General Orders: World War II
General Orders: World War II Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Modes
Choose either the:
Alpine game mode
or the
Island game mode
If playing for the first time, we recommend you choose the Alpine game mode.
If playing the Alpine game mode, return the components marked with the island icon to the box, and disregard any setup steps and rules marked with the island icon.
If playing the Island game mode, return the components marked with the mountain icon to the box, and disregard any setup steps and rules marked with the mountain icon.
Components
A. game board
B. support board
C. 18 commanders (9 per player)
D. 50 troops (25 per player)
E. 20 aircraft (10 per player) (Island game mode only)
F. 4 dice
G. 1 round marker
H. 6 area bonus tokens:
- depot
- forward base
- observer post
- recon post
- signal unit
- air control post (Alpine game mode only)
I. 30 operations cards:
- 3 ground assault
- 3 counter attack
- 3 blitz
- 3 ambush
- 3 mobilize
- 3 artillery strike
- 3 airborne assault (Alpine game mode only)
- 3 anti-air (Alpine game mode only)
- 2 airstrike (Island game mode only)
- 2 intercept (Island game mode only)
- 2 wingman (Island game mode only)
Game Board Spotlight
- Land areas: parts of the board that troops control, move between, and fight over. Land areas are separated by solid black borders. Land areas sharing the same border are adjacent.
- Starting troops: troops that are placed in land areas during setup.
- HQ symbol: shows the land area that a faction's headquarters is in.
- Victory points: the number of points a land area is worth at the end of the game.
- Linked action spaces: players assign commanders here to resolve the associated action.
- Area bonus spaces: parts of the board that area bonus tokens are placed in during setup. See the area bonuses section below.
- Printed area bonus: if you control land areas with printed area bonuses, you gain access to bonus abilities. See the area bonuses section below. (Alpine game mode only)
- Air zones: parts of the board that aircraft control, move between, and fight over. Air zones are made up of one or more land areas. Air zones are separated by coloured borders. Zones sharing the same border are adjacent. (Island game mode only)
- Aircraft section: the parts of the board that aircraft are physically placed in during gameplay. Aircraft pieces in a section are treated as being in the air zone of the matching colour. (Island game mode only)
- Starting Aircraft: aircraft that are placed in sections during setup. (Island game mode only)
Setup
- Each player chooses a faction colour and takes a reference card.
- Place the game board between you and your opponent, on the side matching the game mode you chose, with your faction's headquarters closer to you.
- Place the support board close to the main board, on the side matching the game mode you chose, with your faction's standby area closer to you.
- Take all the commander tokens of your chosen faction. Place five into your reserve, near the short edge of the game board closest to your HQ. Place the remaining four into a standby area next to the support board.
- Take all the troops of your chosen faction. For each troop symbol matching your faction colour in land areas, place one of your troops there. Place the remaining troops into your reserve.
- (Island game mode only) Take the aircraft of your chosen faction. For each aircraft symbol matching your faction colour in sections, place one of your aircraft there. Place the remaining aircraft into your reserve, near the short edge of the game board closest to your HQ.
- Shuffle the twenty four operation cards into a face-down deck and place them next to the game board. Operation cards with the island icon are used only in the Island game mode. Operation cards with the mountain icon are used only in the Alpine game mode.
- Shuffle the area bonus tokens and randomly place one into each area bonus space on the board. Return the remaining area bonus tokens to the box. (Island game mode only) The air control post area bonus token is not used in the Island game mode.
- Place the four dice next to the game board.
- Flip the round marker. The faction whose icon lands on the face-up side has the initiative. Place the marker on the round one space of the support action board.
How to Play
The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round has three phases:
- Deploy commanders
- Recall commanders
- Advance round marker
1. Deploy Commanders
Starting with the player who has initiative, you and your opponent alternate taking turns. On your turn, choose to either deploy a commander or pass.
Deploy a Commander: place one of your commanders from your reserve into an unoccupied action space and resolve the action indicated by its symbol (see Actions below).
Pass: once you pass, you take no further turns this round.
If you do not have any commanders in your reserve, you must pass.
If your opponent passes, you may continue taking turns as long as you have commanders in your reserve.
Once both players pass, the phase ends.
2. Recall Commanders
Return the commanders you deployed this round to your reserve.
If you placed an extra commander using a Blitz operation card, instead return that commander to your standby area.
3. Advance Round Marker
Advance the round marker forward one space on the round track. If there is no space to advance the marker to, the game ends.
Ending the Game
The game ends either after four rounds have been played, or when one player loses control of their HQ land area.
If your opponent loses control of their HQ land area, you win immediately.
Otherwise, at the end of the fourth round, the player with the highest total of victory points on land areas they control and supply wins. If tied, the faction with initiative wins.
Important Concepts
Control
You control a land area if you have troops in it.
(Island game mode only) You control an air zone if you have aircraft in it.
Supply
A land area is in supply if the following is true:
- You control the area.
- The area is connected to your HQ land area through an unbroken line of areas you control.
(Island game mode only) An air zone is in supply if the following is true:
- You control the air zone.
- The air zone is connected to the air zone your HQ is in through an unbroken line of zones you control.
(Illustrated example: Blue has control only of a land area not connected to Blue's HQ by an unbroken line of Blue-controlled areas; Blue has control and supply of a land area that is so connected.)
Actions
When a commander is deployed into an action space, resolve the associated action.
You cannot deploy into an action space that is already occupied by a commander, whether yours or your opponent's.
Each action has specific deployment criteria. You cannot deploy commanders to an action space if you do not meet its deployment criteria.
The following section is split into linked actions and support actions.
Linked action spaces are contained within a particular land area or air zone (air zone: Island game mode only) on the game board, referred to in deployment criteria as the linked area or linked air zone (linked air zone: Island game mode only).
Support action spaces are found on the support board. Support action spaces are not linked with specific land areas or air zones (Island game mode only).
Support actions are followed by an [X]. The value of X is shown next to the action space on the support board and can be different for each faction (Island game mode only).
Linked Actions
Advance
Deployment Criteria
- You do not control the linked area.
- The linked area is adjacent to at least one other area which you supply and have two or more troops in.
To perform an Advance action, do the following:
Move in. Take one or more of your troops and move them into the linked area. You can take troops from any land areas which are adjacent to the linked area and which you control and supply. You cannot take the last troop from a land area.
Resolve Conflict. If the target land area is controlled by your opponent, resolve a land conflict (see Conflicts below).
Fly (Island game mode only)
Deployment Criteria
- You do not control the linked air zone.
- The linked air zone is adjacent to at least one other zone which you supply and have two or more aircraft in.
To perform a Fly action, do the following:
Move in. Take one or more of your aircraft and move them into the linked zone, placing them in the matching aircraft section. You can take aircraft from any air zones which are adjacent to the linked zone and which you control and supply. You cannot take the last aircraft from an air zone.
Resolve Conflict. If the linked air zone is controlled by your opponent, resolve an air conflict (see Conflicts below).
Paradrop (Alpine game mode only)
Deployment Criteria
- The paradrop icon matches your faction colour.
- You control and supply the linked area.
To perform a Paradrop action, do the following:
Choose a target area. You cannot target your opponent's HQ. You cannot target a land area with a no-paradrop symbol. You can target any other land area.
You may choose an area that already has a commander deployed to its linked advance action.
Drop troops. Place two troops from your reserve into the target area.
Resolve conflict. If the target land area is controlled by your opponent, resolve a land conflict (see Conflicts below).
Barrage
Deployment Criteria
- You control and supply the linked area.
- The barrage icon matches your faction colour.
To perform a Barrage action, do the following:
Choose target area. The target area must be no more than three areas away from the linked area.
Bombard target area. Roll two dice and total the values rolled. Remove this many troops from the target area, returning them to the opponent's reserve. If there are not enough troops, remove as many as you can and ignore the remainder.
Bomb (Island game mode only)
Deployment Criteria
- You control and supply the linked zone.
To perform a Bomb action, do the following:
Choose a target land area. The target land area must be in the linked air zone.
Choose payload. Remove one or more aircraft from the aircraft section of the linked zone and return them to your reserve. You cannot remove the last aircraft in the air zone.
Bomb the target area. For each aircraft removed, roll one dice. Total the values rolled. Remove this many troops from the target area and place them into the opponent's reserve. If there are not enough troops, remove as many as you can and ignore the remainder.
Support Actions
Reinforce [X]
Deployment Criteria
- There are two Reinforce action spaces. Each player may deploy a commander into a maximum of one of these spaces each round.
To perform a Reinforce action:
Take [X] troops from your reserve. Place them in land areas that you control and supply, such that there are no more than five troops per land area.
Not Enough Troops? If there aren't enough troops in your reserve to complete an action, you may first remove troops from areas you control and place them into your reserve. You cannot remove the last troop from an area.
Plan [X]
Deployment Criteria
- There are two Plan action spaces. Each player may deploy a commander into a maximum of one of these spaces each round.
To perform a Plan action:
Draw [X] cards from the operation deck. Add them to your hand.
There is no limit to the number of operation cards you can have in your hand.
If you deployed to the Plan space with the lightning bolt symbol, and your opponent has the initiative, flip the round marker to your faction. You now have the initiative and will deploy the first commander in the next round.
Take-off [X] (Island game mode only)
Deployment Criteria
- There are two Take-off action spaces. Each player may deploy a commander into a maximum of one of these spaces each round.
To perform a Take-off action:
Take [X] aircraft from your reserve. Place them in aircraft sections of zones that you control and supply, such that there no more than five aircraft per air zone.
You may always deploy into the air zone that contains your HQ land area, even if it is controlled by your opponent. If it is controlled by your opponent, resolve an air conflict (see Conflicts below).
Not Enough Aircraft? If there aren't enough aircraft in your reserve to complete an action, you may first remove aircraft from air zones you control and place them into your reserve. You cannot remove the last aircraft from an air zone.
Conflicts
Land Conflicts
A land conflict occurs when one player (the attacker) places troops into an area controlled by their opponent (the defender). Resolve the conflict as follows:
Defence. The defender rolls one dice and removes a number of attacking troops equal to the total rolled. Perform this step even if the defender does not supply the area.
(Island game mode only) If the conflict is in a land area within an air zone controlled and supplied by the defender, instead roll two dice in the defence step.
Attrition. If any attacking troops remain, both players simultaneously remove troops from the area one at a time until at least one player has no troops in the area. Then, if the attacker has more than five troops remaining, they remove troops until they have five in the area.
Place all troops removed during the conflict into their owner's reserve.
Air Conflicts (Island game mode only)
An air conflict occurs when one player (the attacker) places aircraft into a zone controlled by their opponent (the defender). Resolve the conflict as follows:
Defence. The defender rolls one dice and removes a number of attacking aircraft equal to the total rolled. Perform this step even if the defender does not supply the zone.
Attrition. If any attacking aircraft remain, both players simultaneously remove aircraft from the zone one at a time until at least one player has no aircraft in the zone. Then, if the attacker has more than five aircraft remaining, they remove aircraft until they have five in the area.
Place all aircraft removed during the conflict into their owner's reserve.
Operation Cards
Players draw operations cards by taking the Plan action.
Operations cards can be spent to either re-roll dice or resolve their special effect.
You can resolve multiple special effects in the same turn. You cannot resolve two of the same special effect in the same turn. You can spend multiple operation cards to re-roll the same dice multiple times.
When you spend an operations card, place it into a discard pile next to the operations card deck.
Example card — Mobilize: Take and place up to two additional troops from your reserve into land areas you control and supply. Condition: When taking the Reinforce action. Or [re-roll].
An operation card has the following parts:
- Special Effect: what the card does when played. Dice are not intended to be limited. If a special effect would cause you to roll more dice than are supplied in the box, roll all of them, and then re-roll as many as necessary, tracking the overall total rolled.
- Condition: when the card can be played for its special effect.
- Condition Icon: the black icon shows that the condition relates to you performing the action shown on your turn. The red icon shows that the condition relates to your opponent triggering a conflict by performing the action shown on their turn.
- Re-roll: Whenever you roll dice, you may spend an operation card to re-roll those dice. If you spend an operation card in this way, you must re-roll all the dice rolled.
Area Bonuses
If you control and supply a land area with an area bonus, you gain access to a bonus ability.
Depot: When taking a Reinforce action, add a total of two additional troops from your reserve to land areas you control and supply.
Forward Base: Immediately after you have performed an Advance action, and before resolving any conflicts, add one troop from your reserve to the linked area.
Observer Post: When taking the Barrage action, roll one additional dice in the bombard target area step.
Recon Post: When taking the Plan action, draw one additional operation card.
Signal Unit: Take a commander from your standby area and place it into your reserve.
If you lose control or supply of this area, return a commander from your reserves to your standby area. If there are no commanders in your reserve when this happens, instead return one commander from an action space of your choice to your standby area.
Air Control Post (Alpine game mode only): When taking a Paradrop action, add one additional troop from your reserve to the target area.
Town Centre: When defending in this area during a land conflict, roll one additional dice in the defence step.
Example Turn
Example card — Ground Assault: Add up to two troops from your reserve to the linked area, when taking the Advance action, immediately after the move in step. Or [re-roll].
- Mali deploys a commander into the Advance action space in land area A. They move in two blue troops from area B and two blue troops from area C into area A. They then play a Ground Assault operations card to add two extra troops to the land area. This triggers a land conflict.
- Bo rolls two dice in defence in the defence step – one as standard, and one additional because Bo controls the air zone that land area A is in. They roll a total of two hits, removing two blue troops.
- Both players then simultaneously remove troops from area A one at a time until at least one player has no troops left in the area. In this case, Bo has no more yellow troops and Mali has two. Removed troops return to their reserves.
- Mali is now in control of area A along with its area bonus token (Signal unit) and takes an additional commander from their standby area. Bo loses control of Area A along with its area bonus token and returns their additional commander to their standby area.
Historical Note
General Orders: WWII allows players to take on the role of a general in two very different Second World War theatres – the alpine terrain of Northern Italy and the islands of the Pacific. Whilst actions and settings are historically based, this is not a simulationist game. The core mechanic of worker placement is an obvious abstraction from the choices available to generals at the time.
Game design: David Thompson & Trevor Benjamin
Illustration: Alex Green
Game development: Anthony Howgego, Rhys ap Gwyn, & Jordan Wheeler
Graphic design: Gareth Clarke
Playtesting: Peter Brown, Dan Curtis, Dan Halsall, Nicolas Gonzalez, Marcel Gonzalez-Gerdelics, Carlos Noguero
First published in Great Britain in 2023 by OSPREY GAMES, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
OSPREY GAMES is a trademark of Osprey Publishing Ltd.
© David Thompson & Trevor Benjamin, 2023. This edition © 2023 Osprey Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.