The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Think you are at the top your craft? You know everything there is to know about Silent Death? Or, conversely, you are tired of being badly beaten at Silent Death?

Either way, this book is for you. It has something to teach you either way.

Flipping through the Fighter Tactics Manual, you get the feeling that the writers play a lot of the game, and have some real knowledge of real-world fighter concepts. This book gets you to think about things like planning (!) your tactics, fighter groups, support, and the weaponry you use. Think that torps are only useful for damaging the enemy? What about when they disrupt his plans, even if they never hit him?

Heady stuff.

Drilling through tactical exercises is how the real military sharpens up, so this book recommends the same for you. Try and take your favorite force up against some of the scenarios outlined. Experiment a little. See if you can beat the frightening power of the Black Widow, an incredible fighter outlined in this book.

You also get charts with probability stats. Want to know what chance you have of hitting with a certain defensive value craft? It's in here. What amount of damage you will probably do? Also included. It lets you think realistically and not constantly praying for the best result. If you know what will happen on average, your play style won't depend on the best case scenario.

In the new ship department are some interesting mixes. There is the dreaded Black Widow, whose three banks of quad Splatterguns present a real threat to any ship. You also get the Nemesis, a gunboat with plenty of options; the Bat, a strong little attrition fighter; the Shark, a fighter with real bite for a little craft; the Chupacabra (say THAT three times fast), a mean missile launching machine; and the Stinger, a small craft that you might never see whizzing by you, but its Mark 40 Torps will certainly make a big impression on you.

There are three offbeat scenarios included. One lets you take a lot of Davids against one big Goliath - 10 small fighters taking on a big gunboat. Another has a lot of variables introduced by random reinforcements, forcing both players to constantly revise their tactics and thinking. Lastly is a battle with the backdrop a meteor shower.

Nicely tucked away in this book are a lot of relevant quotes by military commanders, both real and fictitious. Always a nice touch to see exhortations of Napoleon.

There are absolutely a ton of tactical tips, suggestions and drills in this book, just as you would expect. Coupled with a good number of play aids, and this book is all but guaranteed to improve your Silent Death gameplay. My personal tactics have improved in both this and other games thanks to the introduced concepts.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Silent Death Annex: Fighter Tactics Manual
Author: By Sheldon Greaves and Leland Erickson Category: Wargame Supplement Company/Publisher: ICE Cost: 14.00 Page count: 60 ISBN: 1-5506-319-6 Capsule Review by Robert E. Allen III on 10/04/98. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Space Post-apocalypse	Think you are at the top your craft? You know everything there is to know about Silent Death? Or, conversely, you are tired of being badly beaten at Silent Death? Either way, this book is for you. It has something to teach you either way. Flipping through the Fighter Tactics Manual, you get the feeling that the writers play a lot of the game, and have some real knowledge of real-world fighter concepts. This book gets you to think about things like planning (!) your tactics, fighter groups, support, and the weaponry you use. Think that torps are only useful for damaging the enemy? What about when they disrupt his plans, even if they never hit him? Heady stuff. Drilling through tactical exercises is how the real military sharpens up, so this book recommends the same for you. Try and take your favorite force up against some of the scenarios outlined. Experiment a little. See if you can beat the frightening power of the Black Widow, an incredible fighter outlined in this book. You also get charts with probability stats. Want to know what chance you have of hitting with a certain defensive value craft? It's in here. What amount of damage you will probably do? Also included. It lets you think realistically and not constantly praying for the best result. If you know what will happen on average, your play style won't depend on the best case scenario. In the new ship department are some interesting mixes. There is the dreaded Black Widow, whose three banks of quad Splatterguns present a real threat to any ship. You also get the Nemesis, a gunboat with plenty of options; the Bat, a strong little attrition fighter; the Shark, a fighter with real bite for a little craft; the Chupacabra (say THAT three times fast), a mean missile launching machine; and the Stinger, a small craft that you might never see whizzing by you, but its Mark 40 Torps will certainly make a big impression on you. There are three offbeat scenarios included. One lets you take a lot of Davids against one big Goliath - 10 small fighters taking on a big gunboat. Another has a lot of variables introduced by random reinforcements, forcing both players to constantly revise their tactics and thinking. Lastly is a battle with the backdrop a meteor shower. Nicely tucked away in this book are a lot of relevant quotes by military commanders, both real and fictitious. Always a nice touch to see exhortations of Napoleon. There are absolutely a ton of tactical tips, suggestions and drills in this book, just as you would expect. Coupled with a good number of play aids, and this book is all but guaranteed to improve your Silent Death gameplay. My personal tactics have improved in both this and other games thanks to the introduced concepts. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Silent Death Annex: Fighter Tactics Manual