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France '40 contains two separate games - Sickle Cut and Dynamo. Both games use the same rules and share many game pieces, but each has a separate full size map.
Sickle Cut: Guderian's Drive to the Channel
This game covers the crucial week in May 1940 when the German army broke the French line on the Meuse and raced to the sea at Abbeville. The game starts on May 13th, the third day of Case Yellow. Six panzer divisions have passed through the Ardennes and are now at the Meuse River. The French and British have raced through Belgium to reach the Dyle Line and cover the Gembloux Gap. The stage is set. Can the Germans cross the Meuse in front of strong opposition? And, if they can, will they be able to break out from the bridgeheads and advance across the map while threatened by Allied reinforcements pouring in from the north and south?
Dynamo: Retreat to Victory
This game covers the British withdrawal to Dunkirk and the evacuation. The game starts on May 24th, the day the British decide that the B.E.F. is in real danger of being cut-off from their supply base and the best option is to head for the coast at Dunkirk. However, many of the German panzer divisions are closer to Dunkirk than the British. Can the British reach the coast before the Germans? Can they hold the Dunkirk perimeter for eight days while they evacuate?
The rules for both games highlight armor, air support, and morale. Special rules include: Allied Heavy Tanks, DeGaulle, Rommel, Hitler's Halt Order, and French Command Paralysis. Note that the two maps may be linked together for players to study the entire period from May 13th to June 3rd, but there is no combined game scenario.
TIME SCALE: 1 day per turn
MAP SCALE: 4 miles per hex
UNIT SCALE: Divisions, Brigades, Regiments, and Battalions
COMPONENTS:
2 Paper Maps
2 Countersheets
24 Page Rulebook
16 Page Playbook
2 Identical Player Aid Cards
2 Setup Cards
Two 6-sided Dice
DESIGNER: Mark Simonitch
MAP & COUNTER ART: Mark Simonitch
(from GMT website and BGG user)
- Rich historical flavor and realistic operational feel
- Expanded 23-turn combined scenario increases scope and replayability
- Strong solitaire play; can play both sides
- High-quality components and well-organized rules and playbook
- Clear setup aided by order of battle visuals
- High complexity relative to many hex-encounter games
- Long playtime (4-6+ hours for scenarios; longer when combining maps)
- Rulebook density may challenge newcomers
- Mounted map option needed for some setups; combined play requires careful organization
- Hex-based operational-level campaign with historical flavor; zone of control, movement and combined-arms interactions
- France, 1940; WWII campaign across northern France including the Dunkirk evacuation
- Hex encounters wargaming with expanded rules; two scenarios (Sickle Cut and Dynamo) and a combined 23-turn campaign
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Units connect and defend through protective ZOC links, shaping front-line integrity
- Attrition/disengagement/isolation dynamics — Rules and tables for attrition, disengagement, and evacuation in the Dynamo scenario
- Combat results table (CRT) — Structured combat resolution via a CRT with multiple modifiers and outcomes
- Determined defense — Defensive options that influence how units hold and react under pressure
- Rail Movement — Rail-based movement restrictions to simulate historical repositioning and strategic depth
- Stacking and Balancing — Stacking capacity is based on unit-specific stacking value rather than a fixed count
- Stacking by unit value — Stacking capacity is based on unit-specific stacking value rather than a fixed count
- Two-map combined play — Combined Sickile Cut and Dynamo maps allow a larger 23-turn campaign
- Variable Map — Combined Sickile Cut and Dynamo maps allow a larger 23-turn campaign
- Zone of Control Bonds — Units connect and defend through protective ZOC links, shaping front-line integrity
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game you play it's two-player game
- one big thing is that the game has two scenarios but this game has a combined scenario
- France 40 combined game where you take the two maps and combine them into one massive map
- it's a very good solitaire game where you can play both sides