Armies are marching and the lamps are going out all over Europe. From the trenches of Flanders to the steppes of Russia, two colossal military blocs are about to engage in brutal conflict, from which only one can emerge victorious. It is up to you to take control of one of these great alliances. Plot your moves carefully, for within an hour Europe’s fate will be decided.

An Attrition of Souls is a light, fast-paced wargame at the strategic scale covering the Great War, designed with a high degree of replayability—no two games play alike. This deluxe game with mounted mapboard and large game counters features a unique tile-placement system to simulate the First World War. Each turn, you will randomly draw tiles from a pouch based on your industrial points and use them to the best of your ability. Game strategy is key due to the unforgiving combat system capturing the horrific attrition of this conflict; the dice offer no bloodless victories or reprieve for either side.

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, the Central Powers must strike aggressively at the outset of the war. The Central Powers player will be forced to decide whether to hurl the lion’s share of his forces across the Belgian border, or take an a-historical path eastward to crush the Russian bear. Keeping momentum is key as the war must be fought on enemy soil if you are to have any chance of victory.

Initially outgunned and outclassed by the German army, the Entente player must choose where to hold the line and where to cede territory. The vast hinterlands of the Russian Empire offer you some defense in depth, but Russia, susceptible to attack by the Germans, Austrians, and Turks, has the potential for sudden collapse. New allies will join your cause over the course of the conflict, but if they declare war too early, before they are fully prepared, they may turn into nothing more than additional land for your opponent to devour.

An Attrition of Souls also offers great variability regarding the length of the war. Some games will end with decisive victories in 1915 and other will draw out into brutal stalemates that last until the end of 1918. No two games play alike. Added to this is a plethora of optional rules that bring additional historical depth to the game as well as balancing the game for players of different skill levels.

Components:

• Mounted Mapboard
• Two Counter Sheets
• 20 Event Cards
• Rules booklet
• Entente Player Mat
• Central Powers Player Mat
• Two Player Aid Cards
• Two Pouches
• Ten 6-sided Dice
• Game Box

Product Information:

• Complexity: 4 out of 10 (Low)
• Solitaire Suitability: Medium
• Time Scale: 6 months per turn
• Map Scale: abstract regional map of Europe
• Unit Scale: Army and Army Group (each tile = approx. 250,000 men)
• Players: One or Two, Best with Two
• Playing Time: 90 minutes

Atlantic Sentinels is a solitaire, tactical level game placing you as the Senior Officer of the Escort, shepherding a convoy in the North Atlantic from the attacks of U-boats, both singly and in wolfpacks. You are in command of a convoy escort group, composed typically of 4-10 escort vessels guarding a convoy on its way across the Atlantic.   Your mission is to protect as much Allied shipping as possible while simultaneously destroying as many U-boats as possible during the height of the U-boat threat – 1942 to early 1943.

Atlantic Sentinels provides players with a host of decisions as he is assigned to protect merchant convoys, typically ranging from 40 to 60 ships. The placement of escorts to offer front, rear, and flank protection to the convoy is complicated by the size of the convoy and available assets. Additional decisions must be made on where to place the escorts, which are equipped with Type 271 radars, the key to your defense.

As the game progresses, a player’s Escort Group may receive upgrades in the form of additional radars, HF/DF (High-Frequency Direction Finding) equipment, and possibly additional ships. Air support can be key, but until the CVE “jeep carriers” arrive, the “Black Pit” in the center of the Atlantic remains a high threat area.

Players will find it highly challenging to minimize convoy losses and keep them to an acceptable level.

Players may choose any of 10 historical Escort Groups (five British, four Canadian, one US) armed with historical destroyers and corvettes.

These ships include:

• B/C/D/E Classes DE
• F Class DE
• H Class DE
• V&W Class DE
• Town Class DE (American Lend Lease)
• River Class FF
• Flower Class Corvettes

Gameplay moves quickly, following a set sequence of events that are repeated until the end of the game. Once your initial Escort Group is set up, play proceeds by rolling for a convoy and escorting it across the Atlantic. Enemy forces range from single U-boats (typically a type VII, but possibly a Type IX) to entire wolfpacks. Wolfpacks increase in size (as they did historically) and will be your primary challenge. Encounters are randomly generated, ensuring no two careers will ever be the same. Weather can impact operations, as well as air support and crew upgrades due to experience. A logical but reasonably simple set of instructions bring the U-boats in to attack you from random directions, making your initial defensive array very important.

Of particular note is the game is designed to integrate with “The Hunters” if players wish to combine the games.

Atlantic Sentinels: North Atlantic Convoy Escorts 1942-43 is meant to be a highly playable and interesting solitaire game covering the actions an Escort Group would have to deal with in fighting the U-boat peril during convoy escort.

Product Information:

• Complexity: 4 out of 10
• Solitaire Suitability: 10 out of 10 (solitaire game design)
• Time Scale: Semi-abstract (Convoy escort missions, 2 per month)
• Map Scale: Abstract
• Unit Scale: Individual escorts, U-boats, merchant ships (when targeted)
• Players: One (with option for two)
• Playing Time: 15 to 20 minutes (single mission), 6-8 hours (full career)

Bar-Lev: The 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Deluxe Edition, represents an updated game treatment of the GDW release originally published in 1977, faithfully remastered and updated with this all-new, deluxe edition. Either of the two fronts (the Golan Heights and the Suez Canal) may be gamed separately, or both can be linked to simulate the course of the entire war.

This deluxe edition of the classic Frank Chadwick game goes beyond a mere reprint of the original game; it now features an updated order of battle and revised, expanded rules that fully integrate the air and air defense systems into the rest of the game, featuring a re-engineered sequence of play to provide a much more immersive experience for players. Operational planning is up to the players – you decide who to mobilize and where the hammer blow is to fall. A great solo, 2-, 3- or 4-player game! Some of the enhancements made in this edition include:

• • Redesigned 9/16” counters featuring BONUS option for tank battalions (two sets of counters; one with NATO symbols and one with representative AFV side view)
• • Game map information is updated based on research and includes all-new map artwork
• • Supporting charts convey more information at a glance for ease of play
• • Updated the Order of Battle based on new information and analysis
• • Resolution converted from a d6 to d10 for all game purposes
• • Fully-integrated air and air defense systems; re-engineered sequence of play
• • Updated rules treatment backed by many illustrations, an index, and clarifications and examples of play to reduce potential questions

Barbarians at the Gates, The Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire 337 – 476, is a card-driven game by game designer, Kris van Beurden (whose credits include Europe in Turmoil) for two players set during the final century of the Western Roman Empire. The Roman player commands the Roman legions loyal to the failing central authority and those Germanic peoples who have settled peacefully inside the Roman Empire, while the Barbarian player leads Usurper Emperors, and controls the migrations of the savage Germanic peoples, who are the Barbarians at the Gates.

The game is played on a point-to-point map of the Western Roman Empire, divided into 11 diocese (administrative districts) such as Gallia Belgica, Caledonia or Italia Suburbicaria, each composed of spaces such as Roma, Massilia or Nova Carthago. These spaces are connected to each other through the network of Roman roads, rougher connections (mostly in uncivilized territory) or river connections (mostly the Donau and the Rhine).

Players take turns playing cards in order to activate Generals (Loyalist Roman generals such as Aetius, Usurper-Emperors like Magnentius and Barbarian leaders such as Atilla or Alaric) for movement and/or sieges, bring new Barbarian invasions into play, recruit new Legions, lead barbarian bands raid across the border into the Roman interior, settle formerly hostile tribes on Roman soil, or even successfully usurp the Imperial Throne from its previous occupant! As leaders move, they will encounter enemy armies and battle, earning eternal glory or an unrecognized grave. Barbarian tribes will probe the fortified border for weaknesses, while the outnumbered Legions have to use interior lines (and the excellent Roman road network) to face each threat to the unfortified Italian, Iberian and Gallic diocese.

From the days of Valentinian I and the first Vandal and Frankish migrations through Theodosius I and the Gothic invasions to Attila and the Huns, Barbarians at the Gates will allow players to vie for the future of Western Europe. Will enough of Roman civilization remain to eventually spark a Renaissance, or will Europe remain forever in the Dark Ages?

Will this series of events play-out according to the history?

337 AD: Death of Constantine the Great leaves the bereft Western Roman Empire in the hands of two of his three sons, Constans and Constantine II.
364 AD: Following the extinction of Constantine’s line, Valentinian I ascends to the purple.
410 AD: Rome is sacked for three days by the Visigoths under their leader Alaric.
476 AD: Romulus Augustulus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed by Flavius Odoacer, ending Roman rule in the West.

Find out in Barbarians at the Gates!

Product Information:

• Complexity:  Medium
• Solitaire Suitability: Medium
• Time Scale: +/- 10 years per turn
• Map Scale: point-to-point of Western Roman Empire
• Unit Scale: about 5-10 thousand troops per CU
• Players: Two
• Playing Time: Multiple 2-hour scenarios, full campaign about 5 hours

Components:

• one map (22 x 34) mounted
• one rulebook
• one playbook
• 2 distinct player aid cards
• 110 strategy cards (two separate decks of 55 cards each for the Roman and the Barbarian player)
• 4 sheets of counters – large with rounded corners
• 2 dice
• one box and lid set

On December 16th 1944, Germany launched its last, desperate offensive in the West. The result was The Battle of the Bulge, a brutal struggle in a dismal winter landscape set against an enemy imbued with a fanatic conviction that victory could be snatched from defeat. It was the United States Army's greatest and fiercest battle of World War II. Over a million men and thousands of guns, tanks, and other fighting vehicles were engaged. In those "Bitter Woods," fighting against heavy odds, the American soldier slowed and then stopped the spearhead of two elite Panzer Armies, forever emblazing themselves in the annals of military history.

Compass Games presents the Designer Edition of this Charles S. Roberts and ORIGINS award nominee. New to this edition are updated unit counter graphics, additional scenarios, and an extended campaign game to allow the Allied counterattack to be fully realized. In addition to the 6 and 8 turn tournament games, Patton's famous relief of Bastogne can be recreated via scenario play. Specific rules include: Mechanized Exploitation Movement, Hidden Fuel Dumps, Leader Units, Reserves, Random Events, Bridge Demolition, Kampfgruppe Peiper Breakout, Skorzeny Infiltration, Air Power, and Artillery Support.
Designer Edition Bitter Woods is the premier edition of this highly acclaimed regimental level Battle of the Bulge game and includes all aspects of the original game plus the expansion edition. The potential for mechanized exploitation movement and an appropriate Allied counterattack capability ensure an exciting challenge for both sides. Designer Edition Bitter Woods is highly playable, yet historically accurate, further ensuring a game you will want to revisit for years to come.
 
Product Information
Complexity: Medium (5 out of 10)
Solitaire suitability: 8
Time Scale: 1 turn = 12 hours
Map Scale: 1 hex = approximately 2 miles
Unit Scale: Primarily regiments and brigades
Players: 2
Playing Time: Small Scenarios: 3-4 hours, Full Campaign: 8+ hours

Take command, forge alliances, and shape the destiny of six unique kingdoms as you explore a stunningly detailed world across four hand-drawn boards. Designed and illustrated by acclaimed fantasy artist, Christopher Moeller, Burning Banners brings the rich tapestry of Kalar to life with a breathtaking fusion of immersive artwork and engaging gameplay that grows with your group.

With a staggering 29 scenarios, you can experience the tactical thrill of a single battle in an evening, or dive deep into an epic conflict spanning more than a decade. Will you lead the stalwart Oathborn, the cunning Shashka, the relentless Army of Night, the mighty Eastern Empire, or the fierce warriors of Fjordland? Choose your kingdom wisely, for each holds a pivotal role in the conflicts to come.

Unleash your strategic prowess as you navigate a world brimming with legends and mythical creatures! Customize your army from the start with a diverse array of units at your beck and call, from utility miners who gather gold far from the action and deep beneath the earth, to weapon-specialist warriors and elite fighting forces, and all the way to the mythical wilds of feral rat hordes and towering frost giants.

When the time comes to level up your challenge, prepare to unleash the might of heroes, command monstrous creatures, harness ancient magic, and vie for control over powerful artifacts in the Advanced Game. Whether you join forces as the Invaders or stand as the Resistance, every decision you make will shape the fate of Kheros.

Will you answer the call? The fate of Kalar awaits.

Components:

• 240 1” Hand-Drawn Rounded Counters
• 162 ⅝” Rounded Counters
• 65 Coin Counters
• 4 17”x22” Hand-Drawn Mounted Maps (with HUGE 1 ½” hexes)
• 192 Playing Cards
• 1 Rule Book
• 1 Campaign Book
• 1 Lore Booklet
• 6 Dual-Layered Kingdom Playmats
• 3 Cardstock Player Aids
• 2 Mounted Displays
• 12 Light Six-Sided Dice
• 8 Dark Eight-Sided Dice

COALITION! is a game about the Napoleonic Wars (1805-1815) for two to six players that can be completed in a single evening. The scope of the game is grand-strategy with some operational components (as the execution of maneuvers as Marching to the Sound of the Guns), being the British player launching successive Coalitions to destroy France and his Empire. You will remember and reenact this flamboyant period handling historical Generals, Armies, Fleets and Event Cards. Prepare to fight from Austerlitz to Waterloo in just one evening!

The British Player will launch successive Coalitions of allied countries to destroy the French Empire, and the French player will try to survive and win the game by earning Gloire and Victory Points or by surrendering Great Britain through the Continental Blockade. Also, in the 3-6 players version, every individual player will control a Major Power with his own agenda, trying to win the game also through their own Victory and Gloire Points...

To demonstrate how the entire Napoleonic Wars of ten years can be completed in one evening, here is a sample play narrative of how the Waterloo campaign could play out in ten minutes:

In 1815, after playing the Hundred Days Event card, you have Napoleon and the Armée du Nord in the Low Countries, which is controlled by the UK player, your enemy. The UK Player has also, in two different stacks, Wellington and the Allied Army and Blucher and the Hauptarmee Prussian Army, also in the Low Countries.

After making an attrition check for all the players, the United Kingdom player acts first. In his first sub-round, he moves his Prussian Hauptarmee army under Blucher and attempts to form a stack with Wellington´s Allied Army. The French Player tries to intercept Blucher via a Maneuver action with Napoleon and the Armée du Nord. The French player rolls a dice and gets a 6, thus Napoleon and his army have successfully intercepted Blucher, and then he attacks them. Both armies having strength of 2 points, so the ratio is 1 to 1. The French player adds +2 for Napoleon and the Prussian player adds -1 for Blucher for a net modifier of +1 one for the French. The French player rolls a dice: a 5, and adds the modifier of +1. The net roll is a 6. Blucher Army is defeated and is forced to retreat and losses 1 Strength Point. As a result of his victory over the Prussians, the French player gains 1 Gloire Point. In historical terms, the players have just fought the battle of Ligny. Quatre Bras was such a minor battle that is not represented in the game...

It is now the first French sub-round. Now, the French player decides to launch an Attack against Wellington’s Allied army with Napoleon´s Army. Each side has 2 Strength Points so the ratio is 1 to 1. However, it is now Blucher’s turn to attempt a Maneuver action. Blucher attempts to March to the Sound of the Guns and to join the Battle. He rolls a dice and gets a 5, joining the battle. The players now recalculate the odds. The French have 2 Strength Points and the allied armies total 3 Strength Points. So the ratio is 2 to 3. Napoleon’s tactical rating adds +2 for the French. However, Wellington adds a -2 when defending, thus nether side receives a modifier. Seeing his chances of winning are minimal, the French Player decides to play the Grognards of the Old Imperial Guard Event Card which will add a +1 to his dice roll. The United Kingdom player responds by playing Wellington´s Reverse Slope for a -1 modifier to the French dice roll. Again, the French player is left without any modifiers to his dice. He rolls and gets a 3. Both sides suffer a 1 Strength Point loss, but it is the French player that has to retreat. The players have now re-fought the battle of Waterloo, and according to the Hundred Days Event Card, then France surrenders....

COALITION promises to deliver a playable and engaging game experience to recreate the entirety of the Napoleonic Wars in a single evening.

Product Information

Complexity: 6 out of 10

Solitaire Suitability: 5 out of 10

Time Scale: 1 year per turn

Map Scale: country-to-country grand-strategic level

Unit Scale: Armies (30-50,000 men per Strenght Point) and Fleets (15-25 ships per Strenght Point)

Players: 2 to 6

Playing Time: 4 to 6 hours

Components:

One Map – 22 x 34"  MOUNTED MAP

Two Sheets of 3/4” Counters

Three Decks of 56 Playing Cards in all

Rules Booklet

Multiple Player Aid Cards

Six 6-Sided Dice

One Box and Lid set

Game Credits:

Designer: Javier García de Gabiola

Developer: J. Mark Scarbrough

Combat! is a solitaire game on man to man combat in the 20th century. The player will control friendly forces and attempt to complete a scenario against enemy forces that are controlled by the game system. At the start of each turn the player will play 1 card from their hand to the Initiative track. This card will determine the initiative values for each of the player’s friendly teams and may have other effects depending on the card.  After this the player will assign orders to each character on his side. This will determine the actions that the character can take this turn. Once the friendly characters have orders assigned to them, the player will draw an Enemy AI Card for each Alerted Enemy Character. These cards will determine the Initiative value for each Enemy Team and the Order that they will receive. The Order determines the actions that an Enemy Character will take that turn.

The game turn is then played through in 4 Impulses. From the lowest initiative value to the highest each Character (Friendly and Enemy) will perform the action specified on their Order counter. All Characters will act on Impulse 1 before moving to Impulse 2, then Impulse 3 and finally Impulse 4. At the end of the turn all Orders are removed and the played cards returned to the respective decks.

Each soldier (friendly and enemy) is represented by a 1” counter with 5/8” informational markers showing morale, wounds, orders etc. With individual names (for friendly and enemy characters) each game tells a varied and memorable story.

Combat! 2 is an add-on module for Combat! You must have Combat! to play this expansion.

Combat! 2: From D-Day to V-E Day Campaign Expansion adds many new features such as:

• Elite Enemies in the form of the SS
• A third Squad and command elements for the Americans so Platoon Actions can be gamed with multiple players
• New weapons such as the STG44, the Thompson Sub-machine gun and the Springfield 1903
• Weather variations – Rain, snow, mist as well as Ground conditions like mud or snow
• Rules for fire – now artillery can start fires
• Trained medics – unarmed but efficient
• Vehicles – Pzkpfw IVF2, Sherman M4A3, M3 Half Track and trucks
• Light anti-tank weapons such as the Bazooka and Panzerfaust
• 12 new stand-alone scenarios

Combat! 2 will also include:

• a fully structured campaign game
• follow the fortunes of your squad from D-day to VE-day performing missions and patrols; will your squad be an efficient well-disciplined unit or the new Dirty Dozen?
• Character skills and experience and 7 ‘Campaign’ Scenarios
• Name your soldiers and follow their fortunes across the war
• Gain skills
• Develop enemies within the squad
• Earn medals
• Foxhole buddies who become inseparable during missions.

The Campaign Game consists of 6 ‘Chapters’, ‘Normandy’, ‘Pursuit’, ‘Hurtgen Forest’, ‘The Bulge’, ‘The Siegfried Line’ and ‘Germany’. Not all Chapters will be played depending on events.

So, in one Campaign you may be transferred to the Ardennes and take part in the Battle of the Bulge whilst in another you are sent to the hell of the Hurtgen Forest.

Events include – U.S.O. Entertainment, Illness, arguments within the squad, visits to Paris, Replacements, etc.

You will also play Missions and Patrols during the campaign and each Chapter has its own Mission Tables with 100 different missions and a Patrol Table with 10 different Patrols.

Each Campaign will be unique, and you will get to create your own story each time you play.

Components:

• Six 22” by 34” game maps
• Three counter sheets (5/8″ size playing pieces)
• Four 1-inch counter sheets
• Two Rulebooks
• Two Scenario Books
• Two Pads to track your squad’s exploits
• Nine Displays/Charts
• One Game Box

Product Information:

• Complexity: 6 out of 10
• Solitaire Suitability: 10 out of 10 – Designed specifically for solitaire play
• Time Scale: Abstracted dependent upon actions taken per round but between 30 seconds and 2 minutes
• Map Scale: 10 yards per hex
• Unit Scale: Single man – man-to-man combat
• Players: One – Designed specifically for solitaire play
• Playing Time: Two to six hours dependent upon size of scenario

By design, Commands & Colors Tricorne - The American Revolution is not overly complex. The game is based on the highly successful Commands & Colors game system, where the Command cards drive movement while creating a fog of war and the battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently. Commands & Colors Tricorne - The American Revolution, however, introduces many new game concepts, which will add historical depth and provide even the most veteran Commands & Colors player many new play experiences and challenges.

The scale of the game fluctuates, which allows players to effectively portray some of the larger American Revolution battles, as well as smaller size skirmish actions. In some scenarios, an infantry unit may represent an entire brigade, while in others a unit may only represent a few companies of soldiers. Still the linear tactics of the period, that you will need to execute to gain victory, conform remarkably well to the advantages and limitations inherent to the various American Revolution Armies of the day, and the battlefield terrain features on which they fought. To further emphasize the differences in battlefield doctrine between the British and Continental forces, each army has its own unique deck of Combat cards.

Players, that are familiar with other Commands & Colors games, will soon note that unit combat losses in a Tricorne game are typically not as great as other games covered in the Commands & Colors series. This is a direct result of the linear tactic fighting style of the armies that fought during the American Revolution. Unit morale is the main thematic focus in a Tricorne battle as it was historically. Knowing that an entire unit, that has only taken minimal losses when forced to retreat, may actually break and rout from the battlefield, will definitely keep players on the edge of their command chairs during an entire battle.

The 12 battles, showcased in the scenario section of this booklet, feature a stylized battlefield map that emphasize the important terrain features and highlight the historical deployment of forces in scale with the game system. These scenarios are a smattering of some of the better-known engagements of the American Revolution.

Stopping the possibility of a Soviet advance against NATO required some of the highest skilled troops to defend far forward in West Germany to prevent the vital industry and population from falling into Soviet hands. This was the task of the 11th Cavalry Regiment - the famed Black Horse Regiment - in the area well known as the Fulda Gap.  The Fulda Gap was a break in the defensively favorable terrain that channelled advance directly towards the main American bases in West Germany. It was vital that this be held as long as possible.

This is the first game in the Central Front series of games.  It will feature nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, helicopter support, air support, electronic warfare, and many other aspects of modern warfare. Future games in the series will include the Hof Gap defense, the German Northern Plains defense and the last stand at Berlin.

Components:

• 4 22x34 maps
• 8 countersheets
• 1 rules booklet
• 1 scenario booklet
• 10 player aids
• 2 D10 dice
• Box and lid