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Frontline General News Archives
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January 2010: Issue 14 is dedicated to our new fast-paced WWII tactical card game, Spearpoint 1943. The feature article takes you through our new game in its entirety. Download it now to find out what this game is all about!
March 2009: Issue 13 includes a look back at milestones achieved by CEW in 2008 and a look ahead to new product development in 2009. Also included in this issue is a new Scenario for use with Frontline General: Italian Campaign Introduction called Conflict at Bari. The newsletter concludes with an internal solo playtest After Action Report (AAR) of the new scenario.
December 2007/January 2008: This month’s issue begins a preview of Naval warfare in the game Frontline General. I can’t think of a better way to introduce some of the naval portions of the game than to present some of the actual experiences of one US Navy Officer who was involved in planning portions of two major European invasions during World War II. Featured in this edition is an interview that I recently had the great privilege to conduct with my uncle, a surviving World War II veteran US Navy Officer who during the war was extensively involved in attack boat training, invasion exercises, and as mentioned, planning a portion of two major invasions. Some of my uncle’s service time included assignment to Admiral Don P. Moon’s staff, who during D-Day was the Admiral responsible for the Naval portions of the Utah Beach, Normandy invasion. My uncle planned the entirety of the small boat (LCVP) portion of the Utah Beach landings as well as the small boat portions of the Southern France landings during Operation Dragoon, again, under Admiral Moon. I hope that you will find my uncle’s experience as interesting as I have.
Following the interview, I’ll briefly introduce you to three Frontline General US Navy Unit Cards: an LCVP, LCT, and LST, in keeping with the amphibious / invasion theme of this edition.
October/November 2007: This month is entirely dedicated to Artillery, mostly from a US perspective. To kick things off, I present an interview I conducted with a friend of mine, Dan Sykes, who served in US Army Virginia National Guard 111th Artillery back in the 60’s. In his words, the specifics of his artillery experiences as part of FDC (Fire Direction & Control) are explained. Many of the same principles apply to Artillery use during World War II. I think you’ll find it interesting. Following the interview, the feature article “Fire for Effect” presents some of the rules governing Artillery in the game, including previews of four new Frontline General Unit Cards, and four illustrated Operational Scale Fire Mission examples against various German targets in the vicinity of Monte Cassino, Italy.
August 1, 2007: This month, I introduce a multiplayer option for playing the game called ‘Team Play Command’, where up to five players per country may act as a team to split the command and control of that country’s forces. In the Feature Article, I discuss the most recent in-house play test in detail, where the functionality of Team Play Command was first put to the test in a four-player scenario-based game. An AAR (After Action Report) is provided with photos of the “Foggia Airfields” Scenario game in progress. I discuss what worked as well as a few things that need some refinement such as Event Cards.
June 1, 2007: This month, the newsletter presents Part II in a series on land-based Anti-tank warfare, this time from a historical WWII German perspective. In this article, you’ll read about various weaponry and methods used by the Germans to combat the constantly evolving threat posed by allied tanks on the battlefield. Throughout the article, you’ll read how each weapon introduced relates to the game, with a total of four new Frontline General Unit Cards previewed along the way. Near the end, you’ll read a brief study on the famous Tiger I heavy tank and its impact in the game, since a discussion of anti-tank warfare would not be complete without taking a look at tank vs. tank engagements.
A progress report on the game’s completion is also provided in the Editor’s Notes section.
I want to send a special thanks to Alan Hamby this month for his gracious allowance to use several of his Tiger I photographs. Check out the link to his excellent website in the newsletter. Enjoy Issue 9!
April 1, 2007: The Frontline General Play Tester "Core Team" has been selected as described in the "Editor's Notes" section! Incorporating third party miniatures at the tactical level is an optional part of the game. This month's feature article takes a step back from rules previews and historical articles and forward into the world of 15mm miniatures painting and basing at a detailed level. I'll discuss some basic acrylic painting techniques, list the tools you'll need to get started, and then take you "From Bag to Base" using 24 Peter Pig US Infantry miniatures to form two US Tank Hunter Squads in 15mm for use at the Tactical level in the game.
March 1, 2007: "Play Tester Packs" announced in the "Editor's Notes" section. Check out a preview of another unique FG optional rule that links battle results together for groups of Units in the article "Optional Rules for Momentum". This month's feature is considered part I in a series on Anti-tank warfare during World War II from the US and German perspectives. In Part I, you'll read a historical and game intro regarding US Anti-tank Guns and their use in the game. You'll also see how one of my favorite Units works- the US Tank Hunter Squad. Armor-piercing rules and Infantry 'Dig In' rules are briefly introduced. Two examples of Anti-tank combat are provided to tie everything together- A veteran US Tank Hunter Squad ambushes approaching German ground Units and a pair of 57mm Anti-tank Guns take on an approaching Panzer IV.
February 1, 2007: The February 2007 issue of Frontline General News is now available online. With the release of Issue 6 comes a completely new look thanks to the suggestions of several readers! The new and improved style includes a magazine-style cover, smaller article fonts, and more content per page to save paper for those who print out the newsletters.
A lot is happening here at Collins Epic Wargames! Catch up on the latest announcements in the "Editor's Notes" section. Want more information on the Beta release and beyond? Check out "The Future of Frontline General". This month's feature, "Combat Engineers: Defeating Obstacles and Fortifications" is full of photos and historical background information related to Obstacles, Fortifications, and Combat Engineers in World War II (specifically for the US and German armies). The roles of Combat Engineers are examined from both a historical and game-related perspective. To cap off the feature, the working copies of four Frontline General Obstacle Cards are introduced.
January 1, 2007: The January 2007 issue of Frontline General News is now available online. The articles within this month's newsletter introduce some additional rules such as Withdraw and Fog of War and dive deeper into the game's Operational Scale Combat mechanics. In the feature article, the Southern Italy Campaign Map, Unit Markers, Unit Cards, and special illustrations and photos are all used to describe a fictional struggle for the town of Avellino, Italy. Multiple German and US Units battle it out on the ground and in the air for control of the line. Which side will be victorious? Would you use the same tactics? Read on to gain deeper insight into how Frontline General simulates combat. Don't miss this 14-page issue with detailed step-by-step Combat examples and After-Action Reports!
December 1, 2006: The December 2006 issue of Frontline General News is now available online. This edition introduces readers to the basics of Operational Scale combat in the game and contains a detailed 1 on 1 dogfight example between one US P-51D Mustang fighter and one German FW 190A-3 fighter. The terms and steps are well-defined with plenty of pictures. Until the end of December, readers wanting to try their own dogfights between these two planes could download a companion PDF which has now been removed from the site. Don’t worry if you missed it-- future companions and the game itself are on the way!
November 1, 2006: So far you've seen visuals of a few Unit Cards and the first Campaign Map, but I have not yet explained the scale or scope of the game. I have also not explained how miniatures may be incorporated. The feature article in this month's newsletter is dedicated to all of this and more as I introduce you to the two scales of Frontline General and how they work together in one game.
October 1, 2006: In this issue, I introduced visuals related to the first Frontline General Campaign Map, Southern Italy, 1943-44 along with a brief historical introduction to the Italian Campaign. I provided some insight into the playtest process for this game, highlighting an air battle that occurred during a recent playtest in September. Also, I introduced a very talented map artist who worked on visuals for the Italian map, Mr. Mark Mahaffey.
I’d like to thank Mark for the time he spent taking my map design and turning it into something much more visually appealing. Mark did a great job on the map, and I’m really looking forward to working with him on future Campaign maps. Thanks, Mark!
September 1, 2006: Unit Cards are fundamental to game play, since they deliver the mechanics during play for each unit. I’m very excited about how the card design has evolved, and I previewed the design for Beta in the first issue of Frontline General™ News. Also, I introduced the newsletter and Frontline General™ in a little more detail, including previews of some unique rules.
I’d like to thank Mr. Donal Hegarty for his critique of the Unit Card design for Frontline General, and for the time he spent working with me via E-Mail on some areas that needed improvement prior to release in this newsletter. Many Thanks, Donal!
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