In a 1976 poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North America, ''Panzer '44'' was rated very highly, placing 33rd out of 202 games. In Issue 10 of
JagdPanther, game designer
Stephen V. Cole called "the twin games of ''Panzer '44
and MechWar '77
a pretty decent simulation." He noted that because the two games use the same game system, it was possible to combine the two and throw World War II tanks against modern (1970s) tanks. However, he noted that 1970s armor was capable of withstanding World War II firepower, and suggested, just for fun, that tanks from Panzer '44'' be given 3 points of extra firepower to at least make them competitive. He then suggested two science-fiction scenarios in which World War II tanks find themselves time-warped into the 1970s to face modern opponents, calling both scenarios "hokey but enjoyable." In the same issue, Howard Anderson liked the game, calling it "the best simulation of these types of actions you are likely to find." However, he noted that with the game's unwieldy quasi-simultaneous move and fire system, it was impossible to control very many counters. Anderson proposed moving to a more traditional "I Go, You Go" sequential turn system, saying "you are throwing away quite a bit of the accuracy, but the game is a lot more fun with faster action and more units." In the 1980 book
The Complete Book of Wargames, game designer
Jon Freeman thought the game system was very complex and the command control rules "absurd", saying "they cannot be justified on the grounds of either realism or playability." Despite this, he concluded by giving the game an Overall Evaluation of "Good," saying "''Panzer '44'' isn't a bad game and when published it represented something of an advance in the state of the art of tactical armor simulations." In Issue 21 of the UK wargaming magazine
Phoenix, Geoff Barnard looked at developments in armor combat simulations, and complimented ''Panzer '44
s artillery rules as a positive step forward, saying that they "add further to the detail of the artillery rules by putting the artillery effect at the very end of the turn, after all movement and book-keeping." However, he noted the issues with infantry, saying, the game has "a mere subsidiary role for the infantry: as the tanks and vehicles zoom about, the infantry move at one hex per turn, generally the fire system leaves them very exposed to being wiped out by a tank with nothing better to fire at!" He concluded that Panzer '44'' was "not too bad at representing tank vs tank combat, and mobile warfare but not really tactical simulations and, not doing a very good job on the infantry side." ==Other reviews and commentary==