Armed Conflict Compact

ARMED CONFLICT COMPACT

A fast-paced, tactical wargame in a compact format

Experience the essence of modern land warfare in a compact, beautifully crafted wooden wargame that plays in less than an hour. Manoeuvre infantry, artillery, and armour and exploit the terrain. Each turn consists of only one move, making every decision count.

There are no dice or random combat results. Just tactical decisions, careful planning and the constant challenge of anticipating your opponent. The game is based on our original game, Armed Conflict, but also draws some inspiration from chess. It combines strategic positioning and tactical manoeuvres with the characteristics of modern military units.

Focus on Look and Feel

Holding the grey wooden box of Armed Conflict Compact should feel like receiving a piece of military equipment.

Inside, you'll find a foldable wooden gameboard, 32 wooden unit counters in black and white, and an 8-page Field Manual containing the rules.

We believe a game should cater to all senses. It should look beautiful and have components that feel good in your hands. The painted wood has a distinctive smell, and the elegant rules bring everything together into a pleasant gaming experience.

NOTE: REAL PHOTOGRAPHS COMING SOON! All pictures here are of our digital prototype. The real prototype is almost ready and is only waiting for the stencil to paint the text on the box. We will upload more pictures, videos and gameplay instructions shortly.

So remember to follow the project so you don't miss anything!

Gameplay

GAMEPLAY

Armed Conflict Compact uses a deliberately small set of components:

• A wooden, foldable gameboard
• 16 white unit counters, divided into 4 unit types
• 16 black unit counters, divided into 4 unit types
• A Field Manual (the rules)

And that's all you need to play the game.

There are three terrain types on the gameboard: Open terrain, rough terrain and cities. There are four cities, of which two are white and two black. The black and white cities are at the opposite end of the board.

The three terrain types have their own characteristics: open terrain should be thought of as fields and sparsely populated areas with a dense road network, whereas rough terrain is covered in forest or hills, with limited road connections.

All units can move in open terrain and cities, whereas only infantry units may move in rough terrain. Rough terrain gives a terrain benefit of 1 to units occupying it, which is added to their respective defence values when attacked. A city provides a terrain benefit of 2.

At the beginning of the game each player controls the two cities in their own color, with the help of 16 military units divided into four different unit types: Infantry, airmobile infantry, armour, and artillery.

Objective

The objective for each player is to seize control of one of the opponent's cities. A player loses the game if they have only four or fewer units left.

Units

Warfare is not won by one type of unit acting alone. Success comes from combining different capabilities and using them in the right place at the right time.

Armed Conflict Compact features four types of military units, each contributing to your tactical options. Each unit type has its own attack and defence characteristics and mobility. Learning how they complement one another is essential to making the most of your army.

INFANTRY

The backbone of your forces. With an assault value of 3 and a defence value of 2 they are relatively effective in assaults, but also vulnerable against enemy attacks. They can move two hexes in open terrain and one hex in rough terrain.

Each player starts with 7 infantry units

AIRMOBILE INFANTRY

Gain additional tactical flexibility with infantry capable of moving by air. Airmobile units can break a stalemate and may strike anywhere on the board, provided that there is a free route to the target area. With an assault value of 4 they are a powerful tool against heavily defended enemy positions. The defence value of 2, however, make them vulnerable when stationary.

Each player starts with 1 airmobile infantry unit

ARMOUR

Armoured units with their tanks provide extra protection, but sacrifice some of the assault value of the infantry units. Armoured units are also capable of targeting units from a distance through indirect fire.

Armoured units can move 3 hexes in open terrain, but are not able to cross through rough terrain.

Each player starts with 5 armoured units

ARTILLERY

Artillery units with a range of two hexes provide important support for any ground assault, and can protect your infantry units from approaching enemy units. Keep them out of reach from enemy assaults though, as their defence value is only 1.

Each player starts with 3 artillery units

Three units of the same type can be stacked on top of each other in one particular hex. In other words, any given hex can hold units of only one type.

Choose from three types of actions each turn

Only one action can be performed during a turn. The player can do one of the following:

1. Move units from one hex to any other hexes within the units' reach
2. Attack a unit in another hex with indirect fire
3. Perform a ground assault against an adjacent hex

Move units to position them for defence or attack, strike enemy units with indirect fire to shape the battlefield and weaken the resistance, or perform an assault to seize control of enemy held areas.

Indirect fire attacks

During a turn a single enemy unit can be targeted by multiple units capable of indirect fire (artillery and armour). Because there is no dice and no uncertainty, an attack is only valid if the sum of the attacking units' attack values exceeds the defending unit's defence value (and any applicable terrain benefit).

Ground assaults

Units adjacent to an enemy occupied hex can perform an assault against the hex, to seize control of it, and at the same time defeat all the enemy units defending it. Similarly to an indirect fire attack, the assault is only valid as a move if the sum of all the attacking units' assault values exceeds the sum of the defenders' defence values (and any applicable terrain benefit).

A ground assault can also be supported by indirect fire from artillery and armoured units within range, to add to the total assault value.

When determining the result of the battle, the defending player may also account for indirect fire units they have within range, which can target one of the assaulting units to eliminate it from the total assault value sum.

As soon as the first draft of the rules is ready, we will upload it here. There you will find a detailed description of how assaults and indirect fire attacks are determined, together with examples. The basic principle is simple: compare two sums, as explained above.

Deterministic battle

In many wargames, a carefully planned attack can fail because of an unlucky roll (which of course resembles reality, where battle is chaotic and hard to predict). In Armed Conflict Compact, this layer of uncertainty is stripped away, forcing you to solely focus on the tactics without relying on luck.

Because you know both what your forces can achieve and what the enemy is capable of, the challenge is to create favourable situations. Concentrate your strength where it matters. Exploit weaknesses. Protect vulnerable positions. Force your opponent to respond to threats on several fronts.

Fog of war (optional)

To introduce some uncertainty, players can choose to keep their unit counters standing upright to hide your unit types from the enemy. Only when units end up in adjacent hexes to each other are you forced to reveal them.

Add-on: Standalone hexes for a dynamic board

The core game includes a gameboard with a fixed layout, giving you a ready-made battlefield for your next tactical contest.

For players who want more variety, we are planning an optional set of freestanding wooden hexes. Use them to modify the standard battlefield, experiment with different layouts or create a new randomised battlefield for each game.

Changing the layout changes the tactical problems you face. Different positions create different opportunities, and a new battlefield can require an entirely different approach to attack and defence.

The modular hex set is an optional add-on, so you can choose the experience that suits you. Start with the standard board, or expand your options with a battlefield you can configure yourself.

Products and Prices

PRODUCTS AND PRICES

We estimate that the core game will be priced at between 70 and 90 euros in the crowdfunding campaign. The final price will be revealed well before the campaign starts.

The add-on with the standalone hexes will be priced between 10 and 20 euros.

The final prices depend on the materials and production methods we settle on. We will obviously try to make the game as affordable as possible for you, while still not compromising on quality.

A new take on Armed Conflict

A NEW TAKE ON ARMED CONFLICT

Armed Conflict Compact builds on the ideas behind our original wargame, Armed Conflict, while taking a deliberately different approach.

The original game offers an alliance-based game for up to six players with a broader battlefield and dice-based combat. Compact pares the experience down to its tactical essentials, with a smaller map, streamlined rules and deterministic combat.

Neither approach is intended to replace the other. They offer different experiences for different occasions.

Want a longer game with the unpredictability of dice-based battle and logistics elements? The original Armed Conflict is there for you.

Want a focused tactical contest where every engagement can be evaluated and every decision carries weight? That's where Compact comes in.

The result is a standalone game that captures the appeal of tactical land warfare in a more abstract, less chaotic way.

How it all Started

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The game is designed by Sebastian Kihlman and published by Bockholm Games, a Finnish board game design studio. The studio's first game, Armed Conflict, was funded in a successful crowdfunding campaign on Gamefound in late summer 2025. Armed Conflict Compact is influenced by that original game, but with a completely new design philosophy.

This is Sebastian's story of how it all began.

It was during the summer of 2025 and the development and preparations for the Armed Conflict campaign were in full swing. I was camping with my daughter on a remote island in the Finnish archipelago over a weekend.

While we were enjoying the beauty of the Gulf of Finland and the tranquillity of nature, an idea of a very simple and elegant, scaled down version of Armed Conflict started to take shape in my head. Together with my daughter we started to playfully test out the idea on the smooth granite cliffs at the shore.

We carved hexes with a rock. Sticks were infantry, small stones were tanks, and pine cones were artillery. Together we started to form the basic ruleset, which was simple enough to keep in mind without any aid, yet comprehensive enough to catch the essence of combined arms warfare.

Although my daughter probably didn't grasp the full extent of what the abstraction represented, she loved playing it – to my delight and slight surprise. And so did I.

I kept the idea in the back of my mind, and when work on Armed Conflict allowed it, I began drafting a first prototype and playtesting it with other players. Now it's almost ready and only requires the funding needed to produce it professionally.

Why Follow Now?

HELP BRING ARMED CONFLICT COMPACT TO LIFE

The development of Armed Conflict Compact is largely complete, and the next step is a crowdfunding campaign to bring the game to life. We will launch the crowdfunding campaign as soon as we have a sufficient number of followers here on Gamefound.

By following and backing the project, you'll help us take the game from its current development stage to a finished physical product. Your support will help us move forward with production and bring this compact wooden wargame to your table.

We are aiming for delivery in early 2027, but the timeline depends on how soon we can bring together the follower base needed to realistically fund the game. We will share further updates as the prototype, production preparations and campaign develop.

If you enjoy tactical games that reward careful planning, appreciate distinctive wooden components, or simply want a wargame that fits into a shorter gaming session, we invite you to join us.

Don't miss the opportunity! Click Follow and get notified when the campaign starts!