Tom Vasel
United States
Homestead
Unspecified
Top 100 Games of all Time
Dice Tower Convention, July 2012!!!!
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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. My one annoyance was that the men were occasionally difficult to put in the bases. Once they snapped in, it was wonderful, but I often hovered between holding them tightly to fearing that they would snap. Nothing has broken so far, but it was not as easy as the rules led me to believe.
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!)
Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.thedicetower.com
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If Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Then Actions x2 Speak Louder Than Actions
United States
Hutto
Texas
Chit Chat Hamstring!!!
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Now that's a review!
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Quote: Now that's a review!
Hear, hear!
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Rob Bradley
Spain
Belleville
Wisconsin
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Excellent Review as always. I keep kicking myself for pre-ordering since it keeps gettnig delayed, but hopefully my patience will pay off soon.
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George Dziuk
United States
Austin
Texas
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An excellent and comprehensive review!
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Matthias
Germany
Frankfurt
Hessen
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Great review, Tom!
I miss one point in it, though:
How did the system of unit-bases and individual soldiers work for you? Did the pegs fit in the holes easily? Was is complicated/hard/annoying to get them in or out during the game?
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Ryan Goodwin
United States
Grayslake
Illinois
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stinger_6 wrote: Great review, Tom!
I miss one point in it, though:
How did the system of unit-bases and individual soldiers work for you? Did the pegs fit in the holes easily? Was is complicated/hard/annoying to get them in or out during the game?
Yes, and how sturdy to they appear to be?
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Tom Vasel
United States
Homestead
Unspecified
Top 100 Games of all Time
Dice Tower Convention, July 2012!!!!
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My apologies, guys! I can't believe I left out that paragraph in components (which I've now added.)
Quote: My one annoyance was that the men were occasionally difficult to put in the bases. Once they snapped in, it was wonderful, but I often hovered between holding them tightly to fearing that they would snap. Nothing has broken so far, but it was not as easy as the rules led me to believe.
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Barry Kendall
United States
Lebanon
Pennsylvania
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Excellent review, Tom. As a longtime board and miniatures wargamer I was particularly interested in your viewpoint as a lighter-fare gamer who enjoys the visual element of miniatures (and who remembers the toy-soldiers-on-the-table days).
I also lime Memoir very much as a light wide-scale battle game, but am looking forward to precisely the play experience you describe, in which you as player identify with the fate of individual squads (and sometimes individuals within that squad). I find it very difficult to identify in the same way with one of seventeen number-number-number squad counters in a game such as ASL (in fact I recently sold my complete AH ASL collection; there aren't enough years left in my life to get out of that what I would have had to put into it).
It sounds like ToI will fit the niche nicely for a good-looking, replayable tactical game with lots of decisions but not a lot of rules-referencing, and the cards as a garnish, rather than as the driving mechanism, also add attraction.
One question mark in my mind has to do with the presence of armor without corresponding anti-tank guns. I know that squads can be equipped with light AT weapons, but did you get the sense that these were anything heavier than a bazooka or panzerschreck? The punch of an AT gun should equal that of a tank's main gun. Perhaps these will appear in a subsequent expansion.
Also, you described in your supplemental addition the challenge of inserting infantry pegs. How difficult is it to pluck a casualty off a stand with three other figures on it? And do you think the figure plugs will hold up over repeated games, or will they wear away and begin to fall out? I was surprised to see in the pictures how small these pegs are on the feet of the troops. Hopefully it will all work out.
Thank you for a very fine review.
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Tom Vasel
United States
Homestead
Unspecified
Top 100 Games of all Time
Dice Tower Convention, July 2012!!!!
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I thought that the anti-tank upgrades on the squads were quite helpful against the tanks, although not nearly as good as another tank shot itself.
As for the pegs, I don't know how they will last over time. For now, pulling a casualty off is usually easy, although there was the occasional one that was more annoying.
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Tom Shydler
United States
Las Vegas
Nevada
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Great review.
I'm really looking forward to this one, as I have come to the concluson that Memoir is a bit too generalized for my preference.
One question, what are your impressions regarding playing time?
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Allen Vailliencourt
United States
Greer
South Carolina
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Nice review Tom. ToI is on my buy list and this really helps me out. I love M'44 and have always wanted to play something deeper but yet not worry about 10 million chits. I think ToI will fit the bill perfectly.
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Jeremy Carlson
United States
Wheaton
Illinois
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Good review Tom.
I'll still have to try this one before I buy though. While I'm glad that the game seems to add what MM44 is missing, I'm not sure I need both. But your review has definitely peaked my interest, and I am at least excited to try it.
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Mike King
United States
Wilder
Kentucky
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Great review.
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Erick Sais
United States
California
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I own M44 and I wonder if it's worth buying TOI. I like games that set up quickly and I think C&C A and M44 are right at the limit of set up time.
Plus my gaming collection keeps on growin and I'm running out of room to store all my games.
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Steve Herron
United States
Johnson City
Tennessee
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Not sure if I just missed it or is Tide just Germans vs American or are there Soviet vs German scenairos?
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Paul Bravey
United Kingdom
Stafford
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It appears to be just US vs Germans in the initial release. That said, it wouldn't surprise me at all if/when the game is successful that other countries will be produced.
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You can call me Foob
United States
Deale
Maryland
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Tom,
The parts that make this a great review are your comments under:
Other Games and
Fun Factor
Thanks,
Pierce
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John Di Ponio
United States
Warren
Michigan
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Tom comes thru with another FANTASTIC review! I can count on Tom...no mater if the review is positive, negative or something in between, I can always count on Tom to not leave any stone unturned in his examination of the game!!!
Thanks Tom!!!
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Daniel Molina
Canada
Surrey
BC
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I was very pleased to read this review. I also have been a memoir '44 fan. I have been a huge fan of miniatures gaming, though time money and patience are always issues so I have abandoned them.
One miniatures game that has always interested me was flames of war, but for the above reasons I won't play it. Can anyone recommend Tide of Iron as a possible replacement for such a miniatures game? Understanding of course that this is a board game 
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Jeffrey Griffith
United States
Washington
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nice review. if you can't write a review like that, don't write it at all. your review is persuading me to get this. memoir 44 and it's cards looks stupid, but this looks incredible. thanks again!
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sean cork
United States
mesa
Arizona
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A good review. I just got my copy yesterday, and am overall very impressed. Like all FFG games he components are visually compelling and sturdy. After playing the first scenario, however, I find one major flaw to the game as written. I may be too much of an old grognard, but the limited number of actions per round make the game, if played as written, boring. For example, in most scnearios, each side gets onlt 3 actions per turn. This means you can move 3 squads or vehicles maximum per turn, unless you draw a rare strategy card that lets you take extra actions for one turn. In my mind this is a serious weakness to the game and leads to uninspired and unrealistic tactics.
One extreme example: one of the scenarios allows each side only 3 actions per turn. In this scenario, the US has a total of 12 sherman tanks and 12 infantry squads. The game lasts a total of 8 turns, meaning that each piece in the game will get a total of 2 actions in the entire game on average. This rule is a severe disadvantage for those scenarios where the attacker must move from one end of the board to another and seize an objective in only 8 turns. In my first playtest, the german side used 1 tank and 3 squads the entire game. The rest (about 10 total) were completely unused in the game due to this rule.
All in all I like the game, but in the future I will ignore this rule. I think a better way to play is for each side to alternate taking turns (say, each side takes 3 turns at a time) until all of a side's units are fatigued. In my view, this will give rise to more realistic tactics, but will also allow you to use all of the units you are given in a large scenario. Without doing this, I am afraid that the game, for all its visual appeal, falls short, and becomes less of a tactical game and more of a contest of which side can use one half or one third of its units the best.
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Robert F-C
Australia
Sydney
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Los_Dos_Vizslas wrote: All in all I like the game, but in the future I will ignore this rule. I think a better way to play is for each side to alternate taking turns (say, each side takes 3 turns at a time) until all of a side's units are fatigued.
Hi Sean, that's actually how the game is supposed to be played. I think you might have misinterpreted the rules - don't worry you are not the only one. This is one of the section I have added to the rules clarification thread I just started. ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/168960)
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Mike zebrowski
United States
Unspecified
Minnesota
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Los_Dos_Vizslas wrote: I think a better way to play is for each side to alternate taking turns (say, each side takes 3 turns at a time) until all of a side's units are fatigued. In my view, this will give rise to more realistic tactics, but will also allow you to use all of the units you are given in a large scenario.
That is how the game is actually played.
Mike Z
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Randolph Bookman
United States
Los Angeles
California
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Tom,
I'm interested in knowing the play time and how many players were involved. I love the idea of this game but I'm scared it will be a 6 to 12 hour game I'll never play
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Top 100 Games of all Time
