Among the many excellencies of the OCS family of games, one of the standout attributes is the inherent unpredictability of the games in the form of surprise rolls in combat and rolls for first player determination. These two items alone greatly enhance the system in providing some "chance of war" elements lacking in most games. In some small measure, these help to factor in some of the uncertainties which may cause even the best-laid plans to go awry.

DAK goes one better in providing an excellent and extensive random events system which throws even more spice into the mix. There is, however, one frustrating element for those who would play the entire campaign, in that the date of 12 February 1941 (the date of the arrival of German troops) looms large in the thinking of each player and correspondingly affects their play in an ahistorical way. Obviously the commanders in the field were not gifted with this certain knowledge of German intervention on a specific date, although they undoubtedly realized that, given the historical precedents, German intervention was likely. I am sure that many have wished for a system of variable entry for the Germans in order to take away the certainty of the 12 February date, and cause players to play more for the merits of their own situation rather than hinging all on the definite German entry. To this end I present the following option for variable German entry. This variant does work well and adds an exciting element of uncertainty to the early campaigning in DAK. This variant should only be used by those who sincerely want to play out the campaign to the best of their ability, as it would be quite easy to do stupid things in order to speed up or slow down the chances of German entry. Those interested in playing DAK purely for their interest in the historic German facet of the campaign will not have much use for this option and will probably want to start with the 29 March campaign start anyway.

Another somewhat annoying aspect of DAK is the "automatic" construction rules for roads and fortifications. While these were understandably included in a simplified form for playability's sake, Dean has left us tantalizing bits in the DAK notes about what could have been. For those of you who do not mind a few extra rules so that you can take matters into your own hands, I have also presented some simple, playable construction rules.

Lastly, I have presented an addition to the Random Events table, which includes the non-historical unit variant options included in DAK.

Variable German Entry

This is quite an exciting variant to play with and adds a good deal of tension and uncertainty to the early months of DAK. Assuming a reasonably competent British player, things usually fall out close to what they did historically. But there is always that chance.

1. The chances of German entry are increased by three considerations-a) The exchange of territory, b) The loss of Italian units, and c) The passage of time. "Variable German Entry Points" accrue based on these three criteria and, twice per month, this total of points is cross-indexed with a dice roll on the table below to see whether the Germans intervene. On a piece of scratch paper, keep a running total of "Variable German Entry Points" (henceforth VGEP) according to the following scheme:

A)

As territory changes hands, add the number of VGEP as detailed here even if that territory is subsequently lost:

+20 Italians take Mersa Matruh
+2 British retake Sidi el Barrani
+3 British cross Libyan border (with any ground unit) +3 British take Bardia
+5 British take Tobruk
+7 British take Benghazi

B)

As Italian units are lost, add VGEP according to the following schedule:

+2 per division destroyed
+1 per HQ destroyed
+1 per air unit destroyed
+1 per 2 brigades and/or regiments destroyed

C)

On the first day of each month shown below, VGEP are gained as listed. Should the German entry be delayed past April 1941(!), simply continue the established numerical pattern for the ensuing months.

+1 1 November 1940
+2 1 December 1940 +3 1 January 1941 +4 1 February 1941 +5 1 March 1941
+6 1 April 1941 (and subsequent months)

2. Procedure:

On the 1st and 15th of each month, during the Italian reinforcement phase, roll two dice and compare the result with the number of VGEP gained thus far. If the dice roll equals or exceeds the number listed, the Germans have decided to intervene.

Accumulated VGEP	Dice Roll Needed
1-6	12
7-12	11+
13-18	10+
19-24	9+
25-29	8+
30-34	7+
35-39	6+
40-44	5+
45-49	4+
50+	3+

3. On the turn that German intervention is rolled for, bring in what would normally be the German reinforcement for January 1941 (the Ju-52) and bring in all subsequent reinforcements in successive order from that point on. This means that if German entry is rolled for on the 1 December 1940 turn, the Axis player will, on that turn, receive the Ju-52. On the 12 January 1941 turn, he will receive the reinforcements that would historically arrive on 12 February. The March reinforcements would arrive in February, April in March, etc. The Flieger Korps always arrives on 1 January 1941 and is never affected by these rules.

Example: By the time of the 15 December turn, there have been no losses, and no territory has changed hands outside of the Italians taking Sidi el Barrani. All previous rolls for German intervention have failed. By this turn, there is a total of only three VGEP (one point for 1 November and two points for 1 December). Given three VGEP, the Italians need to roll a 12. They roll a 10 and so no Germans will be coming in early. Two turns later, the British launch their delayed offensive, and by the time of the 1 January turn they have retaken Sidi el Barrani (+2) and destroyed three divisions (+6 total), two air units on the ground (+2 total) and three regiments (only +1). This performance, along with the advance for the 1 January turn (+3), puts the VGEP total at 17, which requires a roll of 10 or higher. The Italians roll a 7. No German Intervention yet. By the 15 January turn, the border has been crossed (+3), two HQs have been destroyed (+2), and one more division (+2) plus four more brigades and regiments (+2) have been lost. Now there are 26 VGEP, which requires a roll of 8 or higher. The Italians roll a 9! German Intervention! They receive the Ju-52 immediately, and the Germans will arrive according to the historical schedule--that is, in the next month, February. Had the Italians not succeeded in the roll for 15 January, and had instead successfully rolled for German Intervention on 1 February, the Ju-52 would have arrived on 1 February, the first contingents of the DAK would have arrived on 12 March, and all the rest of the reinforcements would have been delayed by one month from their historical arrival times.

4. Rule 4.4d, "Protecting Italian Private Property," does not become active automatically on 12 February. Instead, it comes into effect when Rommel enters as a reinforcement. That bit about putting military considerations before protecting Benghazi villas was his idea, so it is logical to assume that he would have pulled the strings to allow for the bombardment of these ports whenever he arrived.

5. Ignore rule 4.4b "Italian Sudden Death Win." The benefits of taking Mersa Matruh are incorporated in the VGEP table and give the Italians a big inducement to take Mersa. On a historical note, if players should balk at this bonus, it should be known that Hitler had, in November 1940, halted preparations for sending troops to Africa until such time as Mersa Matruh had been captured. OKW Instruction No. 18 of 12 November 1940 declared that "German forces will be used, if at all, only when the Italians have reached Mersa Matruh and in the first instance will be Luftwaffe units for whom the Italians will have provided aerodromes. The Armed Forces are to prepare for the employment of their units in this or any other North African theatre of operations," etc. Obviously the Italian disaster changed their minds, but we will take Hitler and OKW at their word and assume that they would have likely sent troops had Mersa Matruh fallen.

Construction Options

As already mentioned, throughout the notes and rules of DAK, there are snippets and hints about rules that were left out or changed for the sake of playability. This section of options addresses three of those instances in the realm of construction rules. Specifically, rules for the automatic timetriggered construction of the road to Sidi el Barrani, the Tobruk bypass road, and the Tobruk forts are replaced with the following rules, which put these issues totally in the hands of the players, so that they can make the campaign decisions all their own. Undoubtedly, someone out there is an expert on Italian construction techniques in WW2. I am not. These rules are a simple and, I hope logical; they attempt (with a minimum drain on the supply system) to put these decisions in the players' laps. These construction rules are easy to use, and for the most part they generate fairly historical results. The enjoyment they provide comes from letting the player take a proactive role instead of waiting for an automatic happening on a certain turn.

Road Building

1. Neither the primary road to Sidi el Barrani nor the Tobruk bypass road automatically become activated on set dates. Instead, the players must build them.

2. In order to build a road, any given side must have an engineer-capable unit in combat mode in the first hex of the projected road on their "side" of the road, i.e. west for the Axis and east for the Commonwealth. Expend 1T and place the extra railhead marker included in DAK in the hex; on the next turn (after its construction) it can be used as a normal primary road. The engineer-capable unit then advances to the next hex in order, and, when in combat mode, may expend another 1T to advance the railhead marker. On the turn after the last road hex is built, the whole course of the road is finished, and the railhead marker can be removed.

3. The construction must continue in lineal order. In other words, you cannot build from both ends, nor start building in the middle also in order to speed things up. This is to prevent players from giving an amount of attention to road building which their historical counterparts did not give.

4. The road from Sollum to Sidi el Barrani cannot be begun until the turn after Sidi el Barrani falls, although an HQ could be placed in the first hex in preparation for the event.

5. In practicality, if HQs are used to build the roads, it will take two turns for each hex built, and 2T of supply. This is because the HQ must go into movement mode in order to move into the next hex (using 1T for fuel) and, of course, cannot build while in movement mode, thus "losing" a turn from building. For the road to Sidi el Barrani, this will mean that if the Italians dig right into the construction (which they should) and continue straight through on every turn, it will be finished just about 1 December.

6. Option within an option: The system above will work fine with either road. However, to simulate better the time it took to build the Tobruk bypass road, only allow construction to be done on the 1st and the 15th of any given month. If that is too much of a hassle, feel free to use the same time frame for both roads. This slower Tobruk option takes about two months longer in construction time.

The Tobruk Forts

Instead of automatically becoming Level 3 on 1 April 1941, the Tobruk forts must be built up by the players themselves. At the start of the game, place a level one hedgehog in each of the five Tobruk fort hexes. All of the normal construction rules apply, except that:

1. The Italian player may not begin upgrading the Tobruk forts until after the first Commonwealth unit has crossed the Libyan border.

2. It costs only 1 SP per level of fort instead of the normal 2 SP. You are, after all, only upgrading previously existing fortifications. Still, the total bill for upgrading all 5 hexes two levels will be 10 SP!

3. All hexes must be upgraded to level 2 before any can be upgraded to level 3. Further, the AT ditch does not become effective until all hexes have become level 3. As a hex is upgraded to level 2, change the hedgehog marker accordingly. Once it reaches level 3, remove the hedgehog marker and use the fort as printed on the map.

4. Due at least in part to the effects of the desert, the Tobruk defenses had a nasty habit of decaying if they were not being used. By the time of Rommel's assault in 1942, the defenses had fallen greatly into disrepair from what they were just a few months before. To simulate this, on the 1st and 15th of each month, roll one die for each hex of Tobruk fortifications that does not have a unit as a garrison. On a roll of 1, reduce that hex by one level.

5. The Tobruk fortifications cannot, for any reason, be reduced beyond Level 1.

6. In practical terms, the Italians will likely not do much building of the Tobruk forts, as once the British cross the border, they usually have other things to worry about, and the total 10 SP cost is a big drain on their supply system. In general, then, this option usually produces approximately historical results. This rule is nice in that it eliminates the ugly spectacle of the players jockeying for Tobruk based on the 1 April 1941 date of the automatic upgrading of the forts.

Random Events Unit Entry Option

Like most Garners' games, DAK has several non-historical variants for the inclusion of forces that could have fought in the campaign. Some of these are intriguing, but for myself, and possibly many other players, they are seldom, if ever, used, as the desire is to simulate the campaign with historical forces. This option incorporates these non-historical units into the Random Events table, so that there is a chance that history will "change" and you will see them arrive. Personally, it is much easier for me to have variant units and events incorporated in a random table rather than deciding ahead of time to use them. It is assumed that most players will be using the historical options anyway, so only the nonhistorical options are included on this table.

This option is quite simple, although it is slanted so that results will seldom come out of it. When an 11 or 12 is rolled on the Random Events table, instead of "No Event," roll on the following table, reading the dice as an 11-66 result. As with the regular Random Events table, the time restrictions must match, or it is no result. If you do get a match of the correct month, enact that optional rule under the proper conditions as outlined in the rule book and/or the reinforcement chart.

Roll	Result
11-13	Still no result!
14-16	Balbo Lives! (Rule 6.2f) (September 12, 1940 only-good luck!)
21-23	2nd Libyan Parachute Infantry Battalion (Rule 6.2u) (September 1940)
24-26	Italian AT Units (Rule 6.2a) (October 1940)
31-33	Early German Intervention (Rule 6.2h) (November 1940) Ignore if Variable German Intervention rules are used.
34-36	Motorized Trento (Rule 6.2n) (February 1941)
41-43	Vyvyan Pope Lives! (Rule 6.3b) (October 1941)
44-46	Strong Lehr Para Bn (Rule 6.2d) (April 1942)
51-53	Battaglione Speciale Arditi (Rule 6.2k) (June 1942)
54-56	Pistoia is Free! (Rule 6.2b) (July 1942)
61-63	Heavy 220 PJ Bn (Rule 6.2c) (July 1942)
64-66	Case Blue and the 287 Sonderverband Regiment (Rule 6.2e) (July 1942)

If any do undertake to use these options, I would be interested in your comments, especially any tales of how Variable German Intervention panned out for you.

Perhaps if the results and feedback on some of these options are favorable, they will show up in DAK II (if it ever happens), along with rules and counters for the Italian and British fleets, the invasion of Malta on the scale of Sicily, actual counters for Mediterranean shipping and convoys!