Mark H. Walker's '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires by Flying Pig Games

 Mark H. Walker's '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires

by

Flying Pig Games

 We are going to do things a little differently this time around. I am going to make this a three part look at this game. I am also going to start off with something that I have never done, which is an unboxing for the first part. The second part will be a look at the actual game play and the third will be a look at Alone in the Mountains: '85 Solitaire Expansion.

 The year is 1979 and the Cold War is in full swing. Some people in the Kremlin decided that it was a good idea to invade Afghanistan and put their own puppet government in place. Afghanistan had been a country that had been a tough nut to crack for many armies and governments for thousands of years. It was the map board used in the 'Great Game' by Russia and England in their attempt to conquer more of Asia in the 19th century. Afghans have a well-deserved reputation for being hard fighters and implacable foes. They also invented Polo and enjoyed using the heads of their enemies as the ball. This should clearly clue you in as to the mettle of the Afghans. 

 The back of the box says:

"'85: Graveyard of Empires is the second game in the Squad Battles series. Building on the mechanics introduced in '65 Squad Battles in the Jungles of Vietnam, Graveyard of Empires features tense squad-level battles between the Afghan Mujahideen and the Soviet Red Army in an exciting card-driven, hex-and-counter game."

 As an aside, if you haven't heard of or played '65 Squad Battles in the Jungles of Vietnam, do yourself a favor and look into that excellent game.

This shows some of the counters and a piece of a map from the game

  This is what comes with the game:

5 richly illustrated, 11” x 17” geomorphic game boards. 

4 lavish sheets of thick 1” and 1.375” counters. 

1 deck of 54 action cards, 4 Event Cards, 5 Bonus Victory Condition Cards. 

Full color rules and scenario booklet.

Player Aid Cards, 

Terrain Effect Charts.

A die.

A box to keep it safe and warm.

 I thought one-inch counters were big. These 1.375" ones, for aircraft, tanks, and other vehicles are massive. Yes, the hexes are quite large enough to not be dwarfed by those counters.

 Because of the size of the counters, there are only so many counters that come with the game. However, just like its older brother '65, this game is about Squad Battles and not large military actions. So, you have more than enough counters, and a good variety of them, to keep you playing for a good long time. 

 The game boards all fold out to give you their 11" x 17" full size. The landscape that the game represents is seen in in wonderful detail, if a little muted in color. They represent the different battlefields extremely well. 

 The Player Aids are 8.5" x 11" in size, and they are made of card stock. One gives you the Sequence of Play and a turn record track. The other is two-sided and has the Terrain Effects Chart on one side and the Range Modifiers etc. on the other.

 The Rule Book is 35 pages in length. It is in full color and is in nice, large, type for us aging grognards. It comes with plenty of example of the rules. The Rule Book also has all nine of the game's scenarios included in it; the ninth scenario was a Kickstarter exclusive. This does not seem like many. However, the game is card-driven so you have endless possibilities for a hand of different cards each time you play a scenario. Because of their small size, it does not look like it would be any trouble to make your own scenarios to add to the mix.

 The deck has 54 Action Cards in it. These have actions for both sides in the game on them. The cards are also used to determine hits on vehicles. There are also four event cards. The above says it comes with five Bonus Victory Condition Cards, although my game came with 11.

Action Card

 If you have bought or played any of the different games from Flying Pig Games, you will be excited about the care and attention that is given to the manufacturing of them. If for nothing else, you should look at the Flying Ham Steaks rendition of Hermann Luttman's 'A Most Fearful Sacrifice'. Yes, once again it is out of stock. I do believe that it will be reissued again and again as that magnum opus deserves. I had the pleasant experience of playing '65 more than a few times and by looking at '85's rules it looks like playing this game will be just as enjoyable. 

 Thank you, Flying Pig Games, for letting me take a look at and review '85 Graveyard of Empires. Stayed tuned on this same bat channel for the other two perusals of the game.

Robert

Mark H. Walker's '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires:

Flying Pig Games