From: "D. Holte" Subject: GMT's THE BATTLE FOR NORTH AFRIKA - 'Talk about coincidence! At 10:59 AM 1/24/97 -0500, you wrote: >> Optimistically, very soon to add: BATTLES FOR NORTH AFRICA >> >> -Danny > >Can you tell us something about this game? What scale are the units? How >big are the maps? What time scale? Do units have multiple steps? How >does it compare to other North Africa games in terms of time, unit, and >map scale? And how are reinforcements/withdrawals (the bane of the North >African theater) handled, randomly or by fixed schedule? I'd like to, but it's still in the mail from GMT. There's always today or tomorrow, we'll have to see. What a coincidence. AS I WAS TYPING THIS the UPS guy just showed- -up and delivered a box from none other than GMT. Whoa!!! I'm opening it now. (BTW, I just ordered it on Wednesday, so that's a very nice delivery time (In fact, I've had very fast response on GMT orders lately - three times in a row now.) The box art is nice and it has one difference from previous GMT; it's very high gloss. Joe Youst did the maps and it looks great, if spare [but hey, it's desert..] As expected, the name of 'Tobruk' is missing. There are two counter sheets, one w/large counters and one small (456 total). The counters are very colorful, so should contrast nicely with the maps. The large counters appear to be the main 'combat' organizations, with 2-steps, and the smaller counters are markers, leaders, and support organizations (Recon, Artillery, SP Guns, etc.) The box, on the back, lists 400 counters (as opposed to 456) and for players, lists "One or Four". I'm reasonably sure this should be 1-4. Scale is 8.5 miles per hex, and turns are one month. Most units are regiment/brigade size, but there are some battalion and division size units. The 20-page rulebook has 2-pages of intro information, 11-pages of 'meat', 1-1/3 page of optional rules (Random Events), 4-pages of scenarios, and on the back, a detailed sequence of play. The scenarios include: 1940: The Italian Offensive 1940 Campaign Game 1941: Rommel Arrives 1941 Campaign Game One-Map Rommel Arrives Scenario (3-turns) There are Master Reinforcement Schedule charts for each side as well as Divisional Organization Holding Box cards (which include a Resource Point track.) One other 2-sided card is provided which includes a CRT, Terrain Effects Chart, Commander Availability Table, Allied Random Withdrawal & Return Table, and other various tables & charts. Briefly, there are rules for: Activation - ala GLORY, except it costs Resource Points to activate. Commanders - Graziani, Rommel, Wavell, O'Connor, Auchinleck, and Montgomery are included (counters for each are provided.) ZOCs - Looks like it costs 2 MP to enter a ZOC, and units must stop. Armor - Units have Armor Points, and this determines Armor Superiority. Artillery - They work much like the Armor Points. Air Support (Optional) It says that it's not conducive to solitaire play, if that's a consideration. Resource Pts These are used to provide supply, construction, air support, refitting troops, and anything that involves an influx of men and material. Fortifications/Boxes - Self explanatory. The only diagrams in the rule book are for unit information, and ZOCs. However, most rules look as if there explained in some detail, more so than in GLORY, the 1st of this series. Richard Berg lists Dean Essig's AFRIKA and Mark Simonitch's THE LEGEND BEGINS amongst his sources. He also acknowledges extensive correspondence with Vance von Borries and Jack Greene while designing the game. Coincidentally, I have just started a game of AFRIKA and will keep playing it as long as I can hold off the temptation to start this one. All in all it looks like a very nice package and I'm very much looking forward to playing. ...I can't BELIEVE the thing showed-up at that moment!! -Danny My email address has changed. It is now dannyh22@ix.netcom.com