Nuts!: The Battle of the Bulge is a Decision Games' card game that we (Hunted Cow Studios) are developing for PC, Mac & iPad that recreates the famous World War Two battle (16-31 Dec 1944) in which the German Army mounted a surprise attack on the thin U.S. forces deployed in the Ardennes region hoping to breakthrough to the English Channel and split the allied forces. You control either the German or the U.S. and British forces and the cards include combat cards representing the brigades, regiments and battalions which fought in the battle. Each unit is rated for it's strength in infantry, armor, artillery and cohesion. In the game, you move and fight with the combat cards to eliminate the opponent's cards and achieve or thwart a strategic breakthrough. Terrain cards represent the significant geography of the battle, such as Bastogne, Ellsborn Ridge and the Meuse River, which served to hinder or speed the German attack. Event cards represent all the situations that arose during the battle including events such as German commandos misdirecting traffic, mass surrenders and panics, air strikes and even Patton's prayer for clear weather! The game will playable as both the U.S. and German sides vs. the AI and we’re also planning to add predefined setups in addition to the normal randomized game setup. Here are 3 work-in-progress screenshots which give an idea of how the game will look: Cards Here you can see the event cards in your hand and also the card preview featuring authentic WW2 imagery and also lets you see all the card properties in detail and plan your moves across the next few turns. Also a summary of each of the cards can be see on the left hand side which show the phase it can be used on and what it can be applied too for quick reference. The symbols on the event cards are used when the cards are applied to their target which can be individual units, divisions or the whole map. This gives the player a quick visual indicator of which additional factors are currently in-play. Movement On this screen you can see the unit stack in the middle on the grid and because it is selected, the unit composition is detailed in the left hand pane along with a summary of their stats. The 174th Field Artillery has already moved 1 tile and is currently selected with 1 action point remaining, hence the valid tile movements are highlighted in green on the grid. The 508th Para Rgt has already moved and has no actions remaining hence it is greyed out. You can also see the supply lines as you move through the squares. This is represented by the tinted color on the tile so it’s easy to see units are currently in supply. Finally, once all units within a stack have no movement actions remaining the stack is dimmed to show that no further interaction is possible with it in this phase. Combat Here you can see an example of the combat setup where you are the attacker. It shows the combined strengths of the defenders and all committed friendly units (selectable in the left hand pane). It also shows divisional integrity, terrain benefits and any other event factors that impact the combat. You’re able to choose between a full assault or attacking solely with artillery and also whether you wish to commit the armor to the attack or not. The combined strengths are updated as you make adjustments to the committed forces, attack type and whether armor is committed or not. Combat is then played out once all choices are committed. We’re aiming for a PC release in early January with an iPad release to follow shortly afterwards. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive emails about new game releases!
