Publisher: SPI
Date: 1972
Designer: John Young
Players: 2
Solitaire: medium playability
Playing time: 2.5 hours
Period: WWI
Scale: turn = 1 day; map = 5 miles per hex; unit = Divs; some Bdes.
Box available in earlier cardboard tray and later Z-tray
1 one-sheet rulebook fan-folded into nine half-pages of rules
1 34.5"x22" 3-color map
1 die-cut cardstock sheet with 200 counters (100 blue-gray German; 20 dark brown British; and 80 tan French).

The Marne recreates on a divisional scale the climactic battle of the opening campaign of the First World War. This was the Allied counter-offensive that shattered the right wing of the German Schlieffen Plan, drove the Kaiser’s armies out of range of Paris and decided that the war would not end in 1914. The game covers the critical days of September, 1914 as the French and British armies, retreating towards Paris, rallied and counter-attacked.

This is one of the early SPI games. The rules are a 29”x11” double-sided page that is fan-folded and organized in a logical manner. The rules are very simple being the most basic of wargame rules with only slight modifications. There are two main scenarios and four simplistic alternate scenarios that are really just German reinforcement variations based on minor history changes (no changes to the Allied OOB since it was already the maximum available size). Rules complexity is a 2 (1 = very easy, 10 = very complex).

The map is printed on heavy paper, and is off-white with blue rivers, swamps, and woods, and brown towns (circled VP), forts (asterisks with defense strength in them), and cities (Paris, Reims, and Troyes). There are also setup areas printed on the map for both German and Allied forces, and entry/exit arrows along the map edge for both sides. Alas, the effect can best be described as spartan (or Viking or Chariot or Legion? -ed.)

The counters are the standard Symbol -Strength (combined attack/defense) -Movement, and the numbers are nice and large, so these old eyes can read them very easily. While nothing fancy, they are very functional and easy to use. Game play is quick and easy, but rather limited since there are only two scenarios (one with set starting positions and the other with limited starting locations). The optional scenarios just gradually increase the German strength. Nevertheless, the game is interesting for the first little while as the Germans try to punch through one of the several weak spots in the Allied line while also trying to cover their own numerous thin points. Then strong Allied reinforcements arrive and the Germans go completely over to the defense.

If the Germans don’t take Paris before Sept. 5th (turn 7 of 17 turns), then they never will. And it’s a very difficult thing to accomplish. The key to battle is either overwhelming odds of 6:1(with a 50% chance of a Defender Eliminated result), or surrounding enemy units and preventing their retreat/supply.

While a bit simplistic compared to modern wargames, this is still a little gem, especially since it represents the final pre-trench-warfare campaign of WWI. It does an adequate job of presenting it’s main topic, and shows how difficult the German drive really was as it got closer to Paris. It is also easy to learn, set up, and play, making it an excellent beginner’s wargame, or a good beer & pretzels game for when you only have 2-3 hours to play. “The result ... is a much more fluid game than one usually thinks of in connection with World War I.” Martin Campion in Moves 11.

Boone lists low, high and average prices of 10/40/21.04 at auction and 20/75/ 36.10 for sale.