Berlin '85, subtitled "The Enemy at the Gates", is a battalion-level board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980 that hypothesizes an attack on West Berlin by the Warsaw Pact.
Berlin '85, subtitled "The Enemy at the Gates", is a battalion-level board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980 that hypothesizes an attack on West Berlin by the Warsaw Pact.
Berlin '85 is a game set in the 1980s during the Cold War in which the NATO forces in Berlin, composed of French, British, and American military units, and West Berlin Police, are attacked by Soviet/Warsaw Pact military units in a battle involving both time and attrition. [1] The game uses SPI's "Modern Battles Quad" rules with new rules for urbanized terrain, subways, fire storms, gas warfare, rubble, police, supply and airpower. [2]
The game includes:
Three scenarios are included: [2]
Each scenario lasts 16 turns, each of which represents 8 hours of game time. [2]
The scenario lasts for 16 turns, or until NATO surrenders or the Warsaw Pact occupies the entire city.
"Unity" and "Werewolf": For the first two scenarios:
"Medicine Wheel": For the third scenario, both sides are awarded Victory Points for occupying territory and eliminating enemy units. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the scenario is the winner.
Berlin '85 was designed by Jim Dunnigan, with cartography and graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen, and was originally published as a pull-out game in Strategy & Tactics # 79. It was also released as a boxed set. The game was not a top seller for SPI, failing to make SPI's Top Ten list in the months after its release. [3]
Kristan J. Wheaton reviewed Berlin '85 in The Space Gamer No. 30. [1] Wheaton commented that "All in all, Berlin '85 is a game with many problems, but ultimately worth purchasing. An experienced player will recognize the faults in the game mechanics and change them to make a more balanced, exciting game. This is not a game for beginners, as they will not be able to adjust to the grossly unbalanced system. It is obvious that in Berlin '85, it is the subject and not the game that is 'the thing.'" [1]
In Issue 29 of Phoenix , Donald Mack wrote, "Its combination of a tried and true system plus a few clever additions to emphasize the peculiar nature of the hypothetical battle which it simulates produces a tense game for both players, with swift Soviet victory or drawn-out Soviet failure." [4]
In Issue 50 of Moves , Nick Karp noted that although Berlin '85 uses an older game system, it also introduces a lot of new concepts such as gas warfare and the use of subways for movement that give it a modern feel. [2]
At the 1981 Origins Awards, Berlin '85 was a finalist for the Charles S. Roberts Award in the category "Best Twentieth-Century Game of 1980". [5]
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