"Of all theatres of operations, it was probably in North Africa that the war took on its most advanced form. The protagonists on both sides were fully motorized formations, for whose employment the flat and obstruction-free desert offered hitherto undreamed-of possibilities. It was the only theatre where the principles of motorized and tank warfare, as they had been taught theoretically before the war, could be applied to the full-and further developed. It was the only theatre where the pure tank battle between major formations was fought." -- Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
Desert War is an operational level, ground-centric wargame that recreates the epic tank battles fought between the Axis and Allies for possession of Libya and Egypt.
Brian Kelly’s Desert War: 1940-42 captures the drama of the campaign for North Africa during World War II.
It consists of a series of historical and “What-if” scenarios that allow the players to explore the ebb and flow of the actual conflict.
The game uses maps of portions of North Africa over which a hexagonal grid system has been superimposed. This grid is employed to help regulate unit placement, movement, and combat. Ground, air, and sea forces can also be brought to bear during the match, making every scenario a real challenge!
NEW TUTORIAL! ROAD MOVEMENT
Air, Naval, and Ground Assets are off-map capabilities that can be brought into play when the owning player sees fit.
Air assets represent squadrons that can conduct counter-air, interdiction, ground attack and ground support missions. Air reconnaissance (recce) assets represent flights of two to four aircraft. Air recce assets can collect information about the location and type of enemy ground units on the map.
Naval Assets represent individual ships able to provide of ground attack and ground support missions.
Off-map Ground Assets provide additional capabilities that can influence the on-map battle. Ground Assets include electronic warfare assets, command and control (C2) activities, and Special Forces.
Unlike in many computer wargames, Desert War 1940-42 employs a WEGO system. WEGO by its nature is about the Player’s ability to plan for and manage chaos; to find solutions to perceived challenges to accomplishing the mission with the tools at hand.
In this way, every decision you make must be carefully considered. Learn to think three moves ahead and outsmart your opponent!
Adapt or die, no further choice is given when you fight a Desert War!
Re-discover surprise on the battlefield! The WEGO game system makes for great fun and realistic game play.
12 scenarios that explore the action from the Italian Invasion of Egypt in 1940 to Rommel's defeat at El Alamein in late 1942.
Control land, air and naval forces at the battalion, air group, and individual ship level.
Allocate Command, Special Forces and electronic warfare (EW) assets to influence the battles.
Simple on-line gameplay using Slitherine's PBEM system.
Full game editor; build your own maps, forces, and graphics. Includes an AI scripting language that provides a challenging AI opponent capable of "changing its mind" based on the human player's actions.
Scenario List:
2nd Battle of Bardia (introductory scenario)
Operazione E: The Reluctant Offensive, 13-20 Sep 1940
Into The Blue: Battle of Sidi Barrani, 9-12 Dec 1940
Beda Fomm: Death of an Army, 1-7 Feb 1941
Enter Rommel (only Multiplayer - no SP)
Battle of Sollum: Operation Battleaxe, 15-18 Jun 1941
Sunday of the Dead: Battle of Sidi Rezegh, 18-24 Nov 1941
Rats vs The Ram: Battle of Bir el Gubi, 19-21 Nov 1941
Gazala--First Five Days, 26-30 May 1942
Gazala--The Cauldron, 29 May - 10 Jun 1942
Gazala--Fall of Tobruk, 11 - 21 Jun 1942
High Tide at Alam Halfa, 30 Aug - 5 Sep 1942
2nd Alamein: From Lightfoot to Supercharge, 24 Oct - 3 Nov 1942
OS: Windows 7 or better
Processor: - Pentium 4 or better
Ram 1GB
Hard Disc space - 400 MB uncompressed
Sound Card - DirectX Compatible sound card
Graphics Card 512 MB DirectX9 Compatible Graphics Card
Desert War also requires Java -1.7 or better to be installed
Take charge of a global war and conquer a World in Flames!
World in Flames is Matrix Games computer version of Australian Design Groups classic board game. Covering both the European and Pacific Theaters of Operations during World War II, World in Flames is global in scope while simulating each branch of service in detail. With 6000+ unique units, 250+ countries, and a global map of 70,200 hexes, World in Flames is the premier World War II grand strategy game.
Digital Express Edition: This edition comes with a full color printed box, full color printed CD (with your order number and serial number printed on it) and a PDF E-Book indexed manual.
Standard Edition: This edition comes with a full color printed box, full color printed CD (with your order number and serial number printed on it), a Printed grayscale manual and a PDF E-Book indexed manual.
Collector's Edition: This edition comes with a full color printed box, full color printed CD (with your order number and serial number printed on it), a Printed full color manual and a PDF E-Book indexed manual.