Darkest December: Battle of the Bulge 1944

About this board game

Darkest December: Battle of the Bulge 1944 is a two-player Advanced Tobruk System game with an approximately 180-minute playing time, covering the American 3rd Armored Division’s stand against the German 116th Panzer Division from 20–24 December 1944.

Set during one of the most dangerous periods of the Battle of the Bulge, the game focuses on pitched battles across three historical maps. These maps depict portions of the battlefield around Hotton, Melines, and the Quatre Bras crossroads.

Scenarios place players among the combat elements that fought through this intense period. The action brings the 23rd Armored Engineer Battalion, Kampfgruppe Bayer, Task Force Mize, CCR, and other hard-fighting formations into the struggle.

• Players: 2
• Playing time: approximately 180 minutes
• System: Advanced Tobruk System
• Setting: the Battle of the Bulge, 20–24 December 1944
• Battlefield maps: Hotton, Melines, and Quatre Bras

The entire battle site was mapped on foot by designer Pedro Ramis, giving Darkest December a strong connection to the terrain represented in its scenarios. The result is a focused historical wargame experience centered on the confrontation between American defenders and an advancing German panzer division.

Released in 2004, Darkest December offers a detailed examination of a crucial Battle of the Bulge engagement through the Advanced Tobruk System and its carefully defined historical settings.