Richard.Taylor@bhein.rel.co.uk Phase Line Smash (GDW) I am generally wary of games on very recent conflicts - all too often they can be poor, exploitative attempts to cash in on stories still in the news. Phase Line Smash (PLS), however, is not only a staisfying, fun game; it is also a serious, in depth study of the ground war in the Gulf which can give the player real insights into why things happened the way they did. PLS is a solitaire operational level simulation of the ground war of Operation Desert Storm (properly, Desert Sabre), centring on the actions of VII Corps. The game puts the player in command of the main coalition land force for the 'left hook' - consisting mostly of VII Corps itself, with elements of XVIII Corps and with the Marine Tiger Brigade entering as reinforcements. The Iraqi opposition (and, in rather a nice touch, the coalition Arab forces) are controlled by the solitaire rules system. The game i s complex - the basic rules run to 52 pages - but the complexity of the rules comes across as attention to detail and comprehensiveness and is not excessive. In play, individual divisions are activated by drawing chits from a cup. Each division then conducts all its actions, with movement and combat being combined into the same phase, before moving on to the next division. Support is available from artillery and helicopter forces and tactical fighter support, and all actions must be paid for with supply points represented by logistic (log) units (truck convoys, in effect). Victory depends basically on the number of Iraqi units, especially Republican Guard, destroyed set against the number escaping off map to the north and the level of coalition casualties. The VP schedule is such that a single coalition unit being eliminated will almost certainly be enough to lose the game. Physical components consist of a map, 500 5/8" counters, several sheets of tables, a rules booklet, and a historical notes booklet. The map is often criticised as the weakest of the physical components, aesthetically and functionally. Certainly it is unusual, having the look of a photographic reproduction of original map artwork, with a slightly 'out of focus' feel. Terrain types (and there are 26 types of terrain listed on the terrain effect chart!) can be difficult to distinguish at a glance, and the ove rall appearance is a rather dirty muddy brown field rather than a desert. However, there are no significant problems in using the map and it does not detract significantly from the overall look and feel of the game in progress. The area covered includes the start points of the allied Syrian and Egyptian forces in the East to beyond the left flank of VII Corps in the West, and runs from just south of the Iraqi front line defences north to Basra. There can be no mixed feelings over the counters, which are exceptional. There are in effect two types of counters - those used for Coalition brigade markers, for the Iragis and Arab allies, and for various information purposes are nothing spectacular, perfectly functional (although the coalition brigade and division markers used on the fatigue track and for activation purposes, which bear the badge of the appropriate unit, are very attractive). The coalition battalion markers however are the real stars, be aring a beautifully detailed image of an appropruiate vehicle (M1 tanks, Bradleys, artillery, helicopters among others - each a precisely accurate image of a vehicle representative of the unit). The numeric information and unit identifiers on the counters are also well set out and easy to use. The only shame with such attractive counters is that most of them spend their time on the brigade holding charts rather than actually deployed on the map. The charts and tables are gener ally well laid out and functional, although annoyingly the boxes on the brigade holding charts are smaller than the counters they are meant to hold. Finally come the rules booklet and historical notes. The rules run to 52 pages (more with the advanced rules which are in the historical notes folder) and are rather densely laid out, making it difficult to find a particular rule. They are however clearly written and unambiguous, and are interspersed with quotes from combatants and information boxes on various aspects of the war, which add tremendously to the sense of simulation. The historical notes are also exceptionally good, providing one of the best, m ost detailed accounts of the ground war I have yet found. Three pages of bibliography and some informative designer's and player's notes round off the package. On to the play of the game. True, the rules are complex; but complexity arises from the depth of the simulation, with each individual rule reading logically and being (fairly!) easy to remember; there are not on the whole dozens of special cases to memorise or counter-inutuitive rules 'fixes'. Even so, the learning curve is steep, but this is not the drawback it might have been. Firstly in a solitaire game it is more likely that the game will be a serious study, set up over a period of time, rather than j ust a bit of fun for an evening. There is also no dead time spent waiting for your opponent to move, so the relatively slower pace is less of a problem. Furthermore, the rules are complex largely because they are complete - actual play proceeds smoothly and there is little manipulation of rules and pieces within each turn. Because of the way movement and combat are divided up by divisions, all actions are broken into more easily digestible bite sized chunks. A large part of the rules is also taken up by the solitaire system, which is comprehensive in order to define unambiguously the actions of all non-player units in almost all conceivable situations, but which do not need to be memorised before play. The game system itself rests on four key components, which I will describe in turn: the solitaire system for Iraqi and Arab forces; the divisional activation system; the integrated movement/combat system; and supply and related fatigue. Firstly, the solitaire system. This is centred around a number of command postures for the Iraqi and Arab forces - each corps has its posture tracked individually, and is affected by losses to itself and by such factors as losses to other corps or the presence of coalition forces to the corps' rear. These command postures are tied in to marked hexes on the map which determine deployment and blocking positions for the Iraqis and objectives for the coalition Arabs. The rules determine in exact detail exactly how each unit will move in each command posture in a wide range of circumstances. The system seems complicated - there are pages of rules setting out all the various possibilities, but again it is simple in execution - it soon becomes obvious how a unit will move in all but the most unusual circumstances, and references to the rule book become infrequent. The system also works in that it provides an enemy which moves in a sensible but not entirely predictable way - unpleasant surpris es are possible when an Iraqi armoured corps suddenly switches up one command posture and advances on your thinly stretched units, or drops and pulls back from your carefully planned attack. The drawback is that the range of possibilities for Iraqi movement are limited - more on this later. Next, the divisional activation system. Each division, and each Iraqi corps, has a chit, all of which are placed in a cup at the beginning of each turn. Chits are drawn randomly one at a time, and that division or corps then carries out all its movement and combat before moving on to draw the next chit. This works well in a number of ways. First, it forces you to think in terms of historical unit groupings without the need for complicated command control rules. Rather than the practice so common in wargames of thinking "I'll send in those 4-4-6 s and that 10-6-3 to attack", you have to think "I'll attack with the 3rd ACR". It imposes real unit boundary restrictions, in concert with the fratricide rules, which make it dangerous for units from different divisions to move adjacent to each other, particularly if they are in action or if the weather is bad. And it adds uncertainty to the battle - you can never be sure whether you will get to attack with your units before the enemy has a chance t o redeploy or move away. This leads to a lot of tension, and some forward planning as it is possible to hold some units out of the cup by spending command points, which are always in painfully short supply. The movement/combat system: basically, each stack (and stacks will generally be complete brigades) is moved individually, and conducts combat in the same phase by expending movement points (MPs). All actions by one stack are completed before moving on to the next stack. There are three types of combat: deliberate, which costs a unit all its movement points but doubles the strength of infantry based units; mobile, which costs half a unit's MPs, and hasty, which does not cost MPs but halves the strength of in fantry units. Again, a number of results flow from this simple system. Careful planning of attacks is necessary to ensure units move up to attack in the correct order. No 'ganging up' is possible, as in most games, where units from several hexes combine to attack a single enemy (although this can be done using combined deliberate attacks in some circumstances, and with the expenditure of command points). Considerable judgement is required as to when it is safe to run over a weak unit with a hasty attack and when it is better to move up slowly and make a deliberate attack. The flowing nature of combat is represented, rather than the normal stop-start system, and against a weak enemy spectacular advances are possible with a succession of hasty attacks. And there is some representation of combined arms and the relative strength of infantry and armour based forces. Artillery and helicopters are also integrated into the system, with MPs spent to carry out direct support (adding their strength to an attack) or bombardment (attacking on their own). Finally, supply and fatigue. Supply rules are the weak point of many games, but the system here is simple to execute, but gives excellent historical feel. Log units representing columns of supply trucks start out at log bases and move like normal units. When a division is activated, it must use up a log unit in order to function normally - the log unit being removed from the map and placed back in the depot. If no log unit is available the division becomes supply depleted and, if this happens for a second t urn in a row, out of supply, with dire consequences for movement and combat values. The limited range over which log units can provide supply - usually two hexes - forces you to keep your divisions realistically concentrated. Supply units can only be used to supply their own divisions, unless command points are spent of course. When the log base is nearby keeping in supply is fairly easy, but with units at the limit of their advance into Iraq it takes longer and longer for log units t o make the journey from depot to front line, and it is correspondingly difficult to keep units supplied. Efficient use of the road net is absolutely essential. Fatigue is tracked by each division acquiring fatigue points when it moves or fights. Fatigue points can be removed by resting - but there are few occasions when a division can afford to stop and rest. Once fatigue reaches a certain level severe penaltie s to movement and combat start to apply. So how does all this fit together? Extremely well. The game is lengthy, but there is constant action and considerable tension. The first few turns seem to pass painfully slowly as coalition forces use their engineers to breach the Iraqi fortifications and drive off the front line defensive units. Then there is a rapid breakout over the middle turns as the flanking forces rush north to their encircling positions. Finally, the end game, where coalition units, at the limit of their supply lines and with fatigu e mounting dangerously, have to engage and destroy the Republican Guard before they slip away north. Any one battle with Guard units is not going to pose too much of a problem, but there are so many units and so little time it becomes very tense trying to catch and destroy enough Iraqi units to win the game. There are a few minor problems. Firstly, the geographical coverage of the game and the initial deployments are such that there are no opportunities to experiment with different grand strategies for the coalition. The game is definitely an attempt to replay history rather than to change it. Similarly, the solitaire system for the Iraqis is such that there will be no great surprises in their actions - they may move forward a little faster than expected, or retreat a little sooner, but in general Iraqi options are extremely restricted. For example, there is virtually no chance of a massive counter-attack by the Republican Guard, and this seems to be a bit of a missed opportunity to explore alternate history - after all, in real life such a counter attack was fully expected and prepared for. This gives the Iraqi forces a very predictable feel on the grand scale, although there can still be unpleasant surprises up close. The coalition Arabs are also very weak; often they will be thrown back onto the defensive and the player will have to divert units to bail them out (how historically accurate this is is of course open to debate). The weather system also seems slightly suspect. The worst weather state (severe storm) is so crippling, halving movement allowances and increasing fatigue, that it is virtually impossible to maintain momentum over several turns of severe storm. The way the weather sys tem works means that if an unlucky die roll results in severe storms ea rly on, it is almost imposssible for the weather to improve significantly, and therefore almost impossible for the player to win. This is related to the final problem; a solitaire game needs to be difficult to win, and PLS has the balance about right, with considerable care and planning and a little luck necessary to pull off a full victory. But it is apparently impossible to match the speeds across the battlefield attained in real life; the historical notes section ties the real events in with the game tur ns and map hexes, and following these it is apparent that, with the difficulties of terrain, limited roads, the Iraqi fortifications to be breached and the weather, it is near impossible to attain real life rates of advance, particularly for the British units and the US 1st Infantry on the East of the line where the defences are thickest. These are minor quibbles however when set against the overall quality of the game; tremendous depth of research, innovative but simple (in execution if not on the printed page!) and intuitive systems and excellent quality components combine to make a very satisfying gaming experience, which provides a sense of real insight into the historical events.