Flashback Friday - Memoir '44
Love it or hate it? Do you still play it?
Memoir '44 was hot, hot, hot in 2008...but where is it now?
Memoir '44 is a light wargame, or war-themed strategy board game, for two players created by Richard Borg, using an enhanced version of the same Command & Colors game system used in Battle Cry. Published in 2004 by Days of Wonder, Memoir '44 simulates over a dozen of the battles connected with the D-Day invasions in World War II. It received the 2004 International Gamers Award for General Strategy, and The Wargamer 2004 Award for Excellence.
Some people argued that Battlore was the better game. Others preferred Command & Colors: Ancients. But no one could argue that Memoir '44 wasn't popular. In fact over the next few years it had so many expansions that a Memoir '44: Campaign Bag was released to carry the base game with it's expansions.
So where is now? Do you still play? Is it a self toad gathering dust? Or did you cull it from your collection long ago?
More on Memoir '44
I've still got my copies of all three, and they've seen me through maybe 50 plays in total. That means it's earned its keep, although I've not played in a long while.
Fundamentally though, C&C:A is simply better and with less setup time. Except for having to sticker all those blocks, that is.
I'm quite surprised M44 never made it as a mass-market breakout hit. It seemed to have all the required qualities.
I have most iterations of the C&C system. Although Nappy is probably my favorite setting, M44 will never be far from the table or Vassal.
So I think my best best is to fill my game bag with Memoir and its brethren, show up and just set one up. There's one old guy there that likes conflict games and will likely sit down across from me if I give him the chance.
Borg created Battle Cry and Memoir as rule sets for miniatures games, and they have a miniatures feel to their play. There's significant luck involved (which is highly appropriate for the theme and setting) and you need to react on short notice to what's happening on the board and what's happening in your hand of cards. You can't often make plans very far in advance because you don't have enough prior knowledge. Alas, modern gamers don't like that as much. I do. I'm at my best and enjoy playing most in tactical games, so Memoir is right in my wheelhouse.
I may have to force this on my boys for Father's Day. Timely article -- they can't deny my request Sunday morning!
S.
I can see owning the base set to haul out for a casual crowd (it's great in that role) but that's about it.
fightcitymayor wrote: I guess I never understood why one would invest the $$$ in expansions for such a basic left/center/right C&C game. For only slightly more brainpower one could easily move up to Combat Commander or Tide Of Iron or Heroes Of Normandie, or ratchet up another half-step for one of a dozen different legit tactical games (Band of Brothers, Conflict of Heroes, Lock & Load, Old School Tactical, etc. etc. etc.) and have a system where the expansions actually make it a game worth owning.
I can see owning the base set to haul out for a casual crowd (it's great in that role) but that's about it.
For the aesthetics each expansion provides (plastic bits and terrain for the theatre) plus the pretty decent scenarios, but I did upgrade to ToI.
fightcitymayor wrote: I guess I never understood why one would invest the $$$ in expansions for such a basic left/center/right C&C game. For only slightly more brainpower one could easily move up to Combat Commander or Tide Of Iron or Heroes Of Normandie, or ratchet up another half-step for one of a dozen different legit tactical games (Band of Brothers, Conflict of Heroes, Lock & Load, Old School Tactical, etc. etc. etc.) and have a system where the expansions actually make it a game worth owning.
I can see owning the base set to haul out for a casual crowd (it's great in that role) but that's about it.
Not all wargames need to be some brain burning wargame that lasts hours. M44 delivers a fast and entertaining combat while the card play keeps the replay value high. The ability to be able to play multiple games in a night is also appealing. Some of the games listed for comparison are also zoomed in much closer than M44, so the maneuver component would be much more of a feature.
I respect days of wonder a lot, but this was one of their games I didn't regret failing to buy into.
Completionism is one obvious reason why people would go all-in on Memoir'44, but to put it down to just that would be to underestimate exactly how good a gateway WW2 tactical game it actually is, its simple left/center/right C&C system notwithstanding. That L/C/R system is definitely least at home in the WW2 setting, because of the use of radio communications by many units, but it still works well enough. And the basics of fire-and-movement work really rather nicely, in a way that creates some subtle effects. The expansions bring completely new stuff too, and serve to make that basic system quite all-encompassing in its scope. So the appeal of M44 to its fans is not just the aesthetic element of the toy factor, but also the rich potential of the system hidden in its simplicity.fightcitymayor wrote: I guess I never understood why one would invest the $$$ in expansions for such a basic left/center/right C&C game. For only slightly more brainpower one could easily move up to Combat Commander or Tide Of Iron or Heroes Of Normandie, or ratchet up another half-step for one of a dozen different legit tactical games (Band of Brothers, Conflict of Heroes, Lock & Load, Old School Tactical, etc. etc. etc.) and have a system where the expansions actually make it a game worth owning.
I can see owning the base set to haul out for a casual crowd (it's great in that role) but that's about it.
ChristopherMD wrote: I still like this game and would play it if a friend brought it around. I honestly don't mind the randomness of cards and dice for the most part. Although I do think they improved the cards in the Breakthrough Deck. They added On The Move that replaced cards in the regular deck with ones that have an additional option to move some units in any section but those units can only move (not attack). Ultimately I find the game too abstract for my WWII interests. Also the setup is longer than the game.
I'd be in the same boat, quite happy to play it now and then as it was a fun game (when it wasn't frustrating the shit out of me) but not too keep it on my shelves (with expansions) when I wasn't going to play it and others would.
From memory wasn't there a rule in the base game that you could use any card to order one unit, does On The Move build on that ?
fightcitymayor wrote: I guess I never understood why one would invest the $$$ in expansions for such a basic left/center/right C&C game. For only slightly more brainpower one could easily move up to Combat Commander or Tide Of Iron or Heroes Of Normandie, or ratchet up another half-step for one of a dozen different legit tactical games (Band of Brothers, Conflict of Heroes, Lock & Load, Old School Tactical, etc. etc. etc.) and have a system where the expansions actually make it a game worth owning.
I can see owning the base set to haul out for a casual crowd (it's great in that role) but that's about it.
Good thread, btw.
I hate that I'm this sort of grinch but I finally moved to this opinion about C+C, in general. I respect the game, though. If someone was into an iteration, I'd definitely play it with them. It's a fun, light base system though I prefer C+C:A with its extra line rules and a bit more variety.
I am glad to hear all of you guys talk about the scenario book type stuff. That's the big issue with this system: the scenario designs is far more important to the enjoyment of play than the unit variety but most people just wanted more unit variety.
Weirdly, the things I heard about the game of thrones (and I think battlelore 2.0?) iteration of this system sounded good to me. Giving you a bit more flexibility.
Gary Sax wrote: ...
Weirdly, the things I heard about the game of thrones (and I think battlelore 2.0?) iteration of this system sounded good to me. Giving you a bit more flexibility.
I enjoyed the Battlelore 2.0 games I played but it still did have the frustrating double luck cards/dice aspect. The Battles of Westoros system sounds very interesting as well with lots of unit expansions but it was a bit too expensive for a 2-player game for me to get into without trying it out first.
Yeah, Overlord is okay, but not as good as dedicated multiplayer games designed as such.
I look at Overlord as a wargame themed party game. I generally have a blast playing. Just two player? For relatively quick and lighter I'd rather just play an abstract these days.
Fun fact, Memoir '44 was the game I got rid of in the worst trade I've ever made. I got rid of the base game and the first campaign book for...Valley Games' Titan.