Descent on Crete
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Designers | Eric Goldberg |
|---|---|
| Illustrators | Redmond A. Simonsen |
| Publishers | Simulations Publications Inc. |
| Publication | 1978 |
| Genres | WWII |
Descent on Crete is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates the German airborne invasion of Crete during World War II. A game with two large maps, hundreds of counters, and complex rules, Descent on Crete initially sold well, but sales rapidly declined.
In May 1941, German paratroopers invaded the island of Crete, defended by British forces. The first day of battle went well for the British, and they were confident that the invasion had been contained. But their failure to guard a key airfield allowed the Germans to capture it and fly in reinforcements and materiel, turning the battle in their favor.[1]
Description
Descent on Crete is a two-player board wargame in which one player controls the German invaders and the other player controls the British defenders. The rules system was taken from SPI's previous publication, Highway to the Reich.[2] With 800 counters, two large 22" x 34" hex grid maps scaled at 640 m (700 yd) per hex, and a large number of rules, it is a complex game.[3]
The game includes several short scenarios that cover smaller aspects of the overall battle, as well as one long 60-turn campaign game that covers the entire battle.[2]
Publication history
Descent on Crete was designed by Eric Goldberg, who admitted in his game notes that "the German landing sites and strengths do not correspond with the historical ones." Goldberg did this for two reasons: play balance, and to purposefully force several situations that occurred historically to re-occur in the game. The game was published by SPI as a boxed set in 1978 with graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen, and initially sold well, rising to #6 on SPI's Bestseller List the month it was released. But it immediately fell off the list, and did not resurface.[4]