Reinforcements on the Tabletop
History buff? Not really. War games? Never! That was me, until Blitzkrieg! shattered my expectations. This 2-player game with a solo mode promised a 20-minute World War II experience. Scoff? I did. But after one exhilarating (and surprisingly quick) match, I was hooked. How many games truly tell you the correct length of play in the box? Blitzkrieg! By Paolo Mori and published by PSC Games proved that war games can be strategic, fast-paced, and dare I say, fun?
On that note, fun fact: my wife destroyed me once in about 6 minutes so beware of the expansion! I am not letting that happen again [fingers crossed].
In Blitzkrieg! World War Two in 20 Minutes you either play as an Allied or an Axis while trying to control the main theaters (locations in the board) while drawing beautiful token tiles from a bag to determine your attack. The first to 25 points wins the game! There’s no dice or cards–just a bag, strategy, and luck.
Operation: Unboxing
I like the components of this game. They are of good quality and the design is consistent and easy to grasp
Excellent written rulebook
Double sided board game:
world view with five theaters for the original game
American map with fifteen locations for the Nippoin Expansion
5 Battle markers to keep track of each theater
The Allied and Axis receive:
Cloth bag–my favorite part of the game!
22 unit tokens–will be randomly drawn throughout the game–so much anticipation!
player screen–for that top secret intel!
18 special weapons–these tokens can either make or break your game should you be lucky enough to gain access and then draw one! That Nuclear bomb ended my career in six minutes once
Should you ever want to design your own units, there are blank tokens. I keep wanting to design cell phone and laptop ones, but we haven’t gotten consensus from the wife yet
Nippon expansion includes Japanese tiles–There’s a Godzilla y’all!
The solo module has:
Excellent rulebook
Die
Tokens
Gear Up: Setting the Stage
Grab a bottle of wine (optional) and set up the board and place battle markers (red cubes) in the middle of each of the five battle tracks called theaters along with the player makers. Whoever has a meaner face (just kidding!) becomes the Axis player. Each player sets up a screen to hide their unit tokens and shuffles their unit tiles in a bag. Then, randomly draw three unit tokens secretly. The Axis player starts the game!
Boots on the Ground: How to Play
This is where Blitzkrieg! truly shines. Forget memorizing complex rules. The game plays over turns where players strategically allocate troops and manage resources. Instead of rolling dice, we assign forces to different theaters like the Eastern Front or the Mediterranean. Each conquered campaign earns War Victory Points, you need 25 to win the game.
Each theater has land, sea, and land/sea spaces. Land spaces can only be occupied by armies, the sea can only be occupied by navies. Airplanes can occupy any land. The Land/sea spaces can be occupied by any piece.
On your turn:
Place a Unit Token: Choose a free battle space in the topmost open campaign of any theater and place a unit token from your reserve there. The battle space you occupy might have an effect that triggers immediately (like gaining victory points or removing an enemy unit)
Move the Battle Marker: Move the marker on the corresponding theater's battle track towards your side of the board the number of spaces equal to the strength of the unit token you just placed
Draw a New Unit Token: Blindly draw a new unit token from your bag and add it to your reserve
Close a Campaign (Optional): If your unit token occupies the last space in a campaign, you close that campaign and gain victory points based on the campaign value and any victory point icons reached by the battle marker on your side of the track
Victory is Mine (Sometimes)
The first player to reach 25 War Victory Points wins! However, the Allied player gets one last turn if the Axis player reaches 25 first. The Allied player wins if they reach 25 points or tie the Axis player at 25 points. In the rare case that you cannot place a unit token due to having no usable options in your reserve, you lose the game immediately.
Key Maneuvers: What Makes Blitzkrieg!
Fast-paced Action: This ain't a weekend-long campaign. Games last a brisk 20 minutes
Simple Rules, Deep Strategy: Don't be fooled by the streamlined mechanics. Resource allocation and campaign focus keep your brain in the war room
Thematic Tension: The blind draw from the bag injects a shot of uncertainty, mirroring the fog of war. And it’s my favorite part of the game
Troop Report: Pros and Cons
I don’t know if the fact that the game is light on history is a pro or con. I think it’s a pro because it lets you focus on strategic thinking. There are no reenactments or historical dives in this game.
Pros:
Lightning Fast: A perfect game for those short on time (or attention span)
Easy to Learn: The rules are clear and concise. The iconography is straightforward and consistent
Replayable: The variable unit draws and campaign focus keep every game fresh
Expansion for variability: Nippon expansion lets you spice things up!
It has a solo mode
Language Independent: the game does not have any wording on the tiles, so I can play this with family that doesn't speak English
Cons:
Limited Player Count: Strictly a two-player game, so plan your campaigns accordingly
Bonus Mission: The Nippon Expansion
This Blitzkrieg! expansion throws a crazy curveball your way. Imagine history took a sharp left turn - Germany conquered America, and now Japan's like "hold my sake" because they're invading German-America! And guess who's along for the ride? Godzilla. WHAT!!!
New Toys, New Challenges
The expansion comes with a bunch of new unit tokens. Godzilla is a beast - a 4-strength monster that counts as both an army and navy unit. There's also "Inspired Leadership" that lets you double-dip the effect of a battle space, and sneaky "Partisans" whose strength changes based on where the battle marker is.
My favorite part? You can add these special weapons to the base game!
Forget about Europe and Africa. This time you're scrapping for dominance across fifteen American cities. The theaters are single-campaign affairs now, with victory points awarded for closing campaigns and reaching specific spots on the battle track.
The Verdict? If you want the game to last 30 instead of 20 minutes, this expansion cranks things up a notch!
Operation: Solo
Take command of the Allied forces while facing off an AI-bot that utilizes a die. Beware, the bot can take special tokens that add chaos to the mix. What will it do next? The solo mode has increasing difficulty and can be played with the Nippon Expansion.
Mission Accomplished: The Final Salute
Blitzkrieg! World War Two in 20 Minutes is a fantastic game. It's fast, strategic, and surprisingly thematic. While war itself is a terrible thing, this game is a fantastic addition to any two-player game night. Just be prepared for a potential power struggle at the table.
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