ISIS - Iraq, Syria, Israel 2014

The ISIS conflict in the Middle East seems ripe for a great scenario, and I've been disappointed with what was out there, so after much tinkering I've decided to publish my own ISIS/Middle East scenario. The timeframe is mid-summer 2014. Territory has shifted since then, but I decided it wasn't worth constantly updating to conform to real life, and the balance of this map works particularly well.



The game features three teams in a total annihilation game. Team 1 is USA and allies, Israel, Free Syrian Army, and Kurds. Team 2 is Iran and allies, Iraq government and Syria government. Team 3 is Islamist militants, ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah. I recognize that some of the teams are not reflective of real life (Iran supports Hezbollah, Hezbollah and ISIS are on opposite sides), but this is a sensible arrangement that makes for good gameplay.

The scenario focuses on 3 theaters.

Israel:



Syria:



Iraq:




There are also custom units for all players:

Example:


Not every player has the same units, and the strength and variety of units is based on the arsenal available to each real-life entity.

The three teams are balanced in terms of income and units, though not every player is equal in strength. ISIS has a large advantage at the beginning, but has little income, so has to take and hold territory quickly before being overwhelmed by the numerically superior Iraqi forces. Also, infantry and militia exist as default units, but are nerfed severely to encourage use of the specialty units, so strats like pd and gw are not useful here. This also encourages a more offensive gameplay.

The three-sided setup also creates more complexity than most 2-team scenarios. For example, if Iraq and the Kurds work together in Iraq they can easily push ISIS out, but eventually they will have to fight each other, since only one can win, and ISIS can take advantage of the chaos to push forward. Likewise in Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah can together overwhelm Israel, but Hezbollah can also take advantage of the chaos in Syria if it likes. Israel can beat Hamas 1v1, but if Hezbollah joins, USA will need to keep Israel alive. If USA doesn't have to save Israel, it is in a good position to make a strong entrance into Syria. And so on…

I hope this will be an enjoyable scenario. It plays relatively quickly (usually games end by 20 turns). For the best gameplay it requires good players in all positions.

Feedback is appreciated, I am always looking to improve the scenario.

Haven't played yet, but looks excellent 10/10

GJ 12/10

Make it FFA so

I like the borders/coloring etc. but as simply a spectator, I feel like there should be more cities. Though I would like to hear from those who have played it too see if this is not an issue,

Wr1tt3n by Nero, 13.01.2015 at 21:12

Im trying to recreate this map with everything the same except for isis being alone vs all

Support ISIS