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?
This is the first of the Area-Impulse games done by Avalon Hill which later included Thunder at Cassino, Turning Point: Stalingrad and Breakout Normandy. The game simulates the ferocious battle for the Arnhem Bridge on September 18-21, 1944.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Area Movement
Move pieces between connected regions rather than along individual spaces.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Advantage Token
A transferable advantage changes ties, priority, or the strength of an action.
Area-Impulse
Players alternate short actions within contested areas until everyone passes.
Movement Points
Spend a movement allowance across spaces with different costs.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Read the full game description
This is the first of the Area-Impulse games done by Avalon Hill which later included Thunder at Cassino, Turning Point: Stalingrad and Breakout Normandy. The game simulates the ferocious battle for the Arnhem Bridge on September 18-21, 1944. The game begins with the British holding the area around the bridge, surrounded by the Germans. They try to hold out for as long as they can. Each full turn covers 8 hours and includes many mini-turns (or impulses). Each impulse, the player can move or fire a small number units. Once moved or fired, the units are "committed" and cannot move or fire again until the next turn. Combat is handled by calculating attack and defense values with each side adding the roll of 2 dice. The difference (if the attacker has the higher total) in final point values is the number of casualty points the defender must lose by retreating or destroying units. The games is of relatively low complexity for a wargame and rates 3 (out of 10) on AH's difficulty scale.