February Newsletter
Greetings!
We have another new game in the Italian frogmen Depths of Courage Series released, and several others in the final stages of development.
Also, The Armchair General has included September’s Eagles as one of the top 10 games of 2021! You can read over the entire listing, and their reasons for including September’s Eagles here: http://armchairgeneral.com/the-best-games-of-2021.htm?fbclid=IwAR1MFFe75CUMOWKIMU9dTEVK2-_ulYMtmUBr4W24adJwpA_JGGpjauuwER8
Please note that earlier in 2021 we released the expansion for September’s Eagles. The September’s Corsairs expansion extends coverage to the post-war 1946-1949 Thompson Trophy Races.
You can access the September’s Eagles web page and order form here: https://www.hfdgames.com/se/se_game.html
You can access the September’s Corsairs web page and order form here: https://www.hfdgames.com/se/sc_expansion.html
Read on, let the dice fly high, and Happy New Year!
New Games!
Depths of Courage vol. 9: Raid on Alexandria, December 29, 1941
. This solitaire play game portrays the daring WWII raid by Italian frogmen on the Royal Navy port facilities at Alexandria, Egypt. The active player takes on the role of the commanders of the three, two-man crew S.L.C. (Siluro Lenta Corsa) Maiale (Pig) class mini-submarines. You must endeavor to overcome the Allied defenses and night-time visibility to inflict as much damage as possible before being killed, captured or escaping.
Each copy of Depths of Courage vol. 10: Raid on Alexandria is composed of the following:
- One 11 by 17 inch point-to-point map.
- 20 double sided, un-mounted counters.
- 4 pages of rules
Players will also need a standard deck of playing cards and one six-sided die (D6) to play the game. Depths of Courage vol. 9: Raid on Alexandria is designed by Paul Rohrbaugh and features graphics by Dariusz Buracweski. Raid on Alexandria sells for $9.95 plus shipping. Mounted counters are an additional $6.00.
For those who donate at the Gold Level to the 2022 Consimworld Donation Drive you will be able to get Raid on Alexandria as a free print-and-play game as a reward. You can also get the game from free when you purchase 4 games directly from High Flying Dice Games.
A card set for the Raid on Alexandria game is also available. The card set replaces the standard deck of playing cards, feature graphics by Dariusz Buracweski that complement the game’s and has rules reminders on pertinent cards, and can be used with all of the Italian Frogmen Depths of Courage Series games (others on raids at Gibraltar, Algeciras and New York are currently available, ones on the raids at Valetta Harbor and Suda Bay are in the works). The Depths of Courage card set is $10.00 or can be had for free with any order of 4 games. To access the game’s web page and the order form visit our web site here: https://www.hfdgames.com/alex.html
Alfred the Great volume 5: The London Campaign, 885 AD. Alfred in this period commenced both the re-structuring of his Army and his Burh building program in earnest. Defense in depth was Alfred’s objective and this was to be proved highly effective. The Burh was used as a defensive/offensive structure, where possible utilizing existing ancient Roman & Briton forts or based upon existing fortified Saxon towns. If bypassed by the Vikings there lay at the invaders’ backs a defensive mobile army able to move out aggressively and take the fight to the Vikings. Rochester (Hrofeceastre) was to prove how effective this strategy was to become. In 885 a Viking army that had been active in Frankia sailed and attacked Rochester, a pivotal Town/Burh with its confluence of roads and river running thru it. The Vikings of East Anglia, under Alfred’s longtime nemesis Guthrum, now saw an opportunity with their Viking Allies to strike back at their Saxon antagonists. Lundene had been held as a defensive base by the Vikings since 871AD; by reinforcing the existing walls in the old Roman town they commanded a strategic asset which controlled the Temes River from both trading and military perspectives. If Alfred was to achieve his goal of an Anglo- Saxon England than this would have to rectified. The Viking strength was in their professional and aggressive soldiery skills. Their weaknesses were often in the re-supply of their fighting men, though with the local Saxon support of the Vikings that had been living with them in East Anglia this was changing the re-supply dynamic; the Saxons were fighting for their home and hearth. Kings are of great importance in this series of games. When they are leading the warriors in combat your moral and thereby fighting ability is increased, without them it is weakened. Of course, the loss of a King in battle can also mean the loss of your cause. However, in this era risks must be taken to take and hold the crown. Saddle your horse and grab your sword for the King has called you to war…for God and Wessex!
Each copy of Alfred the Great: Campaign for London is composed of the following:
- Two 11 by 17 inch hex map sheets.
- 237 single sided, un-mounted counters.
- Two Battle Boards (one Saxon, one Viking).
- Two Supply Tracks (one Saxon, one Viking).
- 9 pages of rules with designer notes and examples of play.
Alfred the Great: Campaign for London is designed by Mark H. Sheppard and features graphics by Bruce Yearian. Like the other titles in the series the game sells for $17.95 plus shipping. Mounted counters can be had for an additional $6.00. To view samples of the game’s components and access the order form check out the game’s web page here: https://www.hfdgames.com/london.html
Kind of a Drag: Operation Durango/Frisco City, April 1967. After a year-and-a-half of being “in country”, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and many in the Pentagon were becoming increasingly concerned that the war in South Vietnam was not going according to plan. Despite increasingly optimistic reports and news conferences from the head of MACV, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, General William Westmoreland, the Viet Cong insurgency against the South Vietnamese government, although bloodied and beaten in several major engagements, was still dangerous and growing thanks to increasing aid from Communist North Vietnam.
General Westmoreland put forward in the Fall of 1966 a bold plan to invade the southern “pan handle” of North Vietnam as well as neighboring areas of Laos through which the Communist’s supply line (dubbed the “Ho Chi Minh Trail”) ran. The plan was to take and hold these areas to interdict the Communist’s support to the South, as well as compel the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) to do battle in the open against the US and ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) to take back their occupied homeland and supply lines. General Westmoreland reasoned this was a fight the enemy could not avoid, and one we could not lose. The cost to conduct the planned invasion was for another 206,000 men (six additional divisions plus support personnel) to be deployed to the region. This would dangerously deplete the US military’s strategic reserve, as well as escalating the conflict to the point of risking global war with China and the Soviet Union. Would this plan have worked in bringing about a military solution to the Vietnam War, or would it have just “widened the stage” of this tragic quagmire for the US?
Each copy of Kind of a Drag is composed of the following:
- Two 11 by 17 inch hex map sections.
- Two sheets of 330 double-sided counters.
- One players’ aid sheet.
- 13 pages of rules including designer’s notes and bibliography.
Players will also need a standard deck of playing cards including both Joker cards, a D6, and one D10 to play the game. Kind of a Drag is designed by Paul Rohrbaugh and features graphics by Ilya Kudriashov. Kind of a Drag sells for $25.95 plus shipping. Mounted counters can be had for an additional $6.00.
A card set for the game is also available. The card set replaces the standard deck of playing cards, feature graphics by Ilya Kudriashov that complement the game’s and has rules reminders on pertinent cards. The Kind of a Drag card set is $10.00 or can be had for free with any order of 4 games. To access the game’s web page and the order form visit our web site here: https://www.hfdgames.com/koad.html
Two New Game Series in the works!
Veteran game designer, Roberto Chiavini, has several of his games published with High Flying Dice Games. He has recently sent us to revise and publish his entire line of games set in the English Civil War. Titles in this series include the battles of Edgehill, Naseby, Marston Moor, First Newbury, Aberdeen, Tippermuir, Kilsyth, Lansdown, Roundway Down, Cheriton, Dunbar, Hopton, Langport, Adwalton Moor, Alford, Auldearn, Stratton, and Cropedy Bridge. These games are very easy to learn/teach, highly interactive, fun to play. true to the history and will feature graphics by Dariusz Buracweski.
Roberto has also given permission for his game series set in the Thirty Years War, that use a similar design to his English Civil War titles, to be published by High Flying Dice Games. The Thirty Years War Series comprises games on the battles of Fleurus, Hochst, Lutter, White Mountain, Wimpfen, and Wittstock, and will feature graphics by Bruce Yearian. These two series’ games are among my favorite games by Roberto, and I am VERY excited that he’s elected to make them part of the High Flying Dice Games catalog. Stay tuned and let the dice fly high!
Please remember we also have these promotions in effect throughout the year:
- Any purchase or 4 or more High Flying Dice Games (Professional or DTP) and you get one mini-game for free (your choice of any that sell regularly for $8.95).
- Alternative Bonus! Instead of a free mini-game, any purchase of 4 or more games and you can instead get a single-deck card set (any of those that sell regularly for $9.00).
- Note: Our newest postcard “Pocket Battle” game, A Rock and a Hard Place can be used for the above bonuses!
Upcoming Games!
Several new games were added to the Under Development page and are undergoing playtesting. Brand new titles that are now being play tested are;
A Sanguine Fight: The Battle of Riachuelo, June 11, 1865,
Villa’s Vengeance: The Columbus New Mexico Raid,
March 1916, Diggers’ Resolve: The Battle for Milne Bay,
August-September 1942,
Sangre y Acero: The Second Battle of Nanawa, July 1933,
A Resolute Action: The Battle of Fort Meigs,
May 5, 1813, Operation Icarus: The Invasion of Iceland, June 1940,
Succeed or Die: The Battles of Rafah and El Arish, June 5-6, 1967,
Falling Skies: Operation Rolling Thunder, March-April 1965,
Battle’s Shadow: The Fight for Fort Donelson, February 15, 1862,
Operation Menace: The Attack on Dakar, September 23-25, 1940,
A Lamentable and Calamitous Action: The Attack at Mers-el-Kebir, July 3, 1940,
A Sharp and Fierce Fight: The Battle of Cook’s Mills, October 19, 1814,
A Mad Endeavor: The Attack on Stony Point, July 16, 1779,
Tempting Fate: The Battle of the Granicus River, May 334 BCE,
Gotham’s Agony: Batman’s Dilemma: The Battles for the Caped Crusader’s City,
Waters Unvexed: Three Battles of the Mississippi River, 1862 (Island Number 10, Plum Point Bend, Memphis),
Tercio del Muerte: The Battle of the Ebro River, July-August 1938,
The Yanks are Here! The St. Mihiel Campaign, September 1918,
Operation Musketeer: The Attack on Port Said, November 1956,
A Gallant and Efficient Fight: The Battle of Hamel, July 4, 1918,
Operation Menace: The Attack on Dakar, September 23-25, 1940,
One Small Step: The US/USSR Space Race to the Moon,
Depths of Courage vol. 12: The Raid on Valletta, July 25/26, 1941,
So Say We All! Battles of the Battlestar Galactica.
Heading into final development and graphics are
Bad News on the Doorstep: The Battle of Kontum, May 1972,
Operation Iron Brain: The Siege of Beirut, June-August 1982,
White Christmas? The Fall of Saigon, April 1975,
Operation Praying Mantis, April 18, 1988,
No Time For Prayer: The Battles of Head of Passes,
1861 and Forts Jackson and St. Philip, 1862,
Shadows of Hell: Operation Karbala 6, January 15-17, 1987,
Galahad’s Ordeal: The Battle of Myitkyina,
A Sea of Fog and Fire: The Battle of Heligoland Bight,
A Brilliant Little Affair: The Battle of Chrysler’s Farm, November 11, 1813,
Cross vs. Crescent: The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, July 16, 1212,
Nothing Then is Done: The Battle of Najera, April 3, 1367,
Mahoning Monstrosity: A Steadfast and Violent Affair:
The Battle of Lundy’s Lane, July 25, 1814,
Red Coats, Grey Jackets: The Battle Chippawa, July 5, 1814,
A Wretched and Costly Fight: The Attack on Fort Erie, August 15, 1814,
Wheels of Change: The 1950s US Auto Industry,
Souls to Waste: The Battle of An Bao, May 5, 1968,
Depths of Courage, Volume 9: The Attack on the Tirpitz, September 1943,
A Scourge of Stone and Spirit: The 1415 Siege of Harfluer,
Kings of the Castle: The Battle of the Imjin River, April 1951,
In Harm’s Way: Battles of the Dutch East Indies Campaign (Sunda Strait, Badung, Balikpapan, Java Sea)
Paint it Black: The Attack on Lang Vei, February 6-7, 1968,
A Cruel and Bitter Fight: The Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813
A Dreadful Fight: The Battle of Horse Shoe Bend: March 27, 1814,
Look for upcoming release announcements as these games are finished up.
Online Retailer!
High Flying Dice Games are available from this fine online retailer:
- Noble Knight Games: http://www.nobleknight.com/ Note: All games carried by Noble Knight Games now have mounted counters!
- Agorajeux: https://www.agorajeux.com/en/
Be sure to visit the High Flying Dice Games website for the latest information, view the full range of games, as well as see what is being worked on. You can also place orders and ask questions about all of the games in our catalog and in development. Visit us at: http://www.hfdgames.com. We’d love to hear from you!
Thank you very much for your interest and support. Let the Dice Fly High!
Paul Rohrbaugh
Founder, High Flying Dice Games
9753 Deltona Drive
New Middletown, OH 44442
