Omaha: The Bloody Beach

About this board game

Omaha: The Bloody Beach is a high-complexity tactical combat simulation for 1–2 players, with a listed playing time of 3,600 minutes. Covering the Omaha Beach assault from June 6 to 8, 1944, it focuses primarily on the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, with additional troops from the 29th.

This expansive historical game represents half of the Omaha Beach assault across four maps. Each game turn covers 20 minutes, while every hex represents 125 yards, or 114 meters. Units are depicted at the scale of infantry squads and individual vehicles, creating a detailed battlefield experience that demands substantial time and space.

The original release uses the second-edition Tactical Combat Series rules. These rules had issues, particularly concerning artillery, but updated material is available for playing Omaha: The Bloody Beach with the more streamlined TCS 3.1 Rulebook. With those rules, the game is described as very playable, though its size remains a major commitment.

• Four 22 × 34-inch full-color maps
• Six double-sided countersheets containing 1,680 half-inch counters
• A 32-page TCS system rulebook and a 32-page Omaha-specific rulebook
• Four six-sided dice

Solitaire playability is rated moderate, while the overall complexity is high. The result is a demanding and richly detailed examination of one of the most difficult operations of D-Day, offering a deeply satisfying experience for players prepared to undertake a long tactical campaign.