Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
(David A. Vandenbroucke review - http://grognard.com/reviews/france44.txt): France 1944 (Victory Games) is a Mark Herman design.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Chit-Pull System
Draw tokens to determine which units, factions, or events activate next.
Movement Points
Spend a movement allowance across spaces with different costs.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Read the full game description
(David A. Vandenbroucke review - http://grognard.com/reviews/france44.txt): France 1944 (Victory Games) is a Mark Herman design. It's a 130 counter, 1 map game of the breakout and pursuit across France. Units are divisions, I believe. Components are up to VG's usual high standards. Complexity is rated as "low," and solitaire suitability is "medium." The most interesting aspect of the game is that it seriously tries to model time over the course of the player's turn. You activate HQs, which can then control a varying number of infantry or armor units, depending on nationality. There is a track display that you use during movement/combat. As you make decisions about which actions to take, you branch along the track, limiting your options about what you can do next. Essentially this captures the passage of time required for certain actions. It's easier to play than it is to describe. For example, suppose you have an armor division near the enemy and a couple of infantry divisions further away. If you move up the infantry to attack and make a breakthrough, the armored unit will probably not be able to move very far through the breach. In effect, the armored unit has spent most of the turn waiting around for the infantry to get in position and make its attack. The game puts emphasis on elite units on both sides and on the brittleness of the powerful British formations (no replacements). Chrome rules cover Market-Garden and the Bulge.