Designed by: Hermann Luttmann
In Magnificent Style is a solo-game for history buffs who like to push their luck.
In case that sounds a bit too niche, and you are neither of those things, let’s clarify. In the game, the player controls three divisions of Confederates, ordered by General Lee to attack the Union line in a battle that took place in 1863. It came to be known as Pickett’s Charge, and in reality, was fated to fail spectacularly and lead Pickett himself – leading one of the divisions – to castigate Lee after the event. And the game invites you to take Pickett’s place and try your luck against almost insurmountable odds, in reaching the far side of the battle and then successfully taking Union positions by bayonet.
It all sounds rather grisly, and no doubt was, but though the theme is somber the gameplay is anything but. At heart it’s very simple; a dice-chucker where you need to chuck successful rolls in order to move your brigades forward across the battlefield. But if you push your luck too much, your men will fall back to their starting position.
Each of the three divisions advances in straight lines across the board, and over five rounds you move the three units in each division as far as you dare, rolling two dice. High rolls push you forward (the higher the better) whereas almost every roll with a 1 in it stymies you. A double 1 is a rout, which is not good at all! Hits are recorded by lowering the value of each unit, and if a unit hits zero it is wiped out. At any time you can choose to quite rolling and hold your position, but the longer you’re in the battlefield, the more hits you are taking, and the less likely it is you’ll survive a melee when and if you make it to the Union lines. Certain rolls trigger events that can be helpful (sometimes) or not helpful at all (most of the time). After five rounds the game is over, and the rulebook supplies a scorechart so you can work out how well you did – or usually, how badly…
You're playing solo (or with a pal) so losses are inflicted by the dice, and nothing else.
None. There's no waiting for your turn.
Despite the rather dense appearance of the rulebook (A5, with tiny type, like an enthusiast has photocopied it at work) In Magnificent Style is pretty light on the rules. Often wargames are drowning in special exceptions and what-ifs, but they're almost absent here. The bayonet battle is comparatively fiddly compared to the death-march across the battlefield (roll two dice! see what happens!) but the main thing here is probability - or, if you prefer... fate.
It depends how much you like the challenge of near-impossible odds being surmounted.
1-1
Players
12+
Years
30-60
Mins
Sam says
I used to be a bit sniffy about solo gaming, because my default setting is that games are a social thing. A crowd's still what I prefer, but two things deflated my snobbery about solo gaming - one was realising that much of my earlier adult life was spent solo-gaming: with a screen. How is that any different? And the other was playing In Magnificent Style, which takes the basic premise of the very-simple, very more-ish Can't Stop and builds a theme (and a few bells and whistles) around it. I don't identify with the Confederates historically, but the idea of willing your side over the line as you hurl dice and demand a double-six is an experience most people can enjoy. So I have been heard bellowing YESSSS or more likely NOOOOOOO whilst playing this, and for all the abstraction of dice, does a decent job of showing how Pickett really was up against it.