I am submitting this review for the new Avalanche Third Reich game
issue.  Any comments or questions, please email to:

princebolkonskygames@juno.com

Regards,

Christopher L. Graves
 
Fifth Edition Third Reich by John Prados- Avalanche Press Ltd. 

I've had the game about a week and have just completed a first solid
reading of the rules. I've gone through and set up a few pieces. 

My big question is at what point will the guys at Avalanche decide to
put up an official errata or clarification page. Is it just too soon? 

I admire what they've done to an unnecessarily complicated game system.
The addition of leaders and the chit system makes for a painlessly
playable combat system for novice and grognard alike. I think I will
miss having a hex-based system for the navel struggle, not that I was
overwhelmed by the previous systems for A3R. This game is very close to
an entry-level player's game. If an experienced player brings in a newby
to wargaming they will likely be able to help them make the transition
into a complex and subtle gaming experience. We need as many games as
possible that fit into such a niche. 

Having said this, I'll have to play 5th edition 3R to see if this is
indeed the case. It may resolve into fairly predictable play.
Unfortunately, the rules suffer in their clarity. I don't do much
tournament play so I don't really care; I'll resolve all these things as
they come up. Still, if I ever PBEM this game its going to be a big
hassle. Hence, my opening question. I would like to see an effort to get
this problem nipped quickly by the Avalanche design team.

The BRP system is still OK and has been improved to make it a little
more tied to more specific locations on the board. This ties in nicely
to the diplomatic system. The addition of minors to the BRP club is a
nice touch. 

The diplomacy system, while not entirely new, is simplified and better
spelled out and likely to become what makes this game truly memorable.
Watching all those diplomacy chits jiggling back and forth between the
extremes could be more enticing than a trip to Hooters. 

Here's my big gripe. THE BOARD IS TOO BUSY. It might appeal to a
ten-year-old, in which case they will simply overlook the important
details as they play. For us old guys, we know going in, the eyestrain
we are in for. The pieces are good looking but once placed on the board
they only make the matter worse. This is really too bad. While I don't
care for the over done board, I do admire the new layout that admits
Narvik and gives Europe a graceful sweep. I'm a little concerned about
whether the USSR will have enough wiggle room. If I decide to play this
game at all beyond the evaluation stage, I will likely make a good scan
to enlarge the board and dull the tones enough to make the pieces
identifiable when on the map.

Sadly, my 'mounted' game board came slightly warped in at the corners.
I'll probably have to keep them under a stack of encyclopedias for six
months to work the warp out. IMHO we have moved beyond the age when
mounted boards are even desirable. They just take up too much of the
production cost to be worth it. They don't add to the life of the game
and can only cause problems. (They do work well when tiling boards in
different arrangements is needed such as with ASL) I would have
preferred a paper gameboard with larger hexes. I bet that's the way most
of the rest of you feel.

While the board is too busy, the player's aids are as drab as an old GDW
bagged issue. This fit for GDW but not for this game. White stock with a
little colored ink would have been better. Just move a little ink from
the board to the cards. There are a lot of event chits and unit entries
to be kept track of. I would have liked to have seen an aid to help in
this regard.

While this game has a lot of potential, its production seems almost
amateurish. It moves this game from a wargame of the year slot to the
lamentable position we have all seen so many times before. A bitter
sweet defeat. Hopefully, all you loyal grognards will keep this baby
alive till Avalanche come to their senses and issues a playable paper
map and a clarified set of rules. Then we would all be the loyal wives
of 'A Beautiful Game'.