Over seventy years later, and the divisions still run deeper than the straits which separate the Republic of China (the ROC) from the People's Republic of China (the PRC). Times have changed greatly since the PRC failed to conquer the island of Taiwan from the nationalists' Republic of China at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the states that were even then separated by politics and economics have grown further apart as both sides now hurl men, weapons, and material into the maelstrom of modern combat in an attempt to settle their bitter division once and for all.
Next War: Taiwan, the next volume in GMT's series of Next War games and the follow-on to
Next War: Korea, allows players to fight a near future war in and around the island of Taiwan. In this sequel, the communist leadership of the PRC have decided that its time to end its rhetoric and posturing and bring the long-lost democratically governed ROC island into the fold of the Socialist Harmonious Society.
Due to the nature of the "terrain" surrounding Taiwan, the game features an expanded, yet still abstracted and playable, naval system including submarine threats, ASW, mine warfare, and anti-naval strikes. In addition, rules exist for combining
Next War: Taiwan with
Next War: Korea to simulate an expanded conflict.
Note: the Next War series is not an Introductory wargame. Rather, we have intended herein to create a system (and a series) that will allow detailed study of modern warfare in various venues as well as engaging gameplay. That said, the Standard Game rules encompass a fairly straightforward ruleset that will, we think, be considered pretty "easy to learn" by experienced wargamers. So players who choose to play Standard Game scenarios can have a relatively quick game when that's what suits them. The real flavor of a war in the theatre, though, comes through in the Advanced Game, where you get much more control over airpower and can more clearly see each side's strengths and weaknesses. For players who want a "mini-monster game" experience, playing the Advanced Game Campaign Scenarios with some or all of the optional rules will definitely "deliver."
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