Cataclysm: A Second World War

In Cataclysm: A Second World War’s full scenario, the table starts talking long before the guns do. The major powers weigh alliances, resources, and routes across the map, while I, as Germany, had that uncomfortable feeling that everyone was waiting for me to make the first move. Naturally, they were waiting because I could.

The early turns are about annexing neutral countries without setting off a general war. You want them for their resources, or because they open a route towards somewhere useful; somebody else wants them for precisely the same reason. Diplomacy is conducted with flags, and Germany begins with the greatest diplomatic strength. That is not merely a modest advantage. It is permission to put a hand on the map.

The other powers gain flags chiefly when aggressive diplomacy from another ideology provokes them. So a loop forms: I take something, you provoke me, I gain the means to take something back, and suddenly the neutrals are being divided up in the first turn with the familiar rhythm of “one for you, one for me”. The interaction is not subtle here. You look across the table, take the country they wanted, and wait to see which flag they raise next. A fine beginning to a war.

In our game, Germany declined to join that little exchange. The Balkans were left alone, some industrial advantage was surrendered, and America’s task was thereby made theoretically much harder. Cataclysm makes its point early: the most aggressive move is not always the most troublesome one; sometimes the quiet choice leaves your opponent without the map they had planned for.