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Memoir '44
The WWII war game that lets you skip the rulebook and start fighting.
Designed by Richard Borg · 2004
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A genuinely friendly gateway into war games, as long as you make peace with dice and cards that don't always cooperate. For a quick historical scrap with a partner, few games this old still hit this well.
Best for: Two players who want a fast historical battle without a 40-page rulebook.
What it is
Here's the pitch. It's World War II on a hex board, and you command little plastic soldiers, tanks, and artillery through famous fights like Omaha Beach and Pegasus Bridge. Richard Borg's Command card system runs the show. Cards split the board into left, center, and right, and the card you play decides which sector you can activate. Combat is just dice with pictures on them. No math, no charts. You can teach the whole thing in about five minutes and be rolling.
The catch
Now the honest part. The luck is real, and players argue about it constantly. The dice swing combat, and the cards swing your whole turn. Draw badly and you'll watch your careful setup sit useless while your opponent flanks you. Some folks call a rough draw an exercise in futility. Others love that chaos. It's also light as a WWII simulation, and the expansion web is a mess where boxes need other boxes to function.
Who it's for
So who's this for. If you want a serious, crunchy military simulation, keep walking. If you want a fast two-player scrap that looks great on the table and welcomes someone who's never touched a war game, this is one of the best on-ramps out there. It's twenty years old and still earns its spot. Bring a partner, accept that the dice have opinions, and pick a scenario.
What other players say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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