What War in the East 2 covers
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 is a turn-based hex-grid wargame about the Eastern Front of World War Two, the land battlefield where the Third Reich and the Soviet Union each commanded millions. It is a full overhaul of the original War in the East, rebuilt by 2by3 Games with a more accurate map, a detailed Order of Battle, new movement and combat models, and an expanded logistics system. The map runs a 106-hex frontage from Rostov to Leningrad, with a single and double rail network plus the historical road network, and road quality combines with terrain to shape movement, combat and supply. Weather changes per hex. There is a built-in encyclopedia of the weapons and units of the Eastern Front, and the rules are explained in a fully comprehensive manual.
Scenarios and campaigns
You can start small or go huge. The short tutorial is the Battle for Velikie Luki, and there are seven Operational Scenarios in total, including Road to Minsk, Road to Leningrad, Operation Typhoon 41, Red Army Resurgent and the Destruction of Southwest Front. On top of that sit three Full Map Campaigns: the 1941-45 Campaign from Operation Barbarossa to the fall of Berlin, Stalingrad to Berlin, and Vistula to Berlin. Air operations get their own phase for many actions, with ground support and transport handled in the movement phase. You can run the air war in full detail in Advanced Air Mode, or move Air Operational Groups on the map and let Air Assist handle most of it from a few orders. Off-map theater boxes cover other theatres such as North Africa and Italy, with garrison requirements, partisan operations and historical campaign events.
Playing it with friends
Steam lists Remote Play Together for this game, so one person running it can stream the session to friends who join in. The tag list also includes Multiplayer, so playing against someone else over the network is on the table. Either way the game stays turn-based: you and whoever is on the other side take your turns across the same hex map, managing the same logistics, weather and air phases.
Before you start
This is a dense simulation. There is a lot to learn before the first turn feels natural, so the tutorial scenario at Velikie Luki is the sensible entry point. Expect to consult the manual, which covers all the new features and improvements, and to keep the in-game encyclopedia open while you identify units. The AI opponent was redesigned and rebuilt by Gary Grigsby, with improved defensive and offensive performance, so a solo game still gives you a real opponent to plan against.