Panzers on the Steppe Reviews

I am not a novice to war games although I would not classify myself as an expert either. I finally finished this game with an axis win in January 1945, having attained all required objectives against the Russian AI. After having attempted to play the board game version of The Russian Campaign (Basis for this game) several times but not able to finish more than a few turns each time for a variety of reasons, it was very rewarding to complete this campaign. This computer version eliminates much of the tedious bookkeeping that the board game requires and the Russian AI was very challenging at different times during the game. I believe that the rules are explained very well and are a faithful representation of the board game. The game is over priced and offers little "eye candy"....the map is very basic , faithfully recreating the board game map. In my opinion if the programmer had embellished the visual presentation, it would have perhaps justify the price. Overall, if you were fascinated by the board game but unable to play it for whatever reason, this computer version is a very viable option. I encourage Demetrious to update this game and try his hand at others as I believe that it is very enjoyable for gamers like me who perhaps don't have adequate physical environments to play large board games.

PotS is a nice game, no simulation like GG's WitE, but in general an enjoyable experience with abstract modelling of certain aspects like German air superiority, the capture of additional oil fields in Maikop and near Grozny will deliver more German armor corps in the next replacement phase. Also Soviet industrial capacity is nicely included in Form of "workers", which are more or less what factories are. It's pretty fast paced and can be played in one evening. Game modes are hot seat mode, pbem (no server) against the AI, which is way better than in WitE, although no challenge for the experienced wargamer. All in all I would highly recommend the game and if you're interested, you can read the manual, if it suits you.