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Fulda Gap '85

by Peter D. Pawelek

Article Type: Review
Article Date: August 06, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: Fulda Gap '85
Category: Turn-based, Operational Level Wargame
Developer: John Tiller
Publisher: HPS Simulations
Release Date: Released
Sys. Spec: Click Here
Files & Links: Click Here

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When Two Tribes Go To War

Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the ‘Golden Age’ of board wargaming, there was a thriving sub-genre of games that dealt with what was then perceived to be imminent conventional warfare between Warsaw Pact and NATO forces in Central Europe. Titles such as Red Star White Star, Next War and NATO Division Commander attempted to simulate this apocalyptic scenario in excruciating detail.

The publication of The Third World War by General Sir John Hackett in 1979 provided paranoid wargamers with additional fodder for how a massive Soviet-led invasion through the Fulda Gap in Central Germany would unfold. Technologically superior Allied forces thinly strung out along the front lines would have to contain burgeoning echelons of Warsaw Pact armor and mechanized infantry which would try to grind down the Allies in a lightning campaign that would place them at the gates of Paris within two or three weeks.

Fulda Gap ’85, the second in John Tiller and HPS Simulations’ Modern Campaigns series, attempts to answer the what-if’s of such an invasion. This is a unique modern computer simulation of an oft-wargamed situation, and it takes advantage of seventeen years of hindsight to explore an event that has thankfully not occurred.

Fulda Gap '85 splash screen.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Fulda Gap '85 is a turn-based operational-level computer wargame in which each turn represents three hours of real time (6 hours for night turns). Units are generally of company and battalion size. Gameplay occurs on a map of Central Germany on which a hex-grid has been superimposed. Each hex measures 1 mile across. In addition to a 160-turn campaign game, Fulda Gap '85 comes with 20 smaller scenarios representing different aspects of the campaign. In addition to American and Soviet forces, Canadian, East/West German, and Polish forces are also included.

The game is very similar to HPS Simulations' Panzer Campaigns series. If you've played these games you will be able to jump into Fulda Gap '85 with minimal effort. There are some significant changes in the Modern Campaigns system, however, and I'll describe how it differs from Panzer Campaigns later in this review.

3D Mapview

On the surface Fulda Gap '85 is a very simple game to play yet there is a very complex game system underneath. Knowledge of how this system works is essential to mastering the game. This means it will be necessary to read all of the documentation that is provided. Unfortunately, this documentation is all online and not printed. Fortunately, it is very well written and comes in two formats: as Microsoft Help files and Microsoft Word files which allow for easy printing. As with all of Tiller's HPS titles, it is very easy to Alt-Tab out of an active game to consult the documentation.



A View To a Kill

The game interface is a typical John Tiller offering. Both menu items and button bars allow a player to manipulate the way game information is displayed in dozens of different ways. Sophisticated filtering, shading and highlighting options make scenarios with hundreds of units highly playable. After playing about a dozen of Tiller's games over the years, I must admit that the feel of these games starts to get a bit bland after a while. However, the consistency of these game interfaces has the unquestionable advantage of allowing a veteran player to immerse himself in a new title very quickly. One gains a deep understanding of the game system through interaction with Tiller's excellent interface design.

Command radius of an HQ unit.

A game-turn is divided into two player-turns. In a given player-turn, units can either move, fire, or assault in any order that the phasing player wishes. Every action has implications on the state of the unit, and this must be closely monitored by the player. For example, a firing unit runs the risk of becoming low on ammo or a moving armored unit may become low on fuel depending on the supply situation. As units move into enemy-controlled hexes, they may take opportunity fire that could result in a loss of troops and morale, or a gain in fatigue.



The Heat Is On

Given the topic of the game, modern mechanized conventional warfare, it's not a surprise that Fulda Gap '85 is a very fluid game of maneuver warfare and gameplay is fast and furious. Unlike many of the Panzer Campaigns titles, the game does not get bogged down in front-line stalemates with units entrenched in improved positions along the front. In this case it's often very difficult to maintain a frontline since highly mobile armor and helicopter forces can easily cover many miles over a few hours in a given turn. Whereas the Soviet and Warsaw Pact units are mostly at battalion level and therefore superior in numbers, Allied units mostly occur at company level and act as fire brigades careening around the map in desperate attempts to block the Communist onslaught.

Combat results.

Just about every aspect of modern warfare is covered in Fulda Gap '85. In addition to conventional munitions, artillery units can often deliver minefields and chemical weapons. I do feel that chemical warfare is too simplified in this game. Once an artillery unit attacks a hex with chemical munitions, that hex is considered 'contaminated' for the remainder of the game.

Chemical warfare in action.

A typical game may last for two or three days, and in reality a chemical attack on an area equivalent to a game hex would either have drifted or dissipated within this time frame. Since the game does simulate weather conditions, it should be possible to more accurately simulate the effects of weather on the duration of chemical attacks.



Never Surrender

Helicopter forces are also simulated. Helicopters function in either an attack or recon role and their presence has a great impact on the battlefield. On the whole the game system handles helicopters quite well; however, I do have trouble with the fact that an airborne copter unit will deny the hex that it occupies to enemy forces. Although there is a mechanism to allow a helicopter unit to 'fly over' an enemy unit, it is not possible for a ground unit to 'roll under' a helicopter unit. This can lead to some bizarre and 'gamey' situations.

Although fixed wing aircraft are not represented as units, as helicopters are, they do occur as airstrikes that a player can plot in a manner similar to artillery strikes. SAM sites are crudely modelled in the game and may have an effect on whether a given airstrike is allowed to occur if the enemy is allowed SAM coverage in a given scenario.

Calling in an airstrike.

Overall, the game system broadly covers many aspects of modern warfare (helicopters, SAM sites, electronic warfare, chemical warfare, guided missiles, and even limited nuclear strikes) at the expense of depth. This may disappoint some players (fans of Pat Proctor's Brigade Combat Team, for example), but it is appropriate given the scale of the Modern Campaigns game system. The lack of depth of these game elements is more than made up for by the overall depth and solidity of the fundamental game system (i.e., rules concerning fire, movement, assaults, supply and command/control).

Ammunition options for artillery units.

Also, this is not to say that these elements do not have a significant impact on gameplay. Units with TIS (Thermal Imaging Sights) have a tremendous advantage both on offense and defense. Also, electronic warfare can jam your comms between headquarters units, preventing them from rallying troops and providing supplies.



Some Like it Hot

As with all the Squad Battles, Panzer Campaigns and Modern Campaigns games, Tiller does a stellar job with his PBEM implementation. Turnfiles compress to a very manageable size (less than 35K) and each player has a detailed turn replay option that allows players to review all the events of a past game-turn. A more structured game-turn is recommended for PBEM, and optional rules allow the more fluid game-turn to be broken down into discrete movement, fire and assault turns.

Scenario options.

Furthermore, an optional rule allows for automatic defensive fire to be handled by the AI which minimizes the number of gamefiles that have to be transferred between players. It is also possible to play Fulda Gap '85 with a human opponent via 'hot-seat' or Direct-IP, but PBEM is the preferred multiplayer mode.

Fulda Gap '85 comes with a highly detailed and accurate map of Central Germany, centred around the Fulda/Frankfurt/Paderborn area. Although it is not possible to edit the map, the game does come with an Order-of-Battle (OOB) editor and a scenario editor. These tools allow you to create any sort of modern conflict situation that you could imagine occurring in the mid-80's in that area of Europe.

The OOB-Editor.

These tools are very easy to use: unit parameters are easily changed in a windowed interface of the OOB-editor, and the scenario editor provides an interface not unlike the game interface that allows the scenario designer to easily place units and map objects.



Lovin' Every Minute of It

Fulda Gap '85 is a great wargame of 'modern' conventional warfare circa the mid-80's. It's also a very accessible game for those who are curious about Tiller's HPS titles. Most scenarios are small, with not very many units to control of short duration. The gameplay can be as complex as you want it to be depending on how many optional rules you incorporate and also on how deeply you care to understand the underlying game system. Some aspects of the modern warfare environment are a bit simplified but this works well given the scope and playability of the game. If you enjoy Al Delaney's Steel Beasts, Major Holridge's TACOPS, or Pat Proctor's Brigade Combat Team, you will find that Fulda Gap '85 is an engrossing and very playable 'higher level' treatment of modern warfare.


NOTE/TRIVIA:
All of the headlines in this article are titles from Top 40 Hits from 1985…except for one. Do you know which title is not from 1985?





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