D-Day (game)

D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the six months of the European Campaign of World War II from the Normandy Invasion to the crossing of the Rhine.

This "Smithsonian Edition", designed by S. Craig Taylor, featured a new map, a new counter mix, new rules, and the use of two ten-sided dice, as well as a new "what-if" scenario in addition to the historical game.

[6] In Issue 51 of Games & Puzzles (August 1976), Nick Palmer called this "one of the classic wargames, first produced over a decade ago and still frequently played."

Palmer advised the German player that if the Allies could not be destroyed on the beaches, to immediately and rapidly withdraw to the western defenses to have any chance of winning the game.

"[7] Writing for Washingtonian in 1980, R. B. McArthur noted that "Avalon Hill's Afrika Korps, Stalingrad, D-Day, and Battle of the Bulge cover World War II in Europe pretty thoroughly.

"[8] In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames, game designer Jon Freeman thought that the rule changes made in the 1977 version vastly improved the game, saying, "The 1977 version did a really good job of clarifying the rules, gave the HQ units something to do [as part of a far more reasonable supply system], and, through the use of Allied airpower and the strategic movement, finally allowed some of those fairly 'mobile battles in central France.'"

[9] In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion thought that although "the game shows the hazards of an amphibious invasion and the necessity of attacking against weakness", he also pointed out several historical inaccuracies, saying, "Combat and movement are not very realistically handled and the balance of forces on both sides is erroneous.

Berg reviewed the major rules changes, but thought that "despite the game's new, spiffy set of togs, this is a pretty mundane affair."