WWII board game?

[CrazyTankster]

I am thinking about getting a World War II board game and was wondering what the best one(s) are that are out there. Two I have looked at a little are Band of Brothers - Ghost Panzer and Memoir '44. I was just wondering if you guys own or have played any of these kind of games and what your recommendations would be. Touching on Re-playability, ease of learning, fairness in the game, etc if possible. Thanks all!

[MegaSilver]

Axis and Allies 1941 is a great beginner's game into the A&A series, though you have to add some figures to the beginning to make the game more balanced. (5 infantry in Russia and a US destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean alongside the US transport). It's for 2-5 players, and you conduct the entire world war.

[Deroche]

Originally Posted by CrazyTankster

I am thinking about getting a World War II board game and was wondering what the best one(s) are that are out there. Two I have looked at a little are Band of Brothers - Ghost Panzer and Memoir '44. I was just wondering if you guys own or have played any of these kind of games and what your recommendations would be. Touching on Re-playability, ease of learning, fairness in the game, etc if possible. Thanks all!

Axis and Allies has been around a long time and is tried and true, so can't really go wrong there.

Memoir 44 is a more modern design, but would do a better job of being easier to learn and the replayability comes from the multitude of scenarios and expansions available. Fairness is achieved most of the time from playing any given scenario twice, once from each side, then adding together the collective results from the two matches played.

It can also be a bit confusing as to what to buy next if you find you want to explore beyond just the base set, but that question gets asked all the time on the boardgamegeek.com forums, so investigate further there. Ultimately, Memoir 44 is a game of card management that offers a lesser degree of tactical control (and lesser complication) than either Band of Brothers or Axis and Allies, but that doesn't make it any less of a game. Experienced players will more often than not beat a novice, so skill does usually get rewarded.

[jbbnbsmith]

MM44 is a great game with a strong WWII theme and historic content. I have enjoyed the game since it first came out and own most expansions. But....

If you want a squad level WWII game then Band of Brothers: Ghost Panzer is the way to go. BoB: Screaming Eagles is excellent as well but the system has been tweaked so you would be better off waiting for the next printing.

With just 16 pages of well-illustrated rules you can fight some epic East Front battles. This system is very well researched and results in a game where good use of historic tactics, not gaming-the-rules, goes a long way toward achieving victory.

I have played and owned Squad Leader, Advanced Squad Leader, Lock and Lock, Conflict of Heroes, Combat Commander, Up Front, and Tide of Iron. BoB is the one that still gets played.

[CrazyTankster]

Thanks Jbbnbsmith, that is very helpful. I played some memoir 44 online and really didn't like how the cards determined if I won or not, based on which units I could move and use being restricted to if I had the correct cards or not :/ I will look into band of brothers ghost panzer. Thanks again!

[CrazyTankster]

Originally Posted by jbbnbsmith

If you want a squad level WWII game then Band of Brothers: Ghost Panzer is the way to go. BoB: Screaming Eagles is excellent as well but the system has been tweaked so you would be better off waiting for the next printing.

Wait for the second printing of screaming eagles? or ghost panzer?

[jbbnbsmith]

Originally Posted by CrazyTankster

Wait for the second printing of screaming eagles? or ghost panzer?

Buy Ghost Panzer now (it uses the revised system) then if you like it it pick up Screaming Eagles when it has been reprinted to include the updated system.

In a nutshell Jim streamlined infantry proficiency to eliminate a die roll. This required a minor change to the counters and some tweaking if the rules. You can play Screaming Eagles as is and it is a great game, you can also easily use the new rules with the old counters as long as you don't mind doing a bit of simple math. But if you don't own it yet it's best to play Ghost Panzer first then get the new SE when it comes out. For those of us*who already own SE, replacement counters will be included in an up coming expansion.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

It is extremely rare for me to play a game other than 'Scape. Battlestar Galactica was my last before this past Wednesday evening at chas' Game Palace. After two games of 'Scape, chas chained us to the table for a game of Quartermaster General. chas got his hands on one of the few remaining copies unsold in its initial release. I'll let chas, or someone else real familiar with the game, give you the details, but this is the best WWII game I have ever played. Just saying'.

[Hahma]

Originally Posted by kolakoski

Well met!

It is extremely rare for me to play a game other than 'Scape. Battlestar Galactica was my last before this past Wednesday evening at chas' Game Palace. After two games of 'Scape, chas chained us to the table for a game of Quartermaster General. chas got his hands on one of the few remaining copies unsold in its initial release. I'll let chas, or someone else real familiar with the game, give you the details, but this is the best WWII game I have ever played. Just saying'.

I played Quartermaster General once and really liked it a lot. All 6 nations have to be played in each game (U.S. England, Russia vs. Germany, Italy and Japan). Each has their own deck of cards that allow that country to be played differently. and pieces (ships/tanks) representing units available for sea or land battles. No dice involved, so battles are pretty much determined by a card played. There are response cards as well that you play down in front of you to perhaps affect a battle result. You have to keep a contiguous line of units in different areas or lose the outlying ones. But it's easy to re-spawn units. I believe there are 20 rounds, but it goes pretty quick, like maybe 90 minutes for 6 players and 4 newbies playing. Not sure how well it would work with 2 players, as each would have to control 3 countries on each side and have 3 hands of cards to manage. 6 players was nice as each player only had to worry about their own country.

I have played Memoir '44 several times and like it. I don't mind the randomness of the cards determining where you can take actions, as it can add to the fog of war element and there are still choices to be made and ways to mitigate the randomness somewhat by having units on split hexes and available for either section.

I have Band of Brothers: Ghost Panzer but have only played it solo a few times and really like it. Hopefully I'll get to get enough handle on it to teach pretty soon.

A friend has Race to the Rhine, but I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know how that is. Though I don't think it's combat heavy.

[AMIS]

Not sure if it's around anymore but 'Escape from Colditz' was one of my favorites as a kid.