Cover art for Enemy Action: Kharkov

Enemy Action: Kharkov

2022 · BGG
Avg rating
8.77
Bayes rating
5.75
Weight
3.89 (Heavy)
Players
1-2
Playtime
5 hr
Ratings count
207

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Description

Enemy Action: Kharkov is the second game in John Butterfield’s acclaimed Enemy Action series of card-driven games simulating pivotal battles in World War II, playable by two players or one player controlling either side in the conflict.

Enemy Action: Kharkov portrays the Third Battle of Kharkov, the key Eastern Front battle in which the German Army ended a string of Soviet victories begun at Stalingrad. In the late winter of 1943, Soviet Operations code-named Star and Gallop drove the Germans from the city of Kharkov and threatened a complete breakthrough, only to be driven back by the German counteroffensive known as Von Manstein’s Back Hand Blow.

Each volume in the Enemy Action series features:

 Two-player competition with low complexity and constant decision points for both sides;
 Solitaire play of either side with systems governing all aspects of enemy command and tactics;
 Card-driven impulse system, with multi-purpose cards played to activate formations, implement command events, or gain tactical advantages in combat.
 Diceless and chartless combat system – players draw combat chits that build a narrative of each combat.


The solo games add fog of war to the experience. Many enemy unit locations in the solo games are unknown until your forces move to contact. Enemy units behind the front line often disappear to reappear elsewhere, within realistic movement limitations.

Features specific to Enemy Action: Kharkov include:

 Soviet partisans
 Offensive command quality
 Withdrawal under fire
 Armor depletion
 Von Manstein’s Rochade (rapid redeployment)
 Soviet forward support
 Spring thaw and mud conditions


Complexity: Moderate
 Solitaire Suitability: Designed for solitaire play
 Map scale: 7.5 miles per hex. Hexes are oversized for easy counter handling.
 Time scale: Three days per turn, with several impulses in each turn.
 Unit Scale: Regiments, brigades and divisions
 Players: One or Two (features Solitaire mode)
 Playing Time: 15 minutes to 5 hours for the full campaign

—description from the publisher



Mechanics

Campaign / Battle Card Driven Chit-Pull System Grid Movement Hexagon Grid Impulse Movement Movement Points Ratio / Combat Results Table Simulation Solo / Solitaire Game Zone of Control

Themes

None recorded

Publishers

Compass Games

Designers

John H. Butterfield