As I have done with my Top 10 Wargames of each year list I am going to do the same with the Top 10 Solitaire Wargames/Games that I played that were published in 2025. I played a total of 17 new published solo games in 2025 so take this list with a grain of salt as I didn’t play all the titles released in 2025 nor even all of the games that I purchased this past year. The games that I played include the following:

• Okinawa: The Last Battle of WWII from Solo Game of the Month
• Iwo Jima 1945 from Worthington Publishing
• The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth from Blue Panther
• Operation Dragoon Travel Game from Worthington Publishing
• Crusaders: The Siege of Acre 1291 from Art of Wargames and Blue Panther
• SPQR: The Battle of Alesia 52 BC from Art of Wargames and Blue Panther
• Siege Works: A Napoleonic Siege Roll & Write from Solo Wargame
• War In The Pacific: A WW2 Roll & Write from Solo Wargame
• Fields of Fire Deluxe 2nd Edition from GMT Games
• Europe at War 1940 Solitaire from Worthington Publishing
• Shogun Solitaire from Worthington Publishing
• Black Skin Black Shirt: Ethiopia vs Fascist Italy 1935-1937 from White Dog Games
• Empire of Grass from White Dog Games
• Onoda from Salt & Pepper Games
• Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth from Neva Game Press
• La Der de Ders – The War to End War from Hexasim
• Thermopylae: Last Stand from Solo Wargame

I have really grown to love my solo wargaming and it is partly because there are plenty of well designed and engaging games out there that continue to feed my curiosity and hunger for a tough challenge. Here I present to you my list of the Top 10 Solitaire Wargames of 2025!

10. Crusaders: The Siege of Acre 1291 from Art of Wargames and Blue Panther

A new solitaire game is always welcome on my table…and if that game is about the Crusades, even better! Earlier this year, Blue Panther released a new game designed by Joe Fernandez called Crusaders: The Siege of Acre 1291. The game is what I would call a lite dice-chucker with some very interesting aspects of a siege baked into the game. There are tracks on the board that track the condition of the outer wall, inner wall and accursed tower and the Crusader Knights, including Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights, inside the city of Acre have to defend against the Mamluk siege for 13 turns.

The game has a random event that kicks off each turn that will do damage to the city walls, kill knights and advance the Mamluk miners who are attempting to tunnel under the walls. There is just one event that if rolled can do a loss to the attackers but this occurs only on a roll of 3 on a 10-sided die.

The rules are very simple clocking in at 5 pages and are easy to understand and once read the game can be played only from the excellent player aid. I very much enjoyed the Deus Vult actions that are special actions that can be used to do things like repair a wall, reverse a Mamluk mining action or sally out of the city to offensively attack the besieging units. But, these actions can be nullified if certain conditions occur so you should use them while you have them and not wait too long or they might disappear.

I feel like this game really scratches that quick playing, easy to get into but intense and difficult game itch. The Crusaders have an uphill battle for sure as they really don’t have as many options or choices as I would like to see but what is there makes sense, is full of historical flavor and plays well. I have not been that successful with the game, meaning that I haven’t won very often, but despite that I still want to come back play after play and that should tell you something about the game and what it is. If your dice luck is really bad, this one can snowball quickly ending in a catastrophic defeat. I think that the other real attractive part of the game is that it is quick to set up, has good rules and plays quickly. This one will not blow your socks off but it is good for what it is and it comes in a small box that is very portable. In fact, I played it first while attending a work conference.

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in Crusaders: The Siege of Acre 1291, you can order a copy for $35.00 from the Blue Panther website at the following link: https://www.bluepantherllc.com/products/crusaders-the-siege-of-acre-1291

9. Shogun Solitaire from Worthington Publishing

Staying in the small, travel sized wargame department is Shogun Solitaire from Worthington Publishing. I say wargame, but it is probably more of a strategy card game with a war theme being set in the period of the Sengoku Jidai. Shogun Solitaire is a card based dedicated solitaire game where the player is leading a coalition of four clans to unite feudal Japan. These clans are one of 4 different colors in the game including green (Hōjō), purple (Takeda), red (Katō) and blue (Amago). Each of the clans must secure 3 objectives within their territory to achieve unification under a single Shogun including the port, village and castle of that region. To accomplish this, you’ll need to deploy armies in the form of cards in strategic combinations to gain control of those objectives. These cards are built up in the players tableau and you must get a run of 3 same colored cards (not the same type of soldiers although you cannot play 2 of the same soldiers consecutively) played in order to win the next objective. But, there are Enemy cards colored black or gray that represent assassins, Ronin and raids. There are also neutral Envoy cards that are bronze colored that act as dead space in your tableau and represent the court responsibilities and diplomacy of the Shogun with allied clans and if you ever build up too many of them in the area you will have to take a breath and wipe the slate clean by sending them home.

The really great part of this game is that each of the different types of cards have different special abilities and you must deploy them properly in order to gain the greatest advantage before the 102 card deck runs out. There are six types of Shogun cards that represent the available forces that can be deployed to seize objectives. Samurai can protect and will cancel enemy cards before they can do damage. The Ninjas allow the player to search the top 4 cards of the deck and then reorder them in order to finish a run of the same color cards before bad things can happen. And one of the most important cards is that of the Leaders which act as a wild card that can be played like any Shogun card of its color. I found that trying to utilize these cards to their highest effect was very fun and tense and I found myself really trying to utilize each ability at the right time.

This game is fast playing, playing in 20-30 minutes, and is very fun. But it can be very luck dependent as when you draw bad cards a few hands in a row, there is not much that you can do and the game begins to pound you down and it can come to an end very quickly. But, this game is very good and well designed for what it is; a lite, card based, quick playing travel sized game that is also very beautifully produced with gorgeous period art, thick cards and a fantastic board that flips over to show a

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in Shogun Solitaire, you can order a copy for $35.00 from the Worthington Publishing website at the following link: https://www.worthingtonpublishing.com/collection/shogun-solitaire

8. Iwo Jima 1945 from Worthington Publishing

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.

Iwo Jima’s play deck is larger than that of Tarawa’s, which provides a bit of breathing room in the game but doesn’t necessarily change the difficulty appreciably. There are also added mountain positions on the island where the attacking USMC will roll 1 less attack dice making it very challenging to overtake several of the key positions and that will need the player to use special cards to assist. The USMC player is allowed to play any number of the cards from their hand during their turn as opposed to just 3 from the previous entry in the series. The other rules are almost all the same, and you can begin playing with just a brief read of them.

I have played this one about 10 times and have not even come close to winning. It is tough and the way the dice system for combat works it is truly difficult for the Marines to score hits quickly enough to make significant progress, which is how it should be. But, the game is fun, tactically challenging as you have to manage your Cohesion as well as decide when to deploy and replace front line troops with fresh troops and plays pretty quickly. I have never had a bad play of this system and very much look forward to other entries in the series.

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in Iwo Jima 1945, you can order a copy for $75.00 from the Worthington Publishing website at the following link: https://www.worthingtonpublishing.com/collection/iwo-jima-1945

7. Onoda from Salt & Pepper Games

I am always on the lookout for an interesting and different type of historical game. And when that game is solitaire and allows the player to experience and gain insight into the life of a tragic figure then I am very interested. A few years ago, I came across this very interesting looking solitaire game designed by Francisco Gradaille called Onoda from Salt & Pepper Games. Onoda follows the tragic life of Hiroo Onoda who was a Japanese soldier who wouldn’t believe that Japan had lost World War II and stayed at his post on the island of Lubang in the Philippines from 1945-1974 when he finally surrendered after a visit from his commanding officer. I have played this one several times and can say the game is very interesting, educational and also gives the player an opportunity to learn and gain insight into the life of this person who is remembered as an insane criminal and a story of tragedy.

During 6 rounds of variable duration, the player has to obtain a number of resources represented by rice that will
allow them to finish the round without suffering penalties, such as reduced health and morale. In each round, the player will have to undertake a series of missions, earning honor points for accomplishing them. During the game, the player will get to experience some of the events that the real-life Onoda had during his stay in Lubang as well as some of the tragedies. The missions includes things like sabotaging key infrastructure, gathering equipment and other useful items all the while trying to evade detection and capture. But the game goes deeper than that as the crux of the game is the management of morale and the level of insanity in the mind of the soldier due to paranoia, death of comrades or illness.

During these missions, the player will have to draw tokens from a draw bag that represent the level of alarm that is present on the island due to his shenanigans. Each time that a player has to perform a check to accomplish a mission or to avoid danger from the random events, the player must take a Resource/Resolution token from the bag and check its number side against the relevant level of alarm or paranoia in the are where the operation is being undertaken. These Checks are successfully passed when the token’s number is higher than the Alarm or Paranoia level so keeping these low and also moving around the island stealthily will spread out the alarm level and keep Onoda safer and more able to accomplish these missions. Failure will lead to negative effects and lost opportunities as the game has only 6 turns.

I very much enjoyed this game and also loved it because it made me think about this tragic “hero” and his motivations and life those 30 years on the island. What commitment he must have had as well as derangement and you have to respect that or at least give it some thought. Just a great little narrative generator with some very gamey mechanics that create an interesting experience.

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

Also, in case you missed it, we published an interview with the designer Francisco Gradaille on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/11/06/interview-with-francisco-gradaille-designer-of-onoda-from-salt-pepper-games-coming-to-gamefound-november-7th/

If you are interested in Onoda, you can order a copy for $39.00 from the All Play website at the following link: https://www.allplay.com/board-games/onoda

6. Black Skin Black Shirt: Ethiopia vs Fascist Italy 1935-1937 from White Dog Games

I have really enjoyed my plays of several games designed by R. Ben Madison. He has a knack for including elements of the history into the gameplay while placing the events into the framework of his chosen system, which is usually the States of Siege Series…but not always. His newest offering called Black Skin Black Shirt: Ethiopia vs. Fascist Italy 1935-1937 from White Dog Games uses the States of Siege Series System and delves into pre-WWII conflict in Africa.

First off, this game is very challenging, as is to be expected as the Ethiopians are desperately outmanned and outgunned by the Fascists as they invaded to take over the oil rich area for their own purposes and I have not done well at it at all in my few plays. I normally would have played it a few more times before adding to the list but I just had such a good experience with it and the history that I felt that I needed to add it to the list. It uses the States of Siege Series but in a bit of a different layout as there are not tracks per se but there are paths that lead through various regions of the country of Ethiopia as they converge on the capital of Addis Ababa.

The game is chit pull and the chits that are pulled give instructions about the actions of the AI Italians as they move on each path. The player will also gain a number of action points that can be used to take actions such as attacking to drive back the invaders. I very much like the concept of support of the Fascist invasion as they have the ability to place their support focused bases on the map as they advance and this leads to the player no longer being able to drive them back to beyond that point so the pressure really ratchets up as the game goes along.

As is the case generally with these games, Black Skin Black Shirt is an easy-to-play, straightforward solitaire game that creates a very interesting historical narrative about how the conflict plays out. There are really lots of tough choices and the game is about the management of your resources and assets, such as your Ras warlords who can go out and make devastating ambush attacks but can also be killed in action and removed from the game, The game forces the player to take charge of the defenses, by calling up troops and marshalling resources as well as attempting to call on the League of Nations for aid and support.

Here is a link to my unboxing video:

If you are interested in Black Skin Black Shirt: Ethiopia vs Fascist Italy 1935-1937, you can order a copy for $56.00 from the White Dog Games website at the following link: https://www.whitedoggames.com/ethiopia

5. The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth from Blue Panther

A few years ago, while attending the WBC, I had the chance to meet Wes Crawford who was demoing his upcoming game Engine Thieves. He was a very nice guy and his game was pretty interesting as well. Since that time, he has another game that has been released designed in partnership with Ryan Heilman in The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth published by Blue Panther. I had a chance to play the game solitaire (with Wes overseeing the game and giving me guidance and pointers) at WBC in 2024 and have since played the game on my own several times and had a really great time with it. Great little solo game with several other modes where the player uses resources like police and detectives to search for clues in the hunt for Lincoln’s assassin after the events at Ford’s Theater on the evening of April 14, 1865. Definitely not a subject that has been gamed before and it is really refreshing to be able to experience this history in an interesting and engaging game. There really is a lot to like with the way that clues are found and chits are blindly drawn to verify clues from a bag. There is also a great little movement mechanic with police and detectives to try to acquire more clues.

I know that this is not a traditional wargame but the topic is just so very interesting and the variety of modes you can play in is also very cool. I think that this one is a game that will stay in my collection for years to come and I think that you will enjoy the chit pull, use of your special Stanton Cards that give special events or actions and the way that the movement, searching and raiding works when you find Booth.

We were able to post an interview with Wes Crawford on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/12/03/interview-with-wes-crawford-designer-of-the-pursuit-of-john-wilkes-booth-from-blue-panther/

Here also is a link to our video interview after playing the game with Wes at WBC:

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth, you can order a copy for $70.00 from the Blue Panther website at the following link: https://www.bluepantherllc.com/products/pursuitofjwb

4. Siege Works: A Napoleonic Siege Roll & Write from Solo Wargame

Until a year or so ago, I had literally never heard of the concept of a Roll & Write game. But, I started seeing these things pop up on Kickstarter from a new company called Solo Wargame and I was immediately intrigued as the topics for the games were so interesting and varied that I thought that there just might be something worth looking into. Since that time, I have played 2 of these Roll & Write games from Solo Wargame and really found that Siege Works: A Napoleonic Siege Roll & Write was my favorite. I say my favorite because who doesn’t like a siege game and a game set during the Napoleonic Wars is always fun! 

Roll & Write Games are typically small and portable games, some are even Print ‘n Play games like Siege Works, that involve the player rolling dice and then marking the results on sheets of paper or sometimes erasable boards. These markings can mean several different things including goals being met, pre-requisites being completed or enemies defeated. The genesis or archetype for these Roll & Write Games is Yahtzee, where players roll a handful of dice looking for various combinations of results to mark off on their sheet that then score points in the end. But recently that game genre has started to include a bit more player agency and choice about how they go about reaching goals including dice selection from those that are rolled, choosing results that are needed at the time but may be less than optimal in the long run and in completing certain goals that will open the door for additional future beneficial options for the player. Don’t get me wrong. A Roll & Write Game is very simple and is not a traditional style of wargame with hexes, counters and Combat Results Tables. But the game tells a story of a siege and how it works. So I was initially skeptical about this form of game and just had to give it a try to see what it was about. I have actually played 2 of them and found them to be lite, fun and interesting. And Siege Works is a solitaire Roll & Write Game so I have played it by myself on my gaming table and had a good time with them.

The biggest plus to the game is the simple rules, easy setup and fast onboarding with learning and being able to get the game played. You can play this easily with a simple read of the rules and a bit of review of the Game Sheet before playing. The sequence of play is very good and easy to follow as well and I found that the game is pretty intuitive. My only issue with the rules was that I found that they sometimes needed just a few more words or an additional sentence for clarity. But this is combated somewhat by the fact that the rules contain a lot of good play examples for the different actions in the game.

Here is a link to my First Impressions post that appeared on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/09/16/first-impressions-siege-works-a-napoleonic-siege-roll-write-from-solo-wargame/

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in Siege Works: A Napoleonic Siege Roll & Write, you can order a print and play copy for $8.00 from the Wargame Vault website at the following link: https://www.wargamevault.com/en/product/530416/siege-works-a-napoleonic-siege-roll-write

3. La Der de Ders – The War to End War from Hexasim

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.

One of the best parts of La Der de Ders, and typically the best part of any strategic level wargame, is the Technology Phase and the player’s ability to spend their limited resources on various types of technologies to improve their performance on the battlefield and in the economic war. But, keep in mind that there is a risk here as resources are limited and you have to pay to develop these technologies and there is no guarantee of success as it is up to a dice roll, albeit a modified one at that. Each of the players has their own Technology Tree board that is used to track their technological progress over the course of the game. There are a total of 6 different Technologies that can be researched including Attack, Defence, Artillery, Aviation, Naval, and Air Raid.

The process of taking Offensives is really pretty simple as players take turns to activate one of their sectors that has not yet been activated this turn. The sector chosen will then be activated and must launch an Offensive against an adjacent enemy sector. There is a cost to the launching of Offensives though as the player will have to pay the appropriate cost by first choosing the size of their Offensive, which in game turns means the number of dice they will pay to roll in the Offensive. The size of the Offensive must be at least 1 and can be up to the current Operational Value of the attacking sector. The player launching the offensive then spends as many Resource Points as the size of the Offensive. Dice rolling is fun and the real key here is how to plan for an prioritize your chosen Offensives as you cannot just do one each turn or you will risk collapse and will be unable to do other things such as invest in technology development.

Victory in the game is well done and I very much like the concept of only calculating the value for those countries who have not Collapsed and who are still in the war when the end game is triggered. We all know that it is easier to negotiate a peace that is favorable to your side when you are still a threat and if too many nations of either side have collapsed then their Prestige Points will reflect this as those countries won’t contribute to the final value. And I also like the simplicity of the scoring system. If certain key countries like France and Germany surrender, then that equates to a victory for the side causing the surrender and if the game continues to grind on through the final turn, then there is this calculation that is really pretty simple and gives importance to each goal with a different value that can be earned. Just a solid method for determining victory that makes sense and fits with the historical aspect of the outcome of the Great War.

The Athena bot is the solitaire mode of the game and it is not just tacked on but is very well done and creates an interesting and challenging game. 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, such as the priority of how Offensives occur from the non-player side, 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.

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

Action Point 1 – Game Board

Action Point 2 – Technology Phase and Technology Tree

Action Point 3 – Event Cards

Action Point 4 – Example of an Offensive

Action Point 5 – Victory Conditions

Action Point 6 – Overview of the “Athena” Solitaire Bot

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in La Der de Ders – The War to End War, you can order a copy for $50.00 from the GMT Games website (they have a contract with Hexasim to sell their games in the United States) at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1222-la-der-des-ders-the-war-to-end-war-english-version.aspx

2. Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth from Neva Game Press

Neva Game Press (formerly Neva Wargames) is a new publisher who appeared on the scene 2 years ago. When I started seeing their posts on Twitter and Facebook, I was immediately impressed with their interesting topic choices for their upcoming games as well as the fact that they are trying to make small footprint wargames that pack a punch. And the art is also very appealing and brings an aesthetically pleasing and attractive look to their games! Recently, they released their first game called Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth which is a solitaire look at the amphibious invasion of the island of Iwo Jima in 1945 during the end of WWII.

Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth is the first game in their Neva Skirmish Line and it is a hex and counter wargame with some interesting mechanics for combat and a combination of secondary mechanics to keep the game fresh and replayable. This solitaire game lets you play as the U.S. Marines during Operation Detachment. It offers a challenge for both intermediate and experienced wargamers and is really very, very good. I have only played the game 1 time all the way through but as the year is getting away from me already I had to finish up and decided that this was a very good experience deserving of the position on this list. I hope to play again very soon and put together some video content to share more about the game.

One of the things that I really liked was the focus on the hidden Japanese units that play a significant role in the game. Collecting intelligence for the U.S. as they move up the beaches and onto the mainland ensures more strategic planning and greater success of attacks. Additionally, hidden units, combined with a randomized initial Japanese unit setup, enhance the game’s fog of war and replayability. No play will be the same and I think that is a good way to design a solitaire game. U.S. intelligence has some information about potential Japanese defenses, but it is important to verify on the map that there are actual units at those locations. Additionally, more information about those units should be gathered by revealing them to see their actual composition and plan a better attack. Units can be revealed through successful bombardment, combat or reconnaissance. Making a better attack means that the player has access to different type of weapons and attacking a tank unit with a heavy weapon will give modifiers that will not be gained if the asset is not present.

If you attack a hidden unit or if a hidden unit is supporting the attacked Japanese unit, you will draw Intelligence Chits that provide information about the unit and their combat support value. While attacking hidden units can be risky in certain situations, it is essential to continue advancing to achieve timely victory. Understanding when to attack hidden units or gather intelligence through reconnaissance actions is crucial for success and one of the better parts of the game.

Combat is varied and there is a lot of choice about how to go about attacking the defenders. A unit can engage in combat through Direct Attack, Indirect Attack, or a combination of both. In a Direct Attack (with a maximum of 2 U.S. units adjacent to the target), the combat factor value of these units is utilized. For an Indirect Attack (with a maximum of 3 U.S. units if conditions are met), the units’ combat support type and value are used to participate in the combat. Units involved in a Direct Attack may also be used for Indirect Attacks as needed. The next step of combat involves comparing the combat ratio to determine the appropriate table column for checking the die result. Die Roll Modifiers must then be determined, based on factors such as the type of Japanese defense units, which could include Trenches, Pillboxes, or Caves, the comparison between the combat support from the U.S. player and the Japanese side, and terrain effects. The combat is very crunchy and fairly involved and I will definitely classify this one as a good hex and counter wargame experience.

I need to get this one back to the table soon but this is a keeper and I cannot wait to play again.

If you are interested in Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth, you can order a copy for $53.00 from the Neva Game Press website at the following link: https://nevagamepress.com/product/iwo-jima-hell-on-earth/

1. Okinawa: The Last Battle of WWII from Best with 1

I love a new and interesting way to tell the story of a key battle and I found a very interesting one called Okinawa: The Last Battle of WWII from Best with 1 earlier this year. This is a solitaire only game and for each game the player will draw four objectives from a possible 12 that you must survive and capture before time runs out. On your turn, the player will roll special dice and then spend those to take actions such as movement, attack and take special actions from different unit action cards that will be set up in a square from from 1 to 10. The numbers coincide with the dice of the attacking Japanese and as the player moves through the rondel they will be able to activate and use their different soldiers to attack the Japanese defenders or use their special abilities to gain tokens that can be used for rerolls or healing of wounds

I think that the best part of the game is the concept of resource management as you have to use the dice appropriately to move and fight and also to manage your troops as you can upgrade certain cards as you pass the midway point of the round as well as when special actions are granted via the special resource chits. Upgrading units is very important as this will unlock things like heavy weapons in the form of bazookas, a Sherman tank and planes to be able to take out the Japanese armor units defending the island. The game is about efficiency of movement and doing the most with what you have. The dice determine what you can and can’t do and movement is optional as you don’t have to move unless you feel it is advantageous. But remember, that you have to defeat the defenders and the various objectives to be able to advance to your final objective and sitting in one space too long is not advisable.

The different units have various functions including attack, such as the Rifleman, Machine Gun Team and Sniper but also have secondary functions to remove the fog of war, heal your damaged units or gain additional resources. The Japanese defenders are well hidden and also have various defenses such as pill boxes and caves that will require the player to defeat these before moving to attack the units located inside.

In the end the game is about defeating the Japanese defenders while doing so in a set amount of revolutions around the rondel setup. This can be as few as 2 times around or as many as 4 and knowing when to use your resources to reroll your dice, as you either didn’t get the run of consecutive numbers you were looking for or just need a specific number, you will run out of resources quickly and you must plan them out as best you can to win the game. This one is really fun and I have played it about a dozen times winning about 70% of the time. The game plays in about an hour and the action is fast and furious and you are immediately beset by the staunch Japanese defenders and must act quickly.

Here is a link to our unboxing video:

Here is a link to my playthrough video:

Here also is a link to my video review:

If you are interested in Okinawa: The Last Battle of WWII, you can order a Print and Play copy from the Best with 1 website at the following link: https://bestwith1.com/product/okinawa-pnp/

There you have it. My list of the best solitaire wargames/games that I played in 2025! What a year. There were just so many great games but unfortunately only so much time. There were other games that I was unable to get played that I had acquired and I regret not getting to but there is only so much time.

What were your favorite solitaire wargames from 2025?

-Grant

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

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 this Action Point, we will simply review the Victory Conditions.

Victory Conditions

In La Der des Ders, there are a few ways to trigger the concept of Sudden Death, which leads to the game concluding and a victor being declared, or to win the game through armistice being signed and then through the accumulation of Prestige Points. Let’s first take a look at what I think is the most common way for the game to come to an end, Sudden Death.

Sudden Death

The game will end immediately in the event of Sudden Death and this Sudden Death can be triggered in three ways. First, if France surrenders, the Central Powers will immediately win the game, second if Germany surrenders, the Entente will immediately win the game and finally if any one side achieves 6 Victory Points then that side immediately wins the game. Really pretty simple. If countries other than France or Germany surrender, such as Austria-Hungary, Russia or the Ottoman Empire, the game will continue although the Production Value of the surrendered country will no longer be included in the sides Resource Points.

Now there is a remote possibility that both sides could trigger Sudden Death at the same time through an attack. Remember, that if the attacker rolls a 1 on their Attack Dice, it will result a Counter Attack and 1 loss on their Collapse Track and if this would cause them to have to surrender as well as inflicting enough hits on their target to reach the end of their Collapse Track, both will Surrender and then neither side will win. But also, this could possibly occur with the play of the Spanish Flu Event, which causes losses to all powers. This is a rare possibility but it can happen.

One of the things that I very much like about this game is the concept of Collapse and the fatigue and weariness of war. World War I drug on for 4 long years and particularly on the Western Front very little ground was actually gained. During the early years of the war in 1915–1916, these advances were measured in mere feet, while later in the war during the campaigns of 1918, particularly in the case of the Hundred Days Offensive, which began on August 8, 1918, the Allies achieved deep, lasting breakthroughs, pushing the Germans back to their original 1914 lines. But the war was a meat grinder, plain and simple, and attacks were made sometimes to keep the war going because High Command demanded action and not necessarily to gain any ground or obtain any key objectives. Resources dwindled, troops dried up as men were shattered, maimed and demoralized to the point of being unable to stand a watch or fight, and nation’s desire for the war to continue faded. I think that at points, one breakthrough or catastrophic loss could have ended the war and this is very well reflected in La Der des Ders as if you are too low on your own Collapse Track and decide to attack because you believe you can finish your opponent you always have a chance of catastrophe and losses of your own while on the offensive.

Armistice

Aside from the Sudden Death ending, the game can end in 2 ways including at the end of the turn during which the Peace Negotiations card was drawn, or at the end of turn 14. In both of these cases, the side with the most Prestige Points is declared the winner. If there is a tie, the Central Powers will win the game.

So what are Prestige Points? Prestige Points are a concept that takes into account the standing of each of the combatant nations on both sides, using the location of the Sector cube on their Collapse Track as a base, and then uses a simple mathematical formula to determine the overall standing and condition of the nations morale, production and will to fight. One of the most important parts of this calculation though is that it only takes into account nations that have not collapsed and surrendered. If a nation has been forced to surrender because their Collapse Track reached the end, they will not count toward the Prestige Points of their allied side.

Each player will calculate their total Prestige Points very simply by paying attention to several numbers such as the Operational Value and Prestige Value. For each country still At War during the Armistice, the player multiplies the sector’s current Operational Value (OV), which is shown by the location of the Sector cube on the Collapse Track, by its Prestige Value (PV), which is the value printed on the left side of the Collapse Track. The various nations’ Prestige Values are Germany 5, France 4, Austria-Hungary 3, Ottoman Empire 3, Italy 3, Middle East 3 and all other Sectors 1.

Let’s take a look at a quick example of how to calculate Germany’s Prestige Points. If Germany is still At War and their Collapse Track is showing an Operational Value of 2, then we will multiply their Prestige Value shown on the far left of the Collapse Track of 5 x the Operational Value of 2 resulting in a total of 10 Prestige Points. The players then add the number of Victory Points (VP) indicated by the location of their marker on the Victory Point Track. You might be wondering Where do Victory Points come from? Victory Points are specifically earned from forcing countries to surrender and the side that caused the surrender will earn a number of Victory Points as shown in the rules. For the Entente, their values are Russia 3 VP, Italy, Middle East and Romania 2 VP and Serbia, Africa and Greece 1 VP. For the Central Powers, their values are Austria-Hungary 3 VP, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria 2 VP and the German Colonies 1 VP.

I very much like the concept of only calculating the value for those countries who have not Collapsed and who are still in the war. We all know that it is easier to negotiate a peace that is favorable to your side when you are still a threat and if too many nations of either side have collapsed then their Prestige Points will reflect this as those countries won’t contribute to the final value. And I also like the simplicity of the scoring system. If certain key countries like France and Germany surrender, then that equates to a victory for the side causing the surrender and if the game continues to grind on through the final turn, then there is this calculation that is really pretty simple and gives importance to each goal with a different value that can be earned. Just a solid method for determining victory that makes sense and fits with the historical aspect of the outcome of the Great War.

In Action Point 6, which is the conclusion to this series, we will give an overview of the “Athena” solitaire bot and show how it works for solitaire play.

-Grant

Crisis: 1914 is a game of international brinkmanship – if you back down too soon, you lose. If you back down too late you lose. But you have hawks and doves in your cabinet and in your government, and out of these conflicting views you must somehow formulate a coherent response to the crisis to win the day and prevent war.

There are 3 interrelated concepts at the heart of Crisis: 1914: Prestige, Tension, and Diplomatic Pressure (DP). Diplomatic Pressure (DP) is how you score Prestige. Tension is how you lose. Every card has a DP value. You apply DP by playing cards. The player with the most Diplomatic Pressure at the end of a turn earns Prestige points. There are other ways of scoring Prestige points too, but this is the most important one. Prestige is how you win. The player with the most Prestige at the end of the game is the winner.

We published an interview on the blog with the designer Maurice Suckling and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/07/12/interview-with-maurice-suckling-designer-of-crisis-1914-from-worthington-publishing-currently-on-kickstarter/

Also, in a lead up to the game’s release, I worked with the Maurice to do the following Event Card Spoiler posts:

Crisis: 1914 Event Card Spoilers with Designer Maurice Suckling – Series Introduction and General Mobilization Cards

Austria-Hungary, Part One

Austria-Hungary, Part Two

Russia, Part One

Russia, Part Two

Germany, Part One

Germany, Part Two

France, Part One

France, Part Two

Britain, Part One

Britain, Part Two

Britain, Part Three

While this game is not necessarily a wargame, but more of a war themed Euro game with a bit of negotiation and tension as you build your tableau of cards, we had a great time with it and really feel that the game is a bit under the radar of folks and should be one of those games that is played at conventions as it seats up to 5 players and is really quite good.

-Grant

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 this Action Point, we will walk through an example of an Offensive and take a look at the combat procedure.

Offensives

As we discussed in Action Point 1, shown on the board are the Offensive Arrows that will remind the players about what Offensives they can undertake, meaning what Sectors may be attacked, and what Sectors have already taken their one Offensive against that adjacent Sector per turn. These are identified by red arrows connecting adjacent Sectors and will be covered up by the appropriate Offensive Marker when undertaken. In the below picture, we will take a look at Serbia as an example. You can see that Serbia is surrounded by Central Power countries including Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria (Neutral at the start of the war). They also have a few of their Allied nations adjacent including Romania (Neutral at the start of the war) and Greece (Neutral at the start of the war). From each of the adjacent Sectors there are 2 Offensive Arrows represented meaning that this Sector can both be attacked and can attack the adjacent Sector.

The process of taking Offensives is really pretty simple as players take turns to activate one of their sectors that has not yet been activated this turn. The sector chosen will then be activated and must launch an Offensive against an adjacent enemy sector. There is a cost to the launching of Offensives though as the player will have to pay the appropriate cost by first choosing the size of their Offensive, which in game turns means the number of dice they will pay to roll in the Offensive. The size of the Offensive must be at least 1 and can be up to the current Operational Value of the attacking sector. The player launching the offensive then spends as many Resource Points as the size of the Offensive.

For example, The Entente player decides to attack Austria-Hungary from Russia. If Russia’s Operational Value is currently 2, the size of the Offensive must be between 1 and 2. If the Entente player chooses a size 2 Offensive they will have to spend 2 Resource Points. This would allow Russia to roll 2D6 along with any black dice for their Artillery Technology.

Once both of the players have activated a sector, each player may then continue with Offensives by choosing to activate a new sector until no new sectors can be activated. Each of the sectors can make but a single Offensive per turn. I really like this restriction as it reflects the logistical and material difficulties in planning, funding and executing these large Offensives. A player may always decide to pass rather than activate a sector but once you do pass the Resource Spending phase ends for them. The other player can continue to activate the sectors they want and are able to until they decide to pass on their turn or are no longer able to activate a sector.

Now let’s cover the mechanics of how the Offensive resolves with dice. The player will roll as many white dice as the size of the Offensive they funded. These dice are called Attack Dice and it is important to remember that some technologies allow modifiers to be added to Attack Dice or will grant additional dice to be rolled, usually in the form of Artillery Dice. Each level of Attack Technology implemented in the attacking sector grants a DRM (Die Roll Modifier) of +1 to each Attack Die roll. Each level of Defense Technology implemented in the targeted sector inflicts a Die Roll Modifier of -1 to each Attack Die roll. Each level of Artillery Technology implemented in the attacking sector allows the Attacker to roll 1 black Artillery Die. These dice are not subject to the bonuses/penalties conferred by either Attack or Defense Technologies. Also, keep in mind that the number of Artillery dice cannot exceed the size of the Offensive. This is a mistake that I have made many times in my plays of the game and wish there was a better way to remember this. In the case of Artillery Dice, if the player has developed the Aviation Technology, the attacker may re-roll as many Artillery Dice that failed to inflict a loss as the difference between their Aviation Level and the defender’s Aviation Level.

Each result greater than or equal to the attacking player’s Attack Value inflicts one loss on the defender. The Attack Value of a sector is represented by the die depicted at the end of the Collapse Track. Germany has the best value at a 4 while all other countries, with the exception of Greece who is a 6, have a 5. For each loss suffered in an Offensive, the defender moves the cube on the attacked sector’s Collapse Track by one space to the right. If a cube needs to be moved forward on the Collapse Track, but is already on the right-most space and can’t be moved forward, that country immediately surrenders. The Offensives process is really very simple, and it just fits with the chosen format and scale of the game. Nice and easy but fun with lots of dice rolling.

Counter Attacks

One more thing that I need to share about these Offensives is the concept of a Counter Attack. If at least one of the Attack Dice rolled comes up a natural 1, the attacker will suffer one loss and the cube in their own sector is moved forward one space on the Collapse Track. This is not one loss per 1 result but only 1 such loss with an Offensive. With my luck, I could lose my whole army and have to surrender! Also, remember that Artillery Dice are not affected by the Counter Attack rule.

The process of Offensives in La Der des Ders is very simple and straightforward but works very well in the framework of the game to create many tough choices about how to spend your limited Resource Points and who to attack and from where. As the Central Powers, attacking with Germany each turn makes the most sense as they have the best odds of scoring hits and causing losses to France and Russia but they will have to gauge where they stand and who else might be closer to Collapse and surrender. As the Entente, France and Russia should put a heavy focus on Germany and Austria-Hungary and force the Central Powers player to have to replace losses rather than spending on Technology upgrades and replacements. Continually attacking them will lead to results over the course of the game.

In Action Point 5, we will simply review the Victory Conditions.

-Grant

Recently, I have been playing a lot of Paths of Glory: The First World War, 1914-1918 from GMT Games on the fabulous Rally the Troops! and these gaming sessions have got me thinking. Thinking about the uselessness of war and conflict and the ultimate negative effects of it all. But not just the loss of life, maiming and disfigurement that comes with war but also the emotional scars. And this got me thinking about despair and hopelessness. Despair! A word that evokes very dark and scary feelings in all of us because it gives the impression of a lack of tomorrow. The dictionary definition of Despair is “the complete loss or absence of hope”. In my opinion, this is a word that can be used to describe many historic battles and wars as they have spiraled into pointless affairs with no end in sight. World War I comes to mind for me and the years of bloody and brutal trench warfare, bombardment and use of deadly chemical weapons such as mustard gas. In this post in the Best 3 Games with… series, I want to share with you games that have despair as a main focus.

*As my Featured Image for this post, I used the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch (1895). He said about the piece that it felt like a “scream through nature,” and the painting features a distorted figure covering its ears, reacting to, rather than making, a sound.

3. Verdun from Dragon Dawn Productions

Verdun is a card game that is focused on the famous siege of Verdun during World War I. As player’s hands dwindle down as they play 2 cards per round but only draw 1, players will also have to play cards that help the other side, timing it strategically to minimize their own casualties. The teams alternate being the Attacker, and each card played leads to more and more deaths. You are fighting over positive victory points from trying to win several positions through over the top attacks that are worth a set amount of VP but that are hidden from view until they are taken so you never know if you are going for the high VP area or the low ones until you blow the whistle to initiate the attack.

A game of Verdun lasts about 16 rounds as players start with 12 cards, which they then play in a series of 12 tricks. When you win the trick, you gain the VP for the position but the winner will lose their lowest valued cards while the loser will lose their highest value cards to the dead pile representing mounting casualties. Low cards have fewer skulls on them representing deaths while higher cards have more. So even in victory you will be accumulating negative VP’s and this is one of the key aspects of the game…managing those deaths! Just like the high command.

In the end, the player with the highest score will win and this number will be very low or can even be negative. In our play of the game, my French defeated Alexander’s Germans by a final score of 3 VP to -14 VP. What a great little trick taking game! The really interesting part about the late game is that your hand has dwindled to being full of your worst cards as you have most likely used the good cards earlier to win tricks or cause losses to your opponent. The last few card plays just seem brutal and you are just hoping to not have to take a lot of skulls. This felt very fruitless and mimics the despair of commanders as they had to issue orders that they knew were not going to result in any positive gains but only the loss of life.

The game is also gorgeous with fantastic original period art used on the cards and amazing graphical layout and design. The images are very gritty and involve the feelings of the battle and create a very thematic portal for the players to experience the difficulties in the battle. Just a very slick little thematic game.

Here is a link to our video review of the game:

2. Paths of Glory: The First World War, 1914-1918 from GMT Games

Paths of Glory is widely thought to be a masterpiece on WWI and after just a few plays of the game, both in person and online on the fabulous Rally the Troops!, I can definitely see why people feel that way. Even though we are novices, the game is just that good and really tells the story of the fruitless efforts of both the Entente and Central Powers as they bashed their heads against each other over control of Europe. The game is long and you generally are going to have to play this one over a long weekend to get it all in and enjoy it properly but it is just such as great tool to understand the complexities of the struggles of trench warfare, supply and the balance of attacking versus taking a breath and regrouping. I really enjoyed the mix of historical events and the choices that I had to wage the war in a way that I felt was appropriate. But, my message to everyone who plays this game is beware of supply. Even in our few plays, supply has been an issue and we have had to make sure we didn’t make a few fatal mistakes that would get us in trouble. I want it to be clear here. I am not good at this game…at all and the nuances of supply and how to play have just eluded me as I continue to make the same errors game after game. But it is really good and I look forward to each new play with enthusiasm and am excited about the chance to get to learn more about this fascinating war that was so very fruitless.

With that being said, generally in every single game the Central Powers will start out by playing their Guns of August card. Guns of August is a crucial, high-stakes opening event for the Central Powers on Turn 1, enabling an immediate, powerful and historical offensive against France and Belgium. It kicks off the continual back and forth of trench warfare and frankly seems to never really generate a good outcome. Each attack is bloody, with both sides being brutalized by having to reduce units and the trenches make attacking more and more difficult as they evolve and grow to Level 2. Paths of Glory in a large part is about resource management and the constant pressure to continue offensive momentum and rebuild troops through the use of Replacement Points and events to bring on additional troops is a major problem for both sides. You can only attack for so long before you will burn yourself out and will have to spend time to recover and get ready for the next turn’s offensives. This process of back and forth will ultimately rarely see fruits on the Western Front and will devolve into stalemate as each side strengthens their defense and the Entente begin to bring in reinforcements from England to shore up the lines and nullify the early German advantage. But the real despair in this game are the decisions about how to play your cards. You can use them for their Ops Points to fuel attacks and movement on the board, use them for the printed event or play them for the Reinforcement Points located at the bottom of the card. This is the real key to the game and managing this process of maneuver, attack, shoring up defenses, buying replacement points and protecting supply lines is where the players lose their minds. You simply cannot continue a full out frontal assault round after round. If you do, you will grind your men to dust and dig their own graves as you will be unable to prepare for the next turn. This is a long game and this process wears on turn after turn and the first person that makes a mistake typically is the one that loses.

Here is a link to our initial impressions video of the game:

1. The Grizzled from CMON Games

The Grizzled is a special game. Not a big game. Not a complex game. And not a game for every one as it is different, focused on the friendship and bonds of a group of French soldiers caught in the trenches of World War I. The game is a cooperative card game set during The Great War, also known as “the war that no one in the U.S. really understands because we only ever learn about World War II”. Ironically, playing The Grizzled is somewhat of a rather peaceful affair, but our plays have found it to be quite challenging, sometimes unwinnable in fact, and that is where the despair comes in. No matter how well you play the cards you are dealt and no matter how hard you work together to overcome challenges, failure is a part of the game and winning is truly at a premium.

The cards represent threats to all of the men’s safety or a hard knock which impacts the player or their compatriots in some way. The goal of the game is to play through all of the Trials cards to find peace (literally a Peace card). A standard game starts with 25 Trial cards on the peace deck and the remaining 34 Trial cards are placed in a separate morale deck (a draw pile). Cards move from the Morale deck to the Trial deck at the end of a mission. The Morale deck sits on a card picturing a monument commemorating the sacrifices made in war. But if you ever see this Monument card, you’ve lost the game.

The goal of each mission is the same to play as many cards as you can before withdrawing from battle. Cards are played in one of two ways; placing a threat in No Man’s Land or placing a hard knock card next to your soldier. Every time you play a card, the group is one step closer to victory, but if there are ever 3 of the same threats showing on the table at any one time, the mission is lost but the game will continue.

Beyond playing a card, there are 2 other actions but they are rarely available. On each player’s character there is a Lucky Charm showing one of the 6 threats in the game. Playing the Lucky Charm as an action allows that player to remove a matching threat from No Man’s Land, making the mission a bit easier to continue. After you use your Lucky charm you flip your character card over and no longer have access to that action. The other action is to make a speech. There are a very limited number of Speech Tokens in the game – the mission leader will receive one after each mission until all the tokens have been distributed. When giving a speech as an action, you have to have the token and you have to choose one of the 6 threats. The OTHER players still active in the mission then remove ONE card from their hand that matches the declared threat. These can be useful but are not guaranteed to have an impact. Once played, a speech token is removed from the game. But, one of my favorite mechanic is when you withdraw and add a support token to your character. The token is, very thematically a cup of coffee. When the round ends, you will pass this coffee to a teammate as support. The teammate that gets the most support at the end of the round can remove two hard-knocks or recover their lucky charm.

While we love the game, and I find it to be supremely interesting, we have never won in over 20 plays. We simply seem to run the same course over and over again and never seem to gain much ground. And I really think that this is the point of the game. And where the despair comes into play. One of the other things that I love about the game is the tag line that appears on the front cover. It reads: Can friendship be stronger than war? This statement gives some pause and causes a lot of discussion in our group particularly with the concepts of the exhaustion of characters (using their Lucky Charm and turning them over), the speeches (removing a threat from the battlefield that you cannot get rid of because no one has the matching cards) and the cups of coffee (support). As if a cup of coffee can overcome anything…but you can always give it a go.

Now there are many games that could be included on this list but the games I have chosen perfectly evoke the level of despair that I was going for in this piece. I have played many other games that convey despair but feel that these 3 best demonstrate the level of hopelessness that I was thinking of. What are your favorite games that evoke despair?

-Grant

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 this Action Point, we will take a look at the Event Cards and how they inject the historical narrative into the gameplay and also alter the conditions of the game.

Event Cards

La Der des Ders has used the vehicle of Event Cards to inject the historical events and happenings of World War I into the game. This choice makes a lot of sense and plays into some of the game’s mechanics such as the Air Raid Technology that we discussed in the last post. At the outset of each turn, the players will be instructed to draw 3 Event Cards from the Event Deck. These are the 3 cards that will be in effect for this portion of the year as each of the years are divided into 3 separate turns representing roughly 4 months, with the exception of 1914 which represents the period of August through end of December that year. At setup, the player will divide the Event Cards by year to make 5 piles (1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918). Then they will take the 1914 Deck, shuffle it and
place it on the game board, in its dedicated box. Place the other decks on the right of the game board, near their
respective boxes on the Turn Track.

Some of the Events are applied immediately when drawn, while others take effect later in the turn. This is all typically based upon the color of the symbols found on the cards in the bottom right hand corner and the symbol that coincides with a specific phase, such as the Resource Phase or Offensives Phase. In the picture below, you can see different examples of these cards and their color and symbols. These are Event Cards from 1914 on the left all the way through 1918. Also, some of the Events are only applicable in 1914. These Events will be marked with a blue corner. In the picture above you can see the 4 different 1914 Event Cards and their blue corners. Some Events have effects that apply until the end of the game, while others until they are cancelled. The text found on the cards is generally self-explanatory and I only found maybe 1 instance where I had to really think over what the card was trying to tell me to do. If you need additional information about the meaning of the cards and to find a bit of clarity, you can refer to the Events List in the rule book for more information.

Blue corners mean that the effect is no longer applicable after the year 1914. Red corners mean that this card can never be cancelled by using the Air Raid Technology. I found that this was the thing that I missed the most in my plays. Green corners mean this card may be cancelled with the Air Raid Technology but only under certain
conditions. Most of the Event Cards do things like allow for additional Offensives that turn at no cost, add a +1 DRM to Offensive rolls, or make Offensives cause more losses (but at a cost as that Offensive will cause you to lose troops as well) and the like. They are not game breaking but do inject some very interesting bonuses into the mix that will cause you to think about your plan for the use of of your Resource Points for that turn.

One final thing that I want to point out about some of the Event Cards. Some of the Events will instruct the player to place out a marker onto the board. On the board, there are several dashed boxes with small white numbers printed in them in specific locations. These are the Event Boxes and act as a reminder of the effects of various Event Cards when they are pulled. When Event Cards happen, some will provide the players with a counter that should be placed in these boxes to remind them of the effects of the historical events. These act as an mnemonic device and are very helpful.

These include the introduction of specific characters from history, special Events that occurred that changed the course of the war or had an effect on countries and their allegiance or that simply allow one of the many minor nations on the board, such as Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, to join either the Entente or the Central Powers. Here is a list of those special Events:

•  #6 – Von Lettow in Africa
• #10 – The Lusitania Torpedoed
• #15 – Major German Defeat (Battle of Jutland)
• #16 – Wilson Intervenes!
• #23 – Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• #24 – Zimmermann Telegram
• #35 – Unified Command
• #36 – Louis Franchet d’Espèrey
• #41 – Pariser Kanonen

I mentioned the characters that are introduced by Event Cards and one of my favorite is the Von Lettow in Africa Event Card. This card refers to Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck who was a German General who commanded the Schutztruppe (colonial forces) in East Africa. Leading a small force of 3,000 Germans and 11,000 African Askari, he fought a brilliant guerrilla campaign against superior Allied forces (up to 300,000 men), never losing a battle and surrendering only after the 1918 armistice. The effects of this Event are that any Offensives by the Central Powers undertaken in Africa will not cost any Resource Points. This card will not appear until 1915 but can be a real boon to the CP player as they can continue hammering on the African Entente trying to get them to Collapse and no longer contribute their Production Value to the Entente war effort.

One of the major events that are covered by the Event Cards include the likes of the sinking of the Lusitania by the German U-Boats. On May 7, 1915, a German U-Boat torpedoed and sank the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania off the Irish coast. The ship sank in just 18–20 minutes, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board, including 128 Americans. The attack spurred international outrage and shifted U.S. public opinion against Germany, contributing to the eventual American entry into the war. The effects of the is card include the placement of the Lafayette Marker above the Merchant Navy Track and indicates the number of additional Resource Points awarded to the Entente for the current turn. This support was basically from the United States of America as their citizens were killed in the tragedy and can be a very tough pill to swallow for the Central Powers as it is a death knell due to additional resources to bring more troops and focus more attention on Technology and the launching of Offensives.

The Event Cards are a key part of the game and really make it different from play to play as events might come out in a different order giving the player new opportunities to exploit or new dilemmas to plan for and deal with.

In Action Point 4, we will go through an example of an Offensive and take a closer look at the combat procedure.

-Grant

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 this Action Point, we will cover the Technology Phase and the Technology Tree and Technological Improvement Boards.

Technology Phase

One of the best parts of La Der de Ders, and typically the best part of any strategic level wargame, is the Technology Phase and the player’s ability to spend their limited resources on various types of technologies to improve their performance on the battlefield and in the economic war. But, keep in mind that there is a risk here as resources are limited and you have to pay to develop these technologies and there is no guarantee of success as it is up to dice roll, albeit a modified one at that. Each of the players has their own Technology Tree board that is used to track their technological progress over the course of the game. There are a total of 6 different Technologies that can be researched including Attack, Defence, Artillery, Aviation, Naval, and Air Raid.

Each of the different technologies are important and the failure to develop them can lead to a quick and ignominious defeat. I also really like the concept of keeping up with your enemy as sometimes you are simply investing not to gain ground but just not to lose it! This is particularly the case with the Attack and Defence Technologies as if one side gets too far ahead that +1 or -1 difference can make a huge impact on attacks and can lead to significant losses which creates a whole new problem and a sink for those scarce resources.

As you look at the Technology Trees you will see that each box on the Tree represents a level of technology. Each level contains important information about its name, the available date when the technology can be researched, the target number needed to unlock it denoted as a number with a + that means equal to or greater than the number and the bonus that is granted when it is discovered. Each time a level of technology is unlocked, the player will move their Technology marker to the box corresponding to that level. Each level of technology provides a specific bonus which only applies to sectors that have implemented that level. Implemented means having paid for the implementation as you actually pay first to discover the technology and then must spend resources to grant its ability to your different nations.

In addition to the Technology Tree Boards, each player has a board with Improvement Tracks that indicate which sectors or nations belong to their side. For each sector, the tracks correspond to Attack, Defence, Artillery, and Aviation technologies. When a level of Technology is unlocked on the Technology Tree, the relevant side can implement it in the sectors of its choice so that these sectors can benefit from the bonuses this level provides. This will require the expenditure of Resource Points and then the Technological Improvement cylinder on the Improvement Track is then moved accordingly.

Keep in mind that it is possible to attempt to unlock a level of technology only if the year shown on that technology’s row has been reached. The dates that each of the Technologies is available is shown on the outer edges of the level of Technology in large black letters. It can be overlooked from time to time so check during each of the Technology Phases to makes sure you can spend resources on the tech you desire. Also, an attempt to unlock the Technology may only be attempted if the previous level of Technology has been unlocked during a previous turn’s Technology Phase. And finally, keep in mind that for each of the various Technology types, only one level can be unlocked per turn.

Now let’s take a look at ways to improve your chances when rolling the dice to unlock the Technologies. The cost for each attempt at unlocking a Technology is 1 Resource Point. But there is a key decision point at this time as before rolling the die to unlock a level of Technology, the player may decide to spend additional Resource Points. Each additional 1 Resource Point spent provides a +1 bonus for this attempt. This can be very important during the game as it can be the difference between getting the Technology needed to push you over the top for the turn or not and this decision is very important. The more Resource Points you spend on Technology, the fewer you will have to move forward with Offensives to weaken your opponent and break them or even the less Reinforcements you will be able to afford to shore up your defenses.

If the attempt is failed, the player receives a Technological Research Cube which they will place in the box of the level they just tried to unlock. On future attempts this white cube will grant a +1 DRM to die roll per cube accumulated through failed rolls. Ultimately, you will unlock these Technology levels, either through blind luck, your persistence or due to the over expenditure and over commitment of Resource Points. But that is what makes this part of the game so good as it is all about choices and the management of risk along with your resources. You cannot do everything that you wish to each turn and you will have to manage these things as best as you can to taste victory.

In my opinion, the 3 most important Technologies are the first 3 listed on the Technology Tree being Attack, Defence and Artillery. This game is mostly about the planning and execution of Offensives to weaken and ultimately break the will of your opponent by causing their nations to reach collapse on their Collapse Track. Attack gives a positive modifier to each of the attack dice rolled. Typically a nation must roll a 4 (Germany), 5 (France, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Middle East, Romania, Bulgaria, Africa both sides and Serbia) or a 6 (Greece) and this +1-+3 for attacks will make a huge. A lot of the times though having a good Attack modifier will be lessened our counteracted due to a good Defence value but this is where keeping up the pace with the enemy is a key decision. The Artillery dice are a special animal. For each level of the Artillery Technology, typically each nation will gain an additional Artillery Die (black) to roll along with their Attack Dice (white). These Artillery Dice are not modified by the Attack Technology but are an additional free chance to score a hit. These dice can also be rerolled through the Aviation Technology which will allow for an Artillery Die reroll per level shown on the Technology Tree.

The Naval Technology and Air Raid Technology represent these 2 important miliary advancements in the struggle for the economic aspect of the war. The Naval Technology will for the Central Powers moves the Naval Control Cube one space to the right on its track. With the exception of Level 1, each level of Technology unlocked by the Entente moves the Naval Control Cube one space to the left. As mentioned in Action Point 1, the Naval Control Table is used to represent the efforts of the German U-Boat attacks on commerce and mimic the associated receipt of foreign support by the Entente from the United States of America. At the outset of each turn, a die is rolled and the table referred to in order to determine a possible number of lost Resource Points. There are 2 rows on the table, 1 being the U-Boat for the Central Powers and the other the effects of the Blockade for the Entente.

The Table located under the Naval Control Table indicates the modifier that will be applied to the Central Powers’ Naval Control die rolls. It takes into account the Naval Technology levels of the Central Powers and that of the Entente. At the start of the game, only the Central Powers can carry out a Naval Control die roll. You may notice the small gray box with a lock linked to the Naval Control Table that indicates that the Entente cannot carry out a Naval Control die roll yet. Only once it has unlocked Naval Technology Level 1, can the Entente perform Naval Control die rolls.

And finally, the Air Raid Technology allows the Central Powers player (and them alone) to influence the course of Events, depending on the difference with the Entente’s level of Air Raid Technology. This advantage will allow the CP to cancel an event or more that is beneficial to their enemy or that will harm their efforts.

I feel that the inclusion of the Technology Advancement in La Der de Ders was a stroke of genius and I very much like how the designer Arnauld Della Siega made it have a Press Your Luck aspect to it. This forces some very critical decision points on the players but also keeps the game a game and gives it a really nice feel of hope.

We recently published an interview on the blog with the designer Arnauld Della Siega and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2026/02/09/interview-with-arnauld-della-siega-designer-of-la-der-des-ders-the-war-to-end-war-from-hexasim/

In Action Point 3, we will take a look at the Event Cards and how they inject the historical narrative into the gameplay and also alter the conditions of the game.

-Grant

Crisis: 1914 is a game of international brinkmanship – if you back down too soon, you lose. If you back down too late you lose. But you have hawks and doves in your cabinet and in your government, and out of these conflicting views you must somehow formulate a coherent response to the crisis to win the day and prevent war.

There are 3 interrelated concepts at the heart of Crisis: 1914: Prestige, Tension, and Diplomatic Pressure (DP). Diplomatic Pressure (DP) is how you score Prestige. Tension is how you lose. Every card has a DP value. You apply DP by playing cards. The player with the most Diplomatic Pressure at the end of a turn earns Prestige points. There are other ways of scoring Prestige points too, but this is the most important one. Prestige is how you win. The player with the most Prestige at the end of the game is the winner.

We published an interview on the blog with the designer Maurice Suckling and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/07/12/interview-with-maurice-suckling-designer-of-crisis-1914-from-worthington-publishing-currently-on-kickstarter/

Also, in a lead up to the game’s release, I worked with the Maurice to do the following Event Card Spoiler posts:

Crisis: 1914 Event Card Spoilers with Designer Maurice Suckling – Series Introduction and General Mobilization Cards

Austria-Hungary, Part One

Austria-Hungary, Part Two

Russia, Part One

Russia, Part Two

Germany, Part One

Germany, Part Two

France, Part One

France, Part Two

Britain, Part One

Britain, Part Two

Britain, Part Three

While this game is not necessarily a wargame, but more of a war themed Euro game with a bit of negotiation and tension as you build your tableau of cards, we had a great time with it and really feel that the game is a bit under the radar of folks and should be one of those games that is played at conventions as it seats up to 5 players and is really quite good.

-Grant

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 this series of Action Points, we will first take a look 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, cover the Technology Phase and the Technology Tree and Technological Improvement Boards, take a look at the Event Cards and how they alter the game, go through an example of an Offensive and the combat procedure, review the Victory Conditions and give an overview of the “Athena” solitaire bot and how it works.

Game Board

The Game Board used in La Der des Ders covers the entirety of the European and Eastern portions of World War I and is a simplified geographical representation of the major players involved in the war. You will not find anything more than simple borders of countries and then not all of each country is represented in its entirety such as the Ottoman Empire of the vastness of the Russian steppes. There is also an inset map in the bottom left hand corner that covers the war in Africa. The Game Board is divided up into what are called Sectors representing both the major and minor powers involved in World War I. These Sector representations are illustrative of the main countries that took part in the war and one Sector can actually represent multiple countries. For example, in the case of France, you will notice that England really has no specific direct playable area or a Collapse Track of its own on the Game Board other than the graphical representation of their island nation. The British troops, along with those of Belgium, are abstracted into those of France for simplicities sake and to meet the design goals of the game. To further differentiate these Sectors from each other and to make playing visually simpler, the Sectors are shaded blue if they belong to the Entente and then green if they are part of the Central Powers.

The Collapse Tracks

Let’s take a closer look at the various information that is contained in these Sectors. Above is a picture focused on Germany with France (lower left), Austria-Hungary (on the right) and Russia (upper right) also included. You will first notice a line of small boxes with numbers listed in each box numbered from 3 on the far left descending to 0 and a blank box on the far right. These numbers are referred to as the Operational Value. This Track is referred to as the Collapse Track and represents the morale, fighting spirit, economic stability, martial resources and preparation of each of the countries for war in the game. On the left end of the Collapse Track is the country’s Production Value printed in a yellow circle. The Production Value corresponds to the number of Resource Points (RP) that will be generated by this sector at the start of each turn, if it is at war. If this Production Value number is printed in black, this means that this Sector is at war at the start of the game. If the Production Value is printed in white, the Sector is not at war at the start of the game but will enter the war through the appropriate Event Card being drawn. If a Sector is not at war but is Neutral, for purposes of the game this means that it does not generate any Resource Points.

At the start of the game, a wooden cube is placed in the space to the right of the box containing the red value. As losses are inflicted in this Sector due to Offensives or Event Cards, the cube will be moved to the right on the Collapse Track. When the Sector receives reinforcements, the cube will be moved moved to the left. The cube will never be placed on the space with the red value and the player must read the number in the box to the left of the cube to ascertain the current Operational Value. The numbers indicate the maximum amount of Resource Points that can be allocated to this Sector during an Offensive, which will also determine the size and number of dice that are used for the Offensive. This Operational Value will change throughout the game due to losses in Offensives or due to specific Event Cards. If the cube ever reaches the end of the Collapse Track, and another reduction must be made, the country will surrender and fall to their enemies.

The other important piece of information found on the far right side of the Collapse Track is the Attack Value. The Attack Value is used for Offensives and is how players determine whether they score hits or not with their troops and artillery. This Attack Value is represented by a die face that shows the number needed to hit. If the rolled Attack Dice are equal to or greater than the printed Attack Value a hit will be scored and losses will be taken by the defender by moving the cube down on the Collapse Track. This Attack Value can be modified through the advancement of technologies including on Attack and on Defense. The player will simply add up all applicable modifiers from these Technologies or from Event Cards and then reduce or increase that target Attack Value accordingly.

Offensive Arrows

Shown on the board are the Offensive Arrows that will remind the players about what Offensives they can undertake, meaning what Sectors may be attacked, and what Sectors have already taken their one Offensive against that adjacent Sector per turn. These are identified by red arrows connecting adjacent Sectors and will be covered up by the appropriate Offensive Marker when undertaken. In the below picture, we will take a look at Serbia as an example. You can see that Serbia is surrounded by Central Power countries including Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria (Neutral at the start of the war). They also have a few of their Allied nations adjacent including Romania (Neutral at the start of the war) and Greece (Neutral at the start of the war). From each of the adjacent Sectors there are 2 Offensive Arrows represented meaning that this Sector can both be attacked and can attack the adjacent Sector.

It is important to remember that an individual Sector can only launch one Offensive per turn, and that is always against an enemy sector adjacent to it. During the same turn, a sector may be attacked by several adjacent enemy sectors, but each Offensive is resolved separately.

Trade Tracks

There are two Trade Tracks shown on the Game Board, both of which are located in the top left hand corner of the board, 1 for the Entente (Merchant Navy) and the other for the Central Powers (Kaiserliche Marine). These 2 tracks provide additional Resource Points to both sides at the beginning of a turn when they are collecting income. Naval Control die rolls can modify the number of RP’s received at the beginning of a turn. It is important to remember that the Merchant Navy Marker is moved forward 1 space at the end of each turn, which will result in advancing the Production Marker of the Entente. If the Lafayette Marker is on this track, it is also moved forward 1 space. These markers are never moved to the left. Once the end of the track has been reached, the markers will no longer need to be moved.

Russian Revolution Track

The Russian Revolution Track indicates the advance of the Russian people towards their ultimate Revolution, which historically broke out in March 1917. The Russian Revolution Marker will begin the game in the white
space. This marker may be moved to the right each time Russia obtains reinforcements. It is never moved to the left. When this marker reaches the last space, Revolution breaks out and Russia will no longer produce resources and can no longer receive reinforcements.

Naval Control Table and Track

The Naval Control Table is used to represent the efforts of the German U-Boat attacks on commerce and mimic the associated receipt of foreign support by the Entente from the United States of America. At the outset of each turn, a die is rolled and the table referred to in order to determine a possible number of lost Resource Points. There are 2 rows on the table, 1 being the U-Boat for the Central Powers and the other the effects of the Blockade for the Entente.

The track located under the Naval Control Table indicates the modifier that will be applied to the Central Powers’ Naval Control die rolls. It takes into account the Naval Technology levels of the Central Powers and that of the Entente. At the start of the game, only the Central Powers can carry out a Naval Control die roll. You may notice the small gray box with a lock linked to the Naval Control Table that indicates that the Entente cannot carry out a Naval Control die roll yet. Only once it has unlocked Naval Technology Level 1, can the Entente perform Naval Control die rolls.

There are also several administrative tracks on the Game Board including the Resource Track, used to track the current Resource Points of both the Entente and the Central Powers, the Turn Track and the Victory Point Track. You will also notice lots of dashed boxes with small white numbers printed in them all over the board. These are the Event Boxes and act as a reminder of the effects of various Event Cards when they are pulled. When Event Cards happen, some will provide the players with a counter that should be placed in these boxes to remind them of the effects of the historical events.

One final comment on the Game Board. Marc von Martial is the artist and he has done an excellent job with this game board as it is truly functional and aids play but also is very attractive and has a very clean and pleasing aesthetic. I enjoy the choice of colors, even though these old eyes are starting to have trouble differentiating gray and green when they are both light, that work well together and the tracks and information found on the board are all crisp and clean and easily read. I just like the overall appearance of the game board and wanted to congratulate him on his exemplary graphic design work.

In Action Point 2, we will cover what I would consider one of the better parts of the game in the Technology Phase and the Technology Tree and Technological Improvement Boards.

-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

With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.

#64: Guns of August from Paths of Glory: The First World War, 1914-1918 from GMT Games

Paths of Glory is widely thought to be a masterpiece on WWI and after just a few plays of the game, both in person and online on the fabulous Rally the Troops!, I can definitely see why people feel that way. Even though we are novices, the game is just that good and really tells the story of the fruitless efforts of both the Entente and Central Powers as they bashed their heads against each other over control of Europe. The game is long and you generally are going to have to play this one over a long weekend to get it all in and enjoy it properly but it is just such as great tool to understand the complexities of the struggles of trench warfare, supply and the balance of attacking versus taking a breath and regrouping. I really enjoyed the mix of historical events and the choices that I had to wage the war in a way that I felt was appropriate. But, my message to everyone who plays this game is beware of supply. Even in our few plays, supply has been an issue and we have had to make sure we didn’t make a few fatal mistakes that would get us in trouble. I want it to be clear here. I am not good at this game…at all and the nuances of supply and how to play have just eluded me as I continue to make the same errors game after game. But it is really good and I look forward to each new play with enthusiasm and am excited about the chance to get to learn more about this fascinating war that was so very fruitless.

I am going to use snips of the board from Rally the Troops! in this post so it might look a bit different from my normal posts.

With that being said, generally in every single game the Central Powers will start out by playing their Guns of August card. Guns of August is a crucial, high-stakes opening event for the Central Powers on Turn 1, enabling an immediate, powerful, and historical offensive against France and Belgium.

The Guns of August is a 3/4 OPs card that is placed into the CP player’s hand at the outset and gives them the initiative immediately. First off, the card destroys the fortress at Liège and then gives a massive mobilization effort booster by moving 2 German Army counters from their starting spaces including the German 1st and 2nd Armies and then activating them both to attack along with the German 3rd Army who is located at the start of the game setup in Koblenz.

This gives the CP player 2 choices about how to start the war with this attack. They can focus on the British Expeditionary Force located in Brussels or the French 5th Army located in Sedan. The allows the CP to destroy the Liège fortress, advance armies, and immediately attack or pressure the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and French forces. In my humble opinion, the BEF is the real target here as this unit cannot be replaced or rebuilt and its removal opens up the path for the Germans to take on the fortress at Antwerp.

While the Guns of August card play is an aggressive move, it does somewhat ensure Austria-Hungary can survive potential Russian pressure as the Allied player will have to quickly use their precious resources to fill the gaps created by this opening attack rather than using them to bolster the Russians in the east or to build up the Serbians a bit in the south to prolong the fall of Belgrade. Paths of Glory is a large part about resource management and the constant pressure to continue offensive momentum and rebuild troops through the use of Replacement Points and events to bring on additional troops is a major problem for both sides. You can only attack for so long before you will burn yourself out and will have to spend time to recover and get ready for the next turn’s offensives. Using the Guns of August cards efficiency will free up resources to use elsewhere.

There are alternative openings with the card that can be considered. If not using Guns of August for the event, the CP player can use 1 OP to destroy the Liège fort, allowing them to conserve the card for later or pivot to a more defensive strategy, such as defending the Rhine.

In the end, I would recommend the hammer approach versus any other use of the card as it will really put the pressure squarely on the Allies to do something about what you have just accomplished. In the picture to the right is the normal outcome of these attacks as you can see the BEF is reduced and the French 5th Army has broken and is now replaced by a smaller Corps counter that cannot really do anything offensively and is just there to protect the back side of the Maginot Line from being caught out of supply.

The Guns of August (published in the UK as August 1914) is a 1962 book centered on the first month of World War I written by Barbara W. Tuchman. After introductory chapters, Tuchman describes in great detail the opening events of the conflict. The book’s focus then becomes a military history of the contestants, chiefly the great powers.

The Guns of August provides a narrative of the earliest stages of World War I, from the decisions to go to war up until the start of the Franco-British offensive that stopped the German advance into France. This led to four years of trench warfare. The book discusses military plans, strategies, world events, and international sentiments before and during the war.

The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for publication year 1963, and proved very popular. Tuchman later returned to the subject of the social attitudes and issues that existed before World War I in a collection of eight essays published in 1966 as The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890–1914.

In the next entry in this series, we will take a look at Georgi Zhukov from Churchill: Big 3 Struggle for Peace from GMT Games.

-Grant

I have really enjoyed my plays of several games designed by R. Ben Madison. He has a knack for including elements of the history into the gameplay while placing the historical events into the framework of his chosen system, which is usually the States of Siege Series…but not always. He has designed 24 games to date, with most of those being solitaire games, dealing with all types of history including the American Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, the American Civil War, Ancient Egypt, the pre-Columbian Indian “mound builder” cultures that dominated eastern North America, the Falklands, Napoleonic Wars and many, many more and I frankly have never played one of his that I didn’t like.

A few years ago, I did a video showcasing many of Ben’s games on our YouTube Channel and you can check that out at the following link:

In this entry in the Best 3 Games with…Series, we will take a look at some of favorites games by Ben.

3. Jeff Davis: The Confederacy at War from White Dog Games

I love a really hard and involved solitaire wargame and I found a really good one in Jeff Davis: The Confederacy at War. The player takes on the role of President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, and you have to manage the Confederate government and the Southern war effort during the American Civil War. The choices help determine the fate of armies and the struggle between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. The game uses the States of Siege Series model with a central point being defended from advancing forces on 5 different tracks.

One of the more interesting design choices in this one was the inclusion of slaves held by the South. Their focus in the game is as a resource to advance and assist the war effort through their labor. These human resources are used to take extra actions for the Confederate States of America, as the noose of the Union closes around them, they will be starved for Action Points as their factories and railroads are taken over by the advancing Federal Troops. I truly appreciate this focus in the game to give a glimpse into the political and social issues that contributed to the start of the American Civil War. I think that all too often our wargames sanitize and whitewash history of all of the darker and less desirable aspects but I think that including this element into the game was a wise choice by the designer.

The game also uses a very interesting method of determining your per turn funds as you have to run blockades against the Union to get funds to supply armies, move your troops and invest in actions to build defenses. You can also use the Slave tokens as a sort of currency to take actions but then those tokens are used up and cannot be reused. I have really enjoyed this one although it is a full 3 hour game as you have to get through 40+ chits to survive to the end. Lots of tough choices, lots of interesting side issues, such as dealing with slaves in the southern economy and keeping politicians happy. This is a great solo game!

You can check out our unboxing video to get a good look at the components:

2. Mound Builders from Victory Point Games

Mound Builders from Victory Point Games is a solitaire States of Siege game that to me has a very intriguing theme that hasn’t been gamed very often and really caught my eye. In Mound Builders, you represent the two largest pre-Columbian Indian “mound builder” cultures that dominated eastern North America from before the time of Christ until the coming of the European colonists in the 17th century. Your empire represents the earlier Hopewell culture and the later Mississippian culture that derived from it.

The game plays in two distinct sections or modules. The first module deals with the Hopewell culture, which is the earlier of the two cultures in the game. During this phase of the game, your goal is to simply expand the influence of your empire across the land, trading with various chiefdoms and trying to incorporate their dominions into your own in order to increase your economic power through the accumulation of various types of resources. As time passes, your empire will grow and regress due to various factors including warfare, disease and drought, but more often than not, the real threat to your culture is simply that of the existence of other ways of life and beliefs that will ultimately mix with your own culture.

During the second phase of the game, you will be beset on all sides by competing tribes as well as the nasty Spaniards and will watch as the empire that you worked so hard to build during the Hopewell Era simply disappears from history. Each turn, a card will be drawn that tells you which of the 5 opposing cultures will move into your lands along a siege track. Sometimes only 1 will move but up to 3 can all move at once, and some can be moved more than once each turn. If you do not attack those cultures when they occupy one of your chiefdoms by the end of your turn and chase them off, your resource will be taken from you and you will no longer be able to produce or trade for that type of good, thereby weakening your economy. This States of Siege system is so very cool and has been replicated in may other additions to the series (such as Ottoman Sunset, Dawn of the Zeds and Hapsburg Eclipse but also has spawned, or at least inspired several other designers to create equally cool and interesting simulations (Pavlov’s House and Castle Itter). I have definitely reaped the benefits of this States of Siege Series and love me a good solo game with this cool mechanic.

This is a link to a video unboxing of the game showing off the great components but unfortunately we have never done any other videos on this game:

1. Kaiserkrieg! The Great War 1914-1918 from White Dog Games

Kaiserkrieg! is simply fantastic! A solitaire treatment of The Great War using the States of Siege Series model but with a change to a horizontal rather than vertical layout of spaces where enemy forces can build up and perform an “Over the Top” move if you don’t destroy their troops before then. The player takes the side of the Central Powers and must deal with events that replicate the history of the period and the tumult of various revolutions, threats and opportunities. Well done game by Ben Madison that uses chit pull to activate the enemies and cause events. Lots of chaos. Lots of tough choices. Lots of history. And it always seems to come down to the very end. The only draw back to the game though is that it is long, taking 2-3 hours to play through an entire game. Each chit drawn has lots of information and there are always lots of things to do each turn with your very limited actions.

One of my favorite parts is the use of Blockade Runners to gain your funds for the turn. During the Naval/Air Warfare Phase, the player will place out their available Blockade Runners on various seas zones numbered 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 and 4 in order to attempt to break Allied blockades and deliver goods and funds to Germany to fuel the war effort. Each of these numbered sea zones will provide a haul of Reichsmarks based on the number of the sea zone if they are able to evade the British Cruisers. This is determined by rolling 2d6 and consulting the British Cruisers Table to find out in what sea zones the available British Cruisers will be placed. If there is a Blockade Runner in the determined sea zone, it will be destroyed and placed in the Neutral Ports box where it will wait to be built later at a cost of 2 RM. If the rolled sea zone contains a Blockade Runner and the High Seas Fleet marker, the British Cruiser will be unable to destroy the Blockade Runner and a naval combat will ensue.

In the above picture, the Central Powers defeat the British Cruiser with the High Seas Fleet and the 3 Blockade Runners placed in seas zones 2b, 3 and 4 bring home a cash haul of 9 Reichsmarks that will be used to take actions and push back the amassing Entente forces in the various staging areas to avoid an Over the Top chit from being placed and prevent the built up forces there attacking into Germany. This process of gaining income is very interesting and unique and it really feels correct as you are trying to do your best to avoid and destroy the British Cruisers so that you have your choice of the best producing sea zones without the fear of Entente intervention.

You can check out our unboxing video to get a good look at the components:

Here is a link to my video review:

Well there you have my 3 favorite games from R. Ben Madison. There are so many good titles to choose from making this exercise very difficult but the 3 that I chose were very enjoyable to play. What are your favorite Ben Madison designs?

-Grant