Memoir ‘44 … twenty years on

MEMOIR '44 was created by Richard Borg and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder and has proven to be a very popular hybrid miniatures/board game. I own the basic set as well as most of the supplements and one of the scenario books, and over the years I have enjoyed playing the game. In fact, it was playing MEMOIR ‘44 that sparked off my development of MEMOIR OF BATTTLE (MOB), MEMOIR OF MODERN BATTLE (MOBAT) and eventually THE PORTABLE WARGAME.

A new, revised version of the game has (MEMOIR ‘44 REFRESH) been released to mark the twentieth anniversary of the game’s release … and I just could not resist buying a copy. I ordered it via Amazon, and it arrived on Wednesday.

The box contains:

• 1 x A double-sided board
• 144 x Axis and Allied miniatures
• 36 x Obstacles
• 44 x Double-sided terrain tiles
• 60 x Command cards
• 22 x Summary cards
• 8 x Attack dice
• 6 x Activation tokens
• 2 x Cardholders
• 1 x Rulebook
• 1 x Scenario book

If one compares the two editions, the new version includes the following changes:

• New elevation rules: Units on a higher elevation can now shoot over their own adjacent troops.
• More scenarios: The new edition includes a total of 22 rather than the original's 16.
1. Pegasus Bridge
2. Sainte-Mère-Église
3. Sword Beach
4. Pointe Du Hoc
5. Omaha Beach (First Wave)
6. Mont Mouchet
7. Battlegroup Heintz at Hauts-Vents
8. Belle-Lande
9. Panzer Lehr at Hauts-Vents
10. Counterattack of Panzer Lehr
11. Hauts-Vents is taken
12. Vassieux, Vercors
13. Operation Cobra
14. Counterattack on Mortain
15. Toulon
16. Liberation of Paris
17. Montélimar
18. Arnhem Bridge
19. Arracourt
20. Saint Vith, Ardennes
21. Saverne Gap, Vosges
22. Omaha Beach - Overlord (this requires two game boards)
• New miniatures: The new edition has re-modelled miniatures that are made of a harder, more detailed plastic.
• Activation tokens: The new edition includes activation tokens to track which units have moved and fired.
• Card holders: The game now includes two curved card holders fore players to place their cards in.
• New dice: New, plastic dice, have replaced the original wooden ones.
• Terrain pieces: The sandbags and barbed wire are now produced in a neutral grey colour, unlike those in the original game where they were coloured for either the Axis or Allied side.
• Terrain pieces: Some new, double-sides terrain tiles(e.g. sea walls) have been added.
• Rulebook: The rulebook has updated and reorganised
• Box: The new edition’s box is larger and thicker, with a better designed insert for storing the components.
• Box art: The new edition uses a slightly different colour palette and the box art has been updated.

All-in-all, the new edition is a worthy celebration of the original game and - in my opinion - was well worth buying. All I’ve got to do now is to persuade someone at my local club to play it!