
- BGG rank
- BGG #227
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Memoir '44
- 2–4 players
- 30–45 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2004

Rules assistance for Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge is an expansion for Advanced Squad Leader for 2 players and 120–360 minutes per game. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Hexagon Grid, and Simulation.
An Historical Advanced Squad Leader (HASL) module depicting the battle outside the walled town on Wanping, China on July 8, 1937
Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge is 120–360 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge belongs to these categories: Wargame, Dice, and World War II. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Hexagon Grid, and Simulation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The catalogue lists Prelude to War: Marco Polo Bridge as an expansion for Advanced Squad Leader. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Advanced Squad Leader to use it. Check that your edition of Advanced Squad Leader is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.