Next War: Iran Interview: Mitchell Land and Ralph Shelton

The Middle East has long been a hobgoblin for foreign powers and, as much as Afghanistan, also a graveyard of empires. Sitting squarely astride ancient trade routes and with the added impetus of the world's addiction to oil, the area has been a hot spot for centuries.

Now, with the old regime teetering and losing its grip, Iran makes a bid for forcing the West to recognize its complete sovereignty and control over its own affairs by striking at the one thing they care about: the flow of oil. Mining the Straits of Hormuz and declaring it closed to all traffic, Iran defies the world. The US, and perhaps some of its allies, takes action to re-open the straits and get the black gold flowing to the world again.

Next War: Iran is the sixth game in the Next War series. It is unique in the series in that the Allied player has to do the attacking while the non-Allied player attempts to defend its territory against neo-imperial oppression. With a long logistical tail, few true allies in the region, and the menace of Iran's A2AD capabilities, re-opening the Straits is a tall order.

The rules and images shown here are not final.

You can find it in P500

-Who are you?

Who am I? What a great existential question. I am just a dude who fell in love with wargames at a young age starting with Stratego, Risk, and Axis & Allies and slowly progressing through Kriegspiel and other hex and counter games. It is probably telling that the local bookstore, Brentano’s (which is long out of business), sold games on their shelves, and some of the first ones that made into my collection were Victory Game’s 7th Fleet, 2nd Fleet, and (the original)NATO: The Next War in Europe. This early exposure to the more complex side of hex and counter wargaming no doubt skewed my perception of “difficulty” forever. Fast forward to now, and my collection has grown, and my preference for what others might consider complex games remains strong. During that time, I accidentally fell into the production side of games when I innocently asked Gene Billingsley of GMT Games (I am paraphrasing here) what progress was being made on the re-do of Crisis: Korea 1995. He turned that around on me and asked me if I just wanted to do it. In my ignorance, I said, sure, how could that hard be? Now, over 11 years later, there are five Next War games completed (two of which have 2nd editions), another 2nd edition in the works (Taiwan), another entry into the series on the way (Iran), as well as four Supplements (three published, and one in progress). Add to that a re-do of both GMT’s Silver Bayonet and Victory Game’s Vietnam 1965-1975, and I have, apparently, been busy.

-What are your favorite wargames?

Like many things labeled as favorite, this tends to drift over the years. That said, there are some core games (or series) which I will always want to play. They are, in no particular order:

1. Vietnam 1965-1975 (VG and GMT)
2. Battles from the Age of Reason (series from CoA)
3. ATS – Advanced Tobruk System (from CH)
4. The Fleet series (from VG)
5. Battalion Combat Series (BCS – from MMP)

-What are the main differences compared to other titles in the series? Did we find new mechanics?

The primary difference in Next War: Iran from other titles in the series is that the Allies are the ones doing the attacking. In most of the scenarios throughout the series, the Allies are, initially, on the defensive, and their counterattack comes in the mid to late game. In NWI, the Allies are the ones who must consider their forces on hand and create a plan of action on how to reduce the non-Allied A2/AD capability and get boots on the ground both with the goal of reopening the Straits of Hormuz.

Ralph Shelton: The Iranian side still precipitates the conflict by closing the Straits, so they get to choose the Season and initial weather. This causes the US and its allies no end of headaches. The fact that the US does not have significant bases and troop concentrations in the area make the surprise scenarios difficult for the US in the early turns, since they have to wait for ships, planes, and troops to arrive in the area. This combination makes it unique in the series.

New mechanics will include, among others, the following:

1. Hidden non-Allied Naval SSM sites which must be detected and destroyed.
2. Patrol Boat Tracks which the non-Allied player can use both defensively and offensively against Allied naval activities, and which the Allied player must destroy to effectively control the sea and littoral areas along the coast.
3. Special petroleum facilities rules which drive victory conditions.

-What are the main advantages and disadvantages of allies and non-allies?

The primary advantage for the Allies is, of course, a general technological superiority in terms of electronic warfare, hardware, and targeting along with an eventual superiority in numbers in the air. However, the Allies also have a minimal ground force which must be used in the best manner possible against a much larger, if less effective, opponent.

The non-Allied player has time and a generally defensive posture. In addition, the various tools such as the aforementioned Naval SSMs and Patrol Boats can be used to effectively deny the Allies the foothold they need to make gains.

Ralph Shelton: Air and naval superiority are the biggest advantages the Allied player possesses. Depending on the scenario, they either start with these advantages or gain them over time. The Naval SSM rules can be quite brutal as the Allied side must weigh the potential damage and loss of naval units against the time waiting for better weather or for the missiles to run out.

The non-Allied player has more ground troops, of lower quality, and more mechanization of those troops. Weather can make a huge difference for the Iranian side, as it counters the two main advantages of the US, air and naval power. The non-Allied player will see their ability to contest air superiority and Naval SSMs slowly attrite over time. Once these are gone, the Allied player can pick and choose what to destroy and where to invade without recourse. This means that the non-Allied player needs to gain as many Victory Points as possible before the Allied advantages overwhelm them.

-What does the future hold for the Next War series?

Nothing is written in stone yet, although I do have a few ideas floating around. Other than Next War: Iran, there is, obviously, Supplement #4 which will primarily consist of rules for playing Combined Games. Beyond that, I am currently working on a “tournament scenario” based on the Suwalki Gap Standard Game scenario from Next War: Poland except that it uses the full Advanced Game rules. Depending on how well that works out, I think I would like to create several such small scenarios set in various locales around the world. I would also like to create a more granular naval game based on the systems and mechanics (or at least similar) in the Next War series.