RitD has always been in great demand, by gamers because it's fun, easy and popular, and by collectors because of limited production runs (800 for the first or The Game Preserve edition, and 5,000 for the second or the Columbia Games edition). Although both editions of RitD are out of print, copies of the second edition can still be found at some dealers, and still appear quite regularly for auction on the Internet.

But beware - many sellers are not aware of the differences between the first and second editions and generally don:t indicate which edition it is, so you won t know which version you are buying unless you remember to ask specifically, or the seller has some experience.

Only the original versions of the three Gamma Two block games, Quebec 1759, 1812 and Napoleon, came with the pre-printed blocks. All the rest come as a kit: you must peel the MacTac ™ stickers from the sheet and apply them to the blocks. The equivalent of "unpunched" condition would thus presumably be "unpeeled" stickers.

This is actually advantageous, as there were obvious difficulties in obtaining consistent printing quality on the blocks, the contrast between the colors of the printing and the block was not always great, and the ink tended to wear more quickly than the stickers.

Up to 1996, the first edition of RitD (which was long out of print by then) sold at auction on the Internet for $35, and the second edition went for between $8 and $28. However, since the second edition has also gone out of print, the price for a "punched" second edition copy ranges from $25 to $35. Prices for the first edition have remained what I consider to be artificially low, due simply to ignorance of its existence.

Other Games of This Type

Of all the block games now available, Napoleon (Napoleon at Waterloo) is slightly more simple than RitD, and EastFront (the Russo-Gennan war in the east) is slightly more complex. Neither of these games deals with the North African campaign of World War 2, but in their own ways they put the block system to good use.

Other block games include Quebec 1759 (the battle between the French and the English on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City), 1812 (the unsuccessful American invasion of British North America), WestFront (World War 2 in Western Europe) and MedFront (World War 2 in the Mediterranean).

There are countless games dealing with the Mediterranean theater during World War 2, many of which are listed in the ludography elsewhere in this issue. However, other non-block games dealing with Rommel's offensives in Libya and Egypt between 1940 and 1942, at about the same scale and level as RitD, include:

Afrika Korps (Avalon Hill)
African Campaign (Jedco)
Afrika (The Gamers)
D.A.K (Simulation Canada)
Desert Fox (SPI Strategy & Tactics 87)
Hell's Foxes (Strategy Gaming Society)
The Legend Begins (Rhino/Terran Games)
PanzerArmee Afrika (SPI/Avalon Hill)
Rommel in North Africa (WEG)
Rommel's War (Quarterdeck)
Western Desert (GDW).

Other Games by Craig Besinque

EastFront -Russia, 1941 to 1945.
WestFront - the west, 1943 to 1945.
VolgaFront - EastFront to the Urals.
EuroFront - units and scenarios for the war in Poland, France and the Balkans, plus rules to link all Front games into one mega game, 1939 - 1945.
Bobby Lee - the eastern theater of the American Civil War, covering all campaigns from First Bull Run to Petersburg.

References

Pimper's All the World's Wargames edited by George Phillies; published by Strategy Gaming Society, 87-6 Park Ave., Worcester MA 01605.

Internet Wargames Catalog by Mark Boone (1996); published by Mark Boone, 125 Hoyt Street, Fredericksburg VA 22405.

Around the Block the Columbia Games house newsletter; published by Columbia Games, Inc., P.O. Box 3457, Blaine WA 98231.

Rommel in the Desert

Rommel in the Desert: Game Review
Rommel in the Desert: Devil's Advocate (Rebuttal)
Rommel in the Desert: Component Manifest
Rommel in the Desert: Collector's Value