Verdun

Review by Lincoln Hoppe: The Game Bard

Verdun is a clever trick-taking game with a whip-smart, thematically-fused mechanism at its heart. 

It’s 1916 and the world is being rocked by its First World War. The game, Verdun, by Dragon Dawn Productions focusses on the longest battle in WWI which took place on the Western Front just north of Verdun-sur-Meuse.

As you play Verdun, you get that feeling of sinking deeper into consequences of both your good and bad choices, in the best possible way. 

As you play, each side, France and Germany (2v2 with a 1v1 variant), have cards to play to attack fortifications represented by tokens. Each side has tactical cards in addition to Troop cards of their own AND their enemy’s. So after shuffling the deck, Germany will have a number of France troop cards, and France will have a number of Germany troop cards, in addition to their own. 

This mixed card mechanism feels so on theme, and is at the heart of my enjoyment of this game. 

You must decide when to play the cards of your troops that will help you, and when to play the cards of the oppnent’s troops that will help your opponent. This feels so thematic because you feel like you’re choosing strategically when to make a strong attack, or when to surrender ground to your opponent. You also may be forced to ‘retreat’ because you already played your side’s cards first. This mechanism gives the game a real sense of attack/retreat, and the inevitable feeling of the situation getting worse, just like it did in WWI. Back and forth, tit-for-tat battles. 

Generals, Spys, Chaplains and Reconnaissance cards round out the troop cards with special abilities.

Tactical cards such as Air Strike, Artillery, Decoy, Mustard Gas, and Stratagem give you more options that sink you deeper into the tug-of-war to win the trick.

Simple assets and fortifications for each side add some strategic options that allow you to score points to win the game. 

It feels great to play those powerful cards at first that bolster your attacks. The problem is you can’t help but want to hang onto the bad cards for your opponent’s side til later in hopes that you won’t need them. But alas, your early victories and pushes are just postponing the inevitable…and you know it. 

The series of decisions that go into helping your side win the trick or lose the trick, or betting it all vs retreating are so interesting. This thematic-driven mechanism captures so well the irony of war. You think you’re winning, but everything comes back to haunt you. You may win the battle, but lose the war.

 Designer Ren Multamäki captures an ironic mix of gameplay and theme in such an interesting and playable package. The fortification and asset tokens raise the gameplay above that of a card-only game, and don’t feel tacked on, adding some simple variety. 

The art by Sampo Jumisko is incredible. These beautiful cards put you right into the time period with clever newspaper clippings and propaganda posters that range from appropriately comedic, to wonderfully unsettling, and attractively foreboding. The art makes these cards a joy to look at and handle.

If you like trick-taking games, beautiful vintage card art, and the WWI theme, then Verdun a must-play game. 

It’s worth checking out just for just the cleverly thematic twist on trick-taking. The art and decision making opportunities deepen the enjoyment and serve as the cherry on top. 

If you want to experience the longest battle of World War One in about 30 minutes, Verdun is for you.

by Lincoln Hoppe

Prototype copy provided by Dragon Dawn Productions

Publisher: Dragon Dawn Productions

Designer: Ren Multamäki

Art: Sampo Jumisko

Board Game Geek Page: Verdun

My Board Game Geek Page: Lincoln Hoppe