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Halls of Montezuma (Video Review & Play Through)

26 April 2012 No Comment

 

Intro

HoM offers a single campaign scenario playable in two to three hours, given sudden death victory conditions. This makes the game ideal for an evening of friendly play as well as for tournaments and play-by-email. If you enjoy the other CDG’s, HoM brings you the Mexican-American War in a format that hearkens to the design elegance and playing time of We The People ™, the ground-breaking game by Mark Herman. HoM uses mechanics and cards to capture the excitement, tension, and uncertainty of this rarely simulated conflict from American history, the war that was a training ground for so many generals who would become fierce enemies in a later conflict. Can Mexico emerge as a new North American power or will the United States fulfill its Manifest Destiny?

Game Components

  • Rules booklet
  • Deck of 80 Strategy cards
  • Deck of 30 Action cards
  • Two 10-sided dice
  • One 22×34 mapsheet
  • Two player aid cards
  • One and one-half 5/8 inch counter sheets
~ GMT

 

Review

 

DAR:

I use the term ‘review’ a bit differently from most game reviewers.

The reason lies in the history of how these came about (along with a demand for semantic precision). My videos started out as pure DARs (During Action Reports – based on the wargaming concept of AARs). People wanted me to try and distill some of the commentary and impressions which surfaced during those, and requested a formal ‘review’ of the session – and the game itself. Given that my reviews didn’t provide a good overview of the rules that many were familiar with, further requests expanded to include that – but I cheat on these, using them to improve my own understanding of the game.

How should you use these? Damned if I know. Some people want to see the rules overview in the intro.Some desire the thoughts in the review. Some want the whole replay, so they can see how I got from point A to B. Do keep in mind however, in my mind; the DAR is indeed the heart of this. I’m inviting you into my game. If you don’t want the whole thing, hey, I understand (I wouldn’t want it all), but by the time of the review, I’ll be referring back to events in the playthroughs.


Recovering hobo, one-time actor and street corner philosopher, now trying to enjoy the less fine things in life (like everyone else does). One thing has been nearly constant in my life - gaming. Even before discovering wargames (at the tender age of 10 or so - purely fortuitous), I would play out family games (including the 3M series) solitaire. But, life situations interfered not too long ago, and I was largely without board gaming for the better part of a decade. The last couple of years have seen me devoting myself to the hobby again - and learning a lot of the newer designs - so, I'm looking from the eyes of an old grognard (ah, how I fought against THAT term when first used on me) but an open mind and willingness to see if newer games appeal.

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