
- BGG rating
- 8.3
'85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires – Alone In The Mountains
- 1 player
- 56–123 min
- 2024

2024
Rules assistance for '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
'85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires is a board game released in 2024 for 2 players, 58–156 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Mark H. Walker and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Card Play Conflict Resolution.
’85 Graveyard of Empires is the second game in the Squad Battles series. Building on the mechanics introduced in ’65 Squad Battles in the Jungles of Vietnam, Graveyard of Empires (GOE) features squad-level battles between the Afghan Mujahideen and Soviet Red Army in a card-driven, hex and counter game. GOE introduces card-activated events, immersive helicopter rules, more tactical decisions, new powers and abilities, and beautiful counter and game board art. The counters are 1” or larger (for the vehicles) and the game board hexes are huge. Included are counters for Mujahideen RPG and RPD teams, rifle squads and heroes, as well as captured T-55 and BMP armored fighting vehicles. The Soviets respond with Spetsnaz, line rifle squads, heroes, Hind-24 attack helicopters and several types of AFVs, such T-55, T-62 tanks, BNPs, BTRs, and more. —description from the designer
'85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires is 58–156 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
'85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
'85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires belongs to these categories: Wargame and Modern Warfare. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Card Play Conflict Resolution. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires are: Mark H. Walker. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists '85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.