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Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918

Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918

2005·Wes Erni, Ben Madison

1 - 2 players
960 min
Heavy weight: Expect a long teach

From BoardGameGeek

DEATH IN THE TRENCHES is a strategic-level World War I game covering the entire war, from the opening shots in Serbia and Belgium to the final defeat -- or victory! -- of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1918. The game includes a map stretching from the Pyrenees to Moscow, and from Norway to the Sudan, covering every square inch of territory in Europe and the Near East which saw combat from 1914 to 1918, in a manageable 34x22" format. An additional map shows the German colonies The game also features 400 beautifully-illustrated counters depicting the national armies that fought in the war -- from the Germans, French, British and Russians all the way down to the Persians, Montenegrins, Armenians, South Africans, and a host of other specialized units (French Foreign Legion, Gurkhas, Italian "Arditi", Cossacks, Tyrolean Kaiserjaeger, Zionists, Bavarians, "Dunsterforce"... even the Chinese may send a small expeditionary force). DEATH IN THE TRENCHES includes a deceptively simple twelve pages of rules (and an additional twelve pages of random events) detailing the game's unique combat system (no CRT!) which portrays the grinding nature of World War I combat in a realistic way that still gives players plenty of options to pursue. Using army-level units (which contain numbers of divisional level formations, represented off-map), players use numerous special military abilities to drive back the enemy. Detailed random events rules give you more gory details about World War I than you've ever seen before in a game, while helping keep play simple and straightforward. Lenin, the Senussi revolt, intrigue in the Romanian court, the Cruise of the Emden, the Armenian Massacre, the Sinai Pipeline, the Ukrainian Reactionary Hetmanate, Rasputin, Mata Hari, the Russian shell shortage, the murder of Edith Cavell, Wilhelm Wassmuss (the "German Lawrence"), Lawrence of Arabia, the Nestorian resistance, Pancho Villa, the Grand Duke Nicholas, Thomas Masaryk, the Red Baron, Czech Legion, Irish Rising, Berber Revolt, air raids, typhus, influenza... they're all here. For the World War I buff, "DITT" has everything: Tanks, Alpenkorps, artillery barrages, flamethrowers, poison gas, Krupp guns, Mustapha Kemal, the Royal Air Force, French elan... while the great wartime leaders all leave their mark (good or bad!) on history: Bruchmuller, Haig, Hoffmann, Mackensen, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, Rennenkampf and Samsonov, Sarrail, Von Francois, Foch, Brusilov, Nivelle, Plehve, Putnik, Yudenich... they're all here. Players command the armed forces of nearly forty nations, in a game that still manages to be small enough to fit on your table! It sounds like a massive game, but it isn't. DEATH IN THE TRENCHES is designed to be played--easy to play, hard to master. You'll learn things about World War I you never knew before, and you'll have to face the same crises the leaders of the Entente and Central Powers did. Think you can do better than Douglas Haig and Robert Nivelle? Now it's your turn. Death in the Trenches won the Charles S. Roberts awards for Best DTP-Produced Boardgame (Charles S. Roberts Awards) for 2005.

Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918

Watch first

Learn to play

Death in the Trenches intro2:55:11

Death in the Trenches intro

calandale

calandale

Review

Death in the Trenches review29:45

Death in the Trenches review

calandale

calandale

Watch it played

Death in the Trenches play attempt1:42:43

Death in the Trenches play attempt

calandale

calandale

Which Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918 video should I watch?

Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918 has 4 videos from 1 creator: 1 review, 1 how-to-play guide, 1 playthrough and 1 other video. They date from August 2026.

To learn the rules, start with "Death in the Trenches intro" by calandale, which runs 2 h 55 min.

For an opinion before you buy, start with "Death in the Trenches review" by calandale. To see it played, watch "Death in the Trenches play attempt" by calandale.

If you like it, try Don't Tread on Me: The American Revolution Solitaire Board Game, N: The Napoleonic Wars, Mrs Thatcher's War: The Falklands, 1982 and Global War: World War II Worldwide 1939-1945, also by Ben Madison.

All videos

Death in the Trenches setup woes1:02:24

Death in the Trenches setup woes

calandale

calandale

Death in the Trenches reviewReview29:45

Death in the Trenches review

calandale

calandale

Death in the Trenches introHow to play2:55:11

Death in the Trenches intro

calandale

calandale

Death in the Trenches play attemptPlaythrough1:42:43

Death in the Trenches play attempt

calandale

calandale

Creators who cover this

All channels
calandale
calandale
4 videos of this game

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About Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918

From BoardGameGeek:

DEATH IN THE TRENCHES is a strategic-level World War I game covering the entire war, from the opening shots in Serbia and Belgium to the final defeat -- or victory! -- of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1918. The game includes a map stretching from the Pyrenees to Moscow, and from Norway to the Sudan, covering every square inch of territory in Europe and the Near East which saw combat from 1914 to 1918, in a manageable 34x22" format. An additional map shows the German colonies The game also features 400 beautifully-illustrated counters depicting the national armies that fought in the war -- from the Germans, French, British and Russians all the way down to the Persians, Montenegrins, Armenians, South Africans, and a host of other specialized units (French Foreign Legion, Gurkhas, Italian "Arditi", Cossacks, Tyrolean Kaiserjaeger, Zionists, Bavarians, "Dunsterforce"... even the Chinese may send a small expeditionary force). DEATH IN THE TRENCHES includes a deceptively simple twelve pages of rules (and an additional twelve pages of random events) detailing the game's unique combat system (no CRT!) which portrays the grinding nature of World War I combat in a realistic way that still gives players plenty of options to pursue. Using army-level units (which contain numbers of divisional level formations, represented off-map), players use numerous special military abilities to drive back the enemy. Detailed random events rules give you more gory details about World War I than you've ever seen before in a game, while helping keep play simple and straightforward. Lenin, the Senussi revolt, intrigue in the Romanian court, the Cruise of the Emden, the Armenian Massacre, the Sinai Pipeline, the Ukrainian Reactionary Hetmanate, Rasputin, Mata Hari, the Russian shell shortage, the murder of Edith Cavell, Wilhelm Wassmuss (the "German Lawrence"), Lawrence of Arabia, the Nestorian resistance, Pancho Villa, the Grand Duke Nicholas, Thomas Masaryk, the Red Baron, Czech Legion, Irish Rising, Berber Revolt, air raids, typhus, influenza... they're all here. For the World War I buff, "DITT" has everything: Tanks, Alpenkorps, artillery barrages, flamethrowers, poison gas, Krupp guns, Mustapha Kemal, the Royal Air Force, French elan... while the great wartime leaders all leave their mark (good or bad!) on history: Bruchmuller, Haig, Hoffmann, Mackensen, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, Rennenkampf and Samsonov, Sarrail, Von Francois, Foch, Brusilov, Nivelle, Plehve, Putnik, Yudenich... they're all here. Players command the armed forces of nearly forty nations, in a game that still manages to be small enough to fit on your table! It sounds like a massive game, but it isn't. DEATH IN THE TRENCHES is designed to be played--easy to play, hard to master. You'll learn things about World War I you never knew before, and you'll have to face the same crises the leaders of the Entente and Central Powers did. Think you can do better than Douglas Haig and Robert Nivelle? Now it's your turn. Death in the Trenches won the Charles S. Roberts awards for Best DTP-Produced Boardgame (Charles S. Roberts Awards) for 2005.

Designers

Wes Erni, Ben Madison

Publisher

Schutze Games

Categories

WargameWorld War I

Mechanics

Chit-Pull SystemDice RollingHex GridSimulation
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