Introduction: Game Developer Fred Schachter, recently returned from WBC 2016 and its demo/playtests of Hitler’s Reich: A Card Conquest System Game (hereafter referred to as simply Hitler’s Reich); advises the game was well-received… particularly as it featured the cool card and map graphics professionally created by Charles Kibler.  It resulted in a bump of P-500 sales for which Fred and I are grateful.  

Furthermore, Fred had opportunity to actually play the game with Charlie during WBC.  A rare bit of fun for them both. 

This article is follow-up to previous InsideGMT posts, particularly those which reference Hitler’s Reich Event cards.  During WBC, between game play cards and dice flying, Fred was asked why certain Events are included while other possible ones are not.  In the following piece, I endeavor to respond to that from a designer’s perspective.

Please reference other InsideGMT Hitler’s Reich material for additional information concerning this upcoming fun and exciting to play P-500 listed game.  

The Basic Design Goal: WW2 in Europe for players in two hours

WW2 in Europe for two players in two hours: That is the basic goal behind the design of Hitler’s Reich.  Yes, the game can go longer, but it usually doesn’t, unless one or more players enjoy fully deliberating each card play… and there’s nothing wrong with that since the overarching goal of this design is to have an enjoyable gaming experience.

You can play Hitler’s Reich with three or four players or even solitaire, which a prior InsideGMT post expounded upon.  These play variants are included among the many optional rules in the Playbook which comes with the game).

The other basic goal of this design is that it has a very short set up time, without sheets of counters to punch out, clip, sort or stack, no little stickers to laboriously and with exactitude place on blocks and that the package include set of rules that let players start gaming after a relatively quick read.  All the “special” things they can do are in the Playbook, which they can refer to when (or even if) needed.

The Situation, and the Possibilities to Change History

Hitler’s Reich starts during the Spring of 1941, when England stood alone against the Axis.  The game can stay that way, at least until the end of the first year, with the Axis player concentrating everything he has against the British – in the Atlantic, in North Africa and the Middle East, and possibly even unto the beaches and landing fields of Great Britain herself.

If the Axis can knock out the British by the end of 1941, by seizing all six of their Production Centers (see illustration of Hitler’s Reich map) the war is over before the Allied player can bring in the Soviet Union.  That means no Eastern Front, no Stalingrad, and not even a D-Day in the West.

Of course, that is what can happen if more things go right than go wrong for the Axis.  If a campaign against Britain does not bear fruit; then there could still be time to change direction, launch Operation Barbarossa, and point the panzers toward the Kremlin’s spires.

Then again, wait too long, and it is the Allied player whose tanks could be sweeping out of Poland – and heading west for Berlin.  The Axis player, of course, can go East right from the start, heading into the steppes a bit earlier than Hitler did… perhaps ignoring the time it would take to conquer the Balkans and launch a North African Campaign.  That means at least a two-front war, with all its problems – and opportunities.

A Grand Game of “War” – with Dice and Events

The basic way to resolve conflicts – military, political, economic or intelligence – in Hitler’s Reich resembles an enhanced version of the card game “War.”  Before you get “turned off” by presuming this game too simple: In Hitler’s Reich, Conflict Resolution cards are not drawn blindly, but are chosen from hands dealt to the players in a manner akin to Gin Rummy.

There are four suits of cards, just like in any standard playing card deck, but instead of Spades and Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds, there are German, Italian, Western Allied and Soviet suits.  Each has 13 cards – from the one-point Saboteur “Ace” to the 13-point Supreme Commander “King.”   Many of those cards, however, have special powers in addition to their point values.  These cards, plus dice, plus Event Cards, are played in combinations to resolve conflicts quickly, simply and decisively.  This adds to the “think and double think” nature of game as the player’s vie on a kind of psychological level against one another.

When both players Conflict Card decks are exhausted, that advances a year of play… e.g. concluding 1941 and commencing 1942.

Production centers, whose loss reduce the owning player’s Conflict card hand size, land or sea areas, and even whole countries can change possession with the flip of a card and the roll of the dice.  That is the military dimension to the game.  For example, the Allies win a sudden death victory if they capture Berlin and the Axis fail to recapture it on their next turn.

There is also an economic element to Hitler’s Reich through which a player can enhance his Conflict Card hand, through winning Events such as “War Production”, or reduce the size of his enemy’s hand: which for the Axis can be accomplished by “Wolfpack” and the Allies through “Strategic Bombing”.

A game is lost when a player’s hand size is reduced to zero or the disparity between opponents becomes so large that an automatic victory is declared.   There’s more than one path to achieving Hitler’s Reich game victory: military, economic, or a combination of both… which will you choose?

What do the Conflict Cards Represent?

The Conflict Card deck (the four suits) represent the level of resources committed to a task, whether that be to conquer a country, capture a capital, invest in a technology or batter the enemy’s ability to wage war.

As in the real world, commanders do not always have their best and strongest forces available, but have to make do with what is at hand (the cards they are dealt).  Sometimes that is enough; sometimes it is not.   Just as a real-world commander might want to hold their best units in reserve, a player might not always want to play the strongest card in the hand.  There’ll be times a lesser card will do the trick, or trick the opponent into wasting their best forces to squash a feint.

At the game’s commencement, the Axis has their hand “seeded” to contain at least 50% of their most powerful Conflict Cards.  This represents the historical 1941 accumulation of vast military resources, a transitory advantage the Axis may employ to achieve its goals. Ah, but where will that strength be directed (see map and its opportunities)?  It’s your choice as an Axis player of Hitler’s Reich.

What do the Event Cards Represent?

The Event Cards come in three flavors or decks: one for the Axis, one for the Allies, and one to share: that is, both players may seek acquiring these Events.  Each year players are blindly dealt a few specified types of cards from their decks, but for the rest of the time they will be competing to take them into their hands.

There are many types of Event Cards, some of which increase or decrease a player’s economy (i.e. add or lose cards from their Conflict Card Hand), add or modify the cards and dice used to resolve conflicts, or change the control markers on the map from one side to the other through political action.   Here are just a few of them, and what they represent:

The Generals

There are nine Generals in the game: Five Allied, Four Axis.  Some are aggressive commanders who aid in the attack (Patton, Guderian), others have talents suited to the defense (Montgomery,  Chuikov, Von Rundstedt) and others – notably the Axis Von Manstein and Rommel or the Soviets’ Zhukov are equally good attacking or defending.  One, Eisenhower, can have an immense impact with an ability to uniquely contest any Event card conflict, which reflects his considerable diplomatic, organizational and planning skills.  These cards reflect the strengths of these actual commanders.

Weapons of War

Cards such as Tiger Tanks, T34s & Shermans, Allied Artillery & Partisans, Stukas as well as Paratroops and Air Supremacy reflect the impact those types of units, weapons and technologies, had on the battlefield.  Landing Craft and Higgins Boats are what make Hitler’s Reich amphibious invasions possible, and represent not only the technology but the build up of shipping required to mount an attack over a body of water.

One key card for the Axis, called Waffen SS, is perhaps the single most powerful of these “Weapons of War” Events.  It represents not only those elite mechanized units of the German war machine, but also the ability of the Wehrmacht to use armored forces, panzer tactics, to punch holes in the line for a blitzkrieg, or blunt an attack and plug a hole made in their lines.

Strategic Weapons:  Battling for supremacy on the seas, in the air

WW2 was waged not just on the battlefield, but on the seas, in the air and on the production line.  Bringing supplies and raw materials to England with Convoys (or sinking them with Wolfpacks), protecting the sea lanes with Fleet Carriers or raiding them with massive battleships (the Bismarck card represents not just that warship but other major surface warships and task forces, German and Italian).  These can be the keys to victory or defeat in Hitler’s Reich.

Allied Strategic Bombers and Axis V-Rockets can decimate an enemy’s economy (and their hand of cards), but Jet Fighters and Mustangs can protect the homeland against those attacks (or, in the case of Mustangs, also be used help get Allied bombers past the jets).   These Event Cards represent the mighty fleets, massive air armadas, and technological breakthroughs that kept the nations at war – or brought them to their knees.

War Production, available to both sides, and Synthetic Fuel, Swedish Trade and Albert Speer, for the Axis, can help undo the ravages brought about by Wolfpacks, V-Rockets and Strategic Bombers.  These represent the gearing up and support of industry for war.

Politics, Intelligence and More

The war in Europe was complicated and fought on many levels.  In Hitler’s Reich there are cards that can help spy on or undermine the enemy’s plans (Master Spy, Enigma, Outfoxed), or turn defeat into victory (Reserves, Counterattack, Maximum Effort, Desperate Gamble, Their Finest Hour).  These later cards simulate the defense of Moscow, the battle of Stalingrad, D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, among other risky, all-or-nothing campaigns.

Political cards, like Franco and Turkey Declares War, simulate the diplomatic wrangling by both sides who tried to bring these neutrals in, or keep them out, of the war.  The Iraqi Revolt is just that – and represents an uprising against the British in Iraq which was supported by Axis air forces and agents.  If its play is well-timed, it is just the kind of Event which can bring Britain down when combined with a vigorous North African offensive and/or advance out of the Caucasus.

Vichy Defects is part politics, but mostly represents Operation Torch (the Allied landings in French North Africa) and its aftereffects.  Turncoats! represents how the war-weary Finns made a separate peace with the Soviets, and the communist coup that toppled the Fascists in Romania and brought that former Axis minor power actively into the war on the Allied (predominantly Soviet) side.

These are just some of the many Event cards players will find that can help recreate some of the leaders, weapons, tactics, technologies, strategies and campaigns – military, economic, political and intelligence – that played such an important role in the rise – and eventual fall – of Hitler’s Reich.

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