Valley of Tears

[markhwalker]

A platoon-level game that pits Israel's 7th Brigade against mountains of Syrian armor. Love it, hate it? Let me know.

[Eric Weider]

FYI this game is in the next issue (April/May) which won't be out for another couple of weeks yet.

[Cantata]

Mark,

I really like this game, it is a great way to introduce new players to wargaming without overwhelming them with too many and too complex rules. So far the game has played well, although I have only been able to play solitaire up to this point. I plan to get a live opponent this weekend.

I would like to point out a couple of typos in the rules text, some are minor, but some affect rules interpretation:

1)Cover page, 1st paragraph, last sentence - "The game focuses on capturing the feel of the Syrian assaults during from 7-11 October."

2)Page 5, 1st paragraph under Special Units and Capabilities - (they ente rthe board in flying mode);

3)Page 7, 2nd column, 2nd paragraph under Mines - "After the mine attacks the Israeli rolls 1d6. On a roll of 1-4 the mine is removed —this represents minefield depletion and sweeping by the Syrians. If the die roll is 1-2 the mine remains in place. Roll for removal after each time the mine attacks new units entering the hex." (I assume a roll of 4-5 leaves the mine in place)

4)Page 7, 2nd column, 1st paragraph under Leaders - "We gave the Syrians one, just for giggles." (I have two Syrian Leaders on my counter sheets, I'm sure you know that already)

That is all I saw that comes to mind immediately. I would also like to ask how you print the map sheets out properly. I am trying to print the halves on 8.5"x11" paper, and I can get the bottom and top boundaries to print ok, but the left-right margins won't print, and I end up missing the middle row of hexes where the two halves join. I am printing on an HP 8550 Color Laser Jet, but I am not given margin settings to change.

Otherwise, I love the game and I am impressed with it's easy to learn rules and tense gameplay. I have not had the pleasure of playing any of your "Lock 'N Load" games as yet and was really pleased to get the opportunity to try one of your game designes via Armchair General, thanks go out to you and the Magazine! Keep up the great work and I look forward to more excellent games from Mark H. Walker... KUDOS!!

[Cantata]

Just FYI regarding map printing for this game:

You can print the map successfully on 11"x17" paper, leaving only the task of trimming the excess boarders with scissors. My paper quality wasn't as good as the 8.5"x11" paper I had to work with, but it is satisfactory, as I plan to mount the map on cardboard anyway. I thought others might be interested to know when they attempt to print the map halves.

Cheers and good luck!

[Cantata]

(I assume a roll of 4-5 leaves the mine in place)

Ok, let's try this one again... I assume a 5-6 leaves the mine in place, correct? Doh!

[markhwalker]

Hi Folks,

I received the following questions from Peter and wanted to post my answers for all to see.

1) do firing ramps block LOS? the rules don't say they do, but in
real life they certainly worked that way.

MHW... No, but this was a hot debate with myself. Yes, the firing ramps are tall enough to block LOS, but we are only talking about a handful of ramps in a 150 meter area.

(2) does terrain modify indirect fire (bombardment) attacks?

MHW... Nope, again I considered this, but decided that to achieve the results I wanted it works like it is. The Syrians arty was effective. It didn't actually knock out many tanks but did cause casualties and force them to button up. Did the firing ramps afford some protection? Yes, they did, but if I allowed them to monitor IF, then I would need to bump up the IF firepower which might have made it too effective in clear terrain.

(3) do the Syrian off board guns require a spotter?

MHW... No, which is my bad. The rule should be amended so that Syrian arty may only be called on a hex visible to an undisrupted Syrian unit.

(4) may reinforcements be delayed?

MHW... Everyone has asked this. Of course the reason is that people want to hold off the AVLBs until the Israeli tanks have been neutralized. The game works (especially easily if night rules are implemented) without holding them back, but if you find it unbalanced, and don't wish to use the optional night rules, you can delay the entry of reinforcements by one turn.

(5) in two places in the rules (leader movement and minesweeping) the
d6 range is incomplete. Should leader movement be 1-2/3-6 or 1-3/4-6?
Minesweeping 1-4/5-6?

MHW... Leader Movement should be 1-2/3-6 and Minesweeping 1-4/5-6

[markhwalker]

Hi Cantana...

Thanks for the kind words, download the file again, and you'll see that all of these mistakes (except the "during-from" debacle), and the questions answered above have been corrected.

The maps print out just fine now in the 8.5 x 11" mode.

Also take a look at the optional Night Rule that I added. It's a great balancing mechanism for Syrians that are having a tough time.

More games? Well, there's a tactical Pacific Theater game in the works. It's sort of like Lock 'n Load Lite. Also, check out www.locknloadgame.com, and look at the spiffy "Publishing, LLC." Yep, Lock 'n LOad is now a publishing company. So, if you like my designs, please stay tuned.

Best,

Mark

[Cantata]

Thanks Mark, I will download it and printout the newest rules. The night rules sound very interesting, I look forward to trying them out. I will continue to look for your new efforts.

[Cantata]

One last question about mines: in the new rules on page 7, the last paragraph in the second column, it says after a mine attack to roll a die, on a roll of 1-4 remove the mine, on a roll of 1-2 the mine stays. I'm guessing it should read that on a roll of 5-6 the mine remains on the board, correct?

[Cap. Teancum]

I now got the game, but still the same old problem, no-one to play with.

[Cantata]

That was a great AAR for the game, you might even say kind of inspiring! Makes me wanna report in sick from work just so I can go home and play VoT some more.

The close-ups of the battlefield are great. Speaking of which, I noticed in the last picture there is a counter in green, obviously not one of the counters from VoT. Could this be from the upcoming Iwo-Jima game we've heard rumors of? I can't quite make out what the counter says, but the explosion graphic is pretty cool. It sure does stick out, though...

[markhwalker]

I'm guessing it should read that on a roll of 5-6 the mine remains on the board, correct?

That's correct.

The mine counter is a reduced mine counter from LnL.

Best,

Mark

[MikeParrott]

The rules version I have ends with _V2.

1. Page 9: At the beginning of each reinforcement phase the Israeli player rolls 1d6. If the die roll is equal to or less than the turn number, the Israeli player receives the units indicated above. If the indicated units have already entered, the Israeli player receives the units indicated by the next higher number. You may only receive a set (for example #3) of reinforcement once.

Q: If you may receive a set of reinforcements only once, how do the other two Israeli leaders come into play? Once #5 is used it cannot be used again.

Q: I assume if 1d6 = 6, no reinforcements arrive.

2. Page 2: Rally Phase - It says to roll 1d6 and compare it to the units morale. Should it be higher (harder to rally) or lower (easier to rally)? It does not say what it should be in relation to the units morale. I am going with lower.

This game looks really interesting. I like the topic, Arab-Israeli Wars, and the scale, but it seems the rules were just thrown together. There were a lot of mistakes (mentioned above and other palces) that it seems a simple word processor could fix, plus some rule mishaps (like the mine die roll results). But you can't beat the price.

Hopefully there will be a third rules version soon.

Also, Any chance your Lock and Load rules will see any Arab-Isreal scenarios/variants?

[Duncan]

I haven't looked at the game yet. I have it on my USB drive at home (another city than where I am now) How is this game for play by post or play by email? Is it card driven?

I love the card driven games. But they don't PBM very well.

[Cantata]

This game should work great for PBEM, there are no cards, just counters, the rules and the map. You will need at least one 6-sided die to play as well. I like the game so far, it is a furious battle with plenty of action. It seems like the Israeli can win most of the time, but it is never easy. If you play with the night rules, it gets very tough to win as the Israeli player, although it can still be done. Fire superiority is important, and using your air support properly can make or break a good plan.