Review | Ardennes '44 | GMT Games | The Players' Aid

[@darrellhanning5068]

I bought and played damn-near every, single Ardennes game since AH's Battle of the Bulge, in 1965. (And SPI published theirs, in the seventies.) But once I learned and played Essig's Last Blitzrkrieg, that all stopped for me. If you're looking for something truly eye-opening, it's the utilization of his BCS system in Ardennes. Previous to it, there was nothing quite like it. The system actually illuminates the decision-making by OKW versus Hitler, and in execution shows you the bad decisions.

[@erichull5097]

This is not only my favorite ZOC system game, it is my favorite game. You mentioned the time scale (which is perfect for this campaign) but one thing I'll add that I don't think you mentioned is the importance of the Night Turn (and I did not pick up on how key it was until my second or third go). As the Rules state, "The player sequence in a Night Turn is flip-flopped (Allied first, followed by German) so each player will have two turns in a row to create some chaos for the other player." This takes some planning to get right, but once you figure out how to do it, it becomes essential, especially for the German player early. It is basically the best (and you could argue only) way to exploit a hole in the line -- use the second half Night Turn to make a hole in the line with some elite units and then turn around and instantly use the AM turn to flood that hole

[@ExLibrisbyMikeBooklover]

Nice video guys! Now I want that game too! (along with a bunch of other games and with no real-life opponents anywhere near me)

[@BBird190]

What kind plate you have on top of the map.

[@masonduke5647]

If you intend to play A Time For Trumpets and Bitter Woods, do Bitter Woods first. AtfT is built using BW as a base, so it's much easier to learn if you're already familiar with BW. I was able to learn AtfT without having first played BW but it was an exhausting endeavor and not something I would recommend to people who have BW on hand.

[@masonduke5647]

I also can't overstate how massive in scale AtfT is in comparison to BW or A'44. 5 maps and 12 counter sheets. 20+ counters on the map per division instead of 3 or 4. I played it at a convention in February with the designer - we got through 11 turns in four 12 hour days of play. Excellent experience which I'd gladly repeat, but be aware what you're in for.

[@Michel_Vanaken]

It's never too late 😉 My plan is to play Normandy and Ardennes at the right time this year, and as "real-time" as practically possible, to commemorate the 80th year of our liberation. The time scale of these games should be good for that (compared to, say, The Dark Summer). ((BTW, Alexander's French pronunciation is much better than Grant's 😅))

[@StackingLimit]

Fantastic Review. I have been counting the number of Bulge games I own. I have had to stop counting as it is embarrassing. Alexander where is the leopard skin print or maybe for Bulge winter camo Smock?

[@DipGamer-lk4vv]

I believe this game won Zilla Blitz's Bulge-Off vote last December, beating out Last Blitzkrieg for favorite viewer Bulge game. There's a reason it's still so popular. Simonitch always adds just enough variation to each of his games to capture the essential features of each campaign. When are you playing Stalingrad '42....? France '40?

[@ThePlayersAid]

There’s a video of Stalingrad ‘42 already on the channel! France ‘40 we’ll play this year at some point.

[@georgedeppner418]

Looks like a good time

[@RogerCundiff]

Grant, try stacking less, you don't have enough units to cover a line that way. Delay is the name of the game here, help is coming. 40x games are terrific, I agree.

[@ifnyou]

Unshaming the shelf?

[@banartul]

You need to play One Page Bulge.

[@michaelstearnes1526]

I'd rather take a good long nap.

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

🤒 Wow 👾