Sooner or later, a game comes along that makes one take a look at a game publishing company. This is one of those games. It is a very well designed and straight forward. Though only costing $*, it is equal to any game costing 10x or more.
The Battle: The battle being depicted is also known as "Operation Hoveyzeh" and/or "Operation Nasr" (Victory), January 5 to 7,1981. It was the first attempt of many operations that Iran used to remove the Iraqis from their lands. Operation Nasr was hastily planned by Khomeini and his clerics, the true rulers of Iran. With the government in shambles, many of the Clerics still mistrusted much of the military. Khomeini and his clerics needed a battle to unify their hold on the Iranian people and could also be used to force President Banisadr into resigning if the battle was lost.
The Iranian 88th Armor Division used in the attack was actually the Iranian 88th Armor Brigade expanded into an adhoc division by combining units from the depleted 92nd Division. It consisted of 3 armor brigades of British Chieftains (Mk I to V) and M-60A1s, but lack recon units, mech inf, arty, and other divisional assets. The 55th Parachute Brigade was attached to be used for Infantry support.
In case you are wondering, as great as tanks are, they cannot survive the battlefield without Infantry covering the flanks. This was true in 1916, as it is now. Did you know this battle was the largest armor battle fought since the Yom Kippur War (aka the "6 Day War", soon to be coming (well at the end of this year :D) from ATO magazine as their end of year annual magazine with game, and designed by the way by Paul Rohrbaugh.)?
And here is where the game begins...
Counters: The game comes with 34, 1/2" unmounted counters (mounting is available when you buy the game) consisting of four markers (two morale, one game turn and one "fortunes of war"), twelve "pin" markers, eight Iraqi combat units (double sided, with a reduction), two "strike" (one acft strike and one arty strike) markers, seven Iranian combat units (double sided, with a reduction) and one "air" strike marker. Notice the "red" number on the armor unit to the right? That is important to remember.
Note: No Victory Point markers were included in the counter mix. As mentioned in rule 11.0, one is to use pennies or other spare markers for this track. Being the person I am, I just made up my own. Yes, you can use these if you want. You will probably have to play with the sizing.
The two infantry counters have the standard NATO Infantry symbol, while the armor units have side views of the T-55 and T-62 for the Iraqis. While the Iranians have Chieftains Mk 1-5, and M-60A1s. All side views are correct to the respected armor (for example, it is easy to distinguish between a T-55 with the bore evacuator being on the end of the gun and the space between the 1st and 2nd road wheel, while the T-62's bore evacuator was about 2/3's of the length towards the muzzle of the gun. Good going Bruce.)
And in case you still can't figure out who is who, Iraqi's had Soviet armor, while the Iranians used Western Armor.
Game Map: The entire map is 11"x17" in size, consisting of a terrain key, a chart on how to read the units, morale & support track, game turn track and a random events table, the actual battle map is only 7.5"x9.5" and features a non-passable river, except at the main bridge (this is the Karkhah River btw), a passable smaller stream, clear desert, roads, and mud, lots n' lots of mud.
The Iranians had flooded this area to stop the Iraqis in Nov 80. And it worked. However, when the Iranians attack in the same area on Jan 5, 1981, they were forced to utilized the same road system as the Iraqi's to keep from being bogged down. It seems as if they didn't remember about flooding this area in the previous Nov. The 88th Armor Division paid a terrible price with the lost of lives and armor when the brigades went off the roads and were caught in the same mud that the Iraqis were trapped almost 3 months earlier. The game simulates this very well with most of the map as mud hexes.
Getting ready for play: In lieu of the card set, players will need to provide a deck of cards. Remove all face cards (remember the Ace is not a face card, but considered "1"), divide the deck into Red and Black cards plus one joker for each deck. Give the red deck to the Iranian player and the black deck to the Iraqi player. And have each player shuffle their deck. One 6 sided Die (1D6) is also required.
Rules: The rules are four single sided pages in length. Nice, light, tight, and pretty straight forward as HFDG rules usually are. Download the addenda (errata) for the game and correct your set of rules before playing... but, here is the addenda for ya
Addenda for the game. Dtd April 2018 and listed here:
General Note:In some places in the rules the underline is missing from the < sign. In all cases please add this underline in where missing so it reads < (less than or equal to).
1.0 Components (correction):There are 34 (not 30) counters in the game.
2.1 Iranian Set Up (corrections): The reference to hex C12 should be to 0912. The reference to the 8th Armor should instead be to the 88th (the counters are correct). Also, in the second sentence of paragraph 4 “may” should be “many”.
1.0 Components (correction):There are 34 (not 30) counters in the game.
2.1 Iranian Set Up (corrections): The reference to hex C12 should be to 0912. The reference to the 8th Armor should instead be to the 88th (the counters are correct). Also, in the second sentence of paragraph 4 “may” should be “many”.
2.2 Iraqi Set Up (correction): Hoveyzeh is in hex 0201 (not J1), Susangerd is in hex 0904 (notC4) and Saideh is in hex 0205 (not J5).
3.0 Play of the Game (clarification): In the unlikely event both Jokers are drawn by the players and one player has not activated ignore the second Joker card and continue play until all cards are drawn.
4.0 Assault (correction): The next-to-last DRM in the list should refer to a Pinned (not Disrupted) armor unit.
6.0 Air Support (correction): The second paragraph and last bullet should state “air support” (not artillery support).
8.1 Iranian Reinforcements (correction): Reinforcement units enter at hexes 1105 (not A5) or 0912 (not C12).
9.0 Changing Morale Levels (corrections):
- The middle sentence, parenthesized section) in this rule should read “but never above 5”.
- The Iranian player reduces his/her ML by 1 for each Iraqi unit that exits the east (not west) map edge.
- A player’s ML is never increased above 5 (not 6).
The three Iranian 88th Armor Division brigades were strung out on the roads coming from Ahwaz to Saideh going toward Haveyzeh on the highway along with the 55th Parachute being in the rear. This column was over 10 miles long. Accompanying the armor was 14 Cobra gunships to provide air cover. It was these helos flying around, with their possible radio traffic, that alerted the Iraqis to the presence of the Iranian armor. The Iraqi's decided to set up a trap for the 88th division. The lead Iraqi armor brigade fired a couple of rounds and retreated 1/2 mile to prepared positions that were just completed. These prepared positions allowed the Iraqi armor to be in what is termed "Hull-down" position. About the only thing sticking up and out is the turret with it's gun. Meanwhile, the Iranian commander thought he had run into an Iraqi recon probe and order his brigades to attack. And that they did. The Iranians fell into a neatly laid out trap, and paid for it.
Playing the Game: After both players have setup (not only counters, but also the arty and air strikes) the Iranian player rolls a 1D6 to see how many activations they will get for the 1st game turn (just this one time). Also, the Iranian player begins the game with "Fortunes of War" special event. Once this has been performed, the next rounds will be by card draw. This game is like playing the old card game, that most learned as kids - "War".
Activation's: The game consists of 8 turns played with many rounds. The turns cover the three days and three nights that the battle went on. Each turn is equal to 8 hrs. To play each round, each player turns over the top card of their deck and who has the highest card wins the round. Odd card is one activation, even card is two activations or the winning player can pass on either. If the card draw is a tie, the player who did not perform any activation(s) in the previous round can perform 1 activation (or pass).
For each activation a player can do one of the following:
- Arty Strike (Iraqi player only)
- Air Support Strike (both players)
- Move (both players)
- Assault (both players)
- Rally (both players)
Jokers and the end of a turn: The first time a joker is drawn, the owning player rolls 1D6 and consults the special events table on the game map. The 2nd time a joker shows up, the game turn is over, with no activations perform. If it is not the last turn of the game, do the following:
- move the turn marker up 1 space on the Game Record Track.
- Both players reshuffle their decks.
Movement: A unit can move from one hex to an adjacent hex via a movement activation. All units have a movement allowance printed on their counter and spends a number of movements points to enter each hex depending on the terrain cost. The chart for this is on the game map. All units must stop moving when entering a hex adjacent to an undisrupted enemy unit. There is no stacking of player units and no entering hexes occupied by enemy units.
If using the optional facing rules, all armor units must end their movement with the top of the counter facing a hex-side in order to clearly indicate the unit's frontal and rear aspects.
If using the optional facing rules, all armor units must end their movement with the top of the counter facing a hex-side in order to clearly indicate the unit's frontal and rear aspects.
Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes...a.k.a. Assault.
Players may attempt the Assault Activation by an "un-pinned' unit. An infantry unit can only assault an enemy unit in the adjacent hex. An armor unit can assault an enemy unit up to two hexes away. The attacking player designates the attacker and the defender unit and rolls a die.
Die Roll modifications
+2 if attacking unit is normal status and +1 if reduced.
-1 if target is in Village hex or target is not adjacent (-2 maximum)
+1 if target is in all mud hex (no village hex or road) or firing across a stream or river (+2 maximum).
+1 firing through target armor unit's rear aspect (in addition to any of the above and if playing with the variant rule 12.1)
-1 Opportunity Fire Attack during the night turn (if playing with variant rule 12.2)
+1 Red AF (attack factor) unit firing on "disrupted" armor unit (in addition to any of the above). (remember what I wrote under "counters" to remember about "red" attack factor? Yup, go back and look).
Here are the key parts of the rules by their heading.
1.0 Components
2.0 Setup
3.0 Play of the Game
4.0 Assault
5.0 Artillery Strike
6.0 Air Support
7.0 Rally
8.0 Reinforcements
9.0 Morale Levels
10.0 Fortunes of War
11.0 Winning the Game
12.0 Variant Rules
The game is fun, but what added to the play was both of the variant rules. They just go together like peanut butter and jam. These do add to the complexity, though not as much as one would think, but does make the game jump right at ya and scream like a wounded leopard "Play me, Play me"
I had a lot of fun with this game. It has a very low counter density (making it easier to kept track of the counters and to mount). A nice playable map, with a turn track showing 3 days and 3 nights divided into 8 hours each. The only modification I made to the map was to put on yellow circles to show where the Iraqi sets up and reinforcements to enter the game and blue circles for Iranian set up and reinforcements to enter. Why yellow and blue? I can see those colors very easy. :D
I don't want to give the whole game away and only wrote a little bit on the rules. There is another game on the entire Iran-Iraq War called Bloody Dawns by Pierre Razoux. It is a professional design sold by High Flying Dice Games, LLC for $50.00 plus shipping.
UPDATE: HFDG came out with another Iran-Iraqi War battle, Operation Fath-ol-Mobin March 22-28, 1982, called An Undeniable Victory. Cost is $* and is a professional game with die-cut counters. I do have it, sitting in the "to look at" box of games. Unfortunately, there are another 15 or so games in front of it.
Time to rate this game:
- Complexity of the game = LOW with moderate medium overtones.
- Solitaire = HIGH (a little work is needed)
- Enjoyment Level = VERY HIGH (imho)
- Nail biting = 10 fingers worth. It can come down to the last card draw of the last turn, if the Iranian player thinks and don't give up.
- Historical Level = High - "Mud, Blood & Steel" has a solid historical reference background and a very solid OOB (Orders of Battle).
- Length of typical full game =about 1.5 to 2.5 hours.
- Out of the 10 or so games played, it is hard for the Iranian player to win, but it is very doable. You will have to think outside the normal box and work with what you got. Arty Strike is the Iraqi friend and the Iranian enemy. The Iranian player starts out strong, but "lady luck" with the cards has a way of wiping out the those brigades and battle plans. Amazingly, just like what happen on Jan 5 1981 :D
addendum - I would like to add, that a lot of folks don't care for the card draw system used to see how many units can move or attack. I actually prefer this than the normal "can move everything and attack with everything" games or known as "ugo-igo".
Why? This type of movement with activations puts more of the fog of war into a game. Just because the General sends out word to attack, doesn't mean everyone heard it. What about simulating fuel or ammo (supply)? Bad radio? What if a tank broke down due to thrown track (happens)? And one never knows if they are going next. Yes, using a card draw system simulates better the realities and fog of war to me than the old standby of moving and attacking with everything.
The game does have low movement due to the number of activations available (1 or 2). But honestly with such a low number of counters for each side, does it hurt the play? I believe, "Non!".
Why? This type of movement with activations puts more of the fog of war into a game. Just because the General sends out word to attack, doesn't mean everyone heard it. What about simulating fuel or ammo (supply)? Bad radio? What if a tank broke down due to thrown track (happens)? And one never knows if they are going next. Yes, using a card draw system simulates better the realities and fog of war to me than the old standby of moving and attacking with everything.
The game does have low movement due to the number of activations available (1 or 2). But honestly with such a low number of counters for each side, does it hurt the play? I believe, "Non!".
"Amazing sweet review AB, but where did you learn all this history?" -SC
Why thank you SC. I used "THE BOOK". Yes, the "book" is considered by many Historians as the only book on this war to read, also known as "The Iran-Iraq War" by Pierre Razoux. It is available, new or used from many places. Originally written in French and excellently translated to English by Nicholas Elliott, it is a joy to read. Pierre has laid open the many myths that other Iran-Iraq War writers have perpetuated, such as America giving the go ahead to Saddam to attack Iran and many others.
His precise research is fascinating and other more prominent writers should learn how to do their research. From not only orders of battle (OOB) but also the ships and aircraft used and the history how Khomeini came to power to rule with an iron fist. Pierre interview many Iranians, Iraqis and people of other countries of prominence who were in power during this time. Including those who directed the war and survived it.
BTW, "The Iran-Iraq War" was published by Harvard University Press in 2015 and awarded the 2016 Best Book of the Year Award by the Society for Military History. Originally published: La Guerre Iran-Irak, 1980-1988: Premiere guerre du Golfe. Perrin, un department d'Edi8, 2013.
The Iran-Iraq War by Pierre Razoux 2013-2018/ ISBN:978-0-674-08863-4.
Salutes:
Generally I don't add this little section, but I am so impressed with how this game, small in size and price, is one in a million. I would like to thank Paul for designing and publishing this game. Bruce for his outstanding graphics and last but not least, the gentleman responsible for providing the necessary information, Pierre. /SALUTE
-ab
This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information. And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog. Long story, but it was Google who removed them.
Updated: Sept 2019 to fix my bad English and add a link to the newest Iran-Iraqi game from HFDGs. Updated- Feb 04, 2022, to fix a little bit more.