Infiltrating the Eagle’s Nest in Sniper Elite: The Board Game
30th September 2021
On the blog today we’re taking a look at the Eagle’s Nest map, one of the two maps included in the expansion to Sniper Elite: The Board Game.
The Eagle’s Nest – a luxurious retreat nestled in the mountains above the town of Berchtesgaden. While so much of Europe lies in ruins, this alpine hideaway offers a welcome escape for the Axis elite – unless the Allies have anything to do with it that is.
Made up of a series of narrow corridors and small rooms, this map has been specifically designed for frenetic, close-quarters action. Both the sniper and the defenders will find themselves battling the claustrophobic conditions just as much as each other, and a couple of false steps could be the difference between victory and defeat.
The first thing to note about the Eagle’s Nest is the special rules that apply when playing this map. Unlike on the other maps, there are no windows or holes in the interior walls, so they completely block line of sight for shooting, spotting, and searching. To shoot in or out of a room, you’ll need to make use of the doors – if you can draw line of sight to the door itself, you can shoot the space on the opposite side, and if you are standing in the doorway space you can draw line of sight to the spaces on the other side.
These added constraints force you to think even more carefully about the routes you are taking and how your opponent might counter you. As the sniper, the rules around Line of Sight might mean that shots you would have taken on the other maps give a bit too much information away now, while the defenders may find themselves frustrated by a slippery opponent who keeps darting from room to room.
Another interesting feature on this map is the Black starting space, coming out of the lift in the centre of the map. This can be an excellent entrance, giving you easy access into either the Red or Yellow sectors, but it’s not without its risks. It thrusts you right into the action, and if you get caught out early it’ll be easier for the defenders to punish you. The lift space itself is inaccessible – once you are out, there is no going back!
For defenders on this map, the Kennel Master is a specialist that can really help in those tight corridors. Not only do the dogs make it feel a bit more like home, they also bark up a storm whenever the sniper runs through their space – perfect for a map with so many choke points.
As the sniper, the S-Mine can be useful to keep a doorway or corridor clear, and bringing either the Tommy Gun or the Trench Gun to deal with enemies who get a bit too close is likely to come in handy as a last resort.
There is one extra piece of equipment we haven’t mentioned yet – the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife. This is an extra loadout card that has been added to the expansion for when the enemy gets too close and the sniper needs to cut and run (literally). Giving away your position is always a risky choice, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Think you’ve got what it takes to infiltrate the Eagle’s Nest? Preorder your copy of Sniper Elite: The Board Game and the Eagle’s Nest expansion today!