Torgau (wargame)
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Torgau is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1974 that simulates the Battle of Torgau between Prussias and Austrians in 1760 during the Seven Years' War, a costly battle for both sides. Reviews were generally favorable, although gameplay was characterized as very long (10–12 hours), complex, and more similar to traditional miniatures wargaming than board wargames.
In November 1760, Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun arrayed his imperial Austrian forces in a strong defensive position on a hilltop near the town of Torgau in Saxony. Frederick the Great sent his four corps to attack different points of the Austrian perimeter, but due to communications problems, these were not well-coordinated, and Prussian losses mounted. After dusk, when fighting had concluded, a Prussian corps unexpectedly attacked again, catching the Austrians by surprise.[1]
Description
Torgau is a two-player wargame in which one player controls Frederick the Great's Prussians, and the other player the Austrian forces of Field Marshall Daun. With a large 21" x 31" hex grid map scaled at 200 yds (180 m) per hex,[2] 480 counters, and a new rules system based more on traditional miniatures sandbox wargames than board wargames,[2][3] Torgau has been characterized as "reasonably complex."[4]
Gameplay
Setup
The Austrian player sets up on the board in any formation or placement desired. On the first turn, the Prussian player can send forces onto the map using any or all of the marked hexes at the edge of the map. However, the Prussians are subject to command control issues, and Prussian units may end up entering at the wrong hex or might march off in the wrong direction.[4][5]
Counters
In contrast to most other board wargames, counters do not have a zone of control.[4] Counters also have a front face, which affects the direction of movement and firing.[3] Unlike most board wargames, which either limit the number of counters that can be stacked in the same hex or don't allow stacking, Torgau's stacking limit is 300 soldiers, which must all be placed into either line formation or column formation.[5] Certain types of counters cannot be mixed together in one stack. (For example, cavalry cannot stack with infantry.)[4]
Movement and combat
The game uses a complex series of movement turns blended with both offensive and defensive fire.[2] Unlike many board wargames, melee combat is not initiated when units are adjacent. Instead, melee combat happens when enemy units occupy the same hex.[4] Combat damage uses a step reduction system, where a unit's strength is gradually reduced as it takes more damage.[5]
Scenarios
The game comes with only one scenario, a long game of 56 turns that covers the entire battle, where each turn represents 15 minutes of the battle.[5]
Publication history
Torgau was designed by Frank Chadwick, and released as a zip lock bag game by GDW in 1974.