Stripped Down for Parts: France ‘40

 

 

After a long stretch out of print, Mark Simonitch’s France '40 (GMT Games, 2024) is back in print. It was first released in 2013; this time it appears in a revised second edition with some updates to the rules to bring the game in line with the more recent editions to the 19XX family. France ‛40 was and still is actually two games dealing with two separate but linked operations. The first, Sickle Cut: Guderian’s Drive to the Channel takes its name from the much-revised German Western invasion plan, Unternehmen Sichelschnitt (code-named Fall Gelb, or Case Yellow), the initial invasion of Belgium, and France, and the thrust through the poorly defended Ardennes region. The second game, Dynamo: Retreat to Victory, covers the delaying action undertaken by the overwhelmed French forces to secure the time needed for the bulk of the British Expeditionary Force’s evacuation from Dunkirk.

Mr Simonitch’s 19XX games have been a staple of the GMT catalogue, and of my collection, for more than two decades. The second edition of France '40 has served its time on the P500 list (I think I pre-ordered it maybe six years ago) but judging by the contents of the box – and the regard held for the original release – it’s definitely been worth the wait.

A quick note

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of the game, I’d just like to talk about the nomenclature I’ve adopted in referring to these games. A lot of people insist on referring to them as “Mark Simonitch’s Forty-X series” or simply the “ZOC-Bond series,” referring to the Zone of Control rules that have been a hallmark of the games. As I’ve said previously, I’m disinclined to call these games a series, even though familiarity with one will definitely give you a leg-up in understanding the next. It’s reductive to refer to the games as a series, because it highlights the similarities between them while papering over the differences that make each game a better representation of the situation it models. I think it’s more helpful to think of the games as a family; while there’s definitely a sibling resemblance, each has its own personality. As for the name, Mr Simonitch has himself referred to these as his 19XX games. I think this is a better epithet than Forty-X, mostly because I selfishly nurture some hope of there being a Poland '39 inclusion sometime in the future.

The box art for the second edition is an illustration by Antonis Karidis of a pair French Char B1 bis tank (at least I’m pretty sure of that – happy to be corrected in the comments), with what look like a couple of Bristol Buckingham medium bombers in support (again, happy to be corrected on that). This is a change from the first edition cover, which featured a really effective photomontage by Rodger B. MacGowan, but it’s not unwelcome, and it brings the game into line with the dress of the newer 19XX games like Salerno '43 (GMT Games, 2022) and North Africa '41 (GMT Games, 2023). It’s colourful and pleasing to the eye, and it eloquently conveys that you’ve just picked up a historical wargame.

The box-back offers an image of the maps and some sample counters (these seem to me represented at actual size, which is always a good thing), and gives us a brief description of the subject of the game-set and a tally of what you’ll find inside. It also tells us that the publishers believe this game is suitable for ages fourteen and up, that it each should be playable in four to six hours (in this case the six hours may refer to the additional scenario included in the second edition that combines the two games; I’ll come back to this later). The Difficulty rating is set at 5 out of 9, which I think I’d agree with – the 19XX games tend to be meaty but not distractingly difficult, and as previously mentioned, familiarity with one will help in picking up the next and the next – and the Solitaire Suitability rating is also a stolid 5. Personally, I don’t think I’d pull out any 19XX game to play solitaire by choice, except for getting acquainted with it (probably two or three plays through at least), but from what I‘ve seen so far, there doesn’t seem to be any hidden information, a la Holland '44 (GMT Games, 2017). I think it would make a good solitaire experience if you could leave it set up somewhere and take from it11’ by17’ between turns.

The Rules of Play and Playbook for France '40.

The 19XX rulebooks, in my limited experience, are always well laid out, with useful illustrations that help to explain the idiosyncrasies of the rules in play. The France ‛40 rulebook is unexceptionable in this regard, meeting the already established high standards for readability and clarity. The Rules of Play run to twenty-four pages (with cover and an index on the back cover page – always nice to see) but the actual rules only run to seventeen pages.

Rulebook (sample page): ZOC Bonds explained.

Though a playbook is included in the package, the Rules of play also include the details for the two single-map scenarios (alas, no shorter scenarios are included; it’s the game or it’s nothing). Also included are an illustrated table explaining the quirks of some special units with unique qualities, and a list of Counter Abbreviations (also handy).

The Extended Example of  Play from the Playbook; a good introduction for new players. 

The Playbook for France '40 is a help and a treat. In a mere sixteen pages, it offers an extended example of play (Sickle Cut), the original First Edition design notes, plus supplementary notes for the Second Edition, some notes on the Order of Battle by Fred Thomas, and six pages of reproduced French and German situation maps from the battle, with notes relating the maps to the two games. The booklet finishes with the aforementioned France ‛40 Combined Game instructions, developed by Mark Merritt, and a bibliography for those of use who like to read the history we play. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to playing the combined game, but it does look intriguing.

PAC bi-fold, front (right) and back (left).

The Player’s Aid Cards are a duplicate pair two-panel, double-sided 11’ x 17’ cards (no need for sharing) forming a booklet. The front page covers the direct effect of combat, and includes the Combat Results Table (and explanations for the result), Determined Defense Table, and lists of the Maximum Advance After Combat Rates and Combat Modifiers applicable to the CRT. 

PAC interior. Some thought has obviously been put into how to make
the Player's Aid Cards as useful as possible.

Inside fold of the card offers all the specific case tables relating to movement – Extended Movement, Disengagement, Breakthrough Combat and Evacuation – as well as the Rally and Isolation Attrition tables, and an Expanded Sequence of Play. The back page presents a detailed Terrain Effects Chart, with some extra details on unusual terrain features found exclusively on the Dynamo map

Sickle Cut At Start and Reinforcement Cards set-up cards...

One thing I love about the 19XX games I own (and that brings a sense of relief whenever I see them on other games) is the unit set-up cards. Sometimes they’re call Order of Battle Cards, or Reinforcement Charts; here they’re called At Start and Reinforcement Cards (so there’s no confusion. These are two double-sided PACs, one for the Allies and one for the Germans, that set out all of the units required for the Sickle Cut game on one side, and Dynamo on the other. 

...with the Dynamo set-up instructions on the reverse side of each.

Placing the pieces in their appropriate spaces on the card ensures that you have all the requisite counters (many of the counters are shared between the two games), while the notation below each space declares where each piece should be placed on the map. Some may say it’s double handling, but I have games I’m reluctant to pull out sometimes because of the barely legible placement notation snuck into one corner of the counter. I don’t mind a little extra set-up time if it means I can set the game up.

Two counter sheets. Sheet 1 (top), right side, eight rows down and fifth counter
 along is Charles de Gaulle's command (tricolor background). Antony Bevor wrote
that only de Gaulle could write a comprehensive military history of France and
never once mention Waterloo.

Which brings me to the counters. The game comes with two sheets of 5/8^th counters (383 counters in all – one blank), of which only about four dozen are markers and such. It’s a very unit-rich game, or games.

The unit counters themselves are laminated on a good weight grey-core cardstock, clear to read with good registration. The units are identified by NATO symbols and silhouettes for the armoured vehicles, in keeping with previous 19XX games. The national colours backgrounding the unit counters are appropriate and distinctive, and all should stand out clearly on the map (no, I haven’t got to clipping this one yet; it arrived in the same delivery as Rebel Fury (GMT Games, 2024), so it’s next in line).

Sickle Cut map, (This is actually the mounted map. I couldn't shoot the paper map
without really bad glare, and couldn't get the camera to focus with it under Perspex.)

The maps really pop. Mr Simonitch is a graphic artist by trade and training and mentioned in an interview with Punched online magazine that he’d done around 100 game maps as a freelancer before joining Avalon Hill. The maps for Sickle Cut and Dynamo have a look that nods to the best traditions of operational-level maps (neutral background with simple, clearly defined features) but still manage to look fresh and modern. The 19XX games are, for my money, the best representation of modern era operational-level maps in print today, and these two are no exception. Everything is clear and clearly explained in terms of game effects.

Dynamo map. Both maps feature a turn track, while the Dynamo map also sports
an evacuation table and an boxes for evacuees and English/German air support.

A minor adjustment has been made to the Dynamo map with the removal of the bottom border. This is to facilitate the overlapping of the two maps for the Combined scenario, which uses the full Dynamo map and the bottom three fifths of the Sickle Cut map, meeting at the hex-latitude of Abbeville/Cambrai.

Finally, we have the dice and baggies; two six siders of a quality familiar to 19XX collectors, one in blue and the other in black. I haven't counted the baggies, but from past experience I'm certain there will be sufficient for a sensible division of pieces. The notable absence from this picture is a travel insert. Rebel Fury didn't come with one either. This makes sense seeing as France '40 isn't a card-driven game and there are no heavy card decks to otherwise shift around during shipping, potentially damaging the maps or popping counters. I ordered the mounted map as well, so I would have been throwing out the insert anyway. I can report the mounted map will fit into the box with enough extra room for at least one counter tray, so there's that.

My copy of France '40 arrived about three weeks ago, and I still haven’t got around to punching and clipping it yet. I pulled everything out for a look-over and red through part of the rulebook the day it arrived, but the lure of Rebel Fury was too great. But having another look over the materials for this post, I think I’ll be spending the next couple of free evening hours in front of the TV, readying this for some getting-to-know-you counter-pushing. What’s not to love about a 19XX game?