The other game I recently acquired is called Memoir ‘44. It’s a tactical wargame that lets you recreate historical battles from World War II (specifically, in France on and after D-day–hence the name).

This is the wargame I have always wanted to play.

To explain that statement: I love rules, I really do. I write pages and pages about them. And I like games, and I like planning strategy, and I like planning tactics. But other wargames are just way too much. In particular, the overhead to even begin a game is far to high. You need to read the rules to understand what the heck is going on, which is difficult considering the countless minutiae; you need to create and plan an army; you need to actually acquire the pieces; you then need to find an opponent who has done all of this work as well; you need to understand one another’s armies; you need to set up a place to play, and then you need to actually play the game, a task that can take hours.

Memoir ‘44 is different. It’s more like an ordinary boardgame than a wargame, really. You choose a scenario from the 16 in the rulebook (more available online) and set up the terrain (precut hexes) and opposing forces (small figurines provided) as described in the scenario. This takes about 15 minutes (from scratch) or 5 (just the armies, if you’re replaying a scenario, which you will.) Eliminating an enemy unit entirely is worth one “victory medal,” and in some scenarios tactical objectives (bridges, towns, etc.) are also worth victory medals. Game is to a certain number of victory medals.

The rules are simple, and wargame enthusiasts would probably feel that they are too simplified, but they work well. There are only three types of units: infantry, armor, and artillery. Units fight at full strength until dead. When you attack, you roll 1-3 outcome dice based on your range. Forests and towns are hard to move into, but provide cover. You can’t cross a river, but you can shoot over it. The few exceptions and additions fit onto a set of seven or eight quick reference cards, and you don’t need all or even most for any given battle.

Actually ordering the units comes from cards you draw from a deck and play every turn. Some give you the right to move and attack with a certain number of units in a certain region (left, right, center) of the battlefield. Others have broader powers, like “Infantry Assault” that lets you move and attack with infantry units wherever they are, or “Medics and Mechanics” that lets you repair a damaged unit. Differences in command ability in the historical battle are represented by different hand sizes; a superior commander grants that side a broader range of tactical choices. Some might complain that the cards are too restrictive; but they make the flow of the game from turn to turn very smooth. Choose a card, move the couple of pieces it tells you to, draw and let your opponent go. Card quality tends to even out over time but yes, poor luck can sink your plans through the card draw just as it can through awful dice rolls.

Fairness? Never heard of it. Some of the scenarios are grossly unfair. The introductory scenario (a simple one with no tanks or artillery) is an Allied sneak attack that the Axis has little hope to win. Another is a doomed Allied beach invasion. That’s fine. The scenarios are so short that the rulebook recommendation, which works quite well, is to play the scenario twice, switching sides, and compare scores. Assuming the same side wins both times, the player to reach a higher score as the losing side is the final victor.

The scenarios include a historical blurb about the battle, its context, and historical outcome. The game seems to do a pretty good job of modeling the way battles played out. The theme is very evocative and I have never seen a boardgame that has a theme tied so tightly and effectively to the gameplay.

If I have one complaint, it’s about the color choices of the pieces. The Allies are army green and the Axis cadet blue; under lighting that isn’t excellent, it can be a little tough to distinguish them at a glance. A lighter green or richer blue would have been a big improvement. I’ve never seen any actual confusion during a game, though.

The verdict: If you think the idea of fighting tactical miniatures battles is neat, or if you’re interested in World War II, you’ll probably like Memoir ‘44 a lot. If both are true, you’ve been living your life missing a Memoir-shaped chunk of it. Even if neither is true, it’s certainly worth a shot because it’s very easy to pick up and try out.