Sunday 13 February 2011

Force on Force from Osprey Publishing

I have in my hands a review copy of Osprey Publishing/Ambush Alley Games' forthcoming hardback Force on Force: Modern Wargaming Rules.

Without doubt this has to be the most professional and visually stunning set of wargame rules I've ever seen.  Wargame rules aside, it's a joy to have, to read, to dip into and simply just browse.

Force on Force is illustrated throughout with good quality colour photos of painted modern 15 & 20mm figures in action settings, plus in theatre photos of real troops and weaponry, all supplemented by colour images culled from Osprey's catalogue of modern uniform, battle and campaign titles.

The book is threaded throughout with scenarios, and has a dedicated scenario section at the end. Force on Force also includes sample small scale unit information for all the major nations, unit and vehicle attributes, vehicle charts, special rules for asymmetric warfare, a campaign game, and finally full colour Fog of War cards and Quick Reference pages to cut-out or copy. All in all 224 pages of inspiring goodness!

Is it just for Iraq and Afghanistan? No!  Scenarios run the full gamut from Vietnam, to Top Malo House in the Falklands, Golan Heights to the centre of Grozny.

If you've already played Force on Force from Ambush Alley Games, you know what to expect. For the rest I'll cover the rules in more detail at the end of this coming week. But do check out the FoF Primer on the Ambush Alley website.

RRP is £25 and Amazon.co.uk are currently taking pre-orders at £17.50. Is Force on Force worth £17.50? Damn, it's worth £25! I own the original pdf and I would still have bought the new hardback if I hadn't been sent a copy by the publisher.

Force on Force: Modern Wargaming Rules represents a line in the sand in wargames rules publishing. I can see this book appealing to many non-wargamers let alone non-C20th gamers. It is nothing less than a tribute to the hobby and a great ambassador for wargaming.

The rules are cracking too!

Cheers
Mark

3 comments:

  1. This might interest you;
    http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64066&st=0&gopid=697503&#entry697503
    If the link doesn´t work, go to britmodeller.com and look under "ready for inspection", Irish Army Cavalry Troop from late Eighties
    Cheers
    paul

    ReplyDelete
  2. Didn't realise you have two blogs. LOL. Good review, but I have said this before. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, Top Malo House is a good excuse to get some Argie Marines, but maybe we'll play it as 'Ty Briga Malo' as well - excuse the pigeon Welsh.

    Cheers
    Mark

    ReplyDelete