Continuing our dive into essentially the most difficult board recreation ever, Campaign For North Africa. But WHY is it so difficult? Let’s discover out.

Welcome avid gamers! In this sequence, we’re diving into the notorious Campaign For North Africa, essentially the most difficult board recreation ever made. If you learn Part 1, you’ll know the broad strokes of Campaign for North Africa. As promised, at the moment we return with Part 2, the place we’ll go over a central core of how the sport performs: Logistics, which is mainly only a fancy phrase that means “moving stuff”.

WARNING: MATHEMATICS AHEAD!

If you don’t like numbers, please go away now. This is your first and final warning. Remember, you possibly can all the time comply with alongside at dwelling along with your copy of the 198-page rulebook compilation.

Our Objective With Campaign For North Africa Today

In this instance, we need to transfer a Commonwealth recon unit of sort hh from Cairo (Red circle within the decrease proper) to Tobruk (Yellow circle within the higher left). The distance from Central Cairo to Tobruk is 114 hexes.

Unfortunately, there’s a 12-hex part of unbuilt highway between these places which have to be handled.

Some Things To Know First

Game Turns in Campaign For North Africa characterize about 1 week of real-time. However, inside every flip are 3 semi-turns known as Operations Stages (OpStages). Each OpStage is about 2-3 days. Some guidelines set off every Turn, whereas different issues (like unit motion) occur every OpStage.

Doing issues in Campaign For North Africa is measured in CPA. CPA is Capability Point Allowance and is basically what number of motion factors a unit has. Actions will usually require anyplace from 1/2 CP to 2 CP, often in that vary.  Reconnaissance (recce) items have a CPA of 45. Light Trucks have a CPA of 25. Driving on a highway prices 1/2 CP, and driving on Clear Terrain prices 2 CP.

Vehicle items need to hold monitor of gas consumption, gas evaporation, and gas tank. CNA makes use of gas factors for many of this. Every car has a gas capability ranking = CPA * 1/5 * gas consumption fee. Light Trucks have 8 gas factors of their tank, so to talk. However, they’ll carry as much as 50 gas factors as cargo.

Cairo has infinite assets for Commonwealth items.

Transform and Roll Out!

The recce unit can have 4 Light Trucks accompanying them. The Light Trucks can carry 200 gas factors complete in addition to the 92 gas factors within the tanks of the unit and the vehicles.

In the primary OpStage, the items eat 12 water factors from Cairo’s infinite provide, 8 for the recce unit and 1 for every Light Truck. The recce unit may drive 90 hexes with their 45 CPA, however they don’t need to abandon the Light Trucks, so that they solely drive 50 hexes (25 CPA) to remain collectively. This will get the unit to Galal (Green) and consumed 60 gas factors doing so.

Quick Aside

While we’re on the subject of water, there may be one rule which we should point out: The Italian Pasta Rule.

This rule might be the one factor most individuals find out about this recreation, and sure it’s actual. Overall, the rule states Italians should have further water available, or they’re restricted of their functionality. It’s not an enormous setback for them, however it nonetheless exemplifies Campaign For North Africa’s try and be as life like as potential.

And We’re Back

In the second OpStage, the unit consumes 12 water factors from the nicely at Galal and refuels from the vehicles, leaving 140 within the gas storage. The unit travels 33 hexes to Sidi Barrani (Purple circle on our map) and runs into the tip of the highway. Movement by way of Clear Terrain prices 2 CP and in addition will increase the possibility of car breakdown, which we’re ignoring for this instance. Using the final 9 CPA, the unit stops exterior the village of Buq Buq (Blue circle).

The autos want water to maneuver at every OpStage and can want the water nicely at Buq Buq. So, we are able to pressure the unit to overextend and spend 4 further CP than they’ve obtainable. This earns the unit 4 Disorganization factors.  Disorganization factors could cause a unit’s Cohesion Level to fall, which may decrease its fight effectiveness. The complete motion prices the unit 72 gas factors.

In the Third OpStage of this Turn, the unit makes use of the nicely at Buq Buq to eat 12 water factors and refuels their tanks from storage leaving 68 gas factors left. It prices 12 CP to Sollum (Orange) and backs onto a freeway. Being again on a highway implies that the 19 hexes to Tobruk solely price 10 CP.

We’ve reached our vacation spot!

Final Thoughts

All of that’s what goes into transferring ONE unit and keep in mind the total map is 10 ft lengthy! Campaign for North Africa isn’t tough, there’s simply SO MUCH to maintain monitor of. Every minute element is tracked and recorded and must be referenced later. Once you get the hold of the sport (I imply, “if”), you possibly can trod alongside nicely sufficient, however each single OpStage nonetheless takes ceaselessly to finish.

Join us subsequent time after we can be really firing a gun! How thrilling.

Matt has liked video games of all types his entire life: board, video, struggle, roleplaying. He’s labored as a author for BoLS since 2017. He’s labored as freelance editor for board recreation rulebooks and has designed lots of his personal video games as nicely.

Read the Comments (15)