I can't shake the feeling that it is too early for my to write this post. The two initial War Stories games are not yet in general release. As a Kickstarter backer, I was able to pick up my copies at WBC a couple weeks ago, but there are very few copies out there. The rulebooks have only just been posted online. We know the development of the system has been fraught with calamity, and in fact given the snapshots of the system revealed over the last couple years it has gone through dramatic changes right up until publication. What does all this mean?
My first impression, upon tearing into the shrinkwrap at WBC, was one of overwhelming quality. From the graphic design to the component specs, this is a top-notch production. Solidly thick boards and overlays, uniformly painted blocks, attractive and high utility stickers, rules in full color, sturdy combination play aids and screens -- few among us indeed would be disappointed upon opening the box. I read the rules and aside from a couple ambiguities I was champing at the bit to get this to the table.
Please note, I am putting the photos in this review in spoiler tags, since they reveal information about the Soviet side in the first scenario.
But what does War Stories bring to the table that other WW2 tactical systems do not? "Fog of war" seems to be the order of the day. Using stickered blocks as playing pieces hearkens back to the dawn of the wargame age and is nothing new, but these scenarios and systems have been designed to keep you in the dark about your opponent's intentions and capabilities to a level rarely seen in the hobby. You are from the start discouraged from reading through the scenario book; you are instructed to read only the description for the scenario you are playing, and only for the side you are playing. Each side has their own book detailing only their own set up and objectives; your opponent is a mystery. An event deck is constructed with some cards seeded by each player; this will act as a timer with a "game over" card near the bottom. Other cards detail assets which are secretly assigned to units, representing things like APCR ammo or Molotov cocktails.
Nothing changes how one approaches a tactical situation more than a lack of information. So far, so good, then. War Stories goes out of its way to remove as much information as it can before play. 993
In fact, in the two games I have played to date, my opponent and I agreed to reveal as little as necessary during the game. Obviously this requires adhering to an "honor system" so that one can properly apply modifiers like the downshift for firing at extended range, but in all we did not find playing under these conditions cumbersome.
Other reviews will give a better overview of the mechanics of play, but I will summarize here. In turn players play an Orders chip to activate some of their units to fire, move, or rally. Infantry units that act are "spent"; weapons teams and vehicles are not. Vehicles have three "modes": fire, move, and support (which allows a little of both). After orders, a player is given a number of "regroups" which ready a spent infantry unit or change the mode of a vehicle.
Although the board is divided into the usual hexes, these hexes are grouped into larger areas. Terrain overlays alter these area designations, with more difficult terrain grouping hexes into smaller (even one-hex) areas. Movement is generally by area, although "reduced" movement (due to suppression, casualties, etc.) is by hex instead. There is no terrain chart, because movement costs are built in to the map. This alone makes War Stories an advance in the state of the art.
Fire combat is resolved by counting the range to the target in hexes and pulling one of a couple dozen "combat chips" from a bag. Each chip has an infantry-target and vehicle-target size. You scan the chip for the band matching the firing range, then shift up or down for a variety of factors (notably weapon strength and terrain). The band you finally land in gives the combat result, from misses to suppression, reduction, and elimination. Some chips provoke the draw of an event card mid-resolution; this can only happen once per turn, and the turning of an event card acts as a timekeeper as well.
Rally and close combat both use a simple morale system where a chip is drawn as above and its "valor" value is checked against or added to that of the unit. Close combat is especially contentious: if a unit does not kill its opponent, it automatically takes casualties as well.
All of this sounds fairly clear and straightforward, and it is -- except when it's not. We had a dozen questions concerning things ambiguous, contradictory, or outright missing in the rules from our first play. 100