Battle of the Bulge
Step into the gaming world with Battle of the Bulge, one of the top $9.99 games in the App Store! Crafted with creativity and innovation by Slitherine Software UK Ltd., this captivating Board game is bound to grab your attention. With its content rating of 9+, it caters to a wide audience. Ever since its release on 13th December 2012, it has been constantly updated, with the latest version rolled out on 30th November 2017.
Whether you have a liking for Board, Strategy, or Entertainment games, Battle of the Bulge is sure to keep you hooked!
User Ratings
Join the crowd of 59 gamers who have given their verdict on Battle of the Bulge.
Ready to take on the adventure? Get Battle of the Bulge now from the APP STORE.
Dive into Battle of the Bulge
"Battle of the Bulge is a must-have for anyone with an interest in historical wargaming. 5 Stars" – TouchArcade
Battle of the Bulge invites you, the player, to lead the Axis or the Allies to victory on the snowy battlefields of World War II. In this turn-based strategy game, you command your forces to capture important locations, secure key supply routes, and engage the enemy. Designed specifically for iOS, Battle of the Bulge captures the spirit of traditional board wargames while providing excellent UI design and accessibility for new players.
Key features include:
- Play against AI opponents with unique personalities
- Play against friends online through Game Center or on one device with Pass and Play.
- Fast turns, deep strategy
- Play scenarios like the quick, tense, fight in the opening days to a campaign covering the entire battle as either the Axis or the Allies
- Learn with the tutorial and quick start guide, or visit our online strategy forums to learn from other players
- Full rules, charts, tables and other information included for advanced players
- Extensive historical photos and commentary
- Universal support for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch
- Localized for Spanish and Japanese
- Retina support
- First in a series of WWII titles by legendary designers including: John Butterfield, Ted Raicer, and Mark Herman
Praise for Battle of the Bulge:
“It’s completely nailed the right ways to present a tabletop game in a digital format…” — No High Scores
“Battle of the Bulge is a landmark iPad game. It’s deep without feeling complex, and fun without feeling light. Further, it’s beautiful, both visually and aurally, and so intuitive that you don’t need a tutorial to learn the interface. If you’re at all into turn-based gaming, give this one a try. If you’re not, give this one a try, anyway.” — MobileTechReview
“A game that will make historical strategy diehards swoon, while also being pretty enough, and easy enough to learn, to draw in people who never knew that this was the game they’d been waiting for.” — TouchArcade
“In terms of war simulation games on the App Store, I haven’t seen a better game…” — TUAW
“…a game of considerable majesty awaits you…” — Gamezebo
“Easily the most educational game I’ve ever played.” — Eurogamer
"Battle of the Bulge is as cold, brutal, and unforgiving as the titular conflict, but it’s also one of the top choices for hardcore iPad strategists." – Pocket Gamer UK
What’s Fresh in the Latest Update?
Discover what’s new in the recent update of Battle of the Bulge on 30th November 2017:
This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.
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Luck of the Draw scenario repaired for Multiplayer. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to fix Luck of the Draw games that are already desynchronized
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Axis pre-dawn turns spelling corrected.
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Plane incidental sounds will only be heard during clear weather days.
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Combat previews longer show 2 retreat chances next to another.
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Camera controller improved.
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Settings language selection will no longer overlap the close button.
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Computer opponent selection screen text display updated.
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Multiplayer notification overlay now fits to screen.
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Multiplayer game file size reduced by up to 75%.
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"Sorry we were unable to notify your opponent by e-mail it was their turn." – This error will no longer appear while uploading a Multiplayer turn, since the upload has been successful.
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Downloading a game after an opponent has claimed it will no longer cause a crash.
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Added an Exit to Main Menu button in the Multiplayer Chat panel, so that if an upload error occurs multiple times, the player will be able to exit the game normally.
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Fixed bug when Showing notifications while logging into Multiplayer.
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AI can no longer trigger combat after breakthrough.
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Commando will appear in Briefing only during the day it has been used.
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1 SS Panzer Division starting strength in the Endgame scenario set to 3.
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The Endgame victory conditions revised.
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Tournament Bitter End score calculation fixed.
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Added a paper label popup with information about the commando phase.
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Fixed application freeze in tutorial when using non-English languages.
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Mobile units are now able to return to their original space in the same turn, if movement rules allow it.
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The game no longer permits an attack across a bridge from more than one space away unless there is already another friendly unit in the target space AT THE START OF THE TURN. (as stated in the rules)
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All slot saves will work now.
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Language selection will now work in the game scene as well.
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Close button from the accept challenge with password works now.
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Close button from ingame help section will now fit in the screen.
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AI textures corrected for Patton and von Manteuffel.
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Turn indicator time passage will show the time now, as it should have.
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Loading screen background sprite updated.
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Ingame tooltip should fit better in screen bounds.
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Notifications number in tutorial should no longer overlap other menus.
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Menu transition in tutorial.
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PBEM requests will no longer be called if in offline mode.
Hear from the Players – Battle of the Bulge Reviews
Find out what gamers are saying about Battle of the Bulge:
As an old Avalon Hill fan, we love the fact that the game has real tabletop rules that you can follow and understand.
Fun so far but there doesnt seem to be any means of closing out the history screen during the first battle scenario. One must close the app and restart it.
The app determines when the game play is over which is rather annoying. We should be able to continue gameplay irrespective of the presupposed outcome.
Seems like there is no room for any creative thinking. Capture/hold Spa.
Zero music or sounds from the game. And yes, we checked all the settings.
The previous version of this game was one of the all-time best , indeed almost perfect, wargames on iPad on any other platform. This new update, which comes after the original game studio was bought by Slitherine, has some serious problems. Within 5-10 mins of play we noticed that the graphics seemed unstable with occasional sudden weird glitches such as screen shaking. The beautiful amazing elegant sound design of the original game has been messed with and spoiled e.g. With machine gun fire which is loud and goes on for far too long . There are interface formatting glitches not present in the original. And most alarming of all there we found what appears to be a major rule change (I hope it is a bug…) from the original – the change is about movement in the first couple of turns – the AI carried out 3 space strategic movement out of a contested zone !
This used to be a great game until it got bought out. Never any updates to fix the bugs. Wasnt exactly a cheap app either. Just took our money and ran. Too bad. Still fun to play but the bugs and resulting scoring mistakes make us regret having ever purchased it. Lesson learned.
Pros: The history of the battle and the accuracy of the game Cons: boring. Move your pieces to a space with a bridge and then just pass every turn. Very heavily weighted for the defenders. Any offensive movements end in stalemates. We thought it was something wrong that we were doing so we watched the very few YouTube videos that show how to win and most of them lose or end up in a stalemate. Not sure why someone would post a YouTube video showing them losing but thats pretty much standard for the game if you play the axis. Save your money and read the Wikipedia page on Battle of the Bulge.
Save your money. Used to be enjoyable. Buggy like others mention. Our big beef is the lack of AI logic. Im not one to gripe about how tough a game may be but when the computer literally within the first turn wipes out any remote chance of winning its simply not fun. Cmon developers. What? Are you making money off of game points here in stead of sales?
The text is unnecessarily tiny, all but impossible to read, and some of it cut off by the edge of the screen. This is clearly and iPad game and shouldnt be sold as working on an iPhone.
Now a hot pile of steaming garbage. Needs major updates or removed from the app store, cannot even start a game.
We bought this game along with 2 other games they put out in a bundle. One called MOSCOW & the other called DESERT FOX. We’ve tried unsuccessfully to update our purchases but we cannot. Seems the developer didn’t update so the games are worthless. BEWARE this game may too get abandoned after you pay. We would rate it no stars cuz we feel ripped off- LOSERS.
There are several issues with this game and we just downloaded it. The game uses about 80% of our screen. The letters and units are almost illegible. Tried following link for support and it doesn’t go anywhere.
We cant read the rules because they are cut off on the side of the screen. This sis the same for the history section as well. Its a shame. We enjoy the game but am unable to enjoy all of its features.
The colors of the map are green for vegetation and blue for rivers. The counters are also green and blue. It’s impossible to tell who owns a territory unless you go to a seperate supply map, because you can’t tell if the blue outline is an ownership indicator or a river. It’s such a mind-bogglingly dumb design choice. Someone thought it would look cool to have the counter colors match the terrain, but they threw out usability in the process. It’s annoying because it’s a mildly interesting game but it’s unplayable for us because of its visuals. The gameplay often frustrates because of the draconian limitations of movement, but that opinion may be colored (so to speak) by the frustration of thinking a blue line was a zone of control outline rather than a river one too many times. Please give a different counter color option. And of course since this is slitherine the game will soon be abandoned. We already had to buy Drive to Moscow twice.
This was an absolute waste of $10.00 we fell into the trap of these good reviews which were probably put there by developers and people with a vested interest in the app. It is a rudimentary and basic turned based 2D map strategy game where you can get even better ones for free in the App Store. DONT WATE YOUR MONEY ON THIS GAME!!!!!
The app has been abandoned and has an insane amount of bugs to where its unplayable. Dont buy.
This is one of our favorites. We are close to 500 hours on it. It is easy to learn but hard to be good at. Play the AI till you think you are competent or even good. Then play against other players and you will go to a whole new level. The games play quickly and you have many scenarios to choose from. Well worth the few dollars to buy. See you online!
For war gamers, this is the BEST game app in the App Store. WELL worth the purchase price. Easy to play, but still complex enough to be challenging. We play against other players from all over the world. The straight-up "Battle of the Bulge" scenario works well. Unfortunately, the "Luck of the Draw" scenario doesn’t work online, but the "Endgame" version does, and is a very challenging scenario. For new players – play against the AI for a bit, and then challenge or accept a challenge against another player. Hugely rewarding and fun!
So we finally switched to the new version as not many were left to play the original. Plays better than the initial reviews. AI has been lobotomized, we just surrounded about 10 divisions. Much more difficult to understand multiplayer system compared to original Game Center. We will say that once you figure out the multiplayer, there are a lot of good players online. Let’s hope they improve the AI for the next update.
We just got this three days ago and no major issues or glitches running on a newer model iPad mini. It’s very easy to learn yet deep to play, which is ideal for us. It’s not overly complex, perfect for a more casual wargamer but might be too simple for the hardcore wargamer who’s used to 20-page rule books. We play solo against AI and find it very enjoyable, addictive more like it. No experience with multi-player to comment on. We are hooked and am going to pick up the Moscow version next. Cheers.
This update ruined the game. The sound doesn’t work, map zoom is weird, and the entire motion and action of everything is choppy and staccato like. Used to be perfect and beautiful in all regards, worth the money. Now it’s a piece of garbage. Just revert a few versions back and we won’t hate you anymore.
Difficult to understand. The help menu need better instruction on unit movement.
We have this game on an iPad 2. Since the update of December 9, we haven’t been able to complete a single game. We’ve been trying to play "The Bitter End" and the game freezes during the AI movement or reinforcement phase. This happens every time. Definitely not worth the purchase price for new users.
What a mess! Online multiplayer is awful, no turn alerts on the app instead you get an email, great, as if we need more spam to sort through. Consequently it takes hours or days for a turn to take place, not a day, a turn. The older version was much better. The instructions are not very helpful and customer support does NOT get back to you. RIPOFF!
So, they took a game that played great on phones and tablets and then shredded it o make it Windows and Mac compatible… There are tons of games better suited to the pc/Mac environment. Destroying the tablet/phone playability of this game to make it run on those platforms is, well, stupid. Also, the new multi-player interface is a definite downgrade from Game Center. This game has been ruined! Save your $10!
New update makes AI worthless, the game ugly, the feel and sound are not what they used to be. Sometimes the menus won’t even work. All for what?
The last update fixed the impermissible lag, and the game functions just as amazingly as it did before. IPad 3, latest iOS as of this post.
The latest version still relies on the clumsy play-by-email solution. Multi-player is painfully slow and irritating enough that you just want games to end. Graphics and motion don’t render cleanly. There are multiple game rules bugs involving movement, retreat, armor exploit, road function, British unit early movement, and score keeping.
We have an iPad and can say that the game is working great. Our condolences to those with lesser devices … But if you have an iPad, this game now has PC style save slots and is cross platform. Nice work Devs and Slitherine !
We previously wrote a very positive review when this game came out, but wow are the changes annoying. Slower (even on the iPhone 6), smaller harder to read menus, screwed up in game menus, and worst of all there is no password retrieval feature. This game really got the Al Alamein treatment. We guess their new publisher really is a soulless war gaming giant that spits out crappy war games. Sorry guys. We really thought this would breathe some new life into this game but left disappointed.
This was a great game. We have it both on our iPhone and iPad. We gave the original a great review! We don’t want to repeat what others have said about this latest version 2.14 and gave it a one or two rating. Yeah we thought we had a bad download at first. It’s not your iPhone or iPad. It’s the version 2.14. Keep the original version until they fix this!
Combat preview windows are difficult to read on iPhone. "Continue" feature is broken, at least in luck of the draw. AI play is slower. Rule change for isolated units? They lose strength points with no enemy units in space. This game used to be a 5-star game.
The new update is really clunky, slow, and with no obvious benefit over the original. The devs should have spent more time testing and tweaking. Completely ruined the game. We wish there was a way to revert to the original version. This was our 5-star review before the update: This is perhaps a model of how iPad turn-based war games should look and feel — there is a lot to like about this game. Looks great, plays well, incorporates the iPad touch screen brilliantly into gameplay. The beauty of this game is how it managed to simplify very complex concepts and variables but still provides a deep and nuanced experience. The only downside to this game: the AI is fairly easy to beat. There are no difficulty levels and we wish gameplay actually lasted a bit longer, it seems to be over before it began, but that’s probably because time flies when you’re having fun! Flip side: Multiplayer is fun and challenging. Looking forward to see what this studio comes up with next!
Having been a Kickstarter supporter from the earliest days and two years without an update we expected more. Their are small improvements in some areas but the AI may have been rewritten but is know smarter. The screen is refined on the iPad but the text is too small. The movement sound effects stop after the first ‘square’. Movement after victory with one armor and infantry displays a message that you haven’t moved all your units after you moved your tanks. We could go on.
This was a great game. But this new version has broken it on the iPhone.
We loved this game! Played it all the time perfect length game to make us forgot about 45 minutes on the treadmill. But this update is bad. The game is slower, the menu redesigns are bad, and the buttons are ridiculously small. We want our old version back. :-(
We remember as a kid when a cereal advertised new and improved, that was the last time we ate that cereal. The improvements to the game consist of an improved and more intelligent AI. This would be great if the interface was readable (iPhone 5s) but it is so microscopic we just avoid it. The movement of units is much clunkier as is the ability to undo moves. Further, the speed of play, that is the ability to process moves has greatly increased. So what had been a game that it was possible to enjoy in a short period of time has become as interminable as playing a live opponent suffering from AP.
The previous version of this game was spectacular, but this "upgrade" is a miserable buggy failure. We have experienced all manner of bugs including hangs, rules bugs, interface issues, and more. Thankfully we did not and will not upgrade this game on our iPad.
Hey, thanks for taking a five star game down to one. You should work for the US Government now. We’ll make sure not to update Drive on Moscow or Desert Fox until you fix BB.
Slitherin took over Shenandoah and sabotaged their formerly 5 star game. Would really like a refund for what is now a stinking pile of garbage.
Easily a 5 star game before the "update" which shoehorned a PC interface onto a mobile game and riddled the game with bugs making the multiplayer portion completely unplayable for us.
No sound in our app on ipad, works on iphone. We’ve checked all settings, deleted and re-downloaded, etc. We e-mailed support 4 weeks ago and have not yet received reply, so our review gets posted. Sad that they take our money for a defective product and there’s no recourse. That’s why we’re reluctant to purchase apps for more than a dollar or 2.
This was the kind of update that brings to mind the word refund. Who let this mess out the door at Shenandoah?
This used to be one of the best War Strategy games out there. Now you can’t even complete a game without it bogging down and then freezing up. Whoever ok’d something this incompetent should be fired. Don’t buy this game until it get’s fixed.
Do not update to this version! The game appears to have been replaced with a version written with a common code base to the Windows and Mac version. Everything that was so great about this title is diminished. The new fonts are awful. The sounds are irritating. What was once beautifully flowing animation is now jerky on our Air 2. The game has also become slow. What used to be fast and fluid is now a real dog. This went from being a great iPad game to being a terrible port of the computer version. The new AI is a disaster. As the Axis, it went defensive without securing enough VP locations to have a chance to win. This made for very boring play. To make matters worse, there is no longer an option to continue a game once one side wins. That used to lead to some interesting gameplay, and it’s now just gone. There also appear to be problems with the rules of the game not being properly implemented. From Axis strategic movement on the first turn to units that are isolated (yellow) retreating, proper care and attention wasn’t used in creating this new version. We want our old game back!
Wow, with the update they managed to ruin a game that we had previously enjoyed.
We knew when Shenandoah Studio was forced to sell out to Slitherine that this would end badly for this series of games. Bulge is the first casualty. Drive on Moscow and Desert Fox will be next. Have already deleted Bulge. Sad.
This was the game that brought serious wargaming to the iPad. This was the model of how good a new platform could be and how to leverage that. For inexplicable reasons, Slitherine took this marvel and re-wrote it as total junk. If you saved your pre 2.0 version, good for you. We wish we had.