Friday, 13 July 2012

A First Look At FAB - Sicily

FAB Sicily
Arrived this morning!
After much deliberation I finally took the plunge and bought the latest game in Rick Young's Fast Action Battle (FAB) series of games, FAB Sicily. Guess what? It arrived this morning! :)

FAB Sicily covers the Allied invasion of Sicily, known as Operation Husky, from July 1943. Let's take a quick look at what I got in the box...

Putting aside my new-game buzz for a few moments, FAB Sicily boasts a beautiful cover picture on it's reassuringly sturdy GMT box. You can pick up a desktop wallpaper version here on the geek.

Wallpaper - available on the geek

FAB Sicily Map
Inside and we are presented with a 22x34" thick cardboard map of Sicily. Nothing much wrong with the quality here, though I do prefer the mounted maps so this one will need to be played under some perspex to keep everything nice and flat. The finish and artwork on the map are extremely clear and well done, with good colouring throughout.

Also included are a 23 page rule book (with contents and index sections) and a 32 page play book. I'll go into more detail on the rules when I cover this fully for a first play test, but I'm loving the coloured pictures in the play book especially as this always makes the reading a much more pleasant experience.

Colourful graphics in the play book.
The player's notes for Axis and Allied players really whet your appetite to play. "...as Italian morale fades you will have no choice but to shorten your line and back up towards Messina..." and "...make use of your flanking invasions, they will interdict movement and cut retreat paths, forcing the Axis to deal with them rather than strengthen his front..."

Examples of play cover the various phases of the game and give a real feel for what action lies ahead. Beachhead Selection, Port Damage & Repair, Bridge Crossing, Airborne Assault, Flanking Invasions, Supply and Retreat name only a few of the examples included. 

Box Contents
Delving deeper the set includes 73 wooden blocks (with sticker sheet), 228 9/16" cardboard counters, 6 Player Aid Cards and 4 ten-sided dice.

Itching to try this one out soon and to see how the differing play styles (Axis controlled defensive retreat / Allied invasion) balance off against one another.

Keep an eye on the KoffeeKlub blog for the inevitable follow-up on our first plays of FAB Sicily.

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3 comments:

  1. Unknown14 July 2012 at 22:42

    Looks fantastic Gary. We should give this a go. looks like the sorta game that Tim would like too.

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  2. Anonymous15 July 2012 at 08:13

    Hi Gary, I'm still waiting to try this with an opponent, but I have played a couple of turns solo and it play well. Have you got FAB:Bulge?

    Noticed on the blog a mention of Whitehead Primary - I went there for a term in the 60's - small world....

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  3. Gary Gardner15 July 2012 at 13:42

    I don't have FAB Bulge, but may pick it up if Sicily plays well and we get it to the table often enough :). It is indeed a small world, Whitehead was my primary school as a child in the late 70s and early 80s and it's been very useful in recent months since our old gaming haunt closed.

    Thanks for the comment. We'll keep an eye on your blog progress with interest.

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