in many details however. It is impossible for the Germans to make quick work of Poland and France, for example, and this throws the whole beginning of the war off the historical track." In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames, game designer Jon Freeman called the game system "a refreshing change from the sometimes hackneyed design features of many modern wargames. Players are given a wealth of strategic options; yet the events of the war are re-created by making the historical objectives desirable in game terms." Freeman concluded, "All the major elements of the war are here, but the wealth of detail never overwhelms the game (as it does in the typical "monster" game.) It is easily the finest strategic-level simulation of the war." In the November 1981 edition of Dragon (Issue #55), Tony Watson reviewed the updated third edition game components that had just been released, specifically a new map, new rules and new force-pool cards. He found changes to the map to be minor, but changes to the rules to have a major impact on the game, especially in air and naval combat and strategic warfare. Watson recommended that Third Reich players get the new components, saying, "Though some of the new rules take a little getting used to..., once they are understood they prove out to be changes for the better. It would seem that it is possible to improve upon a good thing, and the folks at Avalon Hill should be commended for caring enough to take another look at one of their products." In Issue 34 of Phoenix, M. Watney also reviewed the updated third edition game components and found several problems with the new rules, including air combat and certain armor movement rules. On the other hand, Watney found certain changes to be very positive, including the revised naval rules, ground combat and strategic rules. He concluded, "The new game is a definite and very major improvement." In Issue 36 of Warning Order, Matt Irsik compared the original first edition by Avalon Hill to the 2001 edition published by Avalanche Press, and found the map and double-sided counters of the newer game more colorful and useful. Irsik preferred the "chit pull" system of the newer game "that makes turns very interesting", and noted that in the newer edition "you can purchase chits that allow your forces to do a variety of operations