Dave Shaw
dshaw62197@home.com
The China War
Strategy & Tactics #76

The China War simulates three hypothetical conflicts involving China in
the 1980s: a full-fledged Sino-Soviet border war, a Chinese invasion of
Vietnam, and a Taiwanese assault on the Chinese mainland. The map
depicts all of China, the Siberian and Mongolian-controlled regions of the Soviet
Union, and several of the smaller countries surrounding China. Units represent
armies and divisions.

Despite the scale of the conflict simulated, TCW offers a manageable,
fast-moving game. The game turns - supply check/reinforcement, movement,
reaction,  and combat - move quickly, giving players time to focus on
strategy rather than structure. While some may feel that TCW offers
little in the way of detailed play, it nevertheless offers enough strategic
challenges to keep players interested.

At first the seemingly endless CRT shifts and highly detailed map
(multiple terrain and numerous objectives can be present in a single hex) may
seem intimidating. But after a few rounds of play, the map's features sort
themselves out, and the shifts become almost committed to memory. In
fact, part of the game's appeal is figuring out what combination of terrain
and combat modifiers will give the best result on the CRT; a 3-1 attack
could very easily become a 1-3 instead if a player isn't careful where (and
with whom) they choose their battle.

Overall, TCW is an enjoyable game. While the subject of the game itself
is now rather dated (with the possible exception of the China vs. Taiwan
scenario), the game itself still has a lot to offer.