The Campaign for North Africa

The Campaign for North Africa (generally referred to as CNA by wargamers), is an exceptionally detailed military simulation game of the North African Campaign of World War II.[1] It was designed by Richard Berg and published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1978.

This article is about a board game. For the historical campaign, see North African Campaign.
The Campaign for North Africa
Designer(s)Richard Berg
Publisher(s)Simulation Publications, Inc.
Publication date1978
Genre(s)Military simulation
Players2-10
Playing timeUp to ≈1,500 hours
Synonym(s)CNA

Complexity

The Campaign for North Africa offered more detail than any board wargame before or since, leading to mixed reactions. The game includes 1,800 counters, maps large enough to cover several tables, and a three-volume rulebook.

The rules cover logistics in extreme detail, far more so than the combat simulation. A commonly cited example of the game's level of detail (noted in SPI's advertising) is that Italian troops required additional water supplies to prepare pasta.[2]

It is recommended that each side be played by a five-person team, including a Commander-In-Chief and four subordinate commanders, making a total of ten players needed for a game, although it can be played with two. According to SPI, a complete game can run over 1,500 hours. Completed full games of The Campaign for North Africa were rare. However, although The Campaign for North Africa is only barely playable, it is prized by collectors.

Possible re-release

As of 2020 the game is being revamped by Decision Games, and is available for pre-order on their website. A variety of minor rules fixes have been made, and a series of deeper changes to the oft-criticized air game rules. A spreadsheet system, backed by custom programming, has also been developed.

The Campaign for North Africa was featured in the 2018 The Big Bang Theory episode "The Neonatal Nomenclature", where Sheldon Cooper is seen trying to lead a game to pass the time while waiting for Bernadette to go into labor with her child. Despite Sheldon's enthusiasm towards the game, his colleagues are shown to be uninterested, befuddled by its complicated rules.[3]

References
  1. Winkie, Luke (5 February 2018). "The Notorious Board Game That Takes 1,500 Hours To Complete". Kotaku. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. Gaynor, Michael J. (July 17, 2018). "They created maybe the best board game ever. Now, Putin is making it relevant again". The Washington Post. United States: Fred Ryan. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019.
  3. Potts, Kimberly (2018-03-02). "The Big Bang Theory Recap: What's in a Name?". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
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