War and peace

  English (player): Laura Beltrami German (umpire): Alex Isabelle East Sussex. Late September, 1940. Night A lone fighter, a Hurricane Mk 1, patrols the skies of southern England. The Battle of Britain is now over: the fight for air supremacy in the English skies has led to a clear victory for the RAF. Since several days the German raids on London have decreased in number and intensity and the Axis air force is being redirected to other uses. Though, it is not yet the moment to let the guard down. A German blitz could strike at any moment, theoretically even at night. And so entire teams of Hurricane planes, designed for daytime use, so devoid of instrumentation for nightfighting that they are almost useless for this purpose, are sent on long and desolating explorations of the English skies. A random view. Scattered over a large territory, these teams travel without radar, without ground guidance, in skies illuminated only by moonlight, trying to see any passing enemy aircraft with...

Carthaginian: Alex Isabelle Roman: Laura Beltrami What will be remembered as one of the most particular Hannibal games I've ever played opens with a tired advance from Hannibal. While the citizens of Massalia, loyal to Rome, broaden their control over the neighboring territories, the Insubrians and the Boii of Gallia Cisalpinia do the same, involving in their league the Taurini, who inhabit the more western lands of the Po Valley. The state in which Laura was at the end of the review of the rules. Scenario: Livorno-Olbia ferry. This is obviously a problem for the Romans, because it risks offering the Carthaginians considerable tactical support. Hannibal, in fact, begins at this point to march towards Cisalpinia. The Roman consuls, who in this phase are Tiberius Sempronius Longus and Publius Cornelius Scipio, father of the homonymous Scipio whom real history will remember as Africanus, "the African", are nevertheless men of thought rather than fatigue. They do not immediat...

Edward Low, Edward Teach, Howell Davis, Walter Kennedy, Edward England: Alex Isabelle Samuel Bellamy, François l'Ollonais, Thomas Tew, Raveneau de Lussan, Bartholomew Roberts: Laura Beltrami We are in the second half of the 17th century. With the full maturation of the colonies the international market flourishes: the seas are populated by merchant ships, which fly the flags of the most important European countries. These, sympathetic but suspended in a state of perennial military and economic tension, do not turn their attention to the colonies, considering them as sources of income perfectly capable of self-administration. However, this move turns out to be wrong: soon mercenaries short of wages, rebel soldiers, leftovers, rebel slaves, pseudo-anarchists notice the fat merchant ships that sail the seven seas. They are extremely interesting targets, real stray loot waiting to be plundered. From there to the establishment of entire crews dedicated to banditry, the step is short. Th...

Squad Leader: Marcello Vezzosi Commander: Alex Isabelle Central Officer and Chief Scientist: Carlo Alberto Magnani Year 199X: the Earth is in danger. A confederation of alien races from Mars shows up in the lower Earth orbit with a clear goal: the total subjugation of the human race. The initial military response of the various countries of the world is immediately unable to cope with such a global emergency. In fact, nothing seems to be able to stem the arrival of the increasingly numerous flying saucers that explore the planet in search of the most suitable points for the landing of the occupying troops. Realizing that the only way to deal with this offensive is to join forces, the governments of Earth establish XCOM, an administratively independent institution, backed by massive funds from all six continents. The best among the soldiers of all the armed forces on the planet are recruited, and, with a titanic joint research and development effort, a good number of Interceptors, newly...

Israeli: Laura Beltrami Hezbollah: Alex Isabelle What the Israelis call the Second Lebanon War is a rather short conflict, which lasted a month or so: from 12th July to 14th August 2006. The implicit tragedy of this umpteenth Arab-Israeli conflict is that it is obviously only a fraction of the state of perpetual warfare that has gripped the Middle East since the '40s; as a result, even though this war took place just fifteen years ago, the reader is likely not to remember much of the exact unfolding of this specific chapter of modern history. We will therefore make a brief summary. The conflict was between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, a militant party born after the first Lebanon war, in 1982, after which Israel had occupied southern Lebanon. Hezbollah received aid from Iran and increased its power by attacking Israeli forces and occasionally American and French forces that supported them. In 2000 Israel left the territory; Hezbollah then settled there definitively, becoming a  ...