but not this one. It is very high on my list and you have reminded me how well people rave about it. Not sure if i should thank you or not :-). And of course, I have not actually played with any of the game I have acquired :-( Every time I think about it, i get out my miniatures instead!

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    Replies
    1. Shaun, that's the story of my wargaming life :) Hear good stories, think 'that's all I'll ever need for X era!' not play, reconsider, buy 15m, (or 6mm) figures, not paint them, go back to board game some years later, play ;-)

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  5. That's a GMT game I'm not aware of. Hmmm. Tempting.
    GMT rules books do suffer from errors, but they're website is pretty good for updated and corrected ones.

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    1. You're right, Micheal. GMT's support is brilliant. It's probably too much to ask for an error-free game out of the box, so better to get one later than not at all!

      Cheers,
      Aaron

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  6. I'm playing GMT's Kiev to Rostov at the moment, solitaire using Vassal. Working very well (apart from the mud). I will have to check out the sale. As Michael says, GMT website is good. Their "living rules" concept works well. With KtR being part of the Eastern Front series there are plenty of complexities to the rules and some challenges.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the Living Rules service is really good.

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