Blog O’ Obscurity

Last week I finally made it over to my local board game store’s monthly board game night. I first played the uninspiring “Frag”, but then very much enjoyed a couple of games of “Memoir ‘44.”

This World War II war game initially looks very much like “Axis & Allies”, but plays more like “Queen’s Gambit”. It is not a worldwide battle like “Axis & Allies” or even a regional conflict like some of the A&A series, but it is war fought at the battlefield level. The multiple scenarios included with the game and available through the expansions offer dozens of battlefield options.

Each scenario spells out the battlefield landscape, starting positions, available units, special unit abilities, and any other peculiarities to the scenario. The variety is nice in a WWII game as I find that games like A&A seem to play the same every time. The downside is that each scenario is not entirely balanced. The idea is to make the battlefield match up to the historical context when possible. Therefore, one side is usually at a disadvantage. (But then again, so is Axis in A&A.)

The gameplay is card-based with each player relying on drawing and playing cards to move certain units. Those units can move, attack, or both. Attacks are resolved using special dice that force defending units to take hits or retreat. Defending units do not roll dice when attacked.

I’m looking forward to getting another chance to play this one soon.

Popularity: 17%