I've become a fan of Clash of Arms games. I picked up their 3rd ed. Napoleon at Leipzig and La Bataille de Lutzen at my FLGS, and I was looking for more of the same quality hex-and-counter wargame product. My FLGS also had Zorndorf and Leuthen - Frederick's Greatest Victory. After doing a little research on BGG, I decided that Zorndorf sounded more friendly to a novice to the Seven Years War and the Battles from the Age of Reason (BAR) system. When I got this game, I knew very little about the Seven Years War in Europe. I found that I had jumped into the deep end of Seven Years War gaming. At least I didn't clonk my head on the bottom of the pool.

Presentation and Components:
This game is beautiful! The cover features a dashing painting of Seydlitz leading a cavalry charge, and the fonts and colors work well to make a product that stand out on the shelf. The rulebook, scenario book/historical commentary, and reference charts are all nicely put together and well illustrated. The map is a visual delight, and very well detailed, and the counters are colorful miniatures of the uniforms of the units they represent.

Rules:
I've seen BAR described as like La Bataille, but easier. It takes it's roots from that system, but I think it's different enough to say that comment oversimplifies things. I would definitely agree that the BAR system is easier to learn than the La Bataille system. It's slightly less complex, and I think the rules are explained better in the rulebook. The examples of play, sequence of play chart, and reference charts are a huge aid to decoding all the rules. One thing that kind of through me for a loop was that the artillery unit ranges are only listed on a reference sheet. I went crazy looking for them for a while in the rules, then finally found them all spelled out and clear as day on one of the reference sheets.

Gameplay:
Once you have a general understanding of the rules, and have read through the examples of play, I recommend just giving the starter scenario a try. There is a lot of chart checking, but as play progresses, you'll get the hang of the routine, and play actually goes pretty smoothly. Combat is really bloody! This is entirely appropriate, but it takes some getting used to. It might only take a couple of rounds of fire to break or eliminate one of your units. This was a good lesson to learn for future sessions. I have to say that once I started to get the hang of how combat works in the BAR system, it went much more smoothly and was more fun than I initially thought it would be.

Conclusion:
I really like this game! Zorndorf is a pretty heavy game, but with way the rules are written, and the player aids provided, it's not as hard and heavy as it seems at first. This is a fun wargame and simulation, although I understand there are some complaints about balance between the Russians and Prussians, I can at least recommend this as a game that I enjoy, and that taught me a lot about the Seven Years War and the Battle of Zorndorf.