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Global War: World War II Worldwide 1939-1945

2024-02-16T12:07:22-05:00

Vendor: White Dog Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 94.95

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	White Dog Games
Players	1
Playtime	45-180 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	398368/global-war-world-war-ii-worldwide-1939-1945 http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/398368/global-war-world-war-ii-worldwide-1939-1945/forums/63

A grand strategic solitaire war game, Global War: World War II Worldwide 1939-1945 lets you fight all of World War II in one three-hour sitting! Smaller scenarios can be played in less time.

You can fight epic carrier battles in the Pacific while Panzer armies roll across the Eastern Front. You will use wartime leaders like Churchill and Stalin to achieve military goals from Western Europe and Russia to Ethiopia, China, and Southeast Asia. Build fleets of convoys to offset German U-Boats. Support armed partisan resistance. Employ the unique talents of generals like Patton, Montgomery, MacArthur, and Zhukov to defy fascist aggressors. Wage the Battle of Britain in a struggle for control of the skies. Task your scientists to develop the A-Bomb. Conduct bombing missions to batter Axis industrial capacity and morale as Axis offensives in Europe, Africa, China, the Pacific, and Russia challenge your own morale. Land on the beaches at Normandy. Fight epic battles at Stalingrad, Imphal, and Guadalcanal. All to determine the fate of the globe -- for this is GLOBAL WAR!

—description from the publisher

Death in the Trenches: The Great War 1914-1918 (Second Edition)

2022-08-10T12:50:30-04:00

Vendor: Compass Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 89.95

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	Compass Games
Players	1-2
Playtime	300 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	320061/death-trenches-great-war-1914-1918-second-edition http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320061/death-trenches-great-war-1914-1918-second-edition/forums/63

"DEATH IN THE TRENCHES" is a strategic-level World War I wargame covering the entire war, from the opening shots in Serbia and Belgium to the final defeat -- or victory! -- of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1918. The game includes a map illustrated by Jonathan Carnehl, stretching from the Pyrenees to Moscow, and from Norway to the Sudan, covering every square inch of territory in Europe and the Near East which saw combat from 1914 to 1918, in a manageable 34x22" format. An additional map shows the German colonies

The game also features 520 beautifully-illustrated counters depicting the national armies that fought in the war -- from the Germans, French, British and Russians all the way down to the Persians, Montenegrins, Armenians, South Africans, and a host of other specialized units (French Foreign Legion, Gurkhas, Italian "Arditi", Cossacks, Tyrolean Kaiserjaeger, Zionists, Bavarians, "Dunsterforce"... even the Chinese may send a small expeditionary force).

DEATH IN THE TRENCHES includes a 28-page rulebook (and an additional 20 pages of setups and random events) detailing the game's unique combat system (no CRT!) which portrays the grinding nature of World War I combat in a realistic way that still gives players plenty of options to pursue. Using army-level units (which contain numbers of divisional level formations, represented off-map), players use numerous special military abilities to drive back the enemy.

Detailed random events rules give you more gory details about World War I than you've ever seen before in a game, while helping keep play simple and straightforward. Lenin, the Senussi revolt, intrigue in the Romanian court, the Cruise of the Emden, the Armenian Massacre, the Sinai Pipeline, the Ukrainian Reactionary Hetmanate, Rasputin, Mata Hari, the Russian shell shortage, the murder of Edith Cavell, Wilhelm Wassmuss (the "German Lawrence"), Lawrence of Arabia, the Nestorian resistance, Pancho Villa, the Grand Duke Nicholas, Thomas Masaryk, the Red Baron, Czech Legion, Irish Rising, Berber Revolt, air raids, typhus, influenza... they're all here.

For the World War I buff, "DITT" has everything: Tanks, Alpenkorps, artillery barrages, flamethrowers, poison gas, Krupp guns, Mustapha Kemal, the Royal Air Force, French elan... while the great wartime leaders all leave their mark (good or bad!) on history: Bruchmuller, Haig, Hoffmann, Mackensen, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, Rennenkampf and Samsonov, Sarrail, Von Francois, Foch, Brusilov, Nivelle, Plehve, Putnik, Yudenich... history is overflowing. Players command the armed forces of nearly forty nations, in a game that still manages to be small enough to fit on your table!

It sounds like a massive game, but it isn't. DEATH IN THE TRENCHES is designed to be played--easy to play, hard to master. You'll learn things about World War I you never knew before, and you'll have to face the same crises the leaders of the Entente and Central Powers did. Think you can do better than Douglas Haig and Robert Nivelle? Now it's your turn.

The original edition of Death in the Trenches won the Charles S. Roberts awards for Best DTP-Produced Boardgame (Charles S. Roberts Awards) for 2005.

The 2021 edition takes this WW1 classic to new heights, and features a revised and expanded combat system that preserves the charm of the original but is much more faithful to actual WWI battle numbers and provides much more detail on individual countries' distinctive military strengths and weaknesses. Each individual battle now takes place on an off-map display that simulates a real WWI battle, each battle opening with a "spearhead" force that drives into a "target area". The system of entrenchment remains simple and easy to play, but takes into account the role of time and manpower in creating different levels of trench effectiveness.

Added detail includes the Hindenburg Line, German siege guns, and the possible flight of the French government. Instability in the Balkans, and the allegiance of the Roumanian and Bulgarian governments, may lead to unexpected political reversals in Europe's turbulent "backyard". The impact of the Russian Revolution is expanded, with several possible directions for Russia to travel including the rise of a better Czar, or even the takeover of Soviet Russia by Trotsky, which could bring Russia back into the war!

The system of military reinforcements has been transformed, with greater reliance on historical unit production and manpower. Great Power support and sponsorship for minor country forces has been made a vital part of the game, and the "major minors" like Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria now have their own Army Reserves which give each country a more distinctive role.

-description from designer

Nubia: Egypt's Black Heirs

2020-10-15T13:48:34-04:00

Vendor: White Dog Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 82.95

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	White Dog Games
Players	1
Suggested Age	10 and up
Additional Info	276782/nubia-egypts-black-heirs http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/276782/nubia-egypts-black-heirs/forums/63

Nubia is a solitaire game where you rule a Black African civilization of three Christian kingdoms in the Nile Valley: Nobadia, Makuria, and Alodia. Your culture is an heir to the glories of Ancient Egypt and the legendary Kingdom of Kush, but long gone are the days when you were conquering and ruling Egypt. In the game, it is A.D. 1172 and Nubia is under siege! For 400 years, you will battle to defend civilization against the fierce pagans of the Funj, and a jihad of marauding land-hungry Arabs. Deploy your famous archers, build fortified monasteries, send the Crown Prince into battle, and marry off your daughters in a desperate effort to stem the tide.

This fast-play, fun, and educational solitaire game uses a system created by Darin Leviloff. “Mek” markers on five converging paths represent hostile Arab and pagan armies that surround your kingdoms. The paths all meet in Soba, your fabulously wealthy capital at the juncture of the Blue and White Nile rivers, where the danger of a “Collapse” exists if any of those armies makes it that far. In addition, three tracks representing medieval Nubian society (Nobility, Kingship, and the Army) greatly impact the overall situation. A card draw determines which paths and tracks move against you this turn, while the cards teach you about the history of ancient and medieval Nubia. The number of “Efforts” which you can use to move them back in your favor (if the Effort die roll succeeds) depends on the personal talents of your current Uru (king) and his chief advisor, the Metropolitan Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Managing Efforts is key to the game, and you never have as many as you want. You can obtain more by selling off land and using your bishops for political gain instead of their natural religious calling: a short term strategy that can cost you victory points in the end. Each risky gambit is aimed at averting a system-wide social collapse, which can end the game suddenly. Your success (or failure) in holding off the five hostile armies helps determine how many noble families are still on your side when a Collapse approaches, so the better you play the game, the less chance the Collapse gets off the ground.

As the game draws to a close, the Portuguese are searching Africa for the fabled Christian “Kingdom of Prester John.” Those legends may refer to you! Can you hold medieval Nubia together long enough to make contact with them and win the game?

—description from the publisher

The First Jihad: The Rise of Islam 632-750

2020-05-21T05:21:40-04:00

Vendor: White Dog Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 89.95

Designers	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	White Dog Games
Players	1
Playing Time	30-120 mins
Suggested Age	10 and up
Additional Info	174959/first-jihad-rise-islam-632-750 http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/174959/first-jihad-rise-islam-632-750/forums/63

An "inside-out" States of Siege-style solitaire game from White Dog Games (2020). The First Jihad simulates the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate between 632 and 750 AD. The game's AI plays the forces of the Muslim Caliphate, based in Mecca (the game's center position); the player plays a host of nations invaded by the Caliphate (Byzantium, Persia, Visigothic Spain, Nubians, Khazars, Armenians, the Chinese, Indian states, etc.) The game has about 77 counters, one 11x17" map, 50 event cards, and numerous player aids and historical background materials.

Gorbachev: The Fall of Communism

2019-05-17T14:25:27-04:00

Vendor: White Dog Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 50.97

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison Stefan Nellen
Publisher	White Dog Games
Players	1
Playtime	30-60 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	252579/gorbachev-fall-communism http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/252579/gorbachev-fall-communism/forums/63

In Gorbachev: The Fall of Communism you are thrust into the Soviet leadership, trying to push your immense country into democracy amid the collapse of socialism and the wild mood-swings of Gorbachev himself in the period from 1985 to 1991.

This fast-play, fun, and educational solitaire game uses a system created by Darin Leviloff. "People" markers on five converging paths represent the political awakenings of the Russian people, the Baltic Republics, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Communist Party itself. The paths all meet in Moscow, where the danger of a coup exists if any of those People markers makes it that far. In addition, three tracks representing the Soviet economy, media and culture greatly impact the overall situation. A card draw determines which paths and tracks move against you this turn, and the number of "Efforts" which you earn that you can use to move them back in your favor (if the Effort die roll succeeds). The presence of Gorbachev himself gives you additional Efforts -- but he is often on vacation!

Managing Efforts is key to the game, and you never have as many as you want. You can obtain more by calling in the KGB or gambling away your army in Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, and your nuclear missiles, in disarmament deals: a short term strategy that can cost you victory points in the end. You can even abandon your Warsaw Pact allies to win Western goodwill (and more Efforts) as the Cold War comes to an end. Your success at disarmament will depend on how the US President views your policies, making the 1988 election -- George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis -- important.

Each risky gambit is aimed at averting a military coup against you, which can end the game suddenly. Your success (or failure) in controlling the five paths of public opinion helps determine how many individual Politburo members are still on your side when a coup plot is hatched, so the better you play the game, the less chance the coup gets off the ground.

Can you hold the Soviet Union together long enough to achieve a treaty with your restive Republics and win the game?

—description from the publisher

Absolute Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945

2017-04-21T01:45:27-04:00

Vendor: Compass Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 188.95

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	Compass Games
Players	2
Playtime	120-1200 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	191351/absolute-victory-world-conflict-1939-1945 http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/191351/absolute-victory-world-conflict-1939-1945/forums/63

From the publisher:

A global-level World War II game from Compass Games from the Charles S. Roberts Award-winning design team of Ben Madison and Wes Erni. Absolute Victory features three large maps (39x26 hexes each) covering the entire world on a sliding scale that gives more attention to places of the world (such as Europe) that saw the most fighting, and less to places (such as South America) that didn't.

1,700 counters represent the armed forces -- land, naval, and air -- of more than 90 nations. A chit draw system of more than 2,500 random events plunges the players into the chaotic world of the wartime 1940s, a world of competing agendas, unstable nations and untrustworthy allies.

Game mechanics are designed to focus the player's attention on military and strategic aspects of the war rather than the "boring stuff". They include simple production rules (no bean counting), a tense land combat system featuring battle modes, and turns built around alternating pulses -- some military, some political -- that minimize 'down time' for the non-phasing player.

Swing States 2012

2014-06-02T00:12:00-04:00

Vendor: Victory Point Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 40.95

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	Victory Point Games
Players	1
Playtime	40 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	125936/swing-states-2012 http://boardgamegeek.com/forum/1255340/swing-states-2012/reviews

Swing States is a solitaire game simulating a U.S. presidential election in a given year. You are a political strategist hired by the nominee to win the Presidential Election for either the Democratic Party (symbolized by a donkey) or the Republican Party (symbolized by an elephant).

You must make strategic decisions regarding fund-raising and expenditures, where to campaign and where to advertise, when and where to send the nominees and vital surrogates, how much time they should spend fund-raising, preparing for debates, conducting opposition research, and dealing with scandals that appear out of nowhere.

Grab a campaign button and vote for Swing States today!

Game Data:

Complexity: 4 on a 9 scale
Solitaire Suitability: 9 on a 9 scale
Scale: The player is a political strategist, and the play of one Game Turn equals about half a week of real time (i.e., the days between each party’s nominating convention in the late summer and the general election in early November).

Mound Builders

2014-04-25T17:57:00-04:00

Vendor: Victory Point Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 41.95

Designer	Wes Erni Ben Madison
Publisher	Victory Point Games
Players	1
Playtime	60 mins
Suggested Age	13 and up
Additional Info	156007/mound-builders http://boardgamegeek.com/forum/1526215/mound-builders/reviews

Mound Builders, from the Charles S. Roberts Award-winning design team of Wes Erni and Ben Madison at Victory Point Games, is a solitaire States of SiegeTM game where you represent the two largest pre-Columbian Indian “mound builder” cultures that dominated eastern North America from before the time of Christ until the coming of the European colonists in the 17th century. Your empire represents the earlier Hopewell culture and the later Mississippian culture that derived from it.

Until the arrival of the Spanish late in the game, you will expand your control across the map of North America, extending it over the various chiefdoms encountered and incorporating them into your economic and religious sphere (“empire”). Your domain will grow and shrink, but be aware that rather than a military advance and retreat, this process represents the rise and decline of culture, religious ideology, and an economic way of life, threatened from outside by competing ideologies and lifestyles as much as by hostile armies.

Your goal is to extend Mound Builder culture and amass as many chiefdoms as possible before rival native powers (and the smallpox-ridden Spanish!) rise up to drive you back to your Mississippi River heartland and extinguish your vast capital city at Cahokia, Illinois – near modern St. Louis.

What's In The Box?:

• One 32-page full color Rules booklet
• One 11" x 17" map
• 49 thick, laser-cut, multi-shaped counter pieces (minor assembly required)
• 50 History cards
• One player aid
• One six-sided die
• One 11” x 17” mounted, jigsaw-cut game map
• One bright red, 9 1/4" x 5 7/8" Standard cardboard VPG game box
• One beautiful box cover sleeve
• One "Wipes-A-Lot" napkin
• One charcoal desiccant packet