Childhood Games: Avalon Hill's Third Reich
Summers at my house as a kid was often spent with my cousin, Scott, who was, and still is, like a brother to me. We loved to play board games like Risk, Stratego, Chess, Life, and others. In fact, we would have Board Game Olympics in which we competed over a course of days at over a dozen games in multiple rounds to determine the Summer Board Game Champion. Kids!
One of our favorite games, however, required days to play, in and of itself. Avalon Hill's Third Reich.
Third Reich is a 2-4 multiplayer World War II strategy game. Depending on which side you were on, The Axis or The Allies, players attempted to win by completing different campaigns, each with it's own objectives. From the invasion of Poland, to Russia's scorched earth defense of her homeland, each campaign can be played independently using the militaries of six major countries as well as other Axis aligned countries to achieve their Victory Conditions.
Our favorite game was the nearly unlimited Advanced Game in which we begin at the start of the war, with Germany attempting to knock out Russia, France, and England before the United States enters the war. These games often found us up through all hours of the night, pouring over the game board and maneuvering our game pieces across Europe's landscape.
Turn based play includes unit movement, attack and resolution, followed by redeployment of new units. Using a die to determine individual combat between units, a certain degree of chance exists, just as in real warfare. Each hexagon on the game board includes terrain conditions affecting movement and defense. We would vie for the great cities of Europe and Asia as we play through the night and into the wee hours of the morning.
While my original game was lost somewhere along the way between childhood and my adult years, I found this replacement a few years ago on eBay. As you can see from the photos, this game is in excellent condition, and was never used.
This game contains all original pieces except for the dice. Two, fold out game boards depicting the European continent, Russia, and parts of the Middle East and Africa. The thick book of complicated rules! Scenario game cards depicting each country's available units and victory conditions. Unit chits depicting individual unit types, movement, and strength. (The chits in this game aren't even punched out!)
I keep this game as a reminder of many fun, summer nights with my best friend. One day, perhaps in our retirement, we may once again find ourselves huddled over the game board, vying for control of Europe like we once did. This time, however, there will likely be adult beverages and cigars involved.
Thanks for letter me share a piece of my childhood with you here on Steemit. Let me know if you used to play this game, or other similar Avalon Hill games. I certainly played Squad Leader, Panzer Leader, and Outdoor Survival, to name just a few.
Cheers!