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For those of you who are tired of tactical board games that are long on rules and short on fun, we present Mark H. Walker's Lock 'n Load: Band of Heroes. It's a squad-level battle game that is "more game, less guff."

Mark H. Walker's Lock 'n Load: Band of Heroes covers the battles of America's airbourne troops during the invasion of Normandy. It's an easy system to learn and even better, gamers who are familiar with the Lock 'n Load system can jump right in. Each hex is 50 meters and turns are a few moments: counters represent squads, leaders, heroes, medics and the occasional chaplain or scout.

Band of Heroes emphasizes the impact of the individual. Leaders and heroes can produce dramatic results, frequently turning the tide of battle with daring assaults on machine gun positions, or by accurately directing the fire of their men. Lock 'n Load's innovative Skill Cards add even more flavour assigning unique abilities - such as increased range, great baravery, or additional firepower - to leaders, heroes, and even squads.

But the game is about more than individuals. This is squad-level combat at its best, and the game focuses on the squads that fought in Normandy, the weapons they used,and the tanks that fought along side them. The module includes U.S. Airborne (both 82nd and 101st). Airborne Glider troops, SS Panzergrenadiers, Fallschirmjager, straight stick Wehrmacht, StuG, IIIG, PzIIIJ, Marder I, Pz35-S, Tiger I, M4A1, M10, M5A1, Jeeps, 88mm, 57mm, and 60mm and 81mm mortar Weapon Teams, MG42, MG34,M1919A4 .30 cal, BAR, all drawn with lavish detail, and gamed on maps that will set the industry standard for years to come.

But counters and maps do not a game make. You must have a coherent and accessible set of rules, and the scenarios to play them with. That's good news, because Lock 'n Load gets you up and playing in less than twelve pages of rules, and the game's alternating impulse system and opposed die rolls keep both players actively involved in the fast-paced, frantic battles.

And scenarios? Well, the scenarios play to one of Lock 'n Load's strong suits... story telling. Event markers trigger unexpected events - such as hidden minefields, reinforcements, and new objectives - that bring the missions to life, and make no mistake, there are plenty of missions to enliven. We have Medal of Honour where two paratroopers (later supported by a platoon) took down an entire German artillery battalion. The Alamo depicts the final battle in Saving Private Ryan, Flash... Thunder demonstrates the chaotic struggle of the first scattered paratroopers as Germans and Americans randomly appear, and still another The Call of Duty, dishes up some tough choices for the commander of the 327th Glider Regiment. There are also straight up, tactical firefights such as Coming Through... a meeting engagement between elements of the 37th Regiment 17th SS Panzergrenadiers and the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, The Road to Foucarville, where the 502nd attacks toward Foucarville through the 1057th Regiment of the 91st ID and Ewell's Charge, in which the 501st PIR attempts to flank the 6th Fallschirmjager at Dead Man's Corner.

Contents:
* 486 Exquisitely Detailed Counters (5/8", 3/4" and 7/8"
* One Player Aid Card
* Six geomorphic 8.5" x 14" playing boards
* Rules Booklet with extensive example of play
* 16 skill Cards
* 16 Scenario Cards
* Two six-sided dice

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