Days of Ire: Budapest 1956
Anecdote
Designed by Mihály Vincze, Brian Train, and Dávid Turczi for Cloud Island, Days of Ire offers a rare ludic incursion into the Hungarian uprising of 1956, a pivotal moment of the Cold War too often forgotten. The game offers several modes — cooperative, solo, and semi-cooperative with a Soviet player — in which players embody insurgents trying to hold Budapest against the armour of the Warsaw Pact. The system combines historical event cards, dice rolls, and morale management, with a board representing the districts of the Hungarian capital. A game lasts around ninety minutes and creates a heavy, tense atmosphere faithful to the days of October–November 1956. The learning curve is moderate, with the solo mode being particularly well executed. The designers worked with Hungarian historians, and the illustrations are based on period photographs. Brian Train, a veteran of insurgency wargames, lends his signature to the modelling of the asymmetry between force and numbers. The game includes a rich historical booklet of testimonies, making the box a genuine educational tool. Days of Ire was praised as an act of remembrance as much as a game, and several Hungarian and Eastern European museums have added it to their collections. Its critical reception was warm, with several nominations for wargame of the year. A sequel, Nights of Fire, went on to complete the formula with a deeper and more asymmetric system. A French localisation remains unfortunately marginal, but the components are largely accessible to non-English speakers thanks to clear iconography. The title's influence is less broad than its memorial significance, but it has inspired other designers from Central Europe to unearth their own pages of history. For enthusiasts of the Cold War and urban resistance, it is an essential window, even if the subject extends well beyond the strict boundaries of the Second World War.
Popularity & reception
Distinctions — Golden Geek - Best Wargame nomination (2017)
Learn more about this game
Related games
10
▾
Nights of Fire: Battle for Budapest
Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr
Black Orchestra
Maquis
Pavlov's House
Churchill
V-Sabotage (ex V-Commandos)
Fields of Fire (Deluxe Edition)
Heroes of Normandie
Storm Above the Reich
Nights of Fire: Battle for Budapest
Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr
Black Orchestra
Maquis
Pavlov's House
Churchill
V-Sabotage (ex V-Commandos)
Fields of Fire (Deluxe Edition)