Four Battles of Army Group South is a collection of four board wargames published in 1979 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) that simulate various battles between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front of World War II.
Four Battles of Army Group South is a collection of four board wargames published in 1979 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) that simulate various battles between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front of World War II.
During Operation Barbarossa, Germany's surprise attack against the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, German forces were divided into three groups. Army Group South was tasked with the capture of Ukraine and its capital city Kyiv. Army Group South and Soviet forces clashed repeatedly over the next three years. [1]
Army Group South is a "quadrigame", four thematically connected games that use the same basic rules. The four games in the box are:
The game box includes:
All four games use a common set of rules drawn from SPI's previously published wargame Panzergruppe Guderian . While that relatively simple system uses a traditional "I Go, You Go" system of alternating turns, it modifies the standard "move then attack" sequence by giving the German player an extra move for armored units after the attack sequence. [2]
In addition, each of the four games has some additional rules that are unique to its situation.
After the success of SPI's first quadrigame Blue & Gray in 1975, the company quickly produced more quadrigames over the next four years. But interest in the quadrigame format waned, and Army Group South was the final game to appear in this format. The game did not sell well and failed to crack SPI's Top Ten Bestseller List. [3]
Each of the games in Army Group South were also offered for individual sale. [3]
After the demise of SPI, Hobby Japan published Japanese-language editions of two of the games in the Japanese wargaming magazine Tactics: Korsun in the June 1987 edition, and Operation Star in the February 1988 edition.
In 1998, Decision Games republished Army Group South in Issue 188 of Strategy & Tactics , but only included two of the games, Kiev and Rostov. [4]
Sunset Games (サンセットゲ) acquired the game license in 2002 and published a Japanese language edition. [5]
In Issue 19 of Fire & Movement , Bill Sanders questioned the value of the game, writing "Army Group South is a classic case of a game being an hour late and a nickel short. It's late in that OSG's PanzerKrieg came about six months earlier and not only covers the battles ... presented in Army Group South, but ... has four other battles as well." Sanders also questioned the rules development process, commenting "SPI's quad of the Russo-German conflict in the Ukraine appears to have been done by some who were not fully sober in one stage of development or another." [6]
In Campaign #95, Kevin Pollock liked the games, saying, "Overall, Army Group South offers a fine set of games using a proven system. The components, graphics, and rules are all excellent. Only the conditions for victory keep me from giving the effort an A+." [7]
In Issue 23 of the British wargaming magazine Phoenix , Paul King liked the games but found them too small, writing, "What I would like to see is a bigger game using some of the better points of this quad." King examined each game in detail:
King concluded, "This quad has certainly churned up some new ideas, let's hope they can be improved upon, the result would be well worth it." [2]
Steve List wrote in Issue 50 of Moves that Army Group South "is a disappointment. The individual games are not in the least outstanding, and what merit they do have is detracted from by the lousy production job. The artwork is fine, but the rules stink; both general and exclusive rules have too many nontrivial errors to be acceptable." In looking at the individual games, List had the following comments:
List concluded, "All these games had great potential. None achieved it. Too bad." [8]
In Issue 63 of Fire & Movement, Rick Swan was critical of the four-game collection, writing, "Army Group South is a not particularly successful example of an SPI quadrigame. [The four games are] a crazyquilt collection that is neither good history nor good gaming." Swan had issue with game balance, and thought the rules had not been well-developed, noting, "Stacking is the same for Rostov and Korsun, even though a Rostov hex represents an area twice as large as a Korsun hex, and Kiev doesn’t allow overruns or disruption, but no reasons are given." Swan concluded, "The Army Group South games work as acceptable solitaire exercises and provide tinkerers with reasonably solid basic systems – but let both the historian and competitive gamer beware." [9]
In a retrospective review in Issue 20 of ′′Simulacrum′′, Peter Bartlett wrote, "AGS had the potential to be a rather good quad, but seems to have failed to live up to that potential. [4]
Cemetery Hill, subtitled "The Battle of Gettysburg, 1–3 July 1863", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 as part of the "quadrigame" Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles that simulated four battles of the American Civil War. Cemetery Hill was later released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
Napoleon's Last Battles is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications in 1976 that simulates the last four battles fought by Napoleon. It was one of SPI's most popular games, and also received many positive reviews.
Battles for the Ardennes is a "quadrigame" — a board wargame that contains four different battles using one set of rules — originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates Second World War battles in the Ardennes Forest region in 1940 and again in 1944.
The Art of Siege, subtitled "Four Great Siege Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1979 that simulates four famous sieges.
Island War: Four Pacific Battles is a collection of four board wargames published in 1975 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) that simulates various battles between American and Japanese forces during the Pacific Campaign of World War II.
Marengo: Napoleon in Italy, 14 June 1800 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 as one of four games packaged together in the Napoleon at War "quadrigame". Marengo was also released as a separate game the same year. The game simulates the Battle of Marengo between Austrian and French forces.
Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four modern-day battles set in the early 1970s.
Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.
Thirty Years War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a "quadrigame" — four separate board wargames packaged in one box that use a common set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976. The four games simulate different battles during the Thirty Years' War, and were sold individually as well as in the quadrigame format. Some of the games were well received by critics, but overall, the quadrigame did not sell well.
Nordlingen, subtitled "6 September 1634 – Triumph of the Imperialists", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1634 Battle of Nordlingen during the Thirty Years' War. Nordlingen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it the best game of the four, and Nordlingen was also published as a separate game.
Lützen is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1632 Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War. Lützen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it one of the better games of the four, and Lützen was also published as an individual game.
Rocroi, subtitled "19 May 1643 – The End of Spanish Ascendancy", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1643 Battle of Rocroi during the Thirty Years' War. Rocroi was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom called it a "bland tactical problem", while others declared it was the best game of the four in the Thirty Years War box.
Breitenfeld, subtitled "Triumph of the Swedish System", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1642 Battle of Breitenfeld during the Thirty Years' War. Breitenfeld was a free game that appeared in Strategy & Tactics, designed to promote SPI's soon-to-be-launched wargame Thirty Years War. Breitenfeld proved popular and was also published as part of SPI's "folio" series of games.
Westwall: Four Battles to Germany is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications (SPI) in 1976 that simulate battles in Europe in late 1944 and early 1945 during World War II.
The Battle of Nations, subtitled "The Encirclement at Leipzig, 16–19 October 1813", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but was also released as a "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio. It was popular in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics also gave it favorable reviews.
The Great War in the East, subtitled "Four World War I Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates four battles of World War I on the Eastern Front and the Italian/Austrian front.
Mukden: Sino-Soviet Combat in the '70s is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates a contemporary hypothetical battle between Soviet and Chinese forces near the city of Mukden. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts, but it was also released as an individual game. In a 1976 poll, Mukden was the least popular of the four games in Modern Battles.
Battle for Moscow is a short and simple board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1986 that simulates Operation Typhoon, the German attempt to quickly capture Moscow during the opening days of their surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 during World War II. The game was designed as a free giveaway to try to introduce new players to wargaming.
Supercharge: Battle of El Alamein, October 1942 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates Operation Supercharge during the Second Battle of El Alamein of World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Four Battles in North Africa "quadrigame" — a collection of four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Supercharge was also published as an individual "folio game."
Wagram: The Peace of Vienna, 5–6 July 1809 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Wagram in July 1809. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but it was also released as an individual game with a set of metal miniatures. Wagram was rated highly in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics called it the best of the four games in the Napoleon at War box.