Up Front

Intended as a card version of their successful Squad Leader[?] series of games, Up Front is very different from any other wargame. Tradional wargame are based on maps representing terrain and game pieces representing units. Up Front changed all that by having terrain, units and other factors determined by cards held by and dealt to the players.

Fans of the game claim this type of play gives the player a more realistic feel for squad-level combat where most terrain and locations will be unfamaliar. With traditional map-based wargames, players have an overhead view of all terrain and locations. In Up Front, terrain and locations are revealed as the game is played, emulating how real wartime soldiers might encounter and explore terrain.

The game contains two different kinds of cards, Personality and Action. A Personality card depicts a unit, including his name, rank, the weapon he is carrying and several statistics. The Action deck contains many different types of cards including terrain, movement, heroes and many other game factors.

The original game included German, US, and Russian units along with their equipment. Expansions added to the available units.

Expansions

Two official expansions were released for Up Front. They added Japanese, British, French, and Italian forces:

• Desert War[?]
• Banzai[?]

Legacy

Like many Avalon Hill games, Up Front continues to be popular among loyal fans. There are active groups dedicated to the game on the Internet.

Multi-Man Publishing plans to re-release the game through their license of the title.

External Link

• The Yahoo! Up Front Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UpFrontWW2/)