There are many reviews of Memoir '44 available online. This review is specifically about Memoir '44: Overlord, of which there are none on BGG (at least, none not buried in the general Memoir reviews). The intent of this review is to record my experiences playing Memoir '44: Overlord, and in particular playing with four players. I note that I've only done this once, but I don't expect it to hit the table that often and it went much better than expected, so it's worth relating to others who might have some trepidation about trying that.

For those unfamiliar but thinking of jumping in, here's the scoop on the different games & expansions discussed (or not) in this review:

• Memoir '44 is a fiercely popular "wargame" which, if you haven't heard of it, you should check your pulse.
• Memoir '44: Overlord are rules posted online by Days of Wonder when the game was originally released that provide for playing with multiple players using two sets of the game.
• Memoir '44: Operation Overlord is a separate, commercially available expansion that allows you to play Overlord scenarios without a second copy of the game, as well as markers and tokens for new scenarios.

Again, for anyone not familiar with Memoir, the key idea is that the board is broken up into three columns between the two players. These are identified as the left, right, and center flanks. On their turn, players choose and play a card from their hand that indicates which units in what flanks they may order to move and fight. For example, cards might say "Order any 2 units on the center flank," or "Order 1 infantry unit in each of the left and right flanks." Some cards, called tactics cards, may order units across all the flanks or have other special effects.

The original Memoir rules included a very basic set of team play rules using one board. In them, each team member is assigned a flank. The team as a whole chooses a card to play from their hand, and the team member(s) associated with the relevant flank(s) execute it. A designated commander in chief for each team executes all tactics cards. This could be fun, but it doesn't sound like there would be much autonomy among team members and wasn't very appealing to our group---way too much discussion and consensus making. Wars are won by grand generals and heros, not committees!

Fortunately, the free, official Overlord expansion rules available on the web expand on the team play and make it much more interesting.

In Overlord, two boards are laid next to each other to form one large board. Each column on the original boards is a section on the Overlord board, each adjacent pair of which then constitutes a flank. So, the first two columns on the first board make up the left flank, the last two on the second board the right flank, and the middle sections crossing the boards the center flank. As a minor side note, the boards lay down and match up very nicely.

Each member on both teams is assigned a flank. One of the players is again denoted the commander in chief for that team; with four players on a team this player does not have a flank of their own. The commander holds the team's cards and may not reveal them to anyone. On the team's turn, the commander distributes up to a total of three cards to the team members (including themselves, unless it's a four member team). They may split the cards any way they choose---players may get none, one, or two cards. They then choose which section(s) of their flank(s) to execute them in and do so; tactics cards are applied to the entire flank. Once done, the commander draws two fresh cards.

An additional interesting twist is that the commander may only discuss with one of those players what they wish them to do with the cards they're given. In this way, the commander may oversee strategy but does not have complete command & control.

The Overlord rules focus on 6 and 8 player games. This is how we arranged our four player game:

• The commander in chief managed the deck and center flank orders.
• The "field marshal" team member executed left and right flank orders.
• The commander and field marshal could not discuss cards or orders.

This scheme worked really well. At first we were concerned that Memoir would not work well as a team game---though Epic, team BattleLore has worked well in our experience---but this scheme worked out great for our four player game.

The restriction that players may not discuss strategy is crucial. On the one hand, it gives the field marshal more autonomy because they are making their own decisions in ordering units, rather than being told what to do by the commander when given their card(s). On the other hand, it makes things more interesting for the commander because they need to squirm & plan around the marshal not doing what the commander intended when they chose the cards, frequently watching in quiet frustration as their plans are not implemented as they saw them. Some groups may have trouble adhering to this rule---there is definitely room to cheat ("Well, hmm, maybe I'll just go _recon_ to the _left_ of the kitchen for some more chips?!")---but if played in good faith it's a great time and very interesting.

Playing with two boards and a larger scenario is probably also important. The rules would work with minor tweaks for a one board setup, and it would probably be fun. However, by having many more units and hexes on the table, the marshals have many more options, granting them more autonomy and enabling more decision making.

Being permitted to give out up to three cards per team is also a very interesting mechanic, since teams only draw two cards each round. It will allow them to do more per turn, but it will also burn out their hand eventually, unless they come across Recon cards that allow them to restock. This makes for some great decision making between pushing the initiative and not running out of options.

Also notably, an additional rule in Overlord is that if a field marshal is given no cards for a commander, they may roll a die for their flank(s) and activate one unit in that flank of the type that is rolled. The risk is that they must suffer a casualty or retreat if a grenade or flag is rolled, respectively. We played that the field marshal could roll in this way for any flank for which they did not get a card. So, if the commander gave them only one card, they could roll the die for the other flank. If they received no cards, they could roll the die for each flank. The commander could also do similarly if they allocated no cards to themselves. This mechanic is interesting & ensures everyone always has at least some option and a decision to make, though it may not be worth risking...

These are a few notes on resources needed to play:

• Two copies of Memoir '44 are needed. Again, using two maps and a larger scenario is crucial. All or nearly all of these will require more terrain and unit pieces than is included in one game. If these are not owned by the same player, make sure to take good notes on what items came from which set. It helps to divide by flank or section as much as possible, i.e., everything on this board is yours, everything on this board is mine. However, removable terrain and units will get moved around a lot on the table so notes should be taken. Be sure to record whether it is an axis or allied piece.
• You need to have a copy of the Overlord rules with you; download them from the web and print them out or bring a laptop. The differences between section and flank and what cards apply to what are slightly slippery to really get your mind around. Some of the tactics cards also work differently or have clarifications for Overlord in those rules. The commanders will consult these heavily until they get a handle on the revised game, so have a copy handy.
• The two boards combined are fairly long. A 6' long table would work well. However, a 4'x4' table with the board laid diagonally and slightly hanging over the edges works great. This keeps everyone close, but leaves much room for the team members to sit comfortably opposite each other on the corners. Notably, by each person sitting on their own table edge, field marshals are prevented from accidentally seeing what the commander has in their hand.
• Some kind of chits or other markers are useful to track what units have been ordered. In a large scenario, there can be a fair number of units activated, then moved, then fired, so it's worth explicitly tracking. This is particularly so if some players are unfamiliar with the game or the group is moving more slowly. Which units may still fire after their movement is also very easy to lose track of. As units were activated we placed small dice alongside them. These were moved with the units, then removed from any that had moved too far to fire. After that it was a simple matter to resolve fire for any remaining units with dice. This simple process greatly sped up and improved the game.

Importantly, both our field marshals (including myself) and our commanders felt they were making enough decisions throughout the game; we had been concerned that field marshals would not feel as active and would lack enough autonomy to stay interested. However, the combination of not discussing strategy with (read: having to listen to) the commanders and having many options for units and sections with two boards in play on a larger scenario gave them plenty to do. Especially early in the game, the double board setup and sheer number of units both encourages and rewards commanders and field marshals to focus on their flanks, increasing the autonomy of each as well as the feel and theme of the game. Giving the field marshals two flanks also largely balances out the additional decision making done by the commander in choosing the cards for both players.

In short, despite our initial concerns, all of our field marshals and commanders were very happy playing Memoir '44, Overlord style, and would definitely do it again so we recommend it to others as well!