Tannenberg: The Introductory Game

About this board game

Tannenberg: The Introductory Game is a two-player wargame that teaches the basic concepts of World War I gaming through the 1914 invasion of German East Prussia.

Designed as an entry point to the Der Weltkrieg series, it uses the same basic rules found across the series’ games covering battles and campaigns of the World Wars. Learning this accessible introduction prepares players to explore games focused on almost every battle and campaign in the series.

The historical situation is dramatic. Russia plans to invade Germany from two directions at once, aiming to trap the German forces between the advancing armies. The Russians hold a major numerical advantage because much of the German army is fighting in France at the beginning of the war.

Germany intends to conduct a fighting withdrawal from East Prussia, but its commanding general panics. The resulting crisis leaves the outcome in the players’ hands, as they decide whether their strategy will bring victory or defeat.

• Two-player historical conflict: Recreate the Russian invasion and German response in East Prussia.
• Introductory rules: Learn the core systems used throughout the Der Weltkrieg series.
• Series gateway: Build the foundation for playing games about other World War battles and campaigns.

The Tannenberg battle presented here is a smaller version of the battle featured in Tannenberg: Eagles in the East / Galicia: The Forgotten Cauldron and The Eastern Front: 1914-1917. Those larger versions can also be combined into expanded scenarios or campaigns, making Tannenberg: The Introductory Game a compact starting point for the wider series.