Tide of Iron is a World War II based wargame designed and published in 2007 by Fantasy Flight Games, also notable for publishing other large games containing a large number of counters and/or other components such as World of Warcraft: The Board Game and Arkham Horror.
In March 2013, Fantasy Flight Games announced a licensing deal with publisher 1A Games under which 1A would produce the Tide of Iron game line, including its current and future expansions. 1A Games refers to its upcoming Tide of Iron products collectively as the “Next Wave.”
Overview Tide of Iron focuses on the combat between German and American forces fighting World War II in Western Europe during 1944 and 1945. Expansions add new scenarios, units, and terrain from other theatres as well as new nations, such as the British and Soviet armies. Players take the role of division commanders, and play through a pre-designed scenario. The game takes place on twelve imprinted double-sided hex map boards/tiles, using cardboard markers and overlays of various types and plastic models for representing the variety of military units used in gameplay.
Game scenarios are given a title, descriptive write-up, player objectives, and force setup information. Scenario details provide further information about the scenario, including information on the number of rounds to be played for that scenario. Victory is determined by meeting, or preventing, the objectives from being accomplished. Strategy cards are used by players to influence the ebb and flow of battle.
The game comes with over 200 plastic infantry and vehicle figures. The infantry units are snapped into bases to form combat squads. The plastic figures are well detailed and include clearly distinguishable tanks like the American Sherman, the German Panzer IV and Tiger. Other components include markers for terrain, the terrain boards themselves, and unit tokens. An extensive rulebook lends credence to reviewers' Medium complexity rating.
Gameplay Summary
Scenario and map boards To begin, players choose the combat scenario for their game session and pick which nation each will control. Tide of Iron comes with six scenarios. The scenario chosen describes each player's objective (mission), historical notes, initial forces and deployment, helpful hints, any special rules, reinforcements, the battle map, special terrain features, and the victory condition for each side.
Following the scenario instructions, players find the relevant map tile boards and arrange them together forming the game board (battlefield). Battlefields often comprise terrain that is a mix of rough, clear, buildings, woods, hills, etc. Roads and streams can meander through particular areas either easing or obstructing vehicle and troop movement but may also provide cover. Furthermore, entrenchments, razor wire, pill boxes, tank traps, minefields and other obstructions often abound, creating a variety of tactical considerations. For instance, tank traps will impede movement of tanks, but infantry squad movement is unaffected while actually providing them some cover.
Strategy and operations cards Each player now claims any Strategy card decks that his nation is granted by the scenario. A Strategy card deck might be "German Reinforcements Deck I" or "Morale Deck II," for example.
Then each player draws a number of starting Strategy cards (indicated by the scenario). A Strategy card from a Reinforcements deck might instruct to "Receive a full (infantry) squad composed of any combination of regular or elite infantry as reinforcements," for example. Also, among other things, air support and off-board artillery attacks are called in by specific Strategy decks.
Each player then takes Operations cards granted to him by the scenario (if any). An Operations card, for example, might read "Panzer IV units have a range of 6 (die roll) and a firepower of 6 when attacking."
Build infantry squads and place units Tide of Iron (TOI) is designed as a squad-level game. Each scenario details the number of starting infantry, vehicles, and squad bases available to each nation. Each player will build his squads by placing his infantry figures into each squad base (a round plastic base with room to hold up to four infantry units). This is done by pushing the peg, found below each infantry figure, into the holes located in the squad bases. Infantry units include regular infantry, elite infantry, officers, machine gun crews, and mortar crews, each having unique attributes. Unless the scenario designates otherwise, players are free to customize their squads based on their intended tactics and strategy.
Many scenarios grant a nation a certain number of specialized squads. For example, a squad might be assigned a medic or an engineer, or perhaps an anti-tank weapon or flamethrower, each providing special advantages for the squad. Every squad base has a small protruding plastic hook, which can hold one specialization token to identify the squad's specialization, if any.
Players place their infantry squads and vehicle units (tanks, trucks, and halftracks) on the board in the areas indicated by the scenario.
Action, command and status phase Each round (game turn) is divided into three phases; Action, Command, and Status. The number of rounds is dictated by the scenario.
The Action Phase constitutes the main portion of game play in TOI. The players alternate taking the number of actions specified by the scenario, typically three actions each. An action is usually moving or firing a unit (or both) or activating a Strategy card, for example. During these actions, tanks can be lightly damaged, heavily damaged or destroyed. Squads can be disrupted, pinned, weakened, or wiped out. When neither player has additional actions (which is typically when every unit has been activated), the Action Phase is over.
In the Command Phase, each player collects "Command" (resources) as a reward for controlling command objectives and victory points for controlling victory point objectives. As an example, if during the prior Action Phase, the American player controls a “2” American command objective (perhaps a building) and a “2” neutral command objective (perhaps a bridge), then he receives 4 Command. Available Command can be used to activate Strategy cards and gain initiative.
The Status Phase is a “clean up” phase that includes drawing Strategy cards, removing tokens, squad transfers, placing reinforcements, etc.
After the Status Phase of a round is completed, another round begins. This continues until the last round of the game is finished, or until one player reaches a victory condition designated by the scenario.
Winning the game The various scenarios specify different victory conditions, based on the stipulated tactical or strategic situation.
For example, “At the Breaking Point,” considered a good scenario for new players, reflects the strategic situation in Northern France in late July, 1944. After weeks of heavy fighting following D-Day, the Allies finally overran the Germans and began their breakout across France with General George S. Patton’s Third Army rapidly advancing. Attempting to halt the Allied advance, German Field Marshal Günther von Kluge’s 116th Panzer Division attempted to cut off Patton’s supply line. In TOI and this particular scenario, 11 squads of American infantry are dug in to defend the American supply route against an approaching German force of 12 infantry squads supported by a Panzer IV. The German player wins by having his units occupy three specified hexes (American positions), thus representing a German breakthrough, presumably to the American supply route. The American player wins by preventing the Germans from occupying those same hexes for 8 rounds of play, thus holding their position and protecting Patton’s supplies.Tide of Iron Scenario Guide, page 4.
Another example is in “Silence the Guns,” a scenario based on the Allied effort to push through fortifications along Germany’s Siegfried Line in early 1945. In this TOI scenario, the Americans bring to bear 15 infantry squads, two Sherman tanks, and two M3A1 half-tracks against a German defensive position of ten infantry squads highlighted by a pillbox situated on high ground. The Americans immediately win if they control the German pillbox (their objective) at the end of any round. The Germans win if they can hold the pillbox for six rounds. Noteworthy, is if the Germans can hold out at least four rounds, they are expecting reinforcements of two more infantry squads, two Sd.Kfz. 251 half-tracks and a Panzer IV. More reinforcements are possible via a German Reinforcements Strategy Deck granted the Germans by the scenario at the outset of the action.Tide of Iron Scenario Guide, page 8.
Basic Combat Mechanics During a player's turn, that player can choose which units to activate during the Action Phase, one unit at a time until, usually, three of them have been activated. Then it's the other player's turn to do likewise. The players alternate in this way until all units on both sides have been activated, to complete the round.
A unit activation can be any of eight different actions for a given unit, but the two most basic actions are Advance (Move) and Fire (Attack).
Unit movement All infantry figures have a movement rating of 4 (hexes) and they move and fight in squads, as a unit, though a squad could be down to one figure. Thus, squads can normally move up to 4 hexes during one action. The elevation and terrain traversed can reduce that movement to something less. For example, infantry moving uphill or walking through hexes depicting woods can only move half as fast.
In the way of comparison, a halftrack (which can transport 1 squad) can normally move up to 7 hexes in one action. A Sherman tank can move up to 6 hexes in a single action, assuming no obstructions. A truck (which can transport 2 squads) can move up to 4 hexes across clear terrain but up to 12 hexes if on a road.
Generally, once any unit performs one of the eight Action Phase activations, such as moving or firing, a fatigue token is placed down beside it to remind players that that unit has already taken an action and can't be activated again for the rest of the current round. Any unit that is not fatigued is called fresh. Only a fresh unit can be activated.
Concentrated fire The rules permit units to both fire and move during the same action (Fire and Movement). However, if an infantry or vehicle unit focuses only on firing at a target, Tide of Iron considers it laying down concentrated fire. This is the standard way units fire in the game. How effective or deadly a unit is when concentrating fire on a target depends on several key factors. Staying with the basics, it depends on what type of unit is firing (firepower), what type of target is selected, and the target's range.
Firepower The type of unit firing determines the firepower that can be brought to bear against a target. Infantry figures come in basically five types; regular, elite, officer, machine gun crew, and mortar crew. Each infantry type has two firepower ratings; one against infantry and one against vehicles, such as tanks. These firepower ratings equate to the number of dice that can be thrown for that infantry figure trying to score a hit on a selected target.
Resolving combat fire is done by rolling dice. To help keep things straight, black dice are rolled for attacking units and red for those defending.
For example, regular infantry have a firepower rating of 1 (die) against opposing infantry and also 1 against vehicles. So if a full squad of 4 regular infantry fired at any enemy squad, the firing player would throw 4 black dice, one for each figure firing. If that same squad fired on a tank, the firing player would likewise throw 4 black dice. Of course, the tank has armor. More on that later.