Summer 1940:

Germany is the master of Europe. Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries, and France have all fallen victim to armored blitzkrieg. With dreams of a new Roman Empire in the Mediterranean and Africa, Italy has joined the Axis cause just before the French surrender. There is every reason for Benito Mussolini to be confident Italy has joined the winning side. Britain, alone, faces invasion. In Egypt, the Sudan, British Somalia, and Kenya the British are greatly outnumbered. In the Near East nationalists in Iraq and Vichy French collaborators in the Levant also pose a threat.

Shifting Sands: World War Two in the Mediterranean, 1940-1943 covers nearly three years of epic struggle, from Tuni's to Cairo, from Khartoum to Nairobi, from Beirut to Baghdad. By Michael Rinella, designer of Monty's Gamble: MarketGarden, Shifting Sands is a tense, quick-playing depiction of what has been called the last "gentleman's war."

Shifting Sands uses a point-to-point map covering all of North Africa from Casablanca to the Suez Canal, with sidemaps depicting East Africa and the Near East. Units are divisions and "battlegroups" (battalions for the Germans, regiments for the Italians and Americans, brigades for the British and other nationalities).

Each turn represents three months time, and each player is allowed six Action Rounds per turn. The movement and combat systems will be familiar to players of other recently published card- driven games, but have been modified to depict the conditions found in North Africa, the Middle East, and East Africa.

The heart of the game lies in the 110 Action Cards (55 each AR for the Axis and Allied players). Each card can be used for operational movement and combat, strategic deployment, replacements, or for an Event.

Includes:

Diplomacy (Atlantic Charter, Unternehmen Irak)
Historical leaders (Auchinleck, Kesselring, Patton, Rommel) Intelligence warfare (ULTRA, Codebook Stolen)
Major offensives (Crusader, Venezia, Torch)
Malta (Sea Devils & E-Boats, Malta Convoy, Siege of Malta, Spitfires)
Naval warfare (Italian Fleet, Mediterranean Fleet, U-Boats) Political interference (Orders from Rome, London Calling)
Special units (Kampfstaffel, Long Range Desert Group)
Tactical skills and problems (Radio Intercepts, Command Friction)
Technological advantages (Matildas, 88mm FLAK Guns)
War elsewhere (Barbarossa, Rising Sun)

Shifting Sands: World War Two in the Mediterranean, 19401943 presents both players with exciting and challenging game choices, while simulating the logistical difficulties of commanding modern armies in countries far from European factories. Unlike many other games, Shifting Sands: World War Two in the Mediterranean, 1940- 1943 lives up to its title: The winner is often decided on the last turn as the Allied player struggles to capture Axis ports like Tunis or Tripoli.

Summer 1940: Will Mussolini ride into Cairo on a white horse, triumphant, or will the Allies drive the Axis from the shores of North Africa? This time YOU are in command!