First off, this series is being done as a bit of a lark as wargaming has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas so if anyone is offended, please just stop reading now.

On the 4th day of Christmas War Gaming, my true love gave to me…

4 Relief Convoys Incoming

One of the more interesting and unique solo wargames to have come out recently is The Mog: Mogadishu 1993 from White Dog Games. On October 3, 1993, US Special Forces under the auspices of the UN were tasked with capturing top lieutenants of the hostile warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Mogadishu, Somalia. The game begins with US forces preparing to raid a building (the Meeting House) near the Olympic Hotel to capture these high-level members of Aidid’s Somali National Alliance (SNA). The player’s goal is to get US forces out of Mogadishu with their captives and return safely to a UN Base.

The game is frenetic and the US Special Forces are beset on all sides by local Militia, Somali National Alliance (SNA) Snipers, RPG Teams and Technicals (pickup trucks with .50 caliber machine guns mounted in the back) who spawn via a random die roll and flood units into areas that come after the US troops. These enemy units are not elite units, unlike the US Delta Teams, Rangers and Platoons they are attacking, but as their numbers are more numerous and the fact that they just keep coming at the US forces, they will inflict lots of casualties. Players have to protect these casualties as if they lose too many men that are killed they will lose the scenario. This is where the Relief Convoys come into play as they are dispatched each turn from the UN Base and and meander their way toward the closest US units. Each round, one such Relief Convoy counter is placed out on the street by the player leading from the UN Base toward the action. Once they have made a contiguous line of safe Relief Convoy counters, which means they are not under direct attack, US units as well as casualties can be transported quickly back to the UN Base and escape the determined SNA units. This is definitely a fast and interesting game and the spawning SNA units just keep coming! If you have seen the movie Black Hawk Down, you will have an idea what this is like and how the “Skinnies” just keep coming.

Here is my video review of The Mog:

Here also is my video playthrough of The Mog:

If you are interested in The Mog: Mogadishu 1993, you can order a copy for $50.00 from the White Dog Games website at the following link: https://www.whitedoggames.com/mogadishu

You can catch up on the posts in this series to date at the following links:

A Patriot Militia Caught in the Open – Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection from GMT Games

2 Barrages Exploding – SCS Ardennes II from Multi-Man Publishing

3 Columns Shifting – The Russian Campaign Deluxe 5th Edition from GMT Games

-Grant