Memoir 44: Battlemap Volume Three Sword Of Stalingrad

Days of Wonder presents us with this wonderful expansion for MEMOIR 44. This expansion was released on 6 June, 2019. This date marks the 75th anniversary of the D-DAY Landings and the 15th anniversary of the release of MEMOIR 44. Whats in the box? 16 Aircraft miniatures in grey plastic 3 Airplane Stands 30 Air Combat Cards 8 Summary Cards 15 Nation Markers 18 Machine Gun Ammunition markers 12 Bomb Markers 1 Rulebook 1 Scenario booklet with 21 new battles or scenarios The Air Combat cards are a joy to play with. Design of these Air Combat cards is tops. The artwork on the cards is very well done and matches the rest of the art in the game. The text on the cards is very well thought out and it is obvious that a lot of play testing went on here. The way the text in the Air Combat cards is written leaves no room for ambiguity or confusion. I think that anyone that does not understand the cards has either not read the rulebook or does not understand the mechanics of the core game, Memoir 44. To conclude, the Air Combat deck itself paired with the new rules is worth the price of the expansion. These Air Combat cards get a solid 10/10 from me. The NEW FLIGHT PLAN rulebook or instruction manual explains the new rules for aircraft in the game. This aspect probably proved to be the most challenging part in the design process. The rules of the original AIR PACK expansion felt strange and I did feel the need to house-rule those and actually ended up creating my own set of rules for the AIR PACK. The rules for NEW FLIGHT PLAN, however, are very straight forward and were a joy to play with from day one. It takes a few plays to get used to the new rules, but I honestly like them a lot and they fit like a hand in glove. 9/10 The 16 plastic miniatures included in the box are very well done and match the quality found in the previous EQUIPMENT PACK expansion. They come in a grey plastic and when you look at them, they beg to get painted. I will paint these in time, but Im actually using my own aircraft in 1/144 and 1/200 scales to play the game. The unpainted miniatures included get a 10/10. The 21 scenario booklet could have used more Breakthrough content. There is only one (1) Breakthrough battle. The rest are standard scenarios organised by front. While some of the included scenarios are fantastic and top notch material, I believe the lack of Breakthrough material here is discouraging. Ill give the scenario booklet an 8/10. PLAYABILITY: Once you read the rulebook properly and review the Air Combat cards, youre ready to receive your wings as a Memoir 44 Pilot. It takes a bit of experience to get used to the new rules, particularly the use of Machine Gun ammo markers and dice rolling as a major rule is changed here: GRENADE symbols DO NOT SCORE HITS when using the Machine Gun Ammo marker... it took a bit of playing for the other players in my club to catch up, but other than that it was fine. I also did not have qualms with the LINE OF SIGHT rule where aeroplanes do block line of sight as this rule actually made total sense to me. Others may have issues with this rule. On another high note, I loved being able to combine the Air Combat cards with other Combat cards. This means you can use your Air Combat deck and pair it with the URBAN, WINTER, JUNGLE, DESERT Combat decks if you so like. I personally enjoy pairing the Air Combat deck with the SPECIAL OPERATIONS Combat decks. You will need to get the latter expansions separately. After playing countless battles with the NEW FLIGHT PLAN expansion, the verdict is crystal clear. Get this expansion TODAY, its a MUST HAVE expansion. It was an absolute necessity to create proper air rules and mechanics for this game. Again, we could have gotten more Breakthrough scenarios in the scenario booklet, but other than that, this NEW FLIGHT PLAN expansion for MEMOIR 44 easily gets a solid 9.5/10. Enjoy and dont forget to wear your aviator sunglasses (also not included). DISCLAIMER: Im using my own aircraft and my own aeroplane stands as I have not had time to paint the 16 miniatures included in this expansion. The battle map shown in the pictures is D-DAY LANDINGS. Please note that this NEW FLIGHT PLAN expansion does not come with painted miniatures. I have painted each and every single one of these plastic figures as you can see in the pictures shown in this review. This NEW FLIGHT PLAN expansion does not include the SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMBAT CARDS either, you may get those separately. FINAL NOTE: You may visit the official site of the game and download the free BONUS SCENARIOS BOOKLET specially designed for this expansion.

Memoir 44 is a popular World War II-themed board game designed for two players. It has a high replayability and a great balance between strategy and luck. Positives: High replayability Good balance of strategy and luck The game is well-themed and historically accurate The game is relatively easy to learn, yet offers a lot of depth Negatives: The game can be a bit long if playing with more than two players The game can be a bit too luck-dependent at times Overall, Memoir 44 is a great board game for those looking for a fun and challenging strategy game. It is well-themed and historically accurate, and the balance of strategy and luck makes for a great gaming experience. The game is relatively easy to learn, yet offers a lot of depth. It can be a bit long if playing with more than two players and at times can be luck dependent. I would rate this product 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This tickles that historical battle itch without being many hours long. Its great!

I loved the Axis and Allies game growing up, only problem being that it takes several hours to finish and found this game to be just as cool with plastic army markers for infantry, tanks, and artillery, but much shorter to play as one needs to accumulate a number of trophies or goals rather than say totally defeating the other player. The other thing I REALLY enjoy about this game is that their are terrain markers that you put on the standard board to simulate all kinds of battle scenarios (towns, hills, rivers, woods,bridges, fortifications, etc.) so there are many different scenarios in the book that you can play so if you get tired of playing one scenario you can try another from World War II. They have both beach landings/scenarios on one side of the board and regular land scenarios on the other. Only downside is that it is a two player game unless one uses modified OverLord type rules (typically requiring another expansion pack). Note: It is not in the rules, but if an experienced player plays someone with less experience you could have the stronger player play with 1 or 2 fewer cards in their hand and the less experienced player play with 0, 1, or 2 more cards in their hand to even things up/make things challenging for both players... Take 2 cards away from a veteran player and give 2 to a novice and it would be VERY tough for the experienced person to win :-).... Overall an excellent strategy board game. Big time board game enthusiasts will note that this game incorporates the vagaries of war (luck of the cards and dice) so that even casual player has a decent chance of winning against a veteran with the right dice rolls or cards. I found an article on this game in the Wall Street Journal (of all the places to find a reference - yes Im older now) and liked the description that it simulated the unpredictable nature of was and can be played in 45 minutes to an hour (my brother and I typically take an hour or longer when you include setup time so we setup once and play at least two games switching sides, and if one person has a particular tough time losing both, sometimes we go for a third game with the loser picking their favorite for the rematch. Base game is plenty of fun by itself, if you really like it you can get expansion packs - just read up on what is in which packages as you may need other expansion packages to have everything look right. However, being a realist, and having grown up with far less early on (we played soldiers with soft drink/beer bottle caps as the army men for hours in the living room) I have to say it is easy enough to improvise / make do as well.

This review is for the MEMOIR 44 base game also known as the core game. MEMOIR 44 is my favorite game of all time. Now lets find out why. MEMOIR 44 is a historically accurate World War II game that features the award-winning Command and Colors Card system. For those readers out of the loop, the Command and Colors system is a wargaming engine that is very practical, easy to understand and easy to teach to new players. The basic elements to the mechanics or engine of this game is a deck of COMMAND Cards (think military orders), which can be classified into SECTION Cards and TACTICS cards, and a set of special dice known as BATTLE DICE. In the Command and Colors System the battlefield is divided into a CENTER section, LEFT flank, and RIGHT flank. Section cards are used to allow the ordering of military unit(s) occupying one or more sections. For example, a LEFT section card will allow you to issue orders (move, battle) to units that find themselves on the LEFT section of the battlefield (the game board) and so on. On the other hand, TACTICS cards are not limited to any section of the battlefield and in general are treated and feel like special cards. Examples of the TACTICS cards include the coveted BEHIND ENEMY LINES card, the AIR POWER card, ARMOR ASSAULT card etc... the latter allows you to issue orders to up to four (4) tank units anywhere on the battlefield and if attacking in Close Assault, the tank units roll with an extra battle die. I would say that is pretty powerful right there... I can hear the revving of the diesel and gasoline engines and the tank tracks rolling over the French countryside in 1944. With the mechanics of the game explained, the MEMOIR 44 base game here provides you with a very clear set of instructions and SEVENTEEN (17) different scenarios to try out your Arm-Chair General skills. SIXTEEN (16) of said scenarios are standard and require what you have in the box. The SEVENTEENTH (17th) scenario is called OMAHA BEACH - OVERLORD VERSION. Overlord here simply means you will require a second copy of the base game to be able to set up and properly play this scenario. Whats in the box? 1 double-sided Battlefield board map 144 Axis and Allies Army Pieces including INFANTRY, ARMOR (TANKS), ARTILLERY 36 Obstacles including BARBED WIRE, CZECH HEDGEHOGS (ANTI TANK OBSTACLE), SANDBAGS 44 Terrain Tiles including FORESTS, HEDGEROWS, RIVERS, HILLS, VILLAGES, ETC... 60 Command Cards (MILITARY ORDERS) 9 Summary Cards (CHEAT SHEETS) 8 Battle Dice (SPECIAL DICE) 2 Card Holders 1 Rules & Scenario Booklet After becoming addicted to MEMOIR 44, you can expand your gaming experience with the following expansions to the MEMOIR 44 base game: 1) BREAKTHROUGH: This expansion offers deeper maps and a more in-depth experience of MEMOIR 44 2) WINTER WARS: This expansion brings the BREAKTHROUGH deck to the battlefield. This is what I call the third-generation set of COMMAND cards. 3) The Army packs: These expansions include EASTERN FRONT, MEDITERRANEAN THEATER, PACIFIC THEATER 4) SPECIAL OPERATIONS expansion packs: These really do bring MEMOIR 44 to a new level. You can lay a minefield to stop a column of enemy tanks from overrunning your position, drop your paratroopers deep beyond the front line for a surprise attack, request close air support before sending in your tanks and infantry into heavily defended territory, and send field medics to evacuate weakened units from the battlefield. To conclude, I highly recommend purchasing this game. For the price, what you get inside this box is worth its weight in gold. This is an amazing game focusing on the Second World War and using a fantastic and brilliant game system. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My son and I love to play this game. It took us some time to learn all the rules, but once you do it is a lot of fun

I really enjoy WW2 games. From super complex paper chit and map games to roll the dice battle games like War At Sea. I cringed to buy this at first because its Days of Wonder, which makes me think of smallworld, which makes me think of light-hearted party games. Those have their place, but not in a WW2 setting. (Though DoW does make Five Tribes, which is a great strategy game). Plus, the art on the box... yikes. Is it for 12 year olds? So, took the dive anyway. Its actually pretty enjoyable. A scenario can be played after learning in an hour. The quality of the board and the terrain tiles really impressed me. Its always frustrating when a terrain tile doesnt fully fit on a hex, then an entire row of the tiles being a little off and sliding around millimeter by millimeter drives me crazy. But the die cuts on my copy were perfect. Ive honestly never seen anything like it. Great work there. The models were unexpected to me, you get tons of them. Id put the model quality at a B+ or A-. Fairly historically accurate, but the finishing in mass quantity was a little rough. Gameplay is simple and it keeps the action moving forward. Theres not a long wait for each player to take a turn. Sometimes you get beat by your own command cards leaving you with very little to do, but I enjoy some variation and randomness to the games I play. If you dont like randomness and just enjoy pure strategy, you probably wont like this game. The art on the command cards btw... awful. Like the art chosen for the box cover. Bad pick imo. The rules are fairly easy to comprehend quickly and the command cards that you use every turn to take your action are simple to understand. All in all, pretty much what I was hoping for in it as a 2 player war game. Not too long, not too rough to set up, and strategy is deceptively important. I was also impressed that even though historically in some of the scenarios one side was obviously supposed to win, they did a good job of giving both sides an opportunity for victory so one player doesnt have to sarcastically feel like Oh great, this is going to be a FUN hour... when the sides are decided. Good buy, slightly more expensive than I prefer for the play time its going to get, but itll be a good one to whip out on game night when that one buddy is there early and we know the other one arrives an hour late.

Easy to learn. Have had fun with 10 year old grandson and he has actually won several games! The game kept his attention with the armymen, tanks and other figurines whereas printed cardboard pieces likely would not have. Also a good game to teach about history. The many variable scenarios (like Catan) also make it more interesting each time. The negatives IMO are the axis vs allies colors are too similar and hard to distinguish if the room is not well lit. The game could use more 2 sided terrain tiles - as the number is limited to exact counts and it takes time to locate the right one if it is already placed upside down on the board. Lastly, one more set of quick reference cards would help speed it up. Being a gameplayer since the advent of Avalon Hill - I can recommend this one, especially for youngsters!

I just received this game yesterday and at first glance it is beautiful. From the art work to the miniatures to the cards are all done right and made to last. I have yet to play it but I am sure I will enjoy the game play. Where this game falls short for me, and I have seen one other comment like it, is when I went to set up the first scenario I realized I didnt have enough terrain counters to make the two rivers and the lake and to have 4 town/villages. Along with terrain tiles they did not add enough hedgehogs to each army to set up either side. I flipped through the book and found maybe 2 or 3 scenarios that can be completed based on the terrain tiles that come with the game. I am currently (as I type this I am flipping back and forth with the DOW forum) on the DOW forum attempting to find out why this is and what I apparently need to purchase next (a little pissed about that as I purchased the game, $50 and now possibly another $30) should be. This is the reason it is getting the 3 stars...if DOW doesnt have a good fix for this or a good explanation as to why I have to use Ally equipment on the Axis side or why I have to pretend there is a river running through the board I will be returning this expecting a full refund. I would take this as a buyer beware review. I feel I do an extensive amount of research before I purchase a game but I apparently failed on this one. **UPDATE** So after jumping on the DOW forums and asking around and one nasty email to DOW I have concluded that their instructions do not state that certain tiles can be used as other tiles listed in the instructions...So after getting off work and sitting down again to set up a scenario I found all the tiles are there to do the majority of the scenarios in the book. I did find out from the forum the equipment pieces are not army specific, even though they are grey and green, so I will be hitting the green ones with a coat of grey primer. I am changing my review from a 3 to a 5 (would have done a 4.5 because I have not actually played a game yet). Purchase this game! If you have kids it will be a great educational tool to teach about the accomplishments of arguably the greatest generation in our countries history. DOW really knocked it out of the park!