by M3p0d

Roads to Moscow is a game built on tried and tested mechanics with interesting scenarios. There’s a lot to like, but it’s also a game design that’s showing some age.

First, the good. The scenarios are reasonably balanced. The chit pull system, which I don’t always love in a twentieth-century operational game, totally works here. The design creates some difficulties coordinating multi-formation attacks, but still includes mechanisms that that allow for it given appropriate planning on the part of the player. The design also accounts for so much of what went into combined arms warfare at the time. The combat is relatively random, even at 3-1 odds. It’s an unpredictable game, and I imagine a lot of replay value in it.

Now for the clumsy aspects. Very little is abstracted. The complexities of coordination and combined arms are determined by a nearly absurd number of die rolls, making each combat laborious. There’s plenty of factor counting so the attacker can roll on the right column. And count you will! For a supposedly battalion-scale game, there’s an absurd number of company-sized units. Consequently the stacks get to the point they require off-map holding boxes.

The system still works. The results are plausible enough and play is rewarding. But it is a bit of work.

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