Enemy Action: Kharkov (2020)

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

Components:

• Three 22″x34″ maps (1 for each solitaire game and 1 for the 2-player game)
• Three rules books (1 for each game)
• Two full sheets of counters, printed both sides
• 110 playing cards (poker quality)
• Multiple player aid cards
• One ten-sided die (for solo play)
• One full color 3” box and lid

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

Designer: John Butterfield
Developer: Ted Castronova

(from Compass Games website)