La Der des Ders – The War to End War is a board game from Hexasim. It is for one or two players. The game looks at World War I from a big picture view. You can play as the Entente or the Central Powers. The Entente includes France, England, Russia, and Serbia. The Central Powers include Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. You can also play alone against a computer bot called “Athena.” This bot uses special cards to make decisions. In the game, you get Re

In the last part of this series, we looked at the game board. We talked about the tracks for collapse and trade. We also looked at the Russian Revolution and naval control. Now, we will look at the Technology Phase. This part of the game lets you spend points to get better at war.

The Technology Phase

One of the best parts of La Der des Ders is the Technology Phase. In this phase, you spend your limited resources on new technologies. These help you fight better and manage your economy. But there is a risk. You have to pay to try to get these technologies. There is no promise that it will work. You have to roll dice to see if you succeed. Each player has a board to track their technology progress. There are six types of technology to research. These are Attack, Defence, Artillery, Aviation, Naval, and Air Raid.

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Each technology is important. If you do not develop them, you might lose quickly. I like how you have to keep up with your enemy. Sometimes you spend points just so you do not fall behind. This is very true for Attack and Defence. If one side gets too far ahead, it changes the battle. A small difference can cause big losses. This creates new problems for you and uses up your scarce resources.

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When you look at the Technology Trees, you will see boxes. Each box is a level of technology. The box shows the name of the tech. It shows the date when you can research it. It also shows the number you need to roll to unlock it. Finally, it shows the bonus you get when you find it. When you unlock a level, you move your marker to that box. Each level gives a bonus. But you must pay to implement it. You pay to discover it first. Then you pay again to give that ability to your nations.

Each player also has a board with Improvement Tracks. These tracks show which nations belong to your side. For each nation, there are tracks for Attack, Defence, Artillery, and Aviation. When you unlock a technology on the tree, you can put it in your sectors. This costs Re [image-3]

Remember, you can only try to unlock a technology if the year is correct. The date is shown in big letters on the tech row. It is easy to miss this, so check every turn. Also, you can only try to unlock a level if you already unlocked the level before it. Finally, for each type of technology, you can only unlock one level per turn.

Now let’s look at how to improve your chances with dice. It costs one Re [image-4]

If you fail to unlock a tech, you get a cube. You put this white cube in the box you tried to unlock. On future tries, this cube gives you a plus one bonus. You will eventually unlock the tech. You might get lucky, or you might keep trying. This part of the game is about managing risk. You cannot do everything you want each turn. You must make hard choices to win.

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In my opinion, the three most important technologies are Attack, Defence, and Artillery. The game is mostly about launching offensives. You want to break the enemy’s will. Attack gives a bonus to your attack dice. Usually, a nation must roll a 4, 5, or 6 to hit. A plus one or plus three bonus makes a huge difference. Sometimes a good Defence cancels this out. This is why keeping up with the enemy is key.

Artillery is special. For each level of Artillery technology, you get an extra die to roll. These are black dice. They are different from the white attack dice. The Attack technology does not change these dice. But they give you another chance to hit. The Aviation technology lets you reroll these dice.

Naval and Air Raid technologies are for the economic war. For the Central Powers, Naval technology moves a cube to the right. For the Entente, it moves the cube to the left. This represents the U-Boat attacks and the naval blockade. At the start of each turn, you roll a die to see if you lose Re [image-6]

There is a table under the Naval Control Table. It shows the modifier for the Central Powers’ naval rolls. It looks at the technology levels of both sides. At the start of the game, only the Central Powers can roll for naval control. The Entente has a lock on this. They cannot roll until they unlock Naval Technology Level 1.

Air Raid technology is only for the Central Powers player. It lets them influence the Event cards. If the Central Powers have a higher Air Raid level, they can cancel events. This helps them stop things that help their enemy.

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I think the technology system in La Der des Ders is very smart. The designer, Arnauld Della Siega, did a great job. It has a “Press Your Luck” feeling. It forces you to make critical decisions. It keeps the game exciting and gives you a sense of hope.

In the next part of this series, we will look at the Event Cards. We will see how they change the game.

-Grant