Issue #3 of Panzerschreck magazine is now available. The game included in this issue is entitled The Barbarossa Campaign. It is a grand strategic solitaire game on the Eastern Front campaign in World War II, 1941-45. The gamer takes the role of the Germans, and the game system plays the Russians.
The game comes with a full-color 8.5 x 11 map, over 130 colorful counters, combat and economic chits, Economic Display, charts, cards, and rules. All components must be mounted and separated before play. Play time is 60 to 90 minutes.
Scale is corps/army level, with seasonal turns. The hex map stretches from Berlin to Stalingrad, and Belgrade to Helsinki.
The game is based on the critical factor of Initiative; lose it to the Russians, and your campaign is in trouble. Initiative is a simple device that takes into account military success, economic factors, and national morale. Clearly, the German must play aggressively to win.
If you have played Reichstag or Der Kessel, you will have a feel for the complexity of The Barbarossa Campaign... except now you are directing the war effort of an entire front!
Besides the usual mix of feature articles (Turning Point: Stalingrad, and Retro ASL III) and "Short Takes" (Tank Commander, 1914, B-17, Stalingrad), the 44-page edition (plus game inserts) includes a first for Panzerschreck: a Mini-Sim game entitled Cold Harbor, from the American Civil War. This bonus game includes a small map, a few dozen counters, and rules.
