This is another of Avalon Hill's new mail-order line and another old title being resurrected. ANZIO, however, is a much later design than CHANCELLORSVILLE. It first came out in 1969 and was the last of AH's regular flat-box line. It has only been a year or two since it was dropped from the regular line. This, however, is a very thoroughly revised edition.

The physical format is the same as that of CHANCELLORSVILLE, except, of course, that the mapboard is the long 14"x44" shape of the original game. You also get a 48-page. 8 1/2"x11" booklet containing the rules and designer's notes, six 8 1/2"x11" cards containing various charts, and two 8 1/2" x11" sheets of the usual AH, high-quality unit counters.

ANZIO has always been a favorite among the hard-core realism-complexity buffs because of the many rules attempting to cover a great many aspects of WWII combat; because of the very thorough order of battle/appearance with all kinds of conditional and automatic reinforcements. withdrawals and replacements; and because of the step-reduction combat system which allows units to lose strength gradually instead of the old all-or-nothing elimination system They will be glad to know that none of these have been dropped. But the rules and components have been thoroughly revised to clean out the ambiguities and most of the unnecessary complications.

The mapboard is unchanged from the original version and still has to be the most colorful one ever printed - and one of the most complex. The unit counters are changed in only two ways: the colors are different, and they now show their stacking points (as well as attack. defense and movement factors) and any special capabilities, such as mountain or commando training.

Gone completely is the old "Game 1" introductory scenario (May-Nov 1944) simulating the breakout from the Anzio beachhead. Gone too are the mini-games: "Winterline" (Sep 43-Feb 44), "Monte Cassin (Nov 43-July 44). "Gothic Line" (May-Nov 44). Instead, there is a "Basic Game" whose scenario (Sep 43-June 44) covers the initial landings and advance into central Italy Allied victory depends on capturing at least 5 out of 8 specific cities in southern and central Italy.

Like the old version's "Winterline" and "Campaign" games, it allows the Allied player to choose his own landing site. Building upon the Fundamental Rules and the Basic Game, the game can be expanded in either or both of two dimensions: time and complexity. The Basic Game Supplementary Rules are optionals that add more realism and complexity. The Advanced Game corresponds with the old version's Game II or Campaign Game, in so far as rules are concerned, but the length depends upon which of 3 versions are chosen (more about that in a minute).

Finally, the Advanced Game Supplementary Rules correspond, roughly, with the old Game III optional rules. The length of the Advanced Game (with or without Supplementary Rules) and the victory conditions vary according to choices made by each side. The Allied player decides his strategic goal from three options:

Game I - to secure southern Italy, including the port of Naples and the air base at Foggia by the end of 1943;

Game II - to capture Rome and central Italy by late June 1944;

or Game III - to capture northern Italy by the end of April 1945.

Each has its own order of battle and invasion schedule but always starts with the Sep 43 invasion. So the further the Allied player chooses to try to go the longer-the game. (Game III corresponds with the Campaign Game of the original version.) The German player chooses which order of battle he will use: Standard, Reinforced or Maximum. The exact victory conditions then depend on the combination of Allied goal and German OB chosen.

For instance, in Game I with the Standard German OB the victory conditions are the same as in the Basic Game. but against the Reinforced OB the Allied player only needs to take four of the 8 cities instead of 5 - and against the Maximum OB only 2 have to be taken.

Game II and Game III work the same way but different cities, and numbers of them are involved.

Complexity

There are numerous small changes in the rules - too many to cover them all here. Probably the most important one is in the stacking rule. Now either side is allowed to stack up to eight stacking points per hex, and every counter has its stacking points printed on it, above the rectangular unit-type symbol. U.S. infantry divisions are 4s, British infantry and German panzer, parachute, and their larger infantry and panzergrenadier divisions are 3s, Allied armored divisions are 5s, the smaller German infantry and most Italian divisions are 2s, and most regiments and brigades are 1s. So there are really four different things to consider when comparing the strengths of different units: attack factors, defense factors, stacking points (or, actually, attack factors per stacking points), and the number of steps the unit can lose before being reduced to a defenseless inverted counter.

The old Unit Elimination Table (UET) has been done away with, and the Step Reduction Table (SRT) (formerly optional) is now the only CRT for the game - and even it has been modified somewhat, gaining a seperate "1-3" column, for instance.

But perhaps more Important than the individual changes in the rules is the extensive reorganization of the rules. After 5 years of consumer feed-back and experience with the game the ambiguities and inconsistencies have all been identified, and the rules have been completely re-written, in an outline format. Considering their length and complexity, I would have to say that these are about the most clearly-written, precise and understandable rules I've ever seen.

The complexity of ANZIO stems mostly from variety. Units represented in this game were from thirteen different countries and included infantry, armor, armored infantry, mountain infantry, parachute infantry. Special Service Force, Ranger. Commando, Task Force, parachute armor, armored engineer, machine-gun. nebelwerfer (rocket), Luftwaffe infantry, partisan, cavalry and replacement units. These had certain special capabilities to simulate. What's more. the units in the game are mostly divisions but also include numerous brigades and regiments and even a few independent battalions. To all this is added the necessity of simulating amphibious landings, commando raids, parachute drops and partisans as well as conventional ground warfare.

Another cause of complexity is the long period of time represented (at least 9 1/2 months, up to 20) and the extremely detailed order of appearance. Northern Italy was used, during the War (as was France before D-Day), as a rest and refit area for formations that had been chewed up on the Russian Front. Thus there was an almost constant shuffling of units in and out of the area. Not all were available for commitment to the front, but they were there, and if the Allies had approached them they would not have sat idly by.

Another cause of complexity is the step reduction system. In most games losses are taken in terms of full units eliminated. In ANZIO most units will lose strength gradually. A 5-6-12 Panzer Division falls to 4-5-12. 3-4-12 and then 2-3-12 and then to a defenseless inverted counter before it is eliminated forever. Meanwhile it can be combined with replacement units to build ' back up again, if pulled out of the line. This requires the use of 4 different counters to represent this unit at each step. The constant replacing of counters as units lose and regain steps adds a lot of work to the game. It also adds a lot of realism and very realistically simulates the kind of attritional warfare that characterised the Italian Front. AH was wise to discard the UET for the SRT is right for this game.

AH rates ANZIO's complexity level as Tournament II along with 1776 and LUFTWAFFE and just below PANZERBLITZ, and I would agree with that. And it is an excellent game for solo play. As such it is certainly well worth the $8.00 price. It, also, is available from PANZERFAUST.

Credits for ANZIO are as follows: historical research and original design, Dave Williams; redesign and re-organization of 2nd editdon, Tom Oleson, Tom Shaw and Donald Greenwood. All new Organization Charts (for keeping track of all those step counters) and Orders of Battle charts greatly simplify set up and play. An extensive appendix to the rules includes definitions of the terrain status of many hexes which were previously subjects of uncertainty and dispute, plus examples of movement and the facts of terrain, use of fortifications, combat, supply and isolation, and regimental/divisional exchanges.

The new colors for the German unit counters make sense. Army units are now field (greenish) grey and Luftwaffe units are blue-grey, while SS units are still black. The new Allied colors are less obviously appropriate. British are brownish-orange, Americans yellow-orange (the same shade as clear terrain, which might lead to some lost units), New Zealand, South African. Greek and Jewish units are still light blue (and not easily distinguished from the Luftwaffe), French dark green, Polish pink, Indians red, and Italians (whether pro-Gernan of pro-Allied) are red-orange.

The box art (often criticized) has been changed. The new design is in the old GETTYSBURG-TACTICS-D-DAY tradition with a line drawing of a landing craft in one corner, but the old distinctive lettering of the title is retained.

Complexity Level

Alexander the Great Intermediate II
Anzio Tournament II
Jutland Tournament II
Chancellorsville Intermediate III
Third Reich Tournament IV
Panzer Leader Tournament IV

More Six From Avalon Hill Game Profiles

Rise and Decline of the Third Reich
Chancellorsville
Anzio
Alexander the Great
Jutland
Panzer Leader