Nuts: Battle of the Bulge Card Game Review by Russ Lockwood

Every time you turn around, there's another card game popping up--most recently "based" on a variety of TV shows. Whether the games are any good or not is hard to tell. The game exists based on marketing concepts, not game concepts, and if the particular TV show hadn't sold licensing rights, the card game itself would never see the light of day. Admittedly, I don't much like card games, especially collectible card games, with one exception: L5R. As for the rest, well, I've tried a few and came away less impressed with game systems as I was with the artwork. Now, I'm going to have to start changing my tune to make way for a second card game: Nuts: Battle of the Bulge. This is a historical card game, and is not a collectible card game--what you buy is all you need. Nuts comes in two boxes, a "North" set and a "South" set ($22.95 each or $39.95 for both). Each 150-card set can be played on its own, or combined for a massive game. The Cards The heart of the game rests upon the cards, each with a combat value representing infantry, tank/anti-tank, and artillery strength as well as a "cohesion value," which we refer to as a damage rating. Each card also contains an entry location, unit patch, and black and white photograph (from the archives of the US Army), and special instructions (if any). Each of the combat values represent the number of six-sided dice you toss. Generally, 5s and 6s are needed for hits. If you put hits equal to or exceeding an enemy unit's cohesion value, the enemy unit is eliminated. If you put some hits on an enemy, but not enough to eliminate it, at the end of the turn, the enemy unit must roll a cohesion check and see if it stays and continues to fight, or fractures and flees (and thus is eliminated). Generally, panzers and armor take 4-5 cohesion hits, artillery 2-3, and infantry can be all over the place, from 2 to 5. The sequence of battle (artillery-armor-infantry) is important since an early and strong artillery barrage followed up by an armor assault could possibly eliminate infantry units before they have a chance to fire. Terrain plays a key role as well, as rivers must be bridged before the Germans can advance, towns can absorb a hit (Bastogne absorbs 3 hits) without damage to the unit dug into the town (or city). Event cards can be played at the most advantageous times--such as air strikes, fog, ammo shortage, the ever popular Skorzeny Teams, Foul Weather, Famous General, and Bypass. Special rules keep the historical character of the Bulge: American artillery is excellent at counterbattery fire, Germans receive a special first-turn attack bonus, supply is a consideration, and when German armor attacks a town or city, if the player rolls a natural "6", it may "blitz attack" and bypass the town or city. How Nuts Plays... The playing field consists of grid with three columns of five rows (when playing one set), or a six by five grid when playing both the North and South decks. The German player wins if he can exit three armor units off the opposite edge of the playing field. The American players wins by stopping this. The rules take up four pages and play proceeded quickly. Although we had the occasional question, we were able to figure out any ambiguities about which card takes preference over another. (We asked designer Dave McElhannon these questions and his answers appear at the end of this review). Play was fast, furious, and time slipped away without our knowing it. Since this was our first game, it takes about 10-15 minutes per turn in the beginning, although some turns took as little as 5 minutes towards the end. The Germans pushed quickly up one flank, being fortunate to have some engineers to erect a bridge and keep the panzers moving. Then, we ran into Bastogne. We could not winkle the infantry unit out of the city, even though we blasted artillery and armor that came to support the dug-in defenders. Meanwhile, on the left flank, the Americans, with General Patton coordinating, led a counterattack that fell just a bit short, and amazingly, General Patton was one of the US casualties! The Germans were able to hold the flank as the Americans pulled units back to help Bastogne. At Bastogne, "blitz attacks" and a Bypass card managed to put Germans behind Bastogne and well on the way to exiting the board. Even "Clear Weather" and two US air strikes failed to halt the Germans--until the US played Fuel Shortage. A German Capture Depot card requires a 1 or 2 on a d6 to work, and sadly, I blew the roll. But I had a general who could negate the fuel shortage. However, the US played Mud, which prevented the Germans from entering any town that they had not owned before mud was in play. And there I sat, hoping for a different weather card to end the mud and allow me to drive off the board in victory. And then came the supply rolls. Since I had a number of US units in between me and German supply, I had to roll. I had four panzer units, and it's a 1-in-6 chance to blow supply rolls. Sure enough, three out of the four panzers blew supply, eliminating the panzers, and at that point, I tossed in the towel. Speaking of dice, you should have a dozen six-sideds handy for play. We had but two and that slowed the game somewhat as we had to keep picking them up and rerolling--far easier and faster to roll a handful once. Sharp, Balanced, and Close Nuts played very close down the stretch. Indeed, I had maneuvered the US out of position, shifted reserves, held the other flank with minimal forces, and pounded down the flank as fast and as far as I could go. Since this is a historical game, the US and German set up is fixed--the random aspects come in with the cards you draw and when you seize the moment to play them. The Germans start with a significant advantage at the start, but as the Americans play for time, the US forces and cards build up and the pendulum swings the other way. Yet, and I must emphasize this, even until the bitter end (until I rolled such horrendous supply), I still believed I had a chance at winning--indeed, a good chance. Oddly enough, it was only the weather that held me back--Clear weather and air strikes can be incredibly potent, though I admit the US player had a bit of bad luck on the rolls. Mud was devastating, and I could not draw a Bad Weather, or Snow, or other mud-clearing card. As for the other cards, it was a good mix to put obstacles in the enemy's way or counter enemy cards. All in all, Nuts offers an excellent design backed by exquisite cards. Play is fast and furious, follows the historical line with enough random action to gives both sides a roughly equal chance of victory, and rivets your attention. During play, several questions came up regarding the effects of card play. I sent an e-mail to designer David McElhannon, and he sent back the following answers... Can units moved (via a failed cohesion check roll) with "Bug Out Fever" be moved again during the US turn? No...that counts as that units move for the turn. If a Fort is abandoned voluntarily, is the fort card destroyed? Yes. Since you attach it to a unit, if that unit is destroyed or moves the fort is lost. If a Famous General provides a +1 bonus to cohesion checks across a division, but units of that division are in multiple areas, will that bonus affect divisional units not stacked with the general? Yes If Clear Weather is already in play and another Clear Weather is drawn, must it be played immediately, or can it be held? No, it is held until such time as the weather changes and is then played. If an American unit is hunkered inside a town, can the German player move through the area? Can it land on top of the area? Yes. Yes. See the rules for encirclement. Note that at least one unit must be in the terrain card for it's effects to occur in the area. Will the American unit block German supply if the Germans are beyond the town? Will it block German supply if the Germans are on the same area as the town? Yes. Yes. Road junctions were critical during this battle. Control of them was to control the road net...and the supply routes. Does the Bypass card mean the German units bypass an area, in effect moving two areas? Can the German player use a Bypass card if the American is defending in depth and has a unit in the second area that the German would normally land on? Can German armor bypass two areas and effectively land in the third area? Can the German player use the Bypass card even if there is a river in the way and the Germans have no bridge? Yes. No. No. Yes (they found a secondary bridge, bridged it themselves, or found a ford). In the South Deck, are there any "red dot" terrain cards? Yes. This was a typo. All terrain on the 1 row should be considered to be red dot. For a German victory, is it exit three panzer units or exit three panzer units AND trace a line of supply back to the German edge. The victory conditions state that just the exit of 3 mech units will do it. Correction The units must be in supply. Nuts: Sample Cards (slow: 106K) Publisher: Decision Games Designer: Dave McElhannon Development: Christopher Cummins Card Design: Dave McElhannon Art Director: Callie Cummins Decision Games (805) 943-6832 or DecisionGI@aol.com Back to Historical Game Review List Back to Master Game Review List Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com