Review of the game "War of Latvian Independence 1918-1920".

• Mechanics: Wargame, Region Control, Cava Building
• Game difficulty: medium
• Game duration: 60 min.
• Number of players: 1-4
• Best number of players: 2-3
• Language: the game is exclusively available only in Latvian

One of my top gaming experiences is the big war games. Once, a friend and I occupied the entire table in a cafe in Bauska, where we acted out Hannibal's campaign over the Alps in 3 hours. I love historical themed games and war games usually have a very accurate theme. That is why there was always sadness about the non-existence of Latvian military battles in this genre. Yet!

Subject matter

When I open the game scenario book, I am automatically reminded of school history books depicting maps of the Battle of Independence. The first scenario is exactly the one in which the Red Army controls all of Latvia, except for Liepāja, and the players' task is to recover Riga and Cēsis. The second scenario is about the battles of Cēsis, while the third is about the liberation of Riga from Bermontians. The theme, in my opinion, is very well felt, you can see the controlled territories on the maps, soldiers fall in battles, but the best theme booster is the event card kava, which is a little different for each scenario. For example, in the first scenario, Stuchka can get giant reinforcements for the Russian units, or suddenly the Germans revolt and are unusable. Thematically, the coolest element is the historical allies, for example in the first scenario the Latvians fight together with the Germans, and in the second together with the Estonians.

Components

Wargames are historically common with poor components but very beautiful boxes. In the game "War of Latvian Independence 1918-1920" it is the opposite. I think the components are fine. The basic components of the game are dice of different colors, which symbolize the army units of the parties involved, as well as cards with historical, black and white photographs. I like the choice of photos - it goes well with the card design, which is clean and straightforward , but there are also some missed opportunities here. I would have liked it if there were other cities on the map, such as Riga, Cēsis, Liepāja and Daugavpils. Even if it had no strategic importance, I would probably risk more to liberate Jelgava. The biggest criticism is about the game box. Imagine Jānis Čaksti, who came to the diplomatic ball in a red sweater instead of a suit - that's exactly what the box looks like. I feel that the box and its design does not give the impression of a professional game. If I saw this in a bookstore, I would be very skeptical about this game's place in the modern gaming world. But the design of the box definitely does not reflect the characteristics of the game.

Mechanics

But what are the characteristics of this game?

It is a cooperative game where all players fight against an invader. The core mechanics are deck building, dice and card battles, and region control.

During his turn, the player plays a card that allows him to recruit, move units, get resources, or treat the infirmary.

The starting deck cards each allow you to choose one of two actions on offer, so players have options right from the start. At the end of each round, players have the opportunity to draw new cards that make the overall deck stronger. You can get better rifles that will be useful in the attack, and combat vehicles or politicians and generals.

I really like how the battles work. A card is drawn for your opponents and dice are rolled for your units. The result is a void, retreat, injury, or defeated unit. Battles are very fast and fun to play. It should also be noted that the opponent's kava is statistically stronger than the dice, so battles can be quite challenging.

When all the actions have been taken and all the cards have been spent, the opponents launch a counterattack, withdraw some soldiers from the infirmary and perform their action according to a built-in algorithm. You have to be careful with this, because if you don't prepare your defense well, their attacks can turn out to be very big and painful.

There are quite a few rounds in each of the game's scenarios, which makes the game playable at a pleasant time and forces you to push yourself to complete the objectives. I like the flow of the game and the simple structure. This puts it on the simple wargame shelf alongside Memoir and Undaunted .

Multiplayer

In principle, I would classically play such a game until all scenarios are won and pass on. And since I won the first scenario in just 3 turns, I think the game will justify its price. However, emotional attachment helps a little here. Namely, I played the game about the battles in Normandy, I got to know the theme and that's all, but the game "Latvian War of Independence 1918-1920" has the great advantage that a wave of patriotism and the desire to play the game will stir up on national holidays. But I wouldn't want to say it's just a holiday game, I mean, the game is solid enough to play the scenarios from time to time.

Rating

I'm a little scared that this game won't reach an audience that isn't ready for it. I assume that it will be a gift for many during the national holidays, but the game is much more serious than many families are ready to play. No, it's not complicated at all, but a ten page rulebook (including scenarios) might be too much for some. However, for long-time game friends, I think that this is an important turning point in the group of games available in Latvian, and the first war game in Latvian has turned out quite well. Rating 7 out of 10.

Author of the article: Kristaps Auzāns