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Bastogne: The Desperate Defense, December 1944 box art
1976 Ranked #14,886

Bastogne: The Desperate Defense, December 1944

Maneuver forces across tactical or historical battle maps.

Wargames Wargame World War II Hexagon Grid Movement Points

Players

2

Play time

Not listed

Age

12+

Complexity

2.19/5

Rating

6.36

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.3/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

"The Siege of Bastogne is a battalion level simulation of the battles that took place in December 1944 near the town of Bastogne in southern Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge (the German Ardennes Offensive).

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

"The Siege of Bastogne is a battalion level simulation of the battles that took place in December 1944 near the town of Bastogne in southern Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge (the German Ardennes Offensive). The battle was divided into two distinct phases, and a scenario is provided that covers each phase as a self-contained game. Also included is a Campaign Game that allows the Players to refight the series of engagements as a single, continuous game. The first Scenario, "Spearhead", involves the period from December 18-21, 1944. It presents the phase of the battle when the spearhead of the German 5th Panzer Army first approached the vital road and communication center at Bastogne. The second Scenario, "the Relief of Bastogne", depicts the situation from December 21-26, the period of Patton's drive up from the south to relieve the siege of Bastogne and open a supply line to the defenders. Each Game-Turn represents one-half day of actual time, and the scale of the map is approximately 850 meters per hex." (from the Bastogne rules folder.) Bastogne is one of four games included in the Westwall: Four Battles to Germany set. The game includes a 17" x 22" three-color map, 100 counters and and Exclusive rules folder. A Standard rules folder, containing rules common to all four games included in the Westwall: Four Battles to Germany Quadrigame is also included. Game mechanics are a simple movement-combat system with hard zones of control that promote "surround and destroy" tactics.

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Editions

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Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

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Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2
Best with
1–2
Play time
120 min
Age
12+
Complexity
2.2/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

3
Kip Allen Larry Pinsky Redmond A. Simonsen

Artists

1
Redmond A. Simonsen

Publishers

1
SPI (Simulations Publications, Inc.)