Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Valley of Tears is a Battalion Combat Series game depicting the entire 1973 Yom Kippur war from 6 Oct 73 until the ceasefire enforced by the Superpowers and the UN.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Zone of Control
Restrict or influence movement through areas controlled by nearby pieces.
Read the full game description
Valley of Tears is a Battalion Combat Series game depicting the entire 1973 Yom Kippur war from 6 Oct 73 until the ceasefire enforced by the Superpowers and the UN. As the culmination of over 20 years of research in consultation with world-class experts, Valley of Tears shows the Yom Kippur war at a level of detail not yet seen. For the first time ever, for example, the game’s maps were precisely drawn using actual tactical Israeli maps used during the war and include the official code names for hilly defensive positions in both battle areas. Valley of Tears takes the BCS into a whole new level: that of post WW2 operations. For example, its dedicated air warfare system allows BCS players to not only pit F-4 Phantoms against MiG-21 Fishbeds in the contest for air superiority, but also assign the Front’s air units to execute SEAD and Deep Strike (both RAM and DOMINQUE) missions (to suppress the ever present SAM threat and attack enemy air bases/destroy enemy infrastructure, respectively) as well as the traditional (but more effective) BCS Close Air Support missions. The game presents the largest tank battle since WWII, with the Cold War adversaries fighting a proxy war where the latest Centurion and Patton tanks faced off against T-62s following Soviet tactical doctrines. Expecting to have to repeat the war’s of 1967 and 1956, the Israelis were confronted by the then-new and unexpected masses of Sagger missiles and RPG hand-held weapons. It’s your job to win the war, with or against, these new weapons and the much more effective and versatile air war to generate a win without taking excessive casualties making the win Pyrrhic. Can you master the deadly environment and become the victor? Scenarios: The Yom Kippur War: Two Front Campaign (All 4 maps) On the Banks of the Suez: The Sinai Front Campaign (3 maps) Syrians at the Border: Golan Front Campaign (1 map) Dual for the Golan (1 map) Iraqi Intervention (1 map) Aryeh Dov (1 map) Operation Stouthearted Men (less than 1 map) Africa (2 maps) Components: BCS rulebook (v2.0, in full color) Two BCS Charts and Tables (v2.0, in full color) BCS Support rulebook (v2.0, in full color) VoT Game Specific rulebook Israeli Player Booklet Arab Player Booklet Turn Record Track Card Israeli Player Display Card Arab Player Display Card Two Frontal Air Display Cards Four 22” x 34” Full Color Game Maps (Three Sinai, One Golan) 1,400 Counters (Three unit sheets and Two BCS marker sheets) 8 scenarios total, 4 one-map (or smaller) scenarios of 2 to 5 turns. Box and Dice -description from designer