1985: Deadly Northern Lights

About this board game

1985: Deadly Northern Lights is a 2–4 player World War Three campaign game with an approximately 5,000-minute play time, covering a Warsaw Pact offensive against the Nordic countries in July 1985.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, and insular Denmark face the combined pressure of the Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, and two Soviet Military Districts. With only a fraction of the ground forces available on the Central European Front, both sides must contend with scarce lines of communication and a harsh environment.

The game portrays a modern aero-naval campaign through a broad range of military operations. Players manage naval and air combat, electronic warfare, nuclear and chemical weapons, special forces, standoff strikes, supply convoys, coastal defenses, mine warfare, and amphibious invasions.

• Ground units range from divisions and brigades to battalions, with special forces, airmobile, paratroop, artillery, SSM, SAM, and air defense artillery units.
• Air and helicopter units are represented at squadron scale, with rules for escort, interception, SEAD, Wild Weasel missions, and ground strikes.
• Naval forces include surface ships, submarines, flagships, and groups of fast patrol missile boats, supported by flowing naval rules.
• Variable reinforcements depend on player decisions and external events.

Each hex represents 14 kilometers, while every game turn covers 48 hours. Five scenarios introduce the campaign at increasing levels of complexity, from the initial Soviet offensive in Northern Norway and the assault on Stockholm to the invasion of Denmark, an aeronaval assault on Norway, and the full Nordic Balance Arctic campaign.

Playable on its own or combined with 1985: Under an Iron Sky and 1985: Sacred Oil, 1985: Deadly Northern Lights offers a detailed operational study of a fictional 1985 conflict across land, sea, and air.