BREAKING THE CHAINS: Hypothetical Modern Wargame 2021: South China Sea

1-COM1020

A hypothetical future military conflict over territorial disputes in the South China and East China Seas around the year 2021. After decades of patient diplomacy, Beijing's new navy could offer military options for finally asserting sovereignty over prizes within the First Island Chain - that string of islands which runs from the Ryukus south through Taiwan, the Philippines and then curls back to the mainland via Malaysia.

BtC presumes that China comes to blows with a Southeast Asian country in a conflict that could expand to possibly include: Australia, India, Japan, the US, and other Southeast Asian nations. However, beyond China and one South East Asian nation, the exact composition of opposing coalitions is not predetermined but rather a function of the decisions players make as the game unfolds.

Includes two reference cards, rules, dice, and 440 5/8-inch counters, and 22x34-inch map where each hex spans about 70 nautical miles (80 land miles) and each turn represents one day of real time. Players alternate maneuvering air, ground, and naval units for up to 14 nations to resolve battles with a universal 'strike' mechanism that applies across all types of combat; missile defense capabilities are central to survival. Air units represent from 30-90 aircraft each, most ground units are regiments, and naval units are small groups of surface ships/submarines or individual aircraft carriers. Specialized chit play simulates black ops, cyber warfare, and various political developments.

Naval operations which dominate play are based on a roll-to-evade model rather than search-to-find model. That means, owing to a battle space awash in electromagnetic emissions, enemy positions - except for motionless submarines - are assumed to be known unless a last-minute dice roll determines a potential target has evaded detection. So there is no hidden movement to stifle solitaire play and the hidden placement of submarines can be forgone. Finally, the special chits that govern black ops can be played at random to further enable solo game play.

Complexity: 7 out of 10
Solitaire Suitability: 7 out of 10
Time Scale: Daily Turns subdivided into 4-hour cycles
Map Scale: 70 nautical miles per hex
Unit Scale: Individual aircraft carriers, pairs or triplets of smaller ships/submarines; Air wings (25-75 aircraft); Land battalions, regiments and divisions
Players: One to several
Playing Time: Two to twenty hours depending on scenario