Battle of the Bulge Review – Challenging, well-crafted turn-based strategy

Our rating:

By: Shenandoah Studio

Version #: 1.0.2

Date Released: 2012-12-13

Developer: Shenandoah Studio LLC

Price: 9.99

User Rating:

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Update (16th October 2013): Battle of the Bulge is now a universal app you can enjoy in your iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads!

There’s a relatively big array of board games and board-game alikes in the App Store. When you restrict to war games, or related genres the offering is less than exciting. Slitherine’s Battle Academy is probably the most complex and polished. Exceedingly complex. Battle of the Bulge combines historical accuracy with great gameplay and replayability.

In the game there are available two maps to play, both based in the Battle of the Bulge (officially the Ardennes counteroffensive.) The first is a kind of training map, the 3-day campaign Race to the Meuse. Objectives differ whether you play as the Axis or the Allies. As the Allies you have to keep the Axis army from reaching the Meuse river in three days. As the Axis, you can win by reaching the river or you can draw by capturing the crossroads at the city of Bastogne. In the full map, Battle of the Bulge, there are several win conditions both players can get, making for far deeper strategic thinking.

The game is turn-based in the most classical wargame style, with all complexities (attack and defense tables, dice rolling) hidden for a very smooth gameplay. The game offers two AI opponents modeled as Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (cautious, retreating) or General George Patton (aggressively counterattacking.) Gameplay is not very complex and both the in-game tutorial and help system will get you playing in like 1 minute.

You may be concerned about re-playability. Don’t! I’ve played already 6 or 7 games of Race to the Meuse, still trying to reach that damn river (getting Bastogne is relatively easy, though). It’s hard. If this wasn’t enough, you can play online via GameCenter AND play face-to-face via “iPad passing.”

You may also be concerned about price. I’m always picky about the price of iOS apps, but I would re-purchase Battle of the Bulge without ever thinking. The game is so good I’d love it had more than one side so I could bring it to our board game afternoons (where I usually try to sneak to one side and just browse the web, I’m not a fan of non-abstract board games!)

In short: This is one of the best games we’ve seen this year. Pity it came too late for App Store’s Best of 2012.

Geek side note: In the game you’ll see the 106th Infantry Division sitting in Schonberg, this is where private Kurt Vonnegut fought the war and was captured. The novel Slaghterhouse-5 was mildly inspired by his witnessing of the horrors of that battle and the bombing of Dresden.