Acceptable Losses

Acceptable Losses puts you in command as an officer behind the line. You assign missions to squads and balance your orders from HQ against the lives of the soldiers under your command. Your objective is to survive twenty days; your performance affects your influence, which can shift conditions in your favor, or be taken away if you perform poorly.

Command and reports

Each day, you send squads on patrols, trench repairs, wiring parties or assaults. At night, you review incident reports, medical updates and intelligence briefings, and wait to see whether reinforcements arrive on time. Soldiers are randomly generated, with unique names and birthplaces, and can die permanently. You can join a mission to boost leadership, but doing so risks injury.

Missions and events

The game includes over 60 missions, from routine trench duty to full assaults. Each mission has at least six possible outcomes, while over 120 mid-mission events can shift outcomes in real time. More than 30 night events affect squads, supplies and trench conditions, and over 15 modifiers include morale, fatigue, weather and enemy readiness.

Evaluations and assaults

HQ evaluations determine your standing and whether you earn the chance to go Over the Top. If you deliver acceptable results, you may be ordered into an assault. Survive it and you must hold the captured trenches until replacements arrive; fail, and you will be held responsible.