Cinematic battles, slim rules, low cost, and portability – ziplock war games are a unique part of board gaming, and for a person with shelves ever more stuffed with game boxes, finding gems that don’t demand a trove chest’s worth of room is a major win. If you’ve never tried a ziplock game before, you might think lacking a box somehow makes it smaller, or cheaper in the unkind sense. My friend, you are missing out.
Today we’ll give you a rundown on some excellent, fresh war games from the last year (or so) , ready to slip into a suitcase or any spot anywhere, whether that’s the office for a lunch break battle or the car so you’ll always have a great game nearby.
Doodlebugs!
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Games with an aerial focus always get me – the thrum of the propellors, the tight mission windows, the thrill of lining up a bombing run (Queen of the Skies) or getting on the enemy’s tail. (Undaunted: Battle of Britain) Legion Wargames’ Doodlebugs! brings this adventure to the week from June 13th to June 20th, 1944, when Nazi Germany began launching many V1 rockets at Germany. Your goal in this hourlong solitaire affair?
Shoot those missiles down.
Okay, so Doodlebugs is more than a cardboard, historical-themed version of arcade classic Missile Command. The game’s setting comes well before Britain was ready to handle the rockets, so at its beginning you are under assault with few options at your disposal. Barrage balloons and a smattering of weak anti-air is all you have to throw some dice against these incoming rockets. It’s tense, and at first, luck seems to have an outsized role in the proceedings – but that’s part of the game’s effect. You feel, if not powerless, then ready to pray to your deity of choice that the V1’s notoriously shoddy aim works in your favor.
What a blessing, then, when planes rise up to help and now you’re in it, plotting intercepts and gauging which rockets you have to shoot down against those you might let through (and hope for a miracle). The play sequence is so simple, drawing, placing, and moving counters (all functional, the plane counters are a delight) that you fall into an almost hypnotic state, drawn into the rush and roar of those rockets and the desperation to stop them.
Doodlebugs! is a firecracker emergent narrative packed into 60 minutes or less. Light enough to end a night or zip through over lunch, and the solitaire factor ensures it’ll get played. Don’t miss it.
North Africa ‘40 Expansion
2023’s North Africa ‘41, by Mark Simonitch (who also did this expansion) is a Rommel sandbox. The campaigns have you zipping Axis units across the desert, blasting or getting smacked by Allied forces as you go. It’s a setting seen plenty before in different systems, but North Africa ‘41 comes in with a different design ethos: rather than railroad you into Rommel’s moves, you have broad latitude to approach objectives in novel ways, seeing if you can outperform history (or, at least, your opponent).
North Africa ‘40 takes that familiar scene and turns the clock back a few months to make something far more unique. The initial Italian campaign (Operazione E) against British Egypt is the focus here, a poor effort that left much work for the Germans to do. You’ll have the chance here to counter too (Allied Operation Compass) and see if you can really lay waste to the enemy.
The rarer setting is compelling when paired with the simple, engaging rules for Simonitch’s ZOC Bond system (which we’ve detailed here). The big maps of the base game could be daunting at first glance, but supply necessity means you rarely sprawl everywhere, and NA ‘40 isn’t much different. This leads to packed games with the pressure on the Axis player to move, fight, and grab territory lest the Allies hold on for major points and the opportunity to counter. I’ll also note that NA ‘41 has a mounted map option, and the scenarios in that game make for a great series intro, which you can roll right into NA ‘40 once you’re versed in what Simonitch is cooking.
The Emperor’s Sword (The Second World War at Sea)
For the last 26 years, Avalanche Press has been releasing games in their Second World War At Sea series (essentially a WW2 version of their Great War At Sea series) – these games range all over the gamut, from full boxed titles to big expansions like The Emperor’s Sword, delivered in convenient ziplock fashion. 420 new ‘counters’ – I put the quotes there because these are more pieces than squares, with graphics of the vessels and planes done in gorgeous fashion – and a big map extension that brings you from Midway to the US West Coast.
The Emperor’s Sword fires straight into the imagination, playing into the series’ alternate history possibilities. Avalanche Press calls it The Long War, and it includes ships and planes planned by both the US and Japanese that never made it into reality’s play. It’s a fascinating, perfect option for an expansion, as the grounded original game gives you the historical foundation to build on. You can play Midway, the Coral Sea, and romp right along those islands, but this time Japan unveils a new weapon, a new battleship or dive bomber. Is it enough to swing the war back their way?
It’s a fresh dance, delivered in quality form. The counters carry intricate illustrations, much like the other games on this list (it’s always nice to see counters with more than numbers and a flag). The extension map does what it needs to do – gives you plenty of ocean to play with, and you will, because there’s a whopping 35 scenarios to explore here. Just note, you’ll need a copy of Midway to play – which is really just opening the door to this great series.
Heights of Frustration (High Flying Dice Games)
War gaming and solitaire play make great partners, as (don’t know if you were aware) many battles weren’t balanced. Generals didn’t meet up, compare forces, and decided on mutual objectives. Nah, it was shock and awe, grind until the enemy was destroyed, or encircle and force surrender. High Flying Dice Games gets this, and their titles, solitaire or not, dig deep into battles that simply weren’t fair.
And make them fun.
Heights of Frustration
is one of their newest titles, covering the Allied press after Rommel’s defeat at El Alamein and the start of Operation Torch. You’ll be scampering across hills, attempting to capture territory without Axis forces blasting you to bits. The rules give you depth without falling into a fiddly trap – ultimately this strikes a middle ground for solitaire games, letting you get into the action fast without burning hours learning how to move a space. You’re racing less against Axis resistance and more against the historical timeline – can you do better than history?
The components fit the bill – map sheets, plenty of counters, rules and a player aid (seriously – player aids should be standard by now for any game above, say, UNO’s level of complexity). What makes Heights and High Flying Dice games so easy to recommend isn’t just their quality, it’s the exceptional price point. These are impulse buys that deliver.
Great War Battles
Revolution Games, with their Blind Sword series on the Civil War, has been making excellent ziplock games for a long time (yes, you can find many of them in boxed editions if you prefer). In 2022, they debuted a new series, dubbed Great War Battles, referring to WW1, and came out swinging. Always quality, Revolution took the first title, Death of an Army, and gave it thick counters, clear map sheets, and a set of rules that creates a fascinating battle without a counter quagmire.
Because that’s what you’ll be worried about at first, seeing all those squares in play. But then you’ll realize there’s no real stacking, and those numbers will dwindle fast as conflict joins. Soon you’re plugging holes and trying to hold critical territory. Artillery blasts everywhere, and can soften up the CRT for your assaulting troops if used correctly.
In 2026’s Tankschlacht, the battle of Cambrai gets similar treatment, with a nudge up in complexity to handle the vehicles and their assorted silliness. Play the two titles back to back to get the whiplash moving from trench to mobile warfare (and enjoy how the rules manage to capture both without too many changes). I’ll also note that these two titles are the largest of the ones on this list, not monsters but ready to devour a full Saturday or weekend to run from start to finish. That’s neither a positive or a negative, except to say that ziplock games can pack just as much staying power as their boxed counterparts.
All told, ziplock war games remain a great source of excellent expansions, innovative new mechanics, and fun without the shelf space or high prices of big box titles. Don’t sleep on these, particularly when packing for your next trip: no matter how full your suitcase, you can always squeeze in a ziplock game!
