The Third World War - Designer Signature Edition

From Compass Games:

The Third World War, Designer Signature Edition, marks one of the largest and ambitious game undertakings to date covering not one but FOUR true wargaming classics by Frank Chadwick, faithfully remastered and updated with this all-new, deluxe edition. Hailed by many as one of the finest and playable game series covering the NATO and Warsaw Pact, Third World War brings together all four games of the series into one, comprehensive package for all to enjoy.

This edition of The Third World War features many new enhancements and larger counters and is another Classic Reborn! by Compass.

The complete Third World War game series is included which is comprised of the following four games:

Third World War (subtitled Battle for Germany) is a game of the struggle for central Europe by the forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

Southern Front: Race for the Turkish Straits adds Bulgaria and Romania, reinforced with three Soviet armies and special-capability forces, face Greece, Turkey, and Yugoslavia, thinly reinforced with a few elite units from the U.S., France, and Italy.

Arctic Front: Battle for Norway covers the Soviet Leningrad Front, with its special airborne, amphibious, and arctic-equipped contingents, assault of Norway, reinforced with a few elite units from the U.S., Britain, Canada, and other NATO nations.

Persian Gulf: Battle for the Middle East includes a special “game within a game, covering the diplomatic, political, and military maneuvers by the Soviet Union and the United States in the Middle East before – and leading to – the general outbreak of the Third World War.

For the not faint of heart, combined game rules are provided to cover the entire Third World War that combines all four games in the series for a truly memorable gaming experience.

This Designer Signature edition pays tribute to the classic Frank Chadwick game series by honoring the original game system and keeping it fully intact (no design changes made), while introducing many enhancements for game play purposes. The project team involved has hundreds of hours of combined experience with all games in the series and have evaluated all aspects of the game design with a focus on increased playability and improved player aids and markers. In terms of superior physical presentation, all aspects have been upgraded, including completely new maps, numerous new player aids, markers, and unit displays, and redesigned and enlarged 9/16″ counters.

Some of the enhancements made in this edition include:

All four separate games combined into one, comprehensive package

Enlarged and redesigned counters from 1/2″ to 9/16″ size

Added more information to counters such as: mobility class, stacking value, zoc type, chemical/nuclear/limited military ability

Enhanced ergonomics are built into the set up and reinforcement charts

Modified and adjusted unit colors to better distinguish between each other and between NATO/Pact/Neutrals

Added and modified game markers including Strike markes with values on them, air superiority, weather, objective control, and generic markers

Combined the seven maps from Third World War, Southern Front, and Arctic Front into four larger maps (22 x 34″), including adding the remainder of Poland and Western Russia; all while keeping the same area of the original games

Combined four maps from Persian Gulf into two larger (22 x 34″) maps

Added and modified player aids such as: new display to aid with handling unwieldy stacks (use a marker on map to indicate stack of units and put the placement sheet

Warsaw Pact ground unit counters with one step-loss (disruption) on reverse

Addition of U.S. F-117 air unit for optional use.  Also retains the U.S. F-19 air unit from the original game

Player aid cards and associated markers, for tracking nuclear conflict level and nuclear attack points (NAPs), air transport points, and victory points

Markers to indicate Norwegian Sea control and whether the Black Sea Fleet has sortied

Optional tactical advantage rule

Color-coding on Warsaw Pact ground unit counters for ease in distinguishing army designation

Incorporated errata for unit set-up information and reinforcement schedule

All-new rules treatment backed by many illustrations, an index, and clarifications and examples of play to reduce potential questions.

Product Information:

Complexity: 6 out of 10

Solitaire Suitability: 8 out of 10 (no hidden units)

Time Scale: 1 week per turn

Map Scale: 45 km per hex

Unit Scale: divisions, with some brigades and regiments, 100 aircraft per air unit

Players: one to two per individual game, one to eight for combined campaign

Playing Time: 6-10 hours per game, 36+ hours for full combined campaign

Components:

Six map sheets (each measuring 22 x 34″)

Eight countersheets (9/16″ size)

Standard Rules booklet

Scenario and Campaign booklet

Numerous player aid cards and unit displays

24 Diplomacy Cards (for Persian Gulf)

Four 6-sided dice

Box and Lid

Game Credits:

Designer: Frank Chadwick

Project Director: John Kranz