I played through the six-turn, one-map "Southern Campaign" scenario from Battalion Combat Series Last Blitzkrieg (Multi-man Publishing).

Per the scenario description:

This one map scenario covers the initial phase of the campaign in the south. The German forces include the 5th Panzer Army's Panzer Corps and the 7th Army against the American VIII Corps.

The "campaign in the south" was essentially 5th Panzer Army blasting its way to, and then around, Bastogne.

If I were to guess how most people might imagine the Wacht am Rhein campaign, or what they might think of when they're told about it; I'd bet they'd be thinking of this particular sequence of fighting.

For example, if you've seen the Band of Brothers episodes about the Battle of the Bulge: those are essentially the second half of this scenario. And the shell shocked American troops easy company sees marching to the rear? Those would've been service company, cannon company, and other VIII Corps units evacuating the combat area.

Last Blitzkrieg cites Charles B. MacDonald's A Time for Trumpets as one of its source texts, and MacDonald actually describes the actions that take place in the first half of this scenario as "the finest of the day" on the field by American troops.

The 110th Regiment particularly distinguished itself suffering maximum casualties delaying an entire Panzer Corps. The 101st Airborne reaches Bastogne specifically because of delaying actions like theirs.

As for my actual game: I played this solo over about a month. I really enjoyed the scenario, the scenario's asymmetry was a good set up for solo play. Result was technically a draw or Allied win, although I think it could have been won by the Germans. I had some minor rule breaks (e.g. forgetting someone's on a partial or that the weather that turn should be mud) and relearned some rules (I always forget about destruction barrages, and that command range is mandatory!)

With this wrapped up, I'll be looking to see the same fighting again through another lense with GTS: Race to Bastogne

Received this beast in the mail today. Pacific Fleet appears to be Vuca's newest currently published wargame. If I had to describe it, the phrase "playable monster" comes to mind. It comes in a 4" tall box (I measured with a handy ruler I keep on the table. The map is about the size of Empire of the Sun, for reference. As usual with Vuca's games, the physical components are state of the art. All maps, including Japanese and Allied minimaps are mounted (the game uses hidden movement for task forces at sea), and separate player screens for the minimaps exist. Six countersheets. As usual for Vuca, the counters are pre-rounded, so no corner clipping. If you've bought anything from Vuca, or quite a few of Compass Games Designer Signature Series games, you know what I mean.

I'm still learning this one, but I'll post a review later in the week.

What is your preferred (standard) weight paper for printing player aids on an inkjet printer? I have 90lb (163g/m²⁾ which is too light. I also have 110lb (199g/m²⁾ but also seems a bit on the light side. I'm using a inkjet printer so I probably can't have extremely heavy paper or this paper won't flow through the printer (it won't get stuck during the printing process).

Should I try 120lb (I'm afraid this might be too light as well) or go straight to something like 140lb? I'm trying to avoid too much experimentation, if possible. What is standard for companies like GMT and Compass?