About game:

Traces of War is a two-player game that simulates the intense fighting between Axis and Soviet forces after the battle of Kursk during August 1943 to March 1944. A major Soviet offensive is launched against a German mobile defense which almost results in similar debacle like at Stalingrad – only prevented by Erich von Manstein defying a Hitler’s direct order not to break through.


The game uses well-known chit pull mechanisms, with some twists – like changing composition / availability of actions for each side depending on the turn. The move and battle rules are pretty straightforward, while the supply – while existing – is not overly complex. Reinforcements can be brought in a flexible way, making each game different. What’s more, we are getting two scenarios which have pretty distinct winning conditions, thus making for quite a different experience (and strategies).


So, would you stand-up to the task, and crush the enemy as Soviets, or prevent total calamity as Germans? Good luck!

Number of players:

The game was designed as a pure 2-player, competitive wargame. However, thanks to the usage of chit-pull mechanism it is a very solo-suitable title.

Playing time:

The game features two scenarios: Race To The Dnipro (4 Turns) and Traces of War Campaign (8 Turns). The first can be easily played in 3-4 hours (especially by experienced players) while the latter one will take probably from 4-7hrs. A lot depends if the front collapses pre-maturely and if players have earlier experience with the game. Still, I treat it as one of those wargames which can be played in one sitting.

Complexity:

Definitely a medium-complexity wargame; one might even say a light game; the chit-pull really helps in decision making process, the artillery / air support is abstracted, the supply not overly complex while actual battle quick and decisive.

What I like:
  • The rulebook is pretty straightforward, rules well explained and at the same time they create wide tactical and strategical choices – all of this elegantly presented. This is not surprising as one thing in where VUCA definitely excels is graphical representation of the game and components quality. They are astonishingly beautiful, using very balanced color palette which produces pretty elegant effect.
  • The historical topic is very interesting, probably not so know as Stalingrad or Kursk – good to have a game filling that gap. It helps a lot to to see two scenarios – especially taking into consideration they have pretty distinct victory conditions so play also differently; great way to prolong fun from this position but also teach you history!
  • The chit-pull mechanism makes this game not so predictable and allows for different narrative each time. At the same time this is enormously solo-friendly title.
  • Another aspect which one needs to take into consideration is the asymmetry of the game; you really feel the difference in strategic choices, forces at disposal and preferred tactics for both sides.
What I do not like or would like to see in the game:
  • Soviets are all the time on the attack, Germans on defense, with some sporadic counter-attacks. It might not be such a great fun to lead Wehrmacht as Red Army constantly smashes through them (regardless of final result in victory points). That even more makes the game solitaire suitable.

  • I would love to see some more scenarios here to prolong the game longevity and interest in it; they might focus on some special elements of this ten-months long operation, they might also show situation slightly outside the predefined time-frame. I would also not protest to play some -well designed hypothetical scenarios!
For whom?

That was quite fun discovery for me and I can wholeheartedly recommend this title both to starting wargamers as well as experienced players. The former ones will have a great playground to start their journey with our hobby, the latter a quick and intense title to play in reasonable amount of time.

More about the game:

And now let us have a look at the materials created by me plus some pictures of the components:

Here I discuss the game components as well as historical background.
This is how the overview of the game looks like (similar start for both scenarios). Dnipro river being the critical dividing point for the map, red hexagons – the critical crossing points.
Close up on Soviet Voronezh front and German 4th Panzer Army. Main Russian attack will come here (with special, before-game assault phase, first).
Close-up at the heart of the game – turn track, with all chits present. Depending on turn there is different number for each side, also Germans get powerful OKH “joker” counters. Really well-thought mechanics, allowing for great game.
If you would like to see how the game plays, have a look at above material!

VERDICT:

To sum up, the game made a pretty positive impression on me; also, my boardgame group simply liked it. It was thematic, quick, exciting and beautiful. When set-up is done, you simply cannot resist the urge to start playing and move the tokens on the map. We for sure will come back to this again! Highly Recommended!