Solitaire TacOps: Ortona

Solitaire TacOps is a campaign system that simulates the battlefield space where operational decisions meet tactical realities. For Ortona, you start with four infantry battalions, one armored regiment, an artillery battery, and an engineer company. These are represented on counters ranging from platoons to squads, with tank groups and artillery guns. Players will make operational decisions such as when and where to engage the enemy, which forces to use, and the type of support to provide them with. The scenarios are then played on hex maps that use a megahex activation system to manage the opposition.

An innovative dice system handles both player and opposition actions, providing a wide range of outcomes with fast resolution. This allows you to keep your focus on the map action and the narrative that emerges from play. The scenarios, which last from 30 to 90 minutes, will pull you in as you attempt to achieve objectives with the fewest losses. Each scenario can be played solitaire, with cooperative setups also available for some of the larger ones.

While the scenarios can be played as one-offs, the TacOps system comes alive over the course of the full campaign. The outcome from one scenario will determine which one is played next, all leading to the final engagement in the streets of Ortona, where the Canadian 1st Division will find the well-prepared German defenses of the Fallschirmjäger Division. Destroyed buildings, rubble piles, mines, snipers, and other traps will challenge the tactical and operational skills players will need to survive “bloody December” in Ortona.

Components: Three double-sided 11" x 17" Maps One Dashboard Display Two Countersheets of counters and markers Dice 12 Scenario Cards One Campaign Tracking Pad One Rulebook with Historical Notes One Learn to Play Booklet

-description from designer