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Background:
I was introduced to Memoir ‘44 recently by my fellow geek and gaming buddy Kent Reuber. We got to play 3 games in about 4 hours. At one point, Kent said something along the lines of: “You know, as I get older..”, and then went on to talk about how
he didn’t have the time or the inclination to devote lots of effort to complex rules and painfully long setup times. The moment was fairly poignant to me, as the exact same words have come out of my own mouth at various times. He went on to wonder aloud about older guys even wanting to devote lots of time and effort to the playing the more complicated and involved games. I had to confess to him that I couldn’t really imagine having more fun if we’d been playing one of those old wargames like we once played in our youth. (Those games with the realistic handling of weapons, morale, logistics etc)

I lived and breathed that stuff in the 1980s and ‘90s. I cut my wargaming teeth on games like The Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, 6th Fleet, Flat Top, and Squad Leader. Additionally, as I’ve related elsewhere, one of my buddies and I routinely corrected naval wargames based on weapons specifications we’d gleaned from actual classified tech pubs. Our doctored games were probably illegal in the literal sense of the word, but there you have it. We weren’t going to play games wherein someone stated that the warship Kirov had a maximum speed of “x”, when in fact we knew it to be “y”. We were pigheaded and very literal about that kind of stuff.

A very quick peak in the box:
M44 is a light, card driven wargame. You get a bunch of toy soldiers, tanks, and cannon, and you play with them on a simplistic board which is prepped with the modular hex terrain for that scenario. The board and the terrain hexes are printed on heavy card stock. They should last a good long while. The art is adequate, if a bit bland. The plastic pieces are serviceable. The soldiers look like soldiers, the tanks look like tanks, and the cannon look like cannon. The different armies are cast in different colors of plastic, and some effort has been put into making the pieces distinctive. The sculpts are not historically accurate, but I’m going to refrain from getting upset about that. We didn’t bring M44 to the table to learn about WW2. We brought M44 to the table to have fun. Our enjoyment was in no way diminished by our factual knowledge of WW2 tactics, logistics, materiel, or morale.

Setting Up the Game:
The rules have glossy drawings that show you how to set up the board, and it goes pretty quickly with both players pitching in. If you store the parts in a Plano or craft box, things go even faster.

How it Plays:
M44 is very light on realism and specifications fetishism, but heavy in the fun department. It gets going fast, and rolls right along from the beginning of a scenario right ‘til the end. The rules are easily mastered and aren’t particularly complicated.

The three games we played were asymmetrical, which was a big plus. That means that the two sides play somewhat differently from each other, based on the types of forces and terrain available. Kent and I played “Omaha Beach” from each of the two sides, as well as one of the Russian scenarios from a newly opened expansion. There are tons of expansions, adding more terrain and units. I can easily envision hundreds of hours of play between the basic materials and the expansions.

Your play board is divided up into three parts: The left and right flanks, and the center. The cards you use to activate units typically refer to a specific sector, and a certain number of units that can be used. There are of course a variety of special cards, but their use is relatively easy to understand just using the text on the cards themselves.

Combat:
Some would say that M44s combat system can be summed up thusly: “You pick a strategy you’d like to use, and then the cards and dice screw you”. While that may be true to some extent, the game really hinges on you making the best of what you’ve got. You do this with the understanding that your best laid plans may go awry. This is really about chaos management, and staying flexible no matter what is thrown at you. (By your opponent, the dice, or the cards)

In summary, your turn boils down to this:

1. Play a card.
2. Move and attack with the forces in the sector(s) indicated.
3. Resolve combat and remove casualties.
4. Draw another card.

I could go into greater detail about the exact order of battle, terrain and die modifiers, and that type of stuff, but that would detract from the simplicity of M44. This is a “pick up and play now”, kind of game. It’s not complicated – and you get the basic ideas down within a few moves. The real meat of the game is not found in the realistic depiction of the fighting forces present in WW2. It’s really about chaos management, and out maneuvering your opponent. Since the forces on the two sides are nearly identical, it becomes a contest of wits between you and your opponent. (The cards and dice may support your plan if they’ve got nothing better to do)

To me, a good game is one in which you’re asked to make interesting or difficult decisions. While not accurate or realistic from a historical perspective, M44 forces you to make lots of choices throughout the game. Granted – some of them are along the lines of “What am I going to do with this crappy hand?”, but it’s a decision none-the-less. You have choices, and while they’re not always palatable, they are usually engaging. It’s part of the asymmetry of the game that I mentioned earlier. It’s actually due in part to the cards and dice, that the scenarios play differently from game to game. You never quite know what to expect.

Some would argue that the choices presented by M44 are rather meaningless. They’d say that the randomness of the cards and dice remove the player from having a credible experience as a field commander. I respectfully disagree. Ladies and gentlemen, while luck is indeed a factor in the game, I submit to you that planning and forethought will often carry the day. One thing is certain however, and that is that you must contend with the unknown. Often times, the question is not: “What’s the strongest attack that I can make at right this moment?”, but rather: “What kind of attack can I launch that is sustainable? Will I be able to maintain momentum?”. Sure, you may have a nice card or two in your hand right now, but that will change momentarily. While you may be able to rally the boys around the flag this turn, subsequently they may decide that they’re tired and need a rest.

Sounds more like a real war every minute!

The cards represent a type of logistics. While amateurs may worry about troop strengths, professionals fret about logistics. The cards are your logistics, and they’re your life blood. Spend them thoughtlessly at your own peril.

Looking at the array of action cards in front of you, you have to decide what the best course of action is. You’re forced to ask questions that are actually quite difficult. For example, if half of your cards are for the right flank, do you just “go for it”, or open with a feint? Do you lure away the units straddling the sectors so that they can’t respond adequately to your future attacks? Does your preponderance of right flank cards indicate that your left flank will be quieter? (Due to a reduced number of cards available to your opponent) Lots of decisions. I found them interesting, and the games didn’t drag on into a slugging match like so many war games do. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

On the Critical Side:
Earlier I used the term “specifications fetishism” – this was a sideways comment directed at people like myself who once had serious reservations about games where technical accuracy wasn’t of paramount importance. In M44, the homogenous treatment of military tactics and materiel will drive some people nuts. Let’s face it people – the tanks, infantry, cannon, etc are all pretty much the same. Additionally, both sides draw from the same deck for the purposes of executing orders. There’s precious little difference between the two sides engaging in conflict. (Except for force disposition) There’s also a large amount of luck here, as conflicts are driven by the card deck as well as the dice.

After enjoying playing this game immensely, I had to ask myself: “Does this game lose any credibility with me because the designers didn’t adhere to readily available fact, figures, and statistics from WW2 history?”.

Simply put: “No”. Kent and I had a blast. As much as it depends on me, he’ll always have a ready opponent to sit across the table from him.

M44: The Final perspective.
M44 makes no pretense about being a realistic depiction of war. It is however – a very enjoyable light wargame. We had a blast playing with our toy soldiers, and I even caught myself making spontaneous “shooting sounds” when one of my squads did particularly well. I caught myself before I continued, and sheepishly went back to the turn at hand. I did apologize however, and issued myself a geeky “Grognard demerit” for conduct unbecoming a wargamer.

We had loads of fun playing M44, and I’m certain we’ll continue to do so. While I’m still acutely aware that my 88mm Pak 43 parked on that hill over there could blow that T-34s engine cleanly out of its chassis at 500 meters – Frankly Herr Field Marshall, I don’t give a damn.

I like this game. A big thumbs up from me!