The Finnish Trilogy from Miku Games “Making boardgames with Sisu”

The Finnish Trilogy from Miku Games is an epic wargame trilogy about the Finnish struggle to remain a free and independent country during World War II. The game is being produced in three volumes: Volume I – Winter War 1939-1940 campaign; Volume II – Continuation War 1941-1944 campaign and Volume III – Lapland War 1944-1945 campaign.

There are very few boardgames available that cover Finland and the 1939-1940 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union – and none that adequately cover Finland’s later involvements in World War 2, the Continuation War (the second war between Finland and the USSR) and the Lapland War (the subsequent conflict between Finland and Germany). This is the first, and the design and preparation of this Game Trilogy has been a ten year saga of hard work, dedication and above all a labor of love by Miku. This Game is the Rolls Royce of Boardgames and if wargaming Finland in WW2 is something you’re interested in, I encourage you to take a look at the MikuGames website and place an order…

The Finnish Trilogy 1939-1945®

The Finnish Trilogy 1939-1945® is a series of three Games, set at an operational level, about the Finnish struggle during various parts of the Second World War.

Game I – The Winter War

On November 30th, 1939 the Soviet Red Army crossed the Finnish border in attempt to conquer the entire country within a few weeks. Quite soon, it became evident that the Finns, despite being totally outnumbered, were not an easy match. They were better equipped for the cold winter conditions in which the fighting took place than their opponents. Finnish unit mobility was high and moving in deep forest was no problem. On the other hand, the Soviet troops were scared to death of the forests and stayed as close as possible to the few roads. The Finnish soldiers fought with great determination, the war was followed around the world and a great sympathy for the small country up in the north grew in many countries. Soon, place names like Suomussalmi, Tolvajärvi, Kuhmo and Kollaa, to name a few, became famous for the heroic Finns fighting against overwhelming odds.

The first game of the trilogy is the famous Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union, often referred to as an epic battle between David and Goliath. Historically the campaign lasted for 105 days, but will you as the Finnish side be able to last that long, or maybe longer? The game can last up to 16 turns (1 December 39 – March 1940), but in the 3rd Gameset (The Lapland War), there will be an extended option for the Winter War included, with a possible Allied Intervention.

The objective for the Soviet side in this Game is to capture as many important cities and factories as possible, as well as destroying the Finnish Army. But time is not on the Red Army’s side and Allied Intervention is always a possibility. The prestige of Stalin and the Red Army is at stake…… and for the Finns, their continued independance is a vital objective.

Game II – The Continuation War

Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941. Finland, now a co-belligerent with Germany against the USSR, used the opportunity to regain the areas of Finland lost to the Soviet Union as part of the bitter Winter War peace terms. A 200,000 man strong German “Armee Norwegen”, operates  in northern Finland as part of Barbarossa. Finland and Germany are fighting two separate wars against the same enemy. Finnish units reach their objectives in late December, 1941, and a static period in the war then began (the so-called “Trench War”).

In the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army launched a major offensive on the Karelian Isthmus after the withdrawal of the German “Heeresgruppe Nord” from the Leningrad area. Finnish units couldn’t hold back the Red Army. Viipuri (Vyborg) was lost and the situation was critical. The largest battle ever fought in Northern Europe took place at Tali-Ihantala. Miraculously, the Finns managed to halt the Soviet onslaught, and because Stalin was eager to reach Berlin before the Americans, he decided to withdraw a number of units from the Finnish front. Finland was again saved by the bell.

This second game of the Finnish Trilogy is the largest and most complex. Both Finnish and German units take part and the grand campaign from 1941 to 1945 can take up to 155 turns. For the “trench war” period, special rules speed up playing considerably. There are also two short scenarios, one for 1941 and a second for 1944. For anyone wanting to game the Continuation War, this is really the ONLY detailed boardgame for this specific front of WW2 that is available.

Game III – The Lapland War 1944-1945

Officially, the Lapland War started with the Finnish naval landing at Tornio (near the Swedish border) on October 1st, 1944. This was a bold surprise attack in the Germans back, the former brother in arms. From September 4th, 1944, Finland was no longer at war with the Red Army, as the so called Continuation War had ended and a peace agreement with the Soviet Union had been signed. One tough part of the peace terms was, that all German units were to be handed over to the Soviet Union. Because this was impossible, due to the fact that there were over 210.000 Germans in the northern Finland, the former brothers in arms had to fight each other under the supervision of the Soviet control commission. In the Barents Sea region, in an attempt to crush the German “20.Gebirgs-Armee” once and for all, the Soviet Army launched a large-scale attack called the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation. The last Germans left Finnish soil in April, 1945.

The final volume of the Finnish Trilogy is an expansion, also loaded with a lot of extra features for the complete trilogy. In other words, to be able to fully use this package, ownership of both the earlier volumes is a requirement. The Lapland War game includes the German operations “Tanne West” and “Tanne Ost” as well as the “Birke” and “Nordlicht” plans. The Lapland War game is divided in two separate campaigns, the one between the retreating Germans and Finnish units and the one between the German Mountain Corps and the Red Army north of the polar circle.

Note that the Lapland War game includes rules, unit counters and orders of battle, but no map (Maps from the earlier two games are used).

About Miku Games

Miku Games is based in Eskilstuna, Sweden and started working on this project, now named “The Finnish Trilogy 1939-1945®” in 2003, when he intended to develop the Winter War Campaign only. Things changed, as they do, and the game extended to include both the Continuation War and the Lapland War, whereupon it became a Trilogy.

Pre-ordering The Finnish Trilogy 1939-1945®

Miku Games is currently working to get enough paid-up pre-orders to finance the initial production run of the Finnish Trilogy. Being essentially a one-person shop developing and publishing this game himself without the backing of one of the established Gaming Companies, Miku needs confirmed pre-orders before it’s possible to go to production.

If you are interested in buying any of the volumes in The Finnish Trilogy 1939-1945®, I recommend you go the the Miku Games Pre-Order Page to do a pre-order. The recommended retail price will be about 34 % more expensive than the current pre-order price. Note, that when pre-ordering the Whole Trilogy (all three volumes), there is an additional 10 % discount!

Let me say that based on all the information available on the Miku Games website, The Finnish Trilogy 1939-1945® is a true boardgaming work of art and the culmination of many years of research and design effort. If you’re interested in gaming the Winter War, Continuation War and Lapland War, The Finnish Trilogy from Miku Games is highly recommended. Buy it for yourself! Buy it for a present! (and no, I don ‘t get a commission – but I have pre-ordered the entire Finnish Trilogy for myself and I’m looking forward to receiving it as the printing process is underway and shipments start going out early in 2014 according to Miku.

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