Today Another Battle

Today Another Battle is a WW2 solitaire wargame where you will face difficult choices and decisions in every part of the game. Under your command are units of soldiers and armour set against the Western Front Normandy landscape. In trying to reach your objectives you will encounter bitter enemies, obstacles, good fortune and crippling bad luck. The game is quick to setup and play, it takes around 30 minutes to play a shorter game, to less than a couple of hours for a larger game and requires very little space. This is a print and play game with the PDFs containing all the rules, scenarios, maps, player aids and counters required to play. You'll need to print them out, mount the maps and counters to card and provide your own pencil and a regular six sided dice. We have kept the maps and counters to a few sheets (of either Letter or A4 size) so it is very inexpensive and quick to print out and mount. How the Narrative Works The game features multiple scenarios with each scenario will detail your starting forces, your objectives and any special rules. Through the mission a strong emergent narrative emerges through both gameplay and events. This includes: Every time you move your forces into a new Zone, as you progress through the scenario there are Events that can occur. These are not scripted, so no two scenarios will play the same. These Events can include meeting up with the French Resistance, catching the enemy napping on the job, through to tragedies such as accidents or your tanks breaking down etc. These Events can be a great advantage or not, and give your game an unpredictable nature that is both in keeping with the period and creates a unique narrative experience. In addition the player can spend Command Points to inspire their units when facing certain death or when hugely outnumbered. This mechanic along with the Events will give memorable gaming moments. How the Game Plays You will choose from one of the various scenarios with each scenario detailing the map used, your starting forces, any reinforcements and your starting location. Each scenario will have a different objective for you to meet, for example it may be reaching a set point on the map or holding onto a specific zone. Morale Tracker The morale tracker is one of the key gameplay elements within the game. Maintaining a high morale for your force is important to give your units the best chance for success. Your force morale can increase as you take control of new zones, reach objectives and defeat the enemy in combat. Conversely it can also reduce if you loose territory or retreat from battle, which can have dire consequences. How you balance your morale combined with the Command Points game mechanics are key to your strategy in making very hard decisions within the game. The Map The map is split into zones with each zone detailing the number of Infantry Counters (the number in the circle) and the number of Armour Counters (the number in the square) that the player can move into that Zone, as a maximum. The colour of those shapes also represent any bonus for the defender with yellow representing defence bonus bonus (these are explained in the combat section). The Counters The counters in the game represent the various squads, support weapons and various tanks and armoured vehicles in the game. As well as showing what nationality (US or German) they also include important gameplay information. Each counter details how many dice to roll in combat for both against infantry counters and armoured counters, plus if the counter has saving throw and any modifiers on opposing armoured counter saving throws. The Turn During the turn the player will be determining aspects such as the weather for the turn, how many command points that they have to spend and what they spend those command points on. The player can spend command points on bringing on additional reinforcements, moving units, performing air strikes, Every turn has a set structure and list of key mechanics to go through. The turn structure of the game is: 1. Determine Weather (Weather can have a direct outcome on air support and combat). 2. Determine Command Points (Roll for command points, which will be used to move counters and perform set actions such as Rallies, artillery support etc). 3. Determine Units Out of Supply (Friendly counters cut off and isolated will be at a significant disadvantage). 4. Rally (You can roll to rally broken counters). 5. Reinforcements (Depending on the mission there may be extra reinforcements that you can bring onto the map). 6. Roll for Zone Controlled Events (Every turn you will roll to see if any events, such as being contested by the enemy affect Zones you control). 7. Recon (Before moving your forces you can spend Command Points, if you wish, on recon for adjacent zones). 8. Move (You can spend Command Points on moving units into the adjacent areas). 9. Roll for New Zone (As you move units into new Zones you will roll for events, including potential enemy units). 10. Combat (Resolve any combat where your units occupy the same Zone as enemy units) 11. Turn End (The turn end and check for Victory Conditions) Command Points Each turn the player will roll (with modifiers) to determine the amount of Command Points that they can use for that turn. The player will have to decide how best to use these Command Points and will have difficult decisions to make as they often will not have enough Command Points to do everything that would ideally want to do. These Command Points can be used in a variety of different ways, including: Moving Units into an adjacent Zone. Rally Units in a Zone. Use Recon to identify enemies in an adjacent Zone. Selecting the type of attack (covered in the Combat section below) to be used in Combat. Use Artillery and Air Strikes before the Combat is resolved. Entering a Map Zone Every time the player enters into a Zone in the game there are a small number of charts to go through to determine any enemies plus any random events. Random events can help or hinder the player and add a great narrative flavour to the game! Combat During the Combat phase, any Zone that contains the player's unit counters plus any enemy counters then Combat will be resolved. Before any combat takes place, the player will need to decide which type of Attack they will be using. The player has three types of attacks they can choose between: Normal Attack - costs 0 Command Points, but the enemy will attack first. Full Attack - costs 2 Command Points, but the player will attack first. Each counter will show the player how many dice to roll for combat with a six required to hit the enemy. The player will then make a Saving throw and determine the outcome for the hit counter. —description from the designer