Aces & Armor: Spitfire – Taking WWII Battles to the Skies of Britain and the Deserts of North Africa

by

PKB Games

Philipp K. Berger, designer of Aces & Armor and founder of PKB Games:

When I developed the original Aces & Armor, my goal was to create the kind of World War II strategy game I always wanted to play myself: a game with detailed miniatures, exciting tactical battles, and plenty of strategic depth, but without requiring players to spend hours studying complicated rules.

The original game was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2024, and the feedback from players has been fantastic. So naturally, I started thinking about where to take the system next.

The result is Aces & Armor: Spitfire – Battle of Britain & North Africa, which is currently live on Kickstarter! The response has been fantastic, with the campaign reaching its funding goal in just 20 minutes!

A close-up of the hand painted miniatures.

Spitfire takes the proven game system to two iconic WWII theaters, introducing the British faction, new units, new maps, and new strategic challenges.

And the best part? It's both a standalone game for 1–2 players and an expansion for the original Aces & Armor, allowing epic battles with up to five players.

A Wargame – But Not a Historical Simulation

Before getting into the details, I'd like to clarify one important aspect of the game, especially for readers who enjoy traditional historical wargames.

These are some more of the hand painted miniatures

Aces & Armor is not intended to be a historically accurate conflict simulation (consim). While the units, equipment, and battlefields are inspired by World War II, the game is designed first and foremost to be an enjoyable strategy board game.

My philosophy has always been to create as much strategic depth as possible with as few rules as necessary. Rather than simulating every historical detail, I focus on the elements that create interesting tactical decisions: positioning, combined-arms warfare, terrain, logistics, and resource management.

This means making deliberate compromises in historical accuracy to achieve faster, more accessible gameplay. A typical battle takes around 60–90 minutes, and players can learn the basics relatively quickly.

I think of Aces & Armor as a board game with a historical war theme that bridges the gap between traditional board games and miniature wargames.

Two New Theaters of War

One of the things that fascinates me about World War II is how different the various theaters of war were. Fighting in the skies over Britain was an entirely different challenge from commanding armored divisions in the North African desert.

I wanted Spitfire to capture these differences without unnecessarily complicating the rules.

Battle of Britain

The first map takes players to southern England, northern France, and the English Channel.

Here, air superiority becomes particularly important. Players command iconic aircraft such as the British Spitfire and Hurricane and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Junkers Ju 88.

The scenarios include defending British airfields against Luftwaffe bombing raids, fighting for control of the skies, and evacuating Allied forces from Dunkirk before German troops close in.

Of course, ground forces remain important too, and the game combines air and land combat using the familiar Aces & Armor mechanics.

North Africa

The second map offers a completely different experience. In the vast deserts of North Africa, mobility and logistics become essential.

A powerful tank division is of little use if it runs out of supplies!

We therefore introduced a new supply mechanic that makes controlling supply lines and cutting off enemy forces an important part of your strategy.

Instead of simply attacking your opponent's strongest positions, you might try to outmaneuver their forces and disrupt their logistics.

I particularly like this scenario because it creates interesting tactical decisions while staying true to the relatively simple rules of the original game.

Meet the British Forces!

One of the biggest additions is the new British faction, featuring six different unit types:

Supermarine Spitfire – The legendary British fighter aircraft.

Hawker Hurricane – Another iconic RAF fighter.

Churchill Tank – A heavily armored tank built to withstand enemy fire.

Daimler Armoured Car – A fast reconnaissance and combat vehicle.

Bofors 40 mm – An anti-aircraft gun to defend against enemy planes.

British Infantry – Essential for capturing and holding strategic

 positions.

The German faction features its own selection of six units, including the Panther tank, the famous 8.8 cm Flak, and the Junkers Ju 88 bomber.

Altogether, the game includes 24 highly detailed miniatures, representing the British and German forces.

Beautiful Hand-Painted Miniatures

One aspect I'm particularly excited about is the visual presentation of the game.

The detailed miniatures were already one of the highlights of the original Aces & Armor, and with Spitfire we're once again offering players the choice between unpainted miniatures and professionally hand-painted miniatures.

With the Deluxe Edition, all 24 miniatures come hand-painted, ready to be placed on the battlefield straight out of the box.

I think painted miniatures make an enormous difference to the atmosphere of a game. Seeing a formation of Spitfires facing off against German fighters above a battlefield filled with tanks and infantry really brings the action to life!

For those who enjoy painting their own miniatures, the standard edition naturally includes unpainted figures.

And for players who want to combine both games, we're also offering hand-painted miniatures for the original Aces & Armor as part of the Kickstarter campaign.

Please take a look at these hand painted miniatures

A Tactical Combat System Where Every Unit Matters

At the heart of Spitfire is the combat system from the original Aces & Armor.

Combat uses 12-sided dice, with the number of dice and probability of hitting depending on several factors, including the type of unit, damage already sustained, combat experience, and support from nearby friendly units.

Tanks, infantry, artillery, and aircraft all have individual strengths and weaknesses. Combined-arms tactics are particularly important, and a well-coordinated group of different units can be much more effective than a single powerful tank.

One of my favorite mechanics is the individual experience system.

Your units gain experience during combat, progressing from rookies to veterans and eventually war heroes. Experienced units become more effective, making them increasingly valuable as the battle progresses.

But here's the interesting part: Damage and experience are tracked directly on the miniatures themselves!

Each miniature has two small transparent holders attached to its base. Colored markers show how much damage a unit has sustained and how experienced it is.

This means you can immediately see the condition of every unit right on the battlefield, without consulting separate unit sheets.

It also creates some memorable moments when a battle-hardened unit survives against overwhelming odds, or when you must decide whether to risk your precious veteran tank in another attack!

Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master

Despite the accessible rules, Aces & Armor offers plenty of strategic decisions.

Players must consider unit positioning, combined-arms tactics, terrain advantages, resource management, and the experience and damage of their forces.

Players also need to capture factories to generate money, which can be spent on purchasing new units or repairing damaged ones.

All of this creates a surprisingly deep strategy game, despite its relatively short playing time.

Spitfire maintains this philosophy while introducing new strategic possibilities through its maps and scenarios.

Expand Your Battles – Or Start Fresh!

If you already own the original Aces & Armor, you can combine both games to introduce the British alongside the American, Soviet, and German factions.

With five different factions, additional units, and new maps, there are plenty of opportunities for larger battles and new tactical combinations.

But you don't need to own the original game to enjoy Spitfire. Everything required to play is included in the standalone box.

And for those who missed the original Aces & Armor, which is currently sold out, we're also bringing it back as part of this Kickstarter campaign!

Join Us on Kickstarter!

We're a small independent board game publisher based in Germany, and our games have always started as projects we wanted to play ourselves.

The response to Spitfire has been incredible so far, and I'm very grateful to everyone who has supported the campaign.

I'm excited to bring Aces & Armor into these two new theaters, and I hope players will enjoy the new tactical possibilities as much as we enjoyed developing them.

Aces & Armor: Spitfire is live on Kickstarter right now!

You can discover the game, see the painted miniatures and maps, and support the campaign here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/trench-club/aces-and-armor-spitfire

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you on the battlefield!

Philipp K. Berger

PKB Games

https://pkb-games.com

You can buy the Base games, Deluxe Bundle, and Premium Upgrades. The one upgrade that you must have is the hand painted miniatures! You can also add a neoprene map which is larger than the original. It also can be ordered with Dice Towers and Metal Intercept Tokens. These other games can be bought with the Kickstarter on sale:

Lord of Loot

Trench Club Base Games

Trench Club Legacy

 These miniatures below can also be added:

 Yes, that is a miniature Anzio Annie! It is sharing the stage with a Zeppelin, Maginot Fort, and Nebelwerfer.

This is a link to my quick look at the original Aces & Armor game:

Aces & Armor by PKB Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

 

Hammerstein Ai

by

Ray Weiss

 I guess, boys and girls, it is time to hold onto your hats or privities (for 60 years I have been saying it wrong). AI is coming to get our wives, children, and farmhouses. The fear or glee that the AI boom has instilled into all of us might possibly be coming to fruition. I have no dogs in the fight. However, I will say that the online AI posts I have seen about historical events, people, and places are always, and I mean always, riddled with errors. Now to be fair, this is not AI's fault. It is simply a tool that disgorges the information that it is given. It is much like the old computer adage GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). I am only talking about AI's use as a writing tool in this instance. We have all seen the horror stories of AI being used by lawyers and making up its own fake cases etc. So, obviously we are still looking at the infancy of the AI age. Will it destroy us all or allow us to live in the lap of luxury? Who knows. Unfortunately, I probably will not be here to see the finished product.

 So, this is about a program that was written by Ray Weiss to take advantage of the new computing age. It could very well be the Holy Grail for people who only want to play solitaire or cannot find opponents to play board wargames. Here is the blurb straight from the horse's mouth:

"**Hammerstein.ai — an AI opponent for wargames**

Hammerstein.ai is a hosted AI opponent and umpire for tabletop wargames, built by Conflict Simulations LLC (designer Ray Weiss). It plays against you: load your VASSAL save file and Hammerstein reads the position, checks move legality against the game's rules — with citations — and plays its side. It's built for solitaire players who want a thinking opponent across the table, and it's currently being put through its paces on Napoleon at Waterloo. Its Match mode, which brings the AI opponent into VASSAL games, is in closed final testing with a circle of volunteer testers. You can try it free in your browser, no card required, and subscriptions are inexpensive — $4.99 a month for Basic, $9.99 for Regular, or $89 once for Lifetime."

Hammerstein AI - website: https://hammerstein.ai/

 Please take a look at what might be an evolutionary step.

 Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 & 1864

The Civil War Heritage Series Volume II

by

GMT Games

 

 The American Civil War was one of the largest wars to happen in the West since the Mongol invasions of the Middle Ages. Its scope, compared to the last few centuries of warfare in Europe, was tremendous. I do not think history readers fully grasp the magnitude of what Lincoln gave himself as a task. It was even more daunting given the United States propensity to shrivel its Armed Forces to almost nothing up until slightly before World War II. You also have to add into the fact that the war itself shrank the available trained manpower, officers, soldiers, and sailors, possibly up to one half. Lincoln needed to enlarge both the Navy and Army by hundreds of times. Most wars in the last few hundreds of years were fought over comparatively small pieces of land. The Northern Armies would have to conquer and keep subdued more than half the eastern part of the U.S. As the old adage goes "Amateurs study tactics and professionals study logistics". Both sides in the conflict would have to arm, clothe, and most of all feed hundreds of thousands of troops and animals. This of course would have to be done with almost no infrastructure in place. The fact that both sides, the South in particular, were able to create and keep their armies in the field speaks much to American ingenuity. 

 

 Almost every book about the Civil War lists its own milestone as the time and place that won and lost the war, be it Pickett's Charge or the fall of Vicksburg. A man who had great insight picked a totally different decisive moment. Porter Alexander who was an officer in the C.S.A."s Army of Northern Virginia wrote that, to him, the South lost the war when it did not crush The Army of the Potomac in the Seven Days Battles. Never again during the war would the forces be so close in manpower and elan. So, this leads from my diatribe to the game at hand. The gamer is given by Mr. Herman and his crew the ability to play out The Seven Days Battles in almost their complete totality. He has also given us the ability to play out most of the 1864 Overland Campaign. So, let us begin with what GMT Games has to say about the game:

"Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 and 1864 is the second volume in the Civil War Heritage series and the follow-up game to the innovative and acclaimed Rebel Fury. Army of the Potomac uses the same core rules as Rebel Fury, so players familiar with Rebel Fury will be able to jump right into the action. Each battle in Army of the Potomac is quick-set-up, quick-playing, and deeply interactive. The density of counters in each scenario is low, allowing you to see and experience the big picture of the battle.

Army of the Potomac covers the battles of Spotsylvania II, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and the entire Seven Days battle (McClellan vs Lee), including the prelude Seven Pines (McClellan vs Johnston) when Johnston's wounding brought Lee into the command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Each battle places you, the player, in the role of the Army Commander (Grant, McClellan, Lee, Johnston). You maneuver your army to find the enemy’s flanks, concentrate your forces for an attack, and determine where to commit your artillery assets.

Units are portrayed at the Infantry/Cavalry division level. The Civil War Heritage series game system features a new Zone of Influence/Zone of Control mechanic that controls unit formation (March/Battle) based on their proximity to your opponent. As your units close with the enemy, your forces naturally break into battle formation, where they then maneuver the last distance to engage. Unlike most hex and counter wargames, this system allows you total freedom to move units in any order multiple times, unleashing the full range of historical tactics in a simple and clean format.

Combat features a differential combat system with few but significant factors that capture the key features of Civil War division level combat. Units are rated for quality, artillery support, supporting units, and terrain. The game features artillery duels with the occasional Exploding Caisson result. The Civil War Heritage series combat system accurately depicts the ability of units to launch multiple waves of attacks on the same position, capturing the back-and-forth nature of many famous combat duels.

Army of the Potomac also includes a set of campaign rules that allow you to conduct operations from Spotsylvania to Cold Harbor featuring logistics and attrition. Also included are two bonus scenarios to allow owners of Rebel Fury to also fight Spotsylvania II and begin the Campaign scenario from Wilderness to Cold Harbor using their original Rebel Fury map.

Four 22" x 34" Game Maps (A,B,C,D)

Three 11" x 34" map sheets (E,F)

One 11" x 17" map sheet (G)

One Small cardstock map (Map C extension)

Two Counter Sheets

One Civil War Heritage Series Rulebook

One Playbook

One 8.5" x 14" cardstock Union 1864 Off-Map Display

Two 8.5 x 11" cardstock Time Record Tracks (1862 and 1864)

Two Player Aid Cards

Two 10-sided dice (one blue and one gray)

One special die (with soldier & explosion icons)

PUBLISHED 2026

DESIGNER Mark Herman

DEVELOPER Jason Carr

MAP & COUNTER ART Charlie Kibler"

 As is my want, I will start discussing the physical properties of the game and we will start with the maps.

 The first thing you will notice after opening the box is something that a grognard would find to be very strange. The contents are made up of mostly maps. Usually in wargames the maps are shrunken in size to be able to fit the area of fighting into its box. Here you are given a plethora of maps and not really much else. The amount of mileage on maps is almost always accompanied by a huge stack of counters to be punched, cut, and clipped (if you are so inclined). The number of counters you are given here are awash in a sea of maps. 

 The maps themselves are definitely a labor of love. They are not works of art solely on their own. However, they are most assuredly works of wargaming art. They are a bit subdued in color. They also belong squarely into the less is more category. Everything the gamer needs is plainly laid out on them. The player does also not have to guess or toss a coin to decide what terrain is in each hex. They are a study in simplicity and usability. Which is, after all, what we wargamers are looking for.

There are a total of five hard cardstock player's aids. Two of them are exactly alike. So, each player has all of the charts and tables needed for the game with the obverse being the Terrain Chart. There is a small foldout that is the Union Off-Map Display. Next up, there is the turn record track for the Sevan Day's Battles and 1862 Campaign the remaining Moves/Attacks track, and on the back is a large printout of the Sequence of Play. The last has the Turn Record Track for the 1864 battles and Campaign along with its own Moves/Attacks Track. 

 The Rulebook is 24 pages long. It is in full color, and the print is in two-column format. The pages are made of paper compared to the magazine type pages you find in most new Rulebooks. Between all of the notes, explanations, and examples of play the rules look to be only about 14 pages long. The Rulebook's shortness does not in any way represent the depth of the game. Then we have the 56-page Playbook. It starts out with five pages of important information that will either make your life easier or is compulsory reading. The last tidbit explains the four changes to the series rules. These are also meant for the first game of the series Rebel Fury. Two may be used and two have to be implemented. Pages 6-39 hold the setups and victory conditions etc. for the different battle and campaign scenarios. The rest of the Playbook is filled with expansive Designer's Notes and other ramblings from Mr. Herman. The piece on the Battle of Chancellorsville and the scenario creation of that battle in Rebel Fury is excellent. The Playbook itself is, as usual, manufactured in the same way as the Rulebook.

 We finish up with the two countersheets. One thing about the countersheets is that they come with the counters separated in blocks for each Battle/Campaign. The counters also are marked in the upper right-hand corner to which they belong. However, this just makes separating and bagging them in the beginning so much easier. Again, you will probably be amazed at the number of counters compared to the map sizes in each battle/Campaign (especially the Campaigns). The 5/8" size of the unit counters make them easy to read and for placement. There are also 1/2" counters for keeping track and detachments among other things. These are naturally a little harder to read then their larger ones. 

 All in all, these represent the wonderful artwork and manufacturing that GMT Games gives its customers. The game components would also give you a very short unboxing, unless you wanted to pore over the marvel of simplicity and style that the maps are.

 The game is sort of a "two mints in one" proposition. The Battles are designed to be elegantly and easily played with simple rules. The Campaigns up the ante by over 50% in their listed complexity. To be fair, upon opening Rebel Fury I was at first a little miffed that the game seemed so easy. I finally wrapped my head around Mr. Herman's less is more style for this series. Instead of drowning the player in minutiae he was trying to encapsulate the actual feeling of commanding an army in the Civil War. It is a magnum opus of a game that uses the KISS style. The ruleset not only works but it has been lauded by grognards and newbies alike. It has also won numerous awards. 

 With so many accolades and praise from people who know their way around a wargame, I am somewhat at a loss for words. I will endeavor to do my best. One of Mr. Herman's greatest gifts to those of us who read military history is in the visual field. The game shows you exactly how much you are adrift in a sea of mileage. It also knocks out of your head all of the "Grant should have gone around Lee's left" ideas that people have. For purely logistical reasons Grant is always going to go to Lee's right. At least, in major moves and not short movements like the North Anna etc, you get to see how both sides are like movie monsters and shuffling toward each other. 

 The simplicity of the rules, especially in the battles, allows the player to really think what has to be done. The game has just enough chrome to immerse you. However, what it does not do is try to drown you in 50 pages of rules to force you into historical play. Does some of the game take off in ahistorical moments? Absolutely not. At least nothing out of the plausibility spectrum. Do you get real Civil War outcomes in the scenarios? Most definitely yes. Its name is not Panzers in Virginia. 

 As you can read in the copious Designer Notes the game was designed to be an accurate depiction of the battles and campaigns it represents. Due to the designer's ability the game also has a simple set of rules. For those of us who are mentally glued to the CRT in games you might have a problem. The Civil War was a brutish affair, as Mr. Herman shows, with most engagements being somewhat similar to the push of the pike. The design is meant to force you into the mindset of a Civil War general. The abundance of field fortifications in the 1864 battles/campaigns put an even more brutal twist to the game. 

 The logistics/supply rules add so much to the already excellent game system. These and the other rules on zone of control and forcing attacks really takes this game from just being a normal Civil War game where you are just trying to beat the CRT to an award winner.

 Thank you, GMT Games, for allowing me to review this game. I also want to thank Mr. Herman for a design that is as historical as it can be given the constraints of board wargaming. The physical situation of both the 1862 and 1864 campaigns are spread out in a wonderful vista for you. I am slightly singular in that I play wargames for their inherent historical information instead of their merits as an actual 'game'. This is also why my reading at the time has such a bearing on what game will appear next on the table. The more that a game goes into the historical range of design is also my meat and potatoes. That is why I am so taken with both Rebel Fury and this game (and the series). The next game in this series by GMT Games appears to be 'Lee Moves North' simulating both the Antietam and Gettysburg battles/campaigns.

 No AI was harmed or even touched during the making of this review.

"It was an Abyssinian maid

And on her dulcimer she played,

Singing of Mount Abora." *

Robert Peterson

GMT Games

Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 & 1864

Rebel Fury: The Civil War Heritage Series Volume I

My Review of Rebel Fury: The Civil War Heritage Series Volume I

* If you need to know who and what your education is severely lacking.

FORGED BY FIRE: A Napoleonic Grand Strategy Game

Forged by Fire is a 2–4 player grand-strategy wargame spanning the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars across 12 rounds. One side commands France and its alliance, while the other leads Britain and the Coalition powers. But these alliances are never set in stone.

Both sides compete for historically inspired victory points, which generate diplomatic power. This power can be used to negotiate armistices, forge alliances, or declare war on other major powers of the era, constantly reshaping the political landscape.

BUILT TO WORK WITH TWO PLAYERS

One of my key goals with Forged by Fire was to capture the massive military scale and unpredictable political landscape of the Napoleonic era without requiring five or six players to make diplomacy work.

Traditional diplomatic wargames often rely on each major power having its own player, creating memorable experiences but requiring a large, committed group.

Forged by Fire takes a different approach. France and Britain anchor their respective alliances, while other nations can shift allegiances throughout the game. This creates a strategic chess match—or sometimes a poker game—where military positioning, political influence, and bluffing all come into play. Unlike traditional alliance-based wargames, the opposing sides aren't fixed, and victory isn't simply a race to capture Paris or London.

1793: EUROPE ON THE EDGE

The game begins in 1793, just before the French victory at the Siege of Toulon. Revolutionary France is surrounded by enemies, plagued by internal rebellions, and facing a Coalition determined to crush it. Napoleon has yet to become Emperor, and much of what defines the Napoleonic Wars is still to come.

From there, players shape their own version of history.

France might dominate continental Europe—or be defeated before it gets the chance. Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and other major powers may remain loyal to the Coalition, leave the war, or even join France. Rather than following a scripted history, the game recreates the military and political pressures of the era and leaves the outcome to the players.

Achieving historical objectives and major military victories, such as capturing enemy capitals or winning significant battles, generates Diplomacy Tokens. These can be saved or spent during the Diplomacy Phase at the beginning of each round to reshape alliances and influence the course of the war.

After 12 rounds, the alliance with the most Victory Points wins. The game features over 30 historically inspired objectives, each rooted in the real strategic ambitions of the era. Achieving an objective for the first time also awards a Diplomacy Token, which can be spent at the beginning of future rounds to influence the allegiances of major powers.

This means no two games are likely to unfold the same way.

Launch the Egyptian Campaign. Fight the Peninsular War. Use French diplomatic influence to bring Austria into your alliance and conquer Prussia. Build a powerful French navy to dominate the Mediterranean. Or align with Russia and challenge Britain in India.

My goal was to let history set the stage while giving players the freedom to write their own story. Rather than following a scripted timeline, Forged by Fire offers a wide range of historically grounded strategic ambitions, with diplomacy and military decisions determining how the era unfolds.

A MUCH BIGGER WAR

Although Europe is naturally the center of the game, the map extends far beyond it. North America, the Caribbean, North Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and India are all part of the strategic picture, along with the sea routes connecting them.

Control major ports to receive additional income and shipbuilding capability. Establish naval blockades and protect important trade routes.

DIPLOMACY IS YOUR SHARPEST WEAPON

There is also a bluffing element to the system. Both sides can accumulate Diplomacy Tokens and may choose at times to save them for something bigger. An opponent sitting on a large reserve of political influence becomes a threat in itself. Where are they planning to use it? Which nation are they targeting? Are those armies massing near a neutral country because an alliance is coming—or because they want you to think one is?

That uncertainty is intentional. You win battles to gain political leverage. Political leverage changes the alliances. Those new alliances create opportunities to pursue entirely different objectives.

ARMIES ARE MORE THAN STACKS OF COUNTERS

I also wanted land combat to involve more decision-making than simply assembling the largest possible stack and rolling dice. Battles are divided between the Center and the Flank, and the composition of an army matters.

Infantry, artillery and cavalry each have different battlefield roles. Concentrating powerful cavalry forces on a flank may allow you to break through against the enemy center—but doing so can leave your own center weaker.

Artillery and infantry provide tremendous power in the center, while cavalry can create opportunities elsewhere on the battlefield.

Players therefore have to decide not only how large an army should be, but what that army should actually look like.

Generals are particularly important because they are the primary drivers of large-scale military operations and logistically supersede the movement values of the units they command.

Generals command the largest concentrations of troops, provide greater operational mobility, and can acquire Advanced Tactics that specialize them for different styles of warfare. Rifling, Corps System, Grand Battery, and Fieldworks are just a few of the options players can equip their Generals with.

Napoleon is naturally the most formidable General, starting with four free Advanced Tactics. But even the strongest commander needs the right army behind him—and the right positioning to make it count.

THE WAR AT SEA

Naval warfare operates on a smaller scale than the armies marching across Europe, but control of the seas can have enormous strategic consequences. Fleets protect overseas territories and trade routes, contest strategically important waters, transport armies and threaten enemy possessions far beyond Europe.

Britain in particular has reasons to think globally. A player focused exclusively on continental warfare may suddenly discover that their opponent has been accumulating Victory Points through overseas possessions, trade routes, ports or naval objectives. Britain’s navy is one of the key linchpins to Coalition success or failure in Forged by Fire.

This creates one of the dynamics I wanted most from the game: there should almost always be more desirable objectives than either alliance can realistically accomplish. Players have to decide where the war matters most.

NATIONAL SPECIAL ABILITIES

Adding historical flavor to this strategic sandbox was equally important. Britain's economic strength and global influence are represented through Special Abilities such as British Subsidies, Far East Trade, and even an Admiral Nelson unit. Most nations possess unique abilities, with France featuring the most, including Levée en Masse, and Napoleon, while the Spanish Revolts, Russian Winter, and many others are featured for other major powers.

Ultimately, Forged by Fire was designed to offer far more than one or two paths to victory. Dominate continental Europe, expand overseas, control the seas, dismantle enemy alliances through diplomacy, capture capitals, protect trade routes, or combine multiple strategies to achieve victory.

After two years of development and numerous playtests with overwhelmingly positive feedback, my goal is to take Forged by Fire beyond the prototype stage and bring it to gaming tables everywhere.

Help make Forged by Fire a reality—and get it onto your game shelf! Follow the Kickstarter pre-launch page using the link below to support the campaign.

Kickstart pre-launch:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fxf/forged-by-fire-a-napoleonic-grand-strategy-game

Forged by Fire promo video: