Die Kellerkinder

Ein kleiner Einblick in Wif Blitz.

WiF Blitz is an excellent game and its far more than WiF lite.



The systems are very different and has elements of a puzzle about it.



First off its two scales bigger, so whereas WiF is corps level

(and WiF Master division level) WiF Blitz isn't army level, its army group level.

Thus even though its only 1 map, stacking is even lower than in WiF (1 per hex).



The kicker of the game is that combat is a function of movement

(each unit fights as it moves) and as hexes cost movement to convert control

and to fight over, its often a matter of getting the order of movement right as much

as where they are going to move.



But Dave Lelacheur (the designer) is much more au fait than I am so

I forwarded your query to him and this is his reply



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"Thanks for the question Sam.

I think the first similarity you'll notice is what I call the inputs and outcomes.

What you build, and how you use it, in WiF Blitz! will lead to outcomes that are

similar to WiFFe.



What is different is the journey in between: how units are moved,

how combats are resolved, and so forth.



WiF Blitz!'s game mechanics are nothing like WiFFe; not even a little bit.



It's a completely different game to experience.

Submarine enthusiasts will be delighted to know you never have to roll another

search die again; economics czars will be pleased to see that there is no need for

production multiples; and warmongering presidents won't have to stress about

the USA failing a declaration of war roll ever again.



That doesn't mean that sub attacks will always succeed (they won't);

nor that economies don't ramp up over time (they do);

nor that the USA is in complete control of when and how it enters the war (she isn't).

It does mean that how these things are handled is completely different than WiFFe,

and hopefully they are more appropriately scaled to the setting and tone of WiF Blitz!



That's one thing that was very important to me in re-imagining WiFFe into a smaller,

quicker game. I listened to some of Churchill's speeches after France was defeated

as inspiration at one point: from his vantage, the Allies were in dire and immediate

peril.



That feeling is something I hope WiF Blitz! recreates for players: the tension,

excitement, and fun, of trying to run pell-mell along the tricky path of a mountain

goat; you can't slow down, but there's danger and exhilaration in every step.



What is going to make WiF Blitz! so different, and I hope successful,

is that the details that WiFFe thrives on are incorporated more fundamentally into

the WiF Blitz! game experience, making WiF Blitz! a lot less complicated.



The core rules are pretty simple -- less than 10 pages to cover all production,

movement, and combat rules -- but the decisions about which forces to build and

how, where, and when you choose to use them, are still at the heart of the game.



Perhaps the most noticable difference in WiF Blitz! is that the focus is on the

operation, not the tactics. When it's your turn to do something, you'll launch an

offensive right away; one WiF Blitz! land attack may involve the WiFFe equivalent of

20 corps, 10 aircraft, and half a dozen supporting naval units, all in one go --

something that might take half a dozen impulses in WiFFe to resolve.



Plays speeds up greatly as a result. But the basic strategies of the war are similar

~ which is as it should be.



A good plan is still a good plan. But a plan is only good if you have built and

deployed the right forces to the right place at the right time.

One of the comforting features of WiF Blitz! here is that when it comes time to build

a new army, air force, or fleet, there's no need to fret about picking the "wrong" unit:

you choose the exact piece from your force pool that will be constructed.



One last thing that's different is how you judge victory. Players who dislike the known

game end of JA '45 in WiFFe may be excited to learn that WiF Blitz!'s game ends not

at a specific time, but only when one side is completely annihilated.



This would usually mean total conquest, but it could mean that one side is just

clobbering the other so badly that the other side sues for peace.

Along the way you can see very clearly how well each major power is doing,

thanks to a victory point system. This system is one of my favorite innovations.

Taking key cities is part of the victory equation (a la WiFFe), but equally important

other factors such as each major power trying to attain its own unique national

objectives (for example, Germany gets victory for achieving Lebensraum or

Fortress Europa; Japan wants to attain a safe Co-Prosperity Sphere, etc.)



There's even a way to boost your victory total by diverting your economic output

back into the civilian sector.



All in all, I believe that WiF Blitz! will provide an exciting and fresh take on a serious

World War II game. I hope this gives you some insight into the direction that WiF Blitz!

has taken, and thanks for your interest in the game!



Cheers,

Dave LeLacheur

Designer, WiF Blitz!"



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Personally I was surprised by how good it was.

I thought it was just a smaller version of WiF but its completely different and as

Dave says is a fresh approach to WWII. Even though it has less units and less hexes to

strategically manoeuver it more than makes up for it with a whole new layer of decision

making in how you move your forces.