Cataclysm: A Second World War

Cataclysm is a multi-player game simulating political and military conflict in the 1930s and 40s. The game’s premise is that a second world war could have broken out at any time other than September 1939, given the numerous political crises that signaled the march of fascism against the contemporary international order.

Each player commands a power or group of powers representing an ideology: Fascism (Germany/Italy/Japan), Communism (USSR) or Democracy (UK/France/US). The status quo resides with Democracy, while Communism and Fascism use political or military force to revise the world order to their liking... but once all three ideologies are fighting, another World War is on!

Cataclysm is designed to be playable in one sitting (four or five hours). It currently has one 22" x 34" map, 520 counters, 14 pages of rules, and 4 scenarios (starting in 1933, 1939, 1941, and 1943), plus an "intro" scenario covering just the Crisis in the West from 1937-40. The game scale is army groups, fleets, and air forces; and two years per turn (with multiple impulses). Design goals include a minimum of maneuver elements, a minimum of arbitrary constraints, and a maximum of interaction. Players must do more forward planning than is typical of strategic WWII games, but also must remain flexible to respond to events. There is no sequence of play, everything (including production) is mediated through a chit-pull mechanism.

Cataclysm has been submitted for publication to GMT Games (as of Spring 2013). The lead designer is William Terdoslavich, with supplemental design by Scott Muldoon.