Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 30-60 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

Operation Kaldstrom is a starter set for the Infinity CodeOne ruleset. It contains everything you need to play the game and tutorial scenarios to help you learn to play.

Infinity CodeOne Rules Description:

Operation Kaldstrom comes with everything you need to play the game. It has 14 miniatures (that you need to assemble), a game mat and terrain, and all the tokens and templates too.

CodeOne games last three rounds. To start each player takes the faction they want to play and follows the scenarios setup rules. You should note your objectives as they grant you Objective Points which determine the winner.

Each round you gain a number of action tokens equal to the number of miniatures remaining on your squad. On your turn you can spend an action token to move and attack, move and dodge, or move twice. You can spend as many tokens on a unit as you like. You turn ends once you have spent all your tokens.

When it is not your turn your units can react to the active players units if they have line of sight to them. These reactions are called AROs (Automatic Reaction Orders) and the reactions you can take are attack or dodge.

Combat is resolved with 20-sided dice. You must roll under you combat value to hit your opponent. Since action in Infinity CodeOne is simultaneous, if they are firing at you the roll is considered face to face. A face to face would occur if your opponent chooses attacking as their ARO. Face to face rolls requires you to roll under your target stat but higher than your opponent. Ties resolve without effect.

If hit, the target gets to make an armor save versus each success. These saves get bonuses for cover and must be higher than the weapon’s damage stat. A failed save means you take a wound.

A successful dodge lets you avoid all successful hits. In order to succeed you must roll under your PH stat. A unit that successfully dodges may move up to two inches.

The game ends after three rounds or once all of a player’s units are dead. The player with the most Objective Points wins.

Quick Review of Infinity CodeOne Operation Kaldstrom:

Operation Kaldstrom gives you everything you need to get started playing Infinity CodeOne. It is nice to get all the tokens, templates, and some miniatures in one box. The miniatures are a bit challenging to put together, but the rules are fairly straightforward. The AROs keep you on your toes and constantly involved which is a plus.

The components in this starter box are great. It has heavy cardboard terrain, great looking miniatures and everything looks super cool. The rules are easy to read and follow. Each of the included scenarios introduces you to new concepts and increases the complexity slowly.

Infinity CodeOne is a fast moving skirmish game. You only play three rounds so maximizing your actions is important. This results in a flurry of action (and reactions). I like the combat system and how you want to roll low but not too low.

I have never played Infinity before so I am not sure how this compares to the other versions. I also have not tried playing with the full CodeOne ruleset. So I cannot comment on how much the Quick Start rules prep you for the full game. I do wish they were included in this boxed set though. You can download them here.

The mechanic that sets Infinity apart is the ARO. You need to declare when an opponent moves into line of sight of your unit to use an ARO. This means you need to pay attention when it is not your turn. So it is always your kind of your turn.

If you are looking for a fun miniatures skirmish game Infinity CodeOne fits the bill. And the Operation Kaldstrom starter set has everything you need to start playing. Just be aware you need build the miniatures (which takes some time and skill) and it doesn’t contain the full CodeOne rules.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6