1916 is our first game of the 2140 series covering the Verdun campaign at an operational scale. Many of the available games on Verdun are solely focused on the tactical situation at Verdun, which really pays little to no justice as to the actual objective of the Verdun campaign: attrition. Falkenhayn had wanted to both physically and emotionally drain the French by forcing them to defend a large flank attack against France’s most iconic fortress.

Northern sector of Verdun, playtest kit shown above

1916 uses Administrative Points to represent logistical, political and strategic capabilities available to each side. The campaign was a massive resource drain on both sides given the number of shells, men, and guns being gone through on a daily basis. No simulation would be comprehensive without placing this burden on the player. Players receive a finite number of Administrative Points making it impossible to possibly do everything a player wants, only what is absolutely necessary. The game also features tactical chrome such as hurricane barrages, flamethrowers, French Elan, and stripping fortress guns.

Ultimately, the French won at Verdun due to their innovations in defensive tactics. The French defended Verdun in the field in depth as opposed to from the fortresses. By the end of the Verdun campaign, it was clear to Falkenhayn that the effort was no longer worth the returns when French and German manpower evened out at a similar level. The French had figured out the solution to the Bruchmiller artillery tactics that had so dominated the war up to this point through their defensive tactics, though a decisive end to the war would not come until years later.

Playtest kits have been sent out as of last week and we are in the final playtest/development phase for the game. We have a great stable of playtesters at CSL but given the number of releases we plan on doing, we can always use more! As a playtesters, you receive a free demo copy of the game along with thanks and credit in the rules. That said, we expect our playtesters to quickly and thoroughly playtest given the games are designed to be playable in 2 hours, and we run on a fairly tight schedule for the sake of my continued survival and ability to keep this website up :)