Deathride: Mars-la-Tour 1870

About this board game

Deathride: Mars-la-Tour 1870 is a two-player historical battle game covering the battle of 16 August 1870, with a listed playing time of 180 minutes. It portrays French units of the Imperial Armée du Rhin attempting to retreat west from Metz while German Confederation forces try to block their escape.

Neither army was fully aware of the other’s position. With the situation uncertain, the French took up a strong defensive posture while the Germans attacked. Although the French greatly outnumbered their opponents, the German army was forced to launch a series of attacks to conceal its weakness and prevent the French from discovering a route west.

The battle’s outcome carries major consequences within the game’s historical setting. If the French had pushed the Germans aside, they could have combined their armies, potentially protected Paris, and possibly avoided the collapse of the Bonapartist cause.

• Players: 2
• Playing time: 180 minutes, with the published description also listing 4 hours
• Complexity: Low
• Solitaire suitability: Medium

This edition of Deathride: Mars-la-Tour 1870 appeared in Against The Odds magazine #24. It includes a full-color 22-by-34-inch map, 140 full-color die-cut half-inch counters, 88 five-eighths-inch counters, and a 16-page rulebook.

Designed by Charles Vasey, developed by Paul Rohrbaugh, and graphically designed by Craig Grando, the game focuses on the tension between numerical strength, defensive resistance, uncertain positions, and determined attacks during a pivotal day of the Franco-Prussian War.