This company and their games is really my new game/new company sharing as I have no experience with their products as I have never played a Three Crowns Games product. I did share last year information on their Stargard Solstice game but to date have not played anything from them. I think that this new game called Iskra: Spark of Victory looks to be an interesting topic and a great looking package. As such, I reached out to the designer Stefan Ekström and he was more than willing to share.

Grant: First off Stefan please tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies? What’s your day job?

Stefan: I’m an xml programmer, doing tariffs, etc. for parking meters. Been working in the parking business for 30 years in different companies and aspects. My biggest hobby besides history and strategic board games is competing in darts. I usually enter one competition a week. Am I any good? No, but it is great fun and people are nice.

Grant: What motivated you to break into game design? What have you enjoyed most about the experience thus far?

Stefan: In 1989, I was introduced to wargames by my brother-in-law who challenged me to The Russian Campaign. It knocked me down without problems but I was hooked. I really enjoyed all new games that we tested over the years. But I found the I-GO-YOU-GO systems to be too rigid, more like Chess, which hampered a lot of good games. Each gamer always had total control over all their fronts which I thought was far from real life.

So, in the Summer of 2009 I was introduced to A Victory Lost and finally found a mechanic that roughly pictured how I thought a wargame should work. The other two games that have influenced me are Ardennes by The Gamers and Avalon Hill’s The Longest Day.

In general, I need 14 months to complete a game, from research to ready product. First 6 months are spent on research. This is as enjoyable and expensive as it is frustrating but I love it. I prefer first hand sources so finding German and Russian sources takes a bit of time. This is an important part of the series. 

Grant: What is your upcoming game Iskra: Spark of Victory about?

Stefan: The game handles the Soviet attempt to break the siege of Leningrad, which had been going on for over 900 days, and open up a supply route to the enclave. The Soviets had tried and failed a couple of times earlier.

Grant: Why was this a subject that drew your interest?

Stefan: First reason was that I have a special interest in the fighting up north (being a Swede) and I noticed that there were not that many games on Leningrad. Then I stumbled on the battles attempting to liberate Leningrad and found that Operation Iskra (Russian for Spark) would be excellent as a game.

Grant: What is your design goal with the game?

Stefan: That people learn a bit about this battle, and at least get curious about the campaign. That they enjoy and have a good time playing it and want to play it again.

Grant: What are the hallmarks of the WWII Battle Series?

Stefan: I have 5 criteria that have to be fulfilled before a game is released in the WWII Battle Series so I guess these are the hallmarks:

1. Re-playable – I want players to be able to explore the subject.

2. Fun – the game must be enjoyable and with easy rules to encourage replay.

3. Historically accurate – Being true to the history of the battle is very important to me and I will not sacrifice historical accuracy.

4. Solid design quality – the mechanics have to mesh well and be easy to pick up but not necessarily simplistic.

5. By knowing rules 1-12, you know the entirety of the series.

Grant: What research did you do to get the details correct? What one must read source would you recommend?

This is my private library and what I used to research the game:

Die 1 (ostpreußische) Infanterie Division – Werner Richter

Geschichte der 96 Infanterie Division –  H.Pohlmann

Weg und Schicksel der 11 Infanterie Division – Werner Buxa

Die 61 Infanterie Division – Walter Hubatsch

Wolchow – Hartwig Pohlman

Der Kampf am Wolchow und Leningrad – Werner Buxa

Leningrad, Wolchow, Kurland – Werner Haupt

Tragödie an der Newa – Hasso G. Stachow

The Battle for Leningrad 1941-1944 – David M Glantz

Army Group North, The Wehrmacht in Russia 1941-1945 – Werner Haupt

The German Air Force versus Russia, 1943 –Generalleutnant Hermann Plocher, USAF Historical Studies: No. 155, 1967

(Journals of military operations of troops 8th Army, 2 Shock Army and 67th Army, January 1943)

The best book and source have been Geschichte der 96 Infanterie Division by  H.Pohlmann but it´s in German. I do not know if it´s translated into English.

Grant: What is most important to model from the East Front of WWII?

Stefan: Tough question. As I see it, the East Front has to be split in time and geography to treat it correctly. But it really doesn´t matter.

When I create a game I always start with a map on the start positions and add a map on the end positions. This is the game to me. That’s why I never bother with scale. It is the end result and the possibility to achieve it that is important. And what were the end goals for both sides.

Grant: What is the scale of the design? Force structure of the units?

Stefan: One hex is about 0.8 km (0.5 miles).

German units are Battalions and Soviet units are Regiments.

Grant: What different armies and formations make up the forces in the game?

Stefan: On the German side there are divisions of the 26th Corps, later reinforced by units from the German 54th Corps. The Germans are attacked in the west by the Soviet Leningrad Fronts 67th Army and in the east by Volkhov Fronts 2nd Shock Army and parts of 8th Army.

There are not a lot of armor units (understandable) but there are some. Notable is that this was the first battle where the Tiger I was used.

Grant: How does the game use Chit Pull?

Stefan: On the German side all units under the drawn divisional HQ may act. On the Soviet side, the player may choose three divisions or brigades to use per drawn chit.

Grant: What are the various chits which are added to the draw cup?

Stefan: The German chits included in the drawn cup are mostly divisions including a special chit on the 18A. The Soviet player’s chits are Armies and include special chits on the Leningrad Front and the Volkhov Front.

Grant: How do you model the elements and extreme cold conditions of the battle?

Stefan: The severe impacts of the weather, including both snow accumulations and freezing temperatures, is simply modelled by units have low movement values and difficulty in properly tracing lines of supply. You have to think ahead and not simply run along a road just because it is open.

Grant: What area does the map cover?

Stefan: The map covers the terrain located to the west of the City of Leningrad, the Isthmus west of River Neva with the town of Schlisselburg (Schlüsselburg in German (trans; Key Castle)). The Isthmus is in the southern part of Lake Ladoga which is located in the far right hand corner of the map.

Grant: What strategic considerations are created by the terrain?

Stefan: Since it is January and the fight was carried out in 30 cm of snow and with temperatures ranging from -30 to -40 degrees Celsius, most movements are carried out strictly along the road system. And more important are the supply routes. So, its more the weather than the terrain that creates challenges for both players.

Grant: How does combat work?

Stefan: In the Combat Segment, the active player can attack enemy units adjacent to his activated combat units. Units are not forced to attack. Combats are resolved one by one by the attacker. Total the sum of the attack strength, possibly modified by supply issues, etc. and divide with the modified defense strength to give a correct ratio on the Combat Results Table. Roll a die to find correct end result.

Grant: What is the makeup of the Combat Results Table? Any interesting odds?

Stefan: The Combat Results Table is really not built around any specific odds which might sound odd. It is built on a day-by-day historic result counted backwards. The Soviet used their troops recklessly and the losses were terrible. That’s why the Soviets always suffer more on the CRT than the Germans. Generally, there are more retreat results found than losses.

Grant: How are Air assets used?

Stefan: Air units have a front (2) and back (1) side. Interacting with units in an attack they provide shifts on the Combat Results Table in the upcoming combat. If the attacker uses the 2-shift side it takes at least 2 turns for the Air unit to become available again. Likewise, if using the 1 shift instead it may become available next turn.

Grant: What is the reinforcement schedule? Where did you verify your information?

Stefan: The reinforcements are the arriving units that form the Soviet second wave and the German reinforcements from the German 54th Corps. The information on their arrival are facts from Soviet war journals and German divisional books from first hand eyewitness accounts. Usually I have a geographic place when and where they arrived.

Grant: What is the game length? Are there any scenarios included?

Stefan: The game length is 10 turns where 1 turn represents 1 day. The game is played in 6-8 hours. It works excellent as a three-player game with 2 players playing each of the Soviet Fronts.

No, there are no extra scenarios included in the game. There is a reason for this.

By implementing scenarios, you create small games within the game. They have to be as well researched and tested as the main game otherwise they destroy the whole game. It would also prolong our timeframe of creating a game a year. We now try to do scenarios afterwards and have them downloadable from our web page instead.

Grant: How is victory achieved?

Stefan: The game has 15 Victory Point hexes, which the German player controls from the start. Victory conditions are based on the difference of possessed objectives at the end. There are also Sudden Death wins: The German wins by preventing the Soviet side in capturing enough Victory Points during certain turns. The Soviet player wins by occupying Sinjavino Heights or Mga at the end of any turn during the game.

Grant: What are you most pleased about with the outcome of the design?

Stefan: Its re-playability. No game plays the same, not even solitaire. Also, that it works excellent as a three-player game. Really glad about that.

I worked hard on the events and they do their part in bringing the game to a dense fight.

Grant: What type of experience does the game create for players?

Stefan: Hopefully an enjoyable ride. Usually everybody ends up with a defeat on the first run but they always know what they´ve done wrong and then can learn from those mistakes and do better upon future plays. The game lends itself to be replayed. Just to break one’s own earlier result.

Grant: What has been the feedback of your playtesters?

Stefan: I asked the playtesters for feedback for publishing on Consim. This is what they wrote:

“I think this maybe is the best game in the series due to the situation and the fact that both sides have the ability to make attacks and indeed must do so.

Iskra is a ‘must have’ for those that play the WWII chit-pull games. Exciting situation and a CRT interesting to both attacker and defender.”

– Vince Hughes

“I rank Iskra the best game to date in the series. A fantastic, tense evolution of the game system.”

– Jeff Patterson

“Iskra is my favorite in the series to date. A nice, clean, wonder game on an under-represented topic.”

– Robert Camp

“Best in the series for me. Perfect implementation of the chit-pull mechanic.”

– Steven Lee

“I’d say it’s an easy game in rules as a lot of finesse is handled in the system and not obvious with governing rules. Easy, but not simple. Played twice. Happy to play a third time.”

– Ola Palmquist

“It is THE game for 3 players…and it actually plays faster than a two-player game. You have to buy this game, there is nothing that comes this close to simulating the differences in operations and command of both sides…every turn involves taking gambles that may or may not come off.“

– David Larsen

“What I especially appreciate, is that it depicts a fairly little-known campaign on the Eastern Front, which is Operation Iskra. I would recommend this game, especially to folks who enjoy the chit-pull system.”

– Kamil Majerski

Grant: What other designs are you currently working on?

Stefan: In the WWII Battle Series there are at least 3 games in the pipe. Based on the rule system I am now co-designing and developing the following: Polar Storm (Petsamo-Kirkenes 1944), Dance of War (First El-Alamein 1943) and Stalin’s Lost Chance (Ladoga-Karelia, Winter War 1939). I am also working on Mud & Blood (Lodz 1914) and North to Jerusalem (Palestine 1917) in the Collision of Empires Series.

Thanks so much for your time in answering our questions Stefan. We appreciate this approach and really want to give this game and system a play.

If you are interested in Iskra: Spark of Victory, 4th Sinjavino Offensive, you can order a copy for 42,50 € ($46.15) from the Three Crowns Games website at the following link: https://www.threecrownsgames.com/product-page/iskra

-Grant