Tide of Iron
Hitler is defeated. But his German armed forces amassed throughout Europe, are still a formidable foe, preventing the Allies from truly declaring victory. Well trained, battle hardened, and equipped with lethal machinery, the German forces will attempt to break the American lines during their last major offensives. The American forces slowly but surely are advancing toward Germany, certain they will ultimately succeed. Which battles will be won or lost?
The most important conflict in the history of the world comes to your tabletop through a realistic simulation of squad-level combat, featuring hundreds of detailed plastic figures, including soldiers, tanks, and other combat vehicles. 12 modular boards will allow you to customize your playing experience, letting you test your tactical prowess in dozens of scenarios.
Epic WWII Squad-Level Combat
TIDE OF IRON is the definitive board game of WWII squad-level combat, for 2-4 players. With streamlined, scenario-driven gameplay and an attention to historic detail, TIDE OF IRON is sure to delight every fan of tactical, historical wargaming.
The TIDE OF IRON base game focuses on the American and German armies in Northern Europe in the years 1944 and 1945. Each game is played as a single scenario, either chosen from the included scenario guide or created by the players themselves, over a map constructed from modular, double-sided game boards and terrain overlays. The game play is fast-paced, smooth, and surprisingly deep, as players must take and hold vital objectives on the game board and decide how best to use each and every unit under their command.
User Reviews (9)
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Tide of Iron entered the gaming world in 2007 as a hefty “coffin box” by Fantasy Flight Games. Within two years its family has grown to include a handful of expansions: Days of The Fox (set in WW2’s North African theater) and Normandy (recreating the conflicts of D-Day) as well as a volume of scenarios created by well-known wargame designers and a map-board expansion. (This review focuses on the base game except where otherwise noted.)
Fantasy Flight Games suggests that Tide of Iron focuses on “realistically simulating squad-level combat,” but is “streamlined enough to appeal to the casual gamer.” It is on this seldom-trodden ground between simulation and casual appeal where Tide of Iron finds its charm and its detractions.
PRODUCTION
Tide of Iron’s scenarios are played out on illustrated map-panels which render relatively realistic European terrain – forests, rivers, etc. These double-sided panels can be configured end-to-end or side-by-side in small or large numbers to create battlefields of many dimensions. Terrain overlays provide even greater flexibility. Photographs from WW2 are used to good effect on the game’s Strategy Cards evoking a somewhat “documentary” feel.
However, Tide of Iron’s true boast is its exquisite plastic miniatures of which there are many and a great variety, both infantry and vehicles. Infantry figures include regulars, elite troops, machine-gun units, mortar crews, and officers. Tanks, half-tracks, and transport trucks are the common vehicles. These finely-detailed models are closely rivaled by ingenious bases which hold 4 (or 3) infantry units. Unfortunately, inserting the figures’ pegs into the bases can prove to be fiddly and frustrating.
SYNOPSIS
Tide of Iron is a scenario-driven game in which each of the two players attempts to fulfill a given victory condition. That objective may be capturing and/or occupying a certain position (a hex-space) or exiting a number of designated units off the board or surviving for a given number of rounds, et al. Typically, a number of rounds is provided with an “immediate victory” condition included. Each scenario is historically based and provides each side with a pre-determined number of bases and list of figures.
One or more Operational Cards may also be in effect throughout the scenario: “Lay Smoke” will allow Engineer units to create smokescreens; “Fuel Shortages” will hamper vehicle-movement; “Heat Exhaustion” will slow squads down when moving, etc.
GAMEPLAY
1. Squad assembly. After choosing a scenario and arranging the map-panels per the instructions, each player strategically assembles his squads from the scenario’s available figures. Each base defines a “squad.” Squads and vehicles are “units.” A squad may include any combination of regular infantry, elite infantry, officers, MG or mortar crews.
Each troop-type has given capacities for firing accuracy and range and power. For example, elite troops will fire more accurately (i.e. with more dice) than regulars and will help a squad resist suppressive fire. Officers make a squad more mobile, machine gun figures have a greater range, mortar figures attack areas and don’t need to see their targets, etc. How a player assembles his squads is his first strategic step of the game.
Tide of Iron also accounts for specialized units: Medics, Engineers, Anti-tank, and Flamethrowers. Players will assign these specializations to their assembled squads per the scenario’s directions by placing the respective markers in the bases. Having formed their squads, players place their units on the map and begin play.
2. Rounds, Phases, Turns, Actions. A Round consists of 3 Phases:
A) The Action Phase consists of combat.
B) In the Command Phase opponents check for fulfilled victory-conditions, collect Command points, bid for initiative (who will move first next Round), and purchase Command Cards.
C) The Status Phase is basically clean-up and preparation for the next round.
The soul of the game is the Action Phase where players take alternating Turns performing Actions (typically 3) per Turn until all units are “fatigued” and can no longer be used that Round.
Players (and their units!) will perform Actions such as Advance (moving), Concentrated Fire, Moving & Firing, or Assault. A player may also activate a Strategy Card (see below) as an Action. One effective, tactical option is to place a unit in opportunity-fire (“op-fire”) mode which allows that player to fire upon enemy units during his opponent’s turn, in response to his movements. Each player continues to move and fire with every one of his units until he has exhausted them all for that Round.
3. Combat. As in many wargames, attacking means rolling dice. Probability is affected by both number of dice rolled (simulating a unit’s firepower and range) and percentage of success (simulating accuracy).
A choice between normal fire (which causes casualties) and suppressive fire (which can immobilize or rout units) adds tactical depth to combat, as does combining units’ attacks to maximize firepower-per-Action. Terrain features and line-of-sight also appropriately affect tactical decisions.
Combat is streamlined and largely intuitive and creates the feeling of squad-level fighting. Resolving attacks is straightforward, and the game-system usually rewards aggressive tactics. Though early plays require frequent referring to the troop-type statistics, familiarity eventually speeds up game time.
4. Strategy Cards. Most of Tide of Iron’s scenarios also provide each side with certain Strategy Card Decks. These Strategy Decks are historically appropriate to the scenario and to the forces involved. For example, the German player often has access to “Morale I” deck (simulating Germany’s battle-hardened soldiers). The American player may make use of the “American Reinforcements” deck (representing America’s numerical advantage at times). Other Strategy Decks include “Artillery Support,” “Ground Support,” and “Supply.”
The individual Strategy Cards from these decks are “purchased” and activated with Command points – a kind of currency awarded to each side as certain objectives are obtained in the scenario, e.g. one might capture a strategically located farmhouse and begin to earn 2 Command each Round. Some cards are greatly destructive. Some disrupt. Others provide more units. Strategy Cards certainly impact the game but do not overtake it. This design element elegantly brings to the game abstract qualities such as morale and leadership, and applies realities beyond the scope of the board – like artillery, air strikes, or reconnaissance.
5. Play continues until an immediate victory has been secured or the prescribed Rounds are completed.
THE EXPANSIONS (WHAT THEY ADD)
Days of The Fox
Summary
“The Fox,” of course refers to German General Erwin Rommel whose exploits earned him the nickname The Desert Fox. This expansion enables players to fight the fascinating campaigns of the North African theater of the war. Thus it provides new desert modular map-boards and all the necessary terrain.
Components/Gameplay
Most importantly Days of The Fox provides the British forces for the game: infantry figures, transport vehicles, armor (including the Bren Gun Carrier), bases, and tokens. It also adds and anti-tank weaponry for Germany (Flak 36), Britain (QF 6-Pounder), and even America (M1 57mm). German forces also gain two new types of tanks.
Recon, Alpha, and Bravo are new specializations joining the Engineer, Medic, Flamethrower, and Anti-tank specializations from the base game.
New Operations Cards apply desert combat-conditions in the North African theater, simulating conditions like fuel shortages or heat exhaustion. Likewise New Strategy Decks include “Desert Tactics” and “Disruption.”
Conclusion
The North African theater seems often underrated in wargames. Gladly, Days of The Fox boosts the Tide of Iron experience tremendously, and any Tide of Iron player should own it. The anti-tank weaponry is an especially valuable addition.
Normandy
Summary
The Normandy expansion focuses on the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944 and the fighting in France that followed. Some new map-boards from this expansion depict beach/cliff terrain for beach-landing scenarios as well as the infamous hedgerows. New terrain overlays and tokens abound representing beach obstacles, destroyed terrain, craters, swamps, graveyards, et al.
However, the artwork while illustrating the same European countryside is different from the base game. This artwork is slightly richer, but unfortunately causes an odd discontinuity if used in combination with the original map-boards. This “artistic re-direction” will certainly be benign to some and disruptive to others.
Components/Gameplay
All current armies get a boost in the Normandy expansion. The British get additional numbers (though no new unit types). The Americans are given M10 Tank Destroyers, and the Germans add four new types of tanks to their already staggering repertoire.
Demolition crews are a new and welcome specialization since buildings and bridges can now be targeted and destroyed with explosives. “Ruins” tokens are provided to simulate these effects.
There are new Operations Cards, among them “Scaling Cliffs,” “Naval Bombardments,” and “Beach Defenses.” New Strategy Decks mostly expand on those already available (e.g. “Artillery Deck II” is now added to “Artillery Deck I”). Further new gameplay elements are Weather Cards and Commanders.
Certain scenarios will now require weather checks at certain prescribed points in the battle resulting in fog, storms, and muddy conditions – any of which can affect players’ abilities to move and fight.
The new Commanders option represents the various qualities and styles of some of the war’s prominent generals and allows players to choose a battlefield commander (represented by cards). If players do so, they are allowed to replace any prescribed Strategy Deck with one of a variety of potent Leadership Decks. Commanders available include George S. Patton, Bernard L. Montgomery, and Walter Model.
Most importantly Normandy introduces campaign play to Tide of Iron – both rules and a series of scenarios following the engagements of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division. Though the rules for campaign play are beyond the scope of this review, they bring to Tide of Iron exponential variety and some of its greatest potential.
Conclusion
Though the new components add some bling, and the Weather Deck and Commanders options add some depth and increase replayability, it is the campaign play with its 29th Infantry scenarios that make the Normandy expansion shine. The campaign rules alone make it a must for any Tide of Iron player.
Designer Series, Volume 1
This Designer Series is a book of twenty-two scenarios created by well-known wargame designers and compiled by Dana Lombardy. Scenarios include skirmishes and large-scale confrontations, and the volume makes use of the Days of The Fox expansion. The contributors know their craft well, and the collection is full of background information. And for those who don’t excel at creating their own scenarios additional scenarios are always very welcome.
Map-Expansion #1
This “map-expansion” is actually a re-publishing of the original map-boards, re-illustrated in the newer artistic style introduced by the Normandy expansion. On the one hand, the publisher is offering players the opportunity to bring continuity between the base-game panels and Normandy panels. On the other, it is a subtle admission that the change in artwork is undesirable to many.
The newer artwork is richer. And Perhaps FFG was forced into the change. (For those who don’t care about the differences the map-expansion offers an opportunity to stage some very large battles.) However, in the end, Tide of Iron would have been better off retaining the same artwork as the base-game.
Fury of The Bear
Summary
With this most recent work, Tide of Iron developers deliver perhaps the most popular WW2 theater of operations: the Eastern Front. This addition to the family expands the game not only in scope but complexity.
Components/Gameplay
Fury of The Bear provides the Russian army, snow-covered map-boards, a few new terrain features (balkas, trenches) and strategy cards, and one new German AT unit – the PaK 40. Two new specialization tokens are included: Expert units and Saboteur units. All are predictable, solid, and welcome additions.
More noteworthy are more complex rules of play:
Munitions Specializations – players may now assign certain units High Explosive, Armor Piercing, or Smoke rounds.
Combined Strategy Decks – a strategy deck shared by both players, consisting of nation-specific cards and neutral cards, is designed to simulate uncertainty of support.
Subversion – the ability for players to eliminate opponents’ temporary resources.
Sabotage Cards – cards which are to be combined with the Saboteur units to hamper an opponents’ use of Strategy Cards.
Conclusion
Though an Eastern Front expansion is irresistible, I consider the additional rules overly complex for the improvements they bring. Fortunately, they are optional not required to implement and enjoy this latest installment.
STRENGTHS
Squad-assembly. The ability to strategically determine the composition of your squads (including the specializations) is a rare option and one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game.
Tactical blend. Tactical decisions are plenty but streamlined. It matters if a squad contains a machine-gun crew or an officer. It matters whether you’re commanding a Sherman or a Panzer IV. But there is no laborious reckoning of which direction your tank is facing or if your elite soldier is carrying a grenade or how intelligent your officer is or what brand of cigarettes the gunner is smoking.
It is on this point that Tide of Iron divides the world of wargamers. It will be far too technical for those who like light, card-driven wargames (e.g. Memoir ’44). It will prove far too simplistic for hard-core grognards who demand simulating detail (perhaps Advanced Squad Leader). Yet Tide of Iron hits a sweet spot between the two for many of us.
Strategy Cards. The Strategy Decks provide an excellent and innovative mechanic for off-board effects on combat. Their potential is endless.
Flexible system. Players who enjoy creating their own scenarios and using weaponry and vehicles not represented in Tide of Iron will find a game-system that readily accommodates additions and house-rules (when necessary).
WEAKNESSES
Clarity. Unfortunately Tide of Iron’s scenarios occasionally suffer from enigmatic instructions in their Objectives caused by awkward wording or redundancy. Consider “Picking Up The Pieces” from the Normandy expansion where, if the objectives are pursued as written, the scenario will be won by the British on the first move of the first turn.
Set-up time. Assembling squads, augmenting terrain, clarifying special rules…all add up for a lengthy set-up time. Even for experienced players set-up (from box to first move) can take up to 30 minutes. For newer players plan on 40-60 minutes which might (or might not) include a cursory explanation of the rules.
Peg-in-Base design. The squad-bases for Tide of Iron are at once both ingenious and befuddling. I applaud the unique design – especially the hook feature which holds the specialization tokens. But after many plays I question the peg-in-base feature which is fiddly at best, at worst exasperating. There are many suggested methods for altering the peg-holes or the pegs themselves to ease the process of inserting the figures. But at a $100, this much effort shouldn’t be necessary. Nevertheless, the fiddly bases are worth the trade-off for the experience the game offers.
Imbalanced scenarios?
Tide of Iron is frequently vilified for having imbalanced scenarios – that is, set-up favors one side over the other making it particularly difficult for one side to win. While this observation is largely accurate it is not necessarily a fault of the game itself. It is simply a trade-off of “balance” for historical simulation. Few of WW2’s conflicts involved two equally manned, equally equipped, equally commanded forces.
Along these lines two things should be noted. First, players whose tastes run to Euros and quasi-wargames should be careful not to unfairly exaggerate such “imbalances.” Second, the game’s designers would have done well to write the game’s first scenario as a balanced introductory scenario. The first scenario, “At The Breaking Point” is notoriously difficult for the German forces and probably anti-climactic for new players. Certainly this is why FFG held a contest for fan-designed introductory scenarios – a contest which produced a number of very good, small, balanced engagements.
In any case, with more experience players will find that the underdogs can win those seemingly imbalanced scenarios. Those victories are perhaps the sweetest.
CONCLUSION
Buy it. Play it. Tide of Iron is a spectacular game. It is all at once elegant, beautiful, heavily thematic, expandable, tense, and a satisfying gaming experience. I cannot but hope for many future expansions and campaigns.
As a long time Memoir 44 player, I approached Tide of Iron as an alternative to the card activation of Memoir. I thought the rules were a little complicated and I know there were some things we probably didn’t do right on that first game. But I liked the fact that I could order all of my units in a round, instead of only those I had cards for. The squad bases need a little work as some units fit in the holes so loosely that they fall out, while others are going to need a little flash taken off with a knife before they fit. The miniatures look nice, and I like the damage system that they use over Memoir 44. The game has a great feel to it, but I miss the level of support that Memoir 44 has. I am looking forward to getting an expansion to see how that adds to this game.
I am finding that now that 1A Games has taken over the game, support has been better. They have released the upgraded version of the base game, Next Wave, which comes in a smaller box, and a slightly different miniature count than the original big box game. Now I find that I like the game even better after playing it awhile. I have found many help sheets over at BGG, and many scenarios as well. I am still looking forward to getting an expansion someday. They are going to give the “Days of the Fox” a “Next Wave” overhaul and I am looking forward to that coming out. I still really like the fact that I can order all of my units and are not penalized for having a bad hand of cards. There are strategy cards and other cards used in this game, but they just add to the game and the use of these are governed by the scenario.
This is my review of the game Tide of Iron, and while the game has been out for some time now, it is new to me. While there are many reviews out for this game already, It has had a big an impact on me I felt like I needed to review it.
THEME
When I walked into my local gaming store and saw Tide of Iron sitting on the shelf, my eyes must have bulged out of my head like some kind of lusting cartoon character. World war two has always been an area of intense interest for me, and this game looks and feels like the best war movies I have ever seen.
PRICE
While the price of Tide of Iron is about as steep as they come, once you open the box you will immediately understand why. You definitely get what you pay for, and I am very pleased with the amount of bang that I got for my buck.
QUALITY
The quality of the maps and hexes that come with the game are amazing! The boards are an extremely heavy card stock, and at first glance I thought that they were made of wood. I used to play Axis and Allies Miniatures, and one of my biggest, (but not my only) gripes about that game was the quality of the maps. The Soldiers and squad bases were something that I was the most excited about when I found this game, and being able to have that level of customization is a good idea. While the squad bases and pegged Soldiers are a good idea, they could have been done a lot better. The Soldiers are extremely difficult to get into the bases, and I ended up breaking off one of the little pegs on my first game rendering that unit completely unusable. The squad base problem was fixed in the Days of The Fox expansion, but a re-release of the originals would be much appreciated. The squad base issue can be fixed with a razor and a little bit of time, so this doesn’t really detract from my rating that much.
ARTWORK
The artwork of Tide of Iron is top notch, and is evident from the moment you see the painting on the front of the box. This game looks absolutely stunning, and everything from the design of the inserts to the old World war two photographs in the scenario guide make you feel like the creators took the games “attitude” very seriously.
LEARNING
Learning this game can take a few read throughs of the manual and even after a few games, we were referring to it on occasionally. Once one player has a firm grasp on the rules, it is not very difficult to teach others how to play, and while it is a decently complex game, it is not overburdened with complexity. After the first play through we found that we were playing a few of the rules wrong, and after two or three plays we were still finding small things that we weren’t doing right. Learning this game to the point that you feel like you have everything down can take a little while depending on your experience level. Don’t get me wrong, Tide of Iron is not a difficult game to learn, but the rule book could have been done a lot better and definitely adds to the confusion new players can feel because it is packed full of errata. While I was able to look past the errors in the rule book, I feel it shows poor attention to detail by Fantasy Flight games and makes the game feel like it was rushed out.
COMPLEXITY
Tide of Iron hits the sweet spot for complexity, and if it were any less complex I wouldn’t have wanted it. I have played Axis and allies (Both Standard and Minis), and while I liked them both to some degree, I was looking for something deeper. The level of complexity in this game is its strong suit I believe, and the ability to add or remove the more advanced additions to the game from scenario to scenario is great. The game does a very good job of introducing new mechanics over the course of the different scenarios if you play them in order. I like the ability to call in air-strikes, or artillery missions. I like the ability to direct bombing runs, or deploy the airborne. Tide of Iron incorporates most of the advanced abilities with strategy cards. Strategy cards can be bought with a currency called command, (earned by controlling important objectives). While not a card game, these cards can have a huge affect on play and really do well to simulate the different technologies or logistical benefits of each particular side in the conflict. While the complexity of this game could possibly put off some new players, I recommend that you stick with it. I have definitely come to appreciate the level of Tide of Iron.
INTERACTION
This is a war game, so of course there is going to be tons of interaction here, and trash talking (usually on my part). I haven’t played any four player or three player games yet, and doubt if I would like them anyway. This games seems just about right for two players and I think the addition of extra players could bog down the flow of the game.
WAITING
The way that the game is organized into actions, turns, phases and rounds can be a little confusing at first, but serves well to divide up the things you can do and moves the game along rather nicely. You don’t have to sit and wait for your opponent to move his whole army and move in response, (something I hated about Axis and Allies). Every player gets to take a certain number of actions, (usually three), and then it is your opponents turn. Play continues like this until every piece have been activated, and every player has no more actions they can take.
LENGTH
The game itself lasts anywhere from two to three hours, but with set up and tear down it can take much longer. Although this is a lengthy game, it doesn’t really feel like it because the action is so intense. I have had many hours fly by playing this, and when the scenario was complete, I wanted to play another. I think that the way the game is organized really make play seem to move along at a fairly rapid pace for the amount of things that are going on.
RE-PLAYABILITY
The level of customization available here is overwhelming, and there are tons of different ways the game can be set up and played out. While there are only six scenarios included in the base set, there are a ton of scenarios available in expansions, online, and there is even a scenario editing app put out by Fantasy Flight. While expansions will certainly add to the game, they are not necessary to have tons of options available. If anything, I think the expansions only add the tinier details. I will be playing this game for the next 10 years, if not longer.
OVERALL
I think that Fantasy Flight delivered an amazing war game here, and love the mechanics. While some of the components look stunning, the Soldiers could have been done much better and take away in some small degree to my rating. While war games are not usually balanced entirely, these scenarios tend to favor the Americans most of the time, (Or so it seemed to me). I wish there was a points system for each unit so that players could field their own armies in a more balanced way, and maybe allow for some kind of tournament rules. I love this game, and plan to buy all the expansions, and while it might be great for me, those that do not like anything heavier than Axis and Allies should stay away.
***UPDATE*** After writing an email to Fantasy flight games, they sent me replacements for all of the broken components, and a few extra. I haven’t had any of the Soldiers break since that first day playing it. Good job Fantasy Flight, and it is good to see that kind of support for their players…Now if only I could get Microsoft to send me the Xbox game who’s box I opened and found empty…
Although this comes in a BOX it is not really a “BoardGame”.
The average gamer will be overwhelmed by the vast amount of tokens, units, bases and cards included. Although all the components are of the highest quality… I had to give the game a 4/5 for Components due to the fact that there are just TOO MANY!! Once you have removed them all there is no real storage for them in the game box… My box is filled with Zip-lock bags just to keep it organized and playable.
I say it is not a “Board Game” because it is really an attempt to put the full scale experience of Miniature Wargaming into one box.
The Rule book is exhaustive and has many missing elements. If you really get into this game you will often need help from the online community to sort out discrepancies in the rules.
NOT AN EASY GAME TO LEARN… but if you put in the effort a great game over all.
Being a Miniatures game will endless configurations to the modular board the Replay value is very high.
If you are interested in getting into Miniature wargaming, this is a good place to start so you are aware of the complexity involved. Better to try TIDE OF IRON first, than spend a fortune on Miniatures and Terrain etc.
As a simulator of WWII this game does an excellent job, but for me the rules are just too complex. Don’t get me wrong, heavy rules doesn’t scare me a bit (I’m a huge fan of Twilight Imperium 3ed.), but in Tide of Iron there is simply too much ‘dead time’. There are too many things to check during the game, too many chips to handle, too many dice to roll. This game has the scent of micro management that will suit well a video game like the known ‘Company of Heroes’ (well, they kind of reminded me of each other), but for me it doesn’t work in this specific board game.
Moreover, the dice rolls are serious game changers when compared to the strategy involved in the game. It almost feels like your choices aren’t going to matter as long as you’re lucky enough to get the right result. But of course, this is the nature of wargames and miniature games, and I’m probably not hardcore enough in this field. 🙂
While some might not, I think people may relate to the next statement: The appearance of games really affects my perception of them. Actually I might even accidentally get a game simply because I really like the way it looks. I tend to filter those that does not appeal to me and have (sometimes unjustified) crushes on those which the best artists were involved in the making of (plus FFG are **** awesome at marketing).
As a person who adores art (and consideres himself an artist) don’t let the *TOTALLY MIND BLOWING!* artwork and overall design of Tide of Iron affect your choice of getting or not getting this game. If you can’t stand things like too much randomness and wasting gameplay time for the sake of ‘cleanup phases’ which leads to some more randomness – don’t get it.
(But seriously, if I had more money would have bought it only for the show off involved)
I have played all the missions in the core Tide of Iron game and even wrote a scenario that is posted on its website called The Last Patrol which recreates the river crossing last patrol in Band of Brothers where they were attempting to bring back a prisoner.
The best part of Tide of Iron is it is completely modular so you assemble your squads, allocate your resources (bazooka, med kits, flamethrower) and plan your battle (command cards) for each mission.
The game play is quick and engaging when you get the hang of it and vehicles and special weapons fit in seamlessly.
Overall this is much more sophisticated than Memoir 44 and more detailed than Axis and Allies.
I had wanted to pick this up off and on for several years, so when I found it on sale for the holidays I snagged it up. I’ve only sat and played it once, so this review is going to deal with the components and set up more than the depth.
Setup: Takes a bit of time to be sure. Some organization before hand will pay dividends as it will make every subsequent setup go much faster. I ended up using Plano boxes, and the original box is large enough to accommodate quite a few of these.
Rules: The rules were not overly difficult to trudge through. I’m sure in some of the other scenarios we may have to reference them more for the special abilities of some units, but most of the rules were straight forward.
Components: WOW! This game is SO stacked, especially for the price. SO many units with great sculpts for the price point. The fact that the game is designed to be modular gives players more bang for their buck. The tiles used to create the board are high quality card stock and the cards included should easily survive a dozen or more plays.
So there you go. Quick and dirty. For my money and level of involvement Tide of Iron may well be the best wargame I’ve picked up yet. The sheer replayability makes it worth purchasing.
O mais avançado wargame COM MINIATURAS existente hoje no mercado. Se você já conhece MEMOIR 44, vai se apaixonar por este jogo.
my gaming group there are 4 of up kyle 29, scot 64, russell 54,and myself 30… we love WW2 games between 4 of us we have just about every WW2 games there is out there and this is our fav….after 3-4 years of playing the Scenarios the game gave us we came up with some house rules make it almost a miniature game with point system… we love it …
it’s a med way strategy game so those of you who likes asl probably wont like this game… but for us it’s just hit our sweet spot…
i highly recommend