For their second wargaming book, Osprey has chosen the interwar period between WWI and WWII. This one is very much in the same format as that provided earlier, though there are some major differences since warfare of this time was much more mechanized.

The author states that these rules can be used for the many different conflicts of the time from the Russian Revolution to the US involvement in Niceragua and, of course, the Spanish Civil War just to name a few. However, judging from the photos in the book, most of it is aimed at the Spanish Civil War.

In addition to the usual troop movements, this one incorporates the use of artillery, armor and aircraft as well as some more esoteric items such as armored trains. With all of these new items, there is more emphasis on fields of fire, range of cannon, and the abilities of aircraft. There are also sections on the various ways to counter aircraft, armor and shield defending troops from the effects of these items.

Like the previous edition, this one opens up with a bit of a background to the period and covers what war gaming actually is. It then goes into the basics in terms of what is needed to properly play as well as some of the more common terms used in the game. I am sure that as one gets more involved and gains greater knowledge, much of this preliminary stuff will be second nature, but the book assumes one is pretty new to the genre, which is fine.

The next section gets into the actual game play. Setting up the field of play, determining who is attacking and who is defending, movement of units hit and defense points and that sort of thing. Quite important is how many troops a specific leader can control. It also includes some strategy in terms of movement as some units will move at specific rates and it is important to keep things coordinated. Some suggested units and sizes are also provided based on historic information. Movement of the various men and equipment is also covered in this section. While the overall format of this and the previous book are similar, the way each author covers these sections is rather different.

This one includes a unit sheet you can copy as well as play and scenario cards that the other book did not have. There are no detailed scenarios on this one as there is simply too much other information to allow the space for it. The reading is interesting for non-wargamers, but makes a lot more sense to those who have some experience in the genre. It was also quite nice to see the many figures, models and set-ups that can be used. In addition there are some excellent artwork depicting the uniforms worn by participants.

It all makes for an interesting read for enthusiasts and an excellent way to get a nice set of rules for the time period.

August 2012

 Thanks to me for providing the review sample. For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.