Some observations on the Old Version

[Roger55]

Well my opponent for Highway to Moscow cancelled some excuse about having to Christmas Shop with his significant other. What a lame excuse:rolleyes:.

So, being unemployed, I took my copy of Struggle of Nations off the shelf and slid the mounted display sheets out from behind the door. And like it did the first time I opened that now scuffed and taped box, it hit me. What a good idea (those small hexes). I layed the board (it's a folded board, you know) out on the "Highway" map and saw once again that the whole thing will fit on a card table. I guess this impression puts me in a select minority;).

The pieces (chunks of card board) are typical AH pastels and not so well printed. They woud not pass muster these days. The two hex "packages" are especially dull.

The displays are printed well but they are far to big. That's why I mounted them after cutting them into four. So they could fit where-ever there was space to put them.

My tattered (no lie, they are tattered) copy of the rules are filled with underlinings and notes, mostly cross references.

Now if my wishes were of any importance, I would like to see these pieces and map style updated (mounted and folded, can you believe it, say amen brother;)). The rules redeveloped, although I love the format: all the rules for the whole game in one fat book and scenarios and comments in the other booklet, and the displays made managable.

Ahh, to be the decider:D.

[Roger55]

"Struggle of Nations" Even the title gets you. Back in the days of Avalon Hill, its a little like saying as it used to on the Prince Valient Comics, "In the Days of King Arthur." And the boards were mounted!

Well, I wish the estemed leader of this band would say something about those pint sized hexes. I think the whole concept was a good idea. I think the guy who does the die cutting needs a call about what he could do about cutting "packages." I think many things and had may dreams that will not come to fruition.

Maybe no one on this board has even seen the version from Avalon Hill ("what's a package, daddy").

March divided--fight united.

[kzucker]

Hi Roger,

It WAS a good idea. It was just "ahead of its time." (and maybe on the wrong planet as well...)

[Roger55]

But the whole map fits on a card table:cool:. And the command displays, if you mount them on boards, can be stuck under the table, on a chair, on top of the book case. The only things that makes ol' #1 look old are those AH colored pieces (they are pastel like 1950s appliances), and that rather simplistic map so heavy on the flat symbols (heavy sigh).

Yes it "was" a good idea, but it also "IS" a good idea. Over the holliday I was able to get in two games, HTTK (oh, the humanity!) and Struggle (the official nick name of the game, like Grad for Stalingrad, Loo for Waterloo). As usual we didn't get past the Spring campaign but what a wild ride.

March divided; fight united.