A system of map areas has been adopted and movement has been streamlined. Combat is handled by the two decks of cards (one German and one Soviet). These cards are the crux of the game system offering even more variety than regular Combat Result Tables. Like in “No Retreat!” they are used to generate events and special game abilities and now also effortlessly resolve all battle outcomes.
Victory conditions are simple and to the point: you have to capture as many of the ten map objectives to force a campaign decision. While destroying the foe’s armies will also help in this endeavor, some event cards will also provide short-term goals to accomplish - gaining players’ special game advantages if met.
Neither side can afford to show mercy to their hated foe in this life-or-death conflict, you are in command in the largest and most grueling campaign the world has ever seen. War is hell, and this is Absolute War!
Four Quick-Playing Scenarios plus a Campaign Game:
- Barbarossa, 1941 : The initial assault on the Soviet Union. Can the Germans take Leningrad and Moscow before “General Winter” freezes the German war machine dead in its tracks?
- Fall Blau & Operation Saturn, 1942 : The Offensive towards the Caucasus Oil Fields, and the Nazis disastrous rendezvous with destiny at Stalingrad . Or…maybe the OKH will decided to strike north again at the Soviet Capital?
- Operation Zitadelle, 1943: Hitler’s last chance at getting a “victory” of sorts in the East after last winter disaster in the south. It’s a do-or-die proposition for the Germans, as the Red Army can finally fight on equal terms. Will Kursk be the tombstone of the Panzers?
- Operation Bagration, 1944: The Soviet summer offensive that finally broke the back of the Wehrmacht, and made the Normandy landings look like a mere scuffle. Will you finally expel the hated foe enemies from their last foothold in Mother Russia?
