Eastern Front WWII

Joni Nuutinen

About this game

Eastern Front is a huge turn based strategy game set on the Russian Front in World War II. From Joni Nuutinen: by a wargamer for the wargamers since 2011. The latest update: September 2025.

You are both in command of the German WWII armed forces (generals, tanks, infantry, and air force units) and the resource management aspect of the economy. The object of the game is to conquer the Soviet Union as quickly as possible.

This is a large-scale game both by the size of the map and number-of-units, so if you haven't played games by Joni Nuutinen, you may want to start with Cobra, Operation Barbarossa or D-Day before taking on the Eastern Front. Anyone who liked the golden age of physical wargames will find familiar depth here.


What's different on the Eastern Front compared to Operation Barbarossa?

+ Scaled up: larger map; more units; more panzers and partizan movement; more cities; Now you can finally outmaneuver more than just a couple of units to form über-encirclements.

+ Tactical Areas and MPs: Some hexagons are connected together, forming slowly evolving tactical areas, and you can move between such hexagons using tactical MPs instead of regular MPs. This opens up a completely new tactical dimension.

+ Economy & Production: You decide how to use the industrial resources that you capture. Build railway networks, produce Rail MPs, manufacture minefields, manufacture fuel, etc.

+ Railway Network: To navigate the huge game area efficiently, you need to plan where to build the railway network.

+ Generals: Generals support the closest units in battle at the cost of 1 MP, while the front-line units located too far away from Generals might lose 1 MP.


FEATURES:

+ Historical accuracy: Campaign mirrors the historical setup.

+ Long-lasting: Thanks to in-built variation and the game's smart AI technology, each game provides a unique war gaming experience.

+ Experienced units learn new skills, like improved attack or defense performance, extra MPs, damage resistance, etc.

+ Good AI: Instead of just attacking on direct line towards the target, the AI opponent balances between strategic goals and smaller tasks like encircling nearby units.

+ Settings: Various options are available to alter the look of the gaming experience: Change difficulty level, hexagon size, Animation speed, choose icon set for units (NATO or REAL) and cities (Round, Shield, Square, block of houses), decide what is drawn on the map, and much more.

+ Inexpensive: The entire WWII eastern front for the price of a coffee!


"The Eastern Front was a war of extremes. The soldiers fought in the hottest summers and the coldest winters. They marched through forests and swamps, and they fought in the ruins of cities."
- Military historian David Glantz

Ratings and reviews

One of the few good mobile games. Much like the 1980s Atari classic of the same name in gameplay but with many more units and detail. With many levels to challenge any skill. I beat it, but I had to do it on easy, there is also a very easy and ultra easy. You really feel like a genuine field martial, with about the same degree of control. Not to much detail, but you also have to work with what you are given and you aren't messing with war appropriations and public relations like in some games.

Of the 25 or so games I have from the series this one has been the most fun. One of the key differences is that you have to manage the encircled Russan units. Once these units HPs are depleted they become supplies that can be captured. As commander you must choose between speedly moving east with all your forces or leaving units behind to capture the much needed supplies (winter clothes, mud gear, pontoons, etc). All in all great game, A+.

I decided to upgrade my rating and rewrite the review. The game is challenging and addictive. My only real complaint is that it drags on too long. The epic scale of the game makes me impatient when I have conquered Leningrad and Moscow and most of Russia and I still have to slog against a stiff resistance. By that point I just want the game to be over. But overall a good game and I recommend it.

What’s new

+ Several changes to prevent tomfoolery: dugouts disband into random replacements, enemy cities left unclaimed might form a new unit
+ Coldest month February skips one 'week'
+ Removed the setting to use the ancient infantry icon
+ Cliffs