TIGERS IN THE MIST Game Rating Commentary

"My basic feeling about Yet Another Bulge game (also known as The Danny Parker Curse) is that, for it to be something that I would play more than once, it better have something going for it that the handful of other good Bulgies do not have. TIGER has some of this, but ultimately, does not ring any of those Bells of Necessity for me. It does represent the tangled movement problems of the original battle, and it uses some interesting mechanics. But I get the feeling I'm solving a puzzle, not "gaming history". I would have rated the game slightly higher (if such elegance were available in the Consimworld system) had the game not been a bit clunky looking, and had the counters not seemed to be refugees from The Forgotten World of XTR. And to use 5/8" counters and leave off the ratings, for whatever reason the playtesters came up with (caveat: just because playtesters tell you they play it that way does not mean that that is the way you should be playing it; Blind Faith is best left to the various religions wandering around) . . .to do so is an affectation, done for no other reason than it creates an effect. I don't care how quickly it takes to memorize the ratings, why have to do such work at all. While we can thank Ray F for (a) having the stick-to-itiveness to get his old DTP game published, and (b) some interesting mechanics . . . a Boo Hiss, and a picture of Jon Schettler teaching one of his games to the cast of Animal Farm, for the retro-graphics approach discussed above."

"Great rulebook, easy gameplay, lots of opportunity for dice rolls to make or break your plans. Definitely a player's game."

"Good low complexity effort designed to play over and over again. Despite only 5 pages of rules, the system has significant depth which requires careful planning and execution for both sides to achieve victory. Only those gamers who feel uncomfortable with high levels of design abstraction should stay away; everyone else will likely find TitM fast, tense, fun, and replayable."

"Everything one would want in a game -- fast moving and exciting. There's no "perfect plan" here, as the road net and combat system will foil your best laid plans. Kudos to Ray Freeman and the team at GMT!"

"Tigers has great replay value, since combat outcomes are quite unpredictable. The game has the right amount of tension coupled with sufficient variations in tactics and strategy. I recommend it especially for attracting newbies to the hobby, since it has a short rule book, a variety of (as far as I have experienced in 25+ playings) balanced scenarios."

"I generally prefer games with hexes but this title has changed all that. An experienced gamer can be playing this game within an hour of opening the box. However, in spite of its simplicity it is difficult to master. I was so impressed I have asked the designer to consider designing more titles using this, or a similar, system. Buy it."

"Best bits...each day divided into 3 impulses, each unit can activate once per day i.e. on one of the impulses - so on impulse 1 a stack can breakthrough with another stack following through in the 2nd or 3rd impulse....artillery availability is nicely done.
worse bits...a bit tedious continually moving all pieces in a battle to the battle board.....area boundaries are not as clearly printed as could have been the case.
overall, straight forward system, heavy on die rolling, looks good, fun game that is a better simulation that it 'pretends' to be."

"At last, a game that's fun, has ample historical flavor, is replayable, and can be played in a relatively short period of time by those of with jobs and families. Bravo Ray Freeman!"

"The game does not resemble the Battle of the Bulge. It is Yahtzee in the Ardennes."

"Simply put, a great GAME to play about the Bulge. Simple to learn, difficult to master."

"Fun and fast-playing Bulge game with congestion effects, clever combat system, interesting strategic choices and a painless learning curve."

"Very good idea to come back to the area concept and interesting treatment of it but played solitaire with best intentions with us troops, difficult to avoid crushing german victory. The Dec 22nd lone impulse gives too much VPs compare to the few opportunities given to the allied player. Bridge demolition is too emphasized, though it counter balances the poor defensive possibilities. I like to play it but I'm afraid I will soon be bored with it."

"Played very cleanly out of the box. System is simple and plays quickly - first game taken to last turn in six hours play. The gameplay is tense with both sides in strong contention - in our case down to the wire. Graphically good, attractive map and counters. Some issues with physical design, area sizes are often too small to get two counter stacks in but this isn't a major problem. Overall an excellent game which gives a real feel for the issues of the Bulge, traffic jams, scratch US defenses holding off and attritioning away strong German forces which are struggling to get that elusive breakthrough. Buy it and enjoy!"

"Easy, tense game which I intend to play again. I especially like (in a pleasure-pain kind of way) the way that the German spearheads get blunted simply because they have to take lumps in order to dish it out. That helps to prevent the 'soak-off' which is so prevalent in many older games. Yet another fine product from GMT in my opinion."

"Far to often game designers assume certain mechanics for certain situations. This game shows that area movement at the operational level can actually produce a very good feel of the logistic and road bottle neck hassles both sides had to deal with in this area. A very tense game as the game forces you to try to manage your attacks three turns in advance."

"It's great to have a playable, easy-to-learn game that recreates the overall historical aspects of the campaign. This is an excellent vehicle for introducing new players to the hobby while at the same time being a replayable challenge to grognards."

"My preference is for games with more detail, but this accomplishes what it set out to do - which is to provide a simple, yet tense and fun game on The Bulge. If I had had any input into the design I would have recommended that the map be a third larger, or the counters 1/2" to avoid the problem of stacking too many counters in too little space. The graphics are fine, but they aren't impressive. Still, it's a fun game and as others have commented, an ideal intro to wargaming for the newbie."

"I'm relatively new to war games. (About one year of experience) After one FtF game and several solo sessions I am starting to really appreciate the clean design of this game. It plays smoothly and doesn't involve a lot of rules lookup. And it can easily be played in an evening which is a big plus for me."

"This is basically a block game (ala Columbia Games) without the blocks. There's nothing wrong with copying the mechanic, but I think the fog of war that the blocks would have brought would have been appropriate for this situation. Mapboard is beautiful, but the boundaries between areas are hard to see. Found myself repeatedly thinking there was one zone when it was actually two or three. A concession to aesthetics over utility."

"This is my second experience with a Bulge game -- and the Bulge is not normally a topic I am interested in. What a great product! The tension is there, combined with harrowing uncertainty in battle and a combat system that requires you to risk your best units if you want their contribution (no cheesy soaking-off infantry to keep Peiper strong throughout the battle). I wish the game covered the entire battle, not just the first week, and I wish there were some rules for fuel shortages (some might consider this an unforgivably ahistorical omission, but I don't, given that the game only covers the first week as it stands). All in all, though, I find the game enjoyable, tense, and quick to play. I look forward to many more outings."

"The large counters and player aid cards make setup a breeze, while the movement/combat mechanics very quickly produces the sort of chaos seen on the original! Will have to wait to see how well it replays, but excellent on a first impression."

"Some clever mechanics, but in the end it seems more like puzzle for the German player to solve. After experience with the scenarios and three campaigns, the Germans get to the Meuse every time with their whole front. They don't always win, but it is devoid of the tension I'm used to in Bulge games as a few narrow penetrations strike for the Meuse. Here, you can attrition the Americans to death and win the game when they run out of units. Combat is tedious."

"On the Plus - it is good and quick game - On the Negative - a difficult to read map, quirky rules for combat selection - very ahistorical - should have stuck to generic counters as historical designations are meaningless gamewise. The Introductory scenario puts you into a What If situation - off a tangent Axis attack that was not contemplated historically."

"Best bits...each day divided into 3 impulses, each unit can activate once per day i.e. on one of the impulses - so on impulse 1 a stack can breakthrough with another stack following through in the 2nd or 3rd impulse....artillery availability is nicely done.
worse bits...a bit tedious continually moving all pieces in a battle to the battle board.....area boundaries are not as clearly printed as could have been the case.
overall, straight forward system, heavy on die rolling, looks good, fun game that is a better simulation that it 'pretends' to be."

Copyright © 1999-2002. ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com

Copyright © 1999-2002. ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com

Copyright © 1999, 2000 ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com