«Paths of Glory» review

Paths of Glory

World War I (also known as the Great War) took part in the history about one hundred years ago but we still remember the victims. New weapons were discovered and many people were killed on the fronts of the Great War… «GMT games» present you the «Paths of Glory» board game!

It was designed and published by Ted Raicer. He is known for winning the Charles S. Roberts awards six-times! Developing team also includes Andy Lewis (developer), Rodger B. MacGowan (Art Director), Mark Simonitch (Map Art, Cards and Counter Art)

Contents of the Box

Inside the box has quite a lot items but it’s usual for strategies and wargames:

  • 316 full-color die-cut counters:
    • 176 5/8” die cut counters;
    • 140 1/2” die cut counters;
  • One 22 to 34 inches full-color mapsheet showing most of Europe and the Near East;
  • 110 Strategy Cards;
  • 32 pages Rule Book including sample game replay (21 pages of actual rules);
  • Two Player Reference Cards.

Paths of Glory Contents

Gameplay

This game gives you an opportunity to step into the trenches of World War I from 1914 to 1918. You can play 2 player mode and solitaire. As for the solitaire mode it’s quite difficult because you will have to play both sides.

Players can choose one of the two sides – Entente or German militarists. Game has a card-driven system and that means that each card provides four possible ways to use: operational movement, strategic movement, special event and replacement points. Players have to make hard decisions because there are many variants of how to play with cards. Your decisions will influence the end war, so be very careful.

Paths of Glory Dice and Cards

Rules

The «Paths of Glory» is played in turns. Each of them is subdivided into Phases and Segments. They must be followed in the order below very strictly!

1. Mandated Offensive Phase

Each player rolls one die and finds the result on the appropriate line (Allies or Central Powers) of the Mandated Offensive Table. Then they see if any nation they control must perform a Mandated Offensive. After that, they move the Mandated Offensive marker to the proper box on the appropriate Mandated Offensive Table to see the result.

2. Action Phase

Each Action Phase has six similar Action Rounds. Each round gives both players a chance to take one action. The Central Powers player takes his action first in each Action Round.

Paths of Glory German Forces in Northern France

3. Attrition Phase

Eliminate all OOS Corps and Armies. Eliminated OOS Corps should be placed in the Replaceable Box. Eliminated OOS Armies can’t be replaced and they are removed from the game. Control of spaces behind enemy lines can also change.

4. Siege Phase

Player rolls the die for each besieged fortification to distinguish if it surrenders and is marked with a Destroyed marker.

5. War Status Phase

  1. Check the Victory Point table and make any changes called for under the “During the War Status Phase” section of the table.
  2. Determine if any player has got an Automatic Victory.
  3. Determine if an Armistice has been declared.
  4. Each player determines if his War Commitment Level has increased. This is not checked on the August 1914 turn (turn 1).

6. Replacement Phase

  1. Allied Powers Segment: The Allied player spends any Replacement Points (RPs) gathered while playing RP Cards in the turn, as marked on the General Records Track. Any RP’s not spent are lost.
  2. Central Powers Segment: The Central Powers player spends any Replacement Points (RPs) accumulated through play of RP Cards in the turn, as marked on the General Records Track. Any RP’s not spent are lost.

Paths of Glory Opening The Door To Italy

7. Draw Strategy Card Phase

Each player draws cards from his Draw Pile to bring his hand to 7 cards. Reshuffle discards as needed after dealing all other available cards to the player. A player may discard any Combat Cards he wishes before drawing new cards. If a player has insufficient cards in his deck to fill his hand to the 7 card limit, he takes all available cards and begins the next turn with less than a full hand.

8. End of Turn

If the game is not ended and the last turn of scenario is not reached, you should move the Game Turn marker to the next turn on the Turn Record Track and then begin the Sequence of Play again with the Mandated Offensive Phase.

Victory conditions

Victory is measured by the VP level when the game ends.

Exception: If a player accepts Peace Terms, the game ends in a draw regardless of the VP level. Each scenario has different VP levels to determine the winner. The VP level can be 20 and go below 0 during the Action, Attrition, Siege, and War Status Phases.

Paths of Glory Balkan Front

Online version

Of course, you can easily play Paths of Glory online by using such services like Vassal, CyberBoard and even Skype! Many players around the world prefer to use Vassal because it has a simple interface but CyberBoard is good too. Also, you can use Skype in order to chat with your opponent. It’s a good experience too!

Expansions

Paths of Glory Players Guide

This game has one expansion called Player’s Guide. It was developed for players to experience Paths of Glory in a full way. It has a lot articles about scenarios, cards and rules analysis and many other useful information.

Similar Games

So, this game inherits a lot from such games as «Hannibal : Rome vs. Carthage», «We The People» and «Successors: second edition», especially the similar card system but still there are some differences. The thing is that, for example, Hannibal is less complex than Paths of Glory and it plays shorter. Also, Paths of Glory can provide chaos in historical way. It is connected with complex card system, but still it is a great game and you should try it yourself than just to read about it, isn’t it?

Paths of Glory Campaign

F.A.Q

Here comes our traditional section about troubled game situations like cards, turns and etc. Let’s check it out!

Q: French kicked Germans out of Metz, and advanced in with French 4th Army to destroy the trench. In the next AP phase, I moved Fr4 out of Metz to Verdun. Can I legally attack the fort in Metz IN THE SAME PHASE with units from Nancy?

A: Yes, that siege train will just have to take its chances.

Q: Are you allowed to designate one attack, then wait for the result before designating another attack?

A: Yes – you do not have to designate the specific attack, but you designate all spaces for movement and attack at the same time.

Q: Can you activate a space which is OOS at the start of a turn, for either movement or combat, knowing that one of your other movement activations will put the space back in supply?

A: No.

Q: Must all units in a space be activated?

A: Yes, but not all have to attack and/or move. Though all have to be paid for in OPS regardless.

Q: How many Ops are required to activate a stack with a French, a Belgian and a British army in Ostend?

A: There are 2 Ops available.

Paths of Glory Reserve Boxes

Conclusion

Paths of Glory has been dedicated to the World War I. Sometimes we forget about this conflict but it influenced the world a lot. We can see it through films and games and Paths of Glory is not the exception! It is a great game with realistic illustrations and gameplay though sometimes it can be chaotic in historical way… But still, this game is classical and it’s really popular among players around the world! You can buy this game on Amazon by following the link! Enjoy!

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