La Der des Ders – The War to End War from Hexasim is a 1-2 player slightly abstracted strategic level look at World War I. The game allows the players to relive the First World War at a strategic level, with each player controlling one of the 2 sides either the Entente, consisting of France, England, Russia, Serbia and other minor nations or the Central Powers including Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and a few minors. La Der des Ders can also be played solo, with a dedicated solitaire bot called “Athena” who utilizes special Cornflower Cards to make decisions about what technologies to invest in, where to undertake offensives and how to utilize limited resources and reinforcements. Each turn, players gain an amount of Resource Points dependent on what nations are in the war, which they can allocate to different areas to guide their overall strategy. Victory is achieved by launching offensives that drain the morale of enemy nations, forcing them out of the conflict through collapse.

In Action Point 1, we looked at the Game Board, discussing the Collapse Tracks, Trade Tracks, Russian Revolution Track and Naval Control Table and other various on-board tables and offensive spaces. In Action Point 2, we covered the Technology Phase and the Technology Tree and Technological Improvement Boards. In Action Point 3, we examined the Event Cards and how they inject the historical narrative into the gameplay and also alter the conditions of the game. In Action Point 4, we walked through an example of an Offensive and took a look at the combat procedure. In Action Point 5, we reviewed the Victory Conditions. In this Action Point, which is the final entry in the series, we will give an overview of the “Athena” solitaire bot and how it works.

Athena

La Der des Ders – The War to End War is designed as a 2-player game but it does have a dedicated solitaire bot called Athena that can be used to simulate an opponent to play against. This Athena bot, named after the Greek goddess of strategy, can be used to play as either the Entente or as the Central Powers and is focused on the use of special cards referred to as Cornflower Cards. There are 12 of these Cornflower Cards and these are used to determine the various actions taken by the Athena bot during their turn. A solitaire play uses the usual rules for the 2-player game, with just a few exceptions.

The Cornflower Cards are multi-use cards that are divided into 3 different sections to be used at different points of the Sequence of Play in a solitaire game. They are drawn and referred to during the Technology Development Phase, the Reinforcement Phase and the Offensive Phase. Let’s take a look at the anatomy of these cards. In the above picture, you will notice that there are 3 main categories listed at the top of the card including Technologies at the top, Reinforcements in the middle and Offensives on the bottom of the card. During the appropriate phase, the player will draw 1 Cornflower Card for the Athena AI.

If it is the Technology Development Phase, the player will refer to the top of the card where there are listed the 6 different technologies that can be pursued. Under each of these categories will show the number of Resource Points that will be spent by Athena in order to attempt to unlock a new level in each of the technologies. If there is an X in that space, that means that Athena will not attempt to gain a level of that technology during this phase. If there is a 2 listed, this means that 2 RP will be spent and the roll for the technology will gain a +1 DRM. Keep in mind though, that if the technology shown is not available yet because the year it is available has not yet arrived, then the bot will not spend a resource to attempt that technology. If Athena doesn’t have enough Resource Points to make all the attempts shown on the card, she will spend as much as possible to attempt these technologies. Athena never re-rolls the die for these attempts by discarding a Technological Research Cube for previous failed attempts. One of the differences for Athena during this step is that if a success is earned in unlocking a level of technology, she will get to advance all cylinders of the corresponding technology in all sectors under Athena’s control. This means all of the countries of the alliance as well as the active minors. These technological improvements cost no Resource Points.

If it is the Reinforcement Phase, Athena will attempt to reinforce sectors that have suffered losses in previous turns according to the following priority order:

1. The sector which suffered the most losses or in other words the sector whose cube is furthest from its maximum;
2. The sector with the second most losses and then the sectors in the following order, ignoring the sectors already covered above:
3. France, Russia, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Middle East, Africa, Greece (Entente), Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire (Central Powers).

When you have chosen what sector is to receive reinforcements based upon the priority described, the player will draw as many Cornflower Cards as there are spaces separating the Sector Cube from the space with the red value. After drawing the cards, the player will count the instances of cards that have the name of that sector shown on them. If you look at the 3 cards shown above, if doing reinforcements for Germany they would move their Sector Cube up only 1 space on the Collapse Track as once Germany is listed in the middle of the card under Reinforcements. Very simple. Athena will also have to spend the required Resource Points from their total to actually move the Sector Cube up and if they cannot afford all of the reinforcements shown by the cards, they will move and pay for what they can afford. This phase ends when Athena no longer has enough Resource Points, or when all the sectors have been able to try to obtain reinforcements.

Finally, if it is the Offensive Phase, each side launches an offensive in turn starting with the side that has the initiative. When it is Athena’s turn to attack, the player will draw one Cornflower Card and refer to the bottom portion of the card, which will indicate the sector Athena is attacking. The sector to be attacked will be the one on the left of the card if Athena is playing the Entente, and the one on the right if she is playing as the Central Powers. The sector indicated on the card must always be attacked by the sector that has the best chance of inflicting damage. This usually means the sector with the highest current Operational Value and that has not yet launched an Offensive this turn. In the event of a tie, preference should be given to the sector least likely to be able to attack elsewhere during a later card draw in the turn. The size of the Offensive will be equal to the current Operational Value of the attacking sector only if the number of Resource Points Athena has remaining will allow for it. Otherwise the Offensive is reduced to the number of remaining RP. Once Athena’s Resource Points have been spent, the dice rolled and any losses applied, the player will then take their own turn to launch an Offensive or decide to pass. Then Athena will draw a new Cornflower Card to determine their next
Offensive. If there are ever 3 Cornflower Cards drawn by Athena without having the ability to attack because of sector availability or Offensives by adjacent sectors have already been taken, the Offensive Phase will come to an end.

That is all there is to the Cornflower Cards and the Athena bot. It is a really well designed system that removes most of the work by the player when playing solitaire. There will be times when you have to make a decision, as described above with Offensives, but these decisions are easy and the hard work is done by the simple flipping of a card.

I do want to point out one final thing. The sequence of play differs slightly from the 2-player game as it rearranges when the Athena bot does a few of the steps during the Spend Resource Points Phase as shown below. The human player will start by doing their Reinforcements first followed by their Technology investment. Athena will then go and do their Technology investment first followed by Reinforcements. Both players will then move into the Offensive Phase and the player with initiative as shown on the turn track will take the first Offensive of the turn.

The Athena bot works very well as a playable solitaire experience for La Der Des Ders. The Cornflower Cards are a stroke of genius and really are easy to use, which makes playing the game a much better experience. I found that the bot actually holds its own in the game, even though they are not in total control of their own actions like a human player would be. The changes also made in the Sequence of Play as well as to the way Technology Investments work more than make up for the lack of true intelligence by the system and will definitely give the player a run for their money. I have played the game about 5 times solitaire, both as the Entente and as the Central Powers, and have won just 2 out of 5 tries. But the experience was easy, enjoyable and pretty seamless. The game really is a great example of a slightly abstracted strategic level look at World War I and I would wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who has an interest in The Great War.

I shot a playthrough video for the solitaire system and you can watch that at the following link (beware as I did make a few errors but I have found errors make viewers understand the rules of the game better):

I also did a video review and you can watch that at the following link:

Thank you for allowing me to share this game with you through this series of posts over the past several months. I have very much enjoyed doing these and I hope that you find them helpful.

-Grant

Hexasim has really been stepping up their game recently with some great looking wargames. Late last year, they announced their newest game called La Der des Ders – The War to End War, which focuses on World War I and is designed by Arnauld Della Siega. We reached out to Arnauld and he was more than willing to provide us some insight into the design.

Grant: Arnauld welcome to our blog. First off please tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies? What’s your day job?

Arnauld: Hello, everyone. Despite my Italian-sounding name, I am French. My hobbies? Gaming, of course. Formula 1. American football and flag football – I am assistant coach for my youngest son’s team. Oh, and I play badminton. And when I had a little more time, astronomy. Add Motörhead and Lovecraft to that, and I think you’ll have a pretty good idea of who I am. My real job? I’ve been working for Hexasim for three years. I mainly handle communication and game development (clarity of the rules, layout of the rulebook, some of the graphics).

Grant: What motivated you to break into game design? What have you enjoyed most about the experience thus far?

Arnauld: I think this is true of many designers, but my brain is constantly buzzing, whether I’m writing stories or inventing game systems. I wanted to create something to give shape to the ideas swirling around in my head. Then, and perhaps most importantly, to leave something behind for my descendants. Creating is more frustrating than rewarding, but seeing your game released is a bit like the birth of a child. A culmination.

Grant: What is your upcoming game La Der des Ders about?

Arnauld: La Der des Ders is the story of the First World War in its entirety, from the early stages to 11 November (and even a little beyond). It follows the timeline of the war and focuses on technological developments. La Der des Ders is a grand-strategy game in which you control sectors. You decide how to allocate your resources between recruiting new soldiers to rebuild your forces, technological research and preparing offensives. La Der des Ders is a revised and corrected version, with greatly improved artworks, ergonomics and rules, published in VaeVictis Magazine #145.

Grant: What is the translation of this French phrase La Der de Ders?

Arnauld: La Der des Ders means « the last of the last ». You may translate it by « The War to End War ». I asked my testers and Boardgame Geek whether to use a French or English title. The players unanimously opted for a French one.

Grant: Why was this a subject you wanted to create a game on?

Arnauld: After creating No Man’s Land – Trench Warfare 1914-1918 from Ludifolie Editions, I had acquired a good amount of knowledge about the First World War at a tactical level. I thought it would be a good idea to take a step back and look at the First World War from a different angle. That’s how La Der des Ders came about.

Grant: What are the unique features with the system used for the game?

Arnauald: It depends on what we mean by ‘unique’. Are there any truly unique games? When it was released in 2019, La Der des Ders was, to my knowledge, the only solo game covering the entire First World War. What makes it unique is its focus on technology (the game includes 41 levels of technology). It is also this abstraction, which facilitates the narrative without distorting it. This is particularly evident in the Collapse Tracks (which will be discussed later), which manage the erosion of the belligerents.

Grant: What is your design goal with the game?

Arnauld: What I look for above all else in a game is elegance. I like it when a lot of thought has gone into it, both in terms of the ergonomics and the gameplay. For La Der des Ders, I wanted to create a game that was easy to learn, designed for solo play, and with engaging mechanics. A game made to be played and able to learn more about the historical WW1.

Grant: What unique elements from WWI did you feel important to model in the game?

Arnauld: I think that sometimes a game is less about ‘what is important to model’ than ‘what the designer wants to model’. I like the ‘technical’ side of conflict. For this reason, 1914 interests me much less than 1918. I love all the technologies that abound. It was the shape of those funny steampunk-style tanks that made me love WW1 (basically, I’m more into Francis I, the Assyrians and the like).

Grant: As a Strategic Level wargame, what economic or political elements are included?

Arnauld: The entry of neutral countries into the war is managed by events. I did not want countries to be able to adopt a stance different from their historical one. That would have had too much of an impact on historicity. Neutral countries will therefore certainly enter the war in the same year as historically, but players do not really know on which turn (1 turn = 4 months).

The economy is managed by Resource Points awarded each turn. These Resource Points are the heart of the system, as they act somewhat like Action Points. Each sector contributes to the overall amount of Resource Points. The British and American navies also contribute an ever-increasing number of resources. The Naval Control Table simulates the war between merchant ships and U-boats.

Grant: How does the Collapse Track work?

Arnauld: The Collapse Track represents both a sector’s willingness to fight and its military potential. With each loss, a cube moves to the right, towards surrender. These losses also reduce the number of Attack dice a sector can roll during an offensive. Spending resources allows you to counteract this slow erosion and regain power.

Grant: What technologies can be developed?

Arnauld: There are six categories of Technology (Attack, Defense, Artillery, Air, Naval and Raid). Each category is divided into several levels, specific to each side.

Once unlocked, Technology levels grant bonuses in attack or defense, Artillery dice, rerolls, bonuses during the Naval Control Phase (which reduces the number of Resource Points available to the opponent), or the ability to cancel some events.

Grant: How does the game use cards?

Arnauld: There are two types of cards. Cornflower Cards are used to manage the solitaire bot.

The other cards are Events. Three are drawn at the beginning of each turn, and the effects are applied. Events are classified by year, and one card remains at the end of each year when the new year’s deck is brought into play. This adds variety to the game without sacrificing historical timeline.

What I am most proud of with these cards are the top banners. I made sure to copy the headlines from newspapers of the time, even going so far as to put a credible date and, above all, a number that, unless I am mistaken, should be correct. Yes, I had a lot of fun.

Grant: What different types of cards are included? Can you provide a few examples?

Arnauld: There are several types of Event Cards. Blue cards, such as the Schlieffen Plan, are only available in 1914. Red cards are Pivotal Cards that cannot be cancelled. These include cards that bring countries into the war, such as Lusitania and Zimmermann Telegram. Finally, green cards, which are the most numerous, allow players to obtain Resource Points, additional bonuses by attacking a particular country, but sometimes penalties. I looked for the most important events of the conflict, thought about their impact on the course of the war, and then translated that into game terms. A little tip: each color has a specific design, which means that color-blind players are not at a disadvantage.

Grant: How does combat work?

Arnauld: Combat is referred to as ‘offensives’. A single sector can only launch one offensive per turn, and a single sector can be attacked by multiple sectors. The player chooses the attacking sector and designates its target. They spend a number of Resource Points equal to the number of dice they wish to roll. This number cannot exceed the current Operational Value of the attacking sector (indicated by the position of the cube on the Collapse Track). To inflict a loss on the enemy, the player must obtain a certain value (often 5+). However, the dice roll is modified according to the technologies unlocked by the attacker or defender.

Artillery technology is important, as it allows black dice to be rolled that will not be modified. This highlights the power of artillery during conflict.

Grant: How are historical events handled?

Arnauld: By drawing three cards at the beginning of each turn. The cards do not go into the players’ hands. They are applied during the current turn. Some are applied immediately, others during offensives, and a few during the Resource Collection Phase. Some cards remain in play for several turns, such as Von Lettow, which allows the Germans to launch free offensives in Africa until the end of the war.

Grant: What variants are included?

Arnauld: The Fast Play variant speeds up games by bringing this version closer to the original version published in VaeVictis, removing the two new Technology categories and not charging sectors for implementing unlocked technology levels. I don’t really like it when a designer offers variants. It makes me think that they haven’t taken responsibility and are leaving it up to the player to figure it out.

You know what? I’m going to offer your fellow readers a great variant. This variant is for use in 1 vs 1 games, if you find it too difficult to win with the Entente.

Here it is:

Countries that are still neutral do not pay to implement an unlocked technology. Once the sector is at war, they must pay as normal.

You can consider this variant official. It has been tested.

Grant: How does the solitaire mode work? How are the Cornflower Cards used?

Arnauld: For each phase (Reinforcements, Technological Research, Offensives), the player draws a card and refers to what is indicated on the card.

It’s very simple to set up and effective. No need for endless dice rolls, referring to multiple tables, or having to make decisions for your opponent. Everything is indicated on the card. It’s elegant. Players seem to love this simplicity and the relevance of the decisions made by the bot.

Grant: How is victory achieved?

Arnauld: Victory can be achieved in several ways. Either by forcing France or Germany to surrender, or by earning 6 Victory points (obtained by forcing the enemy sectors to surrender), or at the end of the game (triggered when the Peace Negotiations Card is drawn) when the side with the most Prestige Points (calculated according to the position of the cubes on each of the Collapse Tracks).

Grant: What do you feel the game models well?

Arnauld: You can really feel the Entente gaining strength, with more and more resources at their disposal thanks to British and American support, and Germany’s obligation to finish the war as quickly as possible before the task becomes insurmountable.

But I also particularly like the story that the game tells, which is very close to the actual historical timeline.

Grant: What are you most pleased about with the design?

Arnauld: I like the fact that it is both simple and interesting. I like the fact that Dad can play with Junior. I like that players learn things while playing. I like the way it looks. And I like the price: we decided to make this game as affordable as possible so that more people could enjoy it. Games should not be a luxury item.

Grant: What other designs are you contemplating or already working on?

Arnauld: I have several projects in mind, mostly solo games. Some are well advanced, but I feel like I’m at a crossroads. I mean… there are too many games coming out. Designers need to learn to restrain themselves and, rather than flooding the market with games that are sometimes barely finished, take the time to polish them as much as possible and perfect the rulebook (which is often really awful). Given the price of games, I believe we should respect players and offer them flawless products. Fewer games, but higher quality. And that’s good, because that’s exactly Hexasim’s credo. If sales of La Der des Ders are fantastic, we can plan a sequel, perhaps World War II, to please as many people as possible, and/or fantasy. The ratings received on Boardgame Geek will decide.

If you are interested in La Der des Ders – The War to End War, you can order a copy for 49.90 € ($57.52 in US Dollars) from the Hexasim website at the following link: https://www.hexasim.com/en/4165-La-Der-des-Ders-The-War-to-End-War.html

-Grant