Last updated on January 3rd, 2026 at 12:09 am
Skirmish 1944 – Strategy Game Review
Skirmish 1944 is a Strategy/Board/Education game from anthony saunders, first launched in 16th February 2022.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 9+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Skirmish 1944 Stand Out
Skirmish : Normandy 44 is a turn-based strategy war game focusing on the D-Day US landings on Utah beach, Normandy, France on the 6th June 1944.
Presented in the style of a digital boardgame with detailed hex maps & squad-level counters(infantry, tanks, AT guns, RPG, Artillery) to represent the combat arena.
Dice rolls(d10) are used to resolve choices based on unit stats (such as skill or firepower); the game takes care of all the computations for you such as Line of Sight, armour defence, suppression, smoke defence, etc., so you can focus on the tactical actions & scenario objectives.
Auto-saving after every unit completes its actions, enables more casual playing if you desire.
The AI has been custom scripted for each map as each contains a particular feature (eg a sunken canal) or objectives (usually buildings).
Various player modes are available :
1) play solitaire against the AI(easy, medium, hard settings)
2) pass n play against another player on the same device
3) Host or Join a 2 player online game – using public or private rooms
4) Or observe AI vs AI
Double-sided & tagged counters represent units – squads, teams, vehicles & guns that move & fight skirmishes over different maps to achieve victory either by eliminating the enemy or reaching/capturing/holding objectives.
Implementing a morale/suppression/reduction system to reflect battlefield stress and units being pinned down. This allows you to use the infantry tactics Find/Fix/Flank to good effect.
Scenarios represent typical skirmishes fought in the invasion like the deadly Utah beach landing, canal crossings, hidden hedgerows, town fighting. Units need to take advantage of defensive terrain and spend action points wisely to avoid elimination as moving will likely draw enemy opportunity fire from unspent actions.
Utilising an action points (AP) mechanic for units that allows players to perform tasks such as movement or firing, turning, laying smoke, etc.
An optional fog of war (FOW) can be set for each scenario that can hide enemy counters out of visual range. Additionally, a line of sight (LOS) system can conceal enemy counter details from view and stop them from being targeted even if seen.
Each scenario takes place over a number of game turns composed of phases executed in this order:
. Start Turn
. Reinforcement Phase – new units arrive (eg Landing craft)
. Action Phase – players alternate counters to action, so prioritise according to strategy!
. Melee Phase – same hex units fight in more lethal close combat
. Rout Phase – unsupported units may need to retreat
. Recovery Phase – suppression is reduced, smoke fades
. End Turn – victory objectives are checked
Before starting the first turn there is a Setup Phase to allow counters to be rearranged within areas of the map. You can even add additional counters or place in non-entry hexes.
A 20+ page online manual is available detailing the gameplay & computations.
The first IAP scenario features the US paratroop drop on Ste-Mere-Eglise. This map features street buildings to offer close combat urban fighting and a new LOS experience.
The second IAP scenario features La Fiere Bridge – the scene of fierce fighting on d-day for a small bridge over the flooded Merderet river.
This Strategy game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Skirmish 1944 is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 5th January 2025
Recent improvements include:
- Improved zoom during game
- User option to auto zoom camera on AI units
- Removed unecessary internet checks blocking IAP
- Updated to use latest game engine
- minor bug fixes
Download & Availability
Skirmish 1944 is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get Skirmish 1944 on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
This is awesome, we like how units have both morale AND skill ratings. Too many tac games combine those into a single TEM factor, which fails to capture a lot of situations (like high morale or fanatical troops with poor equipment and training – which is basically ever Russian unit there ever was). We would give our left nut for some Eastern Front scenarios.
Memoir 44 style game is great. Really enjoy the functionality. Buttons are really small on iphone and theres no option to make adjustments. This has led to some incorrect button selections as we do not use a stylus. Other feedback is auto-rolling for the AI feels like a good way to save some time.
Consistently crashes when we load a saved game, which we have to do a lot since we dont have hours to play through a single scenario. When it works right, its great. Will change our rating if/when bugs are fixed.
Game is great! Update fixed issues! Anybody who used to play Avalon Hills Squad Leader will love it! Love to see some mor scenarios.
Update: excellent after update! We can see the maps detail better and the colors are real nice. Thank you for the PDF manual! And for not using the eye strain gray font on white background like dumb Corp. America! The look and feel of Skirmish 1944 takes us back to the good ole Grognard days back last Millennium. If youre into military strategy games, give this one a try. Im finishing the game we first started and am enjoying it much. Thank you!–Looks real good with good attention to details. The manual, while being well done in concept, has some issues. Some map examples are too dark to see their details on the setup screen. At least one incorrect illustration was used where the Hex numbers in the text do not exist in the associated picture. We like the 4 types of line of site and armor rating on tanks for front/side and rear armor thickness. Manual would be more convenient if it was also in the app. Will update later after Ive spent more time playing the board game. Max turns setting could use the ability to also be turned off.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 4.3
- Size: 246.34 MB
- iOS: 13.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: [anthony saunders]()
Last updated: 5th January 2025 | Genre: Strategy, Board | Developer: anthony saunders