First off, this series is being done as a bit of a lark as wargaming has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas so if anyone is offended, please just stop reading now.

On the 3rd day of Christmas War Gaming my true love gave to me…

3 Blockade Runners Running

Kaiserkrieg! is a strategic solitaire wargame covering the First World War over the period of 1914-1918. The game is a States of Siege Series game designed by Ben Madison that takes a slightly different look at the venerable system by focusing on a horizontal model versus a vertical model where there are no tracks converging on a central point but various staging areas that buildup until they then attack. The player controls the Central Powers including Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria against the Entente Powers including Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia and the United States. The game attempts to cover all aspects of the war with various abstracted elements such as the war in various theaters outside of Europe and with several operations such as the Naval/Air Warfare Phase.

During the Naval/Air Warfare Phase, the player will place out their available Blockade Runners on various seas zones numbered 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 and 4 in order to attempt to break Allied blockades and deliver goods and funds to Germany to fuel the war effort. Each of these numbered sea zones will provide a haul of Reichsmarks based on the number of the sea zone if they are able to evade the British Cruisers. This is determined by rolling 2d6 and consulting the British Cruisers Table to find out in what sea zones the available British Cruisers will be placed. If there is a Blockade Runner in the determined sea zone, it will be destroyed and placed in the Neutral Ports box where it will wait to be built later at a cost of 2 RM. If the rolled sea zone contains a Blockade Runner and the High Seas Fleet marker, the British Cruiser will be unable to destroy the Blockade Runner and a naval combat will ensue.

In the above picture, the Central Powers defeat the British Cruiser with the High Seas Fleet and the 3 Blockade Runners placed in seas zones 2b, 3 and 4 bring home a cash haul of 9 Reichsmarks that will be used to take actions and push back the amassing Entente forces in the various staging areas to avoid an Over the Top chit from being placed and prevent the built up forces there attacking into Germany. This process of gaining income is very interesting and unique and it really feels correct as you are trying to do your best to avoid and destroy the British Cruisers so that you have your choice of the best producing sea zones without the fear of Entente intervention.

If you are interested in Kaiserkrieg! The Great War 1914-1918, you can purchase a copy for $54.00 from the White Dog Games website at the following link: https://www.whitedoggames.com/kaiserkrieg

You can catch up on the posts in this series to date at the following links:

A Spotter in a Smokestack – Saipan – The Bloody Rock

2 Bridges Blowing – Holland ’44: Operation Market Garden

-Grant