I would like to share today my first impressions on a game which looks like a wargame but plays more in Euro-style. What I have in mind?

Of course, Keep’em Rolling!

The game

Keep’em Rolling: 1944 – Race to the Rhine is a new edition of a unique, logistics-focused euro-style wargame for 1-4 players (including a solitaire mode as well as optional cards and rules), and a standalone solitaire game – These Are My Credentials – covering the Allied liberation of Brittany.

As one of the historic Allied Commanders: Montgomery, Bradley, Patton or Patch-Devers, you control several Corps that you must move along predefined, point-to-point routes, liberating cities from Axis control as you do. Unlike many other wargames covering the liberation of Western Europe, in Race to the Rhine the focus is on planning and logistics. Moving your Corps requires fuel. Defeating Axis units and garrisons requires ammo. Feeding your armies as they move forward requires food.

The slower you are in moving to the Rhine, the longer you give the Axis to form a strong defense. But if you move too quickly, you risk overwhelming your logistical capacity to supply your advance. Whichever Commander can best manage these dual challenges will win the game. Hopefully, crushing Germans in the process!

Playing the Game

The plan was to bring the game to the table in multiple ways – checking the solo mode (was very curious how would it play), playing the regular map as in the first edition but then also with the new, fourth faction – Patch-Devers. That way our boardgame group evaluated all interesting set-ups. Let us see how it went!

PS. Feel free to click any of below images to expand them in new window for more details.

Multiplayer Session Reports

You know me – picture begin worth a thousand words, I will report mainly using the graphical representation of our games. That should also give you good understanding how tense and close those were!

Session 1. Initial game was in pretty standard set-up – using the main map, slightly upgraded and changed in comparison to first edition, we rolled for sides and distributed the pieces. It was first game for us, but we still decided on more difficult, OB West, version of German behavior (all eligible counter-attacks occur).
We were slightly taken aback how quickly Germans were building their two lines of defense and then the forces around the crossings. We did our best but simply, the logistics were not enough. My troops even saw the Rhine but were stopped. The game finished in medals victory which we deem simply as lost result for everybody.
Session 2. We had to try again! This time the decision was to try new general (or rather, generals as they change during the game), namely Patch-Devers. According to rules, you cannot have empty areas between players and as there were three of us, Monty was out.
We started very vigorously after the learning from initial game. Rushing forward – especially with my partisans – we quickly managed to prevent building of the first German defense line. Then…
…it started to deteriorate rapidly. Again, we had not enough ammunition and fuel to push hard forward, and the result was similar – defeat of Allied forces and consolation prize in the form of winning on medals.

Solitaire Session Reports

Once we played the game multiplayer, the time has come to try solo. Did you know that solo special game – These are My Credentials – is printed on the other side of Patch-Devers expansion to the base map? Very cool idea!

Set-up of solo mode. You can see couple of ports which we need to take over before the installations are destroyed by Germans. Also, couple of KG (Kampfgruppe) markers which will be a pretty formidable enemy. On top of this, our Four Corps in the right, top are, ready to roll!
That was a bloody campaign; most of Kampfgruppe were smashed although one escaped.
The level of victory is measured by Medals; in first game I achieved 17 (which is poor performance) and in second 20 (which is OK performance).
Here is how the map looked like at the end of my second attempt. The partisans were key to bolster my attacks and prevent Germans from regrouping. Some ports unfortunately were destroyed. Very cool puzzle with some twists.

First Impressions

That was couple of good sessions where we definitely had fun. Let me share now more detailed observations:

  • I really appreciate adding new generals to the game – Patch-Devers. Not only the game expands to four players but this one has some special rules, allowing for different strategies and styles.
  • There is significant improvement in components quality – game looks simply beautiful in comparison to its predecessor. That concerns all elements, from supplies, through cards up to the map.
  • Definitely adding solo mode (for regular game) plus a dedicated, custom-made solitaire scenario was a great idea. And utilizing the back of the Patch-Devers extension to base map – a clever idea!
  • There are multiple Optional Rules in the game, which can make it harder or easier for your group to achieve victory. I really appreciate this, as everybody can tailor experience to their needs.
  • What I do not like is the tie-breaker when you are not able to win by crossing the Rhine – so couniting medals. For me, if we do not crush Germans, we all lose. And as medals fuel some important offensive actions, you are oftentimes restricting yourself in spending them “not to lose tie-breaker”.

One can say a lot about our games. We feel we lost twice – victory by medals – sorry, we are here to beat Krauts. Of course, some generals did better, some worse, but we still did not devised plan to get through the Rhine. Another interesting observation was fact, that in both games it was Patton who won. So, we have a leader 🙂

Again, the game made a pretty positive impression on us, and we simply liked it and had fun with it. Euro-style wargame, which is challenging, adds solo mode, plays well for 3 and 4 players – that is really something. Definitely will hit the table in the future!