Dedication: 1ST ALAMEIN is dedicated as a token of remembrance to the soldiers of the British Commonwealth--Australian, British, Indian, South African ... and New Zealander--and of Greece, Poland, Free France, and finally the United States ... who fought and defeated the Axis on the first "Second Front" of the Second World War: North Africa.
See also my free corps-level World War II Russian Front campaign game THE RUSSIAN PORTFOLIO
But first....Manual Games (Boardgames) vs. Computer Games -- Points to Ponder:
- Boardgames are directly interactive with/against an opponent and friend, and command in warfare often proved to be a psychological, as much as material, contest.
- The components and game system of boardgames can be completely seen and understood. This enables the player-student to see how the historical situation's variables (of supply, weather, terrain, etc., for example) are (or could better be) inter-related. Moreover, you have an in-person opponent to teach you the finer points of the game.
- A manual game's components are far more enjoyable to use--especially in the case of games using 3D miniature tanks and ships--than a computer screen.
- Small format manual boardgames like 1ST ALAMEIN--which has only 27 units and an 11x17 inch mapsheet--are very portable ... and of no interest to thieves and burglars.
- Computers can take care of bookkeeping and calculations. (Although this is convenient and can speed gameplay, it really doesn't help basic math skills. Anyway, a well-designed boardgame requires minimal bookkeeping and calculation.)
- Computers are ideal information/intelligence "screens" between human opponents--and/or can be an opponent, itself--providing a more realistic "fog of war" command experience. (Unfortunately, computer game designers sometimes give the computer secret advantages and information in their game systems, if producing an artificial intelligence (AI) decisionmaker proves too difficult.)
1ST ALAMEIN is COPYRIGHTED--NOT Public Domain--and FREE
under the following conditions:
Schools, libraries, and museums are free to make and keep copies for in-house educational use or nonpermanent loan/circulation ... in gratitude for the fine education and research assistance I have always received from such institutions.
An individual is free to make one personal copy of 1ST ALAMEIN for his/her own personal use.
All other rights--including publishing rights--are reserved to me.
A Request: If you do assemble and play this free game of mine, PLEASE let me know at ELCOAT@hotmail.com what you think of it and whether, after more than a couple games, you think one side or the other has an advantage. Thanks!
And now: Here are 1ST ALAMEIN's components, to print off and assemble so that it may be played. Players-students will also need a single six-sided die (or chits numbered 1-6, to be drawn out of a hat) for the randomized combat results tables.
- General Description of Game (21Jan97)
- Explanation of Symbols and the Turn Record Track (19Jan97)
- Historical Commentary and Supplemental Materials: (21Jan97) Commentary and Insights on the Design of the Game, How to Play the Game, and the History Being Simulated, with a Bibliography
- 1ST ALAMEIN Tournament Winners' Certificate (5Feb97) with vehicles, equipment, and men CAD-drawn by my son, Robert.
- Rules (3Dec97): About 8 pages, including index, notes, etc.
- Charts and Tables, Terrain Effects, and Game Sequence(26Mar97) as TXT file.
- Charts and Tables, Terrain Effects, and Game Sequence (26Mar97) as web page.
- Allied and Axis Units (3Dec97)
- Allied and Axis Units in full file (3Dec97)
You will want to print the units off at maximum size possible and then photo-reduce them from that, for best detail/quality. 5/8"--15mm--wide is about right. Allied units should be printed/photocopied off onto tan paper/cardstock. Axis units should be printed/photocopied off onto gray paper/cardstock.
SUGGESTION: For the (units, map, symbols) .gif files, I suggest bringing them up on-screen on L-View or some similar viewer software and *then* printing them off. When I try to print them directly off the Web, I only get a partial printing, for some reason.
- Mapboard (3Dec97)
- Mapboard in full file(3Dec97).
You will want to print this off as large as possible, and you should enlarge it with a photocopier after that. Ivory is an excellent "desert" color.
- Now would you like to go to my home page to see photos of a 1ST ALAMEIN
historical scene and the cardstock MODEL SHIPS I design? And I have designed other games as well.
(Ummm ... Do you suppose the fact that the current temperature outside is below zero had anything to do with my designing a game about DESERT warfare??...:-)...)
Comments by myself and others about the game can be read on ConSimWorld and on BoardGame Geek
If you are a friend, and/or if you would like to share info and ideas about military and naval history and game designing and cardstock model shipbuilding, and/or you have any questions about 1ST ALAMEIN feel free to e-mail me at ElCoat@Hotmail.com.
Thanks for your interest in 1ST ALAMEIN!....:-)
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visitors here, since 29Jul07.
(14Jan97, updated 21Jul10.)
