Theme: WW2 Solitaire Damaged Discounted
New in shrink copies damaged in transit from publisher. They have noticeable box damage (compression/splits) but remain in shrink.
Stalingrad Solitaire is a solitaire game simulating the last weeks of the encircled German 6th Army in the pocket German troops nicknamed “The Cauldron” that formed in and to the west of the city of Stalingrad when Soviet troops broke through the Wehrmacht’s front lines in December 1942.
You represent 6th Army’s commander, General Paulus. All actions of the Soviet commander Zhukov and subordinate units are strictly controlled by the game rules. As Paulus, you must do your best to save the trapped army in the Cauldron while at the same time cooperating with the high command (OKW) to preserve the integrity of the entire southern front in Russia. Each turn you perform various types of actions within the pocket. Die rolls and rules determine the strategic situation and strategy employed by Army Group South outside the pocket, specifically in terms of the commitment levels of the Luftwaffe (air force) and General Hoth’s relief force.
The game includes one 22” x 17” map depicting the region containing the Stalingrad pocket and various playing aids, a sheet of counters, a set of event cards, rules, and player aids.
Not convinced? You can download a preliminary draft of the rules here. NOTE: These rules are still being worked on. We know that there are corrections to be made.
Each turn represents one to five days, depending on the level of activity. The entire mapboard represents territory approximately 35 by 65 miles. German units typically represent divisions, while Soviet units are officially armies that were usually the rough equivalent of a German division.
Each supply point represents about 50 tons delivered per day. Each evacuated wounded factor represents 1500 men.
We at Canvas Temple have been at this a long time; designing and playing wargames. The youngest of us has been playing over 35 years. Like many old-school wargamers, our eyesight has declined, our fingers have become fumbley, and our time has become scarce.
So we decided to make wargames more suited to us old timers. This wargame is big in scope (and lettering) and can be played in a (long) evening. Rather than standard 9/16" or even 5/8" inch counters, this game utilizes our custom 3/4" square counter die to create large, thick counters that are easy to see and manipulate. The base game also contains a map with easy ergonomics, and a well tested game system that approaches its subject with enough abstraction to keep the game tight, but enough detail to do justice to history and create an array of complex decisions.
The map represents the city of Stalingrad and surrounding area and contains 64 areas for regulating movement and combat. Each area is linked to every other area it is connected to by a line.
The player controls all vacant areas inside the German Perimeter marked on the map. The player also controls all areas containing German units, regardless of their location. Any vacant area outside the Perimeter or occupied by a Soviet unit are under Soviet control. No area may contain units from both sides.
Game counters represent combat units and information markers. German units are blue, their Rumanian allies are yellow, Soviet units are red, and information markers are white. The number of counters provided in the game is deliberately limited.
25 cards are used to determine various outcomes. Each card has its own unique ID number. Place all of the cards shuffled face down prior to play, drawing one each time the rules instruct. Place each card in a discard pile after it is drawn, unless you are specifically prohibited from doing so. Only one outcome is taken from a drawn card before it is discarded. When the last card is drawn, or a card is drawn with the word “Reshuffle” on it, reshuffle the cards. Cards removed from play are not placed back in the deck this game. Note that the physical size and quality of the cards will be determined by stretch goal.
