The relatively simple rules of Manoeuvre leave plenty of room for stratagem, despite the card-fueled bouts of dice-chucking. Sometimes the game feels like chess as you feint, counterattack, and reinforce on a tight map. And while combat may be subject to the whims of fortune, your movement across the map is almost always in your control. Thus, thoughtful movement of your pieces and careful hand management are crucial pillars of a successful strategy. Here are five strategy tips to try out in your next game.
Manoeuvre is one of my favorite under-the-radar games that GMT publishes. It has an approachable playtime of around 45 minutes, so it’s easy to get to the table, and rewards careful play and clever hand management. The asymmetric factions and decks of cards provide lots of variety, but the core system is tight and chess-like. I also really appreciate that while the combat system has enough chrome to make battles satisfying, it does so without obscuring the elegance of the underlying mechanisms.
Because I love the game so much, I wanted to find a way to make it even more approachable and likely to be played. The idea hit me to use the CDG Solo System to replicate some of the fog of war in the hands of cards. But there is one core problem with that approach: the CDG Solo System assumes you are playing one card per turn (for the most part) and in Manoeuvre, the entire conceit of the game is that you can play up to your entire hand in a turn. Is it possible to find a way to modify the CDG Solo System to accommodate this style of play? It turns out that it is!
For those familiar with the CDG Solo System, the main change to the gameplay is that when rolling to determine which slot to play from, all of the cards in that slot become available for play during the turn for any legal purpose. This means that multiple unit and HQ cards could be played in a single combat, for example. Then, I added two things to the usual flow of the CDG Solo System:
During the Discard and Draw phases, you can select any cards to be discarded and replaced from the draw deck.
If you choose not to play a card during your turn (i.e. you move and do not initiate combat, nor restore a unit), you may move any one card from one slot to another (or from the top of the draw deck to any other slot).
Taken together, these give the feel of building your hand and shedding less useful cards. The tension of the game stays intact: do you respond now while you have a sub-optimal attack, or cycle cards and try to get that extra unit card or leader to boost your chances?
CDG Solo System Playsheet for Manoeuvre (click image for link to PDF)
We hope you have a very Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, and that this playsheet brings you some enjoyment in 2024!
Below is Part 4 in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre: Distant Lands tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1, 2, and 3 can be found here, here, and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
Below is Part 3 in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre: Distant Lands tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
Below is Part 2 in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre: Distant Lands tournament “March Madness” style. Part 1 can be found here. Enjoy! -Rachel
As promised, here is the first article in the follow-up series to the Manoeuvre tournament I wrote a few months ago. I’m back now with the Distant Lands expansion, and I will pit those armies against each other in a series of elimination battles with the winner moving on to fight the French army (the champion of the base Manoeuvre tournament).
Below is the final part in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 can be found here,here, here, here, here, here, and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
Below is Part Seven in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 can be found here,here, here, here, here, and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
Below is Part Six in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be found here,here, here, here and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
Below is Part Five in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be found here,here, and here, and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
