Blocks in the East

First in a Trilogy to cover the whole European theater of war !

On 22 June 1941, under the codeword "Dortmund", the German Wehrmacht started the invasion of the Soviet Union. Blocks in the East recalls, in game form, the most decisive battles fought in the Eastern Front from the beginning of the invasion in Summer 1941 until the dramatic end in Berlin in Spring 1945. Developed with a system of wooden blocks and cubes and played out over an astonishing 125x87 cm (49"x34") full laminated multicolor map-board, the only paper component in the box is the rules manual. In total, more than 600 wooden/plastic components have been created by the best Italian artisinal industry and painted "A baratto", a technique usually adopted for painting car parts and accessories.

Blocks in the East is a turn-based operational and strategic game for two/four players, one/two in control of the Soviet Red Army and the other one/two controlling the Axis Powers. Although based on history, players can modify the evolution of World War II on the Eastern Front. The rules are divided into three major sections which can be learned one at a time:

•         Basic game rules, which introduces the basic concepts and enables players to start playing the game without too many rules to remember.

•         Advanced game rules, which provides more specific and detailed rules for enhanced realism, such as the use of Fuel and the Advanced Production System.

•         Optional rules for those who want to get the most out of the game, with rules for Technology Research, Strategic warfare over German factories and U-Boot Campaign in the Atlantic Ocean, Amphibious Invasions, Parachute Assaults, and more.

In Blocks in the East, a hexagon is approximately 53 miles (70 Km) across, a turn is 1 month long, and a full-strength counter represents 300 planes, 300 tanks, or 30,000 men, depending on the unit type, equipment, nationality, etc. The game can be played with "fog of war" on (with the faces of wooden blocks hidden from the opponent) or off (all units are visible).

Players can compete in the full 1941 Codeword Dortmund Campaign, or one of four six-turn scenarios ("Operation Barbarossa", "Fall Blau, the drive to Baku", "Operation Zitadelle, Kursk Battle 1943" and "Bagration Offensive, Summer 1944"), or one of the shorter, easy-to-learn scenarios ("Road to Rostov", which lasts six turns, or any of these three turn scenarios: "Road to Leningrad", "Road to Moscow" or "Short Barbarossa"). Each scenario has different victory conditions and length, with a playing time from 2 to 49 turns.

Components:

• 2 87x62 cm mapboards (double laminated)
• 1 rules manual (scenario booklet incl.)
• 1 booklet with Germany Strategic Map, Scenario Setup Charts, Play-Example
• 156 wooden red blocks
• 144 wooden black blocks
• 6 wooden light green blocks
• 6 wooden tan/white blocks
• 3 wooden dark green blocks
• 2 wooden blue blocks
• 318 PVC stickers (laminated)
• 60 wooden yellow cubes
• 20 wooden red cubes
• 20 wooden blue cubes
• 20 wooden yellow cylinders
• 20 plastic black cylinders
• 10 plastic white cylinders
• 20 dark red discs
• 10 black discs
• 25 red factories
• 20 blue factories
• 5 black factories
• 7 dice.