Sniper Elite: Operation Kraken Preview

This is a preview copy sent to us for our opinions, no money has changed hands and  all art and components and rules are not necessarily final and may change. Check out the Gamefound campaign here where you’ll find this, a new expansion called Escalation and reprints of the base game, deluxe upgrade kit and the previous Eagles Nest expansion. The Gamfound campaign is currently live at the time this preview goes out. 

By Steve Godfrey

If you want to hear my thoughts on the base game then you can check out my full review, with a rules overview here

Let’s get Kraken

Norman Village Map

Operation Kraken comes with two new maps the Norman Village and the Super Carrier

When you play with the Norman Village map set the game up as per usual then add the two new Leichter Panzerspahwagen vehicles (henceforth referred to as “vehicles” because this’ll be a long preview otherwise) on the board, one in each of the starting spaces and put their unit cards near the board. There are some load out cards that can’t be used with these new maps but a simple to read table in the rulebook will tell you which, but it’s not many and the reason for their exclusion makes sense. Other than that, setup is the same as in the base game. The game will play out the same as the base game in terms of how actions and turns work with the only real difference being the vehicles so let's talk about how they work. 

When a defender finishes their turn in a space with a vehicle then they must embark, at which point they place that mini on the vehicle's card but only 1 per vehicle, it gets cramped in there otherwise, these things aren’t made for family outings. At any point they can disembark by using a move action, placing their mini on the same space and then making their move action. Whilst in the vehicle there are four actions that can potentially be taken. Drive 3 by moving 3 road spaces. Drive 1 and make a sweep actin. Drive 1 and make a spot action or attack 1 adjacent space. You can also make your usual actions as well. Important to note that whilst you can’t make the same action twice with the same unit, you can take similar ones. Meaning you can take two of the different drive actions or make a drive action and then take a normal move action. 

The sniper can still attack a vehicle but they’ll need 2 aim tokens more than a regular unit to take it out. So for example if you're in an adjacent space you’ll need three hits to take it out. If a defender is in it at the time then they’re removed from the board as well. However, vehicles cannot be respawned. There are loadout cards that don’t work on them, like the knife for example, which makes sense. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to stab a tank but it’s safe to say it takes a while and many knives to get through.

On this map there are also two spaces per sector for the sniper to enter but also none for the neutral white sectors. 

The vehicles give the defenders so much more freedom to move round the board. In the base game you can’t have a mini do the same action twice, but now being in a vehicle moving 3 spaces and then being able to make a regular move makes the defenders all the more threatening. Previously you could roughly plan each defender's limitations in terms of movement and carve yourself out the path of least risk. With this new addition and extra movement capabilities the map now seems a lot more closed down leaving less spaces as a “safe spot” for the sniper. This is probably going to be fine for the most part when they’re still looking for you, but, the minute you pop your first objective you’d better have an escape route planned because it may not be long before they catch up to you. Even more devastating is the ability to shoot into an adjacent space. Where before it may have taken some manoeuvring to make a successful spot/sweep, then get someone onto the space to be able to attack before the slippery blighter runs away. Now it can be as simple as two actions, which makes avoiding or taking out those vehicles almost paramount to survival.

Super Carrier Map

The second map takes place on multiple levels of a Super Carrier. Lower deck, middle deck and top deck. Again set up works much the same only this time there are face cards in the objective deck. If you happen to pull two of the same value (i.e. two kings) you must discard one and pick another card. The reason being that the both face cards of the same value are on the same floor. You’ll also have locked door tokens which will be put onto each door space and they start the game unlocked. The other point to note is that the sniper will always start in the same space since there is only one entrance. 

There are a couple of ways to navigate the levels for the sniper and one for the defenders. The stairs/ladder are freely available for both and each connects to an equivalent letter on a different level and they have line of sight to each other so don’t be one of those people who clog up the stairs because you can get picked off. The sniper can also move around using the vents John Mclane style. These work on a similar principle to the ladders and connect to different parts of the carrier. 

The defenders have a new ace up their sleeve (which explains why there’s no ace’s in the objective deck?) which is, they can lock doors. When they use a move action they can lock an adjacent door either before or after moving, however this uses up one of their moves so essentially they can lock a door and move one space or vice versa. The sniper however has their own delicate, subtle way to unlock a door….they can shoot the lock off! This works the same as a regular shoot action and on a success the lock token is removed from the game and the door is permanently unlocked. Makes sense, it’s not easy getting a locksmith that far out at sea last minute. They also have access to two new loadout cards. Bolt cutters which let you secretly move through a locked door and the Explosive Entrance, because you’ve gotten bored with normal doors and decided to make your own with some explosives. Some walls are also reinforced on this map meaning you can’t shoot through them but you can still hear noise through them. 

The defenders also have a new way of gathering intel. They have the normal way which gathers intel on the coloured sectors or they can gather intel on a deck. As long as there’s a defender officer on the floor they can ask the sniper if they’re on that deck, rather than a specific sector on that deck. You can't, however, gather intel on the deck and a sector on the same turn. 

Ok, maybe I lied before when I said that the Norman Village felt claustrophobic. THIS is a claustrophobic map. Where other maps gave you the breathing room to make a fair few 2 - 3 space movements, this one almost dares you to try it. With so few spaces you're always either in close quarters with a defender or, if you're not, you probably soon will be so it really forces you to take less of those bold moves. Which would be fine if you weren’t on a timer so that added pressure is always gnawing away at you. To make matters worse, someone has had the cheek to lock the doors and restrict your movement further. So now you're faced with the difficult choice of either finding a new unencumbered route to your next objective or risking shooting a few locks and giving a clue to your current position. This map seems to present more of a puzzle than the other maps I’ve played (I’d only played the base game maps prior to this) and almost reminds me of those mazes that you get on the back of kids menus at restaurants and I’d wager the sniper map will probably resemble one at the end of the game as well. Not that that’s a bad thing. Because it’s more of an enclosed map it definitely leans more into that stealth style of gameplay and present more of a puzzle straight from the word go than some of the other maps have done. 

This map gives you two new loadout cards and each leans more towards a different style of play. The bolt cutter for the more sneaky among you and the TNT if you just want to play more as an agent of chaos. One piece of advice I will give is that you’ll need at least one of these in your loadout. We played one game without any and the sniper was left on the back foot needing to shoot a lock and reveal their position early doors when a bolt cutter could have served him a lot better had he had it. 

Not much has changed for the defenders other than, they all have their own set of keys (it’s nice to feel responsible) but there can be some tactics to be had from that. Do you, for example, leave the door open and lure the sniper in like something from a Tom & Jerry cartoon only to hopefully trap them in there by locking the door giving you time to swarm the room? I mean, if that doesn’t make one hell of a good gaming story then I don’t know what will. 

So, we did find one issue with the fortified walls, in as much as it wasn't very clear on the map or the rulebook where these were. We assumed it was the wall of the rooms but weren’t too sure on that. I’ve spoken to the folks at Rebellion Unplugged and they’re aware that it’s an issue and are working on making this clearer for the finished version. This doesn’t change how I feel about the map but it was worth pointing out as it was something that cropped up during out. At the very least it’s great to know that everyone involved is responsive to this sort of feedback and making the best game possible.

It’s Kraken

If you already love Sniper Elite then there’s a good chance you’ve already insta-backed this and you're now looking through these previews to see if it’s justified. To which the answer from me is yes. You get two very different playing maps which add to the replayability to an already great game and offer some interesting new mechanics. Sniper Elite is one of those games that once your in, you’ll most likely want it all. Personally I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the long sought after Eagles Nest expansion and the upgrades and this new expansion just makes the whole thing even more tantalising for me. So…everything...I’m looking forward to everything basically.