Kursk: Drive on Prokhorovka Playtest 2 Optional Ending

Okay, if you're the German player and you've reached 0 morale points (out of 50) without capturing Prokhorovka , the gentleman with the eye patch in the photo is not happy with you.  That is Paul Hausser, the commander of II SS Panzer Corps.

In the original version of this scenario, the German player starts making Morale checks on the Morale card once the Germans reach 0 morale points.  Once the Germans fail a morale check, the game ends and the Soviets win.  Somehow, this left me a little underwhelmed.  It seemed like a real disappointment for the German players to battle through the entire operational campaign and then have the game end on a single die roll.

So, here is an alternate ending process that gives the German players a chance to still attempt to win the game while higher headquarters slowly pulls away resources and diverts them to the efforts to assist Army Detachment Kempf and Das Reich southeast of the battlefield.

First, the German players always have the opportunity to just end the game if the division fails its Morale check.  If they decide to continue because victory is just within their grasp, the following game end rules take effect:

• They immediately lose all 3 Air Support cards from the German deck.
• The two battalions from Das Reich Division are immediately removed from the table.
• On each of the subsequent Morale cards, the German player must select and remove from the table one of the following major formations in any order he chooses:  1st SS Recon Bn, 1st SS AT Bn, 1st SS PG Regiment, 2nd SS PG Regiment, and 1st SS Panzer Regiment.

I'll finish up the playtest with this optional ending and let you know how it goes!!