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Michal: Hi Clint and welcome back to The Boardgames Chronicle blog! For those who do not know you, can you please tell us what do you do for a living, what games do you play? What is your role in the design and publication of the Gallipoli: Ordered to Die?
Clint: Sure! I am a high school history teacher here in Australia, and a keen wargaming enthusiast. I play some classic hex-and-counter games but mostly I like “dudes on a map” games like War of the Ring, Star Wars Rebellion, Twilight Imperium and Axis and Allies. I’m also a fan of simpler wargames like Quartermaster General, Age of Napoleon and Undaunted: Normandy. I also like the titles put out by Leder Games like Arcs, Root and Ahoy. Oh – and I also like classic CDG’s (Card Driven Games) like Paths of Glory, Twilight Struggle, We the People and Here I Stand. Now that I think of it – that’s a lot!
I am the designer of Gallipoli: Ordered to Die. I came up with the idea and have done most of the design work, but I will mention that my developer Dave Kershaw has done a huge amount of work in polishing the game and making it ready for publication.
Michal: What historical events inspired Gallipoli: Ordered to Die?
Clint: The landings at Gallipoli in 1915. This was a major military operation involving over 500,000 Allied soldiers, including 60,000 from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – the ANZAC. It was intended to hit the Central Powers of WW1 in a way that bypassed the stalemate of the Western Front, while also opening up a supply line to Russia and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war. It was an incredibly ambitious plan. Initially the campaign was purely naval, with battleships attempting to sail through the Dardanelles and shell Constantinople/Istanbul. But the shore batteries and sea mines of the Straits meant that a ground assault had to take place on the Gallipoli peninsula. One part of this was the landing of the Anzac troops near the Sari Bair Mountain range, in a place that came to be known as Anzac Cove.
The Anzacs landed at dawn on 25th April, 1915. They scaled the nigh-impenetrable cliffs and ravines of the area in a confused scramble for the high ground. The Ottoman Turkish defenders under Mustafa Kemal threw them back from the heights of Chunuk Bair (the tallest point in the area) in a timely but costly counter-attack with fixed bayonets.
From then on the campaign turned into close range trench warfare, with further attacks and counter-attacks by both sides over key pieces of terrain. Entire battalions and regiments were chewed up fighting over patches of ground and terrain features that seem barely noticeable today, like The Nek and Lone Pine. It was a brutal struggle but one that proved the bravery and fighting prowess of both sides. From the Ottoman point of view, it was also one of their only major successes in World War One, as the Allies eventually had to evacuate.
Michal: What are the key components of the game?
Clint: There will be a map, a counter-sheet, a rulebook and some player aids. Just the essentials! There are no dice, no cards and no other bells and whistles. I will point out that this relatively low component count has kept the price down. US$40 is quite reasonable, especially considering the craziness of tariffs these days.
Michal: Can you elaborate a little about game mechanics? I see that you continue with the concept of diceless games!
Clint: Yes, the combat system is somewhat like the one I used in One Hour WW2. No dice, it’s a deterministic system. The highest total strength wins in battle. This is determined by unit strength (each unit will have a strength number from 0 to 3), plus a few modifiers: Artillery Barrages, Leadership Chits and higher elevation for the defender. Regardless of the result, every attacking unit will suffer 1 hit – this reflects general exhaustion and disorganization inherent in a WW1 offensive, plus the huge casualties of trench warfare. If the defenders lose, they will suffer 1 hit and be forced to retreat. They can cancel the retreat though, by inflicting an extra hit on their own units. This represents a local counter-attack to regain front line positions.
I should point out that the Leadership Chits are very important and represent all the stuff that is not just infantry battalions slogging it out in the usual way. There is naval gunfire, long-range fire (shooting down on the enemy from a higher elevation), heroic officers rallying their units, replacements being fed into the front line to boost units back up to full strength, and more. Most of the chits relate to boosting your strength in combat. Battles are extremely close and even a +1 or +2 modifier is huge. My favorite chit is “Ordered to Die” – it allows the Ottoman to inflict a hit in battle even if they lose that battle: essentially a desperate, suicidal attack.
Beyond the battles, the game has a very simple activation system. Each turn you can perform 3 actions. This includes firing a Barrage (giving you a +1 modifier in the target space) or moving units from one space to another – including attacks. So, you can’t move every unit every turn.
Michal: How do players determine victory?
Clint: Depends on the scenario, but essentially it’s about controlling key spaces on the map – especially the high ground. Many spaces have an elevation number, from 1 to 3. The higher the number, the higher the elevation – which is relevant for combat and for scoring. It’s harder to attack uphill, i.e. into a higher elevation space. But if you do take a high elevation space, it’s worth more victory points at the end.
Michal: From what I saw, the game will feature several scenarios. What will they cover and how do they differ?
Clint: There are three scenarios:
- The Landing: This is about the initial landing at Anzac Cove on 25th April, 1915. It’s where the Anzacs disembarked from their boats just before dawn and began attacking uphill into the steep cliffs and ravines of the area. This scenario is not only the best introduction to the game, it is also the most fluid and dynamic of the three. There will be a lot of movement, as both sides attempt to stake out a viable front line amidst the chaos of an amphibious landing in very uneven terrain. As the Anzacs, your battalions are landing in four waves of four units each. Basically, you start with four units ready to land and will get another four units every second turn. You are in a race against time and a race against your Ottoman opponent – you need to get enough high ground under your control to meet the victory threshold. Historically the Anzacs were expected to take Chunuk Bair on the first day of the landing- this was a near impossible task given the strength of Ottoman units in the vicinity and in the game you will find it just as difficult. So don’t race straight for the highest point on the map (Chunuk Bair) – you will overextend yourself and probably allow the Ottomans to cut your supply or slow you down with weak detachments deployed in depth.
- Ottoman Counter-Attack: This depicts the large scale counter-offensive of May 1915, where the Ottomans attempted to drive the Anzacs back into the sea. This one is a true meat grinder. Both sides start very close together, with a packed front line formed by the previous few weeks of trench raids and skirmishes. As the Ottomans, you are on the offensive – and this is going to cost you an enormous number of soldiers. Historically this was intended to be a surprise attack under the cover of dawn, but the Anzacs knew it was coming and prepared accordingly.
- August Offensive: This one depicts the final Allied attempt at a breakout in the Gallipoli peninsula. Historically, the attack at Anzac Cove was meant to coincide with a British landing at Suvla Bay, a little to the north. It was a fairly complicated plan that relied on the Australians tying up enemy reserves in a series of local attacks, while the New Zealanders and Brits attempted to take the high ground of Chunk Bair and the rest of the Sari Bair mountain range. This is the largest scenario in terms of the sheer number of units on the board. Like the Ottoman Counter-Attack, this is a close range, grinding battle of attrition with the Anzacs on the offensive. As always, the losses will be piled up high. One small part of the August Offensive – the Battle of the Nek – is depicted in the 1981 Mel Gibson film – Gallipoli. In game terms, the Nek would be a single Light Horse unit attacking from Russel’s Top to Baby 700 and being destroyed. When you play the scenario, you will see that there were a lot of other battles happening at the same time as this – like the much larger struggle for Lone Pine.
Michal: Now, as for Gallipoli: Ordered to Die itself, what makes this game unique?
Clint: Well, there are very few games on Gallipoli. And none that fit this particular niche – playable in an hour, accessible to a broad audience, diceless euro-style combat while still being an actual wargame with historical unit designations, a map and multiple scenarios. I think the combat system and the Leadership Chits, described above, are the signature mechanics of this game and the thing that will keep players coming back to it. I like to keep thing simple while focusing on meaningful player decisions and I think the game achieves that very well.
Michal: As you are based in Australia Clint, I assume creating the game where your compatriots (ANZAC troops) were playing the key role must have a special meaning. How do you feel about it?
Clint: In Australia, Gallipoli is a big deal. Every high school student learns about it as it is a mandatory part of the History curriculum. There are also a lot of Australian movies, documentaries and books made about it. For most Australians, I would say it occupies a central position in our national identity. It was our baptism of fire – the first time we fought together as a distinct nation and not simply under the banner of the British Empire.
We lost (the Anzacs had to evacuate and did not succeed in taking the peninsula) but earned a reputation as excellent soldiers which we have maintained to the present day. The conditions the Anzacs faced at Gallipoli would have ruined any army, and the fact that we held on amidst 9 months of attacks, counter-attacks and brutal trench warfare is a testament to the fighting spirit and determination of our men. I should also add that Australians harbour no ill feelings toward the Turkish people – they were an enemy that we grew to respect and there is still a feeling of mutual high regard. Every year, many Australians travel to Gallipoli for Anzac Day, especially for the dawn service.
My main hope is that this game allows more Australians, and people from around the world, to connect with the story of Gallipoli and understand the history in a more hands-on way. Hopefully it succeeds in this goal.
Michal: How are you going to publish the game and where the players interested in the project can get more information?
Clint: The game is being published by Dietz Foundation and is being funded via Kickstarter. The game is already funded but we are nearly at the end of the campaign so get your order in soon! The link is here:
To get more information on the game, follow me on Twitter/X at @Clint_Davey1 or check out the game’s Board Game Geek page:
Michal: Thank you very much for the interview! Any last word you would like to add?
Clint: Yes, I’d like to add that we really want the mounted map upgrade and need a few more pre-orders to get it – so can I strongly encourage everyone reading to consider dropping a pre-order! I will also add that the publisher, Dietz Foundation, is a non-profit organization that exists to promote education – including education through gaming.
Dietz Foundation also has a proven track record of making great games – I would encourage your audience to check out Littoral Commander – including the new Australia expansion being developed by some of my mates down at the Australian Defence College. Finally, one of my games – One Hour World War Two – was recently nominated for a Charles S. Roberts award. All votes are appreciated.
Thanks!
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