Time to start a new series on the blog! After years of playing, reviewing and recording wargames, I noticed that I keep coming back to the same handful of mechanisms – the ones that make a game “click” for me. In My Favorite Boardgames Mechanics I will pick one mechanic at a time, explain what it is, share what I like about it and what sometimes bothers me, and finally point you to the games where it really shines. And there is no better candidate to kick things off than the chit-pull system – one of my absolute favorites, which I already touched upon back in 2021 in My top 3 wargames with chit pull mechanism.
The mechanic in question
Used in wargames to address the problem of simulating simultaneous action on the battlefield and issues of “Command and Control”. Invented by Eric Lee Smith, in such a system the current player randomly draws a chit or counter from a large-mouth opaque container, identifying a group of units which may now be activated / moved. Schemes include moving any units commanded by a particular leader, moving units of a particular quality or activating units not for movement but for fighting.
In practice, the chit pull is an evolution of the classic “I-Go-You-Go” structure. Instead of one side moving its whole army and then waiting for the opponent to do the same, both armies act in small slices, in an order nobody can fully predict. You know which formations still may act this turn, but you never know which one comes next – and neither does your opponent. That single change brings in a lot of uncertainty and friction, which is exactly what real commanders had to deal with.
Over the years designers have found many twists on the basic idea: chits for leaders, fronts or army groups; random event chits mixed into the cup; special “joker” chits that can be played at will; chits placed on the turn track so that the mix available to each side changes from turn to turn; several separate cups for different kinds of draws; or even chits used not for activation at all, but for resolving combat. Some games also add mechanisms to soften the randomness, so that a bad sequence of draws does not completely decide the outcome.
What I like about it
- Uncertainty and a lot of dynamics – you never know which formation moves next, so no plan survives contact intact and every play creates a different story on the map.
- Keeping both sides engaged – activations alternate unpredictably between players, so there is no long downtime while the opponent moves the whole front; you are constantly reacting to what was just pulled.
- Perfect for solitaire play – the cup works like a built-in opponent; there is no need for complex flowcharts, you simply draw a chit and try to play it as well as you can for that side.
- Command and control friction – not every unit or leader acts when you want it to, which models delays, missed opportunities and imperfect coordination in a very elegant way.
- Easy to tune and add chrome – by changing the mix of chits per turn, or seeding the cup with events, designers can reflect shifting momentum and historical specifics without adding pages of rules.
What sometimes bothers me
- Too much randomness – an unlucky sequence of draws can weigh more than your decisions; I appreciate designs that give players some control, like joker chits or the option to activate at a cost.
- Multiple moves in a row – one side can pull several chits in succession and perform multiple moves, while the other side is left without any chance to react.
- Short planning horizon – coordinating a combined operation across several formations is tough when you cannot count on when (or even if) they activate this turn.
Games where this mechanic shines
Enemy Action: Kharkov (Compass Games, design by John Butterfield) shows that chits do not have to be about activation at all. The activation itself is card-driven – each side uses cards to move specific armies, corps or units – but the real star for me is the battle resolution. No CRT, no terrain modifiers: you simply draw the chits applicable to the particular situation, like the type of terrain, the forces ratio or the battle tactics played by the opponent, and resolve the net score of hits for attacker and defender. Add to that separate solo rules for both the Germans and the Soviets, with bots that are really hard to beat, and you get almost three games in one box.
White Eagle Defiant (Hollandspiele, design by Ryan Heilman and Dave Shaw) takes us to September 1939 and the invasion of Poland, played on a point-to-point map. The chit pull drives the whole campaign and creates a great sense of uncertainty – you cannot be sure what will happen, or in what sequence. My favorite twist is the German army group chits: if the turn ends before both are pulled, the German player may still activate the group, but risks a “blitzkrieg breakdown” – and five breakdowns mean an automatic loss! Random event chits, such as armored trains or aerial bombardment, add early-war flavor, and solo play is as simple as it gets: draw a chit and play it as best as you can.
Traces of War (VUCA Simulations, design by Tetsuya Nakamura) covers the Eastern Front from August 1943 to March 1944, with the Dnipro River as key line. Here the chits sit on the turn track & the number available to each side changes from turn to turn, nicely reflecting the shifting momentum of the campaign. The Soviet fronts get their own chits, while the Germans can rely on powerful OKH counters working as jokers. The result is a strongly asymmetric game that is less predictable with every play, tells a different narrative each time and is very solo-friendly.
The Mission (White Dog Games, design by R. Ben Madison) proves that the chit pull is not reserved for battlefields. This solitaire grand strategy game covers 1,200 years of Christian history, from the Crucifixion to the Crusades, and instead of one cup it uses four separate ones. The chits drawn from them drive what the game throws at you, while you try to spread the faith and build institutions in the face of heresies, schisms and, later on, the armies of Islam. Six distinct epochs linked together, choices that echo through the centuries and that constant “let me try one more time” feeling – a perfect example of how far this mechanic can be taken.
The Dark Summer (GMT Games, design by Ted S. Raicer) covers D-Day and the whole Battle for Normandy, from June 6 to August 21, 1944, in just ten turns. Each turn starts with a Weather chit, which sets how many Action Round chits are available – a neat way to reflect the impact of weather on Allied air superiority and Channel shipping – as well as the number of German Reaction markers. Then the chit pulls decide not only who acts, but also how: a British Move may be followed by British Combat, and the Allies can never be sure their beaches will stay safe. Together with the variable weather, this makes every game different and far more engrossing than a classic I-Go-You-Go, and on top of that it plays solo without any special rules.
So there you have it – the chit-pull system in all its glory. From the battle chits of Enemy Action: Kharkov, through the blitzkrieg breakdowns of White Eagle Defiant, the shifting turn track of Traces of War and the weather-driven action rounds of The Dark Summer, all the way to the four cups of The Mission, this simple idea of drawing a counter from a mug keeps surprising me with how many different stories it can tell. Yes, sometimes the cup is cruel, but I would not trade that uncertainty for anything – it is exactly what keeps me coming back to the table, especially when playing solo.
What are your favorite chit-pull games? Or maybe you are in the camp that cannot stand the randomness? Let me know in the comments – and stay tuned for the next installment of My Favorite Boardgames Mechanics!
This is quite interesting. I’m not familiar with these games.
I’d like to see how chits work in each of them demoed in a youtube video. Not the whole game, just the chit pull part.
I have already some of them presented there:
Then you’ll certainly appreciate Vive L’Empereur. A decent Napoleonic wargame which I really like for testing out different strategies every time it hits the table. It can be tough.
Thank you for pointing me to this title. I will definitely check this out.
I think the napolean Series: Jours de Gloire is very good in play. There are two chit in most formation. and always one arrived in different turn. And the attack of force is D not retreat. so the attack is very hard.
Thanks for recommendation; I have not played this game – will check it for sure.
This is an accurate summary of how formation activation by random chit draw works, but I’d like to add a couple of additional effects that accrue. First, perhaps obviously, players must “fight their forces” by formation. That coerces players into thinking about specific missions for each of their formations, instead of simply stringing together an endless series of 3:1 attacks for no larger purpose. It can elevate the gaming experience from just a math exercise to a contest of rival strategies. Another positive biproduct is that it makes it functionally impossible to “break” a game with a surefire, move by move, advanced plan. Happily, because repeatability of activations is impossible to predict, replayability is enhanced. To my mind, the biggest downside of chit draw games is that, due to mounting casualties, the value of “wounded” formations can reach the point when the activation of that formation’s weak remnants entirely negates the value of the activation itself. So piling on and inflicting more losses on a dinged up formation can have greater game value than pursuit of one’s overall strategy. This can sometimes be a “gamey” type of way to play.
Good point about weakening one formation to the point it is useless. On the other hand, maybe this is exactly the point – presenting such a “lost activation” as trade-off for allowing formation to be mauled.
While I’m relatively inexperienced with chit pull games, I’d highly recommend 1862 – Brothers ar War. Most unit have two chits, and timer chits are added as turn progresses. Draw two timer chits and the turn ends! For the scale and size of the battles, it works incredibly well and creates a sense of battlefield chaos and a see-saw struggle that tells memorable stories.
Nice mechanic! Thanks for pointing me to this game!