Tag: Wargame

Wargames are strategy games where players are responsible for the management of a military’s operations.

Air, Land, and Sea: Critters at War

| T3d-1978
Air, Land, and Sea: Critters at War

Air, Land, and Sea: Critters at War

In Air, Land & Sea: Critters at War, two players vie for control over each theater of war by playing cards and strategically utilizing their special abilities to win battles. Whoever gains the most victory points over several battles wins the war!

Gameplay is the same in this standalone game as in Air, Land & Sea, but with 100% critters and more vibrant colors.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Hand Management
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.70

Air, Land, and Sea

| T3d-1978
Air, Land, and Sea

Air, Land, and Sea

In Air, Land, & Sea, two players participate in a series of Battles, with the objective to control two of the three Theaters of war after both players have played all of their Battle cards, or convince your opponent to withdraw!

As Supreme Commander of your country’s military forces, you must carefully deploy your forces across three possible theaters of war: Air, Land, and Sea. The order you play your Battle cards is critical, and so is how you play them. All cards can either be played face-up or face-down. Playing a card face-up triggers its Tactical Ability, but the card must be played in its corresponding theater. Face-down cards are wild and can be played to any theater, but only have a strength of 2 and do not grant Tactical Abilities.

At the start of each battle, you will be dealt a hand of six cards. You will not draw additional cards during the Battle, so you must formulate your strategy based on only these cards. Players take turns playing Battle cards one at a time, until all cards have been played, or one player decides to withdraw.

You do not have to continue a Battle to the very end. Sometimes, it may be best to withdraw in order to deny your opponent complete victory! In Air, Land, & Sea, a strategic withdraw may lose you the battle to ultimately win the war! Victory points are awarded at the end of each Battle based on the results, and the first player to 12 victory points wins the war!

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.77

Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

| T3d-1978
Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition) is a game of galactic conquest in which three to six players take on the role of one of seventeen factions vying for galactic domination through military might, political maneuvering, and economic bargaining. Every faction offers a completely different play experience, from the wormhole-hopping Ghosts of Creuss to the Emirates of Hacan, masters of trade and economics. These seventeen races are offered many paths to victory, but only one may sit upon the throne of Mecatol Rex as the new masters of the galaxy.

No two games of Twilight Imperium are ever identical. At the start of each galactic age, the game board is uniquely and strategically constructed using 51 galaxy tiles that feature everything from lush new planets and supernovas to asteroid fields and gravity rifts. Players are dealt a hand of these tiles and take turns creating the galaxy around Mecatol Rex, the capital planet seated in the center of the board. An ion storm may block your race from progressing through the galaxy while a fortuitously placed gravity rift may protect you from your closest foes. The galaxy is yours to both craft and dominate.

A round of Twilight Imperium begins with players selecting one of eight strategy cards that both determine player order and give their owner a unique strategic action for that round. These may do anything from providing additional command tokens to allowing a player to control trade throughout the galaxy. After these roles are selected, players take turns moving their fleets from system to system, claiming new planets for their empire, and engaging in warfare and trade with other factions. At the end of a turn, players gather in a grand council to pass new laws and agendas, shaking up the game in unpredictable ways.

After every player has passed their turn, players move up the victory track by checking to see whether they have completed any objectives throughout the turn and scoring them. Objectives are determined by setting up ten public objective cards at the start of each game, then gradually revealing them with every round. Every player also chooses between two random secret objectives at the start of the game, providing victory points achievable only by the holder of that objective. These objectives can be anything from researching new technologies to taking your neighbor’s home system. At the end of every turn, a player can claim one public objective and one secret objective. As play continues, more of these objectives are revealed and more secret objectives are dealt out, giving players dynamically changing goals throughout the game. Play continues until a player reaches ten victory points.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Drafting
  • Civilization
  • Dice Rolling
  • Economic
  • Grid Movement
  • Negotiation
  • Racing
  • Trading
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 6 Players
  • 240 – 480 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 4.27

War of the Ring

| T3d-1978
War of the Ring

War of the Ring

In War of the Ring, one player takes control of the Free Peoples (FP), the other player controls Shadow Armies (SA). Initially, the Free People Nations are reluctant to take arms against Sauron, so they must be attacked by Sauron or persuaded by Gandalf or other Companions, before they start to fight properly: this is represented by the Political Track, which shows if a Nation is ready to fight in the War of the Ring or not.

The game can be won by a military victory, if Sauron conquers a certain number of Free People cities and strongholds or vice versa. But the true hope of the Free Peoples lies with the quest of the Ringbearer: while the armies clash across Middle Earth, the Fellowship of the Ring is trying to get secretly to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Sauron is not aware of the real intention of his enemies but is looking across Middle Earth for the precious Ring, so that the Fellowship is going to face numerous dangers, represented by the rules of The Hunt for the Ring. But the Companions can spur the Free Peoples to the fight against Sauron, so the Free People player must balance the need to protect the Ringbearer from harm, against the attempt to raise a proper defense against the armies of the Shadow, so that they do not overrun Middle Earth before the Ringbearer completes his quest.

Each game turn revolves around the roll of Action Dice: each die corresponds to an action that a player can do during a turn. Depending on the face rolled on each die, different actions are possible (moving armies, characters, recruiting troops, advancing a Political Track).

Action Dice can also be used to draw or play Event Cards. Event Cards are played to represent specific events from the story (or events that could possibly have happened) that cannot be portrayed through normal game-play. Each Event Card can also create an unexpected turn in the game, allowing special actions or altering the course of a battle.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Drafting
  • Action Points
  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Campaign
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Team Based
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 150 – 180 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 4.19

Twilight Struggle

| T3d-1978
Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle

“Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are – but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle…”
– John F. Kennedy

In 1945, unlikely allies toppled Hitler’s war machine, while humanity’s most devastating weapons forced the Japanese Empire to its knees in a storm of fire. Where once there stood many great powers, there then stood only two. The world had scant months to sigh its collective relief before a new conflict threatened. Unlike the titanic struggles of the preceding decades, this conflict would be waged not primarily by soldiers and tanks, but by spies and politicians, scientists and intellectuals, artists and traitors. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States. The entire world is the stage on which these two titans fight to make the world safe for their own ideologies and ways of life. The game begins amidst the ruins of Europe as the two new “superpowers” scramble over the wreckage of the Second World War, and ends in 1989, when only the United States remained standing.

Twilight Struggle inherits its fundamental systems from the card-driven classics We the People and Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage. It is a quick-playing, low-complexity game in that tradition. The game map is a world map of the period, whereon players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower. As with GMT’s other card-driven games, decision-making is a challenge; how to best use one’s cards and units given consistently limited resources?

Twilight Struggle’s Event cards add detail and flavor to the game. They cover a vast array of historical happenings, from the Arab-Israeli conflicts of 1948 and 1967, to Vietnam and the U.S. peace movement, to the Cuban Missile Crisis and other such incidents that brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation. Subsystems capture the prestige-laden Space Race as well as nuclear tensions, with the possibility of game-ending nuclear war.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Campaign
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Tug of War
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 120 – 180 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.60

Star Wars: Rebellion

| T3d-1978
Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion is a board game of epic conflict between the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance for two to four players.

Experience the Galactic Civil War like never before. In Rebellion, you control the entire Galactic Empire or the fledgling Rebel Alliance. You must command starships, account for troop movements, and rally systems to your cause. Given the differences between the Empire and Rebel Alliance, each side has different win conditions, and you’ll need to adjust your play style depending on who you represent:

  • As the Imperial player, you can command legions of Stormtroopers, swarms of TIEs, Star Destroyers, and even the Death Star. You rule the galaxy by fear, relying on the power of your massive military to enforce your will. To win the game, you need to snuff out the budding Rebel Alliance by finding its base and obliterating it. Along the way, you can subjugate worlds or even destroy them.
  • As the Rebel player, you can command dozens of troopers, T-47 airspeeders, Corellian corvettes, and fighter squadrons. However, these forces are no match for the Imperial military. In terms of raw strength, you’ll find yourself clearly overmatched from the very outset, so you’ll need to rally the planets to join your cause and execute targeted military strikes to sabotage Imperial build yards and steal valuable intelligence. To win the Galactic Civil War, you’ll need to sway the galaxy’s citizens to your cause. If you survive long enough and strengthen your reputation, you inspire the galaxy to a full-scale revolt, and you win.

Featuring more than 150 plastic miniatures and two game boards that account for thirty-two of the Star Wars galaxy’s most notable systems, Rebellion features a scope that is as large and sweeping as any Star Wars game before it.

Yet for all its grandiosity, Rebellion remains intensely personal, cinematic, and heroic. As much as your success depends upon the strength of your starships, vehicles, and troops, it depends upon the individual efforts of such notable characters as Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Emperor Palpatine. As civil war spreads throughout the galaxy, these leaders are invaluable to your efforts, and the secret missions they attempt will evoke many of the most inspiring moments from the classic trilogy. You might send Luke Skywalker to receive Jedi training on Dagobah or have Darth Vader spring a trap that freezes Han Solo in carbonite!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Hidden Movement
  • Take That
  • Team Based
  • Wargame
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 180 – 240 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.73

Root

| T3d-1978
Root

Root

Root is a game of adventure and war in which 2 to 4 (1 to 6 with the ‘Riverfolk’ expansion) players battle for control of a vast wilderness.

The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the region, the proud, squabbling Eyrie have found a new commander who they hope will lead their faction to resume their ancient birthright. The stage is set for a contest that will decide the fate of the great woodland. It is up to the players to decide which group will ultimately take root.

Root represents the next step in our development of asymmetric design. Like Vast: The Crystal Caverns, each player in Root has unique capabilities and a different victory condition. Now, with the aid of gorgeous, multi-use cards, a truly asymmetric design has never been more accessible.

The Cats play a game of engine building and logistics while attempting to police the vast wilderness. By collecting Wood, they are able to produce workshops, lumber mills, and barracks. They win by building new buildings and crafts.

The Eyrie musters their hawks to take back the Woods. They must capture as much territory as possible and build roosts before they collapse back into squabbling.

The Alliance hides in the shadows, recruiting forces and hatching conspiracies. They begin slowly and build towards a dramatic late-game presence–but only if they can manage to keep the other players in check.

Meanwhile, the Vagabond plays all sides of the conflict for their own gain, while hiding a mysterious quest. Explore the board, fight other factions, and work towards achieving your hidden goal.

In Root, players drive the narrative, and the differences between each role create an unparalleled level of interaction and replayability. Leder Games invites you and your family to explore the fantastic world of Root!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Racing
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.74

Polis

| T3d-1978
Polis

Polis

Polis is a two-player civ-lite game set in the beginning of the conflict between the two major poleis of the 5th century B.C: Athens and the Delian League against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. The winner will be the Empire with more population and prestige at the end of the game.

Both players must secure their supplies and the routes to five markets to trade with them. Every turn you get goods from a territory where you have population supporting your Empire, but you should feed them.

You can fight to control the territories and siege other polis or you might use your diplomacy to convince a polis to join your league. But polis are proud of their independence so you will have to create some projects to gain prestige needed for your military manoeuvres.

This new edition of Polis has updated revised rules and new art that will enhance your game experience.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Dice Rolling
  • Economic
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.86

Operation Mercury

| T3d-1978
Operation Mercury

Operation Mercury

Early in the morning on 20 May 1941, as 30,000 Commonwealth soldiers on Crete were finishing breakfast, hundreds of German transport aircraft—some towing gliders—rumbled over the Mediterranean island. The air above was suddenly filled with parachutes as thousands of elite German paratroops—Fallschirmjäger—descended from the sky.

The invasion of Crete was one of the most dramatic battles of the Second World War. Over a nine-day period in May 1941, a mixed force of Commonwealth and Greek troops desperately tried to fight off the German assault. Despite appalling casualties, the paratroopers and glider-borne troops managed to secure a foothold and the critical Maleme Airfield to open the door for the German Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) to land under fire. Together the Fallschirmjäger and Gebirgsjäger pushed the Commonwealth troops to their breaking point and forced a deadly battle of delay and pursuit.

This was a true soldier’s battle, with both sides in desperate situations often lacking higher-level control and support. The Germans had to quickly secure a usable airfield or face the annihilation of their entire airborne force. The Commonwealth needed to crush the German landings or—failing that—evacuate the bulk of its forces to continue the fight in North Africa and Syria.

The German invasion of Crete in May 1941 stands as a landmark in the history of airborne warfare. Up until that point, airborne operations were tactical operations to seize key objectives in advance of the ground forces. The German invasion of Crete (codenamed Operation Merkur) was the first strategic airborne operation.

Although casualties would mean Crete was the last hurrah for the German airborne in a major air assault, it set the stage for even larger future Allied airborne operations in the Mediterranean, Western Europe, and Asia.

Operation Mercury maintains the same level of detail and scale as other Grand Tactical Series (GTS) games. Players command divisions and maneuver company-sized units to fight one of the most desperate battles of the war. Using the GTS 2.0 rules, Operation Mercury offers two players or teams a wide range of scenarios ranging from a single small map with a few units on each side to the full battle including up to two German divisions and several Commonwealth and Greek brigades. Operation Mercury covers all the major airdrops and fighting across the island from Heraklion in the east, through Rethymnon, and from Maleme to Suda Bay then south to the Askifou Plain, scene of the last major fight during the withdrawal.

As the Commander of Allied forces on Crete, can you deny the Germans a precious airfield and negate their much-needed air-landing reinforcements for a quick victory? Of all operations of war, a withdrawal under heavy enemy pressure is probably the most difficult and perilous. Can you get the bulk of your forces to the southern evacuation ports? As the German, how quickly can you force the collapse of the Commonwealth morale and trigger their withdrawal?

Features include:

  • Shifting Allied morale state based on relative casualties and key events, which can trigger evacuation and end-game victory conditions.
  • Random events, including tank breakdowns, misdirected airstrikes, and partisan attacks.
  • An option for Commonwealth naval support at the risk of losing precious ships to German air attacks.

Thirteen scenarios include:

  • Separate one-map battles for the airdrops at Rethymnon, Heraklion, and the Maleme/Canea sector.
  • A one-map battle for the New Zealand counter-attack to retake Maleme airfield.
  • One-, two-, and three-map battles for the difficult German advance and Commonwealth delay and withdrawal.
  • The full campaign on all five maps or just the main event from Maleme to Askifou Plain on three maps.
  • Hypothetical German precision drops as well as a German free drop scenario.

Game Mechanics:

  • Chit-Pull System
  • Dice Rolling
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • ~300 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.53

Heroes of Normandie: Big Red One Edition

| T3d-1978
Heroes of Normandie: Big Red One Edition

Heroes of Normandie: Big Red One Edition

The time is summer 1944. The Sun shines on Normandy hedgerows. Gentle wind, fields of bright flowers, and in the background, the romantic staccato of machine gun fire in the morning. In these typical French countryside landscapes, thousands of men are about to fight. And die. Bravely like heroes, or cowardly like wussies. But only heroes really matter. Those you see in Hollywood Golden Age war movies. Here lies the inspiration for Heroes of Normandie; here is what the game has to offer: explosive and fast-paced battles; the pleasure of butchering your enemies through MG42 walls of lead; and the ability to crush Nazi bastards under tons of shells – basically, blood and guts.

A miniatures game without miniatures, Heroes of Normandie is a fast-paced WW2 strategy war game inspired by Hollywood war movies. A tactical scale board-game opposing two players and two armies, with the Germans on one side and the Americans on the other. Players use order tokens to determine initiative and to bluff. While a single six-sided die determines combat, action cards are played to spice things up. Secretly plan your attacks and outwit your opponent. Block the opposing strategy and surprise the enemies. Deploy your units and don’t turn back!

What’s new in the Big Red One edition:

  • 50-Card decks (instead of 70) with new Alternate Bonuses, for even faster gameplay and reduced setup time.
  • New and improved rule book
  • New scenarios
  • New and improved Aircraft system, available in Bloody Omaha
  • All new artwork for the Heroes
  • New Blast Templates
  • New Heroes
  • New Tactical Objectives
  • And last, but not least, Flamethrowers in the core box (instead of in expansions)!

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.50