All good things must come to an end and here we are at the end of our 3 days of gaming at SDHistCon. We had a great time and ended up playing a total of 8 games, with some being full plays and others just having been several turns. But we gamed a lot and that is what we do. Play games!

One thing from last night that I wanted to mention was the Night Market, which allows small indie publishers to get their games out for sale. The inaugural Night Market featured 10 different independent designers selling limited-print-run, self-published historical board games and we had a look around and ultimately purchased Throw Down That Flag: The 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg designed by Liz Davidson and David Thompson. The game is a solo game that centers on the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during 2 pivotal days of the Battle of Gettysburg July 2 and July 3, 1863. I very much enjoyed this event and wish that I could have bought more but I didn’t have any more room in my luggage.

Now onto today’s events. The 3rd day started with a nice chat with Saul Sanchez from Mexican publisher Malinche Games. Saul is a great guy and we became acquainted with him in 2021 when they launched their first Kickstarter for Patria Libre: The Struggle for Mexican Independence 1810-1821. They are currently working on a reprint of their most popular title Tierra Y Libertad: The Mexican Revolution which I believe will be the 3rd Printing.

I love these small boutique publishers who have these special passion projects that cover lesser known history and allow them to demonstrate their pride for their country. And it’s always great to put a face to a name as we corresponded multiple times over the past 5 years. I wish Saul the best of luck moving forward and encourage you to give their games a look.

We only played 1 single game today but it was a big and long 5-hour experience as we took on The Other Side of the Hill 2nd Edition from NAC Wargames. So what is this game? Well it’s definitely something and is a bit controversial for some because of the subject matter. But it is a card focused board game designed by Carlos Márquez that attempts to simulate World War II from the perspective of internal political and military members and generals of the German High Command. The game starts in 1939 and at this early phase of the war things are pretty good fur the German war machine as they have plenty of resources and men to fight and annex territory to the east to restore Germany to its pre-WWI state and also develop satellite armies and governments in the Balkans, Italy, North Africa, Norway, Finland and the eastern bloc. But as the game wears on and the western Allies organize and enter the war they will attack in North Africa and Italy and then the Soviets will begin pushing back in the east. This will put a strain on resources and production capabilities as the effects of bombing campaigns and strategic warfare will impact production capabilities.

The players represent different political factions inside the Wehrmacht and must struggle for legitimacy and power as the war goes well earning the approval of the Hugh Command and Hitler earning Prestige Points. Germany after all cannot win World War II in the game. Instead, the central question is how long the regime can hold out against the advancing Soviet and Western Allied forces, and which player will come out best during the collapse.

Players will promote and assign historical German generals to different fronts on the board to use their special abilities to win battles and take territory. Victory in battle will earn Prestige, but a single defeat can result in a general’s dismissal. As the fortunes of Germany turn and the war turns sour, players will attempt to fulfill secret Agenda cards representing various factions, such as the Old Guard, Professionals or anti-Nazi Dissidents/Sympathizers. Players must balance cooperating against the Allies with sabotaging or undercutting each other to advance their faction’s hidden goals.

I very much like the thesis of this one and the unique approach to the subject matter. But in practice the game is very long. Almost too long and involved and really gets caught up in so much minutiae that it seems to be an exercise in following the steps of the sequence of play and trying to keep it all moving without missing things or making mistakes rather than a grand strategic look at the decisions of the High Command and the operation of the war. It’s just a lot and to me seemed to be a bit overwhelming. Now this was our first play and we only made it through a few turns in the 5 hours we played but I’m just not sure I’m going to get back to it.

The rules were fine but there were some lacking details and more clarity needed. I think the biggest problem with the components was the size of the text. It was very small and damn near unreadable. Now part of that is I’m old and I need my glasses but these were obviously put together by someone who didn’t have this problem.

Overall the game just seemed a bit much and I am afraid might not be worth the effort. Now I am willing to give it another try but am not sure when that will be.

I did very much like the internal competition and petitions of the players to have their particular generals included in the battles as this was a great opportunity to get victories and gain favor. But this changed as a few battles were lost and several generals were dismissed (probably by pistol shot to the head) and the war grew old. There didn’t seem to be as much interest in putting themselves out there and taking the risks. I very much liked this and with the right group this can be a very rewarding part of the game.

In the end we gave up and had a long discussion about the outcome and experience. I think that everyone agreed there was something there but maybe it was too deeply hidden and mired in the due process of the game.

We then went around and stated our goodbyes to friends and compatriots and it was bitter sweet. We are planning to come back next year and we will see them all again but I didn’t want this year to be over. Thank you to SDHistCon and their volunteers. A special thanks to Harold Buchanan as the main organizer and visionary for the con and for his friendship. And thank you to those we played games with over the 3 days. And finally thanks to you all for following along.

-Grant