02Hundred Hours, Escape From Stalag Luft III (or The Great Escape by another name)

         I am a big fan of the 02Hundred Hours systems which makes night-time Commando raids into a playable game. It rewards careful play but usually ends up with a touch of Hollywood shoot-out at the end. I found it an impressive effort at re-thinking the usual skirmish game. Now comes Escape from Stalag Luft III, this game uses the basic principles of 02Hundred Hours, but instead of a highly-trained band of heavily armed elite combat soldiers  the Allies are cast in the roles of essentially unarmed airmen trying to organize a break-out and escape from a German P.O.W. camp. Yes, think about The Great Escape in all its glory (but sadly no Steve McQueen on a motorcycle).

        This is an expansion, not a stand-alone game, it presumes that you have a copy of 02Hundred Hours to supply the minis and game components. Inside the box you will find six metal minis of the fearless Allied airmen bent on escaping from their Nazi captors and one motorcycle kit with a positively lethal-looking German soldier riding it. These minis are all new and match the exacting standards of other Grey For Now Games products. Also in the box are MDF bases for the minis, new cards to add to the Action, Equipment and Event decks and a scenario/rule book that explains the different  approach that this games takes.

 

the front of the box

 

 

and the back of the box

 

 

the contents

 

 

cards are the usual top-quality product

 and expand the 02Hundred universe to reflect the new play style and rules

 

 

the minis are dynamically posed and quite characterful

 

 

very cleanly cast, barely a hint of a mold-line

 

they compare very well size-wise with the plastic minis that come in the main game 

the guard and dog are from the original set of rules and are not included in this set

 

the sculpting work accurately reflects the way that the uniforms fit

 

the motorcycle and rider come as three parts, the machine, the rider,

 and the handle-bar with the drivers left arm, the parts are well cast and fit together perfectly

 

I'm happy that the machine is cast as one piece, 

I hate trying yo super-glue a half-dozen of fiddly little parts on a wargame model 

 

       I am impressed with this new set, it takes the 02Hundred game system in an entirely new direction and promises to make the Allied player really think through how they approach the game. This isn't a crew of heavily-armed, hyper-trained murder-machines taking on the Nazis, these are airmen; essentially technicians that have to use guile and stealth to outwit their enemy. 

 

      Now, I could only get them to do a Hogan's Heroes version..... 

       Very Highly Recommended!