Verdun 1916
Steel Inferno
by
Fellowship of Simulations
As Sherman said, "War is hell". Soldiers from ancient times until now have been brought into bloody conflict. However, the intention was always to defeat the enemy and capture and kill or wound the enemy army. The charnel houses of Cannae, Antietam, Borodino, and Sadowa have all shown us the horrors of war. The advent of World War I brought the horrific toll to a crescendo. Then a general came up with a different plan. General Erich Georg von Falkenhayn, Chief of the Oberste Heeresleitung (German General Staff) from September 1914 until August 1916, came up with an idea that was new, and absolutely diabolical in its inception. He wanted to just kill and maim. His idea was to bleed France dry of her manhood. He thought that by attacking the French at Verdun the French Army would be forced to defend it to the last man. His original plan was not really to take Verdun or the forts around it. He just wanted to turn the area into an abattoir for the French soldiers. Luckily for the French the lower echelon German generals did not really understand Falkenhayn's plan. They attempted to take the forts and Verdun itself. In doing so, they they created a huge butcher's bill for the German as well as the French soldiers. The battle went on for almost the entire year of 1916. This is the battle that Fellowship of Simulations has decided to try and recreate.
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| A small piece of the Douaumont Ossuary at Verdun |
This is what comes with the game:
Two Decks of Playing Cards (one, French/blue, one German/dark green) 100 Cards in Total
One Mounted Map Showing the Battle Zone as well as Different Game Tracks
120 Rectangular Wooden Blocks (60 German in Black, 60 French in Blue)
40 Wooden Trench Pawns (20 German in Black, 20 French in Blue)
One Rulebook
One Playbook
Two Player Aids
Game Markers (Control, Supply, Objectives, US Entry, Turn)
10 Six-Sided die
Playing Time 1-4 Hours
3 Scenarios
Game Design: Walter Vejdovsky
Illustrations: Jacques Tardi
Even just looking at the box, I am reminded of an old commercial where Ricardo Montalban would say "Marvelous, simply marvelous". I had never heard of Jacques Tardi before, I am ashamed to admit. Now that I have I cannot seem to look at enough of his creations. The Map is 38 1/2" x 19 1/4". Strange to say, it is the plainest of the artworks in the box. However, that does not mean it is not a very beautiful piece. It just means that the rest of the artwork is so over the top, sorry for the pun. The Map is an area one, not hex. The box artwork is so well done you almost do not want to take the plastic off it. There are two sets of cards, one German, and one French. These are each a small artwork by themselves. The depictions are so wonderfully done you may have a hard time remembering that they sometimes show a large amount of death and destruction. Your units in the game are not counters, but different sized small wooden blocks. The Rulebook is thirty-six pages long. It is in full vibrant color, with some of the cards shown along with some illustrations just for the game. The last pages of the Rulebook have a complete inventory of both sides Cards. The Playbook is twenty-four pages long, and has the rules and the setups for each of the three scenarios. There is also a full replay for the month of April 1916 that is seven pages long. Then there are Players' Notes, and then three pages of Designer Notes. Both the Rulebook and the Playbook are some of the nicest work I have ever seen in a game. Now, we come to the Cards. These have some of the best artwork I have ever seen in Cards used for a game. This is not a knock on game Cards that use historical pictures. However, these game Cards, along with the rest of the artwork, really draw the gamer in. The whole of the design is to immerse the player in the game. At that, it works tremendously well. The components are more than up to snuff.
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| Illustration from the back of the Rulebook |
The Cards have a numerous plus and minus actions for each Player. let us take a look at the German Deck:
There are twenty-three Barrage Cards, that have a numeric value of one-six.
Some of the other cards are:
Air Support
Rumanian Offensive
Offensive in Russia
Jutland
Propaganda
Trenches
Chaos in the Rear
Submarine Warfare, and Total Submarine warfare
Reinforcements to and from the Russian Front
Flamethrowers
Kaiser's Visit, and Kaiser's Order
Offensive stockpile
No Event (Chatting lice in the cubby holes, trying to bury the dead)
The Red Baron
Bad weather
As you can see, the game comes with a lot of chrome. It is not an especially hard game, but it was definitely designed to make the player feel he is commanding in WWI.
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| French and German Barrage Cards |
You can play these three scenarios:
The game is very easy to learn, especially for a grognard. It does not have a rulebook that can be measured on a scale or has enough addendum to make a few compulsory read throughs necessary. Where the game shines is in presentation and actual play. I really have to compliment Fellowship of Simulations on the depth of immersion that they have brought to the game. Being an old hex and counter player I sometime have a tough time getting my mindset in the time frame of a block game. I had no problem at all on that score with Verdun 1916 Steel Inferno. The games I played were all very close and most came right to the wire. This of course will vary depending on the aptitude of your opponents. I also had no problem playing it solitaire. Then again, I think that with a little work every game can be played that way.
The Sequence of Play is:
Start of Turn Phase: Deck Construction
First Month Phase: Draw Card From Your Hand
Month Resolution : Each Month Has Seven Rounds
Second Month Phase: Same as The First
End of Turn Phase: Cleanup Etc.
Thank you Fellowship of Simulations for letting me review this great game. The game play and immersion is some of the best I have ever had the good luck to be able to delve into.
Robert
Fellowship of Simulations:
FELLOWSHIP OF SIMULATIONS – FELLOWSHIP OF SIMULATIONS (fsimgames.com)
Verdun 1916 Steel Inferno:
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