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Posted on May 11, 2009 in Boardgames

Memoir ’44 Expansions – An Overview

By Bill Bodden

Sword Beach in Memoir '44. Click for larger image.Days of Wonder’s military strategy game, Memoir ’44, has gained a strong following in the gaming community. With its fast-moving rules, beautifully detailed map boards and crisply cast plastic pieces, it’s been a hit since day one. As the name suggests, the original Memoir ’44 game concentrates on events of World War Two subsequent to and including the D-Day invasion. Expansions have been produced in support of the line, covering everything from the Blitzkrieg of France in 1940 to Operation Barbarossa in 1941 to the North African Campaign and even the Pacific Theater.

The Memoir ’44 Air Pack includes comprehensive rules for adding air power to your games. The air rules were designed to be easily adapted and retrofitted to the nearly countless scenarios available on the web site in the players’ forums, giving players a new look at previous scenarios. Rounding out the package are pre-painted plastic aircraft models, and a comprehensive, 120-card summary deck that describes in detail every terrain, special rule, troop type and nation introduced in the game to date.

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The Mediterranean, Pacific and Eastern Theater Expansion packs introduce new figures, new tactics and new nations to the Memoir ’44 game. Included in each pack are the figures, maps, special terrain tiles, new rules and new scenarios to expand Memoir ’44 beyond the beaches and hedgerows of Normandy. Other expansions consist primarily of additional maps, (North African desert and Eastern Front snow fields, among them) and packs of terrain tiles, objective markers and special forces unit markers.

For the first time a product is available to facilitate turning this elegant game into a campaign; the Memoir ’44 Campaign Book, Volume One. Packed with more than 50 new scenarios and additional components, the Campaign Book is a must-have for anyone wanting to take their Memoir ’44 game to a higher level. The new action cards and new tokens give generals a few additional options, such as Landing Craft and Abatis, Smoke Screens, Reserves and Air Sorties, and handy scoring sheets included provide an easy way to catalog soaring victories and bloody defeats. The Guide lets generals play scenarios in succession, with the outcome of one affecting resources and placement for the next.

The Memoir ’44 Campaign Book may seem a bit pricey, but the quality and extra components are well worth the money. For more information on any of Days of Wonder’s Memoir ’44 line or about the Memoir ’44 gaming community, visit the Days of Wonder site.