Conflict Games (No. 104), 1973
Designed by John Hill
Players 2
Playing time not indicated
Game length 28 turns
Scale Strategic Map not indicated
Turn each turn is three days
Unit Regiments

Components
1 8½"x11½"x1" cardboard box
1 6-page 7½"x10½" B&W rulebook
1 7½"x10½" CRT on pink cardstock
2 8"x21" OOB charts (Allied & German)
1 20"x23" 4-color hex-map of the Normandy area of France on plasticized paper
300 5/8" single-sided 1-color die-cut counters

Germans (black on grey)

1 4 Armor Rgt: 2*10-6; 6*8-6; 6*6-6
1 7 Armored Infantry Rgt; 2*8-6; 12*6-6; 3 *4-6
2 4-6 Armored Infantry Bde.
3 Self Propelled Artillery Rgt; 1*7-4; 1 *6-6; 1*4-6
7 7 Infantry Rgt: 42*4-4; 17*3-4; 3*3-3; 5 *2-4; 10*2-2
1 6-6 Reconnaissance Bn.
6 5-4 Parachute Rgt.
30 blanks

Allies (black on tan)

2 4 Armor Bde: 3*8-6; 21*6-6
2 1 Armor Rgt: 2*8-6; 13*6-6; 6*4-6
1 4-4 Armored Infantry Bde
1 4-6 Reconnaissance Bde
4 7 Infantry Bde: 2*5-4; 45*4-4
4 6 4-4 Infantry Rgt
3 5-4 Parachute Bde
6 5-4 Parachute Rgt
1 blank

Conflict says:

Overlord, as you probably know, was the code name for the Normandy invasion ... In reality, it was highly unlikely that the invasion would fail. With the Allies over whelming air and naval superiority there wasn’t much question of them getting on the beach. The real hassle ... was getting off the beach and breaking out into the heart of France ... No less than four breakout attempts were seriously attempted until Operation Cobra finally sprung Patton’s Third Army. And this is what the game is all about.”

Comments

According to Conflict, this game was designed to make as much use as possible of existing wargame mechanics, so anyone familiar with other wargames could pick it up very quickly. Three pages of rules and one page of corrections and clarifications attest to this simplicity.

In Moves 11, Martin Campion was mildly appreciative: “a well-balanced, simple game, good to introduce people to wargaming and moderately historical given the limits of the classic game format.”

Overlord was subsequently redesigned by Frank Chadwick when GDW took over Conflict Games, but met with little enthusiasm. In F&M 13, Phil Kosnett (an SPI designer at the time) said: “there is little here we haven’t seen before. The game takes a long time to play, you won’t learn much, and you’ll strain your eyes ... there are 35,000 copies of Cobra floating out there which do offer a good simulation of Blitzkrieg. Frank, who knows his metier, might have done better designing a new game from bottom up.”

Collector’s Value

Boone lists low, high and average prices of 3/24/8.33 at auction and 8/45/21.11 for sale, for the first edition. Prices for the second edition are slightly higher.

Other Games by John Hill

Squad Leader; Cross of Iron; A Rising Crescendo (AH); the Brotherhood; Verdun; Kasserine Pass; Bar-Lev; the Fall of Tobruk (Conflict); Yalu (GDW); Jerusalem; Hue (Mayfair); Kasserine Pass; Battle for Hue; Jerusalem! (SDC); Battle for Stalingrad (SPI); Eastern Front Tank Leader (West End).