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Wargame Rules / WWII
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Displaying Reviews: 1 - 1
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Broadsword Calling Danny Boy!
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Reviewed by Antar Howarth (info@totalmodel.com) July 27, 2005
Ever wanted to re-live the exploits of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood in "Where Eagles Dare"? Well now you can. Hour of Glory is a new board game which gives players the opportunity to do just that (albeit in miniature). The game has been in development for over two years during which time the designers, Wolfrik Galland and Gavin Tyler, have struggled to overcome many obstacles of their own. This isn't just some set of rules knocked out on MS Word and given a laminated cover but a complete boxed game complete with figures, floor tiles and more card accessories than you can shake a pointy helmet at! It's taken a great deal of time and effort to get Hour of Glory off the drawing board and on to the shelf. Now that it's here, was it worth the wait?
The game is played out between two sides - the Intruders and the Defenders - or (as we would say) the good guys and the Jerries. Each side has a number of agents at their disposal. The goal of the intruder is to gather intelligence cards which are scattered throughout the Fortress. In order to do so successfully he must avoid attracting the attention of sentries and the Fortress Commandant (possibly played by Anton Diffring). To make matters worse, the Intruder has only 60 game minutes in which to complete the operation and escape - hence the title "Hour of Glory".
The aim of the Defender is to eliminate all Intruders!
Each turn an agent can move and perform a single action. In the case of the Intruders this might include breaching a door, sneaking past a sentry or searching a room for intelligence. Intruders have two modes of play. They begin the game in Raiding Mode - which is the term used to describe stealth operations. In this mode they are almost invisible and can creep silently through the fortress, hugging the walls as they maintain a low profile. With the right tactics, and the right dice rolls, it's possible for an Intruder to sneak right up to a sentry and dispatch him with a knife to the ribs. It's subtle stuff. If detected, however, you can expect all merry hell to break loose! The Intruders are forced into Assault Mode which means they dump the cloak and dagger malarkey and square-up for a straight fight. It's at about this point in proceedings that the bullets start flying.
For most of the game the Defenders are only allowed to control a single character - the Fortress Commandant - who wanders the labyrinth of corridors investigating suspicious activity. The other defenders are made up of sentries who are posted next to doors and cannot move. Each projects a "listening zone" which extends a few squares in all directions around their position. Intruders are required to sneak through these zones, undetected, in order to gain access to rooms and other areas of the fortress. If they fail to do so effectively, or foul-up in other ways, the Commandant can raise the alarm and summon a posse of guards to hunt down the miscreants.
If the Intruders manage to collect enough intelligence cards and escape within the hour, they win the game!
Anyone who ever bought one of the many GW boxed games released in the 90's will know that before you can get to grips with the rules you must first get to grips with a craft knife. That's because the box is always stuffed full of card templates, playing aids and all manner of counters which need to be removed from the sheets on which they're printed. Hog is no different. There are cards aplenty for everything including weapons, equipment and intelligence. There are also little card figures (in case you haven't got the white-metal ones) which slot into special plastic bases. There's even a handy mission timer, complete with revolving numbers, to mark the passage of time.
The Fortress itself is constructed from a series of printed floor tiles - similar in design to those which appeared in Space Hulk and Warhammer Quest. The tiles can be arranged in a variety of ways to form an almost limitless array of different floor plans. The only 3D element of the fortress is the doors. These are printed on separate sheets and - like the card figures - slot into special plastic bases. Unfortunately, and unlike the figures, the bases do not grip the cards effectively with the result that most of the doors simply fall out. This is the only design fault I found in the game but it is a major one and can prove a little irritating. The problem could be solved with a drop of white glue but this would make it difficult to pack the game away again after play.
Other than this glitch, the contents of the game box are incredibly well put together. The 60 page rule book is printed in full colour and illustrated with useful examples throughout. Even though the artwork of the card stock may not be quite as impressive as the graphics which appear in GW games, it is still very effective and well-presented. Indeed, after waiting almost 2 years for this game to appear I am mightily impressed with everything I see. It more than lives up to my expectations.
Sadly the only things that don't quite hit the mark are the white metal figures. As editor of TotalModel.com I've seen more than my fair share of 28mm miniatures over the years - some good, some bad. The figures included with the game are, alas, pretty ropey. To be honest I'm not entirely sure why the chaps went to such lengths to include them. I would have been perfectly happy with the card figures - which I could always replace at a later date with appropriate minis from another manufacturer.
Figures aside, the quality of this package is excellent. Everything you need is included in the box and you can be up and running in no time at all. Once assembled Hour of Glory offers bags of fun! The designers have gone to great lengths to develop a set of game mechanics which work smoothly and effectively. Each turn throws up sufficient choices and actions to ensure game play is both varied and taxing without proceedings becoming bogged down in overly complex micro-management and dice rolling. One minute you're poking around in the shadows - the next you're caught in a fire-fight with no-where to run. It's a blast!
Better still, this is just the start; the basic foundations of a game system which could develop into something much bigger and even more advanced. I certainly hope so! Hour of Glory was definitely worth the wait and now I can't wait for the next installment!
Schloss Adler, anyone?
NB: Click the thumbnail picture above to view more images of the game.
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32
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