WWI is not just huge, it is also complex. The player is hit hard by a learning curve that the documentation, tutorials and interface could do a much better job in easing. Even after many hours of playing, this reviewer still found himself stumbling to understand all the nuances of basic things like the turn sequence. Sometimes, it feels like just getting through a year in the game is an accomplishment, never mind what you were actually able to do on the field.

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The game’s turn-sequence phases are borrowed directly from the board game. The phases are events, diplomacy, redeployment, reinforcement, military and siege. There are also some sub-phases like breakthrough that only occur in special circumstances. While these are logical, the interface doesn’t really lead the player through them as well as it could. The information is there but is often hard to find, cryptic and not intuitive.

In the events phase, the game deals a handful of event cards to the player. These are tactical or turn based cards that can be played anytime. Some give bonuses in combat; some offer strategic advantages such as Mata Hari stealing the enemy’s plans and lifting the fog of war. This is also the phase where historic events play out. In the beginning of the war for example, the British can make the historic decision to keep or release two warships they were building for Turkey. Like all of AGEOD’s previous games, there are plenty of history lessons in WWI.

The game also sports a diplomacy phase where the player deploys diplomats to neutral nations and attempts to sway them into the player’s camp. Even changing a country’s attitude just a bit can have positive consequences. If Sweden warms to Germany, for example, it can help with getting around the French and British blockade.

Interestingly, research and recruitment don’t fall into a phase. The player can pull up the screen to buy new units at almost any time. Of course, it will take three or four turns for these new units to show up on the battlefield. The research screen can also be accessed at any time. Here, the player can fund new technologies that might improve air units, introduce tanks, or introduce poison gas. The game does a great job in showing how the progression of technology affected the tactics on the field.

Movement and combat occurs during the military phase. The player has an option to play an innovative army-by-army activation rule that, once mastered, adds a great deal to the period feel of the game. As the player starts his military phase, he activates and moves one army at a time, starting with his main army. If he can try to move another army, a special coordination check is made. As this first round of armies completes its move, the enemy player checks for reactions or interceptions. Combat is resolved, and then the player activates the next set of armies until he has no more movement. This rule feels very historic, particularly on the early Eastern Front, where lack of good portable wireless sets made coordinating the maneuvers of large armies especially challenging.

Combat is resolved in a series of rounds played card-game style. As the game progresses and tactics improve, the player is given options like defense in depth or a chlorine gas attack prior to combat. The player selects a corps and its artillery or tank support to lead the attack. The defender likewise selects a corps to defend. Once the Engage button is pressed, fighting corps might be destroyed, damaged or disrupted. The players select the next group of corps and fight again. This process is repeated until one side runs out of units or decides to retreat. If the winner manages to keep reserves in the rear, a breakthrough or counterattack round can occur. Sea combat is slightly different in that range is tracked, and the player can fire all of his units that are in range at once.

While this card-game style combat does not realistically reflect movement of corps on an army front, combat is still fun and gives the player a great sense of involvement. In later stages of the game however, when there are ten combats in a turn, minor fights can become tiresome. Fortunately, there is an auto-resolution button.

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