Invasion America

Description

In this alternate history, it is the year 2000, and the United States has annexed Mexico and the states of Central America. Invasion: America is a 2–4 player corps-level wargame in which one side controls a coalition of three factions simultaneously invading North America from the Pacific, South America and Cuba, and the other side defends North America with American and Canadian forces.

Components

The game box contains:

two-piece 35" x 46" paper hex grid map of North America scaled at 130 km (80 mi) per hex

400 die-cut counters

16-page rule book

plastic counter tray

two six-sided dice

Scenarios

There are six scenarios presented with the game that each last 8 turns. There is also a 60-turn campaign game.

Gameplay

The game uses the standard "I go, You go" system: one player moves all pieces desired, then the other player moves. If, after a player's movement phase, any units are adjacent to an enemy piece, combat is resolved by calculating the ratio of attacker to defender strength and rolling a die. The result is losses or a forced retreat for one or both sides.

Untried units

Invasion: America was the first wargame to use the concept of "untried units" to extend a fog of war over the map. Each militia unit has its true value printed on one side and a question mark printed on the other side. The counter is placed facedown with the question mark showing. The players do not know the strength of a unit until it is engaged and subsequently flipped over. If militia units show zero combat strength they will retreat, as will ALL other units in their stack.

Victory conditions

In each of the scenarios, control of important cities and resources results in victory points – the side with the most points at the end of the 8th turn wins. In the campaign game, the invaders must control all cities and resources by the end of the 60th turn to win; otherwise the North American side wins.

Publication history

Invasion: America was designed by Jim Dunnigan, with cover art and graphics design by Redmond A. Simonsen. When it was released by SPI in early 1976, it immediately rose to No. 1 on SPI's Top Ten Bestsller List, and remained in the Top Ten for the remainder of the year.

In 1978, SPI released a larger sequel, Objective Moscow, in which the tables are turned and the Soviet Union is invaded by a coalition composed of NATO, China and Iran.

Reception

In Issue 3 of Perfidious Albion, Charles Vasey was not sure to make of the game, saying, "maybe it requires more playing, but this was felt to be a very odd game ... rather a novelty item." Two issues later, Vasey and Geoff Barnard traded comments about the game. Vasey started by noting that the Americans seemed to be on the back foot throughout the game, saying, "Once ashore with a fast deployment by mechanised troops the Aggressors by means of encirclements and secondary landings could chew up the US forces. If a natural barrier i.e. the Rockies, blocked an advance, one simply swung around to the south and rolled up the defenders." Barnard replied, "Really, in this case the subject is so hypothetical as to be pointless. Apart from the one or two novelties in the rules, this game was not much of a game at all ... The game is a novelty, meant to catch the eye of the uninitiated in the US, the rules state that they have been kept as simple as possible for this very reason." Vasey concluded, "Not a game I would wish to play again, as I found it unbalanced and somewhat suspect. It does, however, teach one a lot about American geography." Barnard concluded, "The game cannot be recommended, if the subject particularly interests you, however, try to get a look, or better a play, before you spend all that money!"

In the April 1976 edition of Airfix Magazine, Bruce Quarrie called it "an intriguing fantasy game based on a set of historical hypotheses." Quarrie liked the aims of the game, saying, "The game is a particularly exciting one, with the US/Canadian player(s) having to try to repel the amphibious assaults from three directions, protect their industrial areas and so on." He concluded that the game was "a novel treatment of a familiar science fiction theme, which should have wide appeal since, in our experience, a large majority of wargamers tend also to be science fiction readers."

In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Nicholas Palmer noted, "The hypothesis is fanciful, but it gives an excellent excuse for a modern war fought over a giant multi-coloured map of the continent." Palmer liked the shorter scenarios, saying, "the scenarios have fewer turns than most complex games, so they can be played in 4–6 hours." He noted "Some problems with play balance, as the defence (realistically enough) can maintain almost permanent air superiority by basing their planes well inland." Palmer concluded "The total effect is colourful, complex, and naturally rather abstract."

In Issue 16 of The Space Gamer, Tony Van Lien commented that "For those of us who are into holocaust, Invasion: America, by Simulations Publications Inc. is the game we've been waiting for." He called the then-new "untried unit" rule "a simple and very playable system that adds greatly to the feel of the fog of war in the game." Although Van Lien liked the simplicity of the rules, he was disappointed that there was no scenario that involved an invasion force crossing the Bering Strait. He also thought the actual physical size of the map and the large number of counters might be off-putting to a new gamer. Despite these faults, Van Lien concluded on a positive note, saying, ""I:A has appeal for experienced gamers as well as newcomers. It's a truly great game."

Other reviews and commentary

Moves No. 61

Fire & Movement No. 74

The Wargamer Vol.1 No. 1

JagdPanther No. 13

Outposts No. 10

Strategist No. 184 & No. 345

Phoenix No. 7

Panzerschreck No. 10

Games & Puzzles #57