I'm playing Blood,
Grain, and Steel, a turn-based strategy game by David
Walters Development.
The campaign game takes place on a
strategic map where you move armies around, with tactical battles
when units invade enemy territory. The goal is to take the enemy
fortress (the two sides (red and blue) are identical), capturing
territories along the way that produce grain each turn. Grain is used
to purchase units for the battles, and it can be transferred between
a province and an army, a sort of innovative manual resupply system
that works vey well. You pick your units before each battle, so you
can alter your strategy every skirmish (you don’t have to use three
soldiers if you did last battle). The size of your army depends on
the amount of grain you have in store (and unit use grain each turn
as well), so keeping your armies well supplied is a must, especially
after battles when they are depleted. Battles are slow, since only a
single unit can move and attack each turn. Unit types include the
standard soldier, fast rider, powerful-but-fragile infiltrator,
captain paladin, ranged catapult, or supply depot. You lose the
battle if the enemy destroys all of your supply depots, all of your
paladins, or if you run out of grain because of the per-turn supply
requirement (which allows you to effectively starve a stationary
defender). Blood, Grain, and Steel uses a specific set of tables to
calculate damage between units based on the units involved and the
terrain of the conflict. Memorizing (or printing them out) is key to
victory, as is analyzing the potential movement radii of each unit on
the map. The AI, although inconsistent at times, does flank
vulnerable units and understands the game rules fairly well. While
Blood, Grain, and Steel has a very intriguing use of supply and some
distinctive tactical battles with the varied unit types, most of the
game is fairly bland. However, the game could appeal to strategy fans
looking for a lighter take on the genre.
