Paths of Glory

Scenarios and setup: Choose Introductory, Limited War, or Campaign. All three begin in August 1914 and use their scenario deployment. The Central Powers (CP) and Allied Powers (AP) have separate Strategy Card decks; place units, Victory Point, and War Status markers as directed. Each player draws seven cards at setup. At the end of each turn, the Draw Strategy Card Phase replenishes the hand to seven; if the draw and discard piles together cannot supply that many, the player begins the next turn with fewer. The map is point-to-point, not hex-based: two spaces are adjacent only when a printed line connects them.

Turn sequence: Begin with the Mandated Offensive Phase. Each player rolls on the relevant table to see whether a nation must make a qualifying attack. Then play six Action Rounds; CP takes the first action in each round, followed by AP, so each player normally acts six times. Resolve the remaining phases in order: Attrition, Siege, War Status, Replacement, Draw Strategy Card, and End of Turn. The order matters; reinforcements or card draws cannot be moved forward into the Action Phase.

Strategy Cards and actions: In an Action Round, a player usually plays one Strategy Card as Operations (OPS), Strategic Redeployment (SR), Replacement Points (RP), or an Event. A few card or rule exceptions explicitly allow a combined event and OPS play. A player may also take an automatic 1-OPS action without playing a card, or offer Peace Terms when the scenario’s Victory Point range allows it. Each played card normally has one use; an Event is not automatically mandatory unless its text or the rules say so.

Operations and unit actions: OPS provide Activation Points, not movement spaces for each unit. Pay the activation cost for a space based on its nationalities, mark it activated, and choose either movement or attack for that activation; the same activation cannot do both. Movement follows connected spaces and each Corps or Army uses its own Movement Factor. An attack may come from one or more adjacent spaces against a target space. Units, forts, terrain, and card effects determine which combat table and modifiers apply.

Combat and trenches: Attacker and defender use the appropriate combat table based on their participating units, then apply terrain, trench, and Combat Card modifiers to a die roll to determine losses. The side inflicting the higher Loss Number wins. A winning attacker may force the defender to retreat; if a space is cleared and the advance conditions are met, full-strength attacking units can advance. A flank attack has extra requirements: attackers must come from at least two spaces and include an Army, while the target cannot be entrenched, in swamp or mountain terrain, or an undefended fort. Entrench events allow armies to build and later improve trenches.

Supply and attrition: A unit normally traces supply through friendly-controlled, nationality-legal connections to a valid supply source. An Out of Supply unit cannot move, attack, redeploy, or build a new trench. If it remains Out of Supply in the Attrition Phase, it is eliminated. A Corps returns to the replaceable area; an Army is permanently removed and cannot be rebuilt. Supply sources are nationality-specific, with special rules for ports and the Near East; control of a space and the supply status of a unit are related but distinct checks.

War Status and historical events: Strategy Cards increase each side’s War Commitment. At War Status 4, Limited War cards enter; at 11, Total War cards enter. At Combined War Status 30, the Zimmermann Telegram can become playable; American reinforcements still require the later Over There event. Russia’s withdrawal also depends on an event sequence and track conditions. When Combined War Status reaches 40 in the War Status Phase, an Armistice is declared. These events are driven by the game, not the calendar alone.

Victory and scenario endings: All scenarios share an automatic victory check in the War Status Phase: CP wins at 20 or more Victory Points, while AP wins at 0 or less. If neither threshold is reached, each scenario has its own end date and final VP bands. Introductory ends after Turn 3: CP wins at 14+, 11–13 is a draw, and AP wins at 10 or less. Limited War ends when either player reaches Total War, at the end of Turn 10, or when Peace Terms are accepted; CP wins at 17+, 13–16 is a draw, and AP wins at 12 or less. Campaign can end at Turn 20, with an Armistice, or with accepted Peace Terms. Its final bands depend on whether CP played Brest-Litovsk: CP wins at 11+ with a draw at 10 if played, or CP wins at 13+ with a draw at 10–12 if not; AP wins at 9 or less in either case. Accepting Peace Terms ends in a draw.