Totaler Krieg!
Articles, Replays, & Notes

When you care enough
to know the very best about Totaler Krieg!

There's a lot that has been written about Krieg! and Totaler Krieg!. This is where you will find a good deal of it.

In the ultra-interesting Designer's Deepest Secrets II article included in the Totaler Krieg! Reference Booklet, you got into the mind of designer Steven "Kos" Kosakowski and found out how that 17-jewel brain of his really works. He looked at many of the game's design decisions, it scope and focus, and presented his case why this gaming interpretation of W.W.II in Europe offers a great deal of validity and insight with only nominal complexity. Kos' elegant design-for-effect philosophy, procedure-oriented Sequence of Play, and novel political and economic rules make Totaler Krieg! a gaming "wonder of the world" for its sheer versatility and unbreakability (no matter how bad you screw up the rules, you'll still have a great time playing). This article extends the text found in the Reference Book as Kos further illuminates us with his insightful narrative illustrations of game design philosophy.

The Evolution of a Game article presents the story behind the creation of Krieg! and all it took to bring a designer, a developer, some playtesters, the artists, and the publisher together to produce this fine game. The Polish Question in Totaler Krieg! Totaler Krieg! examines the various interesting fates that pivotal Poland can face in the game, while the Developer's Notes examines key aspects of the game and brings them into sharper focus.

Then, of course, there are the Axis, Western Allied, and Soviet Player's Notes articles, each brimming with strategy and advice for their respective sides. Some new Soviet players wonder how they're supposed to hold Russia, and three sections of sage advice concerning this are presented In Defense of the Soviet Union. For those who need help positioning the Red Army to greet Barbarossa, you might want to read the Blunting Barbarossa article for a "perfect plan" defense. Other Soviet players might wonder what to do if the Axis don't invade by 1941 and keep running down the West. Some advice can be found in Russian Unorthodoxy which tells how to stir the pot in Europe while the Axis are thus distracted.

As a special added feature, we've started collecting Totaler Krieg! Game Replays. This is were you'll find the archives of games won and lost so that you might derive your own lessons from other player's victories and defeats.

Yes, we've been known to play a game or two of Totaler Krieg!. Occasionally, we record some of the events in these games for posterity. Here is where you'll find the archives to some descriptions of games played.