From: Hank Meyer Subject: KRIEG! Designer Notes (extracts) >From KRIEG!'s Designer's Notes: ...Krieg! began life as a theater-wide version of the Avalon Hill classic Russian Campaign. The change from corps to armies as the basic operational units was made to set the narrative focus higher up the command chain. armies and Army groups or Fronts became the maneuver elements (hence the lack of historical designations on corps and Soviet army units). Option cards came much later, and they changed the game from a simple operational panzer-pusher into an entirely different strategic contest. These cards vividly added time to space and force as the elements that players manipulate in pursuit of their strategic visions. The Option card system also eliminated the need for number-crunching production puzzles, allowing Alan and I to highlight the narrative story-line instead. Economic and political processes were factored out and their effects factored into the cards... ...You can eliminate some of Krieg's learning curve by taking a close look at the Sequence of Play. It will help to isolate and focus on the Operational Movement Phase and the Combat Phase. there are the meat and potatoes of your player turn -- you move, then you fight. Now look at all the other things you can do, and look at when you can do them relative moving and fighting. Pay special attention to the things you can do when you have *Biltz* card, or a car containing a Political or Conditional Event... ...Be ready for the fact that a lot of operational decision-making will occur during your Organization Segment. This is when the corps you stacked together during your previous Reserve Movement Phase (you remembered to stack those corps together last turn, right?) get to combine into bigger, stronger multi-step units. Organization is also when you will breakdown those big strong armies and army groups into quick little corps that can be thrown rapidly from front to front. Don't be afraid to break down multi-step units. You may have to wait a few turns to get the unit back, but when you do you can turn any stack of corps on any front into an army or army group. This allows you to play a shell game and keep you opponent guessing. Form armies and and army groups only when ready to strike... ...Combat in KRIEG! is costly. Players will quickly discover that attack rules, and that counter-attack is an important defensive weapon. The whole flow of a maneuver campaign is shaped by step losses coupled with the rate of replacements - you spend steps to launch major offensives (and a prolonged campaign in Russia can quickly become a "tankless" job). When you run out, you pause to regroup and re-equip (and you will run out when you drive hard and long). You'll go belly-up broke in no time if you spend without an objective worth the purchase price, or fail to send fresh corps to maintain your offensive campaigns. ...Air Superiority is a tremendous advantage. Using Armor Shifts in conjunction with HQ Support Shifts will cost you steps, but the shifts and the exploitation advances allow you to do big damage to an enemy line, especially one you've checkered with Air Support units that provide additional shifts, block retreat paths, and open channels for exploitation by negating Zones of Control... ...The point of the various diplomatic and political event tables is to surprise you and keep you guessing. The mechanic used to do this - player selected random event tables - allows you to set the parameters but skews your ability to predict the outcomes. As in the historical event, you will find yourself having to deal with situations that just don't fit your strategy (Mussolini's war with Greece, as an historical example). The tables and die roll modifiers have been carefully constructed to provide for a diplomatic environment that changes according to the situation on the map. The Axis player, for example, will have to do well in VP count to offset the growing weight of US commitment. You won't get the same benefit of hindsight that you might be used to from playing other European Theater games, but in exchange you'll get a much better feel for the risks and challenges involved in setting out to conquer or liberate Europe... ...Both players need to think a few quarters ahead in card play. Many cards, especially during the Limited War period, set up little timetables or Seasonal mini-games for you to play out. Think of Limited War as a scenario generator, and try to string together a series of Seasonal mini-games that set you up to win the main event. Both sides will find a dozen cliffs to walk off of in the darkness of Limited War, when forces are fragile are Political Events are many. Preservation of both force and focus is critical. Razor-sharp timing is the key to success, particularly during Limited War... SEQUENCE OF PLAY A. Victory Check (performed at the beginning of each Quarterly Turn) B. Axis Player Turn 1. Seasonal Phase (performed each Quarterly Turn) 1.1 Option Card Segment 1.2 Reinforcement Segment 2. Initial Administrative Phase 2.1 Political Event Segment 2.2 Convoy Segment 2.3 Air Superority Segment 2.4 Organization Segment 3. Operational Movement Phase 4. Combat Phase 4.1 Blitz Combat Segment 4.2 Regular Combat Segment 5. Reserve Movement Phase 6. Final Administrative Phase 6.1 War and Peace Segment 6.2 Conditional Event Segment C. Western Allied Player Turn D. Soviet Allied Player Turn E. Game Turn Interphase 7.1 Force Pool Delay Segment 7.2 Turn Record Marker Segment Some interesting stuff from the charts and tables: POLITICAL EVENTS TABLES (enabled by card play) Apply the following modifiers to all Event Table die rolls, both those on the option cards and those below. Modifers are cululative. *Add the number of VPs in the box occupied by the VP marker if it reads "Axis Tide" *Subtract the number of VPs in the box occupied by the VP marker if it reads "Allied Crusade" *Subtract the US Entry Level Number (if any) on the current Western Allied Option card ----- Diplomatic Incident Table 1 Roll on Allied Guarantee Table 2 Coup 3 Neutrality 4 Free Passage 5 Border War 6 Roll on Axis Agression Table ----- Allied Guarantee Table 1 Roll on Allied Conference Table 2 Roll on Axis Aggression Table 3 Conflicting Plans--No Result 4 Conflicting Plans--No Result 5 Roll of Axis Aggression Table 6 Roll of Allied Conference Table ----- Axis Aggression Table 1 Greater Germany 2 Poland 3 Yugoslavia 4 Greece 5 Spain 6 Italy ----- Allied Conference Table 1 Military Aid 2 Churchill Pressures Neutrals 3 Conflict Plans--No Result 4 Pacific Commitment 5 Allies Support Nationalists 6 Military Aid ----- Axis Directive Table 1 Volksturm 2 Special Weapons Failure 3 Special Weapons Success 4 Hitler Pressures Neutrals 5 Hitler Order Attack 6 Hitler Supports Nationalists ----- Assination Attempt Table 1 Military Takeover--Truce 2 Command Paralysis 3 Command Paralysis 4 Command Paralysis 5 Command Paralysis 6 Plot Discovered--No Effect ----- Hank hcmeyer@uci.edu