I have known about this game’s existence for a while now. In fact, I saw a prototype last fall while attending Spiel Essen, but recently it was officially announced on Gamefound with a campaign kickoff of October 20th. The game is called The Great Escape and is designed by Philip duBarry, the designer of one of my favorite cooperative historical games in Black Orchestra. The Great Escape is based on a true story and shares the account of the escape attempt by Allied soldiers from the infamous Stalag Luft III POW Camp during WWII. The game is a cooperative or solitaire experience for 1-5 players. We reached out to Philip to see if he would answer some questions and he was more than willing.

If you are interested in The Great Escape, you can back the project on the Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/sound-of-drums-gmbh/the-great-escape

Grant: Philip welcome back to our blog. What is your upcoming game The Great Escape about?

Philip: Thanks for having me back! The Great Escape tells the story of the most famous prison break during WWII. A group of 76 POW’s managed to dig under the fence of Stalag Luft III and escape into the country side. While the Germans eventually recaptured all but three, the episode wasted many hours and struck a blow against German morale.

Grant: What is your design goal with the game?

Philip: I wanted to make another WWII co-op game in the vein of Black Orchestra. I want players to experience some of the drama and intensity of the real historical event.

Grant: What elements do you feel are most important to model from the period?

Philip: I especially want to convey the cat-and-mouse dynamic of prisoners and captors trying to outwit each other. I want players to feel the tension of the risk involved in hiding contraband items, as well as the sheer difficulty of putting together such a massive operation with limited resources and opportunity.

Grant: I understand that the team has worked closely with the Stalag Luft 3 Museum in Poland. What assistance have they provided?

Philip: The museum has provided a wealth of background information. They will also be contributing a short historical summary of the events in the game.

Grant: How do you go about creating an overarching feeling of tension and difficulty?

Philip: A lot of the tension comes from some push-your-luck elements. Each turn, the guards will be patrolling through the camp. Periodically (and somewhat randomly) they will conduct searches of nearby huts (or barracks / barracken), so where you locate your various stashes of contraband is crucial. Another aspect is the timing of when to make the attempt. Finally, everything must be done before the SS/Gestapo take full control of the camp and prevent further attempts through more draconian means.

Grant: How has the artist team of Marc Von Martial and Wouter Schoutteton assisted you in creating the mood you wanted for the game?

Philip: The team at Sound of Drums has been phenomenal! They have produced a beautiful and atmospheric experience for players. The art style strikes just the right tone for the game.

Grant: What major design challenges did you encounter and how did you overcome them?

Philip: This project has taken quite a long time. I made the first prototype about nine years ago! The first few iterations of the game were a bit of a mess. I included way too many details: phases of the moon, seasons, weather, physical distances, a grid system of movement, and many other elements were all jammed into one multi-hour package. Since then, we have been able to streamline and edit significantly. Another tricky part was how to track the trouble (called the Trouble Track) that the prisoners were in. Multiple complicated tracks became one simple track. Adding guard movement and behavior was another big step forward. Finally, getting the balance right also took a good deal of time and testing. Over the course of the game’s creation, I worked with multiple publishers (some of whom contributed some key elements to the final product). Sound of Drums helped me get over the final hurdle!

Grant: As a cooperative game how do the players work together?

Philip: The players are “officers” in the camp. They direct all the actions and jobs needed to affect a successful escape. As players, you will be working on 1-3 escape plans, pooling resources, positioning the other prisoners, digging tunnels, all the while distracting guards and throwing them off the scent.

Grant: What actions can they take?

Philip: The main actions involve moving around the camp (distracting the guards is necessary to allow this), digging tunnel sections and disposing of sand, producing the various escape materials (clothing, papers, food, tools, etc.), and taking a few special actions scattered around the board and on cards.

Grant: How is the success or failure of these actions determined? How can players improve their chances?

Philip: Most of the actions are open; however, many upgrades are available in the deck of Prisoner Cards. The final escape attempt is resolved by rolling some dice (in Black Orchestra fashion). There are several ways to influence this roll as well.

Grant: How are Tunnel Tiles used? What information is located on these tiles?

Philip: The Tunnel Tiles represent sections of the tunnel being dug. The goal is to connect a few barracks with a main tunnel leading under the fence and out the compound. Normally, each tunnel section requires two non-player prisoners led by a player officer.

Grant; How does the game utilize cards?

Philip: The cards provide special abilities to the players, as well as additional resources and opportunities. Some of the cards also deal setbacks to the players.

Grant; What different types of cards are included?

Philip: There are three decks. The Prisoner Deck contains upgrades for players, as well as access to new escape plans. The Search Deck controls the guards each turn, sometimes confiscating your materials and sending prisoners to the “Cooler” (the brig inside the camp). Finally, the Event Deck tracks various historical moments (or representative of historical moments) encountered by the real inmates. Most of these provide new challenges but a few offer a bit of relief.

Grant: What is the anatomy and layout of these cards?

Philip: Because there are several different types, they are all laid out differently. Some fit into your player board tableau. Others fit alongside the board, while the Search and Event Cards are resolved and discarded.

Grant: Can you share a few examples and explain how they are used?

Philip: The Search Cards are especially interesting. Each one lists a specific barrack (or sometimes another location). If no guards are walking by that building, nothing much happens. However, if a guard is adjacent to the building, they will inspect it. If they find it completely empty or too crowded, they will become even more suspicious, possibly setting off the alarm, discovering your supplies, and maybe even uncovering your tunnels. Eventually, the barracks begin to be shut down, restricting your options further as the game nears its conclusion.

Grant: What characters do the players play as? What unique abilities does each bring?

Philip: Fans of the famous movie version of the story might be a little disappointed to find some of their favorite characters missing. This is because we have chosen to feature only real, historical figures. Some of these include: Roger “Big X” Bushell (in charge of X Organization—the escape committee), Walley Floody (a tunnelling expert), “Des” Plunckett (a brilliant map-maker), John Bigelow Dodge (nicknamed “The Artful Dodger” for his many escape attempts), and British Air Commodore, Herbert Massey. There are something like twelve in all…so far.

Grant: What is the layout of the board?

Philip: The board is a somewhat-historical map of the northern section of Stalag Luft III. Originally, this was built to house British air force POW’s, but airmen from many other nations were soon placed there as well. There are 11 barracks (barracken), the Cooler, the guardhouse, a theatre, and two sports fields (a great place for getting rid of excess sand). There is also a fire pool in the middle, which also provided some entertainment to the prisoners.

Grant: What do you feel the design models well from history?

Philip: I hope that players will be left with a better understanding of what went on in the camp. We have had to simplify and condense things, but the general flow should come through. There are playful moments and tense moments, as these brave men fought their own private war from behind barbed wire.

Grant: What type of experience does the game create for players?

Philip: I would like players to feel that they had confronted some of the issues faced by the historical prisoners. There should be stretches of working out a logistical puzzle punctuated by the terror of knowing that the guards are right outside your window waiting for the one Search Card to ruin your plans.

Grant: What has been the feedback of your playtesters?

Philip: Playtester feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Even when the game needed lots of tweaks and wholesale changes, the basic tensions and historical flavor was present from early on.

Grant: What other designs are you currently working on?

Philip: I’m also working on expansions for Citizens of the Spark and Snowcrest, as well as a larger space-themed game coming from APE Games in 2027. I’m also working on a special project about cobalt mining in the Congo, partnering with a charity in the region to help raise awareness of the plight of child miners. Thanks for asking!

Thank you for your time with this interview Philip. I really appreciate the fact that you responded quickly and provided the answers in very short order.

If you are interested in The Great Escape, you can back the project on the Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/sound-of-drums-gmbh/the-great-escape

-Grant

Last year, while attending SPIEL Essen in Germany, we had the chance to sit down separately with 3 wargaming designers in Wolfgang Klein/Erich Rankl with Assault! Games, Florent Coupeau with Nuts! Publishing and Uwe Walentin with Sound of Drums and shoot interview videos about their games and upcoming projects.

Wolfgang Klein/Erich Rankl with Assault! Games:

Florent Coupeau with Nuts! Publishing:

Uwe Walentin with Sound of Drums:

-Grant

I am nearing the end of my time here at WBC and I’m starting to get a bit sad. I have tomorrow but I will be leaving 1 day early on Saturday and just am not ready for it to be over. I have had a great time, played a lot of games, 13 by my count, and also seen old friends and made new ones. I have also done 6 videos but have had some technical difficulties with the camera as the batteries keep prematurely dying even though they have been fully charged. Bit I have made great memories and I am happy with that.

Today, we got in a full 6-player game of the excellent Imperial Elegy from VUCA Simulations. Imperial Elegy: The Road to the Great War 1850-1920 is a card driven game that blends diplomacy, warfare, and statecraft and feels a bit akin to games like Here I Stand and Virgin Queen from GMT Games. Grand scale sweeping epics that play multiplayers and take a day to play. Players play as 1 of 6 unique major powers in the game including Germany/Prussia, the United Kingdom, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

The game is somewhat of a sandbox style game as you have so many options and choices about what to do during the course of the game. Obviously, your faction has some direction about what you should be doing but really it is up the player to spend their resources how they will to accomplish their ultimate goals and score Victory Points. I truly love that aspect about this game and as we played we saw that sandbox and the asymmetry between the various factions. Particularly at the start, each country has some specific goals that they have drawn from the National Goals Deck that are a source of Victory Points, in fact a major source of Victory Points, and players will need to prioritize these cards and decide which ones to attempt to go after from the start. With only 7 turns, they will have to make progress on these National Goals if they have any hope of actually achieving them.

I have now played 3 times and very much like the grand scale of the game. It is a tad long, todays game took us about 11 hours to play, and I am starting to have concerns with the ability of France and Germany to team up and dominate the game and the Great War. I played as France today and did fairly well scoring 9 VP’s from my National Goals and doing really well in Africa and Asia with colonies as well as breaking into Mexico. I was getting 8 cards near the end of the game because I had done well in my colonial keys and my stability. This gave me lots of options with my cards and I also built up a sizeable army with 5 full Armies on the board and 5 reserve armies with 5 squadrons on the high seas and several naval bases in the east, Africa and the Mediterranean.

I think the game is a tad bit long. This is because players have at least 5-7 cards each and the Battles are very long and are their own little sideshow with a war budget and multiple movements and attacks allowed. I like the game. Love it in fact but am beginning to think it is just going to be hard to get to the table often. Here I Stand is similar in scope and scale and uses the same system but can be played in 6-9 hours versus 10-14 hours for IE.

In the end, France, Germany and the Ottomans were teamed in the Triple Entente while UK and Russia formed the Triple Alliance even though Austria and Italy were left out in the cold. The TE won the game as they just had too much muscle. I look forward to the next time I can play but it might be a while.

I was then able to watch a few minutes of play of the new upcoming Here I Stand Series game called The Night Watch: European Global Conflicts 1618-1648 from GMT Games, which focuses on the Thirty Years War. Just a prototype of the game but it looks epic and those playing seemed to enjoy it!

I was able to then go down to the vendor hall and bought quite a few games including The Alamo from Art of Wargames (solitaire), Sails at War from B2M Games, Year of the Rat Vietnam 1972 Deluxe Edition from Decision Games, Fortress of Oblivion from White Dog Games (solitaire), Le Conqueste from White Dog Games (solitaire), Model’s Counterattack from Dissimula Edizioni, On To Berlin from Multi-Man Publishing and Strike Counter Strike from Multi-Man Publishing. I was gifted a new copy of Assault Red Horizon ‘41 Revised Edition from Assault Games. Lots of great stuff to explore over the next several months.

I then met up with Bob Tkach designer of the upcoming Above the Trenches: The Fokker Scourge 1915-1917 from Flying Pig Games coming to Kickstarter this fall. This is a 2-player aerial dogfighting wargame that combines tactical, operational, and strategic elements of World War I air combat on the Western Front into a fast playing and fun game. The game focuses on the early years of WWI aerial warfare and the German-versus-British air battles.

The players will have to deal with the strategic board that has sector based objectives that will provide Victory Points and then place out their air units on the operational board where they will focus on height and positioning of observation balloons and fighters to protect them and finally will duel using cards on the innovative and very interesting combat wheel system for tactical positioning.

The players will draw a hand of technology cards, maneuver cards, speed cards and ace cards that all have numbers and some written events and will then play them to move the plane counter around the wheel and its various areas to take shots with front or rear based guns, avoid contact by maneuvering out of harms way and then starting over until one side or the other wins.

This game is not just about the dogfighting but players will be faced with the management of their squadrons, taking out of service planes to upgrade and repair them, give training to pilots to learn new skills and also to build new and upgraded planes.

A very fun and exciting game. As I was playing, I could really fell the excitement and tension building and very much loved what this one was trying to do. After playing, I was able to shoot a 30 minute video with the designer Bob and his developer Rich and I could feel their passion for the subject and the game.

After finishing up, I then met up with Uwe Wallentin from Sound of Drums to get a look at their upcoming lineup of games which includes many great looking titles such as Neither King Nor God Expanded Edition, No Retreat! The Russian Front Designer’s Edition, Battles of Napoleon Volume II: QUATRE BRAS 1815 / WARTENBURG 1813, Iron Cross Army Group North and Iron Cross Kharkov.

Uwe is a great guy and Sound of Drums is doing a great job of designing playable games with fantastic graphic design and artwork. I very much enjoyed our chat and we did a 30 minute video that’ll be up later on the channel.

That was it and I landed in bed around 10:30pm and need to get some rest for our final day tomorrow where we are playing Here I Stand from GMT Games.

Hope to see you back tomorrow night!

-Grant