Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm is a somewhat unconventional but very welcome gem of a hex&counter wargame.
The twist it has going for it over so many wargames of this type is a very tight focus on what you command, limited capability to command (organization and electronic warfare interference), and most interestingly the variable turn length, which alters as the game progresses due to the influence of various factors, lose a few commander units and watch it rocket right up. Commands are issued at the start of each turns, and then the results play out themselves. Units also do not instantly react to your inputs either, and take time to begin doing what you order them to, and may be delayed not by just enemy action lowering their readiness levels but by roads getting clogged with traffic if you try and push too many units at once down a certain path or their commander's being too distant and the units worn down from extended battling.
The focus on regiment level command is something that could not really be replicated on tabletop in the same way, as it’s a very hands-off approach. Units, once set on their path, will use their own abilities to locate and attack enemies. What helps this is that much of the numbers are hidden (though they are viewable if you wish to check things) and so you’re not getting a face-full of dice rolls thrown up every time something happens, but rather audio cues, arrows indicating exchanges of fire, and explosions for artillery and counting off casualties, which all lends greatly to the atmosphere and sense that you are attempting to control the chaos of a battle in your favour.
Speaking of which, the atmosphere for the game is a kind of intense tension. With fog of war in place as intended (there’s an option to remove it as well as the limited orders per turn) contact with enemies is often fleeting unless a real slugging match is taking place or you've managed to secure good positioning for recon elements; an essential part of not getting surprised by a full companies of tanks and infantry barreling down a road towards you. The tension is a constant as you sit and watch a turn play out, making mental notes of enemy positions to direct artillery to and hoping your plan was good enough, or that you can adapt it in time to exploit an opening or counter a move.
When it comes to the armies themselves you do get the best results by playing them to their general doctrine. Brits cannot (most of the time) be used in fast armoured counter attacks like the West Germans, who in turn cannot normally successfully emulate the Soviets and send massive stabbing attacks of armour and mechanized infantry, shrugging casualties to envelop and breach their target objective’s defences. Whilst many scenarios as they come feature relatively high quality Guards units of Soviets with a myriad of BMP-2s and T-80BVs in their arsenals, a huge mass of equipment sporadically appears and can be used in creating your own scenarios.
Overall the game sticks well to it's intended style without getting confused or overwhelming you with mechanics, and produces some great battles and challenging campaigns.
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