Scenarios

1) The Full Campaign (38 game turns)
2) The Deep Battle (16 game turns)
3) The Attrition Battle (16 game turns)
4) The Baltic Gap (16 game turns)
5) August Campaign (27 game turns)
6) Dopplekopf (5 game turns)
7) September Campaign (15 game turns)
8) Courland Pocket (8 game turns)

The game includes optional rules and a number of variants'

Game components:
1400 Die-Cut Counters (for full scenarios and varients)
2 map sheets
2 rules booklets (one OCS and one game specific with OB)
2 4-page player aid cards
2 die

Game Strategy

Classic hexagonal game play.

Published by MMP using their OCS (Operation Combat System) rules, which is more complex than most. This game includes two rules booklets of 48 pages each, one OCS and one game specific with scenarios and OB's

Some personal comments of a new player to OCS rules

The OCS rules are unusually complex, especially the core rules booklet (48 pages). The specific rules booklet (also 48 pages), with scenarios and reinforcement schedules are easier to understand and the narrative flows more easily. I found the standard rules to be unnecessarily broken in various instruction points, with scraps of information on some subjects found in various places - for example the rules regarding 'supply'. Whilst it is easy to understand 'trace supply' there are further rules about earning 'supply tokens' which are not easy to comprehend.

'Trace supply' is easy because it works the same as any other game, tracing to the edge of the map and so on. One good innovation is the various comments/reminders that permeate the reinforcement schedules, such as new supply points (for the Soviets) or the release of the resources from the Saaremaa, Narva and Kaunas boxes (which are substantial).

The only real complaint about the reinforcements schedule is that it includes withdrawals (which are, of course, historically correct), but how do you withdraw units where there are maybe 800 or more tiles in play and you haven't a clue where they are - you cannot turn over every tile to look for them otherwise you would never finish the game? Air units are easier to withdraw.

REs (regimental equivalents) could be simpler (4.6 of the general rules) and there is a danger of over-stacking as a result.

The role or application of partisans is not explained in the general rules, only the specific ones (see 1.10 Variable reinforcements), their effect is to create 'train-busting' markers. See 14.8 of the general rules for train-busting effects.

The game could have provided more charts, the ones provided are the CRT (Combat Results Table) and the 'Barrage' charts as well as 'Flak', (4 pages printed in booklet form, one for each player), a piece of paper on the Sequence of Play. Other charts are found in the rules booklets. For myself I copied the following tables on to 150 gsm card for convenience of use:

1) Common Rebuild Table, Shipping Capacities, Event Table and German & Soviet Supply Tables from page 47 of the specific rules.
2) Terrain Effects Chart, Weather Table, German & Soviet Repl Tables and Scenario index from page 48 of the specific rule book.
3) Glossary of Geographic Place Names from page 46 of the specific rules.
4) Unit Identification Chart from the Standard OCS rules booklet from pages 2 (units) & 3 (markers)
5) The OCS standard Turn Summary transferred to 150 gsm card.

The following other notes may prove useful:

Axis colour codes

Kreigsmarine: Mauve
Latvia Pale Green
Estonia Salmon
Lithuanian Grey

Russian air/navy

Salmon/yellow border = LRAF (10)
Red counters Guards (10) + Soviet Navy (2)

Red Latvia Tan/Orange + green (2)
Red Lithuania (2) Tan + green (1)
Red Estonia Tan + salmon (2)

Kaunas

Items marked PG are found in the full panzer division sections (4, 5 &14), each identified by a colour stripe - dark blue (4 pz), orange (5 pz) & salmon (14 pz)

Garrison (Gar) units

These units, awarded to the Axis player in the Reinforcement phase (see also German Repl. Table). They are those units marked 'Alert' or some units with the anti-tank symbol (see 2.5 of the specific rules)

One interesting aspect of the game is that the Baltic forces of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia fought on both sides of the conflict. The difference between the two sides is that the Soviet units use the same colour code as the Axis, but in the form of a stripe, not the whole colour of the tile of the Axis.