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The games of the series are operational level games that will cover all of WW I, WW II and Modern periods using the same systems. After all, leg infantry units move today just like they did in 1914. I used the Division/Brigade level because that is the level to which I think you could direct things from the supreme command level. Battalions are really only effectively controlled by Division Commanders. Corps units often contain support units (like large chunks of artillery) that should be available to other units in the vicinity.
There are about 50 titles belonging to the series. Multiple games in the series will use the same map. For example, the map provided in 'The Schlieffen Plan' will also be used for scenarios on West Front 1918, The German Invasion of France in 1940, and The Battle of the Bulge.
Right now 'The Schlieffen Plan', ‘Tannenberg: Eagles in the East’ (Germans versus Russians in 1914 East Prussia) and 'Galicia: The Forgotten Caldron '(Austro-Hungarians versus Russians in 1914) are available. After that will come ‘Serbia’ (The Austro-Hungrian invasion of Serbia).
The entire map for the series is about 40 times the size of the map in 'The Schlieffen Plan'. It covers all of Europe, North Africa, and the middle East. If the games are economically viable (that is, sell about 1000 units apiece), then I should be able to crank out a scenario game per quarter (or thereabouts).
The full list of games can be found on the Planned Games Page.
The map for the series was made from 1940s era French army maps. The game map is therefore much more accurate in the representation of terrain than other games available. The most striking thing about the map is that terrain is per hexside, NOT per hex. This TRIPLES the amount of information on the map. This adds more realism to movement. It also adds a bit to combat, as players have to consider more in looking at which directions you are attacking a hex from.
A sample of the map can be seen here.
Although it looks very different than other maps, you will get used to it quickly, and find that it greatly increases realism, both in movement and combat. I made the decision to go with hexside terrain due to a desire to make even the map as true to reality as possible.
The patterns used for the terrain are from aerial photographs. Each pattern was made to be seamless, and to invoke the ‘feeling’ of marching across it or fighting in it. Another thing which is very different are the Resource Symbols. Other games use just plain map symbols like you would find in a road atlas. I use diagrams derived from actual pictures of typical industrial centers.
There are 560 counters in the game ‘The Schlieffen Plan’. Units represented are divisions and brigades. Corps would have reduced the number of pieces substantially, but greatly limit the players in making operational decisions. The pieces are pretty standard, but do have a couple of nice features. The color inside the unit type box is the color used by the unit’s country for that branch of the service. For this reason, the German infantry units have white as the color in their unit type boxes, while French infantry have a darker blue. Also on each combat unit piece is a symbol that shows the full strength of units of that type. This is used in recombining understrength units. The Headquarter units use their national flags for unit type identification. The German Headquarters really came out well for the intricacies involved (The eagle in the middle).
First, the game will use what could be called 'layered complexity'. You will note on the map that 7 hexes make up a 'macrohex' while 7 'macrohexes' make up a 'megahex' this allows the scale of the game to be increased, and will be used in modern games (naval aspects of WW II games) as rules are brought in to reflect the abilities of more complex weapon systems.
The WW I games (such as 'The Schlieffen Plan') use an almost pure infantry system for land warfare. The WW II games will add the 'layer' of armor systems (and their interaction with infantry systems), as well as the air dimension.
The game uses a shorter game turn than most other games of this scale. The time scale is four days per turn. A two week game turn makes a game an abstract. Four day turns allow more realistic action-reaction decision making between players.
The turn sequence is rather simple. It is the move phase and then the combat phase, then same for other side. Complexity in the turn sequence will be added as more complex systems are introduced (air, armor). This simple turn sequence works because of setting time per turn to about 4 days. If the turns were longer periods of time, I would have had to use a much more complex turn sequence.
The combat system of the game is designed so that every strength point you bring to bear influences the attack. I got tired of having 31 strength points attacking some 8 strength point unit, and having to use 3 to 1 odds. Any commander in real life would use (and want to use) everything available, and expect it to increase his chances of success. The combat resolution system is what I like to refer to as 'entirely strength point dependent'. Every strength point brought to bear in an attack increases your ability to do damage. Also, all combat results are in terms of strength points that units lose. Thus combat always results in losses (which I believe is reality). I've never thought that it was realistic to have units involved in numerous combats and, by the heavy use of DR and AR results end up still at full strength at the end of a campaign.
I have been playing games since the early 1970s. I was a fan of the earliest of the ‘monster’ games, ‘War in the East’ and ‘War in Europe’ both by SPI, and the original ‘Drang nach Osten’ (the first of the Europa series) by GDW. These were huge hits with me. Yet each of these games had what I considered to be large flaws. Too many game aspects were abstract (naval and air combat in the SPI titles, TIME in the GDW title). Many unit values were blatantly wrong (Russian unit values in the SPI titles), and the combat resolution systems in all of these games left a LOT to be desired.
Over the years I thought a lot about designing a game that would be as realistic and playable as possible, and one which would use the same basic systems to represent conflict across all of the first half of this century. The result is the ‘Der Weltkrieg’ series, of which ‘The Schlieffen Plan’ is the first part. The entire map is already done. The rules and scenarios are already done. The reason it’s not being released all at once is simple economics. I don’t have the kind of money that it would take to release this thing all at once.
