Bloody Dawns: The Iran-Iraq War is a two-player grand strategic level card driven wargame depicting the struggle between Iraq and Iran from September 1980 to August 1988. This terrible confrontation between Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini drastically changed the geopolitical balance of power in the Gulf and was the last Total War of the 20th Century. Its events still shape and influence those of today.
Each turn represents four months of real time and is divided into two phases; one for the player who has the initiative and one for the other player (see the Sequence of Play in the Chart). The cards constitute the driving mechanism of the game, allowing for the movement of units, offensives or replacements, generating specific events, and influencing combat resolution.
Each copy of Bloody Dawns is composed of the following:
One 17 by 22 inch point-to-point map
One sheet of 98 die cut counters
One deck of 54 game cards
One 12 page illustrated full color rules book
One Players' Aid Sheet
Scenarios cover the beginning, mid and late war periods, as well as a full campaign game.