Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa

Not a bad game, it has some things going for it, but in the end it was too much micro for me.

I realize that Grigsby's War in the East is probably the definitive Eastern Front game but for me it's just too much minutia. DC: Barbarossa is MUCH more playable. I can get through one turn as Germans in 15 minutes or so, sure can't say that about War in the East. Still, all German divisions are represented along with German Allies in DC: Barbarossa. Very fun game!

Masterpiece, perfect presentation of operation barbarossa with cards giving options to configure your army, play the german is exciting seeing how many cities you can take, winter is well featured and russian reinforcements will drain dry panzer formations, as historically, russia can make some counterattacks

Warning, I am a experienced eastern front gamer. Playing as soviets still comfortably controlled Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad in Oct and still lost by victory points.

This has got to be the most innovative strategy game on the market. The decision and relationships mechanics are a stroke of genius, and you will quickly find yourself building up both rapport and enmity with your colleagues as they collaborate with and against you (and you them). Will you be Hitler's boy and ignore the bleating of the spineless von Brauchitsch, or will you enlist Brauchitsch's aid to undermine the will of the Fuhrer and follow the Wehrmacht's own plans for the invasion? Will you endorse the murderous policies of Himmler, and all the trouble they entail for your rear area, or will you vehemently oppose the Einsatzgruppen lest you find yourself before a war crimes tribunal? How about Goebbels and his propaganda news crews? Do you bathe in the spotlight like Rommel, or do you cast them from your command tent with undisguised contempt? You'll have to deal with all these matters and more, all whilst establishing positive working relationships with your army group commanders, and not forgetting Generals Gercke and Wagner - they're in charge of your supply trains and truck columns respectively, and unfortunately for you they have a habit of clashing with your senior commanders (and each other!). If all that wasn't enough of a headache, there's still the matter of actually fighting the campaign. Carry out swift encirclements, dogged defences, and desperate counter attacks all whilst the brutal Russian winter creeps ever closer. And that's only half the game! You can, of course, also play as Uncle Joe himself; grappling with your own crippling paranoia and casually executing any upstart Marshal who so much as looks at you ♥♥♥♥-eyed. Trade land for time as you throw countless conscript divisions into the path of the advancing Wehrmacht, whilst you build up your mobile forces for an overwhelming counter-attack that will sweep the fascist beast from the Motherland once and for all. And if your Generals don't show the requisite fighting spirit that all good communists should possess? Well, you can always dispatch old Nikita Khrushchev out to the front to instil the necessary backbone. Every military strategy buff should have this game in their collection. The idea behind it is inspired and the execution is sublime. There is an enormous amount of depth here, but it's far easier to dive into than WWII epics like War in the East or Hearts of Iron. Be warned though, like the aforementioned games it is also very hard indeed. However, there are more than enough customisation options at the start of the game to perfectly tailor the challenge to suit your own tastes. Outstanding.

If you ever wondered about how Barbarossa could have gone differently - this is your game. I played through a few times as the Germans, and my take-aways are this: - The tactical combat is realistic without being too micro-managey - The interface is pretty straightforward, though it takes a little time to learn - The enemy AI is solid and will surprise you without cheating. (The author Vic from VR Designs is really good at this). - Logistics are interesting -- they do require some management, but not too much to be cumbersome - The political management aspect is great - I like the sprinkle of "story" before/after each round -- you get excerpts from real diaries from 1941, and also a "fake" storyline about a few soldiers in the field. You can click through these fast but to me they really add to the engagement of the game. The main cons I'd say are - the soundtrack (you'll want to bring your own music eventually), and that the game ends at the end of January 1942 (at the latest). (However, I understand why the game ends at that period). Anyway - If you like Shadow Empire, looked at War in the East, or are a history buff - just get this game! :).

A multi-faceted organization of historically accurate order of battle divisions, movement and combat protocol, commanders, logistics, weather, equipment, and time line reproduce this largest invasion in history -June 1941 Soviet Russia by Nazi Germany; All liked. An improvement would be better resuppy of panzers, if historically correct. Location of a particular division on the map by entering it's number would be helpful. Overall a well designed project, and enjoyable to play!

This is a decent game but it has problems. There is a massive amount of units and so it takes alot of time to play (or at least to play well). And, as is typical of games of this genre that seem to glorify the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht is able to perform much better than it could actually in real life (the historical record shows the German army was on it's last legs by Nov '41, only the Soviet plan to let Germans exhaust themselves before launching their winter counter-offensive, allowed them to advance as far as they did). If you enjoy a German joy-ride then have fun.

Barbarossa è un gioco strategico che riesce a coniugare un livello di realismo eccezionale con una profondità strategica davvero coinvolgente. L’esperienza di gioco è avvincente e ricca di dettagli, che permettono di immergersi completamente nelle dinamiche della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. La cura con cui sono stati riprodotti i dettagli storici rende il gioco davvero realistico e appagante. Lo consiglio vivamente a tutti gli appassionati di strategia!

I have only played the German side. This is perhaps my favorite hex- based wargame on the market. It has strong RPG mechanics for a wargame which leads to good replayability. Highly recommend that you read the manual or watch a video explaining mechanics in order to understand unless you are familiar with other VR Designs wargames.