Slitherine

North being the left of the map of course, why does it only take four spaces to get from the German start positions (West) to the Russian supply and reinforcement rear area (East), where it can take double that elsewhere on the map. Of course, the Russians may try to block this route, but even so it seems like a fast track, compared to the rest of the map. I'd have thought it should take about six spaces to get to the eastern edge of the map, minimum.

I assume a combination of play balance, Moscow as well as numerous VP sites are to the north, to easy progress there makes catastrophic defeat for the soviets much more likely, as well as historically functional, the plains to the south were historically easier to traverse, and therefore the "zones" should be larger (meaning infantry and armor traverses a greater distance to the south per "day").


Personally I like it.

No scientific answer to map layout - it was really the designer's judgment of what spaces and routes to emphasize. It's usually pretty slow going on that route, if the Soviets defend, given the terrain, road/rail net, and reinforcements.

This is a curious feature I also noticed. My best guess is that playtesting showed that the game otherwise made it impossible to model the northern envelopment by 3rd Panzer Army and forced players into too much of a monotonous meat grinder in front of Moscow.

In game terms, it certainly forces the Russian player to protect that northern flank. In fair weather and mud turns, this is easily done economically. But as soon as the frost comes, a German player who has set himself up well for Turn 12 can be off to the races. With rivers iced over, the Germans can bludgeon with infantry on the inside track and cut off Moscow with Panzers on the edge. If Vladimir falls, the Russians can be in big trouble.