Description

THIRD REICH: THE CARD GAME is a historical game of World War II designed by John Prados that uses cards and can be played between two to four players. Each player controls a side or a Front in this multifaceted game, seeking to defeat the opponent by winning the most Battlefield cards before the end of play. There are no dice, tokens, counters or anything but cards in this game.

Force and Unit Cards

These cards represent military forces of various nations in the war. The Basic Game contains a selection of Axis and Allied divisions and corps and armies for the Soviet. An illustration shows the type of troops, or a typical combat action, a unit insignia, or other distinctive element. The card often has brief comments on the actual unit. It will show a combat value. Certain unit types have special abilities in the game. In general, battles will be resolved based on the CVs of the Army Cards on both sides of the action. The player draws cards from a pile called the Mobilization Deck, holds them in her/his hand, and then deploys them to locations on the tabletop. ,.

Support Cards

These cards represent important Leaders in the war, key command Headquarters, and Air Force units. Support cards by themselves have no Combat Value. Instead, they add their printed CV to other Army Cards present with them. This support value is shown by brackets printed around the card’s CV. If alone on a Battlefield when the opponent attacks, Support Cards—excepting Air Force units—are eliminated. Air Force unit cards immediately fly to another Battlefield on the same Front where friendly cards are present. If unable to meet that condition, Air Force cards are eliminated.

Special Cards

Special Cards come in many varieties and have particular functions. The capture of Battlefield Cards is the player’s main goal in the game. Battlefield Cards provide locations for combat, create a timeline for the war, and award Victory Points to the player who captures them. They are specific to one of three geographic Fronts in the game. Event Cards add to the play and can upset the best of plans; they are self-explanatory. Fuel Cards represent economic resources and shape the actions the player can conduct in his turn. Battle Condition Cards set characteristics for a fight in progress.

The Board

The Board can be a game mat or any tabletop as a geographic space divided into three main areas called Fronts. The Fronts occupy the center of the space between the players and collectively are termed the Combat Zone. At each player’s edge of the table, she/he will require three spaces. One of these is for the player’s Mobilization Deck, which consists of all unplayed cards. One is the Discard Pile of cards that have been expended. The third is for the player’s Strategic Reserve, which comprises cards the player has put into play but not yet deployed to a specific Battlefield.