| Game | Third Riech (4th Edition) | Complexity | High |
| Company | Avalon Hill | Time | 8+ |
| Setting | WWII | Solitaire | Medium |
| Type | Grand Strategic | Rating | 9 |
Third Riech is a grand strategic game of the European theatre of operations during WWII.
The mapboard stretches from Spain in the west to the Russian Urals in the east, from Finland in the north to North Africa in the south. It is divided into three fronts, namely the Western Front, Eastern Front and the Mediterranean Front. Each turn represents three months of the war. Every four turns, there is a Year Start Sequence (YSS) during which accounting is done for the amount of economic resources that are available for the following year.
Central to the game is a system of Basic Resource Points(BRPs), pronounced as "burps" in our group. BRPs represent the economic resources available to the warring powers. Almost everything in Third Riech requires BRPs: declaring war costs 10 (against minor country) to 35 (against major country), declaring an offensive on a front requires 10, replacing a unit requires 1 per strength point for infantry, 2 for armour and 3 for air force and navy. Diplomacy requires BRPs and even an intelligence effort costs BRPs.
BRPs are allocated to players each year, and it is up to them to allocate the requirements for the year. In each turn, players may not spend more than 50% of the BRPs allocated for the year. Therefore, players may opt to hoard resources in anticipation of a large offensive or may just spend 25% each quarter in an attriction type campaign.
BRPs also determine the sequence of play during each turn, with the faction having the most number of unspent BRPs to move first. This results in the dreaded "double turn" as players drastically cut expenditure in one turn so as to sieze the initiative in the next, resulting in him moving twice without reply. A properly executed "double turn" may change the tone of the game permanently, and experienced players spend more time and effort setting up and defending against double turns than in actually carrying them out.
Third Riech is really a neat wargame. I used to spend entire weekends pondering over moves. However, time and energy constraints have kept me away, but I still have very fond memories of this game.