Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1965 that simulates the World War II battle of the same name. The game was developed with the technical aid of General Anthony C. McAuliffe, who had been commanding officer at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. The game proved popular and sold more than 120,000 copies, but was dogged by criticisms of historical inaccuracies, and was finally replaced by a completely new edition in 1981. A third edition in 1991 was released as part of the Smithsonian American History Series.

Why is Battle of the Bulge Popular?

Battle of the Bulge is significant because it is one of the earliest and most popular wargames ever published. It was one of the first games to use hexagonal grids to represent terrain, and it was also one of the first games to use counters to represent military units. The game is also significant because it was developed with the technical aid of General Anthony C. McAuliffe, who had been commanding officer at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Game Components of Battle of the Bulge

195 ½” single-sided die-cut counters4-page Basic Game rules16-page Advanced Game rules22″ x 28″ hexagonal grid map of the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg

Game Setup of Battle of the Bulge

Players: 2Setup time: 10 minutesPlaying time: 5–8 hoursChance: MediumSkills: Planning, Terrain control, Delay tactics

Gameplay Mechanics of Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge is a two-player game in which the German player must attack aggressively in order to attempt to change Germany’s historical defeat into victory, while the American player must be able to transition from delaying tactics in the early game to assaults once force superiority is gained in the late game in order to replicate the historical Allied victory.

Game Objective of Battle of the Bulge

The objective of the game is to replicate the historical outcome of the Battle of the Bulge. The German player must attempt to change Germany’s historical defeat into victory, while the American player must be able to transition from delaying tactics in the early game to assaults once force superiority is gained in the late game in order to replicate the historical Allied victory.

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