MonopÂoly is notoÂriÂousÂly time-conÂsumÂing. On the childÂhood ChristÂmas I received my first copy of that ParkÂer BrothÂers clasÂsic, my dad and I startÂed a game that endÂed up spreadÂing over two or three days. That may have had to do with my appreÂciÂaÂtion for Monopoly’s aesÂthetÂic far exceedÂing my grasp of its aim, and I’ve since realÂized that it can be played in about an hour. That’s still a good deal longer than, say, a game of checkÂers, but it falls someÂwhat short of the league occuÂpied by The CamÂpaign for North Africa — which is, in fact, a league of its own. Since its pubÂliÂcaÂtion in 1979, it’s been known as the longest board game in exisÂtence, requirÂing 1,500 hours (or 62 days) to comÂplete.
We are, of course, talkÂing about a war game, and that genre has its own stanÂdards of comÂplexÂiÂty — stanÂdards The CamÂpaign for North Africa leaves in the dust. “The game itself covÂers the famous WWII operÂaÂtions in Libya and Egypt between 1940 and 1943,” writes Kotaku’s Luke WinÂkle. “You’ll need to recruit 10 total playÂers, (five Allied, five Axis,) who will each lord over a speÂcialÂized diviÂsion. The Front-line and Air ComÂmanÂders will issue orders to the troops in batÂtle, the Rear and LogisÂtics ComÂmanÂders will ferÂry supÂplies to the comÂbat areas, and lastÂly, a ComÂmanÂder-in-Chief will be responÂsiÂble for all macro strateÂgic deciÂsions over the course of the conÂflict. If you and your group meets for three hours at a time, twice a month, you’d wrap up the camÂpaign in about 20 years.”
You can get an idea of what you’d be dealÂing with over those two decades in the video below from YoutuÂber PhasÂing PlayÂer, an overview that itself takes about an hour and a half. “HonÂestÂly, if I’m being straight-up here, this game does sound, broadÂly speakÂing, like a fun time,” he says, half an hour deep into the explaÂnaÂtion. “ImagÂine setÂting up a giant map of Africa,” getÂting your friends togethÂer, “Sarah’s in charge of the air force and Jim is in charge of logisÂtics. You have all these peoÂple in charge of difÂferÂent things, and you’re comÂmuÂniÂcatÂing strateÂgies, and the comÂmanÂder-in-chief is forÂmuÂlatÂing plans and doing all this stuff. That sounds like a real hoot, right?” Alas, “the big asterÂisk comes in when that good time has to last litÂerÂalÂly a thouÂsand hours,” involvÂing what anothÂer playÂer quotÂed by WinÂkle calls “doing tedious calÂcuÂlaÂtions all the time.”
Those calÂcuÂlaÂtions necesÂsiÂtate payÂing close attenÂtion, on every sinÂgle turn, to not just quanÂtiÂties like fuel reserves but the hisÂtorÂiÂcalÂly accuÂrate size of the barÂrels conÂtainÂing those reserves. Note also that, as WinÂkle adds, “the ItalÂian troops in World War II were outÂfitÂted with nooÂdle rations, and in the name of hisÂtorÂiÂcal dogÂma, the playÂer responÂsiÂble for the ItalÂians is required to disÂtribÂute an extra water ration to their forces, so that their pasÂta may be boiled.” The CamÂpaign for North Africa’s designÂer, the late Richard Berg, claimed that the so-called “pasÂta rule” was a joke, and that the game’s fiendish overÂall comÂplexÂiÂty was in keepÂing with the style of the times, a “goldÂen age” of war gamÂing with high sales and ever-escaÂlatÂing ambiÂtions. As with so many othÂer seemÂingÂly inexÂplicÂaÂble artiÂfacts of culÂturÂal hisÂtoÂry, one falls back on a familÂiar explaÂnaÂtion: hey, it was the 70s.
via Kotaku
RelatÂed conÂtent:
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DownÂload & Play the ShinÂing Board Game
Board Game IdeÂolÂoÂgy — PretÂty Much Pop: A CulÂture PodÂcast #108
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
As a kid back in the earÂly ’70’s I conÂvinced my father, who had fought in WWII. to buy. It was so overÂly comÂpliÂcatÂed that neiÂther of us every figÂured out how to play. It was realÂly a shame because it was packÂaged beauÂtiÂfulÂly and gave all the appearÂance, at least to the uniniÂtiÂatÂed, of being a great game. I was so into all aspects of WWII at that point an realÂly wantÂed to play the game but every facÂtor right on down to wind resisÂtance, fuel conÂsumpÂtion, ect. all had to be facÂtored into squadron responsÂes to incomÂing attacks. The game was way over the head of a young teenagÂer.
It sounds like The BatÂtle for North Africa might have been from the same gamemÂnaker. I’ve often searched to see if I could find The BatÂtle of Britain. Maybe I’ll enlist google’s help again what with the info I’ve learned from this video, in the hopes of trackÂing down a copy of the game.
UnforÂtuÂnateÂly few with opinÂions about this game have ever actuÂalÂly played it. For those who have played it, the game is often described as, quite enjoyÂable, posÂiÂtiveÂly chalÂlengÂing, not very difÂfiÂcult, and easÂiÂly playable in less than the over exagÂgerÂatÂed 1500 hours. ReadÂing comÂments by the uniniÂtiÂatÂed reminds me of the scene from the movie 2001, A Space Odyssey, where an unknown object is placed cenÂter stage, and the recipÂiÂents attack it because they don’t underÂstand it.
The game feaÂtures promiÂnentÂly in an episode of The Big Bang TheÂoÂry (S11E16) where the comÂplexÂiÂty of the game is on full disÂplay, as well as the sheer amount of time and calÂcuÂlaÂtion required for gameÂplay. All played for laughs, obviÂousÂly, but the game is there, nonetheÂless.
I played simÂiÂlar-lookÂing and conÂsidÂerÂably comÂplex games based on real batÂtles. From Napoleon to the whole Atlantic (sub game). The genÂtleÂman who introÂduced me to them was a genius, plain an simÂple and the games to him were trivÂial. We played for hours on end. SevÂerÂal of us in a group did bigÂger camÂpaigns