"Paths of Glory War Game Review" Topic

Paths of Glory is a card-driven, medium weight war game for two players. The game takes place during WWI and you play either the Allied forces or their Central Powers opponents.

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Good review and it's always rated pretty high by most wargame sites. My big problem with the game(and CDGs for that matter) is that a lot of fronts sit inactive for long periods of time. Also, the supply rules are unforgiving. At one point or another a corps of one side will slip through a gap and put one side's entire army on a front out of supply. Game over.

The OOS can only happen on the last card play of a turn, and it is far more likely to happen to the Germans/Austro Hungry then the French/British/Russians. The reason is they get the last card play of each turn (unless something strange happens with card play/allocation)

The WWII game and others change this so supply is checked after the last card of each player turn (and only for that player)

It's terrific fun as a game; one of the very best. It's not terribly WW1-like in many ways. The slightest opportunity can lead to massive hundred-mile marches that cut off entire national armies causing the surrender of millions of troops at a time. (I've seen Serbia "conquer" Austria-Hungary in this way.) Odd things routinely happen because you're choosing cards for their game values, not because the things they supposedly represent have much to do with history, or with each other.

Thus the German High Seas Fleet sortieing means that the Bulgarian army can't march… or your decision to activate the Turks for a counterattack in Iraq means that Germany can't recruit new troops. It's all about choosing opportunities.

A wonderful challenge, though, playing either side.

This is one of the BEST card driven games on the market. Plus you learn tons of history via the cards.

I thought as it was card driven it would not make a great solo game. Is It possible to play solo enjoyably?

You can play it solo, just don't look at the cards and turn them over blindly, and choose the action or the operation points. You can even go so far as to specify prior to turning the card which front any op points derived will be spent upon.
I really enjoy the game.

One of my favourite games. I've played it loads of times and something new always seems to happen. Last time out I was playing the Allies and my strategy was particularly inept. The French completely collapsed on the Western Front and the British were driven back across the Channel leaving the Belgians fighting alone (they didn't last long). Meanwhile, the Russians briefly managed to take Berlin before the Germans shifted their attention to the Eastern Front and steam-rollered over everything in their path.

Even when I was getting trounced it was still a great game.

I always liked this game.
As many of you have mentioned it never seems to play the same way twice.

we found that the more you play, the less you have the problems of massive marches to cut off units at teh end of turn, and the more you get the other fronts involved

- the reason being that players started to maintain front lines more consistently (and cautiously) thus stopping the outflanking problem at end of turn, and players started to maximise their replacement points by ensuring that hits only available on one front were needed on that front.

if you play at the 'intro' level, and put all your effort into the big theatres where all your strong troops are, the other guy can nip away at all of your other fronts – and after two hands, you are totally exhausted where you are strongest and totally out manoevered everywhere else too.

its a game that stands up to many more replays that most others.

play more cautiously than you normally do, and wait for the yanks to come in – by then, the victory points are a lot closer for both sides, so all those risky drives at teh start to win eary look foolish