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Historical Board Gaming Presents

MELTDOWN
I N T RO D U C T I O N
A severe economic recession among oil producers and manufacturing nations has created
instability and fueled ethnic tensions in Russia, China and the Middle East. In a bid to regain
control of their economies, China and Russia are about to launch an invasion of unprecedented
scale to gobble up markets and raw materials and cripple the West’s ability to intervene. To
this end, Russia has been funneling money and weapons to extremist groups in the Middle
East. There, a new group of radicals fueled by foreign money now dominates the region.
Against this plan for world domination stands the USA, the NATO alliance, and a coalition of
Pacific and Indian states. The dogs of war are about to be unleashed….

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 1 . A L L I A N C E S & N AT I O N S
WHATS INCLUDED

1.1 Alliances: Meltdown 2025 is a war between two great alliances - the West- • 1 Rule Book
ern Alliance and the Eastern Pact. Each of these Alliances is comprised of three • 1 Map
playable Factions. Units of the same Alliance can share land and sea zones, and • 8 Blue Six-sided die
move into each other’s territories. The rules use the term Friendly to describe a (for Cyber Warfare)
zone that belongs to you or an Alliance member. Alliances cannot share each • 5 Red Six-sided die
other’s Super Carriers, LHDs, Strategic Movement or pair with each other’s Drones. (for Damage)
Each Faction has a roundel that is printed on their starting territories on the map. • 6 Faction Dashboards
Roundel markers are used to mark faction’s newly acquired land zones as well as • 1 Battle Board
to track income, and technology breakthroughs. • 1 Technology Breakthrough
Chart
WESTERN ALLIANCE EASTERN PACT • 1 Income Tracking & Turn
FACTIONS FACTIONS Chart
• 1 Player Quick Reference
The United States Faction Russian Federation Chart
(Green Pieces): Faction (Brown Pieces):

NATO Faction Peoples Republic of

(Blue Pieces) China Faction
(Red Pieces)

Pacific Coalition Faction Caliphate Faction Neutral Faction:

(Yellow Pieces) (Black Pieces)

1.2 Neutral Land Zones:

Land zones that don’t begin the game
in an Alliance are neutral and are
shown as light-colored areas on the
map. A Faction may not move into
or fly over a neutral land zone unless
they are attacking it. ALL MAP IM-
AGES ARE OLD, NEWEST ONES ARE
NEEDED
Figure 1: West African States is a neutral land zone

A neutral land zone may join the war during the game in one of two ways:
(a) When Attacked: If a neutral land zone is attacked by any member of an Alliance, that
neutral zone immediately joins the opposing Alliance and is incorporated into the Faction
who possessed the nearest land zone to that nation at the start of the game. (Resolve any
ties with a die roll.) The neutral land zone is treated as part of that Faction for the rest of
the game.
(b) Through Influence: Factions may make Diplomatic Influence rolls (6.2) to bring neutral
zones under their control.

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1.3 Setting up a Neutral:
Once a neutral land zone joins the war its land zones and forces become part of the faction it joins: The Faction it
joins does the following:
Places their Faction’s roundel in all zones marked with that neutral’s roundel. This is usually just one land zone
except for the Indonesian islands all of which are considered one neutral zone although they are each a separate
land zones for the purpose of movement and combat.
Places all that neutral’s military units on the board as indicated on the Neutral Set up Chart.
Adjusts the Faction’s income on the Income & Turn Tracking Chart (the player will collect that
income during the next End of Turn phase)
(Figure 2: Indonesian roundel)

Example: Russian Federation attacks Brazil, a neutral land zone. That zone is nearest to the U.S. starting
territories, so it joins the U.S. Faction. Russia captures the territory in the ensuring battle and thus treats it as
a captured land zone which limits what it can build there (10.1). When the U.S. retakes it a few turns later it
can treat Brazil as one of its Alliance’s zones, not a captured land zone.

2 . S E T T I N G U P T H E G A M E

To start the game, follow these steps:

2.1 Divide the Nations Among Players:

Meltdown 2025 can be played with up to six players. Decide which players will play each Faction and pass out
the Faction Dashboards and Set-up Charts.

2.2. Faction Dash Board:

Each Faction has a Faction Dashboard. Give the player the dashboard for each Faction they will be playing. Then
each player will do the following for each faction they are playing
(a) Collect an amount of IPPs equal to their income and place a roundel at
on their starting income level on the Income & Turn tracking chart.
(b) Place the Cyberwarfare marker on the dashboard with a number of
chips under it equal to the Faction’s starting total.
(c) Set up the Faction’s Missile Arsenal by placing chips under a missile
marker for each type of weapon on the dashboard.

Cyberwarfare Points: This section shows the

Faction’s starting cyberwarfare points.

Strategic Movement: This section describes

how many units can be moved in each of rail, air
and sealift followed by their range (9.5)

Special Ability: Each nation has a special abil-

ity listed on its Faction’s Dashboard (13.0)

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2.3 Set up the Pieces:
Each Faction uses their Set-up Charts to set up their military units on the map as indicated. Use the white poker
chips provided to save space by placing them beneath a unit to represent other units of the same type. The red
poker chips can be used to represent five units. Drones and Ballistic Missile Submarines don’t have fixed set up
locations, however the Eastern Pact always has the option to set up their Drones and Ballistic Missile Submarines
last.

2.4 Set up the Turn Marker –

The turn marker is placed at the start of the calendar track on top of the Income & Turn Tracking chart. After the
Eastern Pact takes a turn, flip it to the Western Alliance side. Once the Western Alliance finishes its turn, advance
the marker to the next calendar turn and flip it back to the Eastern Pact side. A turn represents six months of real
time.

2.5 Victory Marker:

Place both Alliance’s Victory Marker at zero on the Victory Track located on the map.

3 . W I N N I N G T H E G A M E

3.1 Victory Conditions:
Meltdown 2025 lasts 10 turns. Alliances win by controlling the most land zones red victory stars at end of
game. Each time an Alliance captures a territory with a Victory Star, it moves up one space on the Victory Track
and the opposing Alliance moves down one. When an Alliance reaches +5 it wins automatically. If an Alliance
reaches -5 it loses automatically. Players can also lose victory points when they initiate use of nuclear weapons
(see 13.4).

3.2 Sudden Death:

If at the end of 10 turns the game is tied, the game continues until one player can claim victory at the end of their
turn. If no side wins after two more turns, the game is a draw.

[IMAGE VICTORY TRACKER with Marker]

Industrial Production Points: This

section shows your starting income
level and how much money the faction
starts with.

Missile Arsenal: All off-board weap-

ons: SLBMs, Nuclear Cruise and Regular
Cruise Missiles, and Chinese Anti-Ship
Ballistic Missiles are tracked here.

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4 . M A P F E AT U R E S

4.1 Basic Concepts:
The map is divided into land and sea zones each of which has a name. Land units cannot go in sea zones (except
when being transported on an LHD), and naval units cannot enter land zones. Air units can enter either but must
end the turn in a land zone or on a Super Carrier or LHD. A nation’s starting territories are those with their
roundel printed on the map.

4.2 Impassable Borders: There are two borders on the map that are labeled as “impassable” to land units. Air
units and missiles may still cross these borders. These borders are located in the Sahara Desert and the Himala-
yan range. (Note: These zones do not count as extra zones for aircraft movement. Aircraft still use the land zone
borders).

4.2 Straits: Straits are narrow sea zones that are easily controlled by mines, small craft, and land-
based anti-ship missiles. Straits are depicted on the map with a special strait boundary line. If an
Alliance controls both of the land zones touched by this line, enemy ships cannot move through
the strait (submarines, aircraft and missiles still can). A neutral land zone does not block passage
through a strait.

4.3 Canals: Canals are water passages across land zones. A naval unit moving through a canal
does not spend any extra movement (beyond what is required to move to the next sea zone). An
Alliance has to own the land zone to be able to move naval units through the canal. A canal has
no effect on land units. There are three canals in the game: Suez Canal, Panama Canal and Bos-
porus & Dardanelles (which are technically a strait but narrow enough to be considered a canal
for game purposes).

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 4.4 Victory Stars & Tracker: Red Victory Stars are shown on the map. The Victory Tracking Chart is
shown on the bottom of the map.
Need an image here of red victory star. It might be easier if we formatted this section differently. My
way of organizing this information is not very efficient. For example we could show several things with
one image and have lines and arrows to cut down on the size of these rules. I have examples.

4.5 Income & Factory Numbers: Land zones on the map may contain information about the territo-
ries Income and Factory output. Circled Red numbers show the zone’s income in Industrial Production
Points (IPPs) and how many Infantry can be placed there. The Green numbers within a gear symbol
represent factory output. These show how many other military units can be placed there each turn
(10.1)

4.6 Naval Base: A naval base represents military naval facilities as well as large civilian ports that
are suitable for military use. A naval base may be used to trace Sealift (9.5) into a land zone. A naval
base is located in a land zone (not the sea zone it borders). New naval bases can be constructed dur-
ing the game for 8 IPP. They do not require a factory symbol.

4.7 Air Base: An Air Base represents military air bases as well as large civilian airports suitable
for military activities in scale. Air Bases are green and are all the same regardless of which type of
plane is shown (each Faction has its own Air Base icon) [IMAGE]. An air base may be used to trace
Airlift (9.5) into a land zone or as a launch point for Airborne and for firing land-based cruise missiles
(8.9). Defending Fighters that begin combat at an Air Base may join a battle in an adjacent sea zone
(See Scramble 7.9). Additional Air Bases may be constructed during the game for 8 IPP. They do not
require a factory symbol.
Image DMZ – Fig 11

4.10 Korean DMZ: The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a highly fortified border between North and South
Korea and is marked on the map by a dotted line. Defending Land Units on either side of the DMZ gain a +2 De-
fense roll on the first round of combat and combat is limited to one round. This does
not stack the Fanatic Defense ability of the Pacific Coalition.
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5 . O R D E R O F P L AY

5.1 Turns: Each Alliance takes a turn beginning with the Eastern Pact. All Factions in an Alliance take their turns
simultaneously. Thus, during the Eastern Pact turn, the Russian, Chinese and the Caliphate Factions would all act
at once and during the Western Alliance’s turn the United States, NATO and Pacific Coalition Factions would all act
at once. Nations from the same Alliance may Attack and Defend together.

5.2 Parts of a Turn:

Planning Phase (A player may do these in any order).
a. CYBERWARFARE – Reset all Cyber Points for both sides at the start of the Eastern Faction Turn. Use Cyber Points
to make Cyber Attacks (6.1)
b. DIPLOMATIC INFLUENCE – Choose a neutral zone and roll a six-sided die. On a “6” the targeted neutral zone
joins that faction (6.2)
c. FUND RESEARCH PROJECTS – Spend 2 IPPs and roll a six-sided die. On a “6” a Faction acquires a random tech-
nology from the Technology Breakthrough Table. This technology is available immediately for the rest of the
game. (6.3)
d. PLACE FACTORY ORDERS – Factions spend IPPs to purchase new military units and build bases. (6.4)

Combat Orders Phase: Move all of units that are moving into combat or making air strikes (including use of
cruise missiles) and declare all nuclear attacks.

Combat Phase: Resolve all combats, air strikes and nuclear weapon attacks. The Attacking Alliance players
choose the order in which to resolve these (resolve disagreements with a die roll).

Strategic Movement Phase: Units that did not move during Combat Orders can move. Infantry can move two
spaces in this phase. Players can also use rail, airlift and sealift up to their Factions’ limits. Aircraft that moved in
Combat Orders phase must return to a Friendly landing spot or be eliminated.

End of Turn Phase: Players remove Nuclear Blast markers from land zones they own. Factions may pay 8 IPP to
remove a Nuclear Blast Marker from a base they own. They may pay 5 IPP to remove Damage markers from bases,
Super Carriers (or Russian Federation land zones as per 12.4.) Players place all units that were purchased this
turn onto the map, and collect the income that their Faction is due.

6 . P L A N N I N G P H A S E

Activities players can do in Planning Phase:
6.1 Cyberwarfare : Players can make Cyber Attacks using Cyber Points as outlined below
(a) Cyber Points: Each Faction has a number of Cyber Points to spend each turn. Cyber points are spent
to roll dice in Cyber Attacks as detailed on the Cyberwarfare table below. A Faction may spend these on one type
of Attack or divide them up among several. For example, a Faction with four cyber points could roll 4 dice for a
Critical Infrastructure attack or roll one die each for four different types of Cyber Attacks. Players may spend their
Cyber Points during their own Planning phase or during the opposing Alliance’s turn for Counter-Cyber activities.
(b) Cyber Point Reset: At the start of Eastern Pact’s turn any remaining, unspent Cyber points from the previous
turn are lost and Cyber Points are reset to the number on each player’s Faction Dashboard.
(c) Cyberwarfare Table: The table below shows the available cyberwarfare actions. Each action uses one cyber
point which allows players to roll ONE six-sided die per point spent. Players can spend any number of dice on an
action. Any successes not used on the current turn are lost. Each Faction must declare how many die it is using
prior to making a specific Cyber Attack. It cannot make the same Cyber Attack against the same target more than
once per turn.

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 Example: The Russian Federation wants to shut down to key NATO Naval Bases in France to keep them
from being used for sealift. Russia has four Cyber die left to spend. It rolls two die in a Base Shutdown at-
tack against the first base and fails. It cannot use its remaining dice to make a Cyber Attack against the same
base again.

CYBERWARFARE TABLE:
CYBER ATTACK SUCCESS EFFECT
Critical Infrastructure Attack 6 The player chooses an enemy Faction to target. Each roll of “6” is a
success. Each success causes the target Faction to pay 1-6 IPP to the
bank.
Base Shut Down 6 The player divides the dice as he sees fit among any number of
enemy naval bases or airfields. Each “6” is a success. Re-roll that
dice as if the base was hit by a base strike (8.8)
(i.e. 1-4 pays that much to the bank, 5-6 place a Damage marker)
Geopolitical Influence 6 Choose a neutral zone to influence
Each “6” is a success and adds +1 to the next Diplomatic Influence
roll that Faction makes for that zone this turn.
Cyber Criminal 6 Each “6”is a success and gives the Faction 1-6 IPP to spend.
Eastern Pact Only
Military Intelligence 6 Each “6” is a success and gives the Faction one extra dice roll this
turn in any combat. Players place that dice in the zone they plan
to use it in. It can be used to roll one additional attack for any one
unit. A single unit can never benefit from more than Military Intel-
ligence success. These don’t affect nuclear missiles, other cyberat-
tacks, or combine with Drone use. If those dice are not used they
are lost at the end of the turn.
Counter Cyber 6 Roll dice after the opponent has rolled successful Cyber Attack but
before any further rolls have been made. Each roll costs 1 cyber
point. Each “6” counters one enemy success.

Example: The Russian Federation has four Cyber Points. It spends three to attempt a Critical Infrastructure
attack on the NATO Faction. Russia rolls three six-sided dice and gets a 3, 5 and 6, thus scoring one hit. The
NATO player decides to use two six-sided dice to counter. The player rolls a 3 and a 6. The NATO player’s “6”
counters the one Russian success and no money is lost.

Example: China decides to roll four six-sided dice for Military intelligence and gets two “6”s. China places
two twelve-sided die in India where it is planning to attack. During the turn it uses these dice to get an extra
attack for their best units -in this case a Fighter and an MBT. Each of these units rolls two dice during the
first round of combat.

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Cyberwarfare Activities

Critical Infrastructure Attack: Players attempt to disrupt enemy Factions’ important infrastructure such as
power grids, equity markets, communication systems, transportation infrastructure, internet and other critical
services. The player chooses a target Faction and rolls one die per Cyber Point spent. Each die that comes up “6”
allows that player to roll it again and the target Faction pays that many IPP to the bank.
Base Shutdown: Viruses target computer systems that run enemy air and naval bases. The player
chooses one or more naval and or air bases they want to target and selects how many dice they will use to target
each. Each roll that comes up “6” is a success. Re-roll that die as if the base was hit by a base strike (8.8) (1-4 pays
that much to the bank, 5-6 place Damage marker).
Cyber Criminals: (Eastern Pact Only) Hackers break into vulnerable banks around the world, looting
money and repurposing it for their own sinister use. The player rolls one die per Cyber Point spent. Each die that
comes up “6” is a success. Re-roll that die and collect that many IPPs from the bank. All of the opposing Faction
members may use their Counter–Cyber to disrupt this attack.
Geopolitical Influence: Factions use cyber assets to influence the opinion of a neutral country through
rigging elections, spreading propaganda, revealing embarrassing secrets about their politicians, and generally
disrupting their institutions. The player rolls one die per Cyber Point spent. Each die that comes up “6” is a suc-
cess. Each success gives the Faction a +1 on a Diplomatic Influence roll used this turn. Multiple successes can
be applied to the same roll or spread among several attempts.
Military Intelligence: Factions enhance their ability to gather intelligence and disrupt enemy com-
bat systems. The player rolls one die per Cyber Point spent. Each die that comes up “6” is a success. For each
success take a 12-sided die and place it in a land or sea zone your Faction wishes to attack this turn. This die can
be used once to give any unit in that combat an extra die roll once (it does not have to be on the first round of
combat). Once used, remove the die. If you don’t Attack that zone or use the die this turn, it is lost.
Counter-cyber: Players use cyberwarfare assets to counter enemy activity. After an enemy has rolled
their dice the opposing Faction(s) can attempt to counter a success by using any remaining Cyber Points they
have. Each success (i.e. Roll of “6”) in counter-cyber disrupts enemy success. NOTE: If the Cyberwarfare activity
requires additional rolls such as damage, attacks or influence, the player cannot wait to see the result: She must
counter the success before additional dice are rolled.

6.2 Diplomatic Influence: Each Faction can attempt one influence roll each turn to influence a neutral land
zone. An Alliance cannot make more than one attempt on a single neutral land zone each turn. Roll a six-sided
die; On a roll of “6” or higher that neutral zone joins their Alliance under their control. Place the Faction’s roun-
del there, adjust their income upwards and place all their military units from the neutral set up chart on board in
that Faction’s color. There are two cases in which the influence number can be modified:
(a) The Caliphate has a +1 diplomatic influence bonus to nations where they have 3 or more adjacent Infantry.
(b) Cyberwarfare can attempt to get a bonus using the Geopolitical Influence option.

6.3 Technology Breakthrough Roll: A faction may attempt to make technology breakthrough rolls each turn.
They must pay 2 IPP for each attempt. A player must pay for all the technology rolls they want for the turn before
making any attempts. Roll a six-sided dice for each roll purchased. Each die roll that comes up as a “6” grants a
roll on the TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGH TABLE below. Re-roll if the Faction already has the technology. Place
the Faction’s roundel at the appropriate space on the Technology chart.

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 Faction US Faction NATO Faction Pacific Coalition Russian Faction Chinese Faction Caliphate
1 Hypersonic Hypersonic Hypersonic Cruise Hypersonic Hypersonic Social media
Cruise missile Cruise missile missile Cruise missile Cruise missile Recruiting
2 ABM ABM ABM ABM ABM ICBM
3 Improved Improved Improved Drones Improved Improved Improved
Drones Drones Drones Drones Drones
4 Next Genera- Next Genera- Next Generation Next Generation Next Genera- Super Virus
tion Fighter tion Fighter Fighter Fighter tion Fighter
5 Next Genera- Next Genera- Next Generation Next Generation Next Genera- Oil Extraction
tion tion MBT MBT tion
MBT MBT MBT
6 Prompt Global Improved Improved Cyber- Nuclear Torpedo Artificial Islands Core Resis-
Strike Cyberwarfare warfare tance

ABM: Anti-ballistic missile system: each nuclear or cruise missile that is fired at the Faction’s starting territories
(those with their roundel printed on the map) has a chance to be shot down. The opposing player rolls a twelve-
sided die for each missile. On a roll of 4 or less the incoming missile is eliminated.
Artificial Islands: Manmade islands off the Chinese coast provide helpful reconnaissance for the Chinese navy.
All Chinese ASBMs have a +1 Attack modifier for the rest of the game.
Core Resistance: Anytime any of the Faction’s starting territory is enemy-owned and no enemy unit is there, the
Faction recaptures the zone (i.e. remove the enemy roundel) and destroy any Drone present.
Hypersonic Cruise Missile: The Faction’s cruise missiles cost 4 IPP but attack at “5” with target selection 1-2
(Land, Surface Ships).
ICBM: The Caliphate receives one free ICBM. Set this aside with other units the Caliphate purchased. It will be
placed in the End of Turn phase. For the rest of the game the Caliphate can upgrade its IRBMs for 3 IPP each to
ICBMs.
Improved Cyberwarfare: Next generation computers have amazing cyber capabilities. Add 3 Cyber points to
the Faction’s total each turn for the rest of the game.
Improved Drones: All the Faction’s Drones have a movement of 4.
Next Generation Fighter: The Faction’s Fighters attack and defend at 8 and cost 14 IPP
Next Generation MBT: The Faction’s MBTs attack and defend at 8 and cost 8 IPP.
Nuclear Torpedo: When the Russian Faction gets this technology, it gains a special nuclear weapon that can be
used once per game. This weapon must be fired from an Attack Submarine and has a range of three sea zones. It
cannot be intercepted by ABM defenses. It must be fired across sea zones, ending its move in a land zone. It has
a damage modifier of +2. All naval bases in the land zone that are adjacent to last sea zone the torpedo moved
through have a Nuclear Damage marker placed on them.
Oil Extraction: Caliphate gains advanced oil extraction technology. For the rest of the game It collects an extra
1-6 IPP per turn during the End of Turn phase.
Prompt Global Strike: For 1 IPP per attempt the U.S. player can fire one of its cruise or nuclear cruise missile
anywhere in the world from air bases in the four continental US land zones. This ability lasts for the rest of the
game and can be used up to three times per turn.
Social Media Recruiting: Talented social media gurus with slick presentations of anti-Western propaganda fuel
the Caliphate’s drive for soldiers and foreign volunteers. During the Caliphate’s End of Turn phase the player
rolls a six-sided die for each territory they own and on a “6” adds a free Infantry.
Super Virus: The Faction develops a super computer virus, the likes of which the world has never seen. The Fac-
tion gets to make a free Critical Infrastructure Cyber Attack with 5 extra die to roll for this attack in addition to any
of their own they wish to spend.

6.4 Place Factory Orders: Players may spend IPPs to purchase military units and build bases. The costs to
build units are listed each Faction’s dashboard. Once units are purchased, place them in the Place Units Box on
the Faction’s dashboard. They will not be placed on the map until the End of Turn phase.

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7. C O M B AT O R D E RS P H A S E

7.1 Combat Orders Phase: During this phase players move units that will be participating in combat. The
actual combat will take place during the Combat phase of the game. Players also declare cruise missile, nuclear
attacks and air strikes.

7.2 Moving Land Units: Land units moving into a territory they don’t own must move in Combat Orders phase,
even if there are no enemy units in that zone. Land units stop immediately upon entering an enemy zone (al-
though MBTs have a special blitz ability that allows them to keep moving.)

7.3 Moving Naval Units: Naval units moving into a sea zone that contains enemy naval units (except for
enemy Ballistic Missile Submarines) must move in Combat Orders phase. Naval units must immediately stop if
they enter a zone that contains an enemy naval unit. If they enter a zone with an enemy Attack Submarine, that
submarine has the choice to stop the ships movement and fight or let those ships keep moving. If the submarine
is in silent running (11.9) it cannot force moving naval units to stop.

7.4 Moving Aircraft and Missiles: Move aircraft into the zones they are attacking. Aircraft may fly over
enemy-owned land and sea zones during the Combat Orders phase so long as there are no enemy Fighters in that
zone (including those on Super Carriers and LHDs.) . Aircraft may not fly over land zones that are neutral. Aircraft
must save enough movement points to return to a friendly land zone (or Super Carrier/LHD) during Strategic
Movement phase (This can include Super Carriers or LHDs that will move into range during Strategic Movement
phase.) Aircraft cannot undertake a combat move they could not retreat from. Even though helicopters can land
in captured territories they still must be able to retreat even if no enemy land units are present.
Aircraft and units that can fire cruise missiles must announce if they are making a regular attack or an Air Strike
(8.8). Announce use of any nuclear weapons. Place missile markers on their intended targets (i.e. bases, land
zones or sea zones) and remove any missiles used from stockpiles.

7.5 Amphibious Assaults: A Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) may pick up units before or during their move and
unload in the zone they are attacking as part of initiating combat. After an LHD unloads a unit. it may not move
any further. Land units being transported never participate in naval combat.

7.6 Airborne Assaults: Move Airborne units to the zones they are attacking. Each Airborne must begin at an
air base and may move up to three zones (4 for U.S.). It cannot move over a land or sea zone that contains an
enemy Fighter (including those on Super Carriers and LHDs.) or neutral land zones.

7.7 Submarines: Attack Submarines have multiple special rules that govern their movement.
(a) During Combat Orders phase, Attack Submarines can move into, through or out of sea zones that contain
enemy units without being attacked or having to stop due to the prescience of enemy units. Thus, it could
move through some enemy ships and attack ships in another zone. A submarine could even fire a cruise mis-
sile in a base strike, surgical strike or naval strike without being subject to combat with ships in it’s sea zone.
(b) Attack Submarines can place or remove Silent Running markers during Combat Orders phase (see 11.9)

7.8 Super Carriers/LHD and Aircraft: Each sea zone a Super Carrier/LHD moves with aircraft on it counts
against the aircrafts’ total move for that turn. (For example: If a carrier moves two spaces, its Fighter aircraft have
a remaining move of two out of their total of four.)

7.9 Scramble: Scrambling is a way for the defending players to send Fighters into an adjacent battle. Movement
of scrambled Fighters occurs right after opponent has completed all Combat Orders.
There are two instances in which the defending player may do this:
(a) Up to three Fighters in a land zone with at least one undamaged friendly Airbase may join a combat in an
adjacent sea zone (additional air bases in the same land zone do not increase the number of Fighters that can
scramble).
(b) Fighters on an undamaged Super Carrier in a sea zone may join battle in an adjacent land or sea zone.
(Attack Helicopters and Drones do not scramble.)

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 8. C O M B AT P H A S E

8.1 Overview: During Combat phase, players resolve combats using the procedure detailed below. The attack
and defense numbers for each unit are listed on each Faction Dashboard. Players also resolve Air Strikes (8.8)
including cruise missiles as well as nuclear attacks (13.0)

8.2 Battle Boards: The attacking players chooses the order to resolve declared combats. Combats are fully
resolved in one land or sea zone before resolving the next one. If the attacking players cannot agree on the order
of resolution, resolve disagreements with a die roll. The attacker and defender each place their units in the com-
bat on the Battle Boards on the number that corresponds to their attack or defense value.
Each player, attacker first, rolls the 12-sided die separately for each unit type. (e.g. roll all Infantry at the same
time, all MBTs at the same time and so forth). Rolling the unit’s attack number or lower, scores a hit and each
hit causes the defender to remove a casualty (i.e. remove an enemy unit from the battle board). Casualties are
removed from the battle board immediately before the next type of unit rolls. Move these casualties to the side
so you can remember which units suffered hits (they will get to defend).
Defending units (including those that were taken as casualties) get their defense rolls. Rolling the unit’s defense
number or lower, scores a hit and each hit causes the attacker to remove a casualty. These are removed from the
battle board immediately before the next type of unit rolls. (You won’t need to set these aside. You can remove
all Attacker casualties immediately and all defender casualties as soon as they have had their chance to roll.)
Repeat this process with remaining units until one side is eliminated. All combats last a maximum of three
rounds (two rounds in NATO Faction starting territories and one round for Korean DMZ) after which the attacker
must retreat.

8.3 Retreats from Combat: Attacking units may retreat at the end of any round of combat. A retreat is made by
a player instead of making their next round of attack rolls. The Attacking player is forced to retreat if the combat
ends due to round limits. A player who retreats must retreat with all units in battle (with special exceptions
noted below). Retreated units cannot be moved again in Strategic Movement phase.

Land Units: Attacking Land units retreat into adjacent friendly controlled lands zone. They must retreat into land
zones that at least one attacking unit came from. Land units making an Airborne assault or amphibious as-
sault may not retreat.
Naval Units: Attacking Naval units retreat into adjacent sea zones. They must retreat into sea zones that at least
one attacking unit came from and ones that have no enemy units in them.
Submarines: Attacking and defending Attack Submarines have a special retreat ability called submerge. This is a
retreat, but the submarine remains in the same sea zone as enemy units (see 11.9).
Aircraft: Attacking aircraft (and Drones) may retreat to a friendly landing spot (land zone, Super Carrier or LHD).
If at the end of any round an attacking aircraft or Drone has no available Friendly landing spot it could retreat
to, it is eliminated.
No Retreat: If a unit must retreat but cannot for any reason, it is eliminated.

If a defending Super Carrier or LHD is destroyed all defending aircraft and Drones are eliminated if they are not in
or adjacent to a friendly landing spot (land zone, Super Carrier or LHD). Otherwise, they may continue to fight for
the rest of the combat. If landing spots are available for some but not other aircraft, the excess aircraft must be
eliminated immediately.

Example: A Pacific Coalition Super Carrier with 1 Fighter and 1 Attack Helicopter is attacked in the Bay of
Bengal by a large Chinese fleet. The Super Carrier suffers two hits and is destroyed. Both the Fighter and At-
tack Helicopter are adjacent to India and could thus have a friendly landing spot and can continue the fight.
Example: A Chinese Super Carrier with two Fighters and a Chinese LHD with an Attack Helicopter are at-
tacked by a United States fleet in the Wake Island sea zone. The Chinese Super Carrier is destroyed on the
second round of combat. There are no friendly land zones adjacent. There is one space left for an aircraft on
the LHD, so the Chinese player must eliminate two of his three aircraft. The last may continue to fight in the
third round of combat.

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13
8.4 Land Combat: Land combat is a battle that takes place in a land zone and may involve land and air units as
well as naval units firing cruise missiles into it.
Table 8-1
LAND COMBAT SUMMARY
COMBAT (Conduct steps in order)
1. Attacker rolls a 12-sided die for each type of unit in the combat. A hit causes the defender to immediately
remove one unit. Attacking players can use cruise missiles to make a Surgical Air Strike (8.8). Cruise mis-
siles have first strike and casualties from them are removed first.
2. Defender rolls a 12-sided die for each type of unit in the combat. Including any that were taken as casual-
ties. A hit causes the Attacker to remove one unit immediately.
3. Retreat: Attacker has option to retreat.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 until the end of the combat.
END: Combat ends after 3 full rounds. The Attacker must retreat all units. Units that cannot retreat are eliminat-
ed. (Land Combat is limited to two rounds in starting NATO Faction territories and one round across the Korean
DMZ).

8.5 Naval Combat: Naval combat occurs in sea zones. If naval units enter a sea zone with enemy naval units
combat must occur (with the exception of moving submarines, see table 8-2 below).
Table 8-2
NAVAL COMBAT SUMARY
COMBAT (Conduct Steps in Order)
1. First Strike: On the first round of combat, cruise missiles and ASBM making a naval strike (8.8) and Attack
Submarines from both sides have first strike
2. Attacker rolls a12-sided die for each type of unit in the combat. A hit causes the defender to remove one
unit immediately.
3. Defender rolls a12-sided die for each type of unit in the combat including any that were taken as casualties.
A hit causes the attacker to remove on unit immediately.
4. Retreat: Attacker has option to retreat.
5. Repeat: Steps 1-4 until the end of combat
END: Naval combat ends after 3 rounds. The Attacker must retreat all units. Units that cannot retreat are elimi-
nated.

8.6 Amphibious Assault: An amphibious assault occurs when land units on an LHD attack a land zone. If there
are enemy naval units in the sea zone, players must conduct naval combat first. Aircraft on Super Carriers and
LHD can participate in both the naval combat and the land combat if they have enough movement points to do
so. The entire combat (naval and land) is limited to three rounds. Units cannot retreat from an amphibious as-
sault and are eliminated if they are forced to retreat. An MBT may not blitz after an amphibious assault.
AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SUMMARY
AMPHBIOUS ASSAULT (Conduct steps in order)
1. Naval Combat: Conduct naval combat first (8.5) if there are enemy naval forces in the same sea zone as the
LHD making the amphibious assault.
2. Land Combat: Conduct Land combat (8.4)
3. Retreat: Attacker can retreat from naval combat but not from land combat portion of an amphibious assault.
4. End: Combat ends after three TOTAL rounds (naval and land combat are both included in the total).

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8.7 Airborne Assault: Airborne units that moved in an Airborne Assault (7.6) in the Combat Orders phase may
attack on their own or with other units.

8.8 Air Strikes: Fighters and /or cruise missiles can make Air Strikes instead of participating in regular combat.
This means that each unit can only make one air strike each turn (not one per round). There are three types of air
strikes;
A Surgical Strike is used to weaken an enemy and is especially effective when Fighters can attack land units unop-
posed by enemy Fighters.
A Base Strike is used to destroy the enemy player’s IPPs and shut down bases so they cannot be used.
A Naval Strike is used to fire cruise missiles at naval units in an adjacent sea zone. A Naval Strike is separate from
combat and a unit must choose either a Naval Strike or naval combat.

Types of Air Strikes

SURGICAL STRIKE BASE STRIKE
Fighters and cruise missiles may attack enemy Naval
Fighters may attack enemy land units in a land zone at or Air Bases for one round only as its only attack that
half their attack value for one round, as their only attack turn. If more than one base is present, the target of
that turn. Land units do not fire back. the strike must be specified before rolling.

Fighters making a surgical strike are subject to intercep- Fighters making a Base Strike are subject to intercep-
tion (see below) from enemy Fighters. tion (see below) from enemy Fighters.

A cruise missile may make a surgical strike attack at its The player rolls a six-sided die for damage to the
full attack value and may not be intercepted. This is the base. All die rolls against the same base are made
firing units only attack this turn. at the same time (i.e. a player cannot wait to see the
NAVAL STRIKE outcome).

On a 1-4 the opposing player may pay that amount of

IPPs to keep the base open or place a Damage marker.
A unit capable of doing so may fire a cruise missile into
an adjacent sea zone containing enemy surface ships
On a 5-6 the facility is seriously damaged, and a Dam-
as its only attack that turn. Attack Submarines cannot
age marker must be placed there. No IPPs are paid.
be hit by a naval strike. (Note: Submarines cannot fire
A player cannot use this base until their next End of
at units in their own sea zone because that would be
Turn phase in which they may pay 5 IPP to remove the
regular combat).
Damage marker.

If a base takes damage from more than one source in

a turn it is marked with a Damage marker as soon as
the total damages is 5 or more.

Inherent Air Defense: The defending player rolls one

dice for each aircraft making a base strike up to a
maximum of 3 rolls. A 3 or less destroys an attacking
aircraft.

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15
INTERCEPTING
When the attacking player is making a Surgical Strike or Base Strike, the defending player may attempt to inter-
cept them with some, or all of their Fighters present in the land zone.

All Attacking and Defending Fighters participate in one round of combat at half their attack value (3). All hits are
assigned only to participating Fighters. This occurs prior to the resolving the strike. Cruise missiles and Drones
are never intercepted.

Example: Surgical Strike: Two U.S. carrier-based Fighters in the Mediterranean and one Fighter from Israel are making a Surgical
Strike into the Egyptian Caliphate to thin out forces that are massing for an attack against Israel. The Caliphate player has one Fighter
she sends to intercept. The US players rolls 2, 3 and 6, getting two hits. (Since interception is at half, only 1-3 hits) This destroys the
Caliphate aircraft. The Caliphate player rolls a 2, destroying one US aircraft. Now the remaining two US Fighters attack the remaining
Caliphate forces at half (i.e. 1-3). They roll a 1 and a 7. The 1 is not only a hit but also target selection for the Fighter, and the US player
has his choice of land or air units in the zone to remove.

8.9 Cruise Missiles: Cruise Missiles in represent long-range cruise missiles with nuclear warheads or conven-
tional payloads of >850kg. (See nuclear weapons for more information on nuclear cruise missiles.)
(a) Missile Arsenal: Each nation has a stockpile of missiles that is kept off-board on the missile arsenal section of
the Faction Dashboard. Each time they use a missile one missile of that type is removed from their stockpile.
(b) Purchase: When a nation places purchased cruise missiles (or Chinese ASBMs) those are added to the player’s
stockpile during the End of Turn phase.
(c) Combat Use: Guided Missile Destroyers and Attack Submarines can fire a cruise missile using the rules for Air
Strike (8.8) instead of making their regular Attack roll. A cruise missile has a range of one land or sea zone and
attacks at “3” with Target Selection 1-2 (land units or surface ships). Cruise missiles have first strike, eliminating
units before those units can participate in combat. A player cannot fire a cruise missile unless it is their turn.
Units outside of the combat zone can fire into a combat if they are the attacker. A unit cannot fire a cruise missile
if combat is also occurring in that sea zone (they must fight in regular combat instead).
(d) Land-Based Cruise Missiles: An undamaged air base can fire one cruise missile into an adjacent land zone.
Land-based cruise missiles cannot make Naval Strikes.
(e) Restrictions: A cruise missile cannot cause casualties to aircraft, or to an Attack Submarine.

Example: A NATO Faction Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG), Attack Submarine, and an LHD with an Attack
Helicopter and Drone want to make surgical strikes on Russian Federation forces occupying Scandinavia.
The Drone is moved in during Combat Orders and two cruise missile markers are placed there. The first
cruise missile rolls a 7, missing. The second missile, with the Drone’s assistance gets to roll two dice and
take the best one. It rolls a 1 and 4 and chooses the 1. This missile not only hits but also has target selec-
tion.

8.10 Multi- National Forces: Forces from different Factions can attack and defend together. When selecting
casualties in the players must agree which Faction will suffer the casualty. If players cannot agree, they may re-
solve the issue with a die roll (highest chooses). When an Enemy player selects the target (i.e. he has rolled his
target selection number or lower) he can choose any eligible unit from the defending Factions.

8.11 Target Selection: Units with Target Selection (TS) that roll their target selection number or less get to
select the casualty. Different units give the player different choices (see Table 12-1). A Fighter, for example, can
choose any unit as a casualty except for an Attack Submarine while a Main Battle Tank can only choose a land unit.
When a player rolls target selection, he immediately chooses which casualty is caused before he continues rolling
for other units, and before the opposing players make their casualty selections. Because of this, it is important to
roll separately for each type of unit.

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 Example: The NATO Faction is attacking the Russian units in Ukraine. The NATO player rolls with four MBTs.
He player rolls 1,1, 3 and a miss. Because the NATO player achieved target selection twice with a “1”, he
selects first, choosing 2 Russian MBTs. The Russian player then chooses the hit for the third MBT that rolled
a “3”.

8.12 Combat Aftermath

Capturing a Land Zone: The attacker only captures a land zone if he has land units or Attack Helicopters remaining
in the zone at the end of the battle. If the attacker has only Fighters or Drones, he does not capture the zone even
if the defender has no units left. When a Faction captures a land zone, it places its roundel in that zone and ad-
justs its income up and the defeated Faction’s income down, based on the IPP value of the zone (Remember: the
red number on the map indicates the zone’s IPP value.) Players must wait to get the benefits of bases or place
units there until the next turn. Sea zones are never captured. When two Factions jointly conquer a land zone, the
conquering players must decide who gains ownership or resolve the matter with a die roll (highest chooses).
Recapture: If a Faction recaptures a land zone that belonged to another Faction in their Alliance at the start of the
game or that they aligned during play (1.2), ownership of that zone reverts back to that Faction immediately.

9 . S T R AT E G I C M OV E M E N T P H A S E

9.1 Return Aircraft: Return all aircraft and Drones to a friendly landing spot (a land zone or Super Carrier or
LHD from their own).

9.2 Move Units: All units that did not move during the Combat Orders phase may now move. Players may now
move aircraft over an enemy land zones and sea zones with enemy ships so long as that zone contains no Fighters
(including those on Super Carriers or LHDs). Otherwise, units cannot move into any land zones their Alliance did
not own at the start of the turn or into sea zones that contain enemy unit (Except Attack Submarines [11.9] and
Attack Helicopters [9.4]). Infantry units can move two zones in Strategic Movement phase: Airborne cannot use
their Airborne movement for non-combat but could use airlift)

9.3 LHDs: A Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) may pick up units before or during their move and unload in adja-
cent friendly land zones (or the units can remain on the LHD). After an LHD unloads a unit. it may not move any
further.

9.4 Attack Helicopters: Attack Helicopters can move into zones that were captured this turn.

9.5 Rail, Airlift and Sealift : Each nation has three numbers on its Faction Dashboard that indicate the Rail,
Airlift, Sealift and capacity of the Faction and their range. A unit may only use ONE of these methods per turn (i.e.
a unit could rail, but then it could not also use sealift). Units cannot strategic move into a zone they could not
otherwise move into, out of or through during strategic move.
Rail: A player may move a number of land or air units equal to his rail capacity across a path of land zones she
would otherwise be able to move into in strategic movement. The maximum rail move is 6 land zones.
Sealift: A player may move a number of land or air units equal to his sealift capacity across sea zones. These units
must begin and end their move at an undamaged naval base and may move up to 6 sea zones across the map.
Sealift is blocked if a path cannot be traced that is free of enemy ships or Attack Submarines (except those on
silent running). An Attack Submarine does not block this path if there are friendly ships/submarines also in the
sea zone.
Airlift: A player may move a number of Infantry or Airborne units in strategic movement equal to his airlift capac-
ity. The units must begin and end their move at an undamaged air base. The range of an airlift is 6 (land and or
sea) zones.

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1 0 . E N D O F T U R N P H A S E

10.0 Overview: In this phase players will place all units purchased at the start of the turn. They will also
remove Nuclear Blast markers, and pay to remove Damage markers from bases, and Super Carriers will also collect
income they are due. These may be done in any order (Thus, players can use newly collected income to pay for
repairs).

10.1 Placement: Place any units in the Place Units Box section of the Dashboard onto the board according to
the guidelines below.
Infantry: Players may place a number of regular Infantry (not Airborne) up to the red income value [show sym-
bol]. of a zone. Players can also build regular Infantry with green factory output numbers if desired, but these
count against the factory production limit for other units.
All Other Units: Must be placed at a green factory output symbol [show symbol]. The number of units that can be
placed is the green number on the map. Naval units must be placed in a sea zone adjacent to the green number
and an undamaged naval base. Aircraft and Drones may be placed on Super Carriers and LHDs that are in an
adjacent sea zone.
Captured Land zones: Players may only place one unit in a captured land zone. Placement is subject to all other
provisions of 10.1. A land zone is considered captured if it is part of an enemy Faction’s starting territories or
became Aligned to an enemy Faction during play as per 1.2.
Restrictions: A Faction must have owned a land zone since the start of the turn to place a unit there.

10.2 Pay to Remove Damage Markers: A player may pay 5 IPP to remove a Damage marker from a base they
own and 8 IPP to remove a Nuclear Damage marker.

10.3 Repair Damaged Super Carriers: Super Carriers that are marked with a Damage marker can be repaired
for 5 IPP so long as they are adjacent to a Naval Base that belongs to a member of their Alliance (including bases
in captured land zones).

10.4 Collect Income: Collect the income they are entitled to: This is the sum of the value (i.e Red numbers) of
the land zones they own.

1 1 . U N I T S

11.1 Unit Table: All units have an Attack number, Defense number, movement rate and cost. Some units have
a different movement during Strategic Movement phase. Some units also have a Target Selection (TS) number
which shows what number or less they need to roll to choose their casualty in combat. Listed beside this number
are the types of units they can choose if they roll their Target Selection number.

Land Units: Infantry, Airborne and Main Battle Tanks

Naval Units: Super Carriers, LHDs, Guided Missile Destroyers, Frigates and Attack Submarines. Where the
rules refer to “surface ships” this term includes all naval units except Attack Submarines.
Air Units: Fighters, Attack Helicopters and (sometimes) Drones. The word “Aircraft” is used synonymously in
the rule.

REPLACE THIS TABLE WITH THE ONE FROM THE NATO FACTION DASHBOARD

I’d like to have image of each unit like you have in Amerika (the 3D model)

11.1 Infantry: Infantry traditionally refers to “foot soldiers”. The majority of these units in 2025 are motorized
regular army units supplemented with reservists and conscripts during time of war. Infantry moving during the
Strategic Movement phase of the turn can move two.

Copyright © 2020 Historical Board Gaming

11.2 Airborne: Airborne are highly trained units intended to be inserted to combat zones via parachute.
Airborne can make a special attack called an Airborne Assault (See 7.6, 8.7) Airborne are represented by regular
Infantry piece with an Airborne marker underneath it.

11.3 Main Battle Tank (MBT). The Main Battle Tank is a modern heavy tank with heavy armor and a large-bore
main gun. MBTs have a special blitz ability that can only be used as follows:
(a) An MBT may move during Combat Orders phase through an unoccupied enemy land zone, capture it, and
participate in an attack against another zone (moving thorough land zones the player’s own zones is also allowed,
it’s just not technically a “blitz”.)
(b) After a battle an MBT with both a remaining movement point and additional rounds of combat may continue
its move into an adjacent enemy land zone. If enemy units are present combat occurs. New combat counts
against the total round limit of 3 rounds.

Example: Russian MBTs in Ukraine-Belarus attack Central Europe. After 1 round they defeat the units there. They could use
their remaining movement to move into Germany, Italy or the Balkan States where they would have one rounds of combat
left (NATO starting territories are limited to TWO instead of three rounds per their special ability). Old image of map- we
should have units and arrows on here to be more graphically detailed – probably all out examples need better graphics.

11.4 Fighters: Fighters represent multi-role interceptor and ground attack aircraft. Fighters have special com-
bat options including Surgical Strikes, Base Strikes and Interception (8.8)

11.5 Attack Helicopters: Attack Helicopters represent variety of different helicopter types. In land operations,
an Attack Helicopter would represent a mix air cavalry backed by heavily armed attack helicopters for fire support.
In naval operations, the Attack Helicopter would represent
helicopters used for anti-submarine warfare. Helicopters can
land in a land zone conquered this turn and can capture land Zumwalt Class Stealth Destroyer
zones. The Attack Helicopter is one of two units that can attack
an Attack Submarine. They do so at half their attack value (i.e.
2). The Zumwalt Class is an U.S.-built multi-mis-
sion guided missile Guided Missile Destroyer.
11.6 Super Carriers: Super Carriers represent carrier groups The first ship of this class entered service in
with 200-300 modern combat aircraft. Each Super Carrier may October 2016. The unique stealth design
carry two Fighters or Attack Helicopters (or one of each) and
one Drone. It may carry an additional Drone in place of an reduces the RCS (radar cross section) of the
aircraft. A Super Carrier takes two hits to kill. After the first hit 14,798 ton vessel to that of a fishing boat. The
mark the Super Carrier with a Damage marker. The Damage vessel carries 80 vertical launch cells capable of
marker does not affect the carrier or the aircraft on it. Car- firing Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESSM) anti-aircraft,
rier aircraft must always land on their own Faction’s carriers. ASROC anti-submarine and Tomahawk cruise
Undamaged Super Carriers may scramble Fighters (7.9) to an
adjacent land or sea battle as if they were an airbase. missiles. The ship has two 155mm guns that
fire guided munitions up to 84 nautical miles.
The Zumwalt can take water into ballast tanks
to help it stabilize during firing operations. The
Zumwalt carries a single helicopter and three
MQ-8 Fire Scout Drones.

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11.7 Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG): Guided missile Guided missile destroyers are large warships
equipped with a variety of anti-air, anti-ship and anti-submarine armaments. DDGs can fire regular and nuclear
cruise missiles.

11.8 Frigates: Frigates represent smaller naval vessels designed to perform fleet anti-aircraft defense, anti-sub-
marine warfare, and other duties. The Frigate is one of only two units that can attack an Attack Submarine. They
do so at half their attack value (i.e. 2).

11.9 Attack Submarines: Attack Submarines represent a variety of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered subma-
rines designed to attack enemy submarines and ships and interfere with merchant traffic. Attack Submarines are
capable of firing both conventional and nuclear cruise missiles. Attack Submarines have several special rules as
outlined below:
Attack Submarine Movement
STEALTH: A submarine can move into through or out of sea zones that contain enemy units during its turn, ignoring any
units that are there.

SILENT RUNNING: A submarine can choose to employ an extra layer of stealth called silent running that works as follows
- During the submarine’s Combat Orders phase it may place a Silent Running marker under the submarine
as long as it does not make an attack of any kind. The submarine still moves normally.
- A submarine may remove the marker during its next combat orders phase. If so, it may act normally
- A submarine in Silent Running is ignored by the enemy player for all purposes: i.e. it cannot attack, de-
fend or be attacked, but it does not block movement or Sea Lift.
- A player may set up any submarine with a Silent Running marker at the start of the game.

Submarine Combat

ASW: An Attack Submarine that is not in Silent Running can only be attacked by Attack Helicopters and Frigates at half
their normal attack value. Any unit can defend against an attacking Attack Submarine at its full value.

CRUISE MISSLE: Attack Submarines may fire regular and nuclear cruise missiles.

FIRST STRIKE: An Attack Submarine has first strike (i.e. casualties caused by the submarine are removed without getting
their defense roll unless they also have first strike).

SUBMERGE: An Attack Submarine may choose to Submerge instead of making its next attack or defense roll.
A submarine that submerges is immediately marked with a Silent Running marker and remains in the same sea zone.

NO AIR CASUALTIES: Attack Submarines cannot cause casualties to aircraft.

Submarine Examples

A Russian Attack Submarine lurks in the Central Atlantic with a Silent Running marker on it. The U.S. Faction
moves a group of ships through the sea zone and sea lifts two MBTs to France. The submarine cannot prevent the
ships from moving through it or the tracing of sealift due to its Silent Running status.

On the Russian players turn he fires a cruise missile in a naval strike against the NATO fleet. The submarine is
no longer in silent running and can be attacked. The NATO player on his next turn sends 2 helicopters and 2
Frigates to attack the submarine (at half their attack value) all of which miss. The Russian player could attack the
Frigates but decides to submerge instead of risk being killed. The battle is over and the submarine is back in
silent running.

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11.10 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) is designed to transport military units in an amphibious assault. The
LHD represents an amphibious warfare group, consisting of a variety of ships, the largest and most powerful of
which are the LHDs. The LHD may carry two land units of any type and, one Fighter or Attack Helicopter, plus one
Drone. It may carry a second Drone in place of an aircraft. Land units may load onto the LHD in Combat Orders or
Strategic Movement phase so long as they have not moved prior to loading. They may then be unloaded after the
LHD moves. The units on the LHD could unload into different land zones if both were adjacent to the LHD howev-
er once one unit unloads the LHD cannot move further. The
LHD is not required to move (i.e. it could serve as a “bridge”
for 2 land units) and units can stay on the LHD if they wish. Wasp Class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD)
An LHD can’t transport units or host aircraft or Drones that
are not from its faction. If an LHD is destroyed during a
battle all land units on it are eliminated. Land units on an The U.S. WASP class LHD (Landing Helicopter
LHD never participate in naval combat and can’t be selected Dock) is a 40,500 ton amphibious assault ship.
separately as casualties. LHDs are combat units (they do not This vessel can carry a mix of aircraft depending
have to be chosen last in combat and they do block move- on its mission. The WASP Class LHD is designed
ment of enemy ships.)
to transport a U.S. Marine Expeditionary unit
(about 2,200 men). It has a well deck that can ac-
commodate a variety of landing craft. The WASP
class LHD has a standard air compliment of 6
AV-8B Harriers and 6 F-35 Lightning II Fighters,
12 MV-22B Osprey, 4 CH-53 Sea Stallions and
3-4 UH-1Y utility helicopters.

11.11 Drones: Drones have special rules as follows:

(a) Starting: Each Faction starts with a number of Drones as listed on their Faction reference sheet. These may be
placed anywhere including on Super Carriers and LHDs.
(b) Super Carriers and LHDs can carry one Drone in addition to their regular aircraft compliment. Additional
Drones use up the space of an aircraft.
(c) A Drone does not Attack or Defend like a regular unit. An Alliance can only have one Drone in a battle at a
time (thus, there will never be more than two total Drones in a battle, one per side). Place the Drone beneath

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21
a unit: When that unit Attacks or Defends, roll two dice and take the best one. If the unit that is paired with
the Drone is eliminated in combat, the Drone can be placed under a different unit next round. A Drone can
also be used during interception combat. A drone cannot modify nuclear strikes or base strike damage.
(d) Elimination: A Drone cannot be taken as a casualty. It is eliminated if it is the only unit in a land or sea zone in
regular combat or if it is the only remaining unit that can be taken as a casualty caused by a nuclear attack or
Air Strike.

11.12 Bases
Air Base: Players can build air bases for 8 IPP. The base is purchased during the Planning phase and the base
marker is put in the Place Units Box and placed in a land zone during the End of Turn phase.
Naval Base: Players can build naval bases for 8 IPP. The base is purchased during the Planning phase and the base
marker is put in the Place Units Box and placed in a land zone during the End of Turn phase.

1 2 . 0 FA C T I O N S P E C I A L A B I L I T I E S

Each Faction has a special ability as follows:

12.1 United States Faction: Worldwide Reach: The United States Faction has improved Sealift, Airlift and Air-
borne Assault ranges compared to other Factions. These are included in the statistics on their Faction dashboard.

12.2 NATO Faction: Joint Defense: The NATO Faction is adept at defending its territories and stalling attack-
ers. All attacks against starting NATO Faction territories are limited to two rounds instead of three.

12.3 Pacific Coalition: Fanatic Defenders Pacific Coalition Infantry in all Pacific Coalition starting territories
have a +1 Defense on all rounds of combat.

12.4 Russian Faction: Endure: Each starting Russian land zone that is captured by an enemy Alliance has a
Damage marker placed on its green factory number. The capturing player can pay 5 IPP to remove this marker
during their End of Turn phase. Until then no new units can be built there.

12.5 Chinese Faction: Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles: China has established a network of land-based anti-
ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) to protect their coast. Naval Bases in Chinese starting territories may use their
Faction’s stockpile of ASBMs to make a Naval Strike (8.8) into the sea zone they border. ASBMs attack at 4 with
First Strike and Target Selection 1-2. They cost 4 to purchase. ASBMs may be used during enemy Combat Orders
phase to make a naval strike against each group of surface ships that move within range during the turn. ASBMs
are tracked on the Chinese Faction Dashboard’s Missile Arsenal.

Chinese ASBM Example:

A group of 6 US warships moves into combat with a Chinese fleet adjacent to East China. The Chinese player
declares two naval bases will make ASBM attacks as that group of ships moves in. It rolls two twelve-sided
dice and gets a 2 and a 6. That scores one hit with Target Selection. The Chinese player chooses to cause
the hit to a US Super Carrier.

The US forces defeat the Chinese, leaving three US ships in the sea zone. Then during Strategic Movement
phase, the Pacific Coalition player moves a Guided Missile Destroyer and a Frigate into that sea zone. The
Chinese player declares two more ASBM attacks against that group of ships. He rolls a 3 and 6, causing a
casualty. The Pacific Coalition player chooses the Frigate as a casualty. On the Chinese turn there are now
four ships in that sea zone and China can again fire ASMBs at them (if they have any left).

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 DF-26 Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile:

While the Chinese navy is not as large at its

main rival (the USA), China has countered this by
12.6 Caliphate: Insurgency: The Caliphate gains a +1 developing long range anti-ship ballistic mis-
Diplomatic Influence roll bonus when they have at least siles. The latest evolution of these – the Dong
three Infantry adjacent to the territory (This bonus can only Feng 26 – has a range of 3000-4000km. The
be gained once per territory per turn). main function of these “carrier-killer” missiles
is to take out U.S. aircraft carriers. The DF-26 of
2025 features multiple independently targeted
13. NUCLEAR warheads on hypersonic glide vehicles, mak-
W E A P O N S ing them difficult to intercept. The missiles are
[Optional Rule] housed on Transport Erect Launchers (TELs) such

13.0 Overview Players may use nuclear weapons with as the one pictured above.
certain restrictions as described below. The weapons pro-
vided here are less than the current world-wide stockpile
and represent the maximum extent of limited nuclear war
that could occur before with the world was obliterated or demanded peace. We organized the nuclear weapons
use this way to keep the losing player from ending the game every time in a fiery inferno – which of course would
remove all strategy from the game.

13.1 On-Board Weapons: On-board weapons are placed on the map at the start of the game. They are elimi-
nated if the zone they are in is captured and can never be captured, moved, attacked or taken as casualties
Table 13-1 On Board Weapons:

ICBM – Intercontinental Ballistic Missile: ICBM’s represent land-based missiles in silo or on mobile launchers.
ICBMs have a range of at least 3,400 miles. These are placed in land zones.
IRBM – Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile: ICBM’s represent land-based missiles in silo or on mobile launch-
ers. IRBMs have a range of 3,000-5,500km. Some MRBMs (Medium Range Ballistic Missiles) were incorporated
into this category.
ADM – Atomic Demolitions Munition: This weapon is placed in Israel and may be detonated in response to an
attack. It does not trigger first use penalties or leave a nuclear blast. It does not have first strike.

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23
13.2 Off-Board Weapons: Off-board weapons are tracked in the Arsenal section of the Faction dashboard.
Table 13-2 Off- Board Weapons

SLBM: Submarine launched ballistic missiles are fired from Ballistic Missile submarines.
Nuclear Cruise Missiles: Nuclear Cruise missiles can fired from any unit (or base) that could fire a regular
cruise missile. Nuclear Cruise missiles are the only nuclear weapon that can make a Naval Strike. Nuclear Cruise
missiles can be fired from Air Bases to attack adjacent land zones.

13.4 First Use: An Alliance that uses one or more nuclear weapons in a turn loses one Victory Point on the Vic-
tory Tracker (no matter how many weapons are used). When the opposing Alliance takes its next turn, it may use
as many nuclear weapons as were used against it without any Victory Point loss. After this, First Use is reset and
neither Alliance can use the nuclear weapons without suffering First Use penalties.

13.5 Prohibited Use: A Faction cannot :

Use ICBM, IRBM, or SLBMs against naval units. A Faction may only use Nuclear Cruise Missiles against naval units
in Naval Strike.
Use any nuclear weapons against a zone that contains their own land units, including those attacking.
NOTE : You can use them against territories that use to be yours and neutral land zones.

13.6: Range: Both SLBMs, ICBMs and IRBMs have long ranges and those ranges can be calculated in any man-
ner the player wishes, including not taking direct paths and being fired over neutral zones.

13.7 Nuclear Effects: A player uses a nuclear weapon by declaring its use during Combat Orders phase and
resolving it during the Combat phase. Place nuclear missile markers of the appropriate type on their intended
targets. If you are using nuclear weapons on a land zone you cannot also make a land or air attack into that zone.
Nuclear weapons can be used in one of three ways:

(a) General Effect:

1. The Attacking player fires the nuclear weapon at a land zone within range. The weapon hits automatically un-
less the opponent has the ABM technology (6.3)
2. Place a Nuclear Blast marker in the zone. A Faction can use more than one nuclear weapon on a zone but never
places more than one blast marker.
3. The Attacking player rolls one six-sided die (Add +2 to this roll for an ICBM and +1 for an SLBM). Remove that
many units from the land zone.
4. The Attacking player rolls one six-sided die (Add +2 to this roll for an ICBM and +1 for an SLBM). The Defend-
ing player pays that many IPPs to the bank. He cannot lose more than the value of the territory.
5. On the turn a Nuclear Blast marker is placed and as long as it remains in the zone no units may move into or
out of the zone (Aircraft may still fly over the zone). Canals that cross the zone cannot be used.
6. The player who owns the territory removes the Nuclear Blast marker at the start of their End of Turn phase. (and
thus collects income from the territory and can place units there).
7. A player can still fire nuclear weapons, cruise and ASBM out of a zone with a Nuclear Blast marker.

(b) Base Strike: The nuclear weapon can be used to target an air or naval base. Place a Nuclear Damage marker
on the base. This acts like a regular Damage marker but costs 8 IPP to remove. It does not affect other units
in the zone but is not removed until the player pays to remove it.

(c) Naval Strike: A nuclear cruise can be fired at surface ships and hits on an 7+ and chooses its target automati-
cally. A unit hit by a nuclear cruise missile is eliminated as are all land units, aircraft and drones on it. (A
Super Carrier would not take damage). Nuclear cruise missiles do not leave a blast marker in sea zones.

Copyright © 2020 Historical Board Gaming

13. 8 Ballistic Missile Submarines: Each Faction (except the Caliphate) has one or more Ballistic Missile Sub-
marine markers. These are used to fire SLBMs. Each Faction has the same number of Ballistic Missile Submarines
as it does SLBM’s in their missile arsenal. Once a Ballistic Missile Submarine fires an SLBM it is removed from
the game. Ballistic Missile Submarines do not Attack/Defend and cannot be Attacked (except as per 13.9). They
may move 2 spaces. Ballistic Submarines are ignored for all purposes and never block movement or interact with
other units except as per 13.9 below.

13.9 Hunting Ballistic Subs [Optional]: Only Attack Submarines may attack Ballistic Missile submarines.
They only hit on a “1”. Combat lasts one round only. If a Ballistic Missile Submarine is eliminated, remove one
SLBM from the that player’s missile arsenal. The Ballistic Missile Submarine has no defense roll.
Table 13-3 Nuclear Weapons

Weapon Range Fires From Effect

ICBM 8 On Board General Effect +2 unit destruction & IPP loss
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Base Strike
IRBM 4 On Board General Effect +0
Intermediate Range Ballistic
Missile
Base Strike

SLBM 6 Ballistic Missile General Effect +1 unit destruction & IPP loss
Submarine-Launched Ballistic
Missile
Submarine Base Strike

Nuclear Cruise Mis- 1 Attack Subma- General Effect +0

sile rine, Base Strike
Guided Missile Naval Strike: Hits Ships 7+ with choice of targets
Destroyer,
Air Base
ADM 0 Israel Rolls 3 dice at 5 vs. Attacking ground units.
Atomic Demolition Munition

S T R AT E G Y & G A M E D E S I G N N O T E S

Learning the Game
This game is designed to be simple, as far as war games go. There are a few quick pointers that should help you
get started. First, make sure you and all the players read the rules. This may look like other games you have
played but it is also quite different. Don’t assume you are playing Global War 1936-1945 or any similar looking
game. Read in particular the sections on Attack Submarines and cruise missiles.

General Strategy
This is a fast-paced game where things can move quickly. Be wary of helicopters and Airborne that can sneak up
on you. The range of aircraft are long and you can easily get taken by surprise. This is the rapid and asymmetrical
nature of modern warfare - so be prepared!
Cyberwarfare outcomes can be highly variable, but they can also create devastating attacks with a lot of suc-
cess. In our playtests we found sometimes huge swings effects seemed too powerful, until we realized they were
highly unlikely to be repeated. Don’t forget to save some die for counter cyber activities.

Copyright © 2020 Historical Board Gaming 24

25
Russian Strategy
Russians begin with a big lead in forces in Europe. Russian initial objectives should be pressing into NATO Faction
territory to gobble up resources and secure Scandinavia and Denmark to keep their enemies from being able to
penetrate the Baltic. You can roll over some high value territories in Europe pretty quickly and keep the NATO
Faction on the defensive. You can use your LHDs to hit Germany and Eastern Europe at the same time, capturing
a lot of territory quickly or slowly eat up Eastern Europe. Use your Attack Submarines and Cyberwarfare abilities
to try and shut down US ports and airfields to prevent the US from reinforcing with Sealift and Airlift. Expanding
influence and forces in South America keeps the US Faction vulnerable and forces them to deal with you there.

Chinese Strategy
Japan is a natural target for China since it is lightly defended. Try to take out the Japanese navy and prepare for
an Airborne / amphibious assault. You can bottle up South Korea with the DMZ but will need to deal with India
before it becomes too big. The U.S. Faction’s navy is a threat but the closer it gets to your coast the more you can
pound it with your land based anti-ship missiles. Chinese Airborne and helicopters can threaten many of the
Pacific islands but will have trouble holding them. While the Chinese navy is weaker, the land-based anti-ship
missiles will help protect it if it stays near home waters.

Caliphate Strategy
Caliphate forces can help with the initial assault against Turkey and then turn their attention towards taking out
Israel and India. There are a lot of victory stars around the Caliphate, so it will have to defend its home territories
and keep an eye towards expansion. Africa is a natural target and with the Caliphate’s insurgency ability; it can
grow quickly.

NATO Faction Strategy

NATO will need to start out building up their forces to resist invasion. Without the U.S. Faction’s help, NATO can
quickly be overrun so it needs to make sure the USA is regularly sending reinforcements with its air and sea-
lift capacity. The two-round limit will help you stabilize and it’s important to build a lot of Infantry to keep the
homeland defended. Your Super Carrier will be very valuable in providing air cover for your land-based forces in
Europe. Watch the sneaky Airborne in Northern Russia that can take England if undefended. A fighter on an LHD
or Super Carrier in this zone will prevent this.

United States Strategy

The U.S. must begin reinforcing NATO states in Europe if it is not going to be dominated by the Russians. Us-
ing your LHDs and your strategic movement, try to get as much as you can to support your European allies. Your
carriers are going to be really important in providing air support by scrambling Fighters to help in the massive
land battles of Europe. The US fleet is the key to the Pacific and should be able to establish dominance however
bringing it too close to China is dangerous because of China’s land-based anti-ship missiles.

Pacific Coalition Strategy

The Pacific Coalition should be preparing to defend their critical points: Japan and South Korea are prime tar-
gets and should be guarded. India is threatened from both sides and is key to holding the region. The Pacific
Coalition’s fleet can help the US dominate the seas. The Coalition needs to watch for Airborne assaults from the
Chinese mainland into its island territories. The South Korea DMZ provides a brutal barrier for either side and the
one round limit there can make this battle last a while. You have a lot of territories to defend close to China, so
stock up on Infantry!

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