John F. Antal's clean prose has an edge to it that proves the lack of narrative action in other wargames neglects an important psychological dimension in tactical decisionmaking.

Case in point:   your lookout frantically radios back to you for permission to withdraw, because he believes he will die if he stays at his current position. If you grant him permission, you will lose sight of your attackers, but if you order him to stay put, his death could undermine your troops's trust in your judgement—which could lead to fatal delays in their execution of your future orders.

In spite of long text entries, Antal keeps battle descriptions immersive. Consequently, the decision points are surprising, because they seem to appear suddenly like a hand grenade bouncing unexploded at your feet.

Skilled, immediate, on-the-spot judgement calls are crucial to staying alive and might leave you gasping for those peaceful t-junctions to ponder over in other gamebooks.

Infantry Combat: The Rifle Platoon
An Interactive Exercise in Small-Unit Tactics and Leadership

Combat Team: The Captain's War
An Interactive Exercise in Company-Level Command in Battle

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