Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four modern-day battles set in the early 1970s.
Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four modern-day battles set in the early 1970s.
Modern Battles is a "quadrigame" — a game box that contains four separate wargames that use a common set of rules. Two of the games are based on battles during the Yom Kippur War that had occurred less than two years before publication of the game: [1]
The other two games are based on hypothetical scenarios:
The game box contains: [2]
The individual games released as "folio games" packaged in a ziplock bag did not include the six-sided die.
Each turn, which represents 12 hours of game time, consists of five phases:
Each game also has some rules only used in that game, e.g. Wurzburg had a few special rules for helicopters, river crossings, and nuclear weapons.
In 1975, SPI published their first "quadrigame", Blue and Gray , a set of four American Civil War battles. The format proved very popular, and SPI quickly produced more quadrigames, the first being Modern Battles. It consisted of Chinese Farm, designed by Howard Barasch; Golan, designed by Irad B. Hardy; Mukden, designed by David Isby; and Wurzburg, designed by Jim Dunnigan. The graphic design for all four games was created by Redmond A. Simonsen. Modern Battles initially sold well, rising to #3 on SPI's Top Ten Bestselling Games list after its release, and staying in the Top Ten for four months. [3]
The four games were also released as individual games, packaged as "folio games" (games enclosed in a cardstock folder within a ziplock bag.) None of the individual games sold well enough to crack SPI's Top Ten list. [3]
In 1977, SPI released a sequel, the quadrigame Modern Battles II, that included battles set in the Six Day War, Yugoslavia, West Germany and South Korea. [4]
In a 1976 poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North America, Modern Battles placed 33rd out of 202 games. Two of the individual folio games were rated higher than this, Chinese Farm coming in 15th, and Wurzburg 23rd. Golan was 33rd, while Mukden was the least popular, placing 54th. [5]
In Issue 15 of Fire & Movement , Rodger MacGowan related that shortly after Wurzburg was released, SPI began to distribute their wargames in Western Europe, including West Germany. However, after the German magazine Der Stern ran an article on how Wurzburg used the town as the setting for military combat that might involve nuclear weapons, there was a local outcry by Wurzburg residents. The German distributors quickly took it and other modern-era games set in West Germany off the market. [5] As MacGowan noted, "A future war in Europe might prove interesting, entertaining or even 'fun' to a wargamer in the comfort of his living room or den, but to those who live in places like Würzburg, the idea was revolting." [6]
In the 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Charles Vasey thought that the Combat Results Table (CRT) was "very complex for a [quadrigame with] numerous bloodless retreats." Vasey also complimented the "fine maps", and described Wurzburg as "a good game with a fierce series of typical battles around the town." [5]
In Issue 20 of the British wargaming magazine Phoenix , George Duguid criticized Modern Battles for "failing to distinguish between the various arms of the modern army (with the exception of artillery)." Duguid also noted that the games, especially Wurzburg, often stagnated into a defensive battle of attrition. He also didn't like the abstract concept of air strikes, wishing that there actual physical units representing aircraft. He went on to suggest changes to the rules to correct these deficiencies. [7]
In an article in Moves reviewing wargames by various publishers set in the Arab-Israeli Wars, Ian Chadwick examined both Golan and Chinese Farm. He noted that the simplistic game mechanics "makes these games fast and enjoyable, but realism is sacrificed." He also did not like the abstract nature of air strikes and air defenses. He found Golan to be "a good, tough game, one easily played to a conclusion in one evening." He called Chinese Farm "a very playable game. It's not as fluid as Golan, but nonetheless fast and enjoyable." He graded both games "A" for playability, "C" for component quality and "C" for historical accuracy. [2]
In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion thought that "The game rules are basically simple but the artillery rules tend to put a larger strain than usual on players' abilities to add numerous numbers in their heads and to consider several alternatives at the same time." [8]
In a retrospective review in Issue 20 of Simulacrum, Dav Vandenbroucke, Art Kritzer & Brian Train, commented, "Modern Battles departed from the standard scripting of the quads inasmuch as two of the games involved hypothetical battles, and the games were not homogenous and related to each of the others. In another sense as well, it was unusual. Of the many reviews published of this quad in the hobby magazines of the era, only one dealt with the quad as a whole, and most dealt with Wurzburg in a uniformly positive light while Mukden was clearly the least popular of the four." [9]
Chinese Farm, subtitled "Egyptian-Israeli Combat in the '73 War", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates operational level ground combat between Egypt and Israel at the Battle of The Chinese Farm during the just completed Yom Kippur War of October 1973. Chinese Farm was originally published as part of the "quadrigame" Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts.
Golan subtitled "Syrian-Israeli Combat in the '73 War", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates operational level ground combat between Egypt and Israel on the Golan Heights during the just completed Yom Kippur War of October 1973. Golan was originally published as part of the "quadrigame" Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts.
Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.
Bloody Ridge, subtitled "Turning Point on Guadalcanal, September 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Island War: Four Pacific Battles "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Bloody Ridge was also published as an individual "folio game."
Thirty Years War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a "quadrigame" — four separate board wargames packaged in one box that use a common set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976. The four games simulate different battles during the Thirty Years' War, and were sold individually as well as in the quadrigame format. Some of the games were well received by critics, but overall, the quadrigame did not sell well.
Nordlingen, subtitled "6 September 1634 – Triumph of the Imperialists", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1634 Battle of Nordlingen during the Thirty Years' War. Nordlingen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it the best game of the four, and Nordlingen was also published as a separate game.
Rocroi, subtitled "19 May 1643 – The End of Spanish Ascendancy", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1643 Battle of Rocroi during the Thirty Years' War. Rocroi was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom called it a "bland tactical problem", while others declared it was the best game of the four in the Thirty Years War box.
Breitenfeld, subtitled "Triumph of the Swedish System", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1631 Battle of Breitenfeld during the Thirty Years' War. Breitenfeld was a free game that appeared in Strategy & Tactics, designed to promote SPI's soon-to-be-launched wargame Thirty Years War. Breitenfeld proved popular and was also published as part of SPI's "folio" series of games.
Westwall: Four Battles to Germany is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications (SPI) in 1976 that simulate battles in Europe in late 1944 and early 1945 during World War II.
Blue & Gray II, subtitled "Four American Civil War Battles", is a collection of four board wargames originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that each simulate a battle from the American Civil War. It is the sequel to Blue & Gray published earlier in the year. Each of the four games was also published as individual "folio games."
Hurtgen Forest, subtitled "Approach to the Roer, November 1944 ", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Hürtgen Forest during the final year of World War II. The game was originally published by SPI as part of a four-game collection titled Westwall: Four Battles to Germany, but it was also released as an individual "folio game." While the quadrigame Westwall received good reviews from critics, the static nature of Hurtgen Forest was less well received.
La Belle Alliance: The Battle of Waterloo is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon's Last Battles, but was also released as an individual "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio.
The Battle of Nations, subtitled "The Encirclement at Leipzig, 16–19 October 1813", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but was also released as a "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio. It was popular in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics also gave it favorable reviews.
Four Battles from the Crimean War is a "quadrigame" — a set of four thematically linked games that use the same set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates four battles during the Crimean War.
The Great War in the East, subtitled "Four World War I Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates four battles of World War I on the Eastern Front and the Italian/Austrian front.
Modern Battles II: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates three hypothetical contemporary battles as well as the battle for Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967. This collection was a sequel to SPI's popular Modern Battles published two years before.
Mukden: Sino-Soviet Combat in the '70s is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates a contemporary hypothetical battle between Soviet and Chinese forces near the city of Mukden. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts, but it was also released as an individual game. In a 1976 poll, Mukden was the least popular of the four games in Modern Battles.
Bastogne: The Desperate Defense, December 1944 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the German attack on Bastogne during World War II's Battle of the Bulge. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Westwall: Four Battles to Germany, and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
Remagen: Bridgehead on the Rhine, March 1945 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Remagen during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Westwall: Four Battles to Germany "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Remagen was also published as an individual "folio game."
Wagram: The Peace of Vienna, 5–6 July 1809 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Wagram in July 1809. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but it was also released as an individual game with a set of metal miniatures. Wagram was rated highly in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics called it the best of the four games in the Napoleon at War box.