Blocks in the West

Blocks in the West is a game of World War II conflict simulation at the operational level.

It recalls the most decisive battles fought on the Western Front from the battle for France in Spring 1940 until the dramatic end in Berlin in spring 1945. Although based on historical events and battles, the players in command of the two factions can modify the evolution of World War II on the Western Front.

The game is recommended for two, three or four players: one/two control the Western Allies and the other one/two control Germany and Italy. The game is emminently suitable for solitary play: the single player just controls both sides. In this case, a play with Fog of War is mandatory.

The rules are divided into three major sections which can be learned one at a time:

• The first section is the BASIC GAME RULES which introduces the basic concepts and enables players to start playing the game without too many rules to remember.
• Then the ADVANCED GAME RULES provide more specific and detailed rules for an enhanced realism, such as the use of Fuel and the Advanced Production System.
• Finally, for those players who want to get the best out of the game, OPTIONAL RULES can be added as desired. The Optional Rules include Technology Research, Strategic warfare over German factories and U-Boot Campaign in the Atlantic Ocean, Amphibious Invasions, Parachute Assaults…

Scale:

• A hexagon is approximately 44 miles (70 km) across.
• A game turn is 1 month long.
• A full strength counter represents a major military formation (normally a corps) of ca. 30,000 men, 300 Tanks or 300 planes – depending on the unit type, equipment, nationality, etc.

The game can be played with the Fog of War on (wooden blocks are placed on the map in such a way the opponent player can not see them) OR with Fog of War OFF (all units are visible).

With over 300 unit counters and 300 different resource points of various colors, players can enjoy hours of fun by playing one of the 2 Campaign (maybe combined with BITE) or by playing one of the other scenarios. Each scenario has a different length (from 1 to 10 turns) and a difficulty level, rated in brackets from 1 (Very Easy) to 10 (Very Hard):

Short scenarios:

• SBW1: La Gotica - April 1945
• SBW2: Ardennes ’44 – The Bulge
• SBW3: Fall Gelb – France 1940

Long scenarios and Campaign:

• SBW4: Operation Husky – Sicily 1943 July – September 1943
• SBW5: The Battle of England July – October 1940
• SBW6: Victory in the West May – October 1940
• SBW7: The last days of Mussolini July – November 1943
• SBW8: Overlord – Normandie ‘44 June 1944 – July 1944
• SBW9: Short Downfal June – November 1944
• SBW10: Downfall June 1944 – May 1945

Every scenario has different victory conditions and length, with a different playing time of 1 hour for the short scenarios and 4+ hours for the long scenarios.

There is also 1 Campaign, playable in combination with BITE: SBEW2: DOWFALL The Campaign 1944 – 45
 

Components:

• 2 87x62 cm mapboards (laminated)
• 1 rules manual
• 1 Expansion Map
• 1 Scenario Journal Setup Charts
• 2 Player AID
• 40 wooden light blue blocks (France)
• 100 wooden black blocks (Germany)
• 30 wooden light green blocks (Italy)
• 1 wooden tan block (Turn Tracker)
• 45 wooden dark green blocks (US)
• 45 wooden blue blocks (UK)
• 30 wooden orange blocks (Axis Forts
• 20 wooden brown blocks (Minors)
• 2 wooden orange plates (Mulberries)
• 318 PVC stickers (laminated) NATO EDITION
• 60 wooden yellow cubes (General Production Points)
• 20 wooden red cubes (Armor Production Points)
• 20 wooden blue cubes (Air Production Points)
• 10 wooden white cubes (Navy Production Points)
• 20 plastic black cylinders (Oil Production Points)
• 10 plastic white cylinders ("Out-of-Supply" Markers)
• 10 wooden blue discs (Partisans)
• 20 plastic red factories
• 20 plastic blue factories
• 5 plastic black factories
• 5 plastic white factories
• 7 dice