Nerds on Earth launched in late 2014 and hit 1.45 million visitors in 2018. We’ve published over 1,900 articles in that time. Many of the early articles covered things we really love, yet we never revisited the topic, even though it’s a favorite of ours.
The Memoir ’44 board game is one such instance. I love Memoir ’44, so it’s only the steady distraction of the new and shiny that has prevented me from highlighting it again and again.
So for those who aren’t familiar, my apologies. Memoir ’44 is a scenario-driven World War II board game. Each scenario approximates a historical battle from WW2, pitting the Allies vs. the Axis powers.
The game play is really slick. It’s *just* enough depth of strategy to hook in a history buff while staying well below the fiddly simulation-style mechanics of a typical heavy war game. In short, it’s a beautifully done WW II game for the masses and I love it for that.
Up until now, Memoir ’44 hadn’t done air support well but that changes soon with the upcoming release of Memoir ’44: New Flight Plan. The expansion adds a dozen little fighter and bomber miniatures plus the cards and chits necessary to run scenarios with them.
The box is like a potato chip bag: it’s mostly filled with air. But the included stuff is A+ quality. ![]()
A look at the scenario-driven play style. 
Minis, cards, and rulebook. ![]()
The rules are clear and elegantly balanced within the standard Memoir ’44 game. 
Cardboard markers and the like are included as well. ![]()
You can see the elements of flavor that the game offers. 
A nice touch: some historical background on each of the plane types is included. ![]()
Just a few additional rules is all it takes.
One thing I think was a miss is the fact that a flowchart or little marketing card wasn’t included that outlines all the various expansions you can get for the Memoir ’44 base game.
New Flight Plan isn’t the only expansion by a long shot. Scenarios for the Western Front, North Africa, and the Pacific Theater are all out there, although I don’t know which are still in print.
In fact, I can’t make heads nor tales of which expansions boxes are needed and what order I should get them in. There are little icons on the top of each scenario but it’s not clearly communicated what each of them mean. So I little flowchart would’ve been welcome. That, and it would increase sales!
But Memoir ’44 is such a great game that I recommend it for nearly all board game collections. And the answer to which expansion to get? Well, all of them! Starting with New Flight Plan.
[Disclosure: Nerds on Earth was provided a copy of Memoir ‘44: New Flight Plan for review.]
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