Players 2
Playing Time n/a
Period Medieval
Scale Grand strategic
Turn 5 years
Map Areas
Units Armies

Components

1 12-page half-size rulebook
1 22" x 28" large hex map of the Mediterranean basin and Middle East
255 backprinted die-cut counters
1 ziploc bag or cardboard box

Counter Manifest

51 Byzantine units (red)
35 Muslim units (brown)
21 Persian units (mauve)
13 Khazar units (light blue)
14 Frank units (blue)
6 Goth units (slate)
7 Berber units (dark blue)
7 Turk units (grey)
7 Sind units (light purple)
42 Revolt markers (grey)
14 Army Group markers (8 red, 5 brown, 1 mauve)
12 Base markers (white)
6 randomizer chits (white)
1 Turn marker (white)
19 Blanks (13 red, 2 mauve, 2 white, 1 blue, 1 slate)

SimCan says:

“Jihad! is a game type simulation of the first century of Islamic expansion after the death of Mohammed, the Prophet and founder of the Islamic religion. During this period a holy war of conquest and the religious conversion of non-Arab peoples were the mainsprings of Islam and the Arabs progressed from a religious force to a secular great power. Jihad! covers these events on a grand strategic scale with each turn representing five years and military units representing entire armies of various types.”

The Reviewer says:

“This is a two-player game of the ‘beer and pretzels’ kind. The first player controls the Muslims, who start out owning nothing but the Arabian Desert while lusting to own everything else. The second player is the ‘Empires’ player; he starts out owning everything else and usually ends up wearing a barrel. ... There is one particularly nice piece of ‘chrome’ to the game: the Muslim Civil War. Careful Muslim play will keep one from breaking out -- but slip up once and fun begins. When the conditions for a civil war are met, regular play stops while the Muslim player tries to put down the rebels. The Empire player takes command of these and tries to do as much damage as he can to the Muslim war effort. ... Jihad! is not the optimum game on the subject but it is the only one at present. For those interested in this era of history it is worth the money.” --Rob Land in F&M 27.

Collectors Notes

Boone lists low, high and average costs of 4/28/12.25 at auction and 9/20/14.33 for sale.

Comments

Stephen Newberg remarked in his Designer’s Notes that he started work on this game in September 1979, about when Tehran was stormed and its personnel taken hostage. He goes on to say he considered dropping the game, but concluded that “current events in the Middle East make the game more useful. With it one can take a look in a very broad way at some of the events of the past and hopefully find in them food for thought.”

Errata

Add to the end of the first sentence in 5.4: or recruit no units when they are available during a turn in which the Muslim player has units within the boundaries of the State.

Eliminate only from 6.2, line 5.

Add may not move and to 7.3, line 8 between turn and do.

Add to 14.2 at the end: If during any Joint productivity Phase the Muslim player earns more than 130 points the game ends immediately in an automatic Muslim victory. If the final point total is more than 130, the Muslim player wins. If it is less than 110 points the Empires player wins. Other results are a draw.

Clarification: a moving unit or stack may not move so as to accumulate more than 60 attrition points.

Steve Newberg says:

There were a couple of novel systems in this game. The system for religious conversion of dead opposing troops and the civil war system stand out. The design, looking over it now, has held up well. Islam and the Middle East remain world hot spots. I still feel looking at the roots of Islamic expansion over 1300 years ago is useful. Rodger MacGowan did an excellent cover for this one also. The map was simple, but effective, considering its sweep from Spain to India. And even by modern color standards it holds its own.