General Clumsy
Installing the game. General Clumsy is available only on Steam: its Steam page. Install it, launch it, and the HQ awaits you.

System requirements

General Clumsy runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can also be played with a gamepad; Valve's Steam Deck verification is still to come. Minimum requirements:

WindowsmacOSLinux
OSWindows 10 or 11, 64-bitmacOS 11 Big Sur or later64-bit, glibc 2.31 or later
Processorx86-64Apple Silicon or Intelx86-64
GraphicsDirectX 12 or VulkanMetalVulkan
Memory2 GB
Storage100 MB
ControlsKeyboard and mouse, or gamepad
NetworkInternet for online play only

The HQ: the home screen

The game opens in your headquarters. Every object in the room is a menu entry: hover over it, or browse them with the arrow keys.

Operations table
New game: against the computer, on a local network or online, missions, campaign and tutorial.
Window
Continue: back to the front.
Typewriter
Save the game.
Archives
Load a game.
Radio set
Settings.
Blackboard
Help: controls and rules.
Drafting table
Map editor.
Armored door
Quit.
The HQ, the game's home screen
Start with the tutorial. Operations table → Tutorial: twelve short guided missions, from “First steps” to “Last stand”. Each gives its instructions one by one and makes the target tile blink. See the list.

Your first turn, step by step

  1. Pick a unit

    Left click on one of your units. The tiles it can reach light up. A unit that has not received any order yet blinks on the ground: that is your to-do list.

  2. Move

    Left click on a lit tile. Each step costs action points: the road is half as expensive as grassland, forest and hill cost one and a half times as much. A unit down to half its hit points pays double for every step.

  3. Fire

    Left click on an enemy in range. A shot costs half the action points. After moving, range drops by half; but firing then falling back costs nothing. The right reflex: shoot first, move afterward.

  4. Give other orders

    Right click on a unit opens its actions: Overwatch, Patrol, Board, Resupply, Build, Heal, Land… U undoes the last action if you made a mistake.

  5. End turn

    Tab, or the “End turn” button at the top left. Units with breath left can stay on overwatch: they keep their shot for the enemy turn and hit whatever moves within range. The enemy plays, then it is your turn again, two hours later.

Your starting regiment

In a free game, each side lines up one to four regiments along its edge of the map. Each one deploys on four lines, from front to rear, with a finished barracks behind it:

Vanguarda scout, who spots the enemy before anyone else
›
Fronta light tank flanked by two infantry squads
›
Transporttwo trucks, ready to carry the front line
›
Reara mortar and an engineer

The engineer is your most precious unit: only he builds the factory, the refinery, the depot… and takes victory points. Protect him.

Controls

Keyboard and mouse

Left click
command a squad
Shift + click
select several units
Right click
actions
Wheel
zoom
Arrows / ZQSD
scroll the map
Enter / Space
confirm
Esc
menu or back
Tab
end the turn
U
undo the action

Gamepad

Left stick
move the cursor
A
command a squad
LT + A
select several units
X
actions
LB / RB
zoom
Right stick / D-pad
scroll the map
RT
fire
Y
end the turn
Select
undo the action
B / Start
menu or back
Menus
D-pad to choose, A to confirm, B to go back

These are the default keys and buttons: each one can be changed in the settings, Controls tab, where the mouse can also be swapped for left-handers.

Ten veteran tips

Scout before you advance

The scout sees 10 tiles, the drone operator 12 with his surveillance drone. Advancing blind means offering your units to overwatch fire.

Shoot, then move

Range drops by half after moving. Shoot first at full range, then get into cover.

Stay in cover

Each point of cover removes 1 from each shot's damage. An infantry squad in a forest trench takes hits much better than in the open.

Combine arms

The rocket launcher pierces armor, the sniper takes out infantry, the mortar strikes over obstacles. No unit wins alone.

Resupply early

A unit out of ammo no longer fires, a vehicle out of fuel no longer moves. The supply truck must follow the front, not wait for it. Logistics.

The general near the front

Within 5 tiles of him, your troops fire twice per turn. But he has a single hit point: keep him behind the line.

Use overwatch

A unit with nothing to do keeps its shot on overwatch: the advancing enemy will pay for it during its own turn.

Build an economy

A factory, a depot, a refinery and a powder mill near your base are worth more than one extra tank on turn one.

Think about the night

From 9 pm to 3 am, you see 2 tiles less and infantry gets tired. It is the time for ambushes — or for resting near a barracks.

Think about the season

In spring, the flood drowns the banks: leave nothing near a river when winter ends. Seasons.

Game settings

The HQ's radio set configures the next “New game”:

Side
Blue, who plays first, or red; the computer takes the other. On a network, the host chooses and the guest plays the other side.
AI level
Easy, normal or hard. In a mission, lowers or raises the planned level by one notch.
Regiments
Regiments deployed per side, from 1 to 4.
Unlimited supplies
Yes: shots and moves never use up ammo or fuel. In a network game, the host's setting applies.
Map
Random, or drawn in the Map editor.
Season
As turns go by (summer first), at random, off (always summer) or a single season.
Time of day
As turns go by (7 am, then 2 hours per turn), off (always daytime) or a single hour.
Fullscreen
Fullscreen or windowed.
Music
Off, or manga, electro, spy, war or zen.
Volumes
Music and sound effects, from 0 to 10, separately.
Language
Français, English, Español, Português (Brasil), Deutsch, Italiano, Polski, Русский, 中文, 日本語, 한국어.
First settings tip. For your first free game: easy AI, one regiment, unlimited supplies. You will learn to maneuver without fearing running dry, then turn unlimited supplies off to discover logistics.