Have you ever bought a wargame based on the weight of the box along, thinking that having 900+ counters and four maps must make it an awesome game? I thought this back in 1983 when I walked into the Complete Strategist and picked up a new copy of Victory Game's Gulf Strike.
Gulf Strike sets out to simulate modern combat in the Gulf region all "within" 360 minutes. It's been updated a few times and has been used to game every modern war have been fighting over there.Back in late 1983, I was at the height of my wargaming and roleplaying life. I was 20 years old, earning a decent living and preparing to go off to college the next year. (I worked for a few years between high school and college.) I had a large collection of wargames from Avalon Hill, SPI, GDW, Victory Games, Games Workshop, and others.
Well, several
times I tried to play Gulf Strike to no avail. I read the rules as best I could. I even set it up several times just to motivate myself, thinking that looking at it all ready to go on my game table in my room would do the trick. Never happened. I mean, come on. I was an SPI veteran! I played plenty of "Complexity 10" games like AH's Third Reich. I even "tried" Squad Leader! So Gulf Strike should have been a breeze. Nope. Never happened.So what is the moral of the story, boys and girls? I don't know. Just last night at Cool Stuff I almost bought Federation Commander: Klingon Border. Almost. So maybe I did learn something 27 years ago? Nah, I doubt it.
I am coming across this post after searching for Gulf Strike on Google.
ReplyDeleteI was a dedicated Gulf Strike (and Aegean Strike) player in the late 80s and early 90s. During the first Gulf War, I and a fellow player did our own extension to the game while the war was under way. It involved hand drawn new maps and counters and was far more accurate than the addon that was published at the time, especially on the forces lineup.
I think the Gulf Strike system was a bit too complex with its turns split in several steps, but it was the most complete system to simulate modern war on the ground, in the skies and at sea.
I have yet to find the equivalent computer game.