Supercharge: Battle of El Alamein, October 1942 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates Operation Supercharge during the Second Battle of El Alamein of World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Four Battles in North Africa "quadrigame" — a collection of four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Supercharge was also published as an individual "folio game."
Following the fall of Tobruk to Axis forces in 1942, German General Erwin Rommel's army rolled east towards Egypt with the intention of conquering Egypt and the vital Suez Canal, and possibly driving through to the oil fields of the Middle East. However, lack of fuel and supplies forced Rommel to stop and take a defensive position. Allied forces under British General Bernard Montgomery moved forward to attack the Axis forces before they could receive fresh supplies. Confined to a narrow front by minefields and terrain, the battle became a long and bloody grind. [1]
Supercharge is a game for two players where one player controls the Axis forces, and the other controls the Allied forces. [2] With only 100 counters and relatively few rules, this game has been characterized as "simple, easy to play and requires a short period of time (1-2 hours) to complete." [3]
The game uses a standard "I Go, You Go" alternating turn system taken from SPI's previous publication The Battle of Borodino , where one player moves and fires, then the other player does the same. This completes one game turn.
Units are not allowed to stack. A unit must stop if it enters an enemy's zone of control, and then must attack the enemy. [4] Most combat results in the loser retreating; the loser is only eliminated if it can't retreat, adding impetus to the opponent to maneuver to surround the unit before combat begins. [4]
The game comes with three scenarios, each simulating a phase of the overall battle:
After the success of SPI's first quadrigame, Blue & Gray , in 1975, the company quickly produced more quadrigames, including Four Battles in North Africa in 1976, consisting of the four games Cauldron , Crusader , Kasserine , and Supercharge. The latter, designed by Greg Costikyan, Frank Davis and Redmond A. Simonsen, and with graphic design by Simonsen, was also offered for individual sale as a "folio game" — a game packaged in a cardstock folio. It did not crack SPI's Top Ten Bestseller list. [5]
This was Costikyan's first published game design, and he later wrote, "The North Africa quad system was designed for fluid desert battles, and El Alamein, fought on a narrow front, was as much characterized by traffic jams as anything else, given the size of the British force. It didn’t really work. [...] The theory at SPI at the time was that novice designers would be given individual quad games to design. Under the supervision of a coordinator for the Quadrigame as a whole, a designer could be given a first taste of game design without being burdened with too complicated a task. In my case, I must say, the results were disastrous. I was not provided the supervision and help which might have made Supercharge a success. Supercharge was undeniably the worst of the North Africa Quad." [6]
Hobby Japan published the game as a free pull-out in the July 1987 edition of the Japanese language magazine Tactics.
In the 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Nick Palmer commented "More open country than the other games in the [North Africa] quad apart from the main German defence line." [7]
In the Issue 60 of Fire & Movement , Vance von Borries felt this game was not up to the standards of the other three games in the North Africa box, saying, "This game fails to overcome a dull subject and suffers from a difficult time in set up, from lack of mobility and from an improper balance of play." [2]
PanzerArmee Afrika, subtitled "Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the World War II North African Campaign that pitted the Axis forces commanded by Erwin Rommel against Allied forces. The game was revised and republished in 1984 by Avalon Hill.
Golan subtitled "Syrian-Israeli Combat in the '73 War", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates operational level ground combat between Egypt and Israel on the Golan Heights during the just completed Yom Kippur War of October 1973. Golan was originally published as part of the "quadrigame" Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts.
El Alamein: Battles in North Africa, 1942 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the final four months of the North African campaign during World War II.
Marengo: Napoleon in Italy, 14 June 1800 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 as one of four games packaged together in the Napoleon at War "quadrigame". Marengo was also released as a separate game the same year. The game simulates the Battle of Marengo between Austrian and French forces.
Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four modern-day battles set in the early 1970s.
Bloody Ridge, subtitled "Turning Point on Guadalcanal, September 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Island War: Four Pacific Battles "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Bloody Ridge was also published as an individual "folio game."
Thirty Years War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a "quadrigame" — four separate board wargames packaged in one box that use a common set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976. The four games simulate different battles during the Thirty Years' War, and were sold individually as well as in the quadrigame format. Some of the games were well received by critics, but overall, the quadrigame did not sell well.
Nordlingen, subtitled "6 September 1634 – Triumph of the Imperialists", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1634 Battle of Nordlingen during the Thirty Years' War. Nordlingen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it the best game of the four, and Nordlingen was also published as a separate game.
Lützen is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1632 Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War. Lützen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it one of the better games of the four, and Lützen was also published as an individual game.
Rocroi, subtitled "19 May 1643 – The End of Spanish Ascendancy", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1643 Battle of Rocroi during the Thirty Years' War. Rocroi was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom called it a "bland tactical problem", while others declared it was the best game of the four in the Thirty Years War box.
Freiburg, subtitled "3–9 August 1644 – Conquest of the Rhine Valley", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1644 Battle of Freiburg during the Thirty Years' War. Freiburg was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received poor reviews from critics, who called it the weakest of the four games in the Thirty Years War box, "a series of slogging matches", "not much fun", and "relatively boring."
Blue & Gray II, subtitled "Four American Civil War Battles", is a collection of four board wargames originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that each simulate a battle from the American Civil War. It is the sequel to Blue & Gray published earlier in the year. Each of the four games was also published as individual "folio games."
Four Battles in North Africa is a collection of four board wargames published in 1976 by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) that simulate various battles during the North African Campaign of World War II.
Hurtgen Forest, subtitled "Approach to the Roer, November 1944 ", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Hürtgen Forest during the final year of World War II. The game was originally published by SPI as part of a four-game collection titled Westwall: Four Battles to Germany, but it was also released as an individual "folio game." While the quadrigame Westwall received good reviews from critics, the static nature of Hurtgen Forest was less well received.
The Battle of Nations, subtitled "The Encirclement at Leipzig, 16–19 October 1813", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but was also released as a "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio. It was popular in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics also gave it favorable reviews.
Four Battles from the Crimean War is a "quadrigame" — a set of four thematically linked games that use the same set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates four battles during the Crimean War.
Modern Battles II: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates three hypothetical contemporary battles as well as the battle for Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967. This collection was a sequel to SPI's popular Modern Battles published two years before.
Cauldron: Battle of Gazala, May 1942 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Gazala during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Four Battles in North Africa "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Cauldron was also published as an individual "folio game."
Crusader: Battle for Tobruk, November 1941 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates Operation Crusader during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Four Battles in North Africa "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Crusader was also published as an individual "folio game."
Kasserine: Baptism of Fire, February 1943 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Kasserine Pass during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Four Battles in North Africa "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Kasserine was also published as an individual "folio game."