From: Mike Hoyt Subject: Rommel in the Desert "Insignificant", "Obscure" or whatever I think you're fishing for flame... Seriously, Rommel in the desert (RitD) is one of my favorite games. By letting turns go as long as players are willing to spend supply the game produces some real tension, and I think arguably simulates an aspect of warfare that most games miss. Namely, (and to tie in another recent thread), there is no "Paralysis by Analysis" in RitD. Two factors eliminate that Analysis, and put the player into a position much more like of the historical commanders. First is the partial intelligence of the block system itself. You know where the enemy units are, but even with a good memory you can have only a limited idea of just how strong they are. Remembering that "Combat Value" is much more than numbers of men or equipment and should also include morale, maintence, small unit leadership, etc. you can see that this partial intelligence much more closely corresponds to "reality" than being able to see all of an opponents units (or even the top units in a stack). Second is the use of supply in RitD. Supply is represented by cards, the number of which each player holds is available information. You also know that 1/3 of the deck is dummy cards, so you can estimate your opponents supply state, but you never know for sure. This becomes vitally important because the turns last as long as either player is willing to spend supply to keep moving/fighting. With an unprotected southern flank, the only thing keeping the other guy from going around you and rolling you right back to your base is; a) his limited supply, and b) your own response, which requires supply on your part. This is far more realistic than the typical game in which you can readily identify the deepest possible penetration the enemy can perform before you react, and there is no doubt that you can react since you can move every turn. These games completly fail to capture the importance of reserves and make it something of a mystery as to why deep penetrations are so often refered to as gambles. RitD punishes any player who fails to maintain a reserve of both unengaged units and supply. It also invites you to try for the deep penetration, but the gamble becomes obvious as you consider it. If you try and don't quite make it, you will be cut off and supply attrition is brutal. IMHO most wargamers are overly concerned about getting the Order of Battle and quantitative stuff (gun ranges, armour penetration, etc.) right, while ignoring the very real problems of limited intelligence, supply, and the fact that in real war the other guy does not stop at regularly scheduled intervals for you to develop your reaction. Wow, I guess I had to get that off my chest.