First to Fight

Description

On September 1, 1939 Germany unleased a new weapon that permanently changed the face of warfare. On that shattered dawn a blitzkrieg swept over Poland and in thirty short days the balance of power was reshuffled and Europe was at war.

First To Fight is a historical recreation of this first campaign of World War II. A two player game with one side representing the German high command and the other, the Polish high command. Germany must attempt to crush Poland using a lightning campaign of combined arms, panzers and air power, for speed is the essence of victory. Germany must finish the battle and shift its army back to the western front to forestall an Anglo-French offensive.

First To Fight is an Europa game. The two maps depict Poland and its neighbors at a scale of 16 miles per hex. The extensive terrain types show the diversity of Eastern Europe: from mountains to marsh, open plains to dense forest. The counters represent the German, Polish, and Soviet forces that fought in the campaign. Ground units are scaled at divisions, brigades, régiments, and battalions; air units in groups of 40 to 60 aircraft. The rules incorporate the latest state-of-the-art in play for the Europa System.

Boot Camp - An introductory rules set for beginners.
In this game are the new Boot Camp rules, an introduction to the Europa System. This eight page rules set, when used with "First To Fight", gets you into the action right away.

Grand Europa - The entire 1939 German Army.
When the series is complete set of rules that will allow you to play the entire war in Europe will be published. We call this final set of linking rules Grand Europa. As a bonus we have included the German army for 1939 which is part of this grand scheme.

GAME COMPONENTS :

 1,056 Die Cut Counters 
 Two Maps
 Rules Book
 Chart Set
 Boot Camp Rules


PLAYING TIME: 2-4 Hours

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 Players

TIME SCALE: Three Day Turns.
MAP SCALE: 16 miles per hex
UNIT SCALE: Divisions, régiments, battalions

Game Credits:
 Design: John M. Astell
 Development & Design: Rick Gayler
 Art Direction: Barbie Pratt, Winston Hamilton

(from the back of the box)


First edition Components (1991):

 Countersheets 18A, 19A, 57 & ACS (1056 Counters)
 Two Maps (Europa Maps 13A & 37)
 Rules Book
 OB Book
 Chart Set
 Two Six-Sided Dice


Second edition Components (1999):

 Countersheets CS 18B, 19B, 57A, 57A-1 & ACS-2 (1296 Counters)
 Two Maps (Europa Maps 13A & 37)
 rules (dated 1998) - 32 pages
 orders of battle (dated 1997) - 28 pages
 7 charts "First to Fight" & 4 charts "Grand Europa"


A refit kit was also published in 1999 to upgrade rules and counters.
It includes most second edition components: 

 rules (dated 1998) - 32 pages
 orders of battle (dated 1997) - 28 pages
 revision guide (dated 1998) - explains how to update 1991 rules with 1997 counters - 3 pages
 7 charts "First to Fight" & 4 charts "Grand Europa"
 4 countersheets: CS 18B, CS 19B, CS 57A and CS57A-1 (dated 1997)




Mechanics

Themes

Publishers

Designers