Michal: Hello Vincent, it is wonderful to have you back on The Boardgames Chronicle blog. We are very happy to speak with you again! For our readers who might not be familiar with you, could you please share a bit about your professional life, your hobbies, and the kinds of games you enjoy playing? Also, what specific role did you play in the creation and release of Merville Battery?

Vincent: I was born in London, England, but I currently reside in Fukuoka, Japan. I juggle three different professions: I teach English three evenings a week, I work as a Wedding Conductor on weekends, and I dedicate the rest of my time to designing wargames.

I have a deep passion for Japanese martial arts and their connection to Zen philosophy. I am also an avid ultra-marathon runner, hiker, and road cyclist. I follow the entire road cycling season religiously. I lead a very active lifestyle and usually manage to exercise twice a day.

Reading is another big part of my life. I enjoy dining out, having a drink (preferably while watching sports), and, of course, playing games.

I tend to favor heavier games that are part of a series. I really enjoy titles like Simonitch’s 40X series and Ruhnke’s COIN series.

My favorite game designer is David Thompson, especially his Valiant Defense series!

Regarding Merville Battery, I am the Lead Designer, but I relied heavily on a talented and creative team consisting of Shane Freshwater, Martin Fenwich Charlesworth, and Glenn Saunders.

Michal: Could you tell us more about the historical events that inspired Merville Battery? For us wargamers, the theme and background are just as important as the game mechanics.

Vincent: The Merville Battery was situated in Normandy, roughly 6 miles east of Sword Beach and less than 12 miles northeast of Caen. It was located directly east of Ouistreham and northeast of Pegasus Bridge, on the eastern side of the River Orne. This battery was a key component of the Atlantic Wall. British Intelligence believed the four massive casemates housed 150mm guns, which posed a severe threat to the British landings at Sword Beach. However, it was later revealed that the artillery pieces were actually 75mm French howitzers from World War I that had been captured during the occupation of France. Despite this, the site was marked as a critical target early in the D-Day planning stages.

The RAF bombed the location several times. One of these attacks killed the original commanding officer, Hauptmann Wolter, on May 19, 1944. He was replaced by Oberleutnant Steiner, who plays a significant role in the game. The bombs failed to damage the casemates and only caused minor delays in the fortification of the area.

A ground assault was required to neutralize the (suspected) heavy guns. This mission was assigned to Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway and the 9th Parachute Battalion.

Otway’s strategy involved the battalion dropping nearby during the night of June 5-6, regrouping, marching to the battery, and launching an attack just before dawn on June 6, 1944. Offshore, the HMS Arethusa was ordered to bombard the compound if no success signal was received. The plan, often criticized for its complexity, immediately faced problems as the parachute drop resulted in scattered landings.

Out of over 600 men in the battalion, Otway marched to the battery with only a quarter of that number. Much of the heavy weaponry and the explosives needed to destroy the guns were missing, as were the combat engineers who knew how to disable the German weapons. The equipment needed to signal the HMS Arethusa was also lost during the drop. The paratroopers had to enter and exit quickly to avoid being hit by friendly fire. Faced with this tight deadline, Otway had no choice but to order the desperate attack.

The defenders, numbering no more than 150, were led by Oberleutnant Steiner. These men were not trained for close-quarters combat and were mostly artillerymen or engineers. It is unlikely they were psychologically prepared for a firefight within the compound itself. However, they had access to a 20mm Anti-Aircraft gun and several machine guns. In short, they were better armed than the depleted 9th Para.

Furthermore, an event that remains unexplained to this day occurred: a Horsa glider crash-landed inside the perimeter during the night of June 5-6. This was not part of any recorded operation, and no one knows where the glider came from or who was inside. The occupants were gunned down, and this incident, combined with the paratroopers dropping all around in the dark, put the defenders on high alert.

Michal: What are the key components of the game? Which factions does it depict?

Vincent: The player commands the 9th Parachute Battalion (9 PARA) as they attempt to cross a minefield and assault four casemates defended by the guards, gunners, and engineers of the 1st Battery. Once the casemates are secured, the player must disable the guns and evacuate the compound while rescuing wounded comrades along the way.

The challenge is that Steiner and a roving Half-Track will arrive on the scene at some point. When they do, the withdrawing paratroopers will come under artillery fire (called in by Steiner from a neighboring battery) and fire from the Half-Track’s AA weapon.

Michal: It looks like we are getting some very thematic graphics. Who is the artist?

Vincent: Wouter Schoutteten is a full-time illustrator and graphic artist. He designed Dreaded Flags and has created art for 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March, Corvette Command, and Nightfighter Command, among others.

Michal: Can you elaborate a bit on the game mechanics? One cannot miss the similarities with the Valiant Defense series, but here we will be on the attacking side.

Vincent: The core mechanics replicate those of the Valiant Defense games. David Thompson kindly gave his blessing. The mechanics are fairly simple: Each Para has an Attack Value that determines the number of Attack dice rolled (d6 or d4 if a counter has moved). You compare the result to the Defense Value of the 1st Battery target. If the result equals that Value, the 1st Battery counter is Wounded (a new feature), and if the result is higher, that counter is Destroyed.

Merville Battery introduces Range. Rifle and Marksman counters have a longer range, but Sten Gunner counters have a shorter range while generating more Attack dice.

The mechanics remain almost the same when a 1st Battery counter attacks a Para: Roll a 1d6 Attack die. If the result is equal to or higher than the Defense Value of the target Para, place a Disrupted token on that target. If a Para counter suffers a second Disrupted token, it is destroyed.

The familiar actions of Recover and Command allow Paras to remove Disrupted tokens and recover from being Exhausted. They can also remove Delayed tokens, which is another new feature.

Those are the core mechanics.

Merville Battery also introduces Battle Tokens. These represent one-off effects that impact gameplay, such as support fire from Bren and Vickers Machine Guns, or bonuses to Close Quarters Combat.

Battle Tokens are selected in a way that players of Pavlov’s House and Guadalcanal will recognize: by drawing three 9 PARA cards, selecting two of them, and then choosing one of the two Battle Tokens available.

Michal: How do players determine victory in Merville Battery? What is the goal?

Vincent: The goal is to disable all four guns, rescue at least four groups of wounded Paras (increased Difficulty Levels raise this number), and withdraw from the compound with as many survivors as possible. The player scores points based on what they achieve and fail to achieve. At the end of the game, they can compare their total to the historical total to determine their result.

Michal: One of the key things players look for in solitaire designs is a challenging but winnable experience and replayability. How are you achieving this in Merville Battery?

Vincent: As with Guadalcanal, there are various options to make the game easier or harder. Tactics cards, for example, give turn-by-turn bonuses to the 1st Battery defenders, while Minefield cards (and custom dice!) can make it easier for the player to cross the minefield safely. All these optional rules can be combined in various ways to ensure each game is unique.

To reflect the disastrous initial parachute drop, the player starts each game with a random pool of 9 PARA counters to select and deploy, and the 1st Battery defenders will also occupy different positions. There are also Bomb Crater Positions which slow the player’s advance but provide important cover. These Bomb Craters also shift from position to position from game to game.

Michal: If you look at Merville Battery and answer the question – what makes this game unique? What would you like to highlight?

Vincent: The most unique aspect – and the part of the design that took the most playtesting – is that there is no set number of turns (as is typical with most wargames), nor does the 1st Battery deck expire to signal the end of the game (as is the case with Valiant Defense games).

Instead, the 1st Battery deck becomes depleted as casualties are inflicted on the defenders, who – abstractly – retreat to the safety of the casemates (reflected by an increasing Casemate Defense Value). At the same time, cards controlling the return of Steiner and the arrival of the Half-Track are placed into the Main deck. As they are drawn, both Steiner and the Half-Track move closer.

This provides the player with a very unique challenge. While I don’t want to give the game away, the player must be aggressive and try to reach the casemates as quickly as possible, disable the guns, and withdraw. The arrival of Steiner and the Half-Track is NOT predetermined, and each game will be different.

Michal: How are you going to publish the game, and where can interested players get more information?

Vincent: The game will be published by DVG and is currently on Kickstarter.

Michal: What are your future plans? Any new designs or games in preparation?

Vincent: T-34 Leader will follow soon after Merville Battery. This is a spin-off of Tiger Leader and Sherman Leader, but with new units and some new rules.

Following that, I will launch a new game series: Epic Battles.

The first title will be Epic Battles – Kursk, to tie in with T-34 Leader. Kursk will provide the player with 1-player Soviet, 1-player German, and 2-player Soviet vs. German game options.

Epic Battles utilizes the combat mechanics of the Tank Leader games from DVG but dispenses with the Asset Management side of things and focuses purely on the battles.

As a result of this, I will be able to give players what they want: Hordes of Tiger Is, Elefants, and Panthers going against even larger groups of T-34s and SU-152s, along with all kinds of other historical armor.

There will be a total of three scenarios in the Core set and two expansions, with a scenario in each.