Highway to the Reich facts for kids
Highway to the Reich is a huge board game about war. It was made by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976. The game lets you play through a real event from World War II. This event was called Operation Market Garden.
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What is Highway to the Reich?
In September 1944, during World War II, Allied soldiers tried to capture a long stretch of highway. This highway was about 100 kilometers (60 miles) long in the Netherlands. They also wanted to take control of important bridges. Their goal was to create a safe path across the Rhine River.
First, paratroopers jumped from planes to secure the area. Then, ground troops were sent to join them and make the path stronger. Highway to the Reich lets you play out this entire operation. It's a very big game with many pieces. It uses thousands of small game tokens called counters. The game board is almost 3 meters (9 feet) long! A full game can take a very long time, sometimes hundreds of hours.
When the game first came out, players found some mistakes in the rules. The company, SPI, worked hard to fix them. They even released a completely new rulebook about six months later. This new rulebook was given for free to people who had bought the first version.
What's in the Box?
The game comes with many parts to help you play:
- four large paper maps, each 22 by 34 inches. These maps connect to make one giant map, 22 by 136 inches long. Each small area on the map, called a hex, represents 600 meters (656 yards) of land.
- 2400 game pieces, called counters.
- A 32-page rulebook (this is the updated second edition).
- Different charts and player guides to help you remember the rules.
How Do You Play?
In the game, your units represent different types of soldiers. These include infantry companies, artillery batteries, and tank troops. Each unit has special ratings.
- Effectiveness: How good they are at fighting. Tanks have high effectiveness.
- Strength: How many soldiers they represent. Paratroopers have high strength.
- Morale: How brave and determined they are. Paratroopers also have high morale.
The game also focuses on keeping units from the same group together. If units from the same army division fight side-by-side, they get a bonus. When units fight, you roll many dice to see what happens. Sometimes, units can even get into close combat after shooting at each other.
Game Scenarios
Highway to the Reich has a small game called "Hell's Highway." This is a good way to learn the basic rules. After that, you can choose from five different scenarios. Each scenario uses only one of the four large maps:
- "Drop of the 101st Airborne Division, 17–18 September 1944"
- "Drop of the 82nd Airborne Division, 17–18 September 1944"
- "Drop of the British 1st Airborne, 17–18 September 1944"
- "Destruction of the British 1st, 19–21 September 1944"
- "The Breakout of the XXX Corps"
You can also combine all these scenarios and maps into one huge game. This is called a campaign game and has 106 turns. Experts say this game is very complex, rating it a 10 out of 10 for difficulty.
Game History and Editions
Highway to the Reich was created by Jay Nelson and Irad B. Hardy. The maps and artwork were designed by Redmond A. Simonsen. SPI released the game in a big box in January 1976.
As mentioned, players found some issues with the first set of rules. SPI first sent out small updates to fix these. Then, they hired Eric Goldberg to completely rewrite the rulebook. This new, second edition rulebook came out in July 1977. SPI offered it for free to anyone who had already bought the game.
Later, another company called Decision Games got the rights to the game. In 2008, they released a new version. It was called Highway to the Reich: The Allied Airborne Invasion of Holland, 1944. This updated game was designed by J.A. Nelson and Joe Youst, with new artwork by Joe Youst.
Awards and Recognition
In 1978, Highway to the Reich was recognized at the Origins Awards. It was a finalist for the Charles S. Roberts Award for "Best Tactical Game of 1977." This award celebrates excellent war games.
