Sabotage

Sabotage was designed and illegally distributed by a group of Danish resistance fighters during the German occupation of Denmark which lasted from 1940-45. It simulates an actual act of sabotage that took place against a transformer station at the Scandia Locomotive Factory in Randers on 6 July, 1943. Erik Hagen, a medical practitioner who was also active in the resistance underground, is said to have sold the game to his patients and donated the money to illegal activities and operations. He was shot and killed on 6 June, 1944, while returning from a sabotage mission against the Globus Factory in Glostrup.

The game pits 1-2 saboteurs against 1-2 factory guards, and challenges the saboteurs to blow up as many machines and buildings as they can before they are either caught, killed, or manage to escape. The saboteurs will have to acquire the necessary equipment, such as crowbars, guns, and explosives, on the black market before entering the factory grounds and setting the charges. The factory guards, on the other hand, are trying to discover the saboteurs and raise the alarm. Once raised, the saboteurs only have a few turns to complete their operations and escape the factory grounds before the police arrives and arrests them.

The game board and pieces are printed on a single sheet of paper which players are instructed to mount on cardboard and cut out. Movement is controlled by the throw of a single 6-sided die, as are the gun fights which may occur if the guards discover the saboteurs. Considering the relative simplicity of the game, the simulational approach of the design sometimes makes for complicated situations which are only partly covered by the accompanying rules sheet. This also means that there are no hard and fast criteria for winning or losing. Rather, the game presents itself as a training simulation meant to inspire further acts of sabotage against the German occupying force.

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