The East is Red: The Sino Soviet War explained

The East Is Red: The Sino Soviet War is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1974 that simulates a hypothetical invasion of Manchuria and North China by Russia using 1970s armaments.

Description

The East Is Red is a two-player game in which one player controls the Russian invaders, and the other player controls Chinese defenders.

Components

The game includes:

Gameplay

The East Is Red uses an alternating system of "I Go, You Go" turns, movement and combat first developed by SPI for (1971).

Victory conditions

Victory is based solely based on how many Chinese industrial centers the Russians capture: 22 or less is a Russian defeat, 23 or more is a Russian victory.

Publication history

The East Is Red was designed by Jim Dunnigan, with graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen. It was first published by SPI in Strategy & Tactics No. 42, then released in both a "flat-pack" box and a regular bookcase box.

After the demise of SPI, Decision Games acquired the rights to the game. Joseph Miranda revised and updated the rules to allow for more modern armaments, and a second edition titled Dragon vs Bear: China vs Russia in the 21st Century with cover art by Eric R. Harvey was published in 2014 as a pullout game in Modern War #12.[1]

Reception

In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Nicholas Palmer called it a "good brisk game with little innovation over the [''Kursk: Operation Zitadelle''] game system but unusual theme."[2]

In Moves No. 15, Thomas Sink noted that a large part of Russia's supply line issues stem from a proposed limited shipping capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, as Sink pointed out, the Russian railway system actually had the ability "to supply around 300,000 tons of supplies daily to dumps behind the front [...] If only half of this got through, it would be sufficient to supply the 45 [Russian] divisions."[3]

Other reviews and commentary

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dragon vs Bear: China vs Russia in the 21st Century (2014). boardgamegeek.com . April 27, 2022.
  2. Book: Palmer, Nicholas . Nick Palmer

    . Nick Palmer . The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming . Sphere Books . 1977 . London . 148.

  3. Young. John Michael . February–March 1974. Victories & Defeats: A Critical View of SPI Game Development and Design in 1973. Moves. 13. 15 and 18.