Modern Tactics: Afghanistan – British Forces (VUCA Simulations) — First Look

Modern tactical wargames are a tricky sell — get the asymmetry wrong and you either crush the insurgents or drown the player in chrome. Modern Tactics: Afghanistan – British Forces, a VUCA Simulations expansion, is betting it can thread that needle, and this first look opens the box to see what you actually get.

What’s in the box

This is an expansion for the Modern Tactics system (base game by Shane Logan; this Afghanistan set designed by Kenneth T), and I work through the whole component list: the playbook and its Operation Herrick scenarios, rules for new terrain like rivers, and mechanics for VBIEDs and SAS stealth movement. From there it’s the counter sheets for British, coalition and insurgent forces, the double-sided day/night mounted map, and the unit data cards. Thirteen Helmand-based operations give the expansion real scenario depth, and the presentation looks up to VUCA’s usual standard. As always with a first look, though, components only tell you so much — the real question is how the terrain rules and the asymmetric insurgent mechanics play at the table, and that’s what I’ll be testing in the gameplay to come. If you game the modern period solo or two-handed, this is one to keep an eye on.