Sam Mustafa: Rommel - Second World War Tabletop Wargame

Sam Mustafa Publishing: Rommel is a tabletop game of great battles in the European and Mediterranean theatres of the Second World War.

The player takes the role of a general commanding an entire division, or elements of several divisions, or an entire corps or even an army. Units represent companies and battalions. Tens of thousands of men and machines clash for control of miles of territory. Make decisions about the application of air power, engineering, the use of reconnaissance, the commitment of mobile reserves, and many other things.

Rommel can be played with miniature figures and terrain -OR- with “unit cards” on any flat surface. You may in fact use both in the same game, since the cards can act as labels and play-aids for your bases of miniatures. The basic game introduces players to the operational decisions of a second world war general. Two players can complete a game in 2-3 hours. The full advanced game features: Large battles and multi-player games. A complete army and battlefield creation system for fictional scenarios, including thirteen army lists for six major powers. Guidelines for players who want to create their own historical scenarios from famous battles. Detailed rules for things like amphibious and airborne operations, cavalry, minefields, pioneer and special assault units, and much more.

Fact and Fiction

Use Rommel to recreate your favorite historical battles, or use its army-building system to create fictional armies from six major nationalities during all periods of the war. The “Open Architecture” system allows you to modify the game’s points and units to create any other nationalities and armies, or interesting What-Ifs. (For example, what if Fascist Spain had joined the war in 1941? What if the Americans had entered before Pearl Harbor?) A unique scenario creation system allows players to “bid” for the resources with which to create their armies and then automatically adjusts scenario conditions and choices accordingly. There is no scripted “attacker and defender.” Instead, a player who chose to fight at a disadvantage in points has many advantages in the creation of the scenario. Rommel is Coming in 2017 - The game will be available in late summer 2017.

Sam Mustafa: Upcoming Ancient Warfare - Aurelian Wargame Rules

Sam Mustafa: Aurelian is a tabletop game about the Crisis of the Third Century, the period during which the Roman empire nearly disintegrated in constant civil war and foreign invasions. Players take one of four roles: a Roman, Germanic, Sarmatian, or Persian commander. Any number of players can conduct a campaign, in which each type of army has a different set of victory conditions. While holding off Rome’s many enemies, the Roman players are also trying to defeat each other and ultimately become (and remain!) emperor. The Persians are trying to carve away provinces in the east and add them to the Sassanian monarchy. The barbarians are trying to raid and carry away as much loot as possible while amassing glory from victorious battles over any sort of enemy, even one’s own tribe. Every battle is therefore a balancing act, in which the military and political context is constantly shifting.

Aurelian can be played with miniatures, or with “unit tiles” on any flat surface, much in the same manner as Blücher’s unit cards. The centerpiece of the game is the campaign, in which each player manages the fortunes of his character and faction, much in the manner of the campaigns in Maurice and Longstreet.

Unlike most Ancients games, which attempt to span the millennia from Moses to Columbus, Aurelian concentrates on a specific period of roughly 70 years. Players fight a series of nine battles against a variety of enemies, often from one’s own side. The composition of their armies changes. Veteran Roman legionaries become incresingly scarce and irreplaceable as the Roman players cobble together vexillations and recruit barbarian foedorati and tributarii. Will the Persians squander their expensive elite cataphracts and elephant units in early battles, or hold them in reserve? Will a barbarian warlord play it safe and not raid as deeply into the empire, at the risk of not bringing back enough treasure and glory to maintain the loyalty of his optimates?

Aurelian will be released in late 2015, and only in PDF format. The exact date and price will be announced in the Summer. More information about the game will be released in the coming months. Preview pages here.