Rommel's War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• About the Game
• Game Board
• Game Units
• Unit's Abilities
  • Infantry
  • Tank
  • Fort
  • Anti-Tank
  • Recon
  • Air
• Initiative Cards
• Setting Up the Game
• Sequence of Play
  • Receive Reinforcements
  • Draw One Initiative Card
  • Make Two Moves
  • End Phase
    • Resolve Supply
    • Tobruk Supply
    • Recovery
• How to Move
• Combat and Retreat
  • Revealing Units in Combat
  • Retreat Before Combat
  • Retreat From Combat
  • Resolving Combat
• Winning the Game
• Optional Rules
  • Mulligan
  • Bidding
  • Solitaire
• Designer Notes

About the Game

The tan blocks are for the units of the Allies and the gray are for the Axis. The black backgrounds are German units and the green backgrounds are Italian. There are two units with white backgrounds, these are the reduced strength German Tank units. All represent the Axis forces and there are no differences in their functions.

Each unit has a combat strength and movement rate printed on it that faces the owning player, hidden from his opponent. Units move a distance depending on their unit type. Fortifications and air units have some restrictions on their movement abilities. Most units enter the game as reinforcements. When a player loses a combat, he will remove one of his units from the map permanently. (Exception: The two German Panzer Tank Units are replaced by a reduced-strength unit instead of being eliminated.)

Game Board

The map shows Libya and Egypt from El Agheila in the west to Alexandria in the east. Each named location on the map can be reached by a transportation route from one or more adjacent locations. The main transportation route is the Via Balbia, the large highway running along the coast. Inland, off the coast, desert tracks (represented by dotted lines) provide slower means of travel.

The Axis base is located at El Agheila and all Axis reinforcements appear there. The Allied base is located at Alexandria, and all Allied reinforcements arrive there. Both bases have a 2-strength fortification for their defense, printed on the map. The other special location is Tobruk, which is both a port and plays an important role in victory conditions.

The board also has a turn track (turns 1 to 10: Apr '41, May '41, Jun '41, Jul '41, Aug '41, Sep '41, Oct '41, Nov '41, Dec '41, Jan '42), an Axis force pool space, an Allied force pool space, and a sea supply space. The board shows the sequence of play:

1. Receive reinforcements and place at base
2. Draw one initiative card
3. Make two moves and resolve combat
4. End phase - recovery and resolve supply

Game Units

The units in the game represent the forces that fought in the desert war: infantry, tanks, recon, anti-tank, and aircraft, along with fortifications. Each wooden block represents a unit.

Each unit's label shows a unit icon, a strength value, a speed value, a country identifier, and (Anti-Tank and Fort only) a defense strength.

Units are all rated for speed based on their movement rate from 3 (fastest) to 1 (slowest). Units move and retreat based on their movement rate. Unit speed is a factor in combat.

Example: An infantry unit has a movement rate of 1. It moves and retreats one location. It is slower than tanks which have a movement rate of 2.

Movement rate by unit type: Fort 1, Infantry 1, Tank 2, Anti-Tank 2, Recon 2, Air 3.

Unit's Abilities

Infantry

Infantry has a movement rate of 1. Its combat strength ranges from 2-4.

Tank

Tank has a movement rate of 2. Its combat strength ranges from 3-5.

German Panzer Tank units have two steps. They start at a strength of 5. If they take a loss in combat, they are replaced by a 3-strength panzer division (which does not start in the force pool). If they take another loss, they are eliminated.

Fort

Fortifications may be moved as infantry before they are revealed in combat. Once revealed, they remain face up and may not leave the location they are in. They may not participate in an attack, but may be part of an attacking force if they are not revealed.

If a fortification is revealed in defense, it has a special property that the attacker must always retreat after combat unless he eliminates all defending fortifications. Attacking units are not disorganized if they retreat for this reason. Defending units are not disorganized as long as they remain with the fortification.

Example: Tobruk has one 3-strength infantry unit and one 4-strength fortification. The Germans attack with a panzer division (5 points) and the Italian tank (4 points). The Germans win the battle, 9 to 7. The British must lose one unit and choose the infantry unit. The Germans then retreat to the space they entered the battle from. If the Germans attack Tobruk with their second action with at least 5 points worth of units, the fortification will be eliminated, so the second attack will hold the location.

Note that a defender may choose to take the fortification as a loss and retreat his other units. This is rarely advantageous, but it could be helpful if it leaves the attackers units in a position where they could be cut out of supply.

Anti-Tank

Anti-tank has a movement rate of 2. Its combat strength ranges from 2-5. These units have a separate attack and defense strength. The defense strength, in the center of the icon, is used only if the attacking units include any tanks, recon, or air. Anti-tank units attacked solely by infantry and/or other anti-tank units use their lower combat value.

Recon

Recon has a movement rate of 2. Its combat strength is 1. It also has a special ability in that it is considered faster than other 2-Speed units during a retreat even though its movement rate is the same. In short, a Recon unit can escape Tank and/or Anti-Tank units.

Air

Aircraft has a movement rate of 3. Its combat strength ranges from 2-3. These units may participate in defensive battles in their location normally. To be used in an attack, the attacker must use one of his moves to send in the aircraft unit or units from a single location on the board (thus, he may use both of his aircraft units if they are in the same location together). Aircraft may not attack alone, which means that attacking with aircraft will use both of the attacker's moves: one to move the ground units, and one to attack with the aircraft.

Aircraft may perform a reconnaissance move into a location with enemy units. If there are no other attacking units, the aircraft must retreat before combat if possible, but the defender must reveal all of his units in the location. If there are aircraft in the defending location, the defender has the choice of forcing a combat with the attacking aircraft. Combat is resolved only between aircraft units, but the attacker must retreat (and be disrupted) even if he wins as long as there is at least one ground unit present. If the defender does not wish to force air combat, he does not have to unless the location is defended solely by aircraft units. In that case, combat must occur.

Example: the British player uses a move to send a 3-strength air unit into a location occupied by 3 Axis units. If there are no Axis air units present, the Axis player reveals all his units, and the British air unit retreats before combat. If there is an Axis air unit present, the Axis player may decide (prior to seeing the British air unit) to reveal his air unit to keep his other units hidden. If the Axis air unit is strength 2, it would be eliminated but the other Axis units would not be revealed. Alternately, the Axis player could allow the British aircraft to reveal all defending units and not have combat.

Example: The British player uses an action to move an air unit into a location occupied by a single Axis unit. If the Axis unit is also an air unit, the two units will fight and one will be eliminated; there is no option not to fight.

Initiative Cards

Each initiative card reads "[0, 1 or 2] - 1 Additional Move OR Add +1 to One Attack" (the value shown on the card).

Each player has his own deck of 10 initiative cards, and will draw one at the start of each of his turns. Initiative cards sometimes allow a player to perform an additional movement or add points to a combat. The initiative card is only valid for the turn it is drawn, and may only be used on the player's own turn (not when his opponent is moving).

Setting Up the Game

The Axis force pool consists of 2 full-strength German Panzer Tank divisions (strength 5), 2 reduced-strength Panzer divisions (strength 3), and 15 other units. Put one Panzer division on turn 6 to remind you that it enters that turn; set aside the 2 reduced-strength Panzer divisions in case you need them. Mix the other units face-down in their force pool space on the board. The Axis player draws 3 units plus one Panzer division to start and places them at El Agheila. The Axis player moves first and does not receive reinforcements on the first turn.

The Allied force pool consists of 19 units. Mix all the units face-down in their force pool space on the board. The Allied player draws 4 random units from the face-down force pool and places one of them in each of the following spaces: Benghazi, Mechili, Tobruk, Alexandria.

Shuffle the initiative cards for each side and place them face down near each player.

Sequence of Play

1. Receive reinforcements and place at base
2. Draw one initiative card
3. Make two moves and resolve combat
4. End phase - Recovery and Resolve Supply

Receive Reinforcements

A player normally receives two reinforcements every turn at his base, El Agheila for the Axis; Alexandria for the Allies. He randomly selects from among the face-down blocks in the force pool that have not entered the game yet. Exception: the Axis player receives no reinforcements on turn 1. On turn 6, the Axis player receives a German Panzer Tank division (5-strength armour unit) and one random unit. On turn 8, each player will have only one block left, so they only add one reinforcement. There are no reinforcements on turns 9 or 10. The turn track shows how many units each side receives each turn with a Union Jack for the Allies and a German Cross for the Axis.

Draw One Initiative Card

In this phase a player draws an Initiative card and turns it face up. If the card has a value, it may be used for combat or an additional move.

Make Two Moves

Each player makes up to two moves on his turn, and possibly an additional move depending on his initiative card. Combat is a function of movement and can be resolved after one movement action is complete, or it can be delayed until later (possibly allowing other units to enter the same combat).

End Phase

The end phase is used for two purposes: checking supply, and recovery of disorganized units.

Resolve Supply

Units must be able to trace a supply path back to their base at the end of their turn. A supply path is a track or road in any combination that does not pass through enemy-occupied locations. Failure to have a supply line results in elimination. Units that start a turn out of supply may not move or attack that turn, unless they are put back in supply with a prior move (by another group) in their turn.

Tobruk Supply

British units in or adjacent to Tobruk are always in supply (unless the Axis occupy Tobruk itself). This kind of port supply prevents units in or adjacent to the port from being eliminated; however, there are restrictions on what units supplied from the port can do. Units adjacent to Tobruk may only be activated to move into Tobruk, not to move elsewhere (even if also adjacent to Tobruk) and never to attack. Units actually in the port may be activated to move and attack, but they may only move into locations adjacent to Tobruk, never further away. (Naturally, these restrictions do not apply if the units can trace a supply path to Alexandria. They also do not apply if the first British move opens a supply path to Alexandria; with the second move, he could move and attack with units in or adjacent to Tobruk normally.) Only one group of units in Tobruk may be activated to attack in a turn, and only 2 ground units may participate in the attack. However, if there are air units in Tobruk, they may also participate in the attack as a second move.

Because of the difficulties in co-ordination, air units in Tobruk (when isolated) may never join combat with units outside of Tobruk, and air units outside of Tobruk may never join combat with units in Tobruk. If units inside and outside of Tobruk are both attacking the same space, this limitation does not apply.

Recovery

A player's disorganized units recover automatically at the end of his turn. The only exception is units that became disorganized in his turn (i.e., those that failed in an attack or that retreated voluntarily before an attack) by retreating from a combat they initiated, either before combat or after losing the combat. Such units must wait until the end of the player's next turn to recover.

How to Move

Each player receives two moves on his turn. A move consists of moving a group of units (from one to four) from one location to another. You may not drop off units from a group during a move. There is no limit on the number of units that may be in a location, but a maximum of four units may move at a time. Units may move up to four spaces along a road. Units with a movement rate of one (infantry and fortifications) may move a maximum of one additional space (along a road or track). Units with a movement rate of two (tanks, recon, and anti-tank) may move two additional spaces. Air units, which only use roads in particular circumstances (see below), may move 3 spaces. For all units, movement must cease once the unit has exhausted its intrinsic movement, even if it has road movement left.

Example: an infantry unit in El Alamein may use four spaces of road bonus to move to El Adem and then its one intrinsic movement to move to Mechili. An infantry unit in Mechili must stop once it moves to El Adem because it has used its off-road movement.

Units that have a movement rate of 2 may move one location along a track, up to four locations along a road, and an additional location along a track; once it moves a second location on a track, however, its movement is complete.

Aircraft units may move their movement rate (3 spaces) over enemy-occupied locations, but only if they end in a battle or in a location occupied by friendly units. Aircraft may not move over occupied locations to end in an empty location.

Note: It is possible that aircraft may have to retreat after winning a battle. This can occur if an aircraft moves over enemy units to initiate a reconnaissance attack, and finds only enemy planes in the defending location, and defeats them. Normally, this kind of attack would end with the victorious attacking air units remaining in the location. However, this would violate that the rule that aircraft may not move over occupied locations to end in an empty location; therefore, the attacking air unit(s) must retreat to the location they came from even though they won the battle. They are not disrupted in this case. If there were two defending air units, the surviving one would still have to retreat and be disrupted per normal retreat rules.

Aircraft units may only use the road bonus if they are (a) accompanying friendly units, or (b) moving to a friendly-occupied location.

Fortifications that have been revealed in combat remain face-up on the game board and may not move for the remainder of the game. Prior to being revealed, they move like infantry but may not attack (although they may be included in an attack provided that they are not revealed; see below on combat).

Note: Each unit may only move once on its turn.

The British may use a move to transfer one unit from port to port (Tobruk to Alexandria or vice versa). The unit does not need to be in supply to move. The British could use both moves to move two units. The destination port must be friendly or in supply (e.g., the British could move a unit to Tobruk as long as Tobruk could trace a supply line to Alexandria, or if it was already occupied by at least one British unit).

If a player's initiative card does not show a zero, he may use it for one additional move. (Even if the number is a 2, the card may still be used for only one additional move.) He may use the card to move one additional group of units (i.e., he has 3 moves instead of the usual 2). The card is discarded at the end of his turn; it may not be saved for later use.

Combat and Retreat

If units enter an enemy-occupied location, they must stop and resolve potential combat. Disorganized units may never enter an enemy-occupied location. Combat may occur after each move and the same units may be attacked more than once, although phasing units may only attack once. A player may choose to make both of his moves before resolving combat (for example, if he wants to move two separate groups to attack a single location).

Before revealing units in combat, the attacker may choose to use his initiative card to add to his combat strength. The card value is added to his total combat strength. The card is committed even if the defender retreats before combat. An initiative card used for combat is not available to provide an extra move.

Revealing Units in Combat

After the attacker decides whether to use his initiative card, both players simultaneously reveal their units. Players may choose to reveal only some of their units in the combat. Units not revealed still suffer consequences from the battle, but they do not contribute to the friendly combat value and they may not be taken as losses.

Forts may never be revealed in combat where their side is the attacker. Aircraft may never be revealed in a combat when they moved in with other friendly units. For an aircraft unit to attack, it must be brought in via a separate move action. You could move two aircraft into a combat with one move, provided both started in the same location.

A player must always reveal at least one unit. A player with any unrevealed units may not retreat before combat.

Note: There are several reasons you may not want to reveal all units in a location. If you think the enemy might retreat before combat, you may wish to keep your slower unit(s) hidden to prevent this. Of course, it won't help if the units you reveal are not strong enough to win the battle on their own. You may simply not want your opponent to know what other units you have in the location. Fortifications and aircraft are often prohibited from being revealed as part of an attack.

Retreat Before Combat

Compare the movement rates of the slowest revealed units on each side. If the attacker's slowest unit has a lower movement rate than the defender's, the defender may retreat before combat.

Note: Recon units are faster than other 2-speed units (tanks and anti-aircraft [sic]) for purposes of retreat only. Therefore, a recon unit can retreat from a tank, but not from another recon unit.

Example: The attacker attacks with an infantry unit (1 movement rate) against a recon unit (2 movement rate). Because the infantry unit is a slower than the defending unit, the defender may retreat. (Note: a player may not avoid combat if he has any concealed units. Concealing slow units can keep the opponent from retreating before combat, but it can't allow your own units to get away.)

The attacker may retreat before combat only if all of his units are faster than all defending units. Retreats before combat must follow the normal retreat rules (see below).

Retreat From Combat

If the attacker retreats, he returns to the location (or locations, if units attacked from two locations) he came from and his units are disorganized. If the defender retreats, his units retreat the full distance allowed (see below) and are disorganized (Be sure to keep track of which units attacked from which direction in case of a retreat.). He may not retreat into an enemy-occupied location or into the location(s) from which the attacker entered the battle, but he may retreat into an unresolved battle location. Your retreat must take you closer to your own base if possible, but you may choose to retreat toward a road first rather than along a track, even if the road path is longer.

Attacking units always retreat to the space they came from. In the case of air units that moved over enemy units to attack, retreat them to the last space prior to moving over an enemy-occupied location.

Defending units retreat a variable distance based on their movement: 1 movement rate, 1 location; 2 movement rate two locations; three movement rate three locations. Road bonuses do not apply in retreats. All units must retreat to the same locations, so you retreat at the rate of your slowest unit. You may not retreat less than the full distance unless you end in your own base. The British may choose to retreat to Tobruk instead of to Alexandria, in which case they can end their retreat in Tobruk as though they had reached their base, even if their units would normally be required to retreat additional locations.

Retreated units (before or after combat) are disorganized, indicated by tipping them face-down so their strengths are hidden. A disorganized unit still defends at full strength, may retreat before combat, and may move. Its only limitation is that it may not attack while disorganized. (See "End Phase" for recovery from disorganization.)

Example: An Axis tank unit in Bir Hacheim must retreat 2 spaces. It could choose to retreat directly toward its base, to Mechili and then to Agedabia. Alternately, it could choose to retreat to the nearest road, at El Adem, and then retreat along the road to Gazala. A unit in Mechili would have to retreat toward Agedabia (if not enemy-occupied) instead of Gazala because both are road spaces and Agedabia is closer to the base at El Agheila. An Allied unit at Ft. Maddalone would have to retreat to Mersa Matruh rather than Salum for the same reason.

Another Retreat Example: An Allied unit at Mechili could retreat to Bir Hacheim, which is closer to its base, or to El Adem, which is along a road. For the same reason, a unit in Bir Hacheim could retreat to Ft. Maddalone or to El Adem.

Resolving Combat

If neither side retreats before combat, total the values of all revealed combat units on each side. The higher total wins (defender wins ties). The loser must lose one (revealed) unit of his choice and retreat the remainder as per retreat before combat. Retreating units may retreat through battle locations that have yet to be resolved.

Exception: If the defender has a fortification that is revealed in combat and not eliminated in that combat, the attacker must retreat and the defender remains in the location. Neither side is disrupted in this case.

Example: There are Allied units at Bir Hacheim and Ft. Maddalone, and Axis units in El Adem and Mechili. The Axis player attacks both Allied groups on his turn. If he resolves the Bir Hacheim battle first, and the Allies retreat before combat or lose the battle, their units may retreat to (or through) Ft. Maddalone. If the Axis player fought and won the Ft. Maddalone battle first, the Allied units at Bir Hacheim would not have a valid retreat path.

Units that retreat into a battle location are not counted for that battle but must retreat if their side loses the battle. Units that are unable to retreat are eliminated. However, as long as they can retreat at least one location, they are not eliminated, even if they violate other retreat rules.

Example: There are Axis tank units at Ft. Maddalone and Allied units Bardia, El Adem, Bir Hacheim, and Mersa Matruh. The Allied units at El Adem attack the Axis units and defeat them. The Axis units may retreat to Salum, even though it is away from their base and even though it is less than their usual retreat amount of two locations, because they have no other options. They will be out of supply on their next turn, however, and in danger of elimination.

Note, that if Allied Units had not been at Mersa Matruh, Axis units would have had to retreat there, cutting Allied units in Bir Hacheim and Ft. Maddalone out of supply (the ones in Bardia remain in supply because they are adjacent to Tobruk). This kind of situation rarely arises, but it is important to be aware of it.

Winning the Game

The game is normally played for ten turns. If either player captures his opponent's base before the end of ten turns, the game ends and he wins a decisive victory. If neither player has captured the opposing base at the end of ten turns, the player who controls (occupies) Tobruk wins, provided that Tobruk is not surrounded on all three sides by opposing units. If Tobruk is occupied by one player but besieged by the other player in this way, the side with the most units on the map wins a marginal victory. In case of a tie in number of units, the German player wins.

Optional Rules

Because the opening draw can be so crucial, if both players agree, you may play with these optional rules.

Mulligan

Either player may take a mulligan on his opening draw. Set aside the units from the initial draw and select new units (four for the British, three for the Germans). Return the set-aside units to the pool after drawing their replacements.

Bidding

Players may feel that one side or the other has a significant advantage in Rommel's War; to alleviate this problem, you may choose to bid for sides. Provide each player with several blocks on both the Allied and Axis sides at the start of the game. Each player secretly places zero or more blocks from one side in his hand and both players reveal them simultaneously.

• If one player reveals more blocks than his opponent, he plays the side that he bid, and his opponent gets a bonus equal to the number of blocks bid (see below)
• If both players bid the same number of blocks, but for different sides, they both get the sides they bid but with no advantage for either side
• If both players bid the same number of blocks for the same side, there is one new round of bidding. If they again bid the same number of blocks for the same side, randomly determine who gets that side and the other player gets the bonus

The bonus for losing a bid is a number of early reinforcements equal to the number of blocks in the winning bid. If the winning bid was one, the other player gets one extra block on turn 2 as a reinforcement. If the winning bid was two, the other player gets one extra block on turn 2 and one extra block on turn 3, and so forth for higher bids.

Solitaire

Rommel's War was designed as a 2 Player game. However to learn the game or by preference for solitaire play, a solo rule sheet has been provided to aid in solitaire play.

Rommel's War can be played solitaire with the player taking both sides and leaving all blocks face up. To add some fog of war, roll a die when you initiate an attack. On a roll of 6, the attack is canceled and attacking units return to the spaces they came from (but are not disrupted). On any other roll, add a value into the defense based on the solo rules on the Player's Aid. Played this way, the game will be very different than the two-player version but will still present you with some interesting decisions.

Designer Notes

The story of Rommel's first offensive in North Africa is well known: how he broke the weak British defense and chased their forces back across Cyrenaica; how he launched two major attacks on Tobruk, failing each time; the months of buildup following, punctuated by two unsuccessful British offensives; and, finally, the month-long Crusader offensive in November and December, in which Rommel almost succeeded in destroying British armour in North Africa, but ended up being defeated and having to retreat all the way back to his starting point at El Agheila.

These events have been recreated in countless wargames, including some (such as Duel in the Desert and Rommel in the Desert) that use hidden units to simulate the limited intelligence that was so important in the campaign. The present game is the first, however, that introduces variable force pools so that, not only do players not know exactly which enemy units are located where, they do not even know which units they are facing at a given moment.

In this, the present "Rommel's War" (with apologies to Vance Van Borries's classic game of the same name) follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, "Archie's War," which simulates the battle on Guadalcanal. Although the two games have similar premises, however, they could hardly be more different in actual play. "Archie's War" is basically a game of poker, whereas "Rommel's War" is more like a game of chess - with some poker-like bluffing included, of course.

In "Rommel's War," there are no "blank" pieces that only do special actions. This would hardly work in a game where players need to maintain front lines. On the other hand, "Rommel's War" introduces two important new concepts: retreating before combat, and keeping some units on attack or defense hidden. The war in the jungles of Guadalcanal was conducted almost exclusively by infantry, so there was no decisive speed advantage on either side. The desert war was a war of machines as well, which easily outpaced infantry, and some of which easily outpaced other machines. Infantry units are vulnerable unless in large enough groups that they can beat any attacker; armour can confidently escape attacking infantry. Reconnaissance units - armoured cars - are faster than tanks and are the perfect units for pushing forward to seize ground or cut off the enemy, since they are assured of being able to retreat when attacked (provided they are not cut off).

Since both sides are roughly evenly matched (the British have a few more units and combat points, but they are likely to take some losses in the initial Axis offensive), a player on the attack has the advantage over a defender: he can usually muster more strength at a given spot. This is partially offset by the greater defensive ability of anti-tank units and aircraft. Of course, if the attacker knows exactly what he is facing, he is in a much stronger position with regard to choosing his attacks. Therefore, it is especially important not to reveal all your units unless you have to. An attacker who can capture a location while keeping one or two of his units hidden makes it much more difficult for his opponent to retake the same location on the next turn. He may be hiding a fortification or an anti-tank unit that will provide much more defense than the other side was anticipating. Or is that extra unit just a recon unit that he wants to use to cut off his opponent's supply? Make your opponent worry about these questions, and you increase the chance that he will make a bad decision.

The three fortifications in "Rommel's War" are among the strongest on the board. Two of them are literally the highest strengths of any units in the game, but even the lowly Italian 2 strength fortification can be a game winner when used correctly. If the other side is counting on recapturing a location that they know they can get more combat points on, it can be quite demoralizing to run into an immovable force and not be able to (for example) re-establish a supply line for a friendly group. Fortifications used in this way require surprise, which means you may have to keep them secret even if it means losing a battle.

Eventually, the British will probably establish a fortification in Tobruk, given its central importance in victory conditions. Putting their first fort in El Adem, on the other hand, can keep the Axis from advancing into Egypt and is a really strong option. The downside is that it means leaving the Axis the chance to win a battle in Tobruk. If the British are lucky enough to get fortresses in both locations both, they are in a very strong position -- but not completely safe, because outflanking is always a possibility.

Air units are obviously abstracted to avoid creating a separate set of air rules. An air unit advancing beyond the front line means air strikes cutting off the enemy's path, which only works until the enemy can attack with a ground unit and chase aircraft away. Just this kind of nuisance, however, can be enough to waste an enemy move and gain a decisive advantage. Moves are at such a premium that squandering one can be as important as losing a unit.

The rules for isolating Tobruk are unusual, and are a consequence of the very high-level nature of this game. I felt that restricting Tobruk to a fixed number of British defenders would make it very hard for them to hold the port without a lot of special rules, so there is no limit to the number of units that can remain in supply by sea. However, we have severely restricted the ability of those units to strike outward: not only limiting them to attacking with 2 units, but preventing them from even moving more than one space away from Tobruk. This leads to the odd situation that the German player can advance toward Alexandria without even worrying about the Tobruk garrison cutting his supply. In a game with such restricted ability to move units, we found that forcing the German player to leave units in all three spaces adjacent to Tobruk, and make them strong enough to stop a breakout, would effectively prevent the German player from ever besieging the port. Here, the onus is on the British player not to get his entire army tied down in the defense of Tobruk and leave the road to Alexandria open. The German player, assuming he hasn't captured Alexandria, still has to return at the end of the game to surround Tobruk and try to win by having a majority of units. This is tricky enough in itself to compensate for Tobruk's ineffectual blocking of supply lines.

You may wonder where Rommel is in a game named after him. He is actually a very prominent part of the game, in the form of initiative cards. In a way, initiative cards drive the game. Even though their effect may seem small, an extra move can often be a decisive advantage. Here, Rommel's famous energy and drive are his strength, while the British leaders (Wavell, Ritchie, Auchinleck) are more passive. They are not helpless, however, and sometimes the British get an extra move at just the moment when the Axis can least afford it.