December 14, 2024

#UnboxingDay ~ Heroes of the Bitter Harvest by Lock ‘n Load Publishing

Brant Guillory, 20 April 2023 ~ #UnboxingDay

OK, so this has been here for about, oh, 18 hours.  Got here just in time for #UnboxingDay

However, we’re still trying to figure out just who this was supposed to be coming to.

rangoons

And there were a couple of things in the box!

unbox bitterh 001

 

However, the game is here and (1) it’s h-e-a-v-y, and (2) it’s because there’s a LOT in the box.  Seriously, you can barely fit it all in the picture.

unbox bitterh 004

click images to enlarge

So the obligatory box photos…

 

and yes, there’s a ton of stuff in here

There’s a lot of countersheets here.  Three main ones of units, plus three additional ones with a variety of status counters, markers, solo assistant counters, and more

 

Maps!  There’s 2 sets of them – a larger set, and a smaller set, that are completely identical.  You can see the comparison of sizes for map 83.  There’s also a 3d ‘hill’ that fits on the smaller version of map 83.  The town detail is nice, and the shadows can give the maps a nice 3d evening effect from a low angle.

 

There are a bunch of player aid cards, mostly 2-sided, and big, clear text to speed gameplay.  If you do math like I do, then the odds table is invaluable.

 

The core rulebook is the same that you get in all of the LNLT games, which is why you have a section of helicopters in a game about the East front of WW2.  It’s lavishly-illustrated with large, clear text and a snazzy spiral binding.

 

The Heroes of the Bitter Harvest specific game book includes a bunch of different sections.  The cover is the same as the box1 but the back cover has some game-specific details.  But inside, you’ve got the all the scenarios for the game – including solo-specific setups for many of them – plus the role-playing campaign that David talked about on our podcast last week.  The solo assistant info is here, as well as the battle generator, and reference cards.

 

Speaking of the solo assistant, there are the flowchart cards to lay out the actions the enemy takes against you, as well as some samples of the cards from the solo assistant.

 

The data cards are just handy references that you can pull onto your table to keep the stats handy without having to pull the counters off the map to examine them, or go digging thru stacks.

And the other two bags that came with Heroes of the Bitter Harvest?  You’ll have to check out next month’s #UnboxingDay for those!

 

 


Thanks for joining this month’s #UnboxingDay with the Armchair Dragoons and we hope you enjoyed a look under our hoods!  You can always leave us your feedback in our #UnboxingDay thread, or in the comment area on this article, below.
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Want to contribute to next month’s #UnboxingDay? Drop us a line in the #UnboxingDay thread in the forum and let us know


With anticipation I wait,
As I open my new games’ crate,
The cardboard will fall,
Revealing it all,
And I’ll marvel at each piece so great.
~
Tanks and soldiers, maps and more,
All laid out on the table before,
I’ll read the rules,
And act like a fool,
As I plan my first winning score.
~
For wargaming’s more than just play,
It’s a hobby, a passion, a way,
To learn about history,
And gain victory,
In a simulated battle’s display.

Footnotes

  1. and we don’t need to see Devin that many times

Brant G

Editor-in-chief at Armchair Dragoons

View all posts by Brant G →

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