The Falkands War
Naval Conflict in the Missile Age

Game Review

Review by Michael Davis


Close Simulations PO., Box 2247, Northbrook, IL 60062
Released: 1983
Price: $16
Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability: None
*

Sometimes, a game designer will have a worthwhile idea, only to have the subsequent game prove lacking or even unplayable from either an historical or rules viewpoint. Such is the case with The Falklands War by Wayne Close. Although the idea behind the game may be very good, the resulting game is not.

The Falklands War is, of course, a strategic game based on the British/ Argentine conflict of 1982. Each of the hexes represents 20 nautical miles and the game turns are equal to 2 days of real time. While there is certainly nothing wrong with placing the game on the strategic scale, Close provides some rather unusual definitions for his unit sizes. For example, the rules state that platoons represent 200 men, while companies are rated at 500 men. From the standpoint of realism, these statements prove absurd and indicate no knowledge of standard unit sizes.

The components of the game are not very good. The cover art is static. The counters are about as interesting as the unit designators on a military map, which they imitate, and the map sheet seems rather boring when compared to the graphics that other companies are producing. Only the dice are of reasonable quality.

Because of the problems with both the presentation of the game and the rules, The Falklands War is not a fun game to play. Players who are interested in realism may easily find themselves spending more time criticizing the rules than actually playing the game. Even if the players can overlook the lack of realism, the problems of the game make any actual enjoyment a truly rare commodity.

The rules of The Fallkands War are organized into three basic sections. These are sea combat and movement, air combat and movement, and land combat and movement. Although the rule book is twelve pages, there are actually only six pages of rules. On the six pages, the 22 phases and subphases of the game are presented and explained. The over-simplification and under-explanation in these six pages certainly create many of the problems plaguing the rules of The Falklands War.

The naval phase of the game consists of five separate sections. The first four parts involve the movement of surface ships and submarines. I assume that movement was divided into phases of Argentine surface movement, British surface movement, Argentine submarine movement, and British submarine movement for ease of play. There certainly seems to be little reason for such a breakdown. The only result is to slow the pace of the game by adding two needless phases.

An interesting rule governing the movement of ships is the stacking limit. For some reason, the designer set a limit of six surface vessels per hex. After all, the hexes in the game are 20 nautical miles wide. Certainly a naval task force could safely place more than six surface vessels in an area that size.

After all sea movement for a turn has been completed, the air movement phase of the game begins. As was the case with sea movement, the Argentine player moves his aircraft first. Also, the air phase of the game is not without its own glitches in the rules.

The rules state that any permanent airfield may launch three air units per turn. Any excess units are assumed to be sitting on the deck. It seems as if the designer forgot that the game turns of The Falklands War are two days long. Since an air unit normally consists of 12 aircraft (with the exceptions of Argentine KC130s, C130s and Super Entards which contain less than 12 aircraft), the limit of launching three units per turn must be based on some playability rationale. The limit certainly seems to have no realistic basis.

While increasing the playability of the game may have been the reason to set the three unit launching limit, the only effect of the rule is to allow the opposing player to destroy these grounded half-units. in other words, aside from lowering the realism of the game, the rule actually hurts the playability.

The remaining sections of the rules specify procedures for land combat, commando raids, and repair of damage to ships and airfields. These rules are presented in a logical manner and actually do what the designer intended. Problems with the rules in these sections are minimal and caused mainly by over-simplification of some rather complicated actions.

Victory is determined by surrender of one side, by diplomatic solution before turn 30, or by a victory points scale. All of these methods are, of course, general practice with war games, and there are no problems with their presentation in The Falklads War.

It is interesting to note that the rules of The Falklands War have been supplemented by five pages of errata. The rule problems mentioned earlier are those that remain uncorrected.

Trying to assign a strategy rating to The Falklands War is not an easy task. The game is so wrought with difficulties in the rules that play is difficult. Overall, though, the game seems to be a fair balance between strategy and the luck of dice rolls.

The author has taken seemingly great pains to accurately portray the variety of units and craft which actually participated in the battle. In this areii the game is researched well. Were it not for the problems with the rules, The Falklands War would definitely be a game worth playing.

But, to be quite honest, the game simply is not worth the $16.00 cover price. If a player is looking for a really good simulation, I strongly advise him not to buy The Falklands War. The only real use for the game may be as a research tool for someone thinking of developing a game based on the 1982 conflict. Otherwise, this game can provide little enjoyment to the wargame

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© Copyright 1985 by Dana Lombardy.
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