Downfall Game

Product Information

Downfall of the Third Reich is a strategic game of World War II, in the European Theater, for two or three players. A note on game length: Each game of Downfall will see players taking the exact same number of turns per game based on player count.

Being around 40 years old (my version is the 1979 edition), the game was still functioning pretty well despite looking like it was played quite a bit. This player will want to turn the last wheel so the green one falls to the bottom followed by the yellow one and the green two. Even if you have memorized both sides of the gameboard you could still have a hard time remembering all of the locations of the discs. If players don't keep the spread of radiation in check then more Dead Zones are created which can turn the board into a cascading death trap as it irradiates everything in its path.For the player in this position, the game, which is already difficult enough, can feel absolutely brutal and lopsided.

This is not necessarily a bad thing but it may drive people nuts who want more control over the outcome of the game. Thankfully each card has a minor action printed on the bottom and, when used smartly, can bail you out in a time of crisis. After the first eruption, they can also place as many relatives as the number of pieces already in the building they placed their piece in. Downfallbegins at the high-water mark of Axis expansion in November 1942 and ends in May 1945 at Germany’s surrender.The card drafting mechanics are fun, turns are generally brisk, and the set play time means that Downfall is easier to get to the table than most other popular 4x games, but if you are looking for a deep political system, balanced starting positions, and a large amount of asymmetry between factions you won't find them here. If you have memorized the other side of the gameboard, I don’t think the game would be that fun anymore. On the other hand, if the board layout is balanced, providing each player with access to the resources they need then the value differences in the resources becomes less of a factor. This can result in one player having everything they could ever want neatly tucked into their corner of the board while another player is completely surrounded by useless territory that produces nothing, forcing them to expand ever further in a desperate attempt to get lucky and discover a tile that produces the resource they lack or land to build on.

The progress of faction markers along the track also trigger strategic events, changes in weather, and advancement of game turns. Downfall is a simple game and is meant to be a game that you just play to have fun and don’t take too seriously. Instead it feels awkward and game-y because it's less about scoring points for yourself and more about denying points to your opponents.When we play the game we allowed players to turn the wheel one way and then the other way in the same turn as the rules only say that you can only turn one wheel and it can't be the wheel that the last player turned.