What’s that you say? A good grand strategic level game of WWI on the Western Front has to take hours upon hours to complete? Nuts! Publishingwants to prove that theory wrong with their upcoming To the Last Man!, a card driven title they promise can be played to completion in three hours or less. To the Last Man was originally available as an online release but now Nuts! has polished it up promising new graphics, new rules, new cards, and even a revised map. Preorders are now being accepted with a goal of 250 orders before going to print.
From Nuts!:
To The Last Man! – The Great War in the West is a full-featured game of grand strategic land battles focused on the western front in World War 1 playable in three hours or less.
In an historical yet uncomplicated fashion, TTLM! simulates the most important front of World War 1 in an exciting card-driven wargame.
Designed, developed and meticulously researched over the past 20 years, TTLM! elegantly subsumes historical capabilities into card play, army sizes, production limits, and so on. For example, each nation’s army configuration is unique, effortlessly highlighting doctrinal and technological differences.
TTLM! also allows players to explore the many “What ifs?” of the Great War. What if France invaded Belgium? What if the UK remained neutral? What if the Kaiser shifted forces for an invasion of Russia? You name it, it’s here – and all based on extensive historical analysis.
The NUTS! edition of To The Last Man! updates the previous online version. This game’s premium professional release features new graphics, new rules, new cards, and even a revised map!
Players’ hands represent their aggregate economies in this Total-War simulation. Players use their cards to unleash offensives, take combat losses, and so on. Both sides strive to conduct mapboard operations as well as to bankrupt his opponent’s hand, all while trying to avoid the same fate. This produces psychological tension with each card played. Exciting card play keeps the game fun despite there being a static front. The mapboard becomes the focus of play only when a player’s hand dwindles to a critical level. A player’s ability to bluff is just as important as the strength of his armies!
Not knowing your opponent’s true capabilities makes each card played a real nail-biter. A superior force can be made to retreat from inferior numbers due to a lack of reserves (cards), while a lone corps can hold out against many armies as long as a steady stream of replacements can hold the line. Requiring players to husband their economic potential (i.e., hang onto their cards) means you can’t always move your units when you want to. Offensives often take on a life of their own.
Historically, great carnage was caused by the attitude – “just one more Big Push and the enemy’s finished.”
Without knowing the composition of your opponent’s hand, players are put in the same boat. Maybe one more offensive will breach the line and precipitate retreat. Or maybe it’ll just lead to horrendous losses you can ill afford in a grueling battle of attrition. You’ll never know unless you try, but should you try at all? That’s To The Last Man!
Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...
