The Dark Sands: War in North Africa, 1940-42

About this board game

The Dark Sands is a 2018 wargame for 1-2 players, with a listed play time of 1500 minutes. It adapts Ted S. Raicer’s wargame system from The Dark Valley: The East Front Campaign to the legendary battles of North Africa during World War II.

The game portrays the campaigns of the British 8th Army and Rommel’s Afrika Korps across a pivotal period of the war. Its scope reaches from the most successful British armored operation of the war to the climactic battle at El Alamein two years later.

• Operation Compass: Follow the opening British armored operation highlighted in the campaign.
• North Africa, 1940-42: Experience the wider conflict across two crucial years of World War II.
• El Alamein: Reach the campaign’s climactic battle.

Built on the system of the sold-out and critically acclaimed The Dark Valley, The Dark Sands brings that established wargame foundation to a very different theater. The result is a focused portrayal of the opposing British and German-led campaigns in North Africa.

Whether played by two opponents or approached as a one-player experience, The Dark Sands offers an extended examination of a celebrated World War II campaign. Its combination of a substantial play time, a 1-2 player format, and a broad 1940-42 scope makes it a notable entry for players interested in North African wargaming.