| Game | Breakout Normandy | Complexity | Medium |
| Company | Avalon Hill | Time | 3-6 |
| Setting | WWII | Solitaire | High |
| Type | Operational | Rating | 9 |
Breakout: Normandy is the fourth in a series of games put out by Avalon Hill Game Company using the impulse system. As its name suggests, the game revolves around the allied D-Day invasions of France in June 1944.
Unlike other names Avalon Hill published with the "D-Day" theme, this game focuses on the actual Normandy campaign. The mapboard spans the area of operation around Caen and the Cherbourg peninsula. Units are brigades or regiments, with important or exceptionally powerful battalions (such as Tiger and 88mm Flak battalions) featured.
The emphasis of this game are the battles for the beaches and brocage. Players looking for the liberation of Paris and crossing of the Rhine should look elsewhere.
Pretty much everything that made D-Day legendary is included.
BKN is based on the impulse system pioneered in Storm over Arnhem. Other games based on this system include Thunder at Cassino and Turning Point Stalingrad. Many of the flaws found in previous systems were rectified.
In previous games, the attacker usually gains a foothold in an area despite losing a battle. This turns into a nightmare for the defender who finds his defences crawling with "spent" attackers. In BKN this is rectified, and a defeated attacker is required to retreat from the space. I think this is a definite plus.
Another improvement over previous design is in regard to defenders in combat. In previous games, the defense capability of an area is determined by the strength of the point defender and the terrain of the area. It is not affected by additional defenders, who only act to prevent a breakthrough by absorbing losses. Furthermore, the choice the "point defender" is pre-defined as either the strongest or weakest unit, depending on the game in question. This inflexibility does not allow the defender a choice of how to deploy his defences. (Perhaps that particular unit is kept in reserve for an important counterattack.)
BKN rectifies this anomaly by allowing the defender to choose his point defender. The defense strength is also bolstered by additional defenders. This makes for a more realistic system overall.
Overall, I think BKN is a great game. It plays reasonably and conveys the feel of the battle very well.
At the start of the landings, the Germans have a very real chance to crush the beachhead. But attempting this will strip the defences bare, and failure will mean outright defeat. On the Allied side, do you hoard your forces to grind the German defences to dust, or do you go for the quick kill? Failure of a swift strike will surely leave much of your forces entangled in the brocage.
Numerous possibilities are available to both sides, but each lacks the resources to exploit them fully. Add to that the need to counter enemy moves, and it is not hard to understand why every game is tension filled.
Although it is possible to play the game solitare, much of the game involves out-thinking and out-daring your opponent. This may be a limitation for solitare as it is really difficult to out-think yourself. (Believe me, I tried, and ended up with 15 to 20 minute impulses.)