The Enemy is at the Gates: Battle for Berlin is the second installment in the Modern War Series using the Company Scale System but that adds in some new rules to show the type of bitter fighting that would have bene involved in this Cold War Gone Hot game set in 1985. While this game is huge, and absolutely is not for a beginner, the game is truly highly playable and has a major emphasis on command and equipment. With a game this big though, it’s fascinating to play with company scaled units, because you get huge grand strategy, but also micromanagement of heavy weapons teams and mortar platoons from battalion. To me the way this game played out was not only very enjoyable as a game, but I felt some real gravitas for the terrors of war whilst playing this one as the game models the effects on daily life in the city of Berlin with disruptions to the power grid, spreading fires from combat and the effect of transportation gridlock for civilians.

The Company Scale System uses an chit draw system that really puts some unknown in what groups of units can activate and even when they will activate. There are also events and if the chit cup runs dry before all of the units can activate due to the end round chit then you are just sore out of luck. You have to prepare for this inevitability and I loved the concept of prioritizing your activations and making sure you activate what you absolutely have to before doing those units that would be beneficial to activate.

-Grant