by Peter Robbins, 19 February 2025
Slitherine Games LLC just released1 a brand new DLC set for Headquarters: World War II, and I’m equally looking forward to this one as I had for Market Garden. I am still playing through Market Garden as I type this. I’m still enjoying it. I open the game several times a week or more. HQ:WW2 is just a nice cathartic, absolutely beautiful way to walk through a wargame. It’s extremely easy on the eyes, it plays easily, the scenarios are varied in story and content, and it has good feedback for your success possibilities for what you are attempting to do, boom! my favorite combo – Approachable Detail.
It’s not going to supplant Battle Academy 2 in this genre (in my mind at least one of the best WW2 turn-based top-down wargames ever made), but it’s a close progeny/successor.
Both Market Garden and this new offering Ardennes are a perfect choice to expand upon the core Normandy offerings that were included in the core game.
If you want to re-check out my impressions of both of those original products, the core game and their first DLC: Market Garden (which I’m still enjoying now*), check out those two articles before proceeding with this quick impression article on what is offered in Ardennes
What’s In The Box?!
- New Content
- 2 new campaigns with eight missions of story-driven adventure that will challenge your tactical skills
- 12 new units that expand your tactical options
- 6 new heroes
- Stunning winter environments to explore
- New weather and terrain types, winter uniforms and camouflage, awards and achievements
| UNITS LIST
New US units:
New German units:
New UK units:
|
SCENARIOS LIST
German campaign:
US campaign:
|
click images to enlarge
How Does It Play?
Not much has changed in this offering as far as functionality, but just to summarize from the core and original DLC offerings. One thing noted in the start menu is that the core game is due to get AI Improvements that line up with this DLC’s release. So you have that coming to you for free regardless of whether you get this impressive DLC or not (get it!)
You are generally presented with a scenario. It starts off with two to three objective areas to take and hold, unusually touch point based, not timed. You then have a starting order of battle, normally a company or so of troops, mixed usually, combined arms in most scenarios. You tend to have at least a couple scout sections for use in fussing out where the enemy is at.
You then are normally provided with a few support buttons near the middle right of the screen. These offer you Air Recon, Close Air Support, Offshore Naval Bombardment, Rally Troops (Decreases Fatigue, Improves Morale), Reinforcements (Temporarily brings any one unit back up to its full strength). Some of, actually most of these Support elements are then delayed from being available again for three or more turns.
As you click on each of your units, their options show up very clearly in a list of actions above their unit description. Normally that includes an option for Move, Fire, Suppress, Turn, Load Up, Offload, Hold Fire, and many more. This varies depending upon the unit type. Just mouse-over each action and it will explain to you the available hot key for that action, and a solid description of what that action actually “does”, etc.
Nothing hidden in this game functionality-wise. It’s all spelled out in the interfacing very well.
You see an overall map bottom left. You see units available at the bottom of the interface. You double-click on a unit and get teleported over it with its actions then visible. Easy peasy. A great game, easy to play, sometimes difficult to master, depending upon the evil that is the GM that made the scenario at hand.
Some of the scenarios can get grueling. But generally speaking, SAVE repeat, Win, is the formula at hand here, as with most scripted wargames of this nature. There are however several ways to pet the cat during a scenario. And an occasional bite and scratch that will always result no matter how you try and pick it up.
What Does It Do Well?
I think this is one of the more approachable wargames of the last year. Its very easy to drop into, play a scenario, either partially or all the way through. It does allow you to save part way through a scenario. You do have to think about how to position units, how to approach the objectives, how to recon the area involved. You do have to use prolific amounts of smoke screening either from smoke barrage or from individual units (most have smoke grenades available). It has a good flow.
Most of the scenarios have a good “storyline” if that’s your thing. Its easy enough to speed through that by just right clicking. Speaking of right clicking, just right click while the cut scenes play in case you want to just speed up the moves involved in your action.
What Does It Do Poorly?
Maneuvering is a tiny bit static, but that is the name of the game in many of the scenarios, as they are in many places urban oriented, and its well, close quarters knife fighting. Not much maneuvering is naturally available on its square/grid based movement system.
Some of the scenarios are a bit shoe-horned, as far as go here, do this, go here do this, but many of the maps are very large and offer different approaches to each objective. That is really the only thing I say is a downer for this wargame series. It’s just a little static in how each scenario plays out; BUT it’s fun, and it’s approachable.
Conclusions?
This offering is quite easy to decide upon: Get it. If you enjoyed the Market Garden DLC, this one has as much if not more to offer. It’s an absolute work of art as far as the unit art work and the scenery throughout. Great variety is offered. It’s a solid purchase I think for a solid piece of cathartic WW2 wargaming. This is a great beer and pretzel computer wargame and they keep putting out solid DLC for it at reasonable pricing.
A Taste Of The First Scenarios (SPOILERS)
Reconnaissance at Martelange
Battle for Auw
Thank you for visiting the Regiment of Strategy Gaming and riding with The Armchair Dragoons.
Rather than list a bunch of social media links, the easiest thing to do is to check out our LinkTree, which connects you to all of our various locales around the web.
You can also support The Armchair Dragoons through our Patreon, and find us at a variety of conventions and other events.
Feel free to talk back to us either in our discussion forum, or in the comments below.
