During this last weekend I was able to play a couple games of Memoire' 44, the new World War II game by Richard Borg produced by Days of Wonder. This was at the Kublacon game convention in the San Francisco Bay area. This game of was one of the hits at the convention and would have sold a lot of copies but due to delays in customs only demo copies were on hand. I believe that I was the only one to be able to buy a copy when they sold me one of the demos.
Overview:
This is a game of small unit combat during World War II around the time of D-Day. This game uses the same basic system as does Hasbro's Battle Cry game. It is easy to learn and most scenarios take about 45 minutes to play. It comes with a two sided board, cardboard terrain hexes, command cards, dice and plastic infantry, tank and artillery miniatures. The components are all of high quality with very nice artwork. Images of the game can be found on Boardgamegeek site at www.boardgamegeek.com/game/10630
Setting up a game involves picking a scenario, laying out the terrain and setting the pieces in their initial starting locations.
Game play is controlled by command cards. Each player has a number of cards in hand from which they can play 1 card a turn. The card played determines how many and which units can be moved and fire. The game continues until a scenario specified number of medals have been won. Medals are won for either completely destroying an enemy unit or taking a scenario specified objective, such as holding a town.
Mapboard:
The map consists of large hexagons, 9 by 13. It is also two sided with a beach on one side for scenarios such as Omaha Beach and the other side is all land. The terrain pieces are made of thick cardboard and each is the size of one hex on the mapboard. Terrain types include towns, forest, hedgerows and rivers. Each type of terrain can slow down movement and give a defensive bonus. Also terrain can block line of sight. Infantry and tanks must have a line of sight to fire on an enemy unit.
The mapboard is divided into three sections; left flank, right flank, and the center. Most command cards specify a section in which they can by used.
Units:
Each unit is represented by plastic miniatures which are larger than most games and well done. There are 3 or 4 infantry figures, 3 or 4 tanks or 2 artillery pieces in a unit. In clear terrain tanks can move 3 hexes, infantry can move 2 and artillery one. As a unit takes hits in combat, 1 miniature is removed for each hit. The unit is destroyed with all of its miniatures are removed and that counts as a victory medal for the other side.
The attack value, the number of dice rolled, varies by unit and distance to the target. Infantry gets 3, 2 or 1 dice for a target 1, 2 or 3 hexes distance. Tanks get 3 dice for targets up to 3 hexes distant. Artillery get 3 dice for targets 1 or 2 hexes distant, 2 dice for targets 3 or 4 hexes distant and 1 die for targets 5 or 6 hexes distant. Defensive terrain will take away 1 or 2 dice depending on the terrain and the type of unit attacking.
Combat:
Combat is quick and easy. Once the distance to the target and terrain effects have been found, the specified number of dice which can range from 1 to 4 are rolled. Each die that comes up with a symbol that matches the target type causes one figure to be removed. Also, any die that comes up with a grenade symbol also causes one figure to be removed. Last if a die comes up with a flag then the target unit must retreat 1 hex for each flag rolled.
Each die has two sides with an infantry symbol, 1 side with a tank symbol, one side with a grenade symbol, and one side with a star symbol. This means that the only way to hit an artillery unit is to roll a grenade symbol. The star symbol is normally a miss, but text on a command card may give it another meaning.
Command Cards:
The command cards are what determines what a player can do. Each turn the player will play a card from their hand. Normally the card will specify which area, left flank, center or right flank, then it effects and how many units in that area may be activated to move and/or fire. There are also a number of special cards that do things like air strikes, fortify a hex with sandbags or bring figures back to a unit.
Depending on the scenario, each side will get a specified number of cards in their hand. This number may be different for each side to favor one player or the other. At the end of each turn the player draws a command card to replenish their hand.
Scenarios:
There are 17 scenarios where all but one is for 2 players. These scenarios range from Pegasus Bridge which is the initial landing of British gliders to capture a bridge before the Allied landing on the beaches, to a scenario set in Operation Market Garden. Each has its own terrain setup, initial unit positions, victory conditions and sometimes special rules.
The last scenario is the Overlord scenario which is a multiplayer version of the Omaha Beach 2 player scenario. This uses two copies of the game and allows 6 or 8 players. The multiplayer rules are available on the official web site for the game at www.Memoire44.com .
In the multiplayer scenario, one player on each side is the overall commander who gets and hands out cards to the field generals. Each field general controls one section of the mapboard, center, left flank or right flank. I played this scenario during Kublacon convention, and it works quite well. It adds an additional consideration of coordinating multiple field commanders. But in some cases a player may not have much to do for a while if their overall commander does not give them any cards for a while. In this case the rules allow for the field commander to take their own initiative.
Pros:
This game is easy to learn and plays quickly. In the three games that I played, there are interesting challenges and a range of strategies that can be used. The cards add a random element that will make replies of the same scenario different giving the game a higher replay value.
I would say that the game be learned and enjoyed by players as young as 12, while still being fun for adults. The components are of good quality and look great. In addition to the component mentioned above there are also plastic pieces for sandbags, hedgehogs and wire. There is a lot of potential for additional scenarios and rules to keep the game interesting for a long time.
There is a scenario, and more are possible, for up to 8 players. Even with 8 players the game still does not take longer than an hour and a half.
While a simple game, it does manage to give the players the feel for the problems faced during this period of WWII. In the beach landings scenarios the Allies have a hard time surviving as they and land and make their way across the beach. Playing this game is a way to present some of the military history of this portion of WWII. Each scenario has some brief notes about the actual situation on which the scenario was based.
The game is fun.
Cons:
This is a simple game and therefore lacks much detail and some realism. This game is not Advanced Squad Leader. The units in this game could be squads, platoons or even companies. There is little in the game to indicate the scale involved. The cards introduce a randomness that some may not like. It is very possible to have a poor run of cards that makes the changes of winning a scenario nearly impossible. Due to the components included the cost of the game is $50. While games are becoming more expensive these days, that is still a lot to pay for a game.
Summary:
I like this game. In fact I ordered a second copy so that I can play the multiplayer scenario. I'm looking forward to expansions to this game, and unofficial rules and scenarios. I'm also considering buying the other game using this rule system, Battle Cry by Hasbro, and pre-ordering the historical game in planning, Commands and Colors by GMT Games.
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© Copyright 2004 by George Phillies.
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