#holland44

XXX Corps goes once more into the breach, trying to get to Nijmegen. The bridge situation was dire, with everything between Eindhoven and Grave getting blown up by the Germans. A slight delay in getting the bridging unit to Son three the entire timetable off. After a desperate push through Veghal on the third day and the 82nd seizing the railroad bridge at Nijmegen intact, I thought there might be chance to get to the Rhine, but German reinforcements reached Grave ahead of XXX Corps, which spelled doom. Lesson learned: don’t even think about it, just keep the bridging unit with the tip of the spear of XXX Corps. The schedule on this operation is so insane, any delay can be fatal. The Germans initially pose no threat to your spearhead, so there isn’t really any risk to keeping this super-critical as far forward as possible. #gmtgames #marksimonitch #holland44 #tabletopgames https://www.instagram.com/p/B5pEJqHlUzQ/?igshid=18eb4roqxrx8l

Quickest turnaround for a rematch of Holland ‘44 ever. My Germans were managing well, but slightly overcommitted to the defense of Nijmegen which left the south bank of the Rhine under garrisoned allowing the 1st Airborne to send a few units south via the ferry and over the road bridge, which caused no end of problems, ultimately allowing XXX Corps to do their river assault early and get north of the Waac to win the 11-turn scenario. It was close though; the airborne divisions had been chewed up and the 1st Airborne particularly had been hit pretty hard with their large perimeter. Great game, and pretty playable - the 11 turn scenario should take 6-8 hours (if it goes the distance, which probably it won’t). Not nothing for sure, but given it’s a pretty intense ride the whole way, it’s a pretty good gaming deal. Just figure out the ZOC bonds, which are a bit tricky if you’re not used to them; but in combination with the flexible advance, retreat, and trace rules the systems works really well. Now excited to get Stalingrad ‘42 to the table! #bgg #gmtgames #holland44 #marksimonitch https://www.instagram.com/p/B4gkvcjAObY/?igshid=182otfpsyz60n

Holland ‘44. OMG, this is what happens when XXX Corps consistently rolls 1s. Eindhoven gets reinforced and never falls, every bridge but one gets blown up. I started off the game with a brutal airborne drop, lots of casualties. But then the 1st Airborne quickly sieved the railroad bridge over the Rhine, which is kind of a big deal and I thought maybe portended something good. But no, it was quickly off a cliff from there. XXX Corps kicked off its offensive with three 1s to get down the main highway, the 1st Airborne was turned away from the Arnhem road bridge on a 1, XXX Corps continued its legacy of failure in Eindhoven, the US airborne succeeds in securing exactly one bridge, and the whole thing was a total disaster. The thing is though, the game was still fun. As the Allies, it’s important to not fail your personal morale check - the obstacles are incredibly daunting and the success if the operation is insanely contingent on a bunch of stuff you can’t really control, but the victory conditions actually aren’t that onerous and you can win by making some honest progress (taking Nijmegan and limiting the scope of the disaster by preserving the strength of the airborne divisions (this is one of the things that makes the game cool - if the Germans want to win, they do need to be very aggressive in reducing the airborne divisions). Super-fun game on a topic that is very hard to do well. Now that Mark Simonitch has made a number of these ‘4X games, it’s fascinating to see the small, deliberate changes he makes from game to game to evoke the different games - he is just such a pro. #gmtgames #holland44 #bgg #boardgamegeek #marksimonitch https://www.instagram.com/p/B4WBLvKh59H/?igshid=1adgu8w8l1k7e

This is what happens when you send too much force to Arnhem and Nijmegen and not enough to cover the ferries into The Island; you get 1st Airborne troops running amok in your lines of communication. I really like Ukraine ‘43 and France ‘40, and the other games in this line, but Holland ‘44 took a little bit to win me over just because the situation is tricky. It’s a little on the large side for me these days, but there are a lot of real choices and a lot of opportunities for the game to go in different directions. I enjoyed and would definitely recommend it, particularly in a field of Market-Garden games that are generally fairly mediocre. Definitely read and pay close attention to the player tips provided; the situation is confused and fluid and some subtle errors can really hurt you. #bgg #boardgames #boardgamegeek #marksimonitch #gmtgames #holland44

Giving Holland ‘44 another go. I think it’s interesting how Simonitch has calibrated the randomness in the drops, initial airborne operations, and bridge demolitions to give the game a lot variety but still keep it on the rails. In this game, the British got lucky and got a second airborne brigade into Arnhem; but all the bridges over the Maas-Waal canal were blown. That combination will make things interesting. Like all Simonitch games it’s super-slick and players very easily for the complexity, but Market-Garden is a very problematic situation. Managing XXX Corps and its one road is a pain and kind of time-consuming. Because of the 3 or 4 different Allied operational sectors, and because the action is a bit thin for the Germans for the first couple days (6 turns or so), this might be best tackled by 3 players - one gets the 1st Airborne and 82nd Airborne, one gets XXX Corps and the 101st Airborne, and one gets the Germans. Anyway, like all Simonitch games, a ton to like, but the situation is not quite as game-friendly as France ‘40, Ukraine ‘43, Normandy ‘44, Ardennes ‘44, or Caucuses Campaign IMO. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #gmtgames #marksimonitch #holland44

Giving Holland ‘44 a whirl. Market-Garden is another fascinating piece of history that is notoriously difficult to turn into a decent game, but Mark Simonitch is the best so I’m always curious and excited to see what he comes up with (especially since he’s just made great game on France ‘40 and The US Civil War). I really enjoyed Holland ‘44 - not unexpectedly - and I think it shows a lot of promise. It’s a little more technical than some of his games, with some careful tactical techniques required for squeezing as many kilometers as possible out of XXX Corps and decisions about the airborne divisions that will screw you if you get them wrong (the Germans seen in a more forgiving position). But like all his games, it ‘s quite playable, the system is terrific, it doesn’t ask you to make decisions that don’t matter a lot, and it plays cleanly and at a good pace for a game of this size and scope. I think it balances the needs of history and game well, and like France ‘40 and Ukraine ‘43 it gives both sides opportunities to be very active. It’s a little on the long side (figure 5hr for the recommended short game if you can find the rhythm), but I look forward to playing it some more. I’ve seen it played with 4 players at #gmtwest, and I think that might work quite well and substantially cut the playing time. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #gmtgames #marksimonitch #holland44