WAR ROOM - Movement and Combat Rules

Hi All,

My name is Joe and am play testing the War Room Game by Larry Harris and with Larry Harris.

I am going to give you my take on the great Movement and Combat Rules that Larry designed in the War Room Game that set up each of the players on each side in this 3 month per turn game as a Main Strategic HQ of a Theater of WWII with the Stacks of Tokens representing enemy and friendly combat formations as you have all seen in WWII Movie Historical Strategic Maps, but in the War Room game it is a World Strategic Map with the same type of Stacks! The stacks in the game are of 4 types Land Army, Naval Fleet, Naval Transport and Air Force. This game is a absolute blast to play! Each side becomes a HQ during the Strategic Planning Phase 2 with each side secretly from the other filling out the Strategic Movement Sheet which allow each major power 9 movement commands each with each movement command directing the movement of 1 stack to move their Land Army, Naval Fleet, Naval Transport and Airforce stacks. All phases done during a game round of play are done together as a team except when stacks move which is done by each nation separately in a random order each game order of play. Movement rules for moving the stacks are simple and direct. Determining the order of movement is a fun game mechanic which allows players to try and size the initiative to gain a earlier movement than the enemy. Movement even though done in a nation order of play is still completed by all nations friend and enemy during Movement Operations Phase 3 before the next phase Combat Operations Phase 4. During the Movement Operations Phase because of the fog of war movement built in the system and the timing of when which nation moves which sets up situations that a enemy forces or stacks getting one up and pinning your stacks that then cannot move or your forces or stacks causing the same to the enemy. You always can allow your stacks to complete there commanded move when moving through a land territory or sea area with enemy stacks in them as long as you leave a equal number of your combat tokens in the land territory or sea area as the enemy has combat tokens or the enemy doing the same. You also may determine that because of how enemy stacks have moved before yours that one or more of your commands need to be canceled or your stack moves may cause enemy stack moves to be canceled. Absolute blast playing the War Room Games strategic movement system!

Naval Transport Stack movement is done in a great way that eliminates the need of needing Naval Transport Tokens in the game with all the extra rules. Very innovative here with Larry’s design! It does leave one quirk in the rules that in the end does not change the high strategic in the game at all. Land Infantry Stacks that start in territories adjacent to sea areas may just move into the sea area and become Transport Stacks that now can move by sea. It did strick myself a little strange until using it and now I am one of its biggest fans! Normally in high level strategic games you can watch a enemy prepare for an amphibious invasion build up in a land territory as they assemble Naval Transports adjacent or near the land territory build up. In the War Room game this build up always is done in a Sea Area instead with both Land Tokens in Naval Transport Stacks plus Naval Token Stacks build up which for the enemy who is going to be invaded works out the same in the respect that you strategically know which land territories are most likely to be invaded and can prepare the best you can. This revelation to myself of the Naval Transport Stack rules that Larry designed just knocks it out of the park!

After all different nation stack movement is completed for both sides then Battles occur during Combat Operations Phase 4. When a land territory or sea area have combat stacks in them from both sides it becomes what is called embattled which results in a 2 phase battle rounds only in each embattled land territory or sea area which automatically occurs each Combat Operations Phase of each Order of Play. The 2 phases are Air Battle 1st followed by Surface Battle 2nd.  First is the Air Battle round which is Combat Aircraft Tokens battle that causes casualties to Air Combat Tokens only but at the same time also incorporates the surface force Anti Air or AA Gun combat strengths of the Land Combat or Naval Combat Tokens depending if Battle is Land or Naval or Amphibious that then only causes Air Combat Token casualties. Then during the 2nd phase the Surface Combat round be it Land or Sea all of the Combat Aircraft Tokens add there Surface combat strengths to the Land Tokens or Naval Tokens depending if a Land Battle or Sea Battle with casualties now only being applied to Surface Tokens. After this 2 round or phase combat battle and both sides have removed their casualties if both sides then still exist with if Land Territory with Land Combat Tokens or Sea Area with Naval Combat Tokens the Territory or Sea Area remains embattled. This is great in the strategic level making it as during WWII both sides locked in a Major Battle having to feed reinforcements to the embattled Land Territory or Sea Area. This is again a great yet simple rule system here that Larry designed that gives you this! I need to mention the Battle Status Board of the game which is great for all type Combat Tokens be it Land Combat Tokens, Naval Combat Tokens or Air Combat Tokens you place them on the battle status board in one of 2 stances which adjust a units Air / Surface Combat Strengths and in some cases how many hits it takes to knock out a Token. Yes how many hits like in Miniature War Games, most Tokens require multiple hits to be knocked out, but this is done simply by just following the Battle Status Board Rules and moving the Tokens on the board, done without the complication of keeping track of these hits on Tokens as is with Miniature war gaming. Again a great Larry design!

PS: I know at the start of this write up I said would just talk about Movement and Combat, but would just like to give a quick mention about Strategic Bombing in the game. At the Strategic level you can plan and send your Bomber Tokens to Bomb Territories with Industries in them and actually hit and knock out Land, Naval or Air Combat Tokens being built, just as was done strategically during WWII!

Note: I will be doing more write ups on this great game Larry Harris has designed in the future! The game is at late Teenage level and fast closing in on being an Adult which I and others are diligently helping Larry to bring this great game The War Room to the War Gaming World!

Joe