The Games You Want to Play…WarRoom (Turns 1 & 2)
We finished two rounds of our global War Room board game the first night. This will be our first game and a learning game for us…
For those of you not familiar with the game, War Room is a game covering the entirety of WW2 from roughly 1942 onward. It was designed by Larry Harris, the same designer who created the classic Axis & Allies. Although it has some important differences in presentation and gameplay, you will feel War Room’s kinship to the designer’s original as you play through the game.
As you will see from the photos and videos as we progress through our play, one of the most striking elements about the game is the map. Essentially a polar projection from the Arctic Circle (see above), it does a seamless job of tying together the European and Pacific fronts. This is a truly impressive game in scale and size. Everything about it looks good and was designed well to manage its size.
We did a random draw, so no one had a chance to do any special research for the first night. Andrew had the Italians, Chuck the Japanese, Dominic the UK, Doug the Germans, Scott the Russians, and Tim the United States and the Chinese.
The 1st video starts in the Caribbean, where the Americans are eliminating the U-boot threat to Atlantic shipping.
Then to the Med (where we will be gaming in Summer 2024! – take a look) to take a peek at the Mare Nostrum, almost fully under Italian control, the Italian Navy having defeated the British Med fleet. The Italian Army is threatening Egypt with support from the Germans.
Next, on to Asia, where the Japanese are pushing hard into China and threatening to move on India. The British are shifting forces to the west to protect Egypt, but are looking over their shoulders.
In the Pacific, the Allies and the Japanese are massing their fleets for a big battle after a surprise Japanese attack destroyed a small British fleet escorting troop transports off the coast of Australia.
The 2nd video that follows gives a close-up of what is happening in Europe and is followed by a description of what you are seeing.
The video above takes you across the North Atlantic for a view of the action in Europe.
As we cross the Atlantic, we see the US 11th Air Force regrouping after a devastating strategic bombing raid over Germany. More American and Commonwealth forces are pouring into Great Britain.
We cross the Channel to see the after effects of the devastating air raid on Germany.
Then, we move on to Russia, where the Germans and Russians have finished a succession of massive battles. The Russians had initially driven back the German invaders and retaken Belarus. In the south, though, the Germans took the Caucasus and its oil. This caught the attention of the British, as it opened the Middle East to invasion from the north.
More battles saw the Germans flow back into Belarus and reach the gates of Moscow as they took the area around Bryansk. The Russian Siberian divisions arrive in Moscow to repel the invader.
Losses by both powers have been enormous and the Russians have been shaken. Only German conquests have offset the people’s concerns about losses.
Will the Russians drive back the Germans or will Moscow fall?
Can the Germans stop the American “Viermots” from bombing Berlin into the ground?
Do the British have enough manpower to hold Egypt, India, and Iran simultaneously?
Does China have aa chance against the relentless Japanese push?
Are the Americans and Japanese prepared for the enormous losses that will flow from the upcoming Battle of the Coral Sea and titanic fleets clash in the Pacific?
