China’s War is up for P500!
August 21, 2019 8 Comments
Preliminary artwork, of course. (Rachel Billingsley)
Yes, now it can be told.
Today GMT put China’s War up for P500, and the clock starts ticking… to what end I don’t know, because it will come when it comes, and that’s when it’s ready.
$55.00 now, $80.00 later. I see it’s up to 230 pre-orders already, but I think that is about the number of people who have a “give me anything COIN” standing order with GMT.
https://www.gmtgames.com/p-830-chinas-war-1937-1941.aspx
I will be working with a developer on this, and we’ll be ready to start playtesting with groups soon, after a Vassal module has been got ready (dammit, I really need to learn how to make these things…).
Other information, also available from the page where you went to place your order RIGHT AWAY, and then came back here:
China’s War: 1937-1941 examines the first five years of the conflict, when China stood alone against the Japanese Empire. Each player takes the role of a Faction seeking to attack or defend the Republic of China: the aggressive Japanese, the harried Government (represented by the Nationalist party), the rebellious Chinese Communist Party, or the unruly, fractious Warlords who are obedient when convenient but have their eye on gaining state power. Using military, political, and economic actions and exploiting various events, players build and maneuver forces to influence or control the population, extract resources, or otherwise achieve their Faction’s aims. A deck of cards regulates turn order, events, victory checks, and other processes. The rules can run non-player Factions, enabling solitaire, 2-player, or multi-player games.
COMPONENTS
One 22”x 34” mounted game board
One deck of 52 playing cards
167 wooden playing pieces, some embossed
12 small pawns (6 red, 6 white)
One full-color countersheet
Rules Booklet
Playbook
4 Faction Player Aid foldouts
Cards, Player Aid, and Rules for the card-based solitaire opponent*
1 Sequence of Play sheet
2 six-sided dicePlayers: 1-4 (full solitaire system)
Map: Area movement
Time scale: about 1 year per 12-card campaign
*I’m not exactly sure about how to approach the solitaire system for this one; you-all know that I am not all that interested in them. But I was intrigued by the card-based one used in the recent release of Gandhi, and the 12-card AI that David Turczi came up with for Nights of Fire was amazing, so I think I would like to see something like that rather than more flowcharts. Again, if I could get away with not having one, I would, but it is something people have come to expect… after 11 previous volumes in the series!
Laissez les bon temps rouler…
[ETA: 10:00 am the next day and we are up to 406 pre-orders! Might be able to make it by the end of the day, or by the weekend. Whoops, 412 now… 428…]
[FETA: I woke up Saturday morning and it was 501. So, that’s that.]
Here is a look at a prototype map, as exhibited at CSWExpo 2019. Not much to see. The yellow and pink pieces are now green, how prototypical is that for you…
And speaking of CSW, I have set up a discussion area for the game here:
http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/.1de0d6b6/0
BGG entry for the game is here:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/287515/chinas-war-1937-41
About brtrain
Awesome sauce!
Ordered…I think I was #285.
Thanks RMN! I hope you will enjoy it.
You made it! Now get to work!
Oh, this was finished off a while ago… now it’s more playtesting and tweaks for tempo and clarification. Still might be some more adjustments to Event Cards but mechanically it’s all there… except for the inevitable solitaire system, which I don’t intend to do myself.
Hi Brian,
Just looking at the picture above you seem to be using the two-player 1st/2nd Eligibility tracker. Is this intentional for this game or are you trialling you 2-player initiative track in a 2v2 faction setup for two players?…but the game still being a true four faction game?
How do you think it would play as a two player game and what would the faction combos be?
Cheers
Sorry for the delay in reply.
The “Initiative track” doesn’t need to be restricted to 2-player situations; as I’ve said before, it is just the ordinary 4-player COIN system sequence of play flowchart re-visualized.
With 2 players, we shaded the areas to denote the change in 1st and 2nd eligibility, which is handled in 4-player games by the faction order noted on the Event Card.
So the game is a true 4-faction game, the sequence of play and choices is just presented differently with a graphic.
You can certainly play the game with fewer than 4 players.
With 3 players, JPN controls CCP.
With 2 players, NAT and CCP vs. JPN and WLD.
Standard system language remains:
Play only stops on a victory check if all of a player’s Factions are meeting their conditions.
After a final Propaganda, use the lowest victory margin of each player’s Factions.
Players may not voluntarily transfer Resources between their own Factions.
Thanks Brian.
Now that I look closer at the picture I can see the green and yellow pawns off to the side -hence four factions.
Thanks for the wee description of player match ups – useful.
Cheers
HW
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