Inside the Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front box, you’ll find 175 cards, four d10s (two grey and two red), track-ing counters, and the rules. The cards are broken into four decks: 50 cards make up the Russian deck, 50 for the Germans, 50 Command cards, and 25 Damage cards. The Russian and German cards are called Units and they include equipment such as tanks, guns, aircraft, infantry, and the crews required for certain equipment. Crews are not all the same- they vary with their relative strengths and costs from Green to Regular to Veteran.

A Standard Game (representing a meeting engagement) begins with each player choosing cards totaling 80 to 100 points, which makes up the player’s Reserves Deck. The remaining Unit cards are placed to the side as they will not be used this game. Unit Card point values range from 1 point for a “green” crew to values over 20 points for powerful German and Russian armor. These point values are also their value to the opposing side if destroyed or if captured, they are worth double.

Once each player constructs a Reserves Deck, players choose four Unit Cards to keep as a starting hand, shuf-fling remaining Reserves. Players then draw three Com-mand cards. At this point each player rolls Initiative for the turn. This is done at the beginning of each turn to determine who does each action first for each of the turn’s

3 phases - Commitment (bringing new forces in), Combat (declaring and resolving attacks), and Draw (replenishing Command and Unit Cards). The first Commitment Phase begins. The initiative winner and then the other player may commit up to all Unit Cards in their hand. Commit-ment brings units into the Battle Area and into engagement range. Com-mitted units come into play either on the “frontline” or the “rear line”, as indicated on the Unit Card under the Title. Frontline Units typically include infantry, tanks, short range guns, etc., while Rear Line Units may include Artillery or Self-Propelled Guns. Aircraft are not commit-ted to a line, but rather, come into play for a set number of turns based on their actual fuel capacity. Multiple lines provide a sense of depth and allow for breakthrough actions with aircraft and artillery shells screaming overhead.

The Combat Phase begins with the Initiative Winner declaring targets first, and then the other player, for each Unit in play that will attack. To do so, players place a paired colored tracking counter on the attacker and target as necessary. Once all targets are set for this turn, the Initiative Winner chooses the opening attack for resolution. Since damage is instantaneous (i.e. you may destroy a unit before it has a chance to fire), the choice of attack order is very important. Attacks alternate between players until all previously-declared attacks are resolved this Combat Phase. To hit a target in an attack, the attacker will roll 2d10, adding or subtracting any modifiers, sum the result, and compare it to an Attack Value for the weapon used. Most units have more than one weapon that can be used and you’ll choose which to use

Copyright 2013 Collins Epic Wargames LLC

based on target type: infantry, artillery / armor, or aircraft. Each Unit may fire up to 2 weapons per turn against a single target. There are rules for critical hits (sum of 18, 19, 20) that result in extra damage or an automatic damage card draw.

If the attack is a hit, the Intensity of that attack (representing how well-placed the shot was) is determined with a d10, which is added to the base damage factor of the weapon that scored the hit. The defense value of the target is subtracted from the total damage and what is left is applied to the target’s current Endurance. Each unit has an amount of damage that it can sustain and if Half Endurance is reached, a Damage Card is drawn and the extra effects are applied to the damaged unit. It’s important to at least reach that break number when you attack a unit because damage points do not carry over from turn to turn. Within a single turn, “Temporary Damage” is tracked using some helpful rotat-ing counters. Damage in a turn is cumulative but once that turn is over the target is either damaged (and marked with a Damage Card) or re-turned to full Endurance (damage shaken off). This makes it important to plan the appropriate firepower for that heavy tank, SPG, or aircraft.

The Final Phase of each turn is called the Draw Phase. Players each draw a single Command Card from a common deck, and then choose to draw any two additional cards - these can be two Unit Cards, two more Command Cards, or one of each.

At the end of the turn, any temporary damage is removed, and any counters for temporary damage effects or Turns of Flight are counted down appropriately. All targeting counter pairs are also removed from play to set up for the next turn.

Command Cards are used as appropriate (according to the card) to throw a lot of wrinkles into the game. You may receive bonus modifiers for Defense, Attack, or Intensity, or use them to perform special Command func-tions such as firing a coordinated artillery barrage or accomplishing a strafing run. There are also cards to help search through Reserves for a Unit you need in Combat right away, and other functions. In addition, a maxi-mum of 1 Command Card may be discarded (burned) prior to rolling any roll in the game to influence the roll’s result by +1. This way if you draw an Artillery-related Command Card but have no Artillery in your Deck, you still have a use for that card.

Damage Cards have detrimental effects for each of the four unit types and are designed to be placed under the damaged unit so the appropriate effect is revealed based on unit type. These add a lot of flavor to what happens during combat so you’re not just pinging away points from units without any sort of reduction of effectiveness. Damage cards can immobilize tanks, destroy crews, jam guns, rout Infantry, and otherwise mess up your day.

For a Standard Game, the victory conditions are simple. The first person to score 51 points worth of destroyed (or captured) enemy units or to be left unopposed by any enemy units for three consecutive turns is declared the winner!

Scenario Games are another way to play Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front. 10 are included with the game with more to follow for free. They provide specific setups, Reserves Deck restrictions, objectives beyond points, and alternate win conditions. All scenarios in this game are inspired by actual Eastern Front battles between the Germans and Russians in 1943.

Copyright 2013 Collins Epic Wargames LLC