Rise and Decline of the Third Reich or more commonly Third Reich is a grand strategy wargame covering the European theater of World War II, designed by John Prados and released in 1974 by Avalon Hill. Players take on the roles of major powers—Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States—from 1939 to 1946. The game was popular because of the balance between economics, politics, and land, sea, air and strategic warfare. Players can try alternate history strategies (e.g., a German invasion of Spain or the United Kingdom). The game is complex and can take many hours to complete. Revised editions of the game were published in the 1980s. A further redesign of the game, Advanced Third Reich, was published in 1992, followed by a Pacific theater counterpart, Empire of the Rising Sun, in 1995. In 2003, yet another redesign of these two games was published by GMT Games as A World at War. In 2001, Avalanche Press released a separate new version, more closely resembling the original game, known as John Prados' Third Reich. Gameplay The game normally starts in Fall 1939, although scenarios are provided for starting in 1942 and 1944 (the latter is recommended for learning purposes). Each quarterly turn (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) represents three months of real time. Economics Each major power has a pool of Basic Resource Points (BRPs – sometimes pronounced "burps"), to represent economic power, and used to build units, declare war (35 BRPs to declare war on a major power, 10 to declare war on a minor power), or offensives (15 BRPs). The side with more BRPs moves first, so by economizing the previous season, a player may gain a "flip-flop" and make two consecutive moves, possibly allowing a devastating offensive. A Double Turn across winter 1939/40 is common: Germany moves first in Fall 1939, reduces her BRP total by building lots of units, so moves second in Winter, then first again in Spring 1940 as her BRP level refreshes, allowing a spectacular German offensive in the West. Italy's BRPs are included with Germany's even when still neutral, but US and Soviet BRPs are not included until they join the Allies, requiring careful play around the initiative change in the mid-war. The annual Year Start Sequence ("YSS") begins with strategic warfare in an off-map box. German U-boats fight Allied Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) factors – ASW become