Is this anything like the old board game The Third Reich?

[Vryce]

More decades ago than I care to remember a rather dedicated group of military history buffs, mostly ex-military, used to declare a weekend a Third Reich weekend and play that so very complex but so very compelling, for us anyway, board game.

I have been hoping for something like it to come along and wondered if anyone in here might be old enough to remember that game and know if there are any similarities?

I am really tempted to buy this game but I have been so disappointed in the past. I know it is extremely difficult to imitate or create decent AI but now that I have the computer and GPU to handle it, it seems games are all moving to VR or some variation of fantasy, at least in the major studios.

Enough griping. :-)

Nat

[hello]

hello i wood get this game if i were u there is a mod for the reich black ice and or black ice sub mod is grate fun im a big in ww2 stuff

[runifoc]

Are you referring to Avalon Hill's 'Rise and Decline of the Third Reich'? I remember playing that game with friends long, long ago. HOI4 is much more complex than TR; however, much of that complexity is handled by the computer.

One of my pet peeves about TR was that, regardless of battle results, economies generally got stronger over time; especially, for the Axis. You won't see that in HOI4 if you are losing territory.
Also, I don't remember manpower being an issue in TR like it is in HOI4.

Diplomacy is much different and there are a lot more countries that are playable in HOI4. In HOI4 you have to research your equipment types and can design your divisions according to the way you wage war. Supply routes and territorial infrasctructure are also factors in HOI4 that don't exist in TR.

[soontir fel]

you can probably find videos of people playing hoi to get an idea what its like I'm sure

[Dreamsurfer]

Closest I have come is actually Strategic Command WW2 (the new one). It plays very much like TR. Pretty good AI actually. Although HOI4 has a different scope and can be fun anyway.

[Vryce]

Thank you so very much for the replies!

Yes, it was the old AH game. We had 8 people who played and we were all vicious and back stabbing which meant the games could get very interesting.

I agree about the economic and manpower issues with the game. We came up with several alternate rules and a couple of items to add to the game to make it more realistic. Three of us were mathematicians which meant many arguments about statistical balance and therefore resulted in what we felt were good rules. We mostly played the vanilla version but when we had extra time and more substances to imbibe, well, the extra rules meant you really had to be on yoru toes and punishment could be brutal.

We sent the rules to AH but by that time board games were already declining; we had hopes for a computerized version of the game, multi-player across modems in our dreams and hoped the rules might be accepted. We did not want compensation or even attribution; we just wanted the game to survive and maybe thrive but in truth, it was a very complex and time consuming game.

I think I am going to buy the games mentioned here because after taking a look at them, they really do "feel" familiar and anytime I hear about a decent AI, I get very excited.

Sorry for the long note but I have been passionate about strategy games for a long time. A couple of Harpoon 3 scenarios still elude me but I LOVE that game.

Again, my thanks for the input. All of you made this old man's day!

Nat