PanzerArmee Afrika, subtitled "Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the World War II North African Campaign that pitted the Axis forces commanded by Erwin Rommel against Allied forces. The game was revised and republished in 1984 by Avalon Hill. Description In February 1941, Erwin Rommel was ordered to stabilize the situation in North Africa after British troops routed the Italian army. This game simulates Rommel's campaign from April 1941 until his defeat at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942. Components The magazine pull-out edition had the following components: One 22 x 34" paper hex grid map, scaled at 12 mi (19 km) per hex 200 die-cut counters 12-page rules booklet SPI also published the game in a "flat-pack" box with integral counter tray and clear plastic lid. In the Avalon Hill boxed set, the map was mounted, and a 6-sided die was included. Gameplay Each turn, which represents a month of game time, is divided into 4 phases for the Allied player, and then the same phases for the Axis player: Supply Determination Phase Movement Phase Combat Phase Replacements and Reinforcement Phase New rules This game used several unusual rules: If a unit survives an attack, it can counterattack at double strength. Supply units, which must be set up in a chain, do not move themselves, and can be captured by enemy units. Units have 50–60 Movement Points, considered a very large number in comparison to other wargames Publication history PanzerArmee Afrika was designed by Jim Dunnigan, with the system design and graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen and game development by Irad Hardy and Hank Zucker. It was first published by SPI in Strategy & Tactics #40, and also in a "flat-pack" box. After SPI was taken over by TSR in 1982, TSR sold off some of SPI's games to Avalon Hill, including Panzergruppe Guderian and PanzerArmee Afrika. Avalon Hill printed a revised edition of PanzerArmee Afrika in 1984 in a "bookcase" box. Reception In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Nicholas Palmer called it an "enduringly popular operational-level game." He noted the "lightning movement emphasized with movement factors up to sixty." Palmer also highlighted the "controversial Command Control system [...] realistic and extremely irritating for the player affected!" He concluded, "Moderate complexity, good choice of strategic and