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Box Description
Clash of Giants II: The Campaigns of Galicia and First Ypres, 1914 contains two separate games, both using the same
basic system. Ted Raicer's sequel to his acclaimed Clash of Giants: Campaigns of Tannenberg and the Marne, 1914 features two of the most interesting and least-gamed campaigns of the First World War, Galicia and First Ypres. Galicia 1914 pits the armies of Tsarist Russia and Habsburg Austria-Hungary in a ferocious struggle along a 200 mile front that historically ended in catastrophe for the Austrians. First Ypres 1914 is the first game to cover the climax of the 'Race to the Sea' on the Western Front that followed the inconclusive Allied victory at the Marne, a series of confused attacks and counterattacks that ended in stalemate after bleeding both the German and Allied forces white.
Designed by a 9-time winner of the Charles S. Roberts Award, (including Best Games Paths of Glory and World War 2: Barbarossa to Berlin) Clash of Giants II continues Ted Raicer's record of exciting, playable, yet historically illuminating games.
Clash of Giants II uses a slightly modified version of the original design that emphasizes the difficulty of commanding groups of armies, with a system where movement allowance for each command is separately determined by a die roll. But CoGII adds an interactive random chit-pull activation sequence, so that neither player knows which of his commands will move next. Each player has only one combat phase per turn, which he may declare at the end of any one of his command activations, but which covers the entire map. This leads to many difficult game decisions: declare combat now, with only part of your forces in position to attack, or wait hoping to get more units into the line, but risk the enemy either pulling back or striking first.
Once combat is declared, CoGII uses the unique combat system so popular in Tannenberg and Marne, in which a unit's training, equipment, and morale are factored into a Tactical Efficiency Rating that often counts more than mere numbers.
Galicia 1914 covers the Austrian border with Russia from Krakow to the Romanian border. The Austrian player must attack initially in order to gain enough victory points to survive the strong Russian offensive certain to follow. Galicia features special rules for the great Austrian fortress of Przemysl, Russian cavalry replacements, rail supply, Offensive Support Markers, and the arrival of the Austrian 2nd Army.
First Ypres covers the 1914 Western Front from Lens in the south to the English Channel. Special rules include Offensive Support Markers, the Belgian retreat onto the map from Antwerp, flooding the Yser River line, French and German cavalry replacements, unknown Tactical Efficiency Ratings for the German New Reserve Corps, and British tenacity. Victory is often decided on the final turn by a last-ditch attack or defense.
Clash of Giants II can be played in 2-to-4 hours and is highly playable solitaire. This is a title fans of WW1 games, and fans of simple but not simplistic game systems, will want to own.
Game Scale
UNIT: divisions and brigades
TIME: 1-3 days per game turn
MAP: 8.8/3.3 miles per hex
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