Players 2-3 Setup time 10-15 minutes Random chance Medium | Age range 12+ Playing time | |
Skill(s) required Tactics, Strategy, Economics | ||
Europe Engulfed is a block wargame designed by Rick Young and Jesse Evans for GMT Games, first published in 2003, and it simulates the European theater of war during World War II featuring a streamlined play structure and multiple well-balanced strategies for both sides, giving players the chance to either relive history or lead the Axis war machine to victory. It is generally considered to be a step up in complexity from Axis & Allies, while being less complex than such games as Advanced Third Reich.
Europe Engulfed is notable for its Special Action mechanism. Special Actions represent concentrated logistical effort, and as such are fairly costly, but also powerful. Special Actions may be spent to allow for large territorial gains in a single turn, such as the German conquest of France; or the British evacuation from Dunkirk. Neither of these require any "special" rules outside of the basic game system. This is a feat which few World War II European Theater games have accomplished.
Now in its 2nd edition, the game features several scenarios: 1939-'45, 1941-'45, 1941-'43 tournament, European War (where Soviet Russia attacks Germany in 1939) and a Patton's Fantasy scenario, which pits the Western Allies against the Soviets after the fall of Germany during the remainder of 1945.
Europe Engulfed makes use of a blocks unit system, with each block representing a unit of either infantry, cavalry, airborne assault troops or armor. Each block can be 1, 2, 3 or 4 step, with 4 steps being the unit at maximum strength, whereas Germany and Soviet Russia can also deploy a number of elite and militia units. The actual nature of each block is hidden from the enemy until actual combat occurs. (The designers actually considered Blockskrieg! as a name for the game, before settling for Europe Engulfed.
Naval/air warfare is significantly abstracted, leaving ground combat as the essential ingredient of the game.
In 2007, GMT released a sequel, called Asia Engulfed, which focuses on the Asian-Pacific theater. This game has a completely revamped naval/air system.