“This will be the war of thirst and I will drink to victory.”

— Jóse Félix Estigarribia, commander-in-chief of the army of Paraguay

Chaco is an updated, yet faithful remake of the Game Designers’ Workshop game released in 1973. Covering the Chaco War fought between Bolivia and Paraguay at the Strategic/Operational level, the game gives players an insight into a costly, pre-WWII conflict that helped shape the present-day borders in South America.

The game map represents part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, a semi-arid lowland region thought to contain oil and disputed by the nations it spans. 2-3 players simulate the latest territorial disputes in six-month turns over ten-mile hexes of wild terrain.

The basic game primarily uses infantry forces in historical dispositions to portray the conflict accurately. However, as a technologically advanced war (the first to include large-scale aerial warfare in the Americas), the game also includes a set of optional rules called Gran Chaco that highlight some of these innovations and the strategic choices players may have faced. Though historically, many of these innovations were not used to any actual effect, they were available to the belligerents and are now available to you. With several historical and hypothetical scenarios and many optional rules players can choose to implement, Chaco promises hours of unique gameplay and customizability.