Waging war in roughly 45 minutes can certainly be called a Blitzkrieg. In Guerre Éclair, you recreate just such a blitzkrieg, specifically the Battle of France in May–June 1940. One player takes command of the German forces and tries to break through the Allied lines with speed, deception and concentrated force to reach their target with lightning speed. The other player leads the Allied defence and deployment, trying to work out where the real threat is coming from before the French front collapses like a badly folded croissant.
Background and theme
Guerre Éclair is a two-player wargame by designer Yasushi Nakaguro, published by Nuts! Publishing. Yasushi Nakaguro is known for fast-playing wargames with a reasonably accurate historical and thematic edge, all packed into a small box. Guerre Éclair is a remake of one of Nakaguro’s earlier wargames: The Rise of Blitzkrieg, published by Bonsai Games.
Guerre Éclair is, of course, the French term for Blitzkrieg: lightning war. It refers to a military tactic used by the Germans during the Second World War, in which they overwhelmed their enemies with a fast and forceful combination of tanks, aircraft and infantry to break the defence immediately.
The game specifically covers the German invasion of the Low Countries — the Netherlands and Belgium — and France in May 1940, the campaign that ultimately led to the fall of France. War as a theme lends itself rather naturally to a two-player game, and Guerre Éclair makes good use of that. As with many good small wargames, it is not just about what is on the map, but about what you think your opponent thinks that you think. And yes, that sounds about as exhausting as it probably felt for the Allies in 1940. It also does not help that the German player’s information is genuinely hidden.
Combat Rations
Guerre Éclair is not just a loose tin of emergency rations from the Nuts! Publishing pantry, but the third title in the Combat Rations series, following 300 Earth & Water and Port Arthur. Combat Rations refers to military field rations, so the series title is clearly aimed at bite-sized wargames. Both of those earlier games are also by the aforementioned Nakaguro, though they are quite different from one another. We have already covered both of them on Dice Daniel. 300 Earth & Water showed how a small number of components can still squeeze plenty of historical tension out of the Persian Wars, while Port Arthur proved that a compact box can also contain a surprisingly sharp naval duel.
Guerre Éclair continues that line: small in physical size thanks to its components and compact box, quick to get to the table and historically well-seasoned. This is not a three-course meal with multiple heavy rulebooks as side dishes, but rather a fairly compact and concentrated field ration that still gives you plenty to chew on strategically. A true Meal Ready to Eat, as the army might serve it.
I can lift the lid just a little on future servings in the Combat Rations line. I regularly have the pleasure of sitting down with Florent from Nuts! Publishing, and they still have enough tasty courses to serve in the coming years. Wargamers who want to try a small but flavoursome bite compared with the heavy artillery, or board gamers who want to sample wargames for the first time, can hardly go wrong with these compact games in the Combat Rations series.
Gameplay
Anyone who has played 300 Earth & Water or Port Arthur will immediately recognise the DNA of the series: very little table space, but a very real war unfolding in front of you. On paper, Guerre Éclair is compact: two players, around forty to forty-five minutes of playtime and a limited number of components. But do not underestimate the strategic depth of the Combat Rations games. These titles appeal both to board gamers and to hardened wargamers.
At the start of the game, players set up the board. Like many wars, Guerre Éclair is asymmetrical, and the setup shows that straight away. The German player has several screens corresponding to their main bases: Düsseldorf, Prüm and Saarbrücken. The German player also receives objectives. There are four possible objectives, but only two are used in each game. One is public — information has leaked, echoing the Mechelen Incident of 1940 — while the other remains secret from the Allied player. Each side has its own units and action cards, with the Allied player having fewer action cards. First, the Allied player, representing Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Great Britain, places units in French locations. The German player then secretly places units in their three bases.
Players fight for control of the Low Countries and France, recreating the Battle of France of May–June 1940 over five rounds, with each round representing one week of the Blitzkrieg. The German objective cards are crucial, especially because part of that information remains hidden. The Allied player never knows exactly what the German player is aiming for. Paris? Dunkirk? A breakthrough via Sedan? It feels a bit like your opponent has satnav switched on, while all you can hear is the sound of the engine. You know something is coming, but not quite where it is heading. It does not help that the German troop organisation is also handled in secret.
Each round is resolved through a number of phases, which I would summarise as follows:
- Planning: players choose action cards to play, with the German player choosing eight cards and the Allied player choosing six;
- Operations phase: starting with the German player, players take turns playing cards.
The engine of the game lies largely in the action cards. There are separate action decks for the German and Allied players. Momentum allows players to “buy” extra cards to play. From round two onwards, players randomly lose action cards from their hand due to exhaustion. Some cards can only be played if a player has enough momentum.
Played cards go to the discard pile, except for cards that must be permanently removed from the game; those go back into the box. On their turn, players play cards, spend momentum points on tactical actions or pass for the round. When players play an operation card, they carry out the actions shown on it. Some cards are used during battles. Battles occur when units run into each other and are resolved through a combination of dice and cards. The number of dice rolled depends on the number of units a player commits, up to a maximum of four, after which you may choose up to two dice from the roll to use.
Throughout the game, players must also keep checking whether their troops can still be supplied through supply routes. If you are insufficiently supplied, this has negative consequences, such as fewer dice or reduced movement.
Every round therefore revolves around sharp choices. You do not simply pick a card because it has a fine military-looking font on it; many cards require enough élan, or momentum. That momentum shifts during the game and determines which powerful actions are available. Whoever has the initiative gains not only a psychological advantage, but also better options in hand. Thematically, that works beautifully: once an attack starts rolling, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop. Unless, of course, it drives straight into a wall of poor planning, brave resistance or badly rolled dice.
The map itself is small, but certainly not empty. The areas represent cities, fortresses and bases in Northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Western Germany. Some locations provide defensive bonuses, while others are ports, supply points or impose restrictions on certain troops. The wooden pieces do not represent individual soldiers, but larger formations: infantry and tanks. As a result, every movement feels more significant than the size of the little wooden block would suggest. A tank block may look cute, but in the wrong place it is strategically about as subtle as an elephant in a china shop full of French wine glasses.
Verdict
Guerre Éclair is a clever, compact and tense two-player game that shows a wargame does not need to be large to feel intense. The combination of hidden objectives, bluffing, card-driven choices and clear asymmetry creates a strong tactical duel in a manageable playtime. That makes it fit nicely alongside 300 Earth & Water and Port Arthur: another Combat Rations title that gets to the table quickly, but has more flavour than its small package might suggest. The game is especially interesting for players who are curious about wargames but do not want to drown in rulebooks immediately, and for experienced players looking for a short, sharp confrontation.
It is also pleasant that Guerre Éclair remains accessible despite the small rules wrinkles that wargamers are used to. This is not a wargame where you first need to spend three evenings with a highlighter before you even know which way the tanks are allowed to move. The core is clear quickly: choose cards, move units, plan attacks, manage momentum and try not to discover too late where the real danger is coming from. The rules are relatively manageable, the playtime is short and the game gets to the point quickly. That makes it attractive for players who want historical tension, but do not immediately want to annex their dining table into 1940.
The asymmetry is important here. The German player feels very different from the Allied player. One hunts; the other tries to delay, block and see through the deception. That means a second game with the roles reversed remains interesting. You suddenly look at the same map with very different eyes. And you will probably think: “Ah, so that is why my opponent looked so nervous earlier.”
It is not exactly a cosy holiday trip to France, but it is a strong strategic ride through a decisive moment in history. And if, after the game, you think you knew exactly what your opponent was planning, chances are you only realised too late that their tanks were already heading the wrong way. Or, even worse: the right one.
