guys I want to preface this review by saying that I did not right it. This was taken from RPG.net and you can read them there as well as here. I highly recommend RPG.net for there reviews and forums. I posted these here so that people interested in the games can get a better understanding of them and they decide whether they want them or not. I know that I will not get a game till I have read severale reviews so instead of refering you to some site I posted them here. REVIEW OF TIDE OF IRON
I think it’s safe to say that Tide of Iron (Fantasy Flight Games, 2007 – John Goodenough) is one of the most anticipated games of 2007. It seems to be the culmination of a dream that many gamers have had for a long time – a solid wargame with beautiful components (including plastic pieces). Of course, a game of this magnitude is certainly going to fall under heavy scrutiny. There is the chance that heavy wargamers will probably not be satisfied with the quality of the wargame, while gamers who prefer lighter fare may find the rules to be too overwhelming. Coupled with the gigantic enormity of the undertaking (the massive box will dominate any shelf it’s on), Tide of Iron certainly has a lot to live up to!
I’m not a wargamer, although it seems to me that I play a lot of light wargames these days. So I was curious myself to see what my reaction to the game would be – wondering if it the plastic pieces and beautiful scenery would ease me into what seemed by description to be a heavier game. But I honestly found the game fairly easy and enjoyable! It may not be as accessible as other light wargames, such as Memoir ’44, but it is the first tactical wargame that I’ve played that I had quite a bit of fun with. The rules weren’t overbearing, and the game allows one to ease into them in the scenario book. Tide of Iron is easily expandable, but the base game itself allows for hundreds of possible interesting scenarios.
1.) Components: The game comes with a massive amount of pieces, including 216 plastic figures and hundreds of tokens and cards. However, the box, which is the one of the largest available on the market right now, could easily hold all the components in half of it. I assume the larger size is to allow for the large amount of expansions promised by the company. The plastic figures themselves are very nicely designed (actually begging to be painted, I think), and are large enough to be easily handled on the board. The tokens for the game are all very clearly printed, and most are easily definable with no language dependence. There are piles of tokens that are needed for the game – but surprisingly enough, the game still feels a lot less “fiddly” than other games with piles of counters. The entire affair – from the board to the plastic pieces to the scenery – really brings each battlefield to life.
2.) Board: Each scenario takes place on a map created from twelve or less double-sided boards that fit together to form a hex grid. Each board has a variety of scenery printed on it, but there are also twenty-eight double-sided overlay pieces that can be used to modify the boards. This is a very effective, quick way to build a huge variety of scenarios. My boards were slightly warped, but Fantasy Flight has announced that they will be delaying the production of the game until the boards are fixed – so this is a non-issue.
3.) Rules: The large rulebook has forty-seven pages and is chock full of illustrations, examples, pictures, and the like. I wasn’t overwhelmed by the rules, but only because of many of the concepts I’ve dealt with in other games. The game certainly takes no chances on newcomers not understanding the rules, however, and explains everything in great detail. It’s a wonderfully put together rulebook – with terms explained, and the sections clearly delineated. Whenever I was confused about a rule, it was fairly easy to look up. Two reference sheets are also included in the game, which cover enough of the basic rules that I was able to use them for the majority of the game rather than constantly consult the rulebook. As to teaching new players, the game comes with some basic scenarios that allow a player to ease into the game. While not for everyone, I really do think most of the rules are intuitive.
4.) Men and Tanks: I certainly like the feel of little soldiers on the board. It’s reminiscent of the times I set up all the plastic army soldiers as a child, and now there is a solid rules set to back it up! The tactical feel of the game is rather intuitive, and the feel of the troops moving across the field certainly comes through because of the aesthetics of the game. I remember hearing about the Advanced Squad Leader starter kits, and the excitement that tanks might someday be added to the game. With Tide of Iron, the tanks are there from the beginning, and they certainly add something to the table! In fact, I often found myself concentrating on the tanks as the main part of my battle force. Still, the combat squads are also incredibly important, and each piece has a different “feel”. Especially the German Tiger I tank – what a powerful vehicle!
5.) Scenarios: I was slightly disappointed that only six scenarios are included in the game, although there is work on a program to design your own – and I expect dozens of them to show up on the internet shortly. Still, the six scenarios included are completely different – each with a unique feel. I’m fairly certain that they aren’t perfectly balanced – but that’s something that doesn’t bother me much, and I like asymmetrical games anyway. The scenario book is very helpful explaining how to set up each mission; but between the large amount of pieces needed for a game, along with a decent amount of customization, setup takes a good amount of time – maybe up to thirty minutes.
6.) Squads: Any game that allows me a degree of customization always makes me happy. The scenarios allow this to a degree, both with cards and the squad themselves. Each scenario gives a certain amount of troops that can be put in different combinations on the squad bases. There are mortar troops, machine gunners, leaders, and more – and can be combined in several different ways – hopefully for maximum effect. I will say that the removing of a troop from a squad can severely affect the performance, helping drive home that aspect of the theme. Each squad also has a place at their base, which allow a token to be placed in, giving them another feature – such as flamethrower or anti-tank. Now, honestly, you can only mix and match so much in each scenario, but the ability to have that slight degree of customization adds more replayability and gives the player a feeling of more control.
7.) Cards: Tide of Iron is NOT a card driven game. Yet there are some cards involved that help give it a unique feel – one of the strongest points of the game. There are some Operations cards, which players may receive at the beginning of a scenario, allowing them to have a special ability, or showing the effects of weather, etc. However, more importantly are the Strategy card decks. There are several of these decks included with the game, such as Morale I, Ground Support I, German Reinforcement I, etc. The scenario will dictate which decks each player uses, and how many cards they start the scenario with. For example, in the Crossroads scenario, the Americans get the American Reinforcements I and Artillery I decks, and start with four strategy cards, which can be drawn from either or both decks. These cards are placed face up in the player’s play area and can be activated over the course of the game to give the player special abilities. The decks’ cards will typically have the abilities to match the name of the deck (i.e. the Reinforcement deck brings in extra troops, the Artillery deck bombards the board, the Supply deck upgrades troops, etc.) These cards are not game-breakingly powerful, but they are important enough that a player cannot ignore them and add yet another bit of customization to a player’s army.
8.) Command Objectives: In each scenario, there are several command objectives scattered over the board – some for the Americans, some for the Germans, and some for either player. If a player controls any of these points at the end of each game turn, they will receive command tokens equal to the sum of the number on the objectives they control. These command tokens can be used to purchase new strategy cards to use on future turns, or to take the initiative on future turns. They also often correspond directly to victory conditions, making them invaluable. They give each scenario a bit of focus, and much of the battle will center on taking and holding these points.
9.) Actions: I really am not fond of games in which a player can move their entire army, then the next player goes, etc. Tide of Iron takes care of that by giving a player a certain amount of actions per turn (usually three) that a player can take before passing to the other player. The game comes with piles of fatigue markers that are used to mark units that have already moved and/or fired. When taking actions, players can move a unit, fire with that unit, prepare OP fire with the unit, fire AND move (although penalties apply), assault with a squad, use one of their Strategy cards (most have a one time use), or take some other action. This helps keep the game flowing and keeps downtime to a minimum, since players are only moving at most three units on their turn. I thought that this gave Tide of Iron a faster pace and was another high point of the game for me.
10.) Wargame stuff: Line of site, OP fire, suppressive fire, combined attacks, assaults and more are all included in the rules – but all are fairly intuitive, especially to people who have used them in the past. I especially enjoyed that tanks are rarely destroyed in one shot – but, instead, take damage and still have some capabilities. OP fire is also heavily used in the game, and terrain has a huge bonus for defenders, meaning that a player cannot ignore it. The actual combat system is fairly easy –one that involves a lot less stats than many games – one player rolls both offensive and defensive dice, making combat quick and simple. The game certainly rewards strategy and punishes tactical mistakes – as I have found out to my chagrin!
11.) Other games: I have received a lot of questions about Tide of Iron’s comparison to Memoir ’44 and Combat Commander: Europe. The Memoir comparison is made because both games are based on World War II and have plastic figures. But honestly, that is where the comparison should end, because the games have a completely different feel. Memoir is a card driven game that simulates large battles in a slightly more abstract way. Tide of Iron is more nitty-gritty, causing one to care about each troop and vehicle under their command and taking a more hands-on approach. It’s more complicated, longer, and will appeal to those who want a lot of realism involved in their games. After much thought, I think I like Memoir better, if only for it’s simplicity – but it’s really hard to compare the two at all. Combat Commander: Europe on the other hand is much close in feel. The main differences between the two are that Combat Commander doesn’t have all the pretty bits, uses cards more heavily, and emphasizes squads and leadership more. Really, I’m not sure it’s worth having both if you are simply looking for a fun, tactical WW2 game. While CC: E is an excellent game, I think I am swayed towards Tide of Iron if only because it has much better components, a high “toy” factor, tanks, and was a bit simpler.
12.) Expandability: If you watch the video about Tide of Iron at the Fantasy Flight website, which also gives a brief overview of many of the game concepts, they mention that they are planning expansions to the base game. This is also emphasized by the large space available in the box. I think that is a great idea, if only because the game has so many options that can easily be added to it – more scenarios, more strategy card decks, more units, etc.
13.) Fun Factor: Tide of Iron was very enjoyable to me, if only to watch my plans unfold on the battlefield. It wasn’t as rip-roaringly fun as other light wargames (such as Memoir), but could possibly be much more satisfying. I say this because the game lends itself to a story setting – as you care about each and every unit on the board. The rules complexity is about the upper limit of what I’m interested in; and while they were explainable, they will cause the game to be played in fewer situations. Most of my enjoyment of the game comes from the shear variability, the cool pieces, and how much the game feels like an exciting war scenario.
I am someone who is always interested in miniature games – although the price is usually the main factor that chases me away. Tide of Iron is certainly not an inexpensive game – although one does get a TON of stuff included in the price, but it has the feel of a miniatures game – with a very tight, excellent rules set. It isn’t necessarily for the casual gamer, although most people could easily be taught the basic concepts, and the game explains itself after only a few turns. It’s a beautiful visual feast for the eyes; and while perhaps not the definitive squad combat game available, it’s much more enjoyable for people like me who aren’t really interested in heavy games such as Squad Leader. I look forward to the direction that Tide of Iron takes in the future and will enjoy several games of it meanwhile (although I expect to lose them all!)
