Rommel in the Desert

Rommel in the Desert is a block wargame published by The Game Preserve in 1982 that simulates the North African campaign during World War II.

In Issue 27 of The Wargamer, Jay Selover noted the long, narrow map, wooden blocks and atypical combat rules, and commented "everything about this game is unusual ...

However, Selover called the combat rules the "weakest aspect" of the game, commenting, "There are no overruns, no benefit for combined-arms attacks, and no terrain."

"[1] In Issue 58 of Fire & Movement, John Setear noted that some wargames "have included some serious efforts to reflect at least a single aspect of the fog of war.

Columbia Game's Rommel in the Desert actually includes at least two —unit values and supply — and arguably even introduces some uncertainty about the laws of war governing combat with an intricate and interactive system of resolving series of battles.

"[3] In a retrospective review in Issue 1 of Simulacrum, John Kula noted, "Of all the 60-odd North African theater games I have owned over the years, RitD is one of my two favourites ... No other games come as close to capturing what I understand to be the essence of desert warfare: the inhospitable and almost endless tracts of sand, gravel and rock that impose no limitations on time and space but enormous limitations on supply.