Decision Military Games

With Battle Stations, Battle Stations! players take the rolls of historic admirals to command entire fleets of ships. As a fleet commander you must work within the limitations of your ships and be guided by the strategic necessities of your nation. The streamlined and intuitive game system is player friendly; it allows players to concentrate on tactics rather than minutia. Specifically designed for 1/2400 scale miniatures, players using a larger scale can easily modify ranges; smaller scales need no modification.

To avoid bookkeeping, players utilize markers to track each ship's damage, speed, torpedoes fired, aircraft, and submarine depth levels. Players place markers on the ship stands or the ships themselves to eliminate the necessity of bookkeeping.

China: The Middle Kingdom covers the full scope of Chinese history, from its beginnings as a collection of warring feudal states, to the current cold war between China and Taiwan. In this epic game based on the classic Avalon Hill Britannia system, four players each control several factions simultaneously, with each faction having their own objectives and situations, such as conquering certain provinces. The winner is the player who scores the most points by the end of the game. This breathtaking game unfolds on an illustrated map of China with 456 counters, covering 50 separate countries and peoples, including all of the major dynasties of Chinese history, the arrival of the European powers, both World Wars and the Japanese invasion, right up to the end of the civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists. The game occurs over 24 turns, starting from 403 BC, during the "Warring States" period as China begins to rise from its feudal age. The game has two shorter campaign scenarios covering the first half and second half of the full campaign game.

Battles between armies can be dramatically affected by the presence of mountains, emperors, heroes, new inventions, and even the Great Wall. Rebellions, barbarian invasions, and uprisings may spring up from anywhere, and signal the end of one dynasty and the birth of a new dynasty. Diplomacy is as important as military strength. Each player continually must defend against multiple enemies on multiple fronts.

Drive on Stalingrad, The Road to Ruin is a two-player, low - to - intermediate complexity, strategic-level simulation of Fall Blau (Operation Blue), the German attempt to conquer Stalingrad and the Caucasus area of the southwest Soviet Union in 1942. The German player is on the offensive, attempting to win by seizing key areas on the map. The Soviet player is primarily on the defensive in the first scenario, but he is also given the chance to run a full-blown counter-offensive in the second, "Operation Uranus," scenario.

Game play of the main scenario encompasses the period that began with the Germans' launching of "Operation Blue," their offensive toward Stalingrad and the Caucasus on 28 June 1942. That scenario ends on 15 September, after 11 weekly game turns. The second scenario starts on 19 November 1942, with the launching of the Soviet "Operation Uranus" counter-offensive, and continues for six weekly turns to the end of December, when historically the German attempt to free their encircled 6th Army at Stalingrad ground to a halt.

Each hexagon on the map represents approximately 16 miles (26 kilometers) from side to opposite side. The units of maneuver for both sides are primarily divisions, along with what were actually similarly sized Soviet tank and mechanized "corps." Air power is represented abstractly. Each full game turn represents one week.

Advanced ETO is much more than just another World War II strategy game; Advanced ETO is an accurate simulation of the war in Europe, with historically accurate forces and combat units! All of the game's combat units have been exhaustively researched for technical accuracy (derived from the actual military TO&Es of World War II). The naval and air units have been meticulously recreated as well, reflecting the authentic performance and abilities of these implements of war.

Fire and Movement Issue 147

This game opens up the skies of WWI for a new flying adventure. Fans of the WWII Down in Flames games will quickly learn the new rules and enjoy the new decisions and options offered by the new game. New fans will be up and flying within 15 minutes of reading the rules.

Players customize every mission by selecting the leader and number of wingmen they lead into combat. The WWI aircraft feature a new level of detail with traits that give bonuses and penalties for climbing, diving, turning, and structure. All the famous aircraft are included: Nieuport 17, SPAD XIII, Sopwith Camel, Albatros DIII, Fokker Dr. I, and Fokker DVII. Action cards such as the Chandelle, Stall Turn, and Side Slip re-create the feel of WWI dog-fighting. Game supports two or more players.

Gorlice Tarnow Breakthrough 1915

May 1915: To help the Austro-Hungarians, a new German army is formed under the capable von Mackensen, and placed in the line east of Crackow. He attacks and completely pierces the Russian lines. A Russian retreat ensues that enables the Central Powers forces to recapture most of Galicia. After being pressured by the Kaiser, von Falkenhayn gave into the insistence of Hindenburg and Ludendorff which resulted in a widening of the offensive.

Brusilov Offensive 1916

June 1916: In response to French pleas for help to relieve the pressure at Verdun, the Russian STAVKA authorizes a major offensive. General Brusilov plans attacks all along the front of his Southwest Army Group aiming primarily at Austro-Hungarian positions.

Highway to the Reich is a tactical simulation of the largest airborne operation in history. Over 35,000 men belonging to 1st Allied Airborne Army dropped from the skies of Holland. Their objective: capture and hold a highway. The result: a salient into German territory that lacked only the last objective, and was thus a tragic defeat.

The 2,000-plus counters detail Brereton's Airborne Corps of three divisions, the units of Brian Horrocks's 30th Corps, and Model's scattered and disheveled forces at company level for infantry; battery level for artillery, anti -tank and anti-air; and troop level for tank and armored cars.

The four maps cover the area from the front along the Meuse-Escaut Canal to the land, nearly 200 hexes away, surrounding the Arnhem Highway Bridge. Each map is positioned to cover the operational area of one airborne division. That allows one-division scenarios.

This wargame contains five separate scenarios, and can be linked with East Front (and later West Front) games of the series for duration games.

Components: (1) 22" x 34" mapsheet, 560 die-cut counters, standard and scenario books, player aid cards.

Land Without End: The Barbarossa Campaign, 1941 is a two-player, low-to-intermediate complexity, strategic-level simulation of the German attempt to conquer the Soviet Union in 1941. The German player is on the offensive, attempting to win the game by rapidly seizing key cities. The Soviet player is primarily on the defensive, but the situation also requires he prosecute counterattacks throughout much of the game.

Game play encompasses the period that began with the Germans launching their attack on 22 June 1941, and ends on 7 December of the same year. By that time it had become clear the invaders had shot their bolt without achieving their objectives. The game may end sooner than the historic termination time if the German player is able to advance so quickly he causes the overall political, socio-economic and military collapse of the Soviet Union.

Each hexagon on the map represents approximately 20 miles (32 km) from side to opposite side. The units of maneuver for both sides are primarily divisions, along with Axis-satellite and Soviet corps (and one army) of various types. The effects of the general air superiority enjoyed by the Germans throughout the campaign are built into the movement and combat rules. Each game turn represents one week.

Players familiar with other strategic-level east front designs will note the unique aspects of LWE lie in its rules governing the treatment of supply, the capture of Moscow, and the Stalin line.

Luftwaffe is an update of the classic Avalon Hill game covering the US strategic bombing campaign over Europe in World War II. As the US commander, your mission is to eliminate key German industrial complexes. You select the targets, direct the bombers, and plan a strategy intended to keep the Luftwaffe off-balance. As the German commander, the entire arsenal of German aircraft is at your disposal against the finest in Allied designs. Turns are quarterly, with German reinforcements keyed to that player's production choices. Units are wings and squadrons, and they're rated by type, sub-type, firepower, maneuverability and endurance. There are rules for radar, electronic warfare, variable production strategies, aces, target complexes, critical industries and diversion of forces to support the ground war. Beyond that, the original, classic game system remains essentially sound and hasn't otherwise been changed much. Most of the upgrade was in adding in additional rules, revising the order of battle, and adding more deployment and industrial options.

The Fall of Singapore is a simulation of one of the worst military defeats in British history. From December of 1941 to February of 1942, a Japanese force of three divisions under General Yamashita would force the British off the Malay Peninsula and seize the island fortress of Singapore, causing some 140,000 British, Indian and Australian casualties in the process. The campaign is a case study of a smaller but better-lead force outmaneuvering a much larger but poorly trained and ill-led opponent. The Japanese player will be challenged to match the historical result, while the Commonwealth player will have to use his resources to maintain control of Singapore and some of the airfields on the peninsula.

Nineteen battles from the American War of Independence are included in three volumes. The easy game system recreates battlefield conditions with a move-fight-rally play sequence to simulate the grand tactics of these battles. Additional rules include command control, morale, artillery, light infantry, and dragoons. Each battle is represented by its own units and map along with exclusive rules to recreate the unique battlefield situation. Units are generally regiments, and rated for combat strength, morale, and march capabilities. Famous leaders are also included-Washington, Howe, Greene, and Knyphausen. Battles range from Bunker Hill, through Brooklyn and Trenton, to Saratoga and Monmouth, and on to the South at Cowpens, Guilford, and King's Mountain.

STORM OF STEEL (SoS) is a complete simulation of World War I. Three maps cover Europe from the Pyrenees to the Urals along with the Middle East. Fighting rages from St. Petersburg to Verdun to Baghdad and beyond. The maps can be combined for one grand campaign game, or they can be used separately for theater-level campaigns of the Eastern front, Western front and Middle East fronts. Nearly two dozen scenarios allow players to focus on one year and one front, one year on all fronts, start a campaign game from the beginning of any year, play the Eastern front for the entire war, play an alternative history 1919 scenario, or play a Grand Campaign of the entire war. Turns are quarterly, with all units able to move and fight in at least one impulse per turn. Campaign Cards simulate the designation of objectives and logistical preparations, and provide additional impulses and potential combat bonuses to recreate the intense offensives of the war.

This is an update of the popular game that originally appeared in S&T over a third of a century ago, and was then expanded and released in boxed format early in the 1980s. This is a two-map game, in which the action begins on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and continues through the Allied breakout and subsequent drive to the Seine River. Two one-map scenarios are also included: one covering the landings and fight to secure the beaches from 6 June to 15 July, and a second covering Patton's famed breakout operation. Units of maneuver are mostly regiments and brigades with some battalions and divisions. Randy Heller has provided a variant to add more of the historical order of battle with new counters for flak units and other small German units that were important to the stubborn defense. Joe Youst has spearheaded the development and playtesting of the updated rules.

The Civil War in the Far West: The New Mexico Campaign, 1862 (NMC), is a two-player, low-to-intermediate complexity simulation of the Confederate invasion of the US southwest. It's primarily a strategic-level design, but it also contains operational undertones. The Confederate player is generally on the offensive, but the situation also calls for the Union player to make counterattacks.

Each hexagon on the map represents nine miles (14.6 kilometers) from side to opposite side. The units of maneuver for both sides are represented using a "strength point" system in which each point equals approximately 100 troops. Each artillery unit represents about six guns. Each game turn represents half a month. The game has been designed by Charles Diamond.

The Confederate combat units are illustrated with cavalry icons; those of the Union are shown as infantry. That was a broad compromise adopted due to the historic fact both "armies" engaged here - which, in reality, amounted to roughly a reinforced brigade on each side - are probably best described as combined-arms dragoon-and-foot combinations. Their unit compositions varied, as did their combat tactics, with the day-to-day availability of remounts and other supplies. Since the main sub-component of the Confederate force was known as Sibley's Cavalry Brigade, while the Union roster was primarily made up of infantry companies, we went with the icon presentation you see on the counters.

Artillery, supply wagons and depots are printed in Union blue on one side and in Confederate gray on their other. That's because those units may be captured during play and pressed into service in the army of the capturing side.

This design is actually the third edition of the "Kursk" game originally published by old-SPI back in the early 1970s, which was later redesigned into a second edition, retitled as: Eric Goldberg's Kursk: History's Greatest Tank Battle, July 1943. The first edition of the game used the proto-system originally devised by James F. Dunnigan for the France 1940 title he published early on in S&T. This new edition is by Ty Bomba, and shares an evolution of the system used in our other Road to Ruin titles: Drive on Stalingrad, and Drive on Moscow.

There's been a lot of excellent new information published on the July 1943 battle since the last edition. In particular, we made good use of 1999's The Battle for Kursk, 1943: The Soviet General Staff Study. The insights provided therein were many, but the one that will – having been translated into the order of battle of this redesign – cause the most eyebrow raising is likely to be the complete lack of separate Soviet artillery units. We took that approach precisely because the Red Army command did too – at least for the part of the overall summer campaign simulated here. Concerned, once the battle got rolling, they'd be unable to shift around their cannon as and where needed, they initially spread that combat arm throughout their defensive belts and units. Only later, once they'd switched to the strategic offensive in August, were the extra guns again brought together to reform artillery divisions and corps.

"Manstein's Gambit" is our title for a scenario describing the alternative scheme put forward for this German summer offensive by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein. He believed the plan, codenamed "Operation Citadelle," as put forward by Hitler and carried out historically, had little chance of success. Manstein therefore argued the attack – once he understood the dictator could not be dissuaded from launching an offensive – should then be made with all available forces. The additional units added to the initial German order of battle represent the scouring of the eastern front, as well as all the other fronts and rear areas of the Third Reich, to bring into this fight virtually all the divisions capable of conducting offensive operations of this scale and ferocity. That option is available to the German player in this new redesign, but with the trade-off of then having to fulfill far more expansive victory conditions in the same amount of time.

Nineteen battles from the American War of Independence are included in three volumes.

The easy game system recreates battlefield conditions with a move-fight-rally play sequence to simulate the grand tactics of these battles.

Nine Navies War begins at the start of 1915, after a victorious Germany has overrun France the year before. (Perhaps the BEF didn't land on time or at all, or they got bottled up in Mons, or the Germans kept to their full-blown, keep the right super -strong and pull back on the left Schlieffen Plan scheme, thereby bagging two French armies in the Rhineland, etc.) Italy, seeing the German victory train leaving the station, joins the Central Powers, as do Spain and Greece. All of which makes for a dreadnought showdown in the Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean and North Seas, as the avidly Mahanist Kaiser Wilhelm seeks to finally defeat the Royal Navy and thus make Germany into a true global power.

It will be the battleships of Britain, Russia and 'Free France' versus those of Germany, Italy, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and the captured portion of the divided French fleet. (Each French ship is rolled for at the start of every game. Each can be scuttled, go over to the British, or be captured by the Germans.) There will also be the possibility of later US entry when/if the Japanese switch sides in the Pacific and launch a dastardly surprise attack that finally draws in the Yanks.

Victory is determined on victory points awarded for controlling the various sea zones around Europe. The geography thereby creates a kind of "two front war," one in the Mediterranean and one in the Atlantic. The Central Powers player is also able to win a "sudden death" victory by controlling the waters immediately surrounding the British Isles for one full year (three turns). If he does so, the British have just been starved into submission.

The game uses a derivation of the classic Avalon Hill War at Sea. 9NW is simple two-player game with a short three-turn "1915" scenario, which can easily be finished in one sitting, as well as a 12-turn "campaign game" that will require about eight hours to play.

The Western Front: 1914-1918 contains six scenarios depicting campaigns in France and Belgium during World War I. The game can also be played as a start to finish campaign of the western front, or linked with other games of the series in a grand campaign covering all the European fronts of World War I from start to finish.

One full map and six counter sheets (1680 pieces). Standard Rules, Scenario and Linking rules, Corps displays, Supply Tracks, 2 inch bookcase box.

This is a reprint of the classic SPI game.

To the Green Fields Beyond is an operational level simulation of the Battle of Cambrai which lasted from 20 November to 7 December, 1917. There are two players, one commanding the British and the other the German forces. The game consists of three scenarios and a campaign game. The players should start with a scenario- the British Breakthrough is best- before attempting the full 17 turns of the campaign game. Players should note that each game turn in To the Green Fields Beyond requires many decisions, and will probably take between 30 and 75 minutes to play.

Deluxe U.S.N. War in the Pacific, 1941-45, in a unique wargame which is strategic in scope, operational in planning and tactical in execution as naval, air and land forces fighting for victory in one of the greatest campaigns of history. U.S.N. was originally published in S&T 29, and the system has held up surprisingly well over the three decades of its existence. It's held up so well that it was worth an update as well as an expansion. Deluxe U.S.N. uses the same system as the original, but adds additional rules and scenarios to provide a most complete simulation. The map stretches from the Hawaiian Islands to the Indian frontier, from Australia to Manchuria. Whereas the original game scenarios covered only 1941-43, Deluxe U.S.N. provides new scenarios to cover the situation in 1943-45, and entire war, 1941-45. Deluxe U.S.N. also provides additional rules and units to cover the fighting in China and Manchuria, as well as additional mini-games.

War Between the States, 1861-1865, simulates the American Civil War from the opening shots at Fort Sumter to Lee's surrender at Appomatox. During that conflict, over 3 million men fought from a total pre-war population of some 30 million. About half-a-million died or were permanently incapacitated by disease or combat wounds. It was the great crisis of American history to date.

The American Civil War was the first modern war. It was overwhelmingly a war of attrition between nation states. Given the enormous personnel and economic superiority of the Union over the Confederacy — a consideration reflected in the game — the South usually loses. It is therefore normally a question of how quickly the South loses, compared with the historic outcome, which determines who wins each game.

War in the Pacific is a multi-level simulation of the Pacific theater of operations during World War II. The game enables players to recreate the entire course of the war, form the opening Japanese attack on 7 December, 1941 to the climatic Allied assaults in the closing days of 1945. Representing some 30% of the globe, the strategic maps let players move and engage in combat on all levels: air, ground and naval. War in the Pacific is not a simple game; there are a number of rules and concepts that will, at first, be unfamiliar to a majority of players. But playing through smaller map sections and scenarios enables the player to become familiar with the mechanics of the game.

Components: 7 full size (22 x 34") strategic maps in full color, new tactical maps with nearly 338 individual islands for new ground units to fight over, 32 die-cut counter sheets, nearly 9,000 counters showing all types of units from the Pacific Theater, rule books, chart books and assorted displays and player aid charts.

This Extension kit is just that ­ a kit to extend WITP into late 1945 and 1946 making it possible to explore the possibilities of the war continuing without atomic intervention. The kit includes a new counter sheet for planes, ships, and other units scheduled to appear after August 1945. It also includes an additional set of the aircraft counter sheets for a total of five counter sheets, plus two more tactical island maps. The rules and charts booklet covers the additional rules needed to continue the war.

Barbarossa is a two-player, low-to-intermediate complexity, strategic-level simulation of the entire Russo-German War designed by Ty Bomba. The game was originally designed and published by James F. Dunnigan back in 1969. This new edition is an extensive redesign.

The German player begins on the offensive, attempting to win the game by seizing key areas on map. The Soviet player is at first primarily on the defensive, but the situation requires he halt his opponent's push to the east and then, in turn, launch a series of counter-offensives that will eventually move the Red Army to Berlin and the heart of Europe. The game may end sooner than the historic termination time if the German player is able to do significantly better than his historic counterparts by advancing so quickly he causes the overall political, social, economic and military collapse of the Soviet Union. Likewise, if the Soviet player is able to carry out his strategic comeback more efficiently than did his historic counterparts during the second half of the real war, the game may again terminate earlier than it did historically.

The Solomons Campaign is an extensive redesign of the old-SPI game of the same name originally designed and published by James F. Dunnigan in 1973. It presents a two-player, complex historical simulation of the air, sea and land campaigns waged on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the summer and fall of 1942. The game begins with the American invasion of that island and includes the subsequent Japanese attempts to retake it. The game is intended to be a simulation of combined air-naval-ground operations, or what are today called "joint operations." Consequently it centers on modeling command and staff systems, focusing on the difficulties and advantages inherent in sequenced interactions between and among air, naval and ground forces.

There are three distinct categories of military units in the game: ships, aircraft and ground. Each category has its own special rules and interacts with the other types in various ways. There are also rules covering the different approaches to operations taken by both sides' army and navy high commands.

Each hex on the map represents 100 miles from side to opposite side. Each game turn represents two weeks, with each "operational impulse" within a game turn representing 12 hours of intense tactical operations. Each point of ground unit strength represents a battalion of 1,000 or so troops. Each aircraft strength point represents a squadron or 10 to 24 aircraft. Naval units represent one ship for carriers and battleships, two ships for cruisers, and five for destroyers and transports. There are 280 half-inch counters, both NATO-style and iconic, included in the game.