When I first obtained a copy of Advanced Third Reich, the long-awaited, complete overhaul of one of gaming's true classics, I was somewhat trepidatious. The original Third Reich was the subject of a long infatuation for me. However, over the years I had found myself bothered more and more often both by its obvious design flaws and by the tendency of even its strongest fanatics to ignore how far the game was removed from reality and historicity. And yet, the original TR had some enormous strengths: it is still one of the best multi-player wargames around. No other game gives as rich an experience for three or more players in a simulation of an entire war not only from a political viewpoint, but also from simply conducting a war. It was therefore with great anticipation that I opened the rather bland box.
The counters are pretty much the same as in previous versions. There do seem to be some new counters which we will discuss later, but the main countries counters are identical except in trivial ways - USSR units are now red, not brown. Unfortunately, this nod towards familiarity puts them far behind other companies on the curve for graphical . The A3R counters are 1970-redux.
The map is another story. It now comes as two unmounted sheets - you wanted mounted? … $60 not high enough for you … you wanted to bid $70?? - which are much larger than the previous versions, mostly resulting from the use of larger hexes. In game terms, there are a few extra, peripheral hexrows, and some new river hexsides have been added. The map has a bit more color, but it is used sparingly and it is, in no way, state of the art in graphical cartography. It is obvious that one restriction on its creator was that it had to be functionally identical to the previous editions maps. However, the choice of colors results in certain terrain feature not being clearly visible, and the overlapping hex columns of the two sheets are not identical.
The 63 page rulebook - almost twice the length of the 4th edition rulebook - plus[!!] a 35 page "appendices" means that there will be a lot of new material to digest. Of some curiosity-piquing interest is the very lengthy credits section, in which I believe everyone on Earth was credited except myself (rightfully so - I had no part in it's publication) and, amazingly, the original designer, John Prados. The credit list does contain some remarkable inclusions, almost 100 people - all overseen by Bruce Harper, including the following partial list of notables: Key Contributors [did these seven people attend a $100 a plate dinner?]; The Vancouver Playtest Group; and Playtesters [evidently those 50 odd souls who were not privileged to live in Vancouver].
Amazingly, the graphics, mapboard art and cover design are all credited to but one human being, the estimable Charles Kibler. I soon realized that John Prados was probably omitted because he wasn't a resident of Vancouver. (Ed. Note: Actually, John was inadvertently left off the list, an omission AH says will be corrected in the next edition … NEXT edition??? Oh, my God, not another one ….)
So what we have here is an A3R with twice the counters and twice the rules (and, it seems, twice the price) as its illustrious ancestors. Do we end up with twice the game?
I've played Third Reich in all of its incarnations since it was first published in the mid-70's. It has always had a reputation as a neat game with inherent rule ambiguities which hindered play. Indeed, for years, my fellow players would rate a game in which no more than 50% of the time was spent in a rules argument as a "fun time had by all."
The basic turn sequence of the game remains intact. Each three month turn has the two sides alternating (if the USSR has not entered the war, it still moves with the Allies). The phasing player Declares options, deciding what type of offensives, if any, to conduct; he then Moves and Resolve combat. After this comes Exploitation movement for armor units participating in combat, then unit Construction - using the game's "trademark", its Basic Resource Points (BRP) system, which sometimes allows a side to move twice in succession because of a shift in the initiative - followed by Strategic movement.
A3R introduces "Industrial Centers" for the USSR into the BRP mechanics, representing factories which contribute to the USSR BRP total. I don't believe I've fully explored the net result of this; however, at this point it appears that the vulnerability and distribution of the "IC's" make the USSR more vulnerable through 1941 and 1942, but beginning in 1942, the USSR becomes stronger, depending on how well the Soviet player has protected the IC counters. Together with the fact that the force pool of the USSR has been strengthened over the last edition (although it builds more gradually than before), toward 1944-45, the combined Allied forces should become quite impressive. At this point it is my impression that the Soviet Union will be a bit easier to conquer. But that may change as I watch the results of the new restrictions on exploitations, which are now allowed on the eastern front only during Summer and Fall turns.
Combat is little changed for ground units, although new tables are introduced for air attacks and naval combat. It is a very bloody CRT, on which an attacker can succeed (at great risk) at 1 to 1 odds and is happy to attack at 2 to 1. The combat system was - and still is - one of the game's great weaknesses, a fault, unfortunately, little improved by this new edition. The A3R combat system rarely, if ever, reflects combat operations at the theater level - either how they were organized or conducted. There are no restrictions beyond dividing the ETO into three fronts ( West, East and Mediterranean ), for which separate BRP expenditures must be made to perform offensive operations.
There have been changes made to the Supply system. The earlier TR versions used a simple concept that involved the tracing of supply lines of unlimited length to supply sources, usually a countries own capital or other supply source. Advanced Third Reich has layered on a slightly more complex model of supply involving unlimited and limited supply sources. Units drawing from limited supply sources (such as capitals of conquered countries) are limited to infantry movement rate and lose armor effects, such as exploitation. In addition, there is a significant change to when unsupplied units are eliminated. In previous incarnations, unsupplied units were eliminated after the Construction phase. Now, such elimination occurs before that phase, making the eliminated unit eligible for immediate construction. This, alone, is a subtle but significant change that will cause many previously favorite strategies to be discarded.
One of the greatest sources of TR enjoyment, however, was its richly-layered diplomacy system, introduced in later editions of the original. A3R makes the diplomacy game even richer - allowing an even wider range of possibilities, so much so that most of the Appendices is dedicated to the possible diplomatic results. Diplomatic points, garnered from a variety of mechanics, are applied to individual countries, along with other modifiers. Then, each turn, each side can pick a country and roll a die against its diplomatic results chart.
The possible results can greatly affect the course of a game. German minor allies could be activated earlier or even switch sides. Poland could even concede the Polish corridor and become an inactive German minor ally. Then there are the results of an Italian surrender, interesting in and of themselves, where a variety of units can become available to either the Allies or to Germany. Diplomatic pressures can change the neutrality and activities for many nations not involved - except in "unofficial" variants - in the old TR: Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Greece, even Japan, and many more.
The Diplomacy game is the area of Advanced Third Reich where the best work has been done. One certain result is that so much variation is inherent from using the new diplomacy rules, that articles describing overall game strategy are now useless. An interesting side effect of this concerns all those "Variants" for which TR became famous. Many of the variants found in 4th Edition remain; however several new ones have been added. Other than producing some minor effects, the major purpose for variants - putting spice into Third Reich - has been replaced by the diplomatic rules, and, although they do little harm, I can see little value to them.
One interesting sidelight is the inclusion of a sample copy of a newsletter dedicated to Advanced Third Reich and titled "Ultra". There are some good overviews in the newsletter, especially the one by Joseph Brophy giving a good summary of all the rules changes needed for the transition. Not surprisingly, there are also some self-aggrandizing statements that can easily cause whiplash, of which the most medically dangerous is the claim for how easy Advanced Third Reich is to learn. Make no mistakes, gamers, A3R is Heavy Sledding, 32a.
There are some features of the new rules that annoy me. The author (Joe Committee??) continually refers to terrain effects on combat as "+N DM". As an example defending units get a "+2 DM". Unfortunately, this syntax describes a multiplication of the combat strength of the unit, not an addition or a die roll addition (die roll additions being noted as "+2 DRM"). This results in some confusion. Evidently the notation comes from adding together the modifiers, and then multiplying the combat strength by the net modifier. Much of this can probably be laid at the feet of the AH insistence on using acronymical notation for virtually all of its dieroll systems, a notational usage that could warm the heart of only the most febrile hacker.
And while most of the rules are well organized, not all information related to initial deployment got into the Scenario Setup section in the Appendices. As an example, the fact that Britain has 5 submarine factors in Malta (itself a new bit of chrome) is noted not in the setup description, but in the rules on Malta. Annoying also is that the table of contents refers to page numbers, while the index, inadequate as it is, refers to section numbers. Far from fatal, but it is organization problems such as these that made the previous versions of Third Reich a stolidly stultifying experience in rules assimilation and application.
Ultimately, Advanced Third Reich , even with all its admirable changes, still retains many of the flaws of the original Third Reich's in its best form. The scale of action of the different arms do not match, and the basic design hasn't been "state of the art" for over a decade. The order of battle doesn't represent historical forces, although the new force pools improve this. The game was never really a "simulation", despite Bruce Harper's claims to the contrary. It is possible that the new, additional chrome will convince the less discerning gamer that it is. Actually, so much chrome has been varnished over such an obsolete, original design that A3R resembles nothing more than the renovated '56 Chevy my brother-in-law used to drive. What is amazing is how much of it still works!
To Bruce Harper's credit, most of the rules ambiguities that plagued even the 4th Edition seemed to have been put to final rest, although at quite a large cost in volume.
Mr. Harper asks the following rhetorical question in his notes: "... has Third Reich become something more than it is capable of being?" He answers his own question with an unequivocal "no", but I assert that the answer is definitely in doubt. The top-heaviness of the resulting design is still obvious. However, A3R retains the basic tension among the various countries that made it such an enjoyable multi-player wargame, a tension which builds further with the now excellent diplomatic rules.
Advanced Third Reich is definitely a must buy for all those TR fanatics still out there. It presents a much richer game for the experienced player who has blinded himself to its core weaknesses as a simulation. But at its steep, $60 price, whether the non-TR gamer will enjoy it is far less clear. This is a complex game that almost requires assistance from a fellow gamer. A3R is definitely the product of a lot of hard work, but it's still pretty much the old TR. I couldn't help wondering if we would have been better served if all these resources had been devoted to creating a more modern design. A3R may have lots of chrome and some interesting gadgetry, but it's still a used car.
CAPSULE COMMENTS:
Graphic Presentation: Uninspired, but clear and functional.
Playability: The game's Complexity is rated "Very High" ( which it is - and which may be one of the year's understatements); Solitaire suitability is rated "High" ( which it definitely isn't). This is a game best played by - and almost geared for - groups.
Replayability: For TR fans, probable quite high - a direct result of the excellent Diplomacy rules. However, those of you not into this sort of thing will most likely use it as a paper weight.
Historicity: The game's weakest point; everything is there, but little of it seems to be at the right level. However, as a birds-eye, overall view, acceptable.
Playing Time: From very long … through Endless … to Forget It.
Comparisons: There are much better WWII/ETO simulations available, such as TSR/SPI's ETO and, certainly, the remarkably popular World in Flames. All look and feel better, at least in terms of their approach to history. What all of these do seem to lack is the Interaction appeal A3R has, not an insignificant feature when deciding what to play.
Overall: A must for the Third Reich fanatic or the AH-style, ASL fan who wishes a strategic level multi-player game. For the rest of us, a lot of new shiny chrome on a rusty chassis.
from THE AVALON HILL GAME COMPANY
2 unmounted 30" x 22" mapsheets, 1040 counters, 64 page rulebook, 36 page appendices, 6 double-sided charts/play aids, 6 scenario cards, 2 six-sided dice; boxed. Available in Retail outlets for a mind-bending $60.
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© Copyright 1992 by Richard Berg
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