Below is a short article from Mark Buetow (this can also be found on BGG) discussing Hitler’s Reich gameplay. Hopefully for some of you who have questions about the rulebook, this will clear a few things up. -Rachel

Note from Mark McLaughlin:

Hitler’s Reich line drop…unfortunately a key line from the rule book somehow is missing….when you finish your action (build a fort, place a fleet, fight a battle, vie for ownership of an event card), you refill your hand. Play a conflict card, take a card. It is there in the build a fort, place a fleet, and in the example of play sections, but somehow it got dropped from conflict, event and clean up. To remind people of this, and also in an attempt to say mea culpa, I offer this:

I think the rulebook to Hitler’s Reich could use a bit of editing and cleaning up still. That’s unfortunate as it becomes a barrier to learning the game and makes it appear to be a more complicated game than it actually is. I’d like to suggest the following very brief overview of how the game works; perhaps, understanding this, it will help others make more sense of the rules.

The Goal

The goal of the game is to either occupy your enemy’s Production Centers or reduce their Conflict Card hand size to zero or three or less if yours is twelve.

Commentary: When you first start the game, you have a list of different actions you can take. But what do you actually do? What is your plan? Hitler already controls most of Europe. It’s 1941. What should you actually do? You want to play Event Cards that will increase your hand size and decrease your opponents. If you can get theirs to zero, you win. Otherwise, it’s a battle over production centers. Germans taking all six of West or Russia will win; Germans holding onto Berlin plus at least two of their original Production Centers win. Allies have to win by preventing that, or by reducing Germany’s hand size to zero. Everything you do should be angled toward those eventual goals.

The Core Mechanic:

The core of Hitler’s Reich is the old card game “War.” You know, you both flip a card and the high card wins. Now add in a roll of at least three dice to that card. High number wins. Now, add in some events and other factors that can add dice, allow you to set the numbers on dice, and allow you to re-roll your dice or force your opponent to re-roll their dice. That’s the heart of it.

This Conflict Resolution sequence is done for one of two purposes: to acquire or activate an Event Card -OR- to attack a land or sea area and take control of it.

What seems confusing to some is this: You play conflict cards and events to GET another Event Card or to immediately play certain types of Events. You can use other Events to modify this attempt to gain a card. The same procedure for GETTING or USING a card is the same as ATTACKING to control a space. And this is important: When you are playing for a card, you simply select the card from those available that you would like to acquire or play. They aren’t random. The deck/array is open information and an open selection from which you get to choose.

EXAMPLE: I want to play a Wolfpack Card to reduce the Allied hand size.
(1) I pick the card from the deck and put it on the table.
(2) I play one or more events from my Event pool that will help me win this card (or I don’t play any).
(3) My opponent plays events or not to help him win the conflict.
(4) We choose our Conflict Cards and reveal them.
(5) We roll pertinent dice.
If I’m successful, Wolfpack activates, and my opponent will discard and reduce their hand size. If not, the card goes back to the deck.

Now, replace “Wolfpack” with “Tigers.” I want some tanks! If I win the conflict over this card, I get the card to use later when I attack a land area.

EXAMPLE: I want to attack Yugoslavia and control it. (The Allies can’t try to take my Romanian oil fields).
(1) I announce my attack, placing the white cylinder there (just as a reminder that’s where I’m attacking).
(2) I play my Tiger card (and maybe a General, some Stukas, whatever).
(3) My opponent plays some events like a General to help defend, or a Counter Attack to possibly re-roll.
(4) We play Conflict Cards and reveal them. Perhaps the Conflict Cards we played allow us to re-roll. We decide if we want to do that.
If I am successful, I put a control marker in Yugoslavia. If not, I lose and my Tigers are discarded (winning flips them for use at a later turn).

That is the essence of the game: Card Comparison + Dice Roll + modifiers to dice rolls = Winner who either gets a card/executes a card OR takes control of a land or sea area.

Everything else in the game in one way or another affects these two actions: getting cards or attacking.

Every event, fortification, navy, special operations, bonus actions – all of them adjust, enhance, or make more difficult the act of getting/using a card or attacking. That’s it.

The rules explain the various conditions and resolution of various actions. When certain actions are successful, you can take additional actions, and so forth. But, to reiterate:

The gist of this game is engaging in conflicts (Cards + Dice) to GET/RESOLVE more cards or to ATTACK and take control of areas.

I think, if you get this general overview, the game will make much more sense, despite the sometimes hard-to-follow wording of the rules.

I hope this helps as others learn the game!

Author: Mark Buetow