Tide of Iron is a new tactical war game set in World War II.
One of the challenges that war game designers face is that of complexity: how much detail can the game support before it becomes too complex to enjoy? Some designers opt for a minimum of complexity, as with Memoir ‘44, to make the game simple and easy to play. Others prefer to make games that are more like war simulations than war games, like Advanced Squad Leader, with rules for every backpack and grenade on the field.
In my opinion, Tide of Iron strikes the perfect balance between the two extremes: There is enough detail for a deep game, but not so much that the players are bogged down by every boot on the battlefield.
Here’s how the game is played: The game map, victory conditions, and troop strength for each player are all determined by the scenario that you are playing. First, you set up the battlefield by assembling the map tiles. Each scenario uses different combinations of map tiles, so the battlefield is unique to each game.
Then you assemble your troops. The scenario lists which types of troops you get, from regular infantry to machine guns troops to mortars. These are divided into squads, represented by the plastic squad bases. You may also receive some specializations, like Medics or Engineers, which are represented by a cardboard tile that is place on the back of a squad base. After you’ve divided your troops into squads, you place them on your section of the battlefield.
After the game is set up, players take turns moving some of their squads across the battlefield. Each squad can perform one of several actions, like Advance, which is basically running across the battlefield, Concentrated Fire, which is remaining in place and shooting, Move and Shoot, which lets you move forward at a slower place while shooting with less accuracy, or Prepare Op Fire, which lets them remain in place and take aim, ready to shoot if an opposing squad moves within their line of fire.
After both players have moved all their squads, the players can get strategy cards that may enhance their forces, get command points for holding certain hexes on the map, and several other clean-up actions. Then the next turn starts.
I’ve only had a chance to play a couple games of Tide of Iron, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I anticipate a lot of awesome gameplay in the future.