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The title, Drang Nach Osten, is a German phrase meaning drive
(or push) to the east, used at times from the Middle Ages through WW2
to signify German settlement and expansion into territories east of
Germany. DNO was not only the first Europa game but also the
first monster game, with six maps and hordes of counters.
A Personal Note: I first saw DNO in an ad in a wargaming
magazine. It looked amazing, and the picture of German and Soviet units
fighting for the Crimea alone made me lust after that game -- an
emotion I rarely experienced with wargames. Expertly rated divisions,
tank brigades, antitank battalions, model-based aircraft, Soviet
landing craft, and more, wow! Alas, I was in college at the time on a
very limited budget, and the $12.85 price tag (2-3 times the cost of
most other games) was just beyond reach. Later, I did get to play it
(and eventually got my own copy), and it was everything I expected it to
be. --John M. Astell
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Unentschieden is a German word meaning "stalemate." UNT was
an add-on to DNO and was not playable by itself.
Note that Unentschieden ends in 1944. GDW planned to publish a
third "original Europa" game covering the 1945 German-Soviet
campaign, tentatively titled Na Zapad! (Russian for "To the
west!"), but these plans were never realized.
A Personal Note: Together with DNO, UNT was a
revelation on what games could be. I was used to cookie-cutter games
where, say, every German panzer division would have the same rating and
wouldn't change for the entire war. Here was a game that showed what
really went on! --John M. Astell
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- Published: 1974
- Designed by: Frank Chadwick and Paul Richard Banner
- Subject: The German invasion of Norway, 1940
- More Info: See Narvik
on BoardGameGeek (note that the illustration there is
the back of the game box of 2nd edition Narvik, and is not
indicative of 1st edition Narvik.) and The
Europa Series at Wargame Academy.
Narvik took its title from the Norwegian Arctic port the Germans
seized in the face of British naval superiority. The game covered the
entire campaign in Norway.
Note that Narvik was Europa game IV, not III. Europa III was
reserved for Marita-Merkur, which wasn't published until GDW did
the second edition Europa games.
A Personal Note: This was the first Europa game I ever bought or
played. I became intrigued with it when I read some reviews -- until
then I had known little about the Norwegian campaign and thought it was
just another German cakewalk with little interesting action. The Europa
supplement in the game with the Europa-level Norwegian and Swedish was
fascinating.
Narvik was the game that got Winston Hamilton into the Europa
system, and it always remained his favorite Europa game.
--John M. Astell
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- Published: 1976
- Designed by: Marc W. Miller, Paul R. Banner, and
Frank Chadwick
- Subject: The Battle of Britain and the
hypothetical German invasion of Great Britain, 1940
- More Info: See TFH
on Wargame Academy. (BGG doesn't cover the 1st edition
game.)
Their Finest Hour was three games in one: Battle of Britain, a
squadron-level game of the aerial campaign over Britain, Battle of
Britain (Europa), a Europa group-level game of the aerial campaign, and
Sea Lion, a ground-air-naval game of the planned but not executed
German invasion of Britain.
TFH was a transitional game between original Europa and the second
edition games. The graphics were improved over the previous games, but
not to the level that the 2nd edition games would feature.
The label on the cover (see illustration at left) is hard to read at
this scale. It states:
"Their Finest Hour"
Copy No. 8
published 23 March 1976
and it is signed by all three of the game's designers.
A Personal Note: Someone in the wargaming club at my college
(The Strategy Games Club, UMass Amherst) bought TFH when it came
out, and we played both the squadron game and the invasion game. Again,
the attention to detail was impressive. For example, not only could you
try to bomb out the British radar stations, you as the Luftwaffe never
could tell how much effect you were having -- would just one more hit
knock one out, or were your hits doing little damage?
--John M. Astell
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