1985 Company MegaTest - Seven Days to the Rhine

 

Next up is Seven Days to the Rhine (7DTTR) by Great Escape Games and the Cold War partner to their Iron Cross WW2 set. I'd heard good things about Iron Cross, but was then a bit disappointed (4/10) when I played it last year. Would 7DDTR fair better?

Presentation

44 page soft-back, staple bound so lies flat. 2 page QRS on back pages and a set of Tactical Advantage cards. Similar mix of pics to Battlegroup:NORTHAG but no annoying punch holes. Pretty sensibly laid out.

Set-Up

As for the last game, meeting engagement with the Russians aiming for (Semmenstedt) whilst NATO was sweeping the area clear of enemy. Same Reinforced Company Group as before.

How It Played

The British got moving first and fast, pushing down to Remilingen and a wide R flank against Semmenstedt. Similar Chieftain vs T64B duels as before, but this time the Russians were fairing a lot better. The Brits played a Tactical Advantage card to get another Chieftain on but that was promptly brewed by a BMP. The Soviets called up a Hind and the last Chieftain bit the dust. A pesky Milan team had to be cleared by the BMPs but then it became a bit of a turkey shoot for the T64Bs. In Semmenstedt both sides had occupied a block of flats each and it became a slow game of attrition, but the British soon tripped the 2/3rd losses trigger from the T64B activity and it was game over - a Soviet win.

Rules Impression

I must admit it played a lot better than the Iron Cross game - don't know if I was reading the rules better, or it was more suited to a more armour heavy game. I really liked the activation model, lots more choice, but I didn't have the "pile it on" problem I had last time. Tempted to limit each unit to two activations just to be safe, but otherwise certainly prefer it to Battlegroup:NORTHAG. Combat seemed a bit one dimensional with not much differentiation between kit - even something like an AGL. The AP+D10>AV mechanism worked pretty well and was easier than the 2D lookup table for B:N. Reaction rolls were OK and broadly replaced spotting. Infantry firing was very basic though and no concept of suppression. There was also NO HE or indirect fire (apart from a simple initial bombardment). 

Overall

A lot better game than the Iron Cross one - weird , will have to go back and try that again. The activation model is really nice, and actually using that with B:N would make a good game, and maybe some other hybridisation - or use both learnings to improve ContactWaitOut (my own set). Lack of HE and poor infantry firing and weapon definition is a downer though. Overall 7/10 - well up on 4/10!