Lost Battles
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''Lost Battles: Operational Combat in Russia'' is a
board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board game, board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military ...
published by
Simulations Publications Inc. Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) was an American publisher of board wargames and related magazines, particularly its flagship ''Strategy & Tactics'', in the 1970s and early 1980s. It produced an enormous number of games and introduced innovati ...
(SPI) in 1971 that simulates hypothetical combat situations set in the Soviet Union during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Description

''Lost Battles'' is a two-player operational wargame in which one player takes the role of Soviet forces, and the other controls the Germans. The four included scenarios are hypothetical rather than historical, and are intended to convey the flavor of combat along the southern front from
Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...
to the
Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...
rather than simulate actual battles.


Components

The original edition, published as a pull-out game, included: * 22" x 28" paper
hex grid A hex map, hex board, or hex grid is a game board design commonly used in simulation games of all scales, including wargames, role-playing games, and strategy games in both board games and video games. A hex map is subdivided into a hexagonal tili ...
map scaled at 2 km (1.2 mi) per hex *255 die-cut counters * map-folded rules sheet * various charts and player aids The
boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
edition also included an errata sheet dated May 1973 and a small six-sided die.


Gameplay

The game uses an alternating "I Go, You Go" system, with the following phases: *First Movement * Combat * Ranged Artillery Combat * Initial Armored Combat * Final Ground Combat *Air-Strike Combat *Second Movement Once one player has completed these phases, the second player is given the same opportunity. This completes one game turn, which in turn represents 24 hours of game time. In order to simulate
fog of war The fog of war is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, and adversary Intent (Military), inten ...
, both players are randomly given one of several possible objectives to complete to win the scenario. Each player must discern their opponent's objective and attempt to prevent its completion based on their opponent's play.


Publication history

''Lost Battles'' was designed by
Jim Dunnigan James F. Dunnigan (born August 8, 1943) is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and wargame designer currently living in New York City. Career Dunnigan was born in Rockland County, New York. After hi ...
, with graphic design by
Redmond A. Simonsen Redmond Aksel Simonsen (June 18, 1942 – March 9, 2005) was an American graphic artist and game designer best known for his work at the board wargame company Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in the 1970s and early 1980s. Simonsen was consid ...
, and was published as a pullout game in ''
Strategy & Tactics ''Strategy & Tactics'' (''S&T'') is a wargaming magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for publishing a new wargame in each issue. Beginnings ''Strategy & Tactics'' was first published in January 1967 under its original editor, Chri ...
'' No. 28 (August 1971). The following year, SPI released it in their standard "flatpack" box with integrated counter tray. Unlike many of their other games, SPI did not create any further scenarios or additional material for ''Lost Battles''. At the end of 1972, SPI conducted a survey of wargamers, asking them to judge games released during year in ten different categories. Although the physical quality and layout of the die-cut counters used in ''Lost Battles'' was above average, game balance of the scenarios was below average; all other categories were judged to be average. Although the game initially sold well, only having four scenarios limited long-term replayability and enthusiasm faded. In a 1976 poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular wargames in North America, ''Lost Battles'' came in a dismal 193rd out of 202 games, the second lowest rating received by an SPI game.


Reception

In his 1977 book ''
The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming ''The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming'' is a 1977 book by Nicholas "Nicky" Palmer about the hobby of board wargaming. Contents ''The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming'' is a 223-page book exploring wargaming as a hobby, written for ...
'', Nicholas Palmer called this game "Highly complex", and suggested a better alternative was ''
PanzerBlitz ''PanzerBlitz'' is a tactical wargames, tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front (WWII), Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame ...
'' by
Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...
. Geoff Barnard noted that ''Lost Battles'' introduced some innovative road travel rules, pointing out that "although road movement was fast, it was often very complicated and could cause all sorts of problems, especially when you tried to move up the artillery units which took up vast amounts of 'road space' as compared to normal units."


Other reviews and commentary

*''
Strategy & Tactics ''Strategy & Tactics'' (''S&T'') is a wargaming magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for publishing a new wargame in each issue. Beginnings ''Strategy & Tactics'' was first published in January 1967 under its original editor, Chri ...
'' No. 28 *''
Fire & Movement ''Fire & Movement: The Forum of Conflict Simulation'' was a magazine devoted to wargames, both traditional board wargames and computer wargames. It was founded by Rodger MacGowan in 1975, and began publication the following year. In February 1 ...
'' No. 62 * ''D-Elim'' Vol.2 No. 11


References

{{reflist Eastern Front World War II board wargames Jim Dunnigan games Simulations Publications games Wargames introduced in 1971