Kampen om Norge is a military game recreating the Norwegian defense against the Germans during WWII.  The Norwegians and Allies are handled separately so playing with 3 players is straightforwards, and one player plays both Norwegians and Allies individually in a 2-player games.

Players take turns moving any of their units, resolving any combat where opposing units are in the same space, adding reinforcements, and then gaining new cards.  The goal for the Germans is to control all the cities before the game ends when their card deck runs out (although destroying all enemy units will work as well).

Combat is resolved by both sides rolling 1 dice for each unit involved and comparing the totals.  However, unlike what you may expect, the loser must withdraw and it is only natural results of 6 on a dice that destroy enemy units.  This seems like an interesting system as it makes area control the focus of the game which fits with the invasion setting, plus it makes weight of numbers a key factor.

Each faction has their own deck of cards which look interesting as they can be used for special events (and each one shows icons that clearly explain when they can be used during a turn) or they can be discarded to gain reinforcement points (each shows a number of troops in the bottom corner).   Some cards can be played during your turn, some during the enemy’s turn, and some in response to the enemy doing something during your turn.  Cards let players do things like roll an extra dice in combat, block a unit from making an attacking move, evacuate troops along the coast, move troops by air using airfields the player controls, etc. and each has an appropriate context too.

The game has advanced rules which add ships which can sink and chase other ships as well as support land combat.  The ship cards start face-down so it’s not until they are successfully intercepted that they are revealed, and some may be dummy cards.

Kampen om Norge seems to be a relatively simple wargame but that’s what appeals to me as it still has plenty of room for tactical moves and I like the theme as it’s another of the lesser known facets of WWII.  Also, the simple art-style looks very clean and different to other games.

You can read the rules and see some details of the game on Vega Forlags’ game page using this link: bga.me/kon

James.