John Prados’ Third Reich

About this board game

John Prados’ Third Reich is a World War II strategy game for 2–5 players, with games lasting about 360 minutes. Players lead Britain, France, Italy, Germany, the United States, or the Soviet Union through a struggle shaped by military operations, production, diplomacy, and political uncertainty.

The game’s central currency is the Basic Resource Point, or BRP. Nations spend BRPs to build units, activate forces, launch offensives, replace battle losses, influence minor countries, and pursue other wartime objectives. Production can rise or fall as territory changes hands or strategic warfare disrupts the economy.

Land, naval, and air units move and attack once activated. Instead of using a Combat Results Table, battles use a dice-based system in which a result of 6 usually scores a hit. Damage can be absorbed with BRPs in some situations, but heavy losses reduce or destroy units, while naval and air forces deliver greater impact without recovering from damage as easily.

• HQ activation markers: Nations purchase markers for headquarters, land units, and air units, then draw them from a cup to determine turn order.
• Diplomatic pressure: Major powers can influence countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Romania through bribes, territory, or by undermining rival influence.
• Variable political events: Random markers can trigger events ranging from national decisions and diplomatic shifts to technological developments and leadership crises.

Scenarios begin in 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, or 1945, including a 1938 scenario centered on a wider Spanish Civil War and a 1945 scenario following Germany’s collapse. This Avalanche Press re-release streamlines the classic system while retaining its broad political, economic, land, naval, and air contest.

John Prados’ Third Reich can be played separately or alongside its sequel, Great Pacific War.