Bar-Lev: The 1973 Arab-Israeli War

About this board game

Bar-Lev: The 1973 Arab-Israeli War is an operational-level board wargame for 2 players, with games lasting about 360 minutes. Set during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War—known in Israel as the War of Atonement or Yom Kippur War, and in the Arab world as the War of Ramadan—it places players in command of the Israeli and Arab high commands.

Players maneuver their units and conduct combat while attempting to achieve their respective national objectives. The war’s two-front structure makes the design suitable for expanded multiplayer sessions, with separate commanders for the Israelis, Egyptians, and Syrians, as well as additional roles for front commanders, air force commanders, or Arab allies.

The ground game uses an operational scale of battalion to regiment, with each turn representing one day and each hex covering 3–6 kilometers. The game can be played without the air system, but the optional air rules are recommended once players have become familiar with the ground rules.

Each turn follows a clear sequence that emphasizes reconnaissance, fire support, movement, and regrouping:

• Reconnaissance units move
• Artillery fire is resolved
• Units move
• Enemy reconnaissance units move
• Direct fire is resolved
• Enemy units regroup

The game includes two 18 × 24-inch maps, 528 counters, a rulebook, and nine reference charts covering the armed forces, mobilization and refit, combat results, unit identification, terrain effects, and operational points. Based on John Hill’s 1974 design but completely new and designed by Frank Chadwick, Bar-Lev offers a focused simulation of the conflict’s ground and air operations.