SGS Winter War

A game about an almost forgotten "side show" where at the start of the World War two, when the world watched in despair what the next move in German Nazi expansion will be, another superpower also got the idea to "correct" its borders. But surprisingly a small, but stubborn northern country would have none of it and said NIET. Thus, it began, THE WINTER WAR between the USSR and Finnland. This game covers the whole conflict from November 1939 to March 1940 with a Grand campaign and 4 smaller introductory scenarios. There are no tutorial scenarios per se, but the smaller scenarios fill this role quite nicely. The gameplay at a first sight looks like a digitalized boardgame with cards and dices that offer a good replayability and (theoretically) also a different outcome of the battles each playthrough. However, the engine is the upgraded one from Wars Across the World to better suit this conflict. Both sides in conflict are represented true to history and gameplay with the Finns will be a much different affair from the Soviet one. As the Finnish side you will have quality, but numerically small pool of troops, trying to delay and survive the huge Soviet onslaught. The world will be sympathetic to your cause, but time and events are not on your side. On the other hand, the Soviet side has a huge numerical advantage, but are poorly led and they can (and will) suffer horrendous casualties when trying to break the finnish defenses. Not to mention the impatient comrade Stalin that demands results… NOW! Gameplay is fun, relatively easy to learn (read scenario description), but hard to master. The game is still in Early Access, so basically in testing phase, but it is already well polished, fully working with no crashes or game breaking bugs. Something that nowadays you rarely see in most of “early access” games on Steam. My personal wish would be to add the number of soldiers and tank/planes as I like statistic at the end of scenario. Something that I simply loved in (older) AGEOD games. Continuation War (1941-1944) campaign and Lapland War scenario would be more or less an instant buy for me 😊 And a little tip for all players of this great game - I can’t recommend enough a fantastic Finnish war movie about this conflict called Talvisota – Winter war Have fun and thanks for reading

[h1]IN A WORD: [b]MAYBE[/b] [/h1] [h1]IN A NUTSHELL:[/h1] [quote=] [b]WHAT TO EXPECT:[/b] WWII strategy wargame. Intermediate complexity. Niche theatre of war. Historical scenarios & orders of battle. More short scenarios. Detail-teemed combat engine. Comprehensively modelled warfare. Historical events. Allied Intervention mechanic. GUI prompts. Above average visuals. Apt soundtrack. Video tutorials. Extensive game manual. Singleplayer. Multiplayer. AI vs AI. [b]ACHIEVEMENTS:[/b] NONE. [b]STATUS:[/b] LIMITED SUPPORT CONTINUES. [b]WHEN TO BUY:[/b] BUYERS PEROGATIVE.[/quote] [i]More info below....[/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2422539075 [h1]THE LOWDOWN:[/h1] Winter War (WW) is a strategy wargame that brings the conflicts of the Russo-Finnish theatre of war to the computer screen. A single large map of the region is used to play out several [mainly] historically depicted scenarios, fought during the early part of World War II. Gameplay consists of fighting engagements across region sized territories between the massed, poorly led formations of the Soviet Union and the small but resolute army of Finland. Under player command are forces comprising of division, regiment and battalion sized units. These include: regular, motor, reserve and mountain infantry, various artillery, tanks, logistics and leaders. Fighter and bomber aircraft operate at the squadron level providing support and bombardment roles. While various immobile defensive obstacles are also represented. A contemporary combat engine incorporates a large number of operational, tactical and other military factors. These combine to provide a detailed simulation of the warfare prevalent of this era and theatre of war. Combat is organised into ordered, logical phases which are collectively grouped into turns. Players can choose to play either side, against another player [by Play-by-email] or even take on the role of both sides. It is also possible to play a hands-off game with the AI versus the AI. Two key objectives form the basis for every scenario. In order to win either side must fight to gain and keep control of as many map regions (and associated Victory Points) as possible. For the larger scenarios there is also an Allied Intervention mechanic (or tension index). This measures the possibility of the the Allies becoming involved on the Finnish side in their desperate struggle. If this happens the Soviet Union automatically loses and the game is over. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2422539732 [h1]THE GOOD:[/h1] + Simulates a very rarely depicted theatre of war from WW2. + Conceptually well executed design. Includes dozens of military and operational factors. + Comprehensive and detail-teemed combat engine. + Well distinguished and ordered military combat phases. + Detailed representation of order of battles and territories where the conflict took place. + Multiple phase use of tactical event cards. + Visually pleasing graphics. + Visual GUI prompts to aid player actions and decision-making. Great for both novices and veterans. + Has a large detailed manual. Plus some well made video tutorials. [h1]THE BAD:[/h1] - Takes time to learn gameplay & mechanics. Novices will need more time. - There is no undo (move) function. - To many short scenarios. These do not use the Allied Intervention mechanic. - Text has minor spelling areas. Could have done with a proof-read. - Apart from the event cards has very little dynamic elements to reduce its repetitive nature. - A few very minor bugs. One time the game would not allow me to progress to drawing cards. - A few GUI issues with incorrect invalid movement actions. - Has a large detailed manual. [h1]AND THE REST:[/h1] * 6 scenarios inc. one introductory one. 4 short. 1 grand. 1 alternative. * A turn phase of around 17 rounds. Less than half of which have anything substantial happen. * Capable AI but can be somewhat passive in some scenarios. * Average soundtrack. Apt for the period. Sounds like some may be asset bought. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2422541820 [h1]ANALYSIS:[/h1] WW mostly delivered some involved strategy but it had some flaws to its gameplay. Some will find the game complicated. There was alot of detail to absorb. Learning enough to get started may prove a stalling point for some. Video tutorials should be a starting point. I love reading manuals but with 100+ pages this may be beyond novice and casual gamers. Playing through shorter scenarios helped flatten the initial learning curve but only for those willing to put in the effort. Those that persevere will find a game that presents its subject matter well. The representation of irregular warfare between massed and small formations was impressive. The combat engine was the game's biggest strength. Most of its components were intelligently designed. So many aspects of military operations were incorporated, that mentioning them here will not accurately convey it. Despite this gameplay flow felt streamlined, rarely bogging down the player with over-elaborate complexity. Anyone expecting historically designed scenarios should be happy with what's on offer. The Order of Battle looked spot on. Replayability may prove to be short. Anyone replaying the same battles to try different strategies will get their dimes worth. Those wanting variation from repeated plays, I'm afraid that's the nature of almost every wargame ever made. Human or AI decision-making, event cards and the mechanism by which they are played provided the only real source of variation to gameplay. By playing multiple cards across phases, the same battle could be swayed towards a different result. Playing the short scenarios proved less satisfying than the larger ones. Most sessions lasted around half the time their description stated. Perhaps the week-per-turn time and unit formation scales together with the territorial map partitions did not align particularly well. Especially given the nature of engagements in this war. As things stand these scenarios will be seen as either primers or just extra content to justify the price. It will depend on the type of person you are as to which. Another element that stood out was the use of a Tension Index to measure Allied Intervention. A perfect mechanic for this conflict. It was just a shame that it was not active in the shorter scenarios. I know those are focused purely on the combat aspect of war but, they could have still have made an impact. Perhaps providing a VP bonus to the side that managed to make best use of it. Which brings the question why was this feature visible in these scenarios? I would have thought it trivial to take out the associated events/cards and remove its presence from the GUI when not active. The GUI was wrought with detail with a design reminded me of other well-established war and strategy games. Experience with those should make it fairly trivial to get a handle on how to play. Another benefit were the visual prompts nudging the player towards the actions available to them. My only concern was with the GUI was a persistent issue with invalid drag and drop movement causing frustration. A longer screen pause during battle phases, study them in more detail would have been nice. Some may also find the subject matter limited. [h1]VERDICT:[/h1] Overall WW delivered an interesting well balanced experience, with detail filled combat and some variance of outcome. On the strength of it's merits I would recommend WW to interested wargamers even if the game design did not feel completely nailed. Anyone still on the fence should ask themselves where else are they likely to be able to experience this conflict in such a detailed format? [quote=]Thank you for reading. | Find my reviews[url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/nourl1/recommended/] here[/url]. | Key provided by [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics]Turn-Based Tactics[/url][/quote]

A very nice re-enactement of the (very rarely depicted) Russian-Finnish war of 1939! I appreciate particularly the attention to details given to the order of battle, with historical unit names and specific of each order of battle. You definitively won't play the Russians as you play the Finns. For an early access game, I would say it feels almost finished, barring a few UI details that can be improved, but nothing really hampering the enjoyment of the game. The game has a clear routine, from getting new cards, to launching air missions and then moving and fighting. The battles are quite nice too, and have some epicness and tension, when you face a strong enemy. Randomness plays a role, but that's your planning that will do most of the work. You'll have as the Finnish to know where to yield ground and where to stand. It does not mean you can't launch counter attacks against the flank of the nasty bear. The game comes with several scenarios and a campaign and that's already a lot of hours of enjoyement. I really like how it is shapping up and is already super stable (had no crash or even did not saw a bug!), some studios can take example on this independant developer. Looking forward to extra polish and then to others games from this studio, it bodes well for the future. Now excuse me, I have some BT-7 to ambush in the wood!

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6142328/][b]Like this Review? Follow The Cpt Froggy Club Curator Page for plenty more![/b][/url][/quote] Selecting a new game, you currently have the option of five scenarios to play. “The 1939 Attack”, this scenario covers the first four weeks on the initial Soviet onslaught on Finland in December 1939. “The Winter War, this is the grand campaign scenario of the Soviet onslaught on Finland between November 1939 and March 1940. “Tolajarvi”, this scenario covers the battle during the Soviet attack in December 1939. “Suomussalmi”, this scenario covers the battles of Suomussalmi and Raate road in central Finland in late 1939. The final scenario is the “Mannerheim Line”, this scenario covers the last two months of the Soviet attack on the Mannerheim Line in February and March 1940. Once you have decided which scenario to play, you can then select which side to play as Finland or Soviet Union. Each side has the option of being played by real folk, AI and the Soviet Union has the option of being played by Email. Hitting the Start Game button once you’ve decided will start your game. Next a newspaper will appear which will give you some information on your goal and your current situation. Once the newspaper is out of the way you’ll be on the game screen, with a map of Finland with a slither of the Soviet Union. In the top right corner is the Date and the turn of your current game, the scenarios are played out over four or six turns. The bottom right corner is a mini map along with some tabs for Minimise/Maximise, Centre View, go to next Stack that has not moved yet, Open/Close Information Window, Toggle On/Off Region Control Filter, Toggle On/Off Supply Filter and Toggle On/Off Stacking Filter. Each turn will start with the Card Draw where you’ll draw two battle cards where you be able to choose one card which you can then use to influence a battle. After which you’ll move on to Air Movement, then Land Movement and finally your Air Defence. Your units are shown in blue for Finland and Red for the Soviets “stacks”. These stacks can be individual to multiple units consisting of troops, mine fields, barricades, armoured units etcetera. The map is divided into regions and your stacks move from region to region, the terrain will determine how many movement point’s it will cost to move. Moving into an enemy’s region will then instigate combat mode once you and your opponent have finished your movement turns. A dice is rolled for each unit, this along with the units modified combat factor will determine the result, the dice rolls are automatically rolled and applied to your units. If a unit loses more than half its strength it can demoralise or panic the units. If this happens, they leave the battlefield and can no longer fight. If a unit's moral reaches zero, then the unit is Routed. When routed a unit can be pursued by the enemy resulting in a free round of attack against the routed surviving units. To win the game you must be the one with the most victory points collected at the end of the scenario. On the main menu screen, you’ll find Continue (a game already started) New Game, Load Saved Game (load a previously save game), Options, Video Tutorials and Quit. Selecting Video Tutorials will allow you to watch five video categories on how to play the game. 1. Region Inspection (Information on the game’s regions, units and structures). 2. Air Movement and Rebase (How to move your air units and have them change base). 3. Land Movement and Stack Split (How to move land units and split or create new stacks). 4. Stacking (How to see region’s maximum stacking and handle your stacks accordingly. 5. Battle (How to play cards during a battle and quick description. In the options you’ll find settings for Display – Language (English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian and Finnish). Resolution, Full Screen, V-Sync, Display Card Messages, Always Display Summary Phase, Fog of War and Display Tutorial First. Audio - Sound Effects, Ambient Sounds and Music Volume Sliders. A.I. Levels (Voluntary, Basic and Expert) and Auto A.I. Actions. Play by Email (Player Name, Player Email, Saves Directory, Use the Default Email Client App to Send Saves and Delete Imported Zip Files. This game is in Early Access and is still being worked upon, they have just added tutorial videos and there is other information to help you play the game. There are plenty of updates being made by the developer. Positives + Nice game + Multiple scenarios + Active updates Negatives - No achievements currently - No cards currently Can you lead the Finnish military to stand against the onslaught of the Soviet Union or will you lead the onslaught in the Winter War? 6/10 [quote]Key provided by developer/publisher for review purposes via THE CPT FROGGY CLUB! Any opinions expressed are entirely my own! [/quote] [quote]For more reviews, great game giveaways and much more. Come join us @ www.Zeepond.Com and [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/thecptfroggyclub]The Cpt Froggy Club[/url] Steam Group[/quote]

Why would a wargamer with little or no interest in the WW2 Russo Finnish War purchase this game? That's a question I had asked myself and hope to answer here. First for players who do not own the somewhat related Wars Across the World Series (WaW) or have or are considering Avalon Digital's new "Libertad o Muerte (LoD)." This game offers an improved UI that helps the player click-through menus and move the scenarios forward. Even for first-time players of the WaW-like interface, the UI should not hold them back. The counters are indeed beautiful to those wargamers who appreciate such things. The interface in general is rather elegant: should one hold one's mouse over a counter, a second, larger and more detailed counter appears that is even more attractive. Mouse over aspects of the counter, and tool-tips pop up. This feature and level of detail counter-wise is lacking in WaW and LoD. In these, you need to check the manual for such specifics. One gets the feeling that perhaps someone on the development team lost a relative in the war - and at the least is intimately familiar with it - because the level of historical detail is also high. The music is appropriately sad and haunting to the soul, for the most part, and the period newspaper clips, while not that numerous, are excellent. I for one welcomed the opportunity to "bone up" on the history of this war and Finland's geography. The map is detailed and well-presented. The event cards are fairly numerous and educational as well as useful in the game. The battles are very well represented, but not overly complex, and moves things along nicely. If one explores the interface a bit, one finds nice little touches that allows the player to get more detail about where a battle is taking place and a summary screen for further review. The introductory scenarios are obviously short affairs, but I felt able to review the game before getting to the meatiest part - the 16-turn campaign game. It is likely I haven't seen (almost) anything yet! For those who are not considering WaW or its many DLCs, or the newer LoD, the $15 I spent on this game seems well worth it already. Based on its looks, its historicity, and its smooth gameplay, it's a game to savor for a time, like fine wine, or in my case, good beer. In addition, like the WaW series and LoD, the json files are easily text-moddable. Oh yes, and there are no bugs I could find. Oh, and the AI is certainly good enough, and you can play both sides, which is a real bonus for this campaign. Now for those looking to buy WaW or its DLCs, or LoD, there is a small caveat, especially for those on a limited budget. The playing time for Winter War is not exceptionally long. For the same price, one can get a lesser UI but far more game time and diversity from WaW series and the modules it comes with, plus a few DLCs. Same goes for LoD. I'm not ready to review that one yet, but the game map is super-sized and the scenarios quite involved. Albeit, I did get the game on sale for $20, with regular price at $25, which is $10 more expensive than Winter War. Take a look at the screen shots (obviously) and maybe a video, but what you see is what you'll get, and for most wargamers it will be a nice helping of traditional "chit" wargame play.

[h1] Information / Review English [/h1] Winter War is a strategy game focused on the 1939 war conflict between the USSR and Finland, developed by The Strategy Game Studio. [h1] Gameplay / Story [/h1] In Winter War, players either fight the side of the USSR or their fins to either play against the USSR to achieve their goals in the Finnish peninsula, or against the fins to defend their territory against Soviet expansion during a long winter when the temperature was only -43 ° C or less. The winter war is also a replica of the war between Finland and the Soviet Union between November 1939 and March 1940. Many older people report about it, but if you haven't been there yourself, you can only put yourself in the people's shoes of what they had to go through at that time. The game can last up to 16 rounds, which corresponds to up to a week in the game, which is played and shown between December 1939 and March 1940. Your task as a player is to represent the tiny Republic of Finland, the other the land and air forces of the Soviet Union, using all the possibilities from then to achieve your goals. Every nation has its weaknesses and strengths where they make them unique: The Soviets have numerous but poorly managed and organized armed forces at the start of the game, but their reinforcement units are impressive and impressive. The Finns must desperately hold their own against the initial onslaught and vastly superior strength of their enemy, thanks to their superior quality and ideal defensive positions, in hopes of buying enough time if the threat of Allied intervention discourages the Russian bear. You have several possible solutions at your disposal to proceed with the event cards of the game and the various situations, in which, for example, you solve a situation on the diplomatic path or take military, political or economic action to take an area or to make room. [h1] Pro [/h1] + lets you immerse yourself in wartime + Strategy landscape with brand new card effects + symmetrical resources of both armies + good interface + matching music + several units available + good introductory opportunity [h1] Contra [/h1] - No achievements and trading cards available yet - Price set a little too high so far in my opinion [h1] Conclusion [/h1] Winter War offers you an experience to see the war from a new perspective and to see the suffering of what happened back then with different eyes. PS: First of all, many thanks to the developer who provided us with this key for the group. Here you can find more good reviews from others and me at https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26335619-Adult-World-Gamers/. [h1] Information / Review Deutsch [/h1] Winter War ist ein Strategiespiel, das sich auf den Konflikt zwischen der UdSSR und Finnland im Jahr 1939 während des Krieges konzentriert, welches von The Strategy Game Studio entwickelt wurde. [h1] Gameplay / Story [/h1] In Winter War schlagen sich die Spieler entweder auf die Seit der UdSSR oder die Flossen, um entweder gegen die UdSSR spielen, um ihre Ziele auf der finnischen Halbinsel zu erreichen, oder gegen die Flossen, um ihr Territorium zu verteidigen gegen die sowjetische Expansion während eines langen Winters, in dem die Temperatur nur -43 ° C betrug oder noch weniger. Der Winterkrieg ist auch die Nachbildung des Krieges zwischen Finnland und der Sowjetunion zwischen November 1939 und März 1940. Viele älteren Menschen berichten davon, aber wenn man nicht selbst dabei gewesen ist, kann man sich nur in die Menschen hineinversetzen was diese damals durchgemacht haben mussten. Das Spiel kann bis zu 16 Runden dauern, dies entsprich im Spiel jeweils bis zu eine Woche, die widerum zwischen Dezember 1939 und März 1940 spielt und darstellt wird. Deine Aufgabe ist es als Spieler,die winzige Republik Finnlands, der andere die Land- und Luftstreitkräfte der Sowjetunion zu repräsentierten und dabei alle Möglichkeiten von damals auszunutzen, um deine Ziele zu erreichen. Jede Nation hat ihre Schwächen und Stärken wo sie einzigartig machen: Die Sowjets haben zu Beginn des Spiels zahlreiche, aber schlecht geführte und organisierte Streitkräfte, aber ihre Verstärkungseinheiten sind beeindruckend und können sich sehen lassen. Die Finnen müssen sich verzweifelt gegen den anfänglichen Ansturm und die weit überlegene Stärke ihres Feindes behaupten, dank ihrer überlegenen Qualität und idealen Verteidigungspositionen, in der Hoffnung, genügend Zeit zu gewinnen, wenn die Bedrohung durch die alliierte Intervention den russischen Bären entmutigt. Dir stehen mehrere Lösungswege zur Verfügung, um bei den Ereigniskarten des Spiels und den verschiedenen Situationen vozugehen, in dem du als Beispiel eine Situation auf dem diplomatischem Weg löst oder eben militärisch, politisch oder wirtschaftlich vorgehst, um ein Gebiet einzunehmen oder Platz zu schaffen. [h1] Pro [/h1] + lässt dich in die Kriegszeit eintauchen + Strategielandschaft mit brandneuen Karteneffekten + symmetrischen Ressourcen beider Armeen + gutes Interface + passende Musik + mehrere Einheiten zur Verfügung + gute Einführungsmöglichkeit [h1] Kontra [/h1] - bisher noch keine Errungenschaften und Sammelkarten verfügbar - Preis bisher etwas zu hoch angesetzt meiner Meinung nach [h1] Fazit [/h1] Winter War bietet dir eine Erfahrung, den Krieg aus einer neuen Perspektive zu sehen und das Leid von damals was den Menschen widerfahren ist, mit anderen Augen zu sehen. PS: Zunächst einmal vielen Dank an den Entwickler, der uns diesen Schlüssel für die Gruppe zur Verfügung gestellt hat. Hier findest du weitere gute Bewertungen von anderen und mir unter https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26335619-Adult-World-Gamers/.

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This reminds me of the old days when I played board games from Avalon Hill Gaming Company, this is a nice change to video shooter games.

Winter War a solid wargame offering from Avalon Digital. It seems (to me, at least) that a lot of these digital wargames (like this, Battle of the Bulge, Drive on Moscow) can have a game engine that takes some figuring out, but once you do they offer a great, deep game on the conflict. Winter War does a wonderful job creating two distinct opposing armies with different, and accurate, strengths and weaknesses. The Finns don't have the Red Army numbers, but their ambushing can turn the tide of battle almost before it even really begins. The Red Army has vastly superior numbers at times, but they may not be able to move those pesky Finns. I still feel like it'll take me hours to feel competent at all playing this game, and that's exactly how I want my wargames!

I do not like to leave negative reviews. But if you intend to play single player stay far away from this and other SGS titles. The ai is the worst I’ve ever seen. There are games decades old with better Ai. What’s more for a seemingly simple game it would make sense the ai could be much better. If an Ai can play War in the East 2 semi-competently, then what’s the excuse here? However a big reason I leave a negative review is how I was promised better Ai. They said to me they’d improve it. But after months of retuning and reading through patch notes that mention no Ai improvements, I’ve given up. I even brought the second game Afrika Corps because they claimed it would help to steadily improve the ai and patch it back into this one. Nothing. This game is compared by some to Ageod. This is very wrong for a few reasons. But the main one being the Ageod Ai was actually competent. So yes, stay far away if you hope to play single player. It’s a incredible shame, as the potential is there.