Aside from the larger operational games like " War in the East" and " Decisive Campaigns Case Blue", I can't think of a game where rail movement is modeled and is as important as it is here. In Kharkov 43 Gold, the 9-turn Getting Started scenario "Coup de main at Sinel'nikovo" previews two things that were new to me: rail movement and snow.įirst, rail movement, which is a big part of this scenario, is pretty wild. The "Getting Started" scenarios in the various Panzer Campaigns titles then are the game designers' way of breaking you into their creations and previewing the battles to come. Having been involved some with the creation of the Panzer Battles demo, I can tell you JTS and WDS put quite a bit of thought into showcasing the capabilities of a game and the presentation of it to players for the first time. Kharkov 43 then has been a rude awakening for me to winter-fighting on the Eastern Front. Even with the Stalingrad Gold title that I own, I have only played the fall scenarios detailing the 6th Army and 4th Panzer Army advance into the Don River basin. To date, I had avoided the Panzer Campaigns winter scenarios. I have fought to cross the Dvina river in Smolensk 41 Gold, struggled to penetrate the Russian defenses with Kursk 43 Gold, mused over bias in unit quality and this morning I have struggled with snow and learned all about rail movement with Kharkov 43 Gold. I have been binge-playing John Tiller Panzer Campaigns lately as the "Gold" version upgrades of their Eastern Front titles are rolled out. You can almost imagine this rail convoy rolling across the treeless snow covered steppe at night, the glow of a Russian-held town ahead.