Sicily: The Race for Messina

About this board game

Sicily: The Race for Messina is a two-player World War II wargame about the Allied invasion of Sicily, played across an extended campaign that can last up to 1200 minutes. Published in 1981, it covers the campaign from 10 July to 17 August 1943.

The game recreates the Allied attempt to seize the southernmost bastion of an increasingly embattled Festung Europa. It also portrays the heavily outnumbered Axis forces and their notable rearguard action. The setting offers a focused look at a major amphibious assault against Nazi-dominated Europe.

Players can choose between a regular campaign game and a variable campaign game. A shorter scenario concentrates on the U.S. landings, providing a more compact way to experience the game’s systems before taking on the full campaign.

• Two-player World War II operational wargame
• Turn scale: 2 days
• Map scale: 3 miles per hex
• Unit scale: battalion to brigade
• Regular campaign, variable campaign, and short U.S. landings scenario

The physical game includes a 22-by-34-inch mapsheet and two countersheets containing 300 half-inch counters. An 8-page game-specific rule booklet and an 8-page game-series standard rules booklet provide the rules material for play.

With its substantial playing time, multiple campaign formats, and clearly defined historical scale, Sicily: The Race for Messina offers a focused simulation of the struggle for Sicily and the race toward Messina.