Golan (game)
Encyclopedia
Golan is a board game
simulating operational level ground combat between Israel
and Syria
on the Golan Heights during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. The game is an introductory level product with an emphasis on playability over simulation
value.
Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975
issued Golan as one of four games included in the Modern Battles Quad box and individually in a folio format as part of its Modern Battles Series. SPI also issued a Collector's Edition in a 2" accordion box with a mounted mapboard.
Golan contains three scenarios. Scenario one is historical and focuses on the Syrian attack into the Golan Heights and Israel's efforts to stem and reverse the Syrian player's advances. Scenario two is ahistorical and examines the impact of an earlier Israeli mobilization than what actually occurred. Scenario three is also ahistorical and looks at the effect of improved Syrian command and control and logistics. Each scenario is subject to the standard rules developed for Modern Battle Folio Series games but also contains scenario-specific rules and victory conditions.
Play is divided into thirty-two 12-hour turns governed by the standard move-shoot sequence, zones of control, a terrain effects chart, and two differential combat results tables (CRT) reflecting differing levels of aggressiveness and risk of unit elimination. Air power is abstract and naval power is not simulated. Both sides are equipped with armor and artillery units, and the Syrian player also receives foot infantry and air defense units. Units begin the game at set locations and both sides later receive reinforcements.
Victory is achieved by receiving the most points based on a combination of territorial objectives, enemy units destroyed, and (for the Syrian player) SAM hits on Israeli aircraft.
The game overstates the role of airpower in Israel's defense of the Golan Heights. Although close air support and battlefield interdiction did contribute to halting the Syrian ground offensive, Israeli armored units were primarily responsible for this. By contrast, air power in Golan is often the key to winning a given engagement. Moreover, Israel's ability to counter Syrian air defenses, in particular the then new SA-6, improved rapidly with combat experience, a trend not reflected in Golan.
In contrast, Golan under represents the defensive value of the Israeli anti-tank ditch along the demilitarized zone, which is portrayed as little more than speed bump during the first two turns (24 hours in game time) and ignored thereafter. Historically, however, the Israelis defended the northern portion of the anti-tank ditch for three days, exacting enormous Syrian casualties before the Syrians retreated.
(7 are blank) representing Israeli and Syrian units; a 17" by 22" hexagon-patterned paper map, one six-sided die (boxed format) or two sets of random number chits
(folio format), a plastic storage tray (boxed format only), one standard rulebook for Modern Battle Folio Series games, and one exclusive rulebook for Golan. The Collector's Edition also included a mounted map.
Physical Systems Design and Graphics: Redmond A. Simonsen
Systems Design and Game Development: Irad. B. Hardy, Edward Curran, Jay Nelson
Research: Col. T. N. Dupuy
Production: Manfred F. Milkuhn, Larry Catalano, Linda Mosca, Kevin Zucker
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
simulating operational level ground combat between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
on the Golan Heights during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. The game is an introductory level product with an emphasis on playability over simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
value.
Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975
1975 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1975. For video and console games, see 1975 in video gaming.-Significant games-related events of 1975:*Chaosium Inc...
issued Golan as one of four games included in the Modern Battles Quad box and individually in a folio format as part of its Modern Battles Series. SPI also issued a Collector's Edition in a 2" accordion box with a mounted mapboard.
Game play
The Syrian player attempts to overwhelm a thin Israeli defensive line in the Golan Heights while the Israeli player fights a desperate delaying action until reinforcements begin to arrive. Games are usually concluded in 1–2 hours.Golan contains three scenarios. Scenario one is historical and focuses on the Syrian attack into the Golan Heights and Israel's efforts to stem and reverse the Syrian player's advances. Scenario two is ahistorical and examines the impact of an earlier Israeli mobilization than what actually occurred. Scenario three is also ahistorical and looks at the effect of improved Syrian command and control and logistics. Each scenario is subject to the standard rules developed for Modern Battle Folio Series games but also contains scenario-specific rules and victory conditions.
Play is divided into thirty-two 12-hour turns governed by the standard move-shoot sequence, zones of control, a terrain effects chart, and two differential combat results tables (CRT) reflecting differing levels of aggressiveness and risk of unit elimination. Air power is abstract and naval power is not simulated. Both sides are equipped with armor and artillery units, and the Syrian player also receives foot infantry and air defense units. Units begin the game at set locations and both sides later receive reinforcements.
Victory is achieved by receiving the most points based on a combination of territorial objectives, enemy units destroyed, and (for the Syrian player) SAM hits on Israeli aircraft.
Simulation Value
Golan offers rather limited value in simulating Syria's attack on the Golan Heights and Israeli counter efforts. The map and scenarios are sufficient to develop a general operational understanding of the simulated events. Order of battle data is problematic, however, and most brigade and lower units have generic unit designations and some counters include unexplained letter designators. (The letter designations on the units of the "G1" IDF brigade identify the 'Golani' Mechanised Infantry Brigade. The Barak armoured brigade is not identified, but two 'independent' armoured battalions which are deployed on the Southern Heights represent this unit. The 'Syrian' "M" unit is most probably a Moroccan infantry brigade which should be present in the order of battle, and the para [troop] and Com [mando] units are self-explanatory.) Unit designators are irrelevant to unit positioning, and the accompanying materials do not describe how the opposing forces were arrayed historically. The order of battle also excludes the Syrian 5th Mechanized Division, the unit responsible for breaking through Israeli defenses in the southern Golan Heights. Information on Syrian and Israeli doctrine, tactics, and equipment is largely absent. The Designer's Notes and Player's Notes are sparse in adding context and do not include references or recommended further reading.The game overstates the role of airpower in Israel's defense of the Golan Heights. Although close air support and battlefield interdiction did contribute to halting the Syrian ground offensive, Israeli armored units were primarily responsible for this. By contrast, air power in Golan is often the key to winning a given engagement. Moreover, Israel's ability to counter Syrian air defenses, in particular the then new SA-6, improved rapidly with combat experience, a trend not reflected in Golan.
In contrast, Golan under represents the defensive value of the Israeli anti-tank ditch along the demilitarized zone, which is portrayed as little more than speed bump during the first two turns (24 hours in game time) and ignored thereafter. Historically, however, the Israelis defended the northern portion of the anti-tank ditch for three days, exacting enormous Syrian casualties before the Syrians retreated.
Components
100 die-cut countersCounter (board wargames)
Boardgame counters are usually small cardboard squares moved around on the map of a wargame to represent armies, military units or individual military personnel. The first modern mass-market wargame, based on cardboard counters and hex-board maps, was Tactics, invented by Charles S. Roberts in 1952...
(7 are blank) representing Israeli and Syrian units; a 17" by 22" hexagon-patterned paper map, one six-sided die (boxed format) or two sets of random number chits
Chit (board wargames)
Chits are a type of wargame counter that are generally not directly representational but used for the following purposes:* Tracking, being placed on a numeric runner to indicate turn status, as in some rule variants for Squad Leader...
(folio format), a plastic storage tray (boxed format only), one standard rulebook for Modern Battle Folio Series games, and one exclusive rulebook for Golan. The Collector's Edition also included a mounted map.
Credits
Game Design: Irad B. HardyPhysical Systems Design and Graphics: Redmond A. Simonsen
Redmond A. Simonsen
Redmond Askel Simonsen was an American graphic artist and game designer best known for his work at the board wargame company Simulations Publications, Inc. in the 1970s and early 1980s...
Systems Design and Game Development: Irad. B. Hardy, Edward Curran, Jay Nelson
Research: Col. T. N. Dupuy
Trevor N. Dupuy
Trevor Nevitt Dupuy was a Colonel, United States Army, retired, soldier and noted military historian.-Biography:Born in New York, the son of noted military historian, R. Ernest Dupuy, Trevor followed in his father's footsteps. Trevor Dupuy attended West Point, graduating in the class of 1938....
Production: Manfred F. Milkuhn, Larry Catalano, Linda Mosca, Kevin Zucker
Sources
- Close Up: SPI's Chinese Farm and Golan, by Warren G. Williams, Fire & MovementFire & MovementFire & Movement: The Forum of Conflict Simulation was founded by Rodger MacGowan in 1975, and began publication the following year. The magazine is devoted to covering games from a variety of manufacturers, specializing in wargames, both traditional board wargames and also computer wargames Fire &...
#2, 1976 - Spotlight: Games of the Arab Israeli Wars, by Keith Poulter, WargamerThe Wargamer (magazine)The Wargamer was a magazine devoted to the hobby of board wargaming. It was founded by Keith Poulter and published six times a year by World Wide Wargames , Although initially it was only published four times a year....
Vol.1 #2, 1977 - Elusive Victory: The Arab-Israeli Wars, 1947-1974, by Trevor N. Dupuy, Harper and Row, New York, 1978
- SPI's Modern Battles, by Donald Mack, in Wargamer Vol.1 #13, date needed
- A Survey of Arab-Israeli War Games, by Ian Chadwick, in MovesMoves (magazine)Moves was a wargaming magazine originally published by SPI , who also published manual wargames. Their flagship magazine Strategy & Tactics , was a military history magazine featuring a new wargame in each issue. While S&T was devoted to historical articles, Moves focused on the play of the games...
#55, February-March 1981 - Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness 1948-1991, by Kenneth M. Pollack, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2002
- The Yom Kippur War 1973: The Golan Heights, by Simon Dunstan, Osprey PublishingOsprey PublishingOsprey Publishing is an Oxford-based publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces over a dozen ongoing series, each focusing on a specific aspect of...
, New York, 2003 - Games of the Golan, by John D. Burtt in Paper WarsPaper WarsPaper Wars is a bimonthly wargaming magazine published by Omega Games, a producer of military simulation board games, card games for business education, and general-interest card games. The magazine's editor is John Burtt...
#62, July 2006
External links
- Golan at Web-Grognards