November 8, 2024

#UnboxingDay ~ Unblocking Rommel’s War by Worthington Publishing, Inc.

RockyMountainNavy, 15 February 2024 ~ #UnboxingDay

Rommel’s War by Derek Croxton from Worthington Publishing, Inc. (2024) is the latest entry in the field of lite World War II block wargames. Let’s take a look and see the future of block war games!

Worthington Publishing ran a short Kickstarter campaign in January 2024 for Rommel’s War. I was lucky enough to be one of the early pledge supporters so my copy came in early February.

IMG 5346
Cover not without some controversy, I read (click on image to enlarge)

 

I call Rommel’s War a “lite” block wargame because it is both a wargame that uses blocks but is also light to ship and lite on rules.

IMG 5347
Light/Lite block wargame

 

Opening the box of Rommel’s War one might be tempted to say it was mispacked. The first items seen are two copies of the Player Aid card and two copies of the rule book. Two copies? Yes, that is correct according to the contents on the back of the box.

IMG 5348
Recycled art

 

When I say Rommel’s War is a light wargame, one meaning is in the sense of the shipping weight and contents. Yes, there are blocks in here but not too many, a few cards, a mounted mapboard, and the previously mentioned Player Aid cards and rule book. Oh yeah, there is a single die also included.

IMG 5351
Sparse, almost desert-like contents

 

My second “lite” meaning is when I call Rommel’s War a lite wargame meaning it is a relatively uncomplicated game. The rule book, all 8 pages of it, is laid out in color and uses a font that is not too hard on this grognard’s eyes.

IMG 5354
Lite on rules

 

For all those historical conflict simulation aficionados out there you can rest easy because Rommel’s War is not a staid hex & counter wargame. This one has cards!

IMG 5355
Dealing generals

 

The player aid cards for Rommels’ War are digest-sized and easy to move around the table.

IMG 5352
Solo-friendly

 

Perhaps the most welcome part of Rommel’s War are the blocks. Blocks that come pre-printed. Blocks that don’t need to be stickered. Blocks that are ready play out-of-the box.

IMG 5350
No stickers!

 

So lite is Rommel’s War that I actually had my first play underway within 20 minutes of opening the box. Fair warning, however, that you will need a wide table to play given the somewhat unconventional 11″ x 34″ map.

IMG 5357
Yes, the desert is WIDE open

 

Here are Casa de RockyMountainNavy, though February is supposed to be winter the arrival of Rommel’s War continues a North Africa front theme for the month. Guess this is the new definition of “The Hotness” for wargamers…

IMG 5358
One shipped in at 8 lbs…the other a mere 2

 


Thank you for visiting The Armchair Dragoons and mounting up with the Regiment of Strategy Gaming.
You can find our regiment’s social media on MastodonBlueSky, Facebook, TwXtter, YouTube, and even Threads, if we could ever get an auto-post to it.
(We have an Instagram page and it’s really just a placeholder & redirect to our articles.)
You can support The Armchair Dragoons through our Patreon, also, and find us at a variety of conventions and other events.
Feel free to talk back to us either in our discussion forum, or in the comments below.



In wargaming discussions, they shine,
Armchair Dragoons, so refined,
With tactics profound,
Strategies unbound,
Their insights, a treasure divine!

Tell us what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: