Haywire Modern Test Game: Operation Barkhane in the Sahel

My gaming buddy Steve passed through town and asked if I'd be interested in trying a new co-op modern ruleset called Haywire Modern. It's been quite a while since I had a chance to use my modern figures and terrain, so of course I jumped at the chance. 

This scenario took place in the Sahel during Operation Barkhane and pitted the French against Islamic jihadists. We had two 4-man Commandos Marine teams conducting a search an destroy mission for a BRDM-2 armored vehicle hidden in a village sympathetic to the jihadists. They were dropped remotely and hiked into the village.

The villagers went about their day as jihadist guards kept a lookout.

My team entered from the southwest, while Steve’s came in from the northeast.

My sniper climbed the rocks and spotted a few jihadist patrols, but not the BRDM-2. The rest of the team did their best to avoid being spotted by the patrols and a shepherd boy with his goats.

One jihadist patrol failed to see Steve's team.

However, a group of rooftop spotters saw movement in the rocks opened fire on Steve's leader.  The element of surprise had been lost.

As the civilians scrambled for cover, the shepherd boy also ran right into my team.

The jihadists managed to score a shot on Steve's leader.

My team had better luck, eliminating 3 jihadists before they realized I was there. 

With their positions now exposed, Steve called in two drone strikes, killing the rooftop shooters and the patrol on the north end of the village.

In the south of town, the jihadists returned fire and wounded my team leader. 

Steve's team entered the village and spotted the BRDM-2, but the first marine through was ambushed and started bleeding out from his wounds.

My team leader finished off the southern patrol, while another marine and the demolitions expert entered the village. 

Steven's corner devolved into a bloody shootout.

My demolitions expert was also spotted lurking amongst some crates and was severely wounded.  His support comrade moved up to kill one of his shooters with his light machinegun.

Luckily my sniper was able to reach the demolitions expert before he bled out, keeping him active on the mission.

The jihadists received reinforcements in the form of a drone operator and gunman.  

Steve managed to wipe out his attackers and start patching up his wounded marine.

Luckily the drone operator was pretty unskilled, with the first attack impacting the side of the building.

Both French teams began moving in to secure the BRDM-2, but would need the demolitionist to complete the mission. 

The jihadists tried another drone attack against the sniper, but it again ended in failure.

More jihadists started sneaking out of the buildings. The resulting firefight killed one of Steve's marines.

The demolitionist began wiring up the BRDM-2 while one of Steve's team breached the eastern wall. The French were looking to exit in a hurry and Steve also wanted to make sure the body of his dead marine wasn't left behind.

Islamic fanatics arrived and began pursuing the French.  The big question was if the wounded demolitionist could escape in time.  

The light machine gunner prepared to supply covering fire. 

Luckily the team were able to get behind cover and detonated the BRDM-2 just as the fanatics were passing by, wiping them out.

For a first game, I think things went relatively smoothly and we didn't spot any glaring issues in the rules. Neither of us had ever played a co-op game before and we enjoyed having the opportunity to fight on the same side. The enemy reveal and activation system was straightforward and provided enough surprise and danger to keep the game entertaining.  This was also promising for solo games, as we often don't have other players regularly available for modern wargaming.  One thing that would be interesting is to see if the rules have enough flexibility to allow another player to command the terrorist side and play head to head.   The rules are not currently  in stock at Modiphius (I believe Steve got his digital rules through a preorder), so I'll have to check back in later this year for a possible Christmas order.