MENSILE MARZO 2026 – CHINA’S WAR 1937-41

Mar 1, 2026

PROVA SUL CAMPO

Prova sul campo rappresenta “la voce” dei soci A.S.G.S. in merito a vecchie e nuove simulazioni che il mercato dei board-wargame offre. Una serie di pagine dove poter trovare piccole recensioni e/o resoconti di partite sui board-wargame che vengono giocati dal gruppo. Siamo sempre alla ricerca anche di collaboratori; se volete inviare articoli su giochi che amate e conoscete, contattate l’Amministratore. A partire dal gennaio 2018 si pubblichiamo 2 tipi di recensione sul Mensile: PLAYTEST EFFETTIVO e POTENZIALE DINAMICO. Il PE è una recensione basata su partite giocate; sarà quindi approfondita e potrà avvalersi di valutazioni anche da parte di altri giocatori/collaboratori. Il PD è una recensione basata sulla “percezione del potenziale dinamico” del gioco. Piazzamento di mappe e pedine, verifica dell’ambientazione e ricostruzione storica, lettura delle regole; in pratica si “legge il gioco” invece che giocarlo. E’ l’approccio tipico del collezionista di board-wargame…

PLAYTEST EFFETTIVO

Da Wikipedia: La seconda guerra sino-giapponese (7 luglio 1937 – 2 settembre 1945) fu il maggiore conflitto mai avvenuto tra la Repubblica di Cina e l’Impero giapponese, e il più grande conflitto asiatico del XX secolo. Combattuta prima e durante la seconda guerra mondialeterminò con la resa incondizionata del Giappone il 2 settembre 1945, che mise fine alla seconda guerra mondiale.^[7] Continua……..

CHINA’S WAR 1931- 1945

GMT Games

Dal sito GMT:

July 7, 1937: a nighttime skirmish at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing erupts into an invasion and occupation of China by the Imperial Japanese Army that would not end until 1945. Western sources call it the “Second Sino-Japanese War”; in China, it is the “War of Resistance”; and in Japan, it is blandly referred to as “the China Incident.” 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 Guomindang 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.

China’s War: 1937-1941 is Volume XIII in the COIN series of games that use similar rules to cover modern and historical insurgencies. Included are rules for a standard four-player game, as well as rules to handle non-player Factions, enabling solitaire, two-player, or three-player games.

Scatola

Dimensioni tipiche per la serie COIN – GMT. Intrigante la foto di copertina, con unità cinesi che si difendono lungo un tratto della grande muraglia! Sul retro le classiche informazioni per un possibile acquisto.

Mappe

Dimensioni classiche, in cartoncino pesante. A prima vista la grafica non è accattivante! Le aree di gioco appaiono molto grandi, spaziose, forse anche troppo. I colori tenui, non fastidiosi, riescono a renderla accettabile. Ma quello che proprio non mi è piaciuto sono i fiumi e le ferrovie! Di grandi dimensioni, con colori forti, veramente poco belli. Peccato. Molto meglio i tempi e le grafiche di titoli quali FitL, ADP, Ghandi, Algeria. Il resto delle informazioni, ad ogni modo, è completo, con tabelline, sequenza di gioco, ecc.

Pedine, counters

Un unico set di pedine, con segnalini atti a registrare il controllo delle zone, terrorismo, supporto e opposizione, ecc. Belli, chiaeri. Due le buste che contengono i coloratissimi e oramai celebri blocchetti di legno, suddivisi per le quattro fazioni in gioco: Giappone, Nazionalisti, Signori della guerra, Cinesi.

Dadi

4 d6, di colore diverso.

Tabelle di gioco

Ben otto le tabelle nella scatola; 4 classiche, che elencano Operazioni e Attività Speciali delle fazioni; 2 che riportano la sequenza del round di propaganda; 1 doppia tabella che elenca e spiega gli eventi delle carte; infine 1 tabella dedicata alle procedure per il sistema in solitario, definito Sun Wukong.

Rulebook / Playbook / Sun Wukong

Rules; 23 pagine, di cui solo 15 di regole effettive. Le restanti per il set up e indice. Chiare, oramai “stabili” come sistema generale COIN. Playbook; altre 26 pagine di Tutorial, interazioni fra le fazioni, e soprattutto di note storiche, in questo caso utilissime perchè il periodo / ambientazione non è molto trattato da testi in circolazione, perlomeno per quanto di mio possesso. Sun Waking; 26 infine le pagine che trattano il gioco in solitario, oramai una parte integrante dei COIN e sviluppato ulteriormente con le espansioni di FitL.

Impressioni di gioco

Immagine tratta da partita dell’autore; le miniature Giapponesi sono del gioco Axis &Allies Pacific

Intanto una semplice considerazione relativa ai materiali della scatole e del contenuto: con questo titolo la serie COIN torna ad offrire un prodotto di qualità tipica GMT. Ero rimasto deluso da ultimi titoli quali People Power o Brirish Way, quasi un “eurogame” come materiali e grafica. Con Red must Rebellion e ora China’s war gli acquirenti possono ritenersi soddisfatti, io credo. Poi, siamo di fronte ad un classico e solido COIN, con Operazioni, Attività Speciali e condizioni di vittoria asimmetriche; ogni fazione in gioco deve essere gestita a modo suo. Anche in questo titolo ci sono specifiche Operazioni e/o Attività che rendono possibili arrivare al punteggio vittoria: NAZIONALISTI; Reclutamento per Pacificazione/Supporto + Governo, per Patrocinio = +40. WARLORDS; Sweep per Controllo aree + Organize per piazzare basi = +25. COMUNIST OF CHINA; Agitate per Opposizione, Rally per piazzare Basi = +20. JAPAN; Patrol per occupare LOC/Econ + Commitment/Propaganda durante rese = +40.

La lettura del regolamento è piacevole e offre tutta una serie di Note del Disegnatore che sono illuminanti, specie per capire certe regole e la loro origine. Es: colonna sinistra, in basso, pag. 5; colonna sinistra in basso, pag. 8; colonna destra, pag. 11; colonna destra, pag. 15. Infine, altrettanto interessante il lungo articolo di Brian Train a fine Playbook sul corso della guerra, fitto di informazioni storiche che penso non tutti conosceranno.

Ho giocato una partita in solitario, atta a capire le regole e farmi un’idea delle possibili strategie di gioco. Come dicevo sopra, credo di poter affermare che CW è un ennesimo ottimo titolo ad opera di Brian Train. Non è un COIN con troppi fronzoli, anche se le varie Operazioni e Attività hanno aspetti diversi (legati alla situazione storica trattata) pur essendo oramai “classiche” per i COIN. Es: Rally, Assalto, ecc. Il Giappone appare molto forte fin da subito ma si trova di fronte un pò tutti: Nazionalisti, Comunisti e Signori della guerra.

Interessante e un pò “diversa” la risoluzione dei combattimenti, eseguita tramite una tabella che evidenzia le forze in campo, specifiche per ogni fazione in gioco. Es: un cubetto Truppa giapponese vale 2 Combat Value, mentre una guerriglia attiva vale 1. In aggiunta solo truppe giapponesi e NAT/WLD possono eseguire assalto, mentre le forze restanti si difendono solamente. Una sorta di combattimento “wargamistico”.

In definitiva un titolo assolutamente interessante, direi un must per chi ama i COIN. Il sottoscritto lo presenterà a SMGC 2026, www.sanmarinogame.com e PLAY – Bologna, a Maggio prossimo.

LINKS interessanti

Interview with Brian Train Designer of COIN Series Volume XII China’s War: 1937-1941 from GMT Games

Cosa mi è piaciuto: ambientazione, poco trattata dai wargame in generale.

Cosa mi ha deluso: grafica dei terreni, in particolare fiumi e ferrovie.

Allego di seguito anche una bella recensione di nuovo amico, Stephen Chan, che vive in Hong Kong; ho visto alcuni interessanti post su Facebook e ho chiesto una sua collaborazione. Direi che il risultato è notevole! Grazie Steven!

China’s War 1937-1941

GMT Games (2025)

For many in the West, WW2 went from 1939 to 1945.

But for us Chinese, WW2 lasted 8 years. With an estimated 35 million casualties, both military and civilian, the Second Sino-Japanese War or the War of Resistance against the Japanese Aggression, lasted 8 long years.

Enough of history, what is the game like?

Those with eagle eyes would have spotted that the game only covers the first 4 years of this conflict.

I have had many correspondences with Mr. Brian Train, the game’s designer during my journey playing this game: ‘Design Choice’ is often the answer to many of my queries. In fact, the war in the China theatre has largely become quite static and attritional after 1941, when Japan diverted many of her men and material towards attacking the other parts of Asia Pacific.

China’s War is not just a traditional wargame about the war against Imperial Japan, it encompasses the complex geopolitics within China after the 1911 Revolution which ended 2000 years of Imperial rule and the establishment of the Republic.

The choice of using the COIN (COunter-INsurgency) system to represent this conflict is to allow this complex and asymmetrical military and political situation to be ‘gamed’ by 4 players as the Nationalist Government, the Japanese Empire, the Communist Party and the Chinese Warlords.

The Warlords were historically a disparate group rather than a unified faction represented in the game. Again, this is a ‘Design Choice’ to abstract them into a single group in order to ease gameplay.

I’m not going enter into minute detail about the COIN system. But in essence, the game is divided into 3 or 4 Campaigns each representing one year depending on the scenario. The game is card-driven in which a card is drawn from a prepared deck for each year and a player’s subsequent choice of actions very much depend on the Event written on the card.

Only two players are eligible to conduct Operations per card depending on the eligibility written on the card.

Victory is by accumulating the most ‘Victory Points’, and you can do that during the Campaign or during the Propaganda Rounds when the Propaganda Card is drawn.

The competition for Victory Points is different for each faction.

Eg. 1). the Japan player needs to solely occupy the ‘Lines of Communication’ for their Economic Values plus the ‘Commitment’.

The Lines of Communication and Commitment are abstractions of China’s resources and the support from Tokyo respectively.

2). The Chinese Communist player scores points from the provinces’ population that are opposing the Nationalist Government, plus the number of Bases on the map. The bases represent the faction’s social, political, economic infrastructures within a province.

The three Chinese factions must cooperate to resist the Japanese invasion and they cannot attack each other militarily. However, there are ways that they can undermine each other’s efforts in order to gain prestige the eyes of the Chinese population as the most prolific resistance and the ultimately the legitimate governing body in post-war China.

My thoughts on the game?

Another great iteration of the COIN series and a subject matter not often represented in the wargaming library.

I would say China’s War is of low to medium complexity amongst the others in the series.

It has a dedicated Solo System included and a free App called ‘Xiandi’ is also available in App Stores to aid solitaire play.

Having said that, the COIN system is not a simple game that can be picked up and play straight away, especially if you are a beginner.

Happy gaming!

Sotto, alcune note inviate dall’Autore stesso, Brian Train! Una chicca…….; THANKS, BRIAN!

Background on China’s War

Soon after I started designing wargames, I worked out a strategic political-military system that I used in Arriba Espana, a game on the Spanish Civil War. This came out in 1995 and had a couple of later editions with other publishers. A few years later I used much the same system for the 1937-41 war in China, and it was published in 1999 (just in time for the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic, not that anyone but me noticed) as Battle for China. At the same time I included More Battle for China, an expansion kit that allowed players to play beyond 1941 and also to play out the 1947-49 Civil War. This game would be published several more times by other publishers, sometimes with the expansion kit, until its final edition in 2009.

Why did I go there? From the time I started playing wargames, I noticed that the China theatre was one that was scarcely reflected at all in games…there were lots of Pacific War games but China was just a big blank space on the map, even though the 1937 “China Incident” was the reason for all those other War games. I wanted to fill in that blank space and to understand the war’s place in the general history of World War Two, and to appreciate how the Chinese Civil War was fought and ended…which had its impact in the general history of Asian conflict for the next 30 years.

By 2012 I was working in the GMT COIN system, together with Volko Ruhnke for A Distant Plain. After that game was published in 2013, GMT asked me to make a COIN system game on the Algerian War of Independence, and that one was published in 2017 as Colonial Twilight. In between there, I came up with the idea of applying the COIN system to the 1937-41 period in China, and in fact got the design to about the “mostly-done” stage in mid-2015. But I stopped work on it so I could develop and finish off Colonial Twilight properly, which I think was a good idea. I only got back to work on the game in 2018 and owing to the COVID pandemic, some life events, and GMT’s pace of development and production the game did not finally appear until 2025.

My research sources are in the Bibliography section of the game’s Playbook. When I finished my first version of the game in 2015, I had already done all of the basic research required for the earlier 1999 game, and I had done further research for a long article on the war for the issue of Strategy and Tactics magazine that included the game’s final edition in 2009. Also, in the last ten years there has been a lot of good writing coming out about wartime China; one source I used, Forgotten Ally by Rana Mitter (2013), had some interesting commentary in it about the recently changed historiography and popular image of Jiang Jieshi in the People’s Republic – almost a rehabilitation.

Because the game is a political-military design, played at a very high strategic level with undifferentiated wooden unmarked pieces, it was not necessary for me to chase a great level of detail on orders of battle or command structures. The highly variable quality of fighting forces engaged over time and the large time/space scale also seemed to nudge the game away from anything using a hex map, rigid turn-time scales or a highly detailed Order of Battle with counters with number ratings on them. (For those who are interested in that kind of treatment, the GR/D game War of Resistance has been available since 1998: with 20 map sections and over 2,200 counters you’d think that would be enough. But recently TKC Games is offering for The China Incident, a game with 25 maps and close to 5,000 counters, though not all of them will be in use at the same time!) What was important to me was to find material that described asymmetries between the four antagonistic factions (though three of them are ostensibly on the same side!) and what they sought out of the conflict, at least in the 1937-41 period. And while the mechanical Operations among the three non-insurgent factions are the same, their decisions and limitations in conducting them are different and their Special Activities are also quite different.

What Next?

This game was published as Volume 13 in the GMT COIN system series. The series covers all kinds of historical periods and situations, and this is the first one to deal with any theatre of World War Two. It’s also a bit different in that it begins with a foreign invasion, where most of the other volumes deal with internal civil conflicts or insurgencies, or resistance to pre-existing foreign occupations. New proposals for the COIN system continue to be made and I guess at some point there will be a final one. Volko Ruhnke has long since moved on from the system. At the end of 2025 I self-published my game O Canada which uses a variation on the COIN system, and this is my last essay in the system too.

I am currently working on some designs about contemporary urban warfare, something I feel is a very important topic, and will likely be publishing some more games about power politics as well.

Brian Train

LIBRO DEL MESE

Einaudi

La storia degli otto devastanti anni della guerra tra Cina e Giappone, che avrebbe contato milioni di morti e rimodellato completamente l’Asia orientale. Uno dei piú tragici conflitti della Seconda guerra mondiale ha finalmente la magistrale indagine che merita. «Un fondamentale contributo all’unico aspetto della Seconda guerra mondiale di cui sapevamo veramente troppo poco, e che si dovrebbe conoscere molto meglio per comprendere appieno la nuova superpotenza cinese… Un modello di chiarezza e di stile». Antony Beevor, «The Times»

Bellissimo testo, assolutamente da avere a fianco del gioco; uno dei pochi resoconti completi su tale guerra, specie in lingua italiana.

Associazione

Sammarinese