"Tin Soldiers in Action - First Impressions" Topic

I did a smilarly thread on Boardgamegeek but as I have seen it is advertized at Moment I write this text here I think it might be interested for the TMP People too. For pictures and some more information you might go to Boardgamegeek here: link
Not any others thread there now Iwas the first :-)

The rules "Tin Soldiers in Action" from Klaus und Rüdiger Hofrichter have arrived this week. This is not a review of the rules mechanism. I only want to tell my first impressions when I took the book in my hand firstly. Please execuse any errors. English is not my native language.

I specially wrote "book" in the title of this thread , because rules would be actually an understatement: "Tin Soldiers in Action" is a book with 272 pages, 234mm x 156mm, including 2 pages of aide charts with a real hard book – cover, no paperback. Even thus it differs from the usual rules.
You have not to bother that you have to know 272 pages of rules. All what you regularly needs for the actual gaming, is comprised in one chapter "Tin soldiers in Battle"of about 30 pages. And as nearly each page has pictures, examples and the text you later have on the charts table, the real necessary rules are much less. I was a playtester for the rules. At the beginning the playtesters had no written rules only some explanations of one of the authors and after some turns we played the game more or less by ourselves without much help of the watching author.

Most pictures in the book are black/white. In the middle of the book is a coloured part which does not only contains commented pictures but coloured maps for 3 scanarios, As the game uses squares, these maps are subdivided in squares.

The print designers of the book have done a really good job. You can read the text very fluently. Important information are in bold letters. Examples and explanations are in own grey delighted boxes. Nearly each single information which you find in the charts in the book is shown exactly like it is later in the charts and then explained in the running text.

I don´t want to repeat the extensive Table of Contents but besides the really necessary rules for example there are chapters with three different systems to organize armies (about 40 pages with armylists for all eras covered by the book, a point system and a modular system), rules for special units (for example military genius, Engineers, Gatling Guns, Rocket artillery and even such special things like aerial reconnaissance and bicycle infantry), rules covering special battle situations and much more. Three Scenarios, each with various variants are included too.

Sometimes the rules reads like a scientific book. For example when they explain the historical differences between musket, rifle, breach-loading and repeating rifle. Or when they classify many historical artillery pieces to the different sorts of artillery in the rules. Indeed the book contains many historical informations mainly corresponding with specific rules or other content of the book.

The authors have really packed everything in this book what can be imagined for the period, for which the rules were made.

Actually, the rules sets a new benchmark. A real rulebook for the seasoned Wargamer.

Greetings from Germany

Werner G. Elb

I recently purchased a copy of this book and am struggling with it because the translation into English has not been well done: too frequently it seems as if words have been translated individually using a dictionary or software without taking account of the context or English idiom.

The rules themselves may well be excellent – I haven't yet finished reading them – but the book is anything but a pleasure to read, which is a great pity.

Sounds like they broke the cardinal rule of translation: translate into,not from, your native language.

Otherwise,you're making the reader do the work you were supposed to do.

And you run the risk of producing the kind of howlers Jay Leno used to feature.

Not that English speakers are immune,e.g.,"Come alive with the Pepsi Generation!" becoming,in Chinese,"Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead!"

The authors undoubtedly thought themselves competent enough in a foreign language to do their own translating.
I'd have thought it would be in Partizan's interest to at least have an editor go through it before publishing.

The rules were written in german and translated by an US-american into the english language.

I am german and cannot discuss "howlers" because I have not found them. If Jay Leno came back for a special feature about howlers in "Tin Soldiers in Action" I would be pleased.

The rules are excellent and a pleasure to play. This could and should be more important than the pleasure of reading.

I bought the book for playing… and that´s exactly what I am doing now.

These is the last time I bought rules, because I just found what I always wanted.

If these rules had been published as a slim, cheap, softbound pamphlet I might agree with you. But if I am being asked to pay £27.50 GBP for a hardback book of over 200 pages I think it not unreasonable to expect a good standard of translation as well as binding.

This is a criticism of the publishers, rather than of the authors. Though I do wonder whether it is really necessary to take so many pages to explain a game of toy soldiers…

You expected a slim cheap pamphlet for your money and now you are disappointed because you got a real hardcover BOOK with a lot of material? That sounds interesting.

The "so many pages" are needed because the Rules are covering 300 years of military development. There are even rules for pike and shot in the appendix.

I am familiar with shorter rules and always found out that they never explain all questions the experienced player may have in mind. There are black holes in that kind of rules. This is always leading to futile and timespending discussions. I want to play, not change arguments with my friends.

Added to my Christmas wish list!

We played the "Battle of Hooks Farm" scenario which is available on boardgamegeek using Tin Soldiers in Action last evening. We had a blast. The rules are very cleverly designed and simple enough to get a hang on them quickly. Play is interactive and fast. No tape measure required. I think a seperate Quick Reference Sheet would be nice. There is one at the end of the book, but it is rather small. We photocopied it to A4 format and were mostly able to play the game referring to the QRS.

Sold!
Thanks for detailed reviews at BGG and blogs, fellows.

Hmmm, good stewardship does incline one to think that you could go in on the book with a mate, or borrow one, etc, from someone at the club. At $45 USD with shipping for a 270pp hardback, it's the going rate for that product.

Go look at Partizan's website, or On Military Matters for that matter [pun intended], and you'll see lots of your "slim, cheap, softbound pamphlet" rules running for $30 USD+ dollars.

The going rate for a 270pp hardback is set by Games Workshop, Warlord and Battlefront. So this seems to be about right.

However, I did find a 392pp copy of a soft-bound Ars Magica by White Wolf the other day – $25 USD! But of course, that was 1992 when $25 USD was, well, $25. USD
:)

In any event, I am looking forward to getting my copy. I have a trip coming up, and the time spent on plane and layover will surely end with me reading the entire book!