Afghanistan ’11

afghanistan-11-royal-marinesRoyal Marines, the first expansion for Afghanistan ’11, is now out on PC and iOS!

Afghanistan ’11, just like its prequel Vietnam ’65, revolutionized the wargame genre by representing counter-insurgency warfare with an original formula. Your goal isn’t to destroy enemy units on the battlefield: by organizing logistics, intelligence, controlling territory, building infrastructure and training Afghan national forces you will be able to engage in nation building and stabilize Afghanistan. But you will succeed only if you’ll manage to win the Hearts & Minds of the locals.

With Royal Marines the co-in formula is back!

With a new faction (the UK Army), plenty of new units and vehicles, a brand new campaign featuring the length of British involvement in Afghanistan, new mechanics such as civilian vehicles, car bombs, roadblocks, Afghan national police, Royal Marines is sure to entertain you and give you dozens of hours of additional fun.

It is a must-have for every Afghanistan ’11 players, so get it now! If you are new to Afghanistan ’11 this is your chance to get the base game, too, which will be discounted at 40% off for one week at the Matrix Games Store, or via Steam. Don’t miss this opportunity!

afghanistan-11-boxAfghanistan ’11 is getting an update with many new exciting features, and it’s completely FREE!

Before we talk about it, though, we want to announce that Afghanistan ’11 is now 34% off on our site, so if you still don’t have it and you are interested (of course you are, why else would you be here otherwise?) go grab it RIGHT NOW! The discount will last for a week.

The first and probably most important new feature is the MOAB!

The MOAB is a very interesting weapon: it costs a lot in terms of PP and HM but if used correctly it can be a huge asset. It disables the Taliban and Militia caves and kills enemy units in the bomb radius. High risk – High reward!

The second new feature helps your logistics: it carries your troops and vehicles around the map in a safer and more efficient way!

With Convoys you will be able to link up to 6 vehicles and move them together around the map while having the possibility to move each of these vehicles away from the convoy whenever you want. Are you mad because enemy mines blow up your “Buffalo” every single time you move it out of the base? Are you sick of having to move each one of your 24 vehicles? This one is for you!

There are also many more features that will help to enhance your in-game experience, so let’s take a rapid look at them:

  • You can now drop Emergency UN Aid on villages
  • Explosions adjacent or on villages reduces HM
  • Helicopters can now rank up and have higher chance of surviving RPG fire
  • Added exit ambush stance to Infantry
  • Added hotkeys for Load (L) and Unload (U) actions
  • NATO icon colours changes after handover
  • Intel from villages now appear at less predictable intervals
  • There is no handover penalty if PP is negative
  • Repatriating units while PP is negative returns more PP
  • Added rappelling animation to SF unloading from helicopters in mountains
  • Units low on rations or fuel now warn the player before ending the turn
  • Units low on rations will leave ambush, observation point or sentry
  • Next / Previous unit buttons will work relative to the last unit selected

You can download the MOAB Update from the Members’ Area. Check out the MOAB Update trailer HERE.

afghanistan-11-boxIf you love the original co-in strategy game developed by Every Single Soldier, Afghanistan ’11, then we have some wonderful news for you. We are currently working on a big, major free update for the game which will add some new important features!

So, what is being added?

We have a long list of changes, many of them affecting gameplay, but there are two brand new features which stand out.

The MOAB

That’s right! The Mother of All Bombs is coming to Afghanistan ’11! With a big cost of 4000 political points you will be able to use this bomb on the Intel map. It will decrease the H&M of every neighboring village but it will also disable any militia or Taliban cave in its radius!

Convoys

Ever heard the old saying that there’s safety in numbers? Now you can apply that concept in your logistical plans and deploy convoys moving between your headquarters and FOBs. Build a convoy in base, select a convoy leader, then attach up to other 5 vehicles to it!

These new features will surely assist you in organizing your logistics network.

What else?

Lots of things. You can now drop emergency UN Aid on villages, helicopters can now level up and acquire a higher resistance to RPG fire, a new rappelling animation for Special Forces unloading from helicopters on mountains, explosions adjacent to villages reducing H&M, and much much more!

1.10 is currently in Beta so feel free to join and check it out!

Visit the Afghanistan ’11 official product page for more game information.

afghanistan-11-boxBy Ian Boudreau @ The Wargamer

Now approaching its sixteenth year, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is the longest armed conflict in American history, and arguably one of the most difficult to capture in a wargame format. That’s probably why Afghanistan ‘11 isn’t really a wargame, but rather a strategy game about a specific kind of war: counterinsurgency. As such, the game is less concerned with enemy casualty counts and focuses instead of the decidedly fuzzier notion of “winning hearts and minds” as laid out in the COIN theory.

Read on…

afghanistan-11-boxSlitherine and Every Single Soldier are once again taking the strategy genre from a totally new angle. After the stunning success of Vietnam ’65, the counter-insurgency gaming system create by Johan Nagel is back in a new setting, with a new look and with a monumental list of new features.

As before, you are faced with the task of destroying an ever elusive enemy while striving to win the Hearts & Minds of the local population. You must juggle spending resources to fight the enemy, while at the same time capitalizing on the opportunity to bring civilians to you cause.

You are facing a barrage of obstacles, from IED’s to hidden enemies such as local militia that excel at guerrilla warfare as well as Taliban troops that make their way over the mountains from Pakistan to stifle your efforts. You own casualties can severely damage military progress, while eliminating enemy troops and assisting villages and improving their infrastructure can significantly assist you. You will have many tools to achieve success, from the mighty Apache Helicopter, to Special Forces units which can be used to train Afghan National Army Units, or to hunt down the enemy.

Logistics are also a key factor: defending supply convoys without which troops will suffer and will be vulnerable to ambushes and loss of combat effectiveness is the key to attain a solid victory.

Furthermore a tense political situation grips the country. Unpredictable Political Events can significantly alter the outcome of the struggle and Elections will play a vital role in the mission to stabilize Afghanistan.

With 18 different campaign scenarios starting from the initial actions in Afghanistan to the culmination of American involvement there are tens of hours of counter-insurgency warfare to be played. The game also has an extremely customizable Skirmish mode which allows to consistently alter any parameter of the operation the your liking.

Afghanistan ’11 is available on the Slitherine site and on Steam. Check out the product page for more details.

afghanistan-11-boxIn this new Feature video we have a look at one of the core elements of gameplay: Combat.

The enemy will be hiding in caves and attack from the shadows. Locating them will be hard, and then you will have to attack with rapidity and precision. Will you manage to defeat them?

Afghanistan ’11 isn’t your standard wargame: if you want to win it won’t just be about eliminating the enemy on the battlefield, but you will need to conquer the Hearts & Minds of the locals by ensuring safety to villages, isolating and eliminating Taliban leaders, training the Afghan army and building and protecting infrastructure.

Logistics and organization will be extremely important as the Talibans, tribal militias and drug lords will attempt to thwart your efforts with sneaky ambushes and terroristic attacks – the enemy plays hide and seek and could be everywhere and only the most skilled strategist will manage to win the war in Afghanistan and help build a modern nation.

Want to know more? Please visit the product page.

afghanistan-11-boxAfghanistan ’11 features a long campaign: players can experience the whole length of the war through 18 unique scenarios. Each scenario puts you in very different situations, and you’ll have to employ different strategies to beat the scenario and advance in the campaign.

But there’s more outside of the campaign: Afghanistan ’11 offers a very detailed Skirmish mode.

You can play on randomly generated maps and set several parameters, completely customizing your game to your liking. You can set geographical parameters, starting conditions, victory conditions, as well as disable or enable additional modules such as Political events and Elections.

You can even disable any kind of turn limit, making your game unlimited and you’ll be able to play as long as you want!

Read more…

afghanistan-11-boxIn this second Feature video we highlight an extremely important gameplay aspect of the upcoming counter-insurgency turn-based strategy game: Afghanistan ’11.

Managing your logistics and building infrastructure will be vital. Keep your forces supplied and assist in stabilizing Afghanistan!

Afghanistan ’11 is currently on beta and it’ll be released on march 23rd! Stay tuned for more news.

Visit the Afghanistan ’11 official product page or via Steam for more game information.

afghanistan-11-boxWe have the pleasure to announce that we’ll be running a very special preview stream of Afghanistan ’11!

Our Agrippa Maxentius will tackle the game, show you its many innovative features and attempt to win a war based on counter-insurgency and winning the Hearts & Minds of people! Will he manage to stabilize Afghanistan?

Keith Boschoff, lead programmer of Afghanistan ’11 and member of Retro Epic will also be there, ready to answer to any question you might have! The stream will commence at 5 pm CET / 4 pm GMT / 11 am EST on Thursday February 23rd, only on the Slitherine Group’s Official Twitch Channel.

afghanistan-11-boxMatrix Games is pleased to announce that Afghanistan ’11 will hit your screens on March 23rd.

Afghanistan ’11 builds upon the very successful Vietnam ’65 and brings its original formula to the desolate mountains of Afghanistan, where the US armed forces, assisted by the local Afghan National Army, fought for years against an invisible enemy.

Afghanistan ’11 isn’t your standard wargame: if you want to win it won’t just be about eliminating the enemy on the battlefield, but you will need to conquer the Hearts & Minds of the locals by ensuring safety to villages, isolating and eliminating Taliban units, training the Afghan army and building and protecting infrastructure.

Logistics and organization will be extremely important as the Taliban and tribal militias will attempt to thwart your efforts with sneaky ambushes and sudden strikes – the enemy plays hide and seek and could be everywhere and only the most skilled strategist will manage to win the war in Afghanistan and help build a modern nation.

Afghanistan ’11 brings back the extremely successful formula of Vietnam ’65 and expands on it. The gameplay is now richer than ever! Extend your supply lines with a whole new modular FOB system. It will be the player’s duty to fight the war on drug production – destroy opium crops and deprive the Taliban of their economic sustenance. Oversee dynamic national elections which could affect your whole strategy! React to many unique political events which will add further unpredictability to your game! And much more.

Watch the introductory trailer here.

Visit the Afghanistan ’11 official product page here.

Last but not least, the Steam page is also now live!