I'd rather chuck cool looking dice and do a little addition instead of having refer to piles of charts and tables ala ASL. The game is very interactive and the orders matrix is genius. The orders matrix adds a lot of depth to play without being burdened by rules.

I just wish they had started the series with an American unit, like the 82nd Airborne; I don't get why the Eastern Front is so popular among war gamers.

Maybe because WW2 was fought by many more countries than just America, and wargames are played by gamers from all over the globe

Count me among those who is interested in the Eastern Front and has very little interest in the American engagement in Europe. My preference would be to see a British or Canadian unit when the series moves West. The American stuff has been done to death.

Maybe because WW2 was fought by many more countries than just America, and wargames are played by gamers from all over the globe

One cool thing not mentioned in the review (presumably in the interest of brevity) regards Opportunity Fire. Marco mentions that all units can respond with fire each time an opponent expends Movement Points. However, units can become "spent" while doing so, after which they can no longer fire during the rest of that particular order. Each unit has a Rate of Fire number, and if that number or less is rolled on either die during an Op Fire action they become spent (similar to how Hindrance works with causing a miss).

Some units have high RoF values, meaning they are more likely to become spent when engaging in Op Fire, so you still will have to be careful about when to use them (even if you don't have to pay any extra Initiative due to command). Some units (like the MG42) have RoF of 2, which makes them very effective at making multiple Opportunity fire attacks, which has the effect of causing the enemy to very carefully consider how it moves. It's a subtle effect, but works really well.

Count me among those who is interested in the Eastern Front and has very little interest in the American engagement in Europe. My preference would be to see a British or Canadian unit when the series moves West. The American stuff has been done to death.

I've only played this a few times and I already think it is the best tactical WW2 game I've played. I just wish they had started the series with an American unit, like the 82nd Airborne; I don't get why the Eastern Front is so popular among war gamers. I also love the dice(My set came with fancy designer like dice) I'd rather chuck cool looking dice and do a little addition instead of having refer to piles of charts and tables ala ASL. The game is very interactive and the orders matrix is genius. The orders matrix adds a lot of depth to play without being burdened by rules. The op fire system works great too. Also, the large map hexes are a great idea as well, no stacking of counters; which in this game you shouldn't do anyway.

I sort of imagined this would be Combat Commander with tanks, but I see dice so that probably means it's nothing like it.

I'm not to impressed by the unit collours.
The seem to simular or is that just caused by the video.

I've only played this a few times and I already think it is the best tactical WW2 game I've played. I just wish they had started the series with an American unit, like the 82nd Airborne; I don't get why the Eastern Front is so popular among war gamers.

Is this better than Conflict of Heroes?

Assuming you'll say YES, .... why?

Have you really read all those books on the shelves behind you? Be honest.

What are some of the books about? Are they available on Amazon for purchases?

I would love to see you writing some books about board wargaming, offering insightful analysis, theoretical models within the context of your rich wargaming experience, perhaps not unlike The Art of Wargaming. That book is more oriented to naval tactics but you can finish it with the land one! I always think there is a market for it, given that so many books on wargaming in Amazon are actually about miniature wargaming only.

are all three different enough that all are worth having?

Would you please contrast the three of them in what makes them different or better comparatively?

well, that's certainly tempting!! Actually I am considering activating a college class about wargaming here at IU in the next couple of years