This issue’s capsule profiles will take you from an ancient conflict between empires at the walls of Troy (Iliad) to empires struggling for worlds in the far future (Imperium); from the tropical jungles of a guerilla war (Insurgency) to a battle waged across the freezing polar ice cap (Ice War); and on again to a different type of cold war (I.C.B.M.)

I is for ... I.C.B.M

I.C.B.M.
Mayfair Games (1981, $5.00)
Designed by Neil Zimmerer {\rtf\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\froman\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}}{\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;\red0\green0\blue0;}{\pard\li0\sa13\tx1000{\plain\f1\fs18 P layers 2\par}}{\pard\fi0\li0\ri6185\sa4\tx1011\tx1011{\plain\f1\fs18 P laying Time 30-45 minutes P eriod Modern Turn not stated (minutes?)\par}}{\pard\fi0\ri5439\tx1011\tx1011{\plain\f1\fs18 Map not stated (approx. 180 miles?) Unit missiles and ABM sites\par}}{\par}{\par}}

Components
Container 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" ziploc
1 17 1/2" x 21 1/2" unmounted mapsheet
1 8 page rulebook
108 die-cut counters
1 catalog sheet

Counter Manifest (My copy of I.C.B.M. is incomplete and I was unable to verify a complete set for this article. Kudos to Dan Tulloh who provided assistance in guesstimating the counter manifest figures. His set only has 107 counters but he believes the missing counter is red.)

62 red
46 blue

Mayfair says: “ICBM is a quick and nasty simulation of a thermonuclear exchange between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.”

The reviewer says: “I.C.B.M. is nuclear war stripped to the bare necessities — intercontinental nuclear missiles and ABMs. The map is a polar projection showing the U.S.S.R. and North America, with major cities and their values ... The rules are brief, easy to understand, and clean ... Great for breaks between long sessions of other games ... I.C.B.M. is an impressive first offering for a new small company and a good beginning level simulation for those who like to reduce their opponents to so much nuclear dust.” William A. Barton in Space Gamer 43.

Comments I.C.B.M. is a simple beer and pretzels game. But if you are looking for nuke wargame-lite, it pales in comparison to the classic B&P card game Nuclear War from Flying Buffalo. I.C.B.M. does make an interesting Cold War artifact, especially with its lurid cover art showing Uncle Sam facing off against a Russian bear (with the obligatory nuclear cloud rising up in the background.)

Collector’s Notes Mayfair jumped on the microgame bandwagon of the early eighties by releasing nine small-format games around 1981, five in ziplock packaging and four in small boxes. The ziplock games covered sci-fi, fantasy, and historical topics. However, production values were generally poor. The four boxed games had a much slicker look and covered historical topics. The presentation of I.C.B.M. is spartan, but functional. Boone lists low/ high/average prices of $5/$16/$11.50 at auction and $5/$25/$14.00 for sale.

The other micro games from Mayfair

The Castle; Morgan’s Rifles-b; Red Star Falling-b; Richard I: The Lionheart; Sheridan’s Ride-b; Space Empires; Transylvania; Wake Island-b. (Boxed titles are marked -b.)

Capsule Profiles:

ICBM
Ice War
Iliad
Intruder
Imperium
Insurgency