The rules, based on the standard Europa rule set, are modified only slightly for the needs of the game. Two general ideas influenced the development of the rules: weather and elegance.

The weather had such a predominate effect on combat operations that it influences almost every rule. The original draft had many special rules to simulate the special nature of the Winter War. Through elegant design and hard development work, many of these special rules were incorporated directly into the charts and basic rules in a seamless way. A mathematical equation is balanced by subtracting equivalent quantities from both sides of the equation. A good game design allows for the same concept to work, eliminating complexity while not reducing realism.

Rule 3A1-Corps-sized Units

Soviet units made from regiments were traditionally called divisions. Units formed from brigades were called corps. Soviet corps and divisions are both the size of standard Europa divisions in A Winter War.

Rule 5-4th Paragraph

Unsupplied units with zones of control (ZOCs) have reduced ZOCs. This helps simulate the dependence on field kitchens a modern army has in the winter-the "sausage war". Unsupplied units are not going to hinder movement of adjacent units. This applies both to Finnish and Soviet units. Although the Finns had modern smokeless stoves to keep warm and the Soviets would use large bonfires to keep warm, winter is nobody's friend. The reduced ZOC simulates the motti tactics on the Europa scale. As an experimental rule, try eliminating the ZOCs of isolated units altogether!

Rule 6-Movement

Most of the winter effects are incorporated in the Terrain Effects Chart (TEC). Ski units may move with almost no penalty. Since the Soviets do not have any real ski units, this helps the Finns. Soviet ski units were formed by the expedient of issuing skis to selected personnel. Few Soviet citizens have much experience skiing, while cross country skiing is a national sport of Finland. The Soviet training manual for ski troops was a cruel joke. One example exhorts the ski trooper to fire his rifle from a standing position. The Finnish ski doctrine, recognizing the laws of physics, encouraged a prone firing position with the weapon supported by crossed skis. Soviet skis were equipped with inferior binders, while the Finns had modern quick release binders for their skis.

Rule 7-Rail

The low rail capacity for the Finns and Soviets is, to some extent, also an effect of winter. Winter puts stress on a rail system. Snow and wind reduce the speed of.trains and add to maintenance problems.

Rail marshalling yards can be handled differently as an experimental rule. Instead of reducing rail capacity by air attacks, allow bombing to slow rail movement. All hex and dot cities are rail marshalling yards and depots. A strategic or tactical bombing hit does not reduce the rail capacity or break the rail line in the hex. Instead, each hit adds 1 MP to the cost of rail through the hex (i.e., adds 1 MP per hit to leave the hex). Rail marshalling yards have no other effects in the game. A tactical bombing attack may be made upon rail marshalling yards in the same manner as a strategic bombing mission. Add a +1 to the die roll when rolling for a tactical bombing hit on this area target. It is less difficult to hit such a large target from the low altitudes at which most tactical bombing takes place.

Rule 8-Stacking

As an experimental rule, allow Headquarters (HQ) units to stack as a non-divisional artillery unit. Divisional HQs are mostly artillery, so it makes sense that they stack as artillery.

Rule 9-Combat

I do not recommend using the house rule of odds rounding by percent in this game at odds of less than 2:1. This practice will work fine if you limit the incremental odds rounding to attacks of 2:1 or greater.

Another experimental rule: Do not destroy forts until the next player turn. This allows counterattacks to retake a fort intact.

Rule 10-Armor Effects Capability (AEC)

The standard AEC rules are not used in this game. The lone Finnish tank unit does not warrant a full set of AEC rules. The Soviets handled their tanks so poorly that armor effects are not needed. The standard rules in Scorched Earth (SE) do not have AEC in snow weather. The AWW optional rules on AEC can be used in SE as an experimental rule.

Rule 13-Overruns.

Ski units may retreat before combat/overruns (RBC/0). This game has more RBC/O than other games. In other games, only partisans and commandos may RBC/O. This accurately simulates the delaying action of small ski-equipped units versus conventional forces.

Rule 14A-Engineers.

A permanent airstrip is an airfield with a capacity of only one air unit and so is easier to build.

Rule 14131-Soviet Artillery Division

The artillery division appears for the first time in Europa in this game. The restriction on combat after movement reflects the extraordinary setup time it takes to get this unit on line. As an experimental rule, restrict artillery divisions from advancing after combat. Artillery divisions that advance after combat do not move in the movement phase and thus would be ready to attack at full strength in their next turn. For historical correctness, the guns should have to move forward in their next movement phase.

Rule 14E-Ski Units.

Partisan units are ski units and move as such! The two Finnish bicycle units may be considered ski units as an optional rule. To experiment with a "Finnish Victorious Arms"~ rule, allow all Finnish unsupported infantry-type units to move as ski units!

Rule 14F-Partisans.

The partisan rules reflect at the Europa scale the various Sissi (Wolf or guts) units that were formed. The Soviet player cannot allow these units to roam in his rear areas or disaster could strike. The NKVD and Parachute units have an antipartisan ZOC. These are the few units in the Red Army that possess small unit initiative. They can respond quickly to the fast pace of partisan operations.

Rule 14G-Political Police

The game allows you to convert regular NKVD Border Guards into Political Police units. This game mechanic reflects the reality that the border guards, police, and antipartisan forces of the NKVD at the detachment level are the same units. The local NKVD commander would form mission-oriented task groups from the local detachments and perhaps augment them with extra manpower, weapons, and transport. Remember no Soviet is going to refuse the NKVD - any requisition. For those of you who like special experimental rules, give NKVD Border Guard units a special capability. NKVD Border Guard units (only) have a regular ZOC that extends along the Soviet border. As long as a Border Guard unit is next to an international border, its ZOC extends to adjacent Soviet border hexes. This condition is true even if regimental units do not have a ZOC in that weather zone. I believe that this reflects the detached nature of the border guards. This gives the Soviet player a game reason to keep some units organized as border guards and not convert them to political police.

Rule 15-Unit Breakdowns

Due to counter limitations, Soviets units can not break down in this game. In a Europa campaign game, they would ha e this capability. The lack of breakdown counters was a counter mix decision and not a design decision. Allowing the Soviet divisions to break down into regiments gives them a little more flexibility, but does not affect the game to a significant degree.

An experimental rule allows for Soviet 4-8 motorized divisions to break down into three 1-8* supported motorized regiments or one 8 motorized HQ and three 1-8 non- motorized rifle regiments. The rationale is that most of the transport remains with the HQ unit. It still has motorized movement. The regiments retain enough transport for a semi- motorized movement rating of 8. They move and attack as non-motorized and are not halved attacking certain terrain, such as forests. The unit may combine later, provided its HQ is present. This covers the situation where a unit converts into its non-motorized form and moves far away across restricted terrain. Its trucks may not then teleport to the location to build up of the division.

This idea is not needed in A Winter War, but is presented for your experimentation in other games. Of course, you must make your own counters or else convince Winston to print them in the magazine.

Air Rules

The air rules are standard Europa fare. One item not well-represented in the rules is the lack of poor weather training of the Soviet air forces. The forces committed had only one regiment trained for poor weather operations. Most of the time, the Soviet air force was on the ground. This is addressed in a small way by the very low chance of repairing an aborted air unit. At this time, the Soviets did not have special airfield and aircraft repair and maintenance units.

After the Winter War, special airfield servicing battalions called BAO (Batal'on Aerodrorno Obsluzhivaniya) were formed with the goal of having one per every two air regiments. To reflect this situation, the Soviet player should roll two dice each player turn. The number rolled is the number of air units that can fly that turn! On the first game-turn one of the dice is mandated to have a value of six.

You can play without any air rules if you like. Just give each side air points equal to 1/2 the total tactical bombing strength available from the order of battle. These points may be stacked with any units not exceeding the printed combat strength of the hex. They are like artillery units for attack and defense purposes with zero stacking value. They may be moved to any location occupied by friendly units during the movement phase. Use status markers to show air support.

More experimental air rules for your enjoyment:

1) Double Soviet tactical bombing strengths when flying the tactical terror-bombing mission, and

2) A tactical bombing attack may be made upon the Tampere factory in the same manner as a strategic bombing mission. Add +1 to the die roll to hit this area target.

Weather Rules

Much of the snow weather has been built into the rules. I felt the best way to represent the Finnish advantage in snow weather is to use the winterization rule from Scorched Earth.

Special Rules

The Fortified Area unit, while not crucial for A Winter War, may be the prototype for fortified areas throughout the Soviet Union. (See the article in TEM #26.)

Some vicious players ask if they can bomb the large hydroelectric plant at Imatra Falls. This dam and its hydroelectric plant supplied Leningrad with much of its electricity in peacetime. Note that the 1941 border is drawn so that the Finns still possess and operate that plant in 1941.

The national rules for Finland are complex for a little beer-and-pretzel game. They are included for completeness and for what-if situations. It is highly unlikely that Helsinki or the government will fall in the standard game, but it could happen under different situations. Woodsmanship is the brain child of John Astell. It is planned at this time that woodsmanship will apply in non-winter conditions and during the Continuation War.

Training forces are not present in the game, but are simulated by the reserve call-up rule. The Finns had three training divisions in the rear areas. If you find the Soviet player going wild with air-dropable units deep in the hinterland of Finland, try out the following experimental rule: Due to the presence of Training and Reserve units in Finland, each city has an intrinsic strength of one against airborne landings. This capacity is lost when the Finnish emergency replacement reserves are called up. For, those of you who want a more complex rule, give the Finns defense points equal to that of the emergency replacements remaining. Secretly mark the hexes they occupy. Those hexes have an intrinsic strength equal to the number of replacement points allocated for that hex.

The Soviet Mobility Limits are the Europa standard mobility limits for the Soviets at this time. The restriction that isolated combat/motorized (c/m) units can not move in the exploitation phase reduces many rules abuses. If you don't have this rule, isolated units may move two hexes a turn, giving the Soviets an off-road mobility they did not possess.

The Finnish National Army (FNA) Unreliability Rule

For some real fun try this: On an unreliability roll of 1 or 2, a catastrophic failure occurs, and the FNA unit is eliminated. When a catastrophic failure occurs, the Finns receive replacement points equal to the combat strength of the eliminated FNA unit.

Western Intervention

Western intervention simulates the hidden agenda of the Western Allies who were more concerned with cutting off Swedish iron ore to Germany than they were in helping democratic Finland. These are the same Allies who helped the Czechs attain "Peace in our Time".

Reinforcements

Note: Although reinforcements and replacements may not be placed in point cities according to the orders of battle, cadres may be built up in any city, including point cities.

Rule 36-Optional Rules

The advanced supply rules make it harder to trace supply lines due to the many forest and wooded rough hexes in Finland. The effects of being out of supply are spread out over a longer period. Of course, under the advanced game mechanics an out of supply isolated unit may be eliminated.

The optional AEC rule is the standard Europa winter weather AEC rule. This rule can only help the Soviets as the Finns do not have much armor.

The optional airborne operation has one standard Europa feature that has always bothered me. The second paragraph of the Ground Operations section states that Parachute units may attack adjacent enemy units. I have always felt that this is the rule that gives airborne units an unfair advantage. They do not have to drop in the thick of an enemy's defense like their real life counterparts. No, they can drop up to sixteen miles away and walk to their objective and attack. No "Market Garden" fiasco with these airborne troops! I would modify the rule:

Parachute units that jump in hexes other than enemy- occupied hexes may attack adjacent enemy units only in conjunction with other adjacent friendly non-airborne units.

Some More Optional Rules:

I. Less Naval Emphasis

The Finns decide not to build the two coast defense monitors and instead spend the money on aircraft and pilots. Do not place the two BC units or receive the 0-1-5 Naval Troops III on Feb 11 1940, but receive the Feb 1 1940 Gladiator and the Mar 1 1940 MS.406 as part of the initial forces. These fighters may be deployed at any airbase.

J. Soviet Dream

The socialist workers arise! The Finnish partisan units are now controlled by the Soviet player and move as part of the Soviet forces. The FNA does not need to roll for unreliability.

Designers Choice Rules

These rules add "chrome" to the game and may keep the game interesting after extensive replays. The Heavy Tank rule is try personal favorite! Much 'blood' was expended to get that rule into the game! The capability of ski units to move in the exploitation phase sets a prototype for all non-motorized units that may have a special movement ability. This exploitation is really a form of delayed movement, as the unit does not move any further than it could potentially have moved without the rule.

The Variable Demolition Costs Chart is included for the mathematical types who believe that demolition should be a function of size. Resolute Western intervention allows players to experiment with a higher probability of Western intervention. Remember, the Allies did eventually intervene after all... at Narvik about the same time the Germans invaded Norway.

In Conclusion, a Little Finnish

(No pun intended.)

Ala: Lower
Etela: South
Jarvi: Lake
Joki: River
Koski: Waterfall
Laakso: Valley
Lahti: Bay
Maki: Hill
Niemi: Cape
Ranta: Beach
Saari: Island
Silta: Bridge
Soumi: Finland
Suo: Marsh
Suu: River mouth
Vaara: Ridge
Vesi: Pond
Vouri: Mountain
Yla: Upper

A Winter War Designer's Notes: Part One

Finland-Soviet War Chronology
Introduction and Map
Rules

Note: Map Aid for Winter War was in Europa # 26. --RL