Three nights ago I felt the urge to pull a wargame from the shelves and in doing so I had to blow off the dust which had started to collect. This tells me I have either not been spending enough time wargaming or not giving this particular game enough attention. I personally think it is a likely case of both! The game? Der Weltkrieg Series: The Eastern Front, 1914-1917 by Schroeder Publishing and Wargames (SPW) and distributed by Decision Games.
After knocking the dust off I chose to re-read the rules as it had been years since I read them. Ironically, I have owned most of the series for years, but have never actually played. I am going to set this right! I punched and clipped the counters to the Tannenberg Scenario, set up the game and as soon as I finish the rules, I am doing this!
The rules are rather easy to digest and starting to come back to me. God knows I have read them enough times in the past. As a mechanical system there are several unique nuances that are specific to the system such as turn sequence, passage of time and the logistical movement of supply points. I would be remised if I did not mention the option of counterattacking and how that is mechanically applied to the situation.
Current situation:
Tannenberg is set up
Rules are about 50% read
Tutorial videos are about 25% watched –> Videos are here
I hope to start pushing cardboard this weekend. I’ll post a follow article about how the game progresses once I begin actually playing. If you have played any of the games in this series, I’d love to hear from you.
~ Modoc
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How does the game manage the Russian HUGE size advantage vs the German organizational superiority?
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So far as I remember from my initial read of the rules and current re-reading of the rules, everything is driven by supply points and supply lines. The Russians are forced to be able to pay for attacks and counterattacks with supply points. It’s a resource all nationalities have to manage to achieve maximum effect.
If you visit the SPW website (link in original article) you can find a PDF of the Sterling edition of the core rules. That should give you a good insight into all the main points of the rules.
As I continue to read and watch the tutorials and finally push some cardboard, I will be sure to detail my thoughts on this and various other points.
~ Modoc
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