Game of the Week, Oct 14 to 20
Hi everyone,
It’s time for Game of the Week!
This week’s Game of the Week is Panzer Campaigns – El Alamein ‘42.
Panzer Campaigns – El Alamein ‘42 is the brand new 4.05.1 version, and our product description encapsulates this campaign well:
In the summer of 1942, the Afrika Korps was approaching its high-water mark. In a month-long struggle than began at Gazala, Rommel had defeated the 8th Army and driven the British back to Egypt, once again surrounding Tobruk, a prize that eluded him the previous year. Then in a surprise move, he doubled back, and captured Tobruk in a single day before turning his Panzer Army once again toward Alexandria, Cairo and the Nile. But the British would deny him the ultimate prize with a heroic stand at a lonely, unheard-of railway stop known as El Alamein.
There are 80 Scenarios in the game. Below is a list of the major engagements included, many with multiple scenarios:
- Operation Compass: December 1940 - February 1941
- Battle of Gazala: May 1942
- 1st Battle of El Alamein: June 1942
- Operation Herkules (Hypothetical invasion of Malta): June 1942
- Alam Halfa Ridge: August 1942
- 2nd Battle of El Alamein: October 1942
The longest campaign scenario is 360 turns, with most scenarios a very playable sub-30 turns.
The master map (175,616 hexes) covers the entire North African coastline, from Gazala in the west to Alexandria in the east.
Panzer Campaigns – El Alamein ‘42 includes the aforementioned playable scenarios and campaigns, as well as a "Getting Started" scenario designed to introduce new players to the game system. The included scenarios are a good mix of small (division), medium (corps) and large (army) engagements.
Of the seven included Order of Battles, the largest one features over 3,200 units from the German, Italian, British, Commonwealth and Greek forces that participated in the campaign.
We included a lot of historical documentation and notes with this title. You can review each by clicking on the links below.
There has been a range of books covering the battles in the North Africa in 1942. Following are some representative books for anyone that would like some more background on the campaign. You can click on the book images below to be taken to the Publisher or Amazon, if applicable.
Informational
An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 (The Liberation Trilogy, Vol. 1). This the first volume of a trilogy covering the liberation of Europe in World War II.
Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein by Niall Barr. One of the very best books on the fighting that started in Libya in May 1942 and resulted in the Allied retreat to Egypt. The subsequent British counteroffensive begun in October, broke the Axis and saw Montgomery liberate Libya and advance to the border with Tunisia.
The Desert War: The classic trilogy on the North African campaign 1940-1943 by Alan Moorehead. Moorehead’s classic work written in 1944, experienced firsthand as foreign correspondent for the Daily Express. A must read for the aficionado.
Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein – The Battle that Turned the Tide of World War II by Jonathan Dimbleby. Dimbleby has crafted many military history books and this one is outstanding. He has shown how the political pressures of the time from Churchill and cabinet were managed by Montgomery to fight the battle he wanted to fight.
The Three Battles of El Alamein: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War). This is one of the best books to visualize the terrain, men, equipment, and challenges both sides had fighting in these significant battles.
Now for video content:
SmartWargames has a content review of El Alamein ‘42, here.
Following are some in-game screen shots of what to expect. Each image can be clicked for a full-sized view.
As mentioned, the build we are making available today is the new 4.05.1 version. A range of new features were included, and you can read the Changelog here. All new purchases will be this latest version.
If you don’t already own this title, what are you waiting for? You can buy it directly from the dedicated product page.
We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week. Like all WDS titles, there is a lot of game play included at a very attractive price.
I’ve been playing these games for over 25 years, and I still find myself coming back to them time and time again. There is nothing quite like this on the market these days.
They are at once entertaining, historical, and educational.
If you;’ve ever wondered about what a real operation would feel like – this series gets it right. There are other competent contenders out there in other formats such as real time, etc., but the u-go-I-go iteration of PZC is not to be missed, especially if you are a historian or military sim wargamer.
The email format is welcome feature especially if you find a great opponent and can conduct some of the longer campaigns.
I love this update – thank you so much. I can’t wait for the rest of this series to get updated. And also, Modern Campaigns. Still the best go-to Operational simulation imho.
@Ian – the copy of the Design Notes linked in the article and on our website has been replaced this morning. We’ll get the one in the build replaced in time.
one of my favorite WWII games…………the scenario’s are wide open slug fests…….
Erm, the Designer’s Notes are a complete mess: the page ordering is mixed up, several pages are duplicated and it looks like there are several gaps (no start to the reference section I can spot, for example).
Leave a comment