The Bulge is a redesign, by Ty Bomba, of the title originally published by old-SPI in 1979, which was designed and developed by James F. Dunnigan and Eric Smith. That earlier version was, in fact, published under two titles, the other being Big Red One, as part of a marketing effort coinciding with the release that same year of a motion picture of the same name. Under any title, then and now, this design runs counter to the decades-old hobby trend concerning the 1944 German counteroffensive in the Ardennes, in that it's not bigger and more complex than the one published just prior to it. In releasing The Bulge, we're not seeking hobby immortality by claiming yet another reanalysis - this one truly correct! - of the all-critical forest road net; nor have we uncovered any new - and heretofore hidden or ignored! - secrets concerning both sides' sub-divisional orders of battle.

What we're presenting here has merit in four ways. First, it represents a major graphic update and improvement to what had been the minimalist presentation of this game's first edition. The hexes are now dramatically and cinematically huge, and the large counters are much easier to read and handle. Further, you can even choose the type of counters - NATO abstract or full iconic - with which you'll play, mixing and matching between sides and unit-types as you please. Second, we couldn't resist making use of the expertise of Joe Youst - surely this century's leading expert on the Ardennes road net - to update the map in that way. Third, systemic modernizations have also been built in, along with some enhancements to the order of battle, which work to bring the game's original system - certainly clever and innovative by the standards of the 1970s - up to the lofty level of today's state-of-the-art. (This is, after all, still "a Bulge game," which calls forth certain inescapable expectations.) Last, the game has been shortened to cover only the first part of the battle - the interesting part in terms of operational and strategic potentiality - that of the German blitzkrieg offensive, which lasted from 16 through 25 December.

Each hex on the map equals five miles (eight kilometers) from side to opposite side. Each game turn represents one day. Playing pieces represent divisions, brigades, combat commands, regiments or Kampfgruppen of various kinds of infantry and armored formations, each containing from about 3,000 to 14,000 men and/or 50 to 400 armored fighting vehicles. A full VolksartillerieKorps order of battle is included for the Germans, along with special rules for: Allied airpower and corps support, the famed von der Heydte paratroopers, Einheit Steilau, Skorzeny, Kampfgruppe Peiper, and much more.

The Bulge is a low-complexity two-player game that experienced players can count on knocking off in about three hours. A complete (176 total), large-size counter-set is included in both iconic and NATO-style, by famed graphic artist Joe Youst, who also did the map. The game turn sequence is as follows.

1. German Player Turn
   1. German Pre-Movement Combat Phase
   2. German Movement Phase
   3. German Post-Movement Combat Phase
2. Allied Player Turn
   1. Allied Pre-Movement Combat Phase
   2. Allied Movement Phase
   3. Allied Post-Movement Combat Phase