Players
1-2
Time
?-?
Age
12+
Weight
2.67
Rating
7.56
Teaching signal
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
Luck-sensitive
The Hardest Days has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth in confrontation. Players need to frequently pay attention to and react to each other's strategies and turns. While there is some level of cooperation required, it is not the main focus of the game.
The Hardest Days offers a high level of variability with its gameboard, allowing for different experiences each time it is played. The presence of expansions adds additional content and gameplay elements, enhancing replay value. The game also provides deep strategic possibilities and room for players to improve their tactics over time. The player interaction score is moderate, and the game scales well with different numbers of players. While it may take some time to learn, the depth it offers makes it worth the investment. Overall, The Hardest Days has a strong replayability score of 7.92.
The Hardest Days has a moderate influence of luck. Random elements have a notable but not exclusive impact on the game outcome. Players have substantial ability to mitigate randomness through strategic decisions and planning. The game outcome is primarily determined by player strategy and decisions, with luck playing a minor role.
The Hardest Days, designed by John Butterfield, is a purpose-designed solitaire wargame of intermediate complexity covering five critical days in the Battle of Britain, the five days that saw the heaviest air action in the sky over England in the summer of 1940. Each of those days is presented as its own scenario. THD puts you in control of British Fighter Command, responding to air raids launched by the Luftwaffe, which is controlled by the game system. Each one-day scenario represents up to 14 hours during which the Luftwaffe launches raids against targets in southern England, defended by the squadrons of RAF Fighter Command. German raids include bomber Gruppen (groups), attempting to hit specific targets, and fighter groups protecting those bombers and attacking British fighter squadrons. The German goal is twofold: inflict damage on targets and destroy squadrons to gain air superiority in preparation for the invasion of England. The game system controls German strategy and tactics. You use your fighter squadrons to respond to the raids in an attempt to destroy or turn back the raiders and prevent their effective bombing of their targets, while minimizing your own fighter losses. Your fighter squadrons and German fighter groups may participate in several raids in a given day, while German bombers, flying from distant bases, participate in only one raid per day. To track the passage of time, as measured by the sequencing of raids and the turnaround of squadrons and groups during each “Raid Day,” the action is divided into seven two-hour time segments, from 0600 to 1800 hours, inclusive. One inch on the area map equals 10 miles. British squadrons are composed of 10 to 15 aircraft. German groups possess 20 to 30 aircraft. Each time segment represents two hours. Each Air Action Phase represents 10 minutes. The turn sequence is as follows. I. Raid Approach Phase 1. Raid Region Determination 2. RAF Patrol 3. Raid Effort & Coast Crossing 4. British Detection II. Air Action Phase 1. Interception & Combat 2. Targeting & Bombing 3. Raid Movement 4. Squadron Movement III. Airfield Operations Phase 1. German Recovery 2. Time Advance 3. German Fighter Turnaround 4. Squadron Turnaround 5. Return to the Raid Approach Phase Components: One 22" x 34" map & 176 counters Magazine: World at War #19
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