Absolute War!
Sequence of Play (Regular/Advanced Game)
I. New Turn Housekeeping
1. Advance Turn Marker
2. Game Turn Event
3. War Status Check
• First Turn of Year/Event: > WSP gains • -1 card per enemy-controlled War
War Initiative (no change if tied)
• General Winter: Soviet War Initiative • +1 card per flipped Lend-Lease
until end of turn
II. German Player Turn
1. Supply Phase
a. Non-Phasing player checks Supply
• Unsupplied Stack which cannot
trace Supply Line of unlimited
length → Captured (-1/2 WSP)
• Unsupplied Stack which can trace
Supply Line 1-2 Zones → Disrupt
• Stack which cannot trace Supply
Line 1-2 Zones → Unsupplied
• Unoccupied Zone which cannot
trace Supply Line of unlimited
length → Change control
b. Phasing player checks Supply
(as in step a.)
c. Phasing player flips Industry/
Lend-Lease markers to ‘Ready’
d. Phasing player removes Pockets
from Uncontested Zones
• Phasing player: +1 WSP per
Pocket in zone they control
• Non-Phasing player: +1 RP per
Pocket in zone they control
2. Combat Marker Phase
• Initiative: 16 CMs; Non-Init.: 12 CMs
• Attack CMs limited by Weather
• Only 1 Mobile/Armor marker if Oil
Well Zone is enemy-controlled
3. Card Phase
a. Draw 4 Events + 1 Offensive
• Play Red Title Events immediately
• Reshuffle when only 1 card left
Econ. Site / Game Turn Event
• War Initiative? May redraw 1st
Offensive (unless Play Immediate)
b. May discard cards and flip Industry
markers to gain RPs (1 RP each)
• Max RPs: 4 (Germans)/6 (Soviets)
c. Discard down to 6 cards
4. Strategic Phase
a. Return Units
• Remove Withdrawn units (-1 WSP
or RP if Destroyed/Captured)
• May Remove Forts → Destroyed
• Air on map → Air Box
b. Upgrade Units
• Flip Soviet Upgrade: Untrained →
Trained → Front Upgrade (= CPs)
• Flip Soviet Upgrade/Spend 2 RP:
Flip reduced 2-step unit
Soviet Initiative=No Axis Upgrade
• Spend 1 CM → Flip Air (in Air box)
• Spend 1 CM → Flip supplied Fort
c. Reinforcements
• Spend 1 CM → Reserve
• Free → Friendly Minor/Major City
with unlimited Supply Line
(No special paths for Large units)
(Soviets in USSR/Germans in GG/
Axis Allies in limited locations)
• Air → Air Box (face up)
• Fort → Friendly Zone (face down)
d. Replace Eliminated Units (in order) 6. Combat Phase
1) Shattered → Reserve (free) 1) Place Major Offensives in enemy
2) Destroyed → Reserve (1 RP) /contested Zones (max 1 each)
3) Captured Sov. → Reserve (2 RP) (Spend 1 RP to flip for +1 CP)
4) Captured Ger. → Destroyed (2 RP) (-1 WSP per unplaced MO)
• Spend 1 CM to deploy Disrupted 2) Choose target Stack and Lead
Shattered/Destroyed unit directly Attacker (Combat mandatory in
to map (as in Reserve Phase) Contested Zone unless Fort there)
• Reserve full? Reinforce next turn 3) Resolve Combat
e. Create Reserves 4) Repeat from Step 2 as desired
• Move units from map → Reserve 7. Reserve Phase
o Leg/Mobile: 1 CM each
• Deploy Reserves → Any friendly
o Unsupplied/Static: Cannot zone with unlimited Supply Line
o Max 4 units in Reserve
(No special paths for Large units)
f. Declare Major Offensives
(Axis Allies in limited locations)
• Play Offensive cards (max 4 total
Offensive value) 8. Used Marker Phase
• Gain Major Offensive markers = • Remove Phasing player’s Disrupt/
card Offensive value(s) Armor markers
(General Winter = 0 German • Remove both players’ Done/
Major Offensives) Special Combat Support markers
• Remove up to 1 Partisan (1 RP)
5. Movement Phase
• Leg/Mobile Stack = 2/3 MPs 9. Objective Phase
Reveal & Score War Goal/Offensives
(Full MP: Disrupt or spend 1 CM)
• Air to any friendly/contested Zone • +1 WSP per control/isolated obj.
(Isolate: cannot trace land supply)
(Total # limited by Weather)
(Only score 2nd obj. if 1st scored)
o Unsupplied: 1 MP (only friendly)
• Draw new War Goal (face down)
o Disrupted: 2 MP
o Cannot drop off units during move
o May combine with units at end of III. Soviet Player Turn
move (unless Unsupply/Disrupted) Same as German Player Turn
o Cannot enter enemy-occupied Hex
IV. End Of Turn
or Area (unless only Air and/or
Check Victory Conditions
incomplete Fort)
(War Initiative player first)
o Cannot move from contested
Zone to enemy/contested Zone
o Leave Contested? → Disrupted
 Combat Sequence
1. Combat Marker Phase
1) Declare Support Stacks
• Non-Initiative player first
• 1 Stack per Zone in/adjacent to
target Zone (No Defense Support
between adjacent Areas unless
Target Contested or Air Support)
• No Unsupply/Disrupt/Done stack
2) Commit Special Support & 1 Event
• Non-Initiative player first
3) Attacker may attempt Pincer
2. Total Combat Strength
• Event in allowed years: Text or
SP (Assault); Text only (Battle)
• Lead Attacker/Target: Add all SP
(2nd Large unit: Support only)
• Support Stack: Top unit only
o Disrupt/Unsupply Stack: -1/-2 CP
if Attacking (& cannot Support)
o White (Defense) SP may Attack in
Contested Zone (only)
3. Resolve Combat
a) Battle Odds = Attack – Defense CP
(Draw Attacker Event for Result)
b) Assault Odds = (Attack CP + Event
SP) – (Defense CP + Event SP)
4. Apply Combat Results
• Successful Pincer? Enemy may
not Retreat; Place 1 Pocket per
Large unit eliminated (max 4)
• Retreat? Cannot enter enemy/
contested/impassable Zone;
Cannot split; Eliminate if cannot
Retreat (Air → Air Box always)
• Losses? Top unit must take loss
(Attacking Armor during Pincer)
5. Advance After Combat
• Lead Attack/Support units can
Advance into target Zone
• May split Stacks (add extra
‘Done’ markers as needed)
• Advance to Zone with lone
enemy Air? → Air Box
6. Mobile Exploitation
Mobile units with an Armor marker
(or which spend a Mobile marker)
may Advance 1 extra Zone:
• Only into/from Zone if Terrain &
Weather allows
• Not if Disrupted/Unsupplied
• Not in Area with 2 enemy Stacks
• Exploit to Zone with lone enemy
Air? → Air Box
• May split Stacks (add extra
‘Done’ markers as needed)
• Mobile Armor Stack without
Armor marker may place Pincer
in Exploit Zone (always)
7. Flip Combat Markers
• Flip ‘Attack/Support’ → ‘Done’
• Add ‘Done’ to split off Stacks
8. Major Offensive Check
• Phasing player controls Major
Offensive Zone? Major Offensive • Lead Attacker’s top unit is Mobile
→ Offensive Card (any)
Eliminated Units
• Unsupplied → Captured (Small
face-up; Large face-down & - WSP)
• Supplied → Destroyed (current side) • Mobile Armor stack enters target
• Forts & Air → Destroyed (always)
Supply
• Source: War Prod. Site (friendly/
contested) or friendly Major/Minor
City with unlimited Supply Line to
War Prod. Site
• Supply Line: Via friendly Zones (not
contested; freely cross Major Cities
/Lakes/Straits/Rivers)
o German/Axis adj. Baltic Sea
trace directly to Germany
o Soviets adj. Black/Caspian Sea
trace directly to Siberia
o Finnish in Motti always supplied
Stacking
• Stack: 1-2 Leg/Mobile+1 Air+1 Fort
o Large: 1-2 Large units in Stack
o Mobile: All units Mobile
o Armor: Top unit Armored
• Stack order can be changed after
Reinforcing, Moving, Retreating,
Advancing, Exploiting or Deploying
• Hex: 1 Stack; Area: 2 Stacks (total);
Box: 8 Stacks (4 per player)
• Over-Stacked? Phasing player
must retreat excess Stacks 1 Zone
(still over-stacked? Supplied →
Shattered; Unsupply → Destroyed)
Pincer Requirements
Armor (place Armor marker)
• Target’s top unit is not Armor
• Major Offensive in target zone
• Attacking from 2+ different Zones
• Not prevented by Terrain/Weather
--OR--
Zone by Mobile Exploitation &
does not have an Armor marker
Special Units
Axis Allies
• No Upgrade if Soviet War Initiative
• Axis AK: Deploy to Czech./Minsk
• Finnish: May only Deploy/Attack
Helsinki & Motti Lands (but may
Move anywhere with no Soviets);
Permanently remove both Finnish
units when Soviet War Initiative
and Soviet controls both Motti Land
• Hungarian: Deploy to Hungary/
Kharkov; Cannot stack w/ Romania;
1+3 Army cannot leave Hungary
until Soviets control orange-dotted
border Zone or adjacent
• Italian: Deploy to Austria/Kharkov
• Romanian: Deploy to Bucharest/
Odessa; Cannot stack with Hungary;
Become Soviet-controlled when
Soviet War Initiative and Soviets
control/contest Bucharest
Special Units
• Soviet Maritime Unit: Can only
Deploy/Enter/Support/Attack zones
adj. Black Sea; Eliminate if not
• German Group F: Cannot leave
Yugoslavia until Soviet unit in/adj.
Forts
• 1-step if complete; else 0-steps
• Incomplete: Enemy units may enter
Zone (if they do→ eliminate Fort)
• Sevastopol: Cannot Rebuild/Upgrade
Air
• 1-step (either side)
• May Advance, but not Exploit
• Return to Air Box if must Retreat
• Cannot be Lead Attacker if alone
• Weather limits # Air units on map