Osprey Games OSP8935 Escape from Colditz 75th Anniversary Edition Game for 14 years to 18 years,Multicolor,11.6 x 2.8 x 426.72 inches

Product Information

The TV series proved popular in the UK, and former Colditz POW and escapee Major Pat Reid, who had written several books about his wartime experiences, co-designed a board game with Bob Brechin and Brian Degas as an official licensed tie-in to the TV series. Escape from Colditz is a board game produced by Gibsons Games of London in 1973 that simulates attempted escapes by Allied prisoners-of-war (POWs) from Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz Castle) during World War II. Here’s the idea; 1-5 players will take on the role of Escape Officers who must get two of their colored POW pawns out of Colditz castle, escaping into the wilderness and hopefully to safety. We did love the doubles rule for rolling as well as it allowed several major escapes with 3 multiple doubles being rolled giving a 32 movement allowance. Several times I executed wonderful escape plans, timed to perfection so that the Security Officer was busy dealing with other players, and yet despite having a seemingly clear run with the nearest guard some distance away a simple change of fortune lost me the game.

Watching carefully what the PoWs are doing, upon his turn and having thrown the dice, moves his men similarly to the Escape Officers, circle to circle, up to the total dice throw. The POW in the cells is released if the Escape Officer rolls doubles, or plays an appropriate Opportunity card. It’s stories like these that seem to be plucked straight from Hollywood movies that make Escape from Colditz an exceedingly enjoyable and often cinematic experience. Now, Osprey Games has published a new edition of the title to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the real-life breakout next year. I’ve not played the older version of this game, and hadn’t heard of it, so a game about Colditz was just so exciting!In this picture, the Guards played the ‘Shoot to Kill’ card to eliminate a prisoner that was oh so close to getting out! Escape Officers may combine members of their respective teams if they wish and may employ false trails, distractions and bluffs to confuse and outwit the German Security Forces. Other mechanics include safe spots for prisoners, saving them from being arrested, and spotlights that illuminate spaces that prisoners cannot stop on.

There’s no national powers for each country’s POWs and there’s no scenarios, so there’s less room for ‘new’ plays down the line. I was very excited to play this game after seeing it at Gen Con 2016, and honestly, I’m enamoured by what the product is. The inside of the box features a paragraph detailing the hardships of the prisoners kept at Colditz and the work of the Red Cross to help keep them alive through food parcel deliveries. As you should by now have realised, this anniversary edition is an all-embracing package, which celebrates and extends both the original game and the background that led to its original production. The game ends with a German win if the countdown gets to Zero without any one other player making 2 successful escapes.

Everything from opening tunnels, to avoiding equipment loss when being arrested, to bribing a guard for a piece of Escape Equipment are included, plus a whole lot more.