Introduction

Most popular card wargames have been tactical in nature. The excellent Modern Naval Combat and Upfront! are shining examples of this approach. Units represent single vessels, weapons and squads. Objectives are hills and buildings or just wiping out the other guy. German-based alphaBits’ History of War takes a new tact by emphasizing strategic play with operational overtones. For its first installment in the series, the designers have opted to concentrate on World War II but will expand to other eras if the first product is successful.

“Stop Admiring the Cards and Play!”

The English version of History of War starts with Axis and Allied (predominately German and British units) starter packs of fifty-five cards. An expansion pack for both sides has also been printed. Expansion packs in English for Russian, American and Japanese units are planned. The cards are of glossy, heavy stock with great colors. Each of the six types of cards has a distinctive colored wash for easy recognition. The information about the cards’ different values and abilities is easily read and very understandable. Unit cards have very clear and attractive illustrations of the weapons along with accurate historical specifications. Ruffling through the deck is like flipping the pages of an Osprey Men at Arms book.

The rules are on a glossy, multi-covered double-sided sheet that folds like a road map. The font is clear and color is used very well. The basics of the game are explained thoroughly and the “chrome” rules are stated very well. However, I cannot dope out card games by myself, as is the case with board and computer games. Fortunately, I had valuable assets at hand. Howard Gilbertson, a veteran wargamer, and Adam Bauknecht, an expert in games like Magic – The Gathering, played several games with me and enlightened me on mechanics and nuances of play I wouldn’t have seen by myself. We discovered situations not covered explicitly in the rules. Trips to the forums at History-of-War.com provided quick and definitive answers, sometimes within minutes. Players should be able to play the game with the rule sheet and commonsense but shouldn’t hesitate to ask questions in the forum. The site also has the rules in downloadable PDF format. To expedite play, players may want to get a marker to indicate who is attacker in a given turn.

Strategically Speaking

The spatial arrangement of the playing area is surprisingly important. Five bands divide the playing area: each player has a base area and a deployment/building/assembly area in front of his base with a No Man’s Land containing four territory cards between the two sides. Base enhancement cards occupy the base area, unit cards are placed in the deployment area when built and the territory cards will hold the deployed fighting units.

The different types of cards have clear and distinct roles. The territory cards represent real regions such as the Caucuses and Belgium. Each territory has a victory point value and a victory flag value. To conquer a territory, a player must have a net number of his own victory flags on the territory. Territories have unique qualities such as “No naval units in the Caucuses” and gives the conqueror specific advantages, e.g. “Destroy any two deployed enemy units”. Taking territories with victory points totaling fifteen wins the game.

Base enhancements makes the world go around by providing one Technical Asset (TA) each. TAs are used to build units and to enable special functions. As is usually the case with other cards, base enhancement cards are turned sideways, or “locked”, after they are played. Unit cards have loads of numbers including attack values for the three basic combats: naval, air and ground; a defense value; their cost in TAs; and the number of victory flags those units contribute toward the conquering value. Almost every unit has a special ability requiring the expense of TAs to use. Territory improvement cards usually just increase the number of attack values the enemy must spend to clear the territory. Upgrade cards can enhance units before they are deployed to territories. Action cards are literally wild cards that can be played in thirteen of the fifteen phases of a turn. Since combat is diceless, the only component players must provide for themselves are coins or something to serve as defense markers.