Afrika Korps (1964)

Easy and fun historical game of Rommel’s battles with the English in North Africa during WW2. One of the early Avalon Hill beginner war games.

From the back of the box:
Ever since men began making weapons they have used them to create legends: in early 1941, when his conquest of Europe was embarrassed by the rout of his Italian allies in Africa, Hitler dispatched General Erwin Rommel to forestall a seemingly inevitable Axis defeat. Reorganizing the forces under his command as the Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK), Rommel immediately launched the first of his legendary desert offensives.

Now, the legend of "The Desert Fox" is recreated. From April 1941 through the climatic battle at El Alamein in later 1942. Afrika Korps simulates the mobile conflict between Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika and the British Eighth Army defending Egypt and the Suez Canal. During each monthly game-turn, the initiative may switch from the Germany to the Allied player as both come to understand why Rommel called North Africa "A tactician's paradise; a logistical officer's nightmare."

A 2 on Avalon Hill's complexity scale of 1(low) to 10(high). Playing time 2 to 4 hours

Includes 44" x 14" mounted mapboard of North Africa, set of die-cut Axis and Allied military unit counters, combat results table, time record card, die, and rules.

Avalon Hill Complexity rating - 2

Microbadge:

Afrika Korps (1964) Revised 1965, Revised 1978
Designed by Charles Roberts & INVALID OBJECT ID=7095, type=person
Development by Tom Shaw

Few wargames have withstood the rigors of time as well as this one which remains one of the classic games of maneuver despite questionable realism and “rules” which are based as much on tradition from time honored official questions & answers as on any actual printed rules. The game was revised soon after its initial release to introduce the Supply Table and move the starting location of the British 4-4-7 from Msus to Mechili for play balance purposes. It has remained the same ever since with the exception of the inclusion of some questions and answers appended to the Battle Manual in the ’78 edition. A member of the 100,000+ sales club.

Magazine References:

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.5
  • Series Replay - Afrika Korps Rob Beyma, D.S. Burdick, Thomas Haslett (Commentary)
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.1
  • Afrika Korps – “Competitional Afrika Korps” (Variant) Dave Roberts
• The GENERAL Vol.15,No.5
  • “Another Afrika Korps Gambit” (Strategy) Stephen S. Packwood
• The GENERAL Vol.16,No.2
  • Afrika Korps – “K.O. in Round 5... or Give Up the Home Base? Never, Never, Never!” (Strategy) Frank Preissle
• The GENERAL Vol.17,No.3
  • Afrika Korps – “Afrika Korps Theory” Jonathan Lockwood
• The GENERAL Vol.18,No.1
  • Afrika Korps – “Face- Lift for a Classic Beauty - The New Look Afrika Korps; 1980 Edition” (Strategy) Frank Preissle
• The GENERAL Vol.18,No.2
  • Afrika Korps – “Desert Deception - Adding the True Role of Reconnaissance to Afrika Korps” (Variant) R.J. Gutenkunst
• The GENERAL Vol.18,No.3
  • Afrika Korps – “Operation Torchlighter - The End Game in Afrika Korps” (Strategy) Frank Preissle
• The GENERAL Vol.18,No.4
  • Afrika Korps – “Back to Basics - Basic German Alternatives in Afrika Korps” (Strategy) Rob Beyma
• The GENERAL Vol.22,No.2
  • The Question Box - Up Front, Afrika Korps, Victory in the Pacific
• The GENERAL Vol.25,No.3
  • Afrika Korps – “Up gunning an old warrior -Afrika Korps for everybody” (Variant Discussion) Richard Gutenkunst