Edwin Starr wrote an anti-war song in the 1970s with the famous chorus: “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” This was likely in response to the Vietnam War, and it’s hard to argue that the chorus is wrong. Now, I don’t know Edwin, but I wonder if he ever played any good war games because he might have changed his literal tune. Now, I’m thinking this because war games are some of the longest-running and most popular board game genres in the hobby. So, maybe after playing a few games, Edwin might have changed the chorus to, “Absolutely nothing, except war games, those are fun!” Now, that’s just a theory that I can’t prove, but I can’t disprove it either.
This brings us to today’s review: Gruntz from Allplay Games. This is an abstract strategy war game where players try to control capture points to earn victory stars to win. Gruntz is a 2-player game that plays in about 10-15 minutes.
Gameplay Overview:
Gruntz is fast and easy to set up. Each player should receive a player aid and select either the green or blue units, which make up their reinforcements (each color will have the same units). Players need to determine who the attacker and defender are. Players will then select 3 units from their reinforcements and place them separately on each space of their backline of the game map. Place the 5 victory stars in reach, and now you’re ready to play.
Gruntz is made up of turns, and on each turn players will either move 1 unit on the map and then deploy 2 units to the map or move 2 units and then deploy 1 unit. Movement always comes before deployment, and when a player moves their units onto an opponent’s unit (or over in the case of aircraft), then they can destroy it.
Now, each unit can only attack and destroy units according to the rules; for example, infantry grunts can destroy trucks, grunts, and captains, but fighters can destroy all units except tanks. It’s also important to note that when vehicles or aircraft are destroyed and removed from the game, all Infantry return to a player’s reinforcements.
A player will win if they are the first to collect 3 victory stars, and they do this by controlling capture points. They will earn 1 victory star if they control 2 capture points or earn 2 if they control all 3 at the end of their turn. It’s important to note that only infantry: grunts or captains can control capture points. A player can also win instantly if they can move their captain onto the opponent’s backline HQ.
Game Experience:
Gruntz is easy to learn and super-fast to the table. Set up takes a few minutes and teaching is slightly longer. The hardest thing to master is the rock-paper-scissors of which units can destroy which and movement. There’s a nice player aid to reference and will hopefully clear that up for most players.
I want to emphasize to readers that Gruntz’s overall production values are fantastic. The infantry and vehicle units are wooden meeples with excellent details, and all components, even the game map, emulate the World War 1 image vibe. The vehicles have built-in magnets for cannon, anti-air, or transport attachments so players can mix and match their tanks or trucks. Overall, all the artwork helps with the theme and overall look and feel of the game. My minor issue is that aircraft are two-sided (fighter or bomber) and are cardboard instead of wood to match the other units, which was odd to me.
War games have typical mechanics that players come to understand after playing these games over time. Gruntz uses one of those common mechanics by only allowing infantry (Grunts and Officers) units to control capture points. Infantry units are also not the strongest and, like other wargames, these are your most plentiful units in Gruntz as well. Again, any wargamer should like and consider these nice touches to include these common mechanics in Gruntz.
One of the things that did surprise me is how thinky Gruntz is. This is because you only need to secure 3 victory stars to win, which makes each turn meaningful. It definitely has a chess-like feel to it because you will likely be sacrificing units to ideally control or set yourself up to control capture points in a future turn. Plus, the fact that the Officer can win the game by controlling an opponent’s HQ not only puts a target on this unit; it also allows your other units more opportunities to control capture points.
Now, there are two issues that I did have with Gruntz. The first is that because you only need 3 victory stars, the game feels like it’s too fast. This is primarily because, in most, if not all, opening turns for both players, they are usually able to secure 1 victory star. So, one bad turn or strategy can quickly end the game, which can make a player feel like “that’s it?!” So, because Gruntz can end quickly, it can feel unfulfilling.
The second issue is that Gruntz is very light for a war game. So, if you’re looking for an involved setup, rules complexity, and deep play time, you will not find that in Gruntz. The game is really more of an abstract strategy filler game than the war game it tries to be in theme and mechanics. That does not make it a bad game, but I just want readers to be aware that they should not plan a game night, weekend, or the next few months on like some war games.
Final Thoughts:
Gruntz is an easy-to-learn and fast-to-the-table game with great production values that adds to the war game theme. It includes some typical war game mechanics and is surprisingly thinky because turns feel meaningful.
Now what holds Gruntz back from scoring higher is that it plays very fast, almost too fast, which can leave a player asking “that’s it?!” The game also is a very light filler wargame that might turn more serious wargamers off looking for a longer and deeper experience.
Final Score: 3 Stars – A very light filler abstract war game with excellent production values that plays fast but maybe too fast.
Hits:
• Easy to learn and fast to the table
• Great production & ties into theme
• Includes traditional wargame mechanics
• Surprisingly thinky
Misses:
• Might play too fast
• Very light for a war game
