Cover art by Redmond A. Simonsen, 1978

The Next War: Modern Conflict in Europe is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates a hypothetical Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe.

Description

The Next War is a two-player game in which one player invades Western Europe with Warsaw Pact forces in the late 1970s, while the other player defends with NATO forces. The basic game is used for short scenarios. More complex rules allow for weather, supply lines, chemical or nuclear warfare, air and naval operations, airborne troops, amphibious landings, special forces, and electronic warfare. A campaign game of three scenarios covers the first 60 days after an invasion.[1]

Game components

The game box contains:

  • three 22 in × 35 in (560 mm × 890 mm) map sheets with a scale of 14 kilometres per hex
  • a 6 in × 8 in (150 mm × 200 mm) and a 10 in × 12 in (250 mm × 300 mm) map extension
  • 2400 die-cut 1/2" counters,
  • 32-page rulebook
  • 40-page "Scenarios and Situation Briefing" book
  • two identical 4-page "Charts & Tables" folders
  • Air Allocation Display

Publication history

The Next War was designed by James F. Dunnigan, with artwork and graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen, and was published by SPI in 1978. The game was a bestseller for SPI. A month before publication, it appeared at number 2 on SPI's Top Ten list just on the basis of preorders. When the game was released in July 1978, it rose to #1 and stayed in SPI's Top Ten for a year.[2]

Reception

In Issue 46 of Moves, Thomas Pratuch noted that "Next War is another 'supergame' from SPI with enough basic and optional rules to keep any gamer studying it for a long time."[3]

In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Richard Rydzel commented, "This is an interesting but complex game. There are so many possible die modifications on attacks that each attack may require ten or fifteen minutes to compute the right odds. Also, keeping track of all the air and antiaircraft units is a burden and subtracts from the game's playability." Ryzdel concluded, "If one wishes to spend the time and effort on this game, it is a good simulation that seems to cover most areas of such conflict."[4]

Awards

At the 1979 Origins Awards, The Next War was a finalist for a Charles S. Roberts Award in two categories: "Best Twentieth Century Game of 1978", and "Best Graphics and Physical Systems of 1978."

Other reviews

References

  1. ↑ "The Next War: Modern Conflict in Europe (1978)". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  2. ↑ "SPI Best Selling Games - 1978". spigames.net. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  3. ↑ Pratuch, Thomas (August–September 1978). "Airborne and Airmobile Operations in Next War". Moves. No. 46. pp. 12–14.
  4. ↑ Rydzel, Richard J. (1980). "The Next War". In Horn, Robert E.; Cleaves, Ann (eds.). The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications. p. 505. ISBN 0-8039-1375-3.
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