The Strait of Hormuz-Persian Gulf Wargame

It was based on actual real-life wargames conducted by the US Navy in 2009 or so to depict a possible Iranian conflict around the Strait of Hormuz. Several scenarios were conducted and explored from Iran firing masses of anti-ship missiles at a few US Navy ships to Iranian fast attack boats swarming defenseless oil tankers moving through the narrow two mile wide passage and either destroying them or seizing them. They were based on the capabilities of Iran at that time.Even in 2009, Iran, as the study showed, could cause real mayhem in this area. Despite the advanced systems used by naval ships to defend themselves with from incoming missiles and mines, the study showed the ominous: if a single ship was under attack by 5 or more incoming anti-ship missiles simultaneously, there was a 75% chance or higher, one would impact the target and cripple it. The more missiles incoming, the more likely the ship defenses would be overwhelmed. The modern version of combat melee, where an outpost is swarmed and outnumbered 10 to 1, no matter how elite and equipped the men are, numbers prevail-always.

Since Iran has hundreds of anti-ship missiles to toss, from land based and air based platforms, the danger is very real. Add to this, thousands of mines that can be laid and floated into the tanker path, there is another level of disruption.

The study was turned into a real wargame for those who wish to see. This is a board game conflict simulation that captures in gaming terms, the capabilities and potential scenarios, that could occur in the Strait of Hormuz. While not overly complex, it provides a great tool to see what may happen in the near future.

The name of the game is Zolfaqar's Blow. The game contains 280 playing pieces that represent each side's capabilties, rules, charts and two maps of the Strait of Hormuz area. One map is operational, the other tactical. It is probably the best of the future conflict simulations.

You can download it from : wargamedownloads.com