by Billy Riley, 20 April 2023 ~ #UnboxingDay
I saw a video of this – and honestly, the 9 page rule book sold it to me.
I’m not a huge fan of the Eastern Front. Something about bland, empty steppes and freezing cold – along with a wall of units. But I have a slight interest in Barbarossa.
There are 3 main reasons this ended up being delivered
-
- It has an 9 page rule book
- It has 3 scenarios covering each section of the battle – Army Group North, Army Group Central and Army Group South
- The maps – combined – fit onto my table to allow a full campaign scenario – all 3 fronts
Box Art
Very simple – Panzer IV I believe with some supporting infantry in the long grass of the Russian Steppes.
click images to enlarge
Standard back of the box showing the map and counters along with details of the content and a Low Complexity level (makes sense with 8 pages of rules) and High Solitaire Suitability
Errata – A piece of paper showing map errata
Content Slip – A welcoming slip showing the contents and dedication to quality
Dice – A single solitary small, blue die
The Rule Book
It’s standard semi-gloss paper. Fairly small font, mind – but c’mon…it’s 9 pages! In truth, it’s a total 2-14 (so 16 pages all in, including front and rear cover).
Sequence of play starts on page 5 and the rules up to Optional Rules runs to 11. There’s a few decent sized images in there for examples.
Counters
There are 3 sheets of counters – 840 counters. They are only ½” mind – so keep that in mind. I think they’re in what I would regard as standard cardboard stock. Not thick. Not thin.
I’m not sure of the black writing on red counters – especially ½” counters. I feel it may be somewhat challenging. Especially when playing the full campaign.
Player Aid Cards
There are 4 player aid cards and all double sided.
There are 2 double sided ones containing the Terrain Effects Chart and Sequence of Play/CRT on the other side.
The other 2 are also double sided – but they each have turn tracks for the 4 different scenarios
Maps
As mentioned – there’s 3 maps. Army Group North covering Leningrad
Army Group South covering Kiev
And Army Group Centre covering Smolensk
And then the whole area combined – which is around 67” x 34” all told.
And that’s that. 4 games in one really…and it’s nice to have a game with multiple maps that does actually fit onto my table
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With anticipation I wait,
As I open my new games’ crate,
The cardboard will fall,
Revealing it all,
And I’ll marvel at each piece so great.
~
Tanks and soldiers, maps and more,
All laid out on the table before,
I’ll read the rules,
And act like a fool,
As I plan my first winning score.
~
For wargaming’s more than just play,
It’s a hobby, a passion, a way,
To learn about history,
And gain victory,
In a simulated battle’s display.
