Memoir '44
- rank: 192
- rating: 7.5
- published: 2004
- designer: Richard Borg
Print Status
- in print
Why It's On The List
- The best (and best supported!) of the Command & Colors games... it combines a wonderous toy factor (plastic army men & tanks!) along with remarkably evocative recreations of WW2 battles. This is the perfect collision of all the eras of my gaming life: it's got enough warfare &; tactics for the chit-pusher in me, the gorgeous plastic bits remind me of the day we cracked open Axis & Allies for the first time, and the speedy gameplay fits my current lifestyle. The plethora ("si, Jeffe") of scenarios is a definite point in favor of Memoir '44, as well as one of the cleverest 'fog of war' mechanisms ever - the command deck.
Tips & Tricks:
- Memoir '44 is splendid right out of the box... though the first couple of scenarios are probably the weakest and don't show off the game as well as they could. (They do a good job of getting players used to how the game works.) Don't give up on it until you've played some of the later scenarios.
- There are a LOT of expansions... and I personally own at least one or two of each of them. (Point of fact: my Memoir '44 collection weighs over 30 pounds now.) There are no duds in the set... though probably the least valuable to a casual player is the Terrain Pack.
- BoardGameArena has an excellent implementation of Memoir '44... which explains why I've played so many games of it in the last year or so.
- My favorite way to play is 2 player Breakthrough (using the Breakthrough deck included in the Winter Wars expansion). Close behind that is playing in Overlord (multi-player team) mode or playing a campaign (using one of the Campaign Books).
Extras
- I've written a number of reviews (review copies provided) of Memoir '44 expansions over the years:
- Here's what I wrote about it for The One Hundred - both personally & for the group.
- This last week was the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. We must not forget all of those who gave their lives to end Nazi tyranny and genocide.
This is a great game and I have most of the expansion. I really hope they reprint the D-Day Landing expansion. It is the one I am missing that I would really like to get.
ReplyDeleteRob:
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed all my plays of the D-Day expansion... but it's probably the least used in my set. (We've played 3 or 4 games with 2 or 3 maps... and I was privileged to play the full 6 map game with 12 players & 2 moderators at a Memoir event a couple of years ago.)
The next least used is New Flight Plan.
What I want is for them to do a full reprint of all the rule cards as a pack.
While I enjoy Memoir'44, I'm much more interested in the US Civil War, and thus Battle Cry is my choice from the series. And, of course, the lack of expansions for Battle Cry if anything helps my enjoyment of the game...
ReplyDelete