{"id":6497,"date":"2017-06-04T12:22:46","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T17:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/?p=6497"},"modified":"2017-06-04T12:22:46","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T17:22:46","slug":"memoir-44-board-game-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/?p=6497","title":{"rendered":"Memoir ’44 – Board Game Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Memoir \u201944 is a WWII war game inspired by the fighting on the Western Front in 1944. It includes a two-sided board (field and beachhead) and a stack of different terrain hexes that let you construct a series of different battles. Most of the fighting is between American and German armies, represented by two plastic armies of different colors. There are a couple of scenarios with British commandos and French Resistance for good measure though.<\/p>\n

The board is divided into three sections: left, center, and right. Each player has a number of cards and alternate playing them one at a time, drawing a new a replacement at the end of each turn. Most cards will let you order a certain number of units in a given section (e.g. Attack Right \u2013 Issue an order to three units on the right flank). Other cards will have special orders that aren\u2019t defined by their sector, like an Armor Assault (Issue four armor units an order).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Battling happens by rolling a series of dice based on the unit you\u2019re using and the distance from which you are engaging. You destroy enemy units by rolling the unit\u2019s symbol or a grenade. A flag makes the enemy retreat. Stars are usually a miss, but certain cards such as Air Power will count them as a hit.<\/p>\n

The goal of the game is to collect medals, usually around\u00a0five\u00a0or six. The first to collect the number of medals designated by the scenario wins. You collect medals by capturing and holding special objectives, such as bridges and towns, and by eliminating enemy units.<\/p>\n

Memoir \u201944 is a two-player game and each game takes about an hour to play. There is an option that lets you put two boards together to play what are called Overlord scenarios, which let you play with six to eight players.<\/p>\n

The Good:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Memoir \u201944 is easy to learn<\/strong>. After the first turn or so, everyone to whom I have taught this game has gotten the hang of it. There are also more basic rules if you want to teach kids how to play. This is a great option if you want to break out a designer game but don\u2019t want to deal with overly complex rules.<\/li>\n
  2. The hex terrain gives the game great replay value<\/strong>. The instruction booklet includes sixteen different battles. The diversity of cards and dice rolls makes even the same battle play out differently. I have put hours and hours into this game and still don\u2019t feel like I’ve exhausted it. The game system is flexible enough to accommodate a wide array of expansions as well (more on some of those to come).<\/li>\n
  3. This game comes with the added benefit of learning something<\/strong>. Each battle begins with a brief historical overview so you know where this fits in the war. I like playing out these battles while also learning a bit about WWII in the process.<\/li>\n
  4. The game is\u00a0well constructed<\/strong>. The German and American armies are different molds, rather than just different colored plastic. The hexes are thick and durable. This game will hold up with lots of use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Bad:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. In my opinion, the cards are a mixed bag. <\/em><\/strong>I like how they diversify the game and add in some surprise. However, you can be in serious trouble if you get bad cards. I\u2019ve had a few games where the other player is hammering one of my flanks and I can\u2019t get any cards to play on that side. It\u2019s rare not to have at least some option, but it\u2019s discouraging when it does happen.<\/li>\n
    2. It\u2019s a dice game<\/strong>. Personally, this doesn\u2019t bother me but I know some people really don\u2019t like dice games. At the end of the day, you can position your units in just the right spots, use the terrain just right, and still get thwarted by dice rolls. You\u2019ll have to decide how heavily that weighs on your gaming experience.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Final Thoughts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"I really like Memoir \u201944. It\u2019s a fun war game that occupies a middle ground between being too casual and too involved. It\u2019s short enough to break out without a major time commitment, but complex to give you a satisfying strategic experience. It\u2019s fast paced without being shallow. This isn\u2019t a full-fledged Axis and Allies type of experience, but it\u2019s a very satisfying experience in its own right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Overview: Memoir \u201944 is a WWII war game inspired by the fighting on the Western Front in 1944. It includes a two-sided board (field and beachhead) and a stack of different terrain hexes that let you construct a series of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7902,"featured_media":6502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,117],"tags":[267,120,392,234,399,400],"class_list":["post-6497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-board-games","tag-board-games","tag-review","tag-strategy","tag-tom","tag-world-war-ii","tag-wwii","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7902"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6497"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6512,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497\/revisions\/6512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theendgamesblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}