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?
Slouch Hats and Eggshells: The Allied Invasion of Syria & Lebanon - 1941, recreates the World War II campaign in French-held Syria and Lebanon, historically from early June 1941 through mid-July 1941.
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.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Read the full game description
Slouch Hats and Eggshells: The Allied Invasion of Syria & Lebanon - 1941, recreates the World War II campaign in French-held Syria and Lebanon, historically from early June 1941 through mid-July 1941. One player will control the Axis forces (Vichy French, French colonial troops, and Germans), while his opponent controls the Allied forces (British, Commonwealth, Free French, etc). The playing pieces represent the actual units that participated in the campaign and the map represents the terrain over which those units fought. The players maneuver their units across the map and conduct combat according to the rules of play. One player wins by capturing certain specified objectives while his opponent wins by avoiding those victory conditions. When Free French leader Gen. de Gaulle visited the Middle East in April 1941 he forced a political crisis by demanding the occupation of Syria. As a result London ordered an offensive to place all of Syria and Lebanon under Free French control. Sadly, such posturing caused Allied command staffs to hold unrealistic views of what the ensuing occupation would look like. Certain authorities believed the Vichy French in Syria would offer only token resistance and their defense would collapse like an eggshell. The thinking held that Vichy forces could be won over with wine and coffee along with displays of the Australian slouch hat. Instead, the Vichy-led troops fought ferociously from the start. Players should feel free to combine play of this game with that of Rommel's War, published by L2 Design Group. Both games include the same historical moment, have identical scales, and have some of the same historical units. It is natural that players would want to explore more historical alternatives with combined play. To facilitate such game play, this game uses many of the same rules, charts, and tables found in Rommel's War. Game Scale: Game Turn: 10 days Hex: 10 miles / 16 kilometers Units: Company to Brigade Game Inventory: One 22 x 34" full color map Two dual-side printed countersheets (96 - 0.6" & 20 - 1.2" counters) One 28-page rulebook Two 4-page Player Aid Cards (CRT/TEC, etc) Four 1-page Player Aid Cards (Turn Sequence, Set-up, Counter Information) Two 6-sided dice Seven plastic storage bags Solitaire Playability: Medium-High Complexity Level: Medium-High Players: 2 (or medium high solitaire) Playing Time: 4-6 Hours