Three years ago, Dr. Richter Konfliktsimulationen was founded as a dealer of conflict simulations. Since then, we have broadened our portfolio, and further ideas are under development. To display the greater range of activities more adequately, our website www.richter-kosim.de has now been relaunched - in German and English of course - with the following features: The webshop and our offers on Boardgamegeek have been integrated. Orders can be placed by e-mail or via BGG. Please note that a discount of three per cent applies to e-mail orders! Our s&h policy has been revised. Shipping inside Germany is now cheaper (5,00 Euros), inside the European Union a bit more expensive (15,00 Euros). Customers from outside the EU please ask. S&h costs for our own products “Hindenburg’s Hour” and “Kido Butai” are 2,50 Euros in Germany and 5,00 Euros worldwide. Note that payment of these amounts is required only once, regardless how many items you order. The relaunched website shows more information about “Hindenburg’s Hour” and “Kido Butai”, and it highlights the representation of Australian Design Group in Europe and Africa which we have taken over with the game fair “Spiel ’17” in Essen. ADG is about to publish the world’s largest boardgame, "World in Flames collector's edition". The map of this consim classic about the Second World War encompasses more than two square meters, the superdeluxe set contains over 9.000 counters! We are proud to participate in this marvelous project. Finally, our Facebook page www.facebook.com/richter-kosim is now also being linked to www.richter-kosim.de. Have fun exploring the new site!

"The Fall of the Third Reich" was on the table today. Being four players, we managed half the campaign, finishing with D-Day. At this time, Italy was at the Allies' mercy and the German east front in tatters, so it looked like a clear Axis defeat. FTR is a clever design and I generally like it, but there are some tweaks: - With 18 (!) different phases, the turns are too convoluted, especially concerning the numerous movement, reaction and exploitation phases. - While invasions in Northwest Europe are prohibited during winter, there is no mud period or other bad weather influence on the east front at all. - Marshes and mountains don't inhibit operational movement. - Historical play is encouraged (forward defense with a continuous frontline, for example), but the replay value seems rather low. - There are no scenarios provided, only one campaign game. All in all, a game that I'm not likely to play again soon although it's really not bad. I heard the designer is working on a 1944 scenario which might breathe new life into FTR.

Not taking part since I just took over European and African representation of Australian Design Group and might be considered biased... What's your opinion?

Preparing for the next game: "The Fall of the Third Reich" by Compass Games - with four players!

Concerning the "Silberne Stephan" for "Hindenburg's Hour", some more information for the statistics freaks among you...

The following games from Acies Edizioni are new/back in stock. Please note that some of them are not listed in my webshop. As I'm relaunching my website toward the end of the year, not all new items are added anymore. For a comprehensive list of all available articles, please visit my BGG shop below (you can order everything by email to info@richter-kosim.de, too). Adowa (44,99 Euros) Wise Bayonets (39,99) Walcheren 1809 (15,99) Caricat (20,99) Braccio da Montone (39,99) La Disfida (9,99) Parabellum magazine with game Caldiero 1796 (15,99)

And the "Silberne Stephan" 2017 goes to... "Hindenburg's Hour" :-) https://nerds-gegen-stephan.de/archives/610-GOLDENER-STEPHAN-2017-Publikumspreis-fuer-Eskapismus,-Nerdkultur-Phantastik-PENP-Die-Gewinner!.html#extended

Final thoughts about "1805: Sea of Glory". In our last session, I abandoned all plans to land in England as it is a hopeless endeavor. The alternative hit and run strategy was no more successful either though: The remaining French fleet under Villeneuve was detected when trying to raid Bantry Bay and all but destroyed in a Trafalgar-like engagement - although Nelson was not even present. After this disaster, I saw no hope for victory any longer and capitulated. The main reason for the decline of the Franco-Spanish alliance - which had started quite well into the campaign - was manpower shortage. And here is my only serious criticism of the game as this decisive factor is completely driven by luck. From the fact that the British had almost twice as much manpower available than the French and Spanish combined, you can infer that I was not lucky in this regard... This meant that damaged allied ships could not be crewed again and my navies were slowly but inescapably worn down. Still, "1805" is now one of my favorite games. The rules are short and clear, it plays fast and tense and gives you a good overview of its historical subject-matter. Both thumbs up!

A few pics from the SPIEL '17 in Essen, especially the ADG and GHS booths...

Still playing "1805: Sea of Glory", I remembered a book bought at Waterstones' in London - Europe's biggest bookstore - where they have a history department worth spending several days at! "Beating Napoleon" by David Andress is a vivid description of Britain's erstwhile war effort, alternating between military and social history. I found it lacking analytical depth though. There is, for example, only scant information about strategic debates and choices. The question of the subtitle "How Britain faced down her greatest challenge" is being answered in a rather narrative way. Still, a good read about some less observed aspects of the Napoleonic Wars.

The world's biggest boardgame fair begins tomorrow in Essen. I shall be there over the weekend. Most of the time, you can meet me at my cooperation partner Australian Design Group's booth, 8C102, otherwise at the Society for Historical Simulations (GHS), 6B127, development partner of "Hindenburg's Hour". Hope to see you!

Spel!/Ducosim, a Dutch gaming magazine, has also published a "Kido Butai" review. Thanks to Hans Korting for the following translation: "If you have heard of Dr. Richter Konfliktsimulationen before, please raise your hand. This German company was founded in 2015 by Benjamin Richter. His motto is: ‘Make games, not war!’ It can be called quite unusual when an unknown German game company launches itself, using a solitaire game on the battle of Midway, showing the battle from a Japanese perspective. And it’s an interesting game at that. The first edition went out of print, so an second edition was published! What you get is a ziplock bag, containing an 8 page rulebook, a map (29 x 21 cm) of think paper, and 55 die-cut counters. All the components are well done. The rules are clearly written; I only ended up with finding two small issues while reading them. There is an example of play of two pages, which makes it easy to get into the game. There are three optional rules that can be used. The game In order to play the game you will need two dice and three cups for the counters that need to be drawn blindly. At the beginning of the game you put the four counters that represent the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu in the bottom right of the map. Each counter displays a number that represents the number of available aircraft squadrons. There are four squadrons on the Akagi and Kaga, and three squadrons on the other ships. The counters need to face to the eastern side of the map. In this case it means that they are facing towards the top of the map. After all, the game is played as seen from the Japanese perspective. Next you place the Midway counter in the top right corner of the map and put the three American aircraft carrier counters in one of the cups. There is also one dummy carrier counter, but this will be put aside for now. Next step is to put the American bombers counters, including the dummy counters, in a cup. The same needs to be done for the American fighters. Final step is to put the Turn marker on the 04:30 position on the Turn Record Track. The track is divided into hours till 19:30. A turn consists of three phases: 1) Japanese Phase; 2) Recon Phase; 3) American Phase. In the Japanese Phase you can pick one of several possible actions. You can launch squadrons from your carriers, move squadrons to their target, attack, land on your carriers, or ready your squadrons for their next mission. Next is the Recon Phase, in which both sides can check if they have found the enemy fleet. This is done by rolling a die. On a five or six the Americans detect the Japanese fleet. The Japanese need to roll a 6 for detection. The final phase is the American Phase. There will only be an American Phase starting with turn three. At the end of the game, victory is determined by the number of victory points gained. These can be won by putting Midway out of action, damage or sink carriers, and by destroying enemy squadrons. Move and attack The map doesn’t use hexes. You move your squadrons to the middle of the map. Next turn you move them in the direction of Midway, southeast, and turn the counters so they are facing to the south. If you detected the American fleet, you can also move your squadrons to the northeast. Then you also turn the counters facing south. If you have reached your target, you can attack it in the next turn. After the attack you move your squadrons back to the middle of the map, and next turn them facing west. During the upcoming turn you can land the aircraft back on the carriers. But, you can’t take off and land squadrons at the same time! You will need to coordinate your flight deck operations. After your squadrons have landed, you turn the counters facing north. To ready them for the next mission, you next turn them facing east. To arm your bombers, you can chose between torpedoes or bombs, by flipping the counter to the side showing the chosen armament. Before combat takes place, counters are drawn from the cup, until a dummy counters is drawn. In case of the American fleet, you first need to draw one ship counter before adding the dummy counter. This means that there can be two American fleets. Combat is determined by a die roll. Depending on the situation or side performing the battle, a five or six is needed for a hit. If the carriers or Midway are damaged, they can support a smaller number of squadrons. This is a small but nice game by a new game company, with a high replay value. Text: Hans Korting Kido Butai Rating: ***** *** In short: Nice debut, small, high replayability"