Highway to the Reich
Encyclopedia
Highway to the Reich was a highly detailed simulation "monster" board wargame
published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977, and reprinted by Decision Games
in 2008. It was designed by Jay A. Nelson, Irad B. Hardy and Eric Goldberg
, with a second edition of the rules published in July 1977.
The game is set during the Second World War, covering ten days of Operation Market-Garden, from 17 to 26 September 1944, with two hours per turn. It includes four 22" x 34" maps - approximately 3 metres long when fully assembled - at a scale of 600 meters per hex (approximately 1:31,600), showing the terrain from the Meuse-Escaut Canal to the countryside beyond Arnhem. Over 2,500 die-cut counter playing pieces represent individual infantry companies, artillery batteries, and armored troops. The game also includes scenarios for the fighting around Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem
, and the northward advance of the XXX Corps towards Arnhem. Despite its size, it is still considerably smaller than War in the Pacific
, which covered seven full map sheets, and included more than 9,000 individual counters.
A review of the game in "The Best of Board Wargaming" (1980) speculated that there might somewhere be "a pair of mad hermits" who had actually played the entire game through, which was estimated to take 350 hours.
A realtime pausable computer version - Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich - was released by Panther Games and Matrix Games
on 1 December 2003. Its unit-level artificial intelligence
was praised as allowing "competent execution by groups of forces in pursuit of terrain-based objectives".
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977, and reprinted by Decision Games
Decision Games
Decision Games is a wargaming company, founded by Christopher Cummins, that publishes Strategy & Tactics magazine. The company has bought the rights to many Simulations Publications, Inc...
in 2008. It was designed by Jay A. Nelson, Irad B. Hardy and Eric Goldberg
Eric Goldberg
Eric Goldberg may refer to:* Eric Goldberg , Canadian painter* Eric Goldberg , American animator and film director...
, with a second edition of the rules published in July 1977.
The game is set during the Second World War, covering ten days of Operation Market-Garden, from 17 to 26 September 1944, with two hours per turn. It includes four 22" x 34" maps - approximately 3 metres long when fully assembled - at a scale of 600 meters per hex (approximately 1:31,600), showing the terrain from the Meuse-Escaut Canal to the countryside beyond Arnhem. Over 2,500 die-cut counter playing pieces represent individual infantry companies, artillery batteries, and armored troops. The game also includes scenarios for the fighting around Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, and the northward advance of the XXX Corps towards Arnhem. Despite its size, it is still considerably smaller than War in the Pacific
War In The Pacific
War in the Pacific is a 2004 two-player turn-based computer war game published by Matrix games. It is a very large, complex, and detailed simulation of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, at both the operational and strategic level....
, which covered seven full map sheets, and included more than 9,000 individual counters.
A review of the game in "The Best of Board Wargaming" (1980) speculated that there might somewhere be "a pair of mad hermits" who had actually played the entire game through, which was estimated to take 350 hours.
A realtime pausable computer version - Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich - was released by Panther Games and Matrix Games
Matrix Games
Matrix Games is a publisher of computer games, specifically strategy games and wargames. They are based out of Staten Island, New York.Their focus is primarily but not exclusively on war games and turn-based strategy...
on 1 December 2003. Its unit-level artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
was praised as allowing "competent execution by groups of forces in pursuit of terrain-based objectives".