Rise and Decline of the Third Reich
Encyclopedia
Rise and Decline of the Third Reich or more commonly Third Reich is a grand strategy wargame
covering the European theater
of World War II
designed by John Prados, and released in 1974 by Avalon Hill
. Huge in scope, it allows players to take on the roles of all the major national powers (Germany
, Italy
, United Kingdom
, France
, the Soviet Union
, and the United States
) and simulate the entire war effort from 1939 until the end (which often isn't until 1946).
The game was a favorite of many because of an excellent balance between economics, politics, and military might. The game gives players a chance to try things that did not happen historically to see if they might have worked better (e.g., a German invasion of Spain
). Definitely not for the novice gamer, the rules are intricate and there are many factors for players to deal with: resources, unit production, negotiation, and of course strategic warfare. Due to this complexity, games were known to take many hours to complete.
At Origins
1975, Rise and Decline of the Third Reich won the Charles S. Roberts Award
for Best Professional Game of 1974
.
In 2001, Avalanche Press
released a new version
of Third Reich known as John Prados' Third Reich.
A new power entering the war can cause a shift in initiative by sudden inclusion of BRPs in Allied or Axis totals. The game uses an interesting strategic cap on maximum military capacity in terms of number of manipulable units/counters of a particular military, loosely based on historical data like available manpower and the number of divisions actually fielded and their organization, giving a realistic feel for what is strategically possible and what is not, in that units cannot be endlessly piled up once an advantage is achieved, only more easily reconstituted due to economic strength. An insight into the sort of thinking that went into the design of the game is that despite historical technological and organizational advances in war, unit capability remains the same throughout the game, which the designers rationalized by noting that technological and organizational advances were systematically adopted by all sides as the war progressed.
Over the years, Third Reich was a frequent subject in Avalon Hill's magazine, The General, and a favorite at conventions. Many variants and additional rules were developed to extend the game. Advanced Third Reich
, designed by Bruce Harper, brought these together in 1992 adding diplomacy and other rules, along with revised maps and units. Empire of the Rising Sun
was developed as a Pacific theater counterpart to Advanced Third Reich, and included Research rules as well as rules to combine the games to simulate the whole of World War II around the globe.
After this, a new version that fused everything in Advanced Third Reich and Empire of the Rising Sun, initially designated "Global War 2000", began development. Rules and components were posted online, publicly available for anyone who might want to be a playtester and might offer feedback. In 2003, three years after the planned date, it was published by GMT Games as A World At War
. The game's development continues, with updated rules and components available online.
At the same time, Avalanche Press was developing a variation known as John Prados' Third Reich. Designed by Brian L. Knipple and published by Avalanche Press, it has distinctly different mechanics from Rise and Decline of the Third Reich.
Grand strategy wargame
A grand strategy wargame is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire nation state or empire's resources.-Scope of games:...
covering the European theater
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
designed by John Prados, and released in 1974 by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
. Huge in scope, it allows players to take on the roles of all the major national powers (Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) and simulate the entire war effort from 1939 until the end (which often isn't until 1946).
The game was a favorite of many because of an excellent balance between economics, politics, and military might. The game gives players a chance to try things that did not happen historically to see if they might have worked better (e.g., a German invasion of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). Definitely not for the novice gamer, the rules are intricate and there are many factors for players to deal with: resources, unit production, negotiation, and of course strategic warfare. Due to this complexity, games were known to take many hours to complete.
At Origins
Origins International Game Expo
Origins Game Fair is one of North America's most prominent annual gaming conventions, second in size only to Gen Con. Origins takes place each year in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, in late June or early July....
1975, Rise and Decline of the Third Reich won the Charles S. Roberts Award
Charles S. Roberts Award
The Charles S. Roberts Awards are given annually for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It is named after Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "Charlie" and officially called a "Charles S...
for Best Professional Game of 1974
1974 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1974. For video and console games, see 1974 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1974:...
.
In 2001, Avalanche Press
Avalanche Press
Avalanche Press is an American company that publishes board wargames and has published some role-playing game supplements. An extremely prolific company, they have produced many respected contributions to the wargame community, most notably The Great War at Sea and Panzer Grenadier series, as well...
released a new version
Third Reich/Great Pacific War series
Avalanche Press's Third Reich/Great Pacific War series is a strategic level board wargame of World War II. The series consists of two boxed games , one supplement , and an enlarged map, with one more future supplement .-Third Reich:Avalanche Press' version of Third...
of Third Reich known as John Prados' Third Reich.
Gameplay
Each turn represents a season: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Central to the game is the novel development of an economic system for creation of new units, reconstitution of lost units, ability to declare war, and ability to conduct a strategic offensive, using the Basic Resource Point (BRP), informally called "burp", as the generic representation of industry and economic power. BRPs automatically refresh at year end based on the economic capacity, which might increase or decrease by conquest or loss, or increase by accruing interest on unused BRPs at year end calculation. Since the side with more BRPs moves first, by foregoing offensives or purchases the previous seasons, a player could gain a shift in initiative, which can mean a flip-flop whereby the opposing side does not move when expected and the side with more BRPs gains two consecutive seasons moving.A new power entering the war can cause a shift in initiative by sudden inclusion of BRPs in Allied or Axis totals. The game uses an interesting strategic cap on maximum military capacity in terms of number of manipulable units/counters of a particular military, loosely based on historical data like available manpower and the number of divisions actually fielded and their organization, giving a realistic feel for what is strategically possible and what is not, in that units cannot be endlessly piled up once an advantage is achieved, only more easily reconstituted due to economic strength. An insight into the sort of thinking that went into the design of the game is that despite historical technological and organizational advances in war, unit capability remains the same throughout the game, which the designers rationalized by noting that technological and organizational advances were systematically adopted by all sides as the war progressed.
History
Rise and Decline of the Third Reich saw four editions, which cleaned up inaccuracies and ambiguities in the units (2nd edition), map (3rd edition), and rules (4th edition). Because some elements were not changed in some editions, the labels did not always match; the 4th edition was labeled on the box as 3rd edition despite having 4th edition rules.Over the years, Third Reich was a frequent subject in Avalon Hill's magazine, The General, and a favorite at conventions. Many variants and additional rules were developed to extend the game. Advanced Third Reich
Advanced Third Reich
Advanced Third Reich is a board wargame originally designed by Bruce Harper and published by Avalon Hill, who then sold the license to Hasbro. The game was marketed as "the ultimate World War II strategy game". A3R, a rewrite of Rise and Decline of the Third Reich is a simulation of the European...
, designed by Bruce Harper, brought these together in 1992 adding diplomacy and other rules, along with revised maps and units. Empire of the Rising Sun
Empire of the Rising Sun
Empire of The Rising Sun is a board wargame published originally by Avalon Hill. This is the companion game to Advanced Third Reich and utilizes the same rule book to bring the Pacific War to life...
was developed as a Pacific theater counterpart to Advanced Third Reich, and included Research rules as well as rules to combine the games to simulate the whole of World War II around the globe.
After this, a new version that fused everything in Advanced Third Reich and Empire of the Rising Sun, initially designated "Global War 2000", began development. Rules and components were posted online, publicly available for anyone who might want to be a playtester and might offer feedback. In 2003, three years after the planned date, it was published by GMT Games as A World At War
A World At War
A World At War is a board wargame published by GMT Games. It is a descendant of Avalon Hill's games Rise and Decline of the Third Reich and Empire of the Rising Sun. It depicts the Second World War in Europe, as well as the war in the Pacific theater....
. The game's development continues, with updated rules and components available online.
At the same time, Avalanche Press was developing a variation known as John Prados' Third Reich. Designed by Brian L. Knipple and published by Avalanche Press, it has distinctly different mechanics from Rise and Decline of the Third Reich.