Decision in the Desert

El Alamein, October 1944. You hear the rumble of three hundred enemy tanks advancing against your position in the North African desert. Deploy your tanks, artillery, air cover and ground troops in this historically accurate simulation. Victory or defeat. It is in your hands.

Decision in the Desert is a classic real-time simulation game from the 80s designed by Sid Meier and Ed Bever. The second title in the "Command Series" of tactical wargames from Microprose, the game features real-time battles that test your skills as a commander.

Five different scenarios from the North African Campaign (1940 to 1942), each with multiple variables, along with different levels of difficulty will have you playing again and again.

Accelerated real-time simulation
Historically accurate scenarios
Different skill levels
Single player campaign
Two-play head-to-head
Choose to lead either side
In-depth historical backgrounds and hints

The idea for the Command Series came from observation of actual tabletop military scenario exercises. The games challenge you to manage assets, strategically place and move them around the battlefield map, and try to outmaneuver the enemy. Sid Meier, one of the most well-known and prolific strategy game designer-producers, collaborated with historian Ed Bever to make the games historically accurate.

The Command Series, including Decision in the Desert, Crusade in Europe, and Conflict in Vietnam, has been brought back by Atari and the titles are now available on Steam.