Yaah! Magazine #9

From the Publisher:

And, once again, we’re back. Yaah! Magazine #9 is another thick issue stuffed full of things like words, pictures we stole off the Internet, die-cut counters, and game maps. How thick? 84-pages thick. Thick enough to discipline your dog, so just sit down and listen. 

We’ll lead off with the game, because our surveys say that despite the riveting articles, the pulse-pounding pizzazz of their pretty pictures, and the immersive scenarios, people buy these magazines for the game. This issue’s game is Ryan Kirk’s Donetsk., a squad-level tactical game that simulates the battles for the Donetsk Airport in the Ukraine 2014-2015. You, or someone like you, will control squads, RPG and machine gun teams, BTRs, T-64 tanks, snipers and more, as you attempt to gain control of the airport.  The game comes with four scenarios, 88 sharp-looking die-cut counters, and a beautifully illustrated game map.  Ryan writes an excellent lead in article that will educate those who were unaware of the Russian-backed separatist’s little war with the Ukraine.

Articles? We’ve got your articles right here. There’s a great piece of prose on GMT’s Comancheria by Deborah Malmud, another on Twilight Struggle’s little brudder, 13 Days, written by Nick O’Neill, an insightful piece on one of the most creative slices of gaming released in 2016, Cool Mini or Not’s The Others, by Matt “The Man” Foster, as well as words on Paper Wars Finish Civil War, Col Smitty’s thoughts on The Great War, Eddie Carlson’s take on Monolith’s Conan, and Roger Leroux’s opinion on the amazing deck-building game, Hands in the Sea.

Last, but not least in terms of what we are super excited about, we have solitaire scenarios/RPG/story for Night of Man, scenarios for ’65, Old School Tactical, Dead Reckoning, Herm Luttmann’s Stonewall’s Sword, and a King Arthur Variant for Command and Colors: Ancients

The Game:

Donetsk: The Battle for the Airfield is the feature magazine game included in Yaah! #9 by Flying Pig Games.

Donetsk is not like most tactical level games on the market. First, it differs in scale - while units are relatively small (squads,individual teams and vehicles) the hexes are relatively large(approx. 150m). This was done to simulate the relative emptiness of the modern battlefield as compared to earlier conflicts. Modern combat units move slower and more cautiously due to the increased range and lethality of modern weapons. These factors explain why leg unit movement factors are low and there are no ‘close assault’ rules like earlier conflict period tactical simulations.

Second, even though the battle was called Little Stalingrad, unlike the forces involved in that pivotal WW2 battle, the forces in these battles were very brittle. It did not take many setbacks and casualties before a side lost their aggressive spirit and will to fight. The central game mechanic that depicts this, which the player needs to manage, is initiative /Hesitation. Protecting your Initiative Level is critical to keeping your tactical options and chances for victory open. Initially the player with the highest initiative normally gets to activate first - especially if in a close quarters battle in the Terminals the ability to fire first or withdraw from a bad situation before the other side can fire can be critical. Later, if your initiative level drops to your Hesitation Level then your options become very limited. If on the Offensive, the player is left with ranged fire hoping to attrition the defender to victory. If on the Defensive, then the other player can be more aggressive and it becomes very hard to hold important objectives in the face of a determined assault. Therefore,being sensitive to casualties is critical to winning.