Fate of a Nation: A Quick Spoiler

The folks from have yet another new release that many of us have been waiting for. A few years ago, we saw the first venture into the Arab-Israeli conflict with the original Fate of a Nation book which focused on the 1967 war, now in 2018 we revisit the strife-torn region and expand the conflict beyond the Six-Day War.

While I know many folks who loved the models with the original release, I knew few gamers who seriously played it. A lot of people wanted to see the 1973 conflict, or felt the game was limited to great Israeli tanks against hordes of Arab tanks.

No matter what the rationale for avoiding the game before, the second iteration of Fate of a Nation has a lot of things that you will enjoy and it may be worth a second look. This article will not delve into each list and nation in the book. My more talented compatriots will do that over the next week or two. So, consider this a quick look at this book.

Tanks and More Tanks
As we saw with ‘Nam, this book is the only one you will need for the game, all of the major forces are here as well as the standard rules first introduced in ‘Nam. Special rules cover the unique abilities of units of the period and unlike ‘Nam, you do not have special missions to give you a feel for the period. Because the fighting in the region features big tank battles (something Battlefront does well) you do not have the need to play with the mission mechanics to have a realistic game.

Another thing to note about this book, the point totals for units makes it playable to lists we saw in ‘Nam, so if you wanted to know how an ARVN tank unit would fare against Jordanian Armor, you now have the ability to play them against each other.

Israel or No Deal
As we know from the first edition of FOAN, the Israeli Defense Forces are the elite fighting force in the region. Based on their ample western equipment and how they fight with such élan makes them a top pick of many gamers.

A joke I heard in the past that a FOAN tournament would consist of 14 Israeli players and 2 guys who found enough Arab tanks to buy for their list. With the addition of the 1973 lists, the field for Arab forces is wide open.

The IDF can field six different types of tank companies along with mechanized infantry, paratroop and jeep mounted companies. You will note that they can have half-track or M-113 mounted infantry, this along with taking the two different main guns on most of the tanks is the difference between the 1967 and 1973 forces. So, you can mix forces from both conflicts and you may notice doing so unless you study the verbiage in the book.

The IDF has a great mix of support options including three different types of jet fighter-bombers.
Walk Like an Egyptian
As you will see with most of the Arab forces they tend to be pretty big, but I assume that is what you will need to break an IDF tank company. Egypt has a wide variety of tanks from the T-62 to the M-4 Sherman and mechanized infantry which has a few options of transport.

You will notice that you have the option of taking a Sagger missile platoon, a weapon first used in the 1973 war which will play havoc on your 1967 based forces. The support options here are good, but nothing like what the IDF has.

Are you Syria’s?
The forces of Syria will not give you the range of options found with the Egyptians despite the fact that they look pretty similar. They do have a very interesting platoon, the venerable Panzer IV, which are used and immobile bunkers.

The support options are similar to the Egyptians including the deadly Sagger ATGM teams. One thing to note is that you may not mix Arab forces with one another which is historically accurate.

Air Jordan
Unlike the previous two nations which were supplied by the Soviet Union, the Jordanian army was supplied by the west and feature armor similar to the Israeli’s. The Jordanians were not as committed to the destruction of Israel as their neighboring states were, which makes them an interesting option to play a lot of what-if scenarios.

What it comes to support options, the Jordanians have few options which may make them a good option for someone looking for a small but potent force to try out  Fate of a Nation.

Impressions
When Fate of a Nation first came out I did not play it. The first reason was that no one I played with collected forces for the game and when I finally wanted to play the game I could not find the models. This game has piqued my interest. I may build a small force to try the game out. It seems like it could be a fun to play a swirling tank battle on a desert table.

What I may find an issue is how the 1967 and 1973 forces are mixed together with little regard to historical accuracy. This may not be a big deal to some, however, I feel that the technology in the two conflicts was different enough to have warranted their separation in the book.

I do realize that ‘Nam covers a longer time period; however, the nature of the war didn’t really change until the very end when the North achieved their final victory. But, when I consider either game and their mix of equipment from different peri0ods, I just remember the phrase I have preached to others “it’s just a game”.

Despite this issue, I feel many have been waiting for a book that gives a good look at the wars of the Middle East, and these people will not be disappointed. For those who were unsure about playing in this period, I would recommend checking out Fate of a Nation to see if can scratch a gaming itch you have.