
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,508
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Airfix Battles: The Introductory Wargame
- 1–4 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2016

2020
Rules assistance for The March of Progress
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The March of Progress is a board game released in 2020 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Alan Paull and its main mechanics are Area Movement, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Card Play Conflict Resolution.
"War is merely the continuation of policy by other means." —Carl von Clausewitz, On War, published 1832 Your goal in The March of Progress is to control countries through the playing of action cards so that you generate victory points (VPs) during scoring. Whoever has the most VPs at the end of the game wins. In the game, each side has a hand of eight action cards, ranging from Move to Attack to Recruit. Each player simultaneously chooses one card to play each turn, then reveals and carries out the action. Cards stay discarded until a player plays their score card after which they regain all played cards. The March of Progress includes an introductory scenario based on The Thirty Years War to set out the core rules of the game. The game includes four additional historical scenarios: The Age of Marlborough, Vive l’Empereur, World War 1 in the West, and World War 2 in the West. Each scenario changes the set-up and tweaks the rules to give a flavor of strategy in different time periods. The scenarios create a varied and challenging two-player game. —description from designer
The March of Progress 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 The March of Progress is 30 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.
The catalogue lists The March of Progress for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The March of Progress has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The March of Progress belongs to these categories: Card Game, Wargame, and Napoleonic. Its main mechanics are Area Movement, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Card Play Conflict Resolution. 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 credited designers of The March of Progress are: Alan Paull. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The March of Progress as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.