If you subscribe now, you will get:

22 - Paukenschlag
23 - Guerra a Muerte
24 - Deathride: Mars-la-Tour 1870
25 - Storm Over Taierzhuang

If you select the Annual, you will get:

2008 Annual - Operation Cartwheel

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Against the Odds magazine investigates military history from a broad perspective. The economic, political, religious and social aspects of warfare are examined in concert with events on the battlefield.

Each issue of ATO features:

Informative and insightful articles showcasing the history behind events, plus regular columns by noted game designers providing insight on the latest trends and events.

A challenging, fun wargame that drops the players into truly desperate situations but gives them multiple options to alter history.

Professionally printed graphics, complete with large playing map and 200 to 360 die cut playing pieces.

And much more! Look for Against the Odds to cover simulation design issues, order of battle research, rule writing, play testing and graphic techniques as it evolves. Get yourself truly "connected" with games and gaming by subscribing to Against the Odds!

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#22 Paukenschlag
Available Mar. 2008
Along the US East Coast, it was sort of like "Pearl Harbor" all over again, but worse. Twice as many allied deaths, 400 ships lost, while the authorities resisted both the proven convoy system and the common-sense approach of simply turning the lights out on coastal cities.

Operation Paukenschlag ("the roll of drums") covers Germany's attack on America, from January to June 1942, using the historical U-boat capabilities and optionally, adding the German long-range bombers which could have taken part. The game board is based on the sea maps the U-Boat commanders actually used themselves, covering the East Coast, Gulf, and Caribbean. Key elements like radar, "Huffduff," German "Milkcows," and a carrier task force are included. see more…
  #23 Guerra a Muerte
Available Jun. 2008
Americans seldom notice the enormous changes that the Napoleonic Wars caused to the Western Hemisphere...things far larger and with much greater effects than our own War of 1812.

Guerra a Muerta depicts the 14 year struggle that saw Spain's possessions in the hemisphere change from "almost everything not U.S." to just "Cuba and Hispanola." As in the American Revolution, the local population could be divided into "patriots/revolutionaries" on one side, "loyalists/Royalists" on the other, and a huge middle block of those who wished to stay out of battle-- over which both sides exerted tremendous pressure, making these episodes as bitter as any period in history.

The game title means, "War to the Death," from a proclamation Bolivar made to all Spaniards in Venezuela: "support us or else." see more…

     
#24 Deathride
Available Sep. 2008
The Franco-Prussian War started from a number of causes, ranging from Prussian objections to the French buying Luxembourg, to a dispute about a vacant Spanish throne... sounds like the "good old days" for European wars, doesn't it?

Except, with breech-loading rifles and artillery all around, and the first "machine guns" in mass operation, this war had a very modern feel about it...but still vestiges of the old ways, especially at Mars-la-Tour, where both sides made powerful, desperate, and bloodily successful cavalry charges.... "Deathrides" to the men within them.

The main French Army was on its way to "someplace else" when it bumped into a smaller German force at Mars-la-Tour that promptly launched a series of attacks, aiming (successfully) to delay the movement. While at times the French outnumbered the Germans by as much as 5-1, they actually believed themselves significantly outnumbered! see more…

  #25 Storm Over Taierzhuang
Available Dec. 2008
It sounds very familiar. An Axis army launches an offensive to take a key city, hoping this will be the final victory needed to knock an Allied giant out of the war. Except the defenders anticipated the attack and set up an elaborate trap, turning the city into a fortress that had to be taken block by block and building by building. With most of the city captured, the defenders suddenly launched a massive attack on both flanks and virtually eliminated the Axis army.

Stalingrad, 1942: right?

No, China, 1938. Probably one of the most decisive battles that hardly any gamers have ever heard of. Until now.

Coming in ATO #25 is Storm Over Taierzhaung. This battalion level game offers one-day turns, area movement, and tactical chits to factor in air support, artillery, and special actions. As the designer explains: "I wanted a game on the battle to be easy to learn, simple to play but effectively showing the flow of the battle in broad brush strokes." see more…


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Operation Cartwheel was a miniaturized version of Allied Grand Strategy in the Pacific -- a multi-pronged advance aimed to make it difficult for the Japanese to focus their responses... a jumping from air base to potential-next-airbase. (MacArthur called it, "Advancing the bomber line.") And, most of all, the novel concept that not every Japanese stronghold needed to be attacked at all.

While MacArthur's original plan centered on capturing the fortress harbor of Rabaul as the final objective, the modified plan (created by the Combined Chiefs of Staff -- that's US and UK together) took the "wither" concept farther, with the Admiralty Islands as the final objective and Rabaul the biggest "grape" to leave on the vine.

"Operation Cartwheel" eventually included the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the death of Yamamoto, Bougainville, and the leap-frogging strategy up New Guinea. It involved the top commanders on both sides, sometimes working in close harmony and sometimes at ends. (The Japanese army and navy had conflicting concepts of how to defend the area and each pursued their own ideas!)

Now, you can take charge of difficult decisions. The Allied commander must take risks to succeed. The Japanese commander must counter Allied efforts, while always seeking to punish the gambles involved with any risk.

With 288 5/8" counters and a 22 x 34 inch map (each hex representing about 100 miles) Operation Cartwheel integrates separate ground, naval, and air games. Logistics was key, as it was at the time, but not a burden in game mechanics.

This Annual also features a bonus game on Gazala 1942, using the Stand at Mortain game system, with a full color map and 64 5/8" counters. Like all Annuals, the biggest challenge is getting everything back into the box!

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