Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
"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.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Movement Points
Spend a movement allowance across spaces with different costs.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Variable Set-up
Starting conditions, resources, or layouts change between plays.
Read the full game description
"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