The Twelfth Battle is a solitaire wargame that simulates the Central Powers offensive in Italy that began on October 24, 1917, with an all-out assault around the town of Caporetto. Using gas and stormtroopers, German and Austro-Hungarian formations assaulted the Italian defensive lines along the Isonzo River and around the town of Caporetto, creating a huge breach in their positions. Hundreds of thousands of Italian troops, demoralized and fatigued from the first eleven attritional battles along the Isonzo, were made casualties or surrendered.

We previously published an interview with the designer Hermann Luttmann on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/05/05/interview-with-hermann-luttmann-designer-of-the-twelfth-battle-the-caporetto-campaign-1917-from-hexasim/

-Grant

A few years ago, Worthington Publishing published their first game in the Island Fight Series called Tarawa 1943. That game was awesome and was truly difficult to win, as it should be. Now, they have published the 2nd volume in the series called Iwo Jima 1945 that covers the only island assault during the Pacific war that the attacking US forces would suffer worse casualties than the Japanese defenders. On February 19, 1945 the USMC would land 30,000 marines on the island against a Japanese defensive force that numbered roughly 21,000 Japanese soldiers. Facing a Japanese commander who had learned valuable lessons from the losses on other Japanese islands, the USMC would eventually land over 70,000 marines and suffer over 25,000 casualties during the 36 day campaign.

In this solitaire game, the player takes on the role of the USMC commander leading the invasion of Iwo Jima. The game system, driven by cards, will simulate the strategies of the Japanese defenders, often referred to as the Japanese AI, adding a layer of historical authenticity to your gaming experience. If you have played Tarawa 1943, you will be familiar with the system.

-Grant

ETHIOPIA VS. FASCIST ITALY 1935-1937 – A Prelude to the Second World War.

Fascist Italy’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia set the world on course for World War Two. The failure of the League of Nations to deter Fascist aggression led to policies of appeasement, the rise of the Axis, the Spanish Civil War, and Hitler’s march into the Rhineland. In this easy-to-play, straightforward solitaire game, you are the beleaguered Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I (1892-1975). Take charge of Ethiopia’s defenses, call up troops, and call on the League of Nations as Italy tries to enlarge her empire at your expense. Send your regional “Ras” warlords into battle, organize partisans, deploy your limited elite forces, and endure Italy’s criminal use of mustard gas.

Your ancient Black Christian African civilization stands as a defiant symbol of anti-colonial resistance and as the first battlefield of the coming global struggle against Fascist aggression. Can you turn Mussolini’s Blackshirt armies back, prevent the fall of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, and change the course of history?

-Grant

Trench Raid is a single-player game set on the Western Front in World War One. The player assembles a group of 10 raiders and plots their course on a map towards the enemy lines on the other side of No Man’s Land. With 12 different raid objectives and 20 random events that can take place during the crossing, no two playthroughs will be exactly the same.

The game also includes rules for campaign play — whether their raid was successful or not, the soldiers who make it back to their trench lines relatively unscathed will steadily get better at raiding, learning through experience how to survive.

-Grant

Empire of Grass: The Conquests of Gengis Khan is a solitaire card-wargame of the Mongol invasion of Eurasia in the twelfth century under Genghis (Chinggis) Khan. You play the Great Khan, commanding his armies as he conquers territories, recruits other nomads into his army, and either garrisons or razes cities.

The map of your conquests is made through placing cards which represent the regions of Eurasia that the Mongols conquered (or tried to). As you expand you have to take care as neighbouring kingdoms may appear to challenge you and your allies can desert or even rebel. An optional game allows for an uncertain world with the cards randomised.

We posted an interview with the designer David Kershaw and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/09/08/interview-with-david-kershaw-designer-of-empire-of-grass-the-conquests-of-genghis-khan-from-white-dog-games/

-Grant

The Union Forever is the eleventh game in the Pocket Battle Games Series from LPS, Inc.

Strategic level American Civil War on a postcard. The map of the Confederacy is divided into areas. The U.S player must strangle the Confederacy and reduce their will to continue fighting. Players use a standard deck of playing cards to activate armies (three Confederate and up to six Union) for movement and combat. Units can fight enemy armies in the same area. Combat is done by rolling 1D6, adding combat strength (for the Union) or Resistance Level (for the Confederates) and comparing results. Highest result wins. Losses are taken in retreats or in step losses. There are up to eight turns, each of which is six months. The key mechanic is the Confederate Resistance Level (CRL). As Union armies occupy areas, the CRL falls. If the CRL falls to zero before the end of turn 8, the Union player wins, otherwise the Confederate player wins.

Morgan’s A’ Comin’ is the fourth game in the Pocket Battle Games Series from LPS, Inc.

Rebel raider John H. Morgan defies orders, crossing the Ohio River in the summer of 1863 to bring war to the Yankees! All across the Midwest his incursion results in numerous alarms, property damage, and Union fears that he will link up with Robert E. Lee. While the raid succeeds in diverting a small Union army away from Bragg, the fierce pace and determined Union resistance wears the invaders away to little more than a small band, all being captured in the end. Could Morgan have tipped the balance on not one, but two fronts?

-Grant

Nightfighter Command is a WWII soloitaire narrative game where you defend Southern England against the Nazi bombers. Based at Middle Wallop or West Malling RAF base you will be directed to fly against German bombing raids to protect various Naval bases, towns and cities. At first you may struggle with unreliable equipment and inexperienced ground controllers but as you gain experience your skills and eventually the equipment at your disposal will also improve – if you live that long!

-Grant

Europe at War 1940: Solitaire, the sister wargame to Pacific War 1942, places the player in the role of the Axis high command during the first 18 months of World War II and focuses on the European Theater of World War II.

The game introduces some new concepts important to the war in Europe. Each side has a limited number of tank units to add strength to some front armies. The axis has a paratrooper unit that can help with hazardous operations. Choosing when and where to place them can be a major decision. Also control of air spaces on fronts becomes an important factor. And, ports on sea zones are affected by sea zone control. Crossing bodies of waters on a front is a major effort.

As the axis do you try to take London before turning east against the Russians? Should you help out the Italians in the Balkans? Or do you turn your tanks loose in the deserts of North Africa?

-Grant

A few years ago, Worthington Publishing published their first game in the Island Fight Series called Tarawa 1943. That game was awesome and was truly difficult to win, as it should be. Now, they have published the 2nd volume in the series called Iwo Jima 1945 that covers the only island assault during the Pacific war that the attacking US forces would suffer worse casualties than the Japanese defenders. On February 19, 1945 the USMC would land 30,000 marines on the island against a Japanese defensive force that numbered roughly 21,000 Japanese soldiers. Facing a Japanese commander who had learned valuable lessons from the losses on other Japanese islands, the USMC would eventually land over 70,000 marines and suffer over 25,000 casualties during the 36 day campaign.

In this solitaire game, the player takes on the role of the USMC commander leading the invasion of Iwo Jima. The game system, driven by cards, will simulate the strategies of the Japanese defenders, often referred to as the Japanese AI, adding a layer of historical authenticity to your gaming experience. If you have played Tarawa 1943, you will be familiar with the system.

-Grant

Shogun Solitaire is a card game for one player. Your mission in Shogun Solitaire is to lead a coalition of four clans to unite feudal Japan. Each clan must secure three objectives within their territory to achieve unification under a single Shogun. To accomplish this, you’ll need to deploy armies in strategic combinations, outsmarting your enemies. The game’s object is to become the Shogun by unifying all the clans of feudal Japan.

-Grant

HISPANIA from Draco Ideas is a slick little small box game with a big punch that sees the player controlling the Roman Empire and attempting to subjugate and put down resistance in the provinces of Hispania from 198 to 18BC. The game is extremely flexible and may be played cooperatively by 2-3 players, competitively with 4 players or as a solo game. The game is somewhat of a resource management game as the players must use their limited funds in the form of Denarii wisely to attack and put down revolts springing up around the country as local armies rally support for the resistance to Roman rule.

We published an interview with the designer Miguel Marqués and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/04/12/interview-with-miguel-marques-designer-of-hispania-from-draco-ideas-coming-to-gamefound-soon/

I also wrote a series of Action Point posts on the game and you can read those at the following links:

Action Point 1 – Overview of the Board

Action Point 2 – Overview of the Roman Phase and the various actions available including Move, Garrison, Besiege and Attack

Action Point 3 – Overview of the Hispanic Phase and how the locals spread Revolt and move Armies around the Board

-Grant

There are a million ways to die in the Arctic, so carefully choose your supplies and read the ice well, and you just might secure the coveted prize of discovering the fabled Northwest Passage.

Lonely Cairn is a solitaire game about finding the Northwest Passage in the mid 1800’s. Modelled and based upon the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, players will need to equip their expedition and carefully chose what to take with them into the arctic. They will then sail though a channel of icy locations, facing deadly encounters along the way. They must reach the exit by the end of 8 turns, or face being locked in the ice forever.

-Grant

Dive into history and heroism with Crusaders: The Siege of Acre 1291, a solitaire wargame that lets you experience the last stand of the Knights Templar and the Crusaders in the Holy Land.

Relive the courageous stand of some 15,000 Crusader soldiers, Knights Templars, Teutonic Knights, and Hospitallers as they defend Acre, a critical port city in the Holy Land, against a massive Mamluk army of some 80,000 soldiers armed with siege engines and catapults in the century after the Ninth Crusade.

Fighting was brutal. Mamluk archers and catapults rained missiles on the walled city, infantry conducted relentless assaults against its perimeter while miners attempted to breach the defenses of the stronghold from below. From behind its ramparts, the Crusaders repelled attack after attack while leading raiding parties outside of the city as the immense Mamluk army tightened the noose of the defending Crusaders.

When the dust settled, the city of Acre was overun by the Mamluk army. Crusaders and citizens were killed as the remnants of the Crusader army fled back to Europe while the legendary Order of the Knights Templars retreated to the island of Cyprus. The Crusaders lost their last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, never to return. Can you hold Acre?

-Grant