PanzerArmee Afrika: Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942 cover
1973BGG rank #8,594

PanzerArmee Afrika: Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942

by Jim Dunnigan · The Avalon Hill Game Co

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Players2
Time180m
ComplexityMedium-Light
Age12+

About the game

What is PanzerArmee Afrika: Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942?

"PanzerArmee Afrika: Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942", is a wargame simulation of the North African Campaign between April 1941 and November 1942. Battalion, Regiment and Brigade-sized units represent the actual forces which took part in the fighting. Included in the game is a Variable Orders-of-Battle Chart that offers variations in forces to demonstrate how history might have been different. The game spans the entire 20-month campaign, allowing players to recreate the famous battles of the period between the British-led Commonwealth forces and the Axis forces of Germany and Italy, to include Rommel's Panzer Army Africa. Set at an operational level, players must manage their military forces and precious supplies better than their opponent to achieve victory. The Axis aims at capturing Alexandria, the key to the Suez Canal. The British player has to prevent all this. When originally published by SPI (Simulations Publications, Inc.) in Strategy & Tactics magazine #40 (Sep/Oct 1973), it was meant to be a very different treatment of a subject made familiar to wargamers in Afrika Korps (1964) by The Avalon Hill Game Co . Different it indeed was, introducing a number of novel twists to what seemed to otherwise be a very traditional-style hex-and-counter wargame. It became a classic in its own right alongside Afrika Korps. The game is a very tense, very suspenseful contest of sweeping maneuver, lunging attacks, desperate retrogrades, filled with threat, counter-threat, surprises, and more. Game Scale: Turn: 1 month Hex: 12 miles / 19 Km Units: Battalion to Brigade Game Inventory (SPI/Strategy & Tactics version): One 22 x 34" color mapsheet One single-side printed countersheet (200 1/2" counters) One 10-page multi-fold rules booklet Game Inventory (Avalon Hill version): One 22 x 34" five color multi-hinged mounted mapboard One single-side printed countersheet (260 1/2" counters - 60 are blank) One 8-page PanzerArmee Afrika rules booklet One side-printed errata TEC card One 6-sided die Complexity: Low-Medium Solitaire Suitability: Medium Players: 1 or more Playing Time: 8-10 Hours

How it plays

Mechanics

Dice RollingGrid MovementHexagon GridMovement PointsSimulationVariable Set-upZone of Control

On the shelf

Categories

WargameWorld War II

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in PanzerArmee Afrika: Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?