Rise and Decline of the Third Reich

Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, more commonly called Third Reich, is a grand strategy wargame covering the European theater of World War II. It was designed by John Prados and released in 1974 by Avalon Hill. Players take the roles of the major powers, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the United States, over the period from 1939 to 1946. The game was popular because of its balance between economics, politics, and land, sea, air and strategic warfare, and it lets players try alternate history strategies such as a German invasion of Spain or the United Kingdom. It is complex and can take many hours to complete. Revised editions appeared in the 1980s, followed by a further redesign called Advanced Third Reich in 1992 and a Pacific theater counterpart, Empire of the Rising Sun, in 1995. In 2003 GMT Games published another redesign, A World at War, and in 2001 Avalanche Press released a separate version closer to the original, John Prados' Third Reich.