War Room Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Game Components
• World Map Features
• Setting Up
• The Phases and Officers
• Phase 1: Direct National Economy
• Phase 2: Strategic Planning
• Phase 3: Movement Operations
• Movement Examples
• Phase 4: Combat Operations - Terms
• Phase 4: Combat Operations - Setup
• Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battles
• Phase 4: Combat Operations - Raids
• Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief
• Phase 5: Refit & Deploy
• Phase 6: Morale
• Phase 7: Production
• Victory & Defeat
• Non-Aggression Pacts and the Stalin Doctrine
• Neutrals
• War Room Scenarios
  • Global War
  • War in Europe
  • War in the Pacific
  • North Africa
  • The Eastern Front
• Advanced Optional Rules
• 'Take Her Down' Nano-Expansion
• Designer Notes
• Credits
• Optional Quick Play Rules
• Quick Battle Reference

Objective

STANDARD: Seven Nations struggle to control key territories and critical resources before the stress and devastation of prolonged conflict drains them of their ability to wage war. Unless otherwise stated in the chosen game scenario, the Tripartite Pact Alliance (AKA, The Axis) must control two of the following Allied Forces Capitals to win: Eastern United States, Great Britain, or Moscow, while the Allied Forces Nations must control both of the following Axis Capitals to win: Greater Germany and Japan. (ITALY and CHINA play a lesser role.)

LIMITED: For a shorter experience, limit the game to 6 rounds. Then tally a score for each Nation's position on the Homeland Status Track, 1 point for each Zone it has progressed beyond the Start (White) Zone. For example, a Nation in the Orange Zone scores 3 points, while a Collapsed Nation scores 6 points. The side (Axis or Allied Forces) with the lower total score for all its Nations wins. Compare Stress totals (subtracting Medals and/or Civilian Goods) on the Morale Board to break ties. Further ties result in a draw. Winning outright by capturing Capitals is still viable.

Game Components

1 Rulebook: This is a "must read" for all commanders!

1 Unit Storage Tray: This holds Land, Naval, and Air Units.

1 Common Token Storage Tray: This holds all common tokens, such as Hotspot Markers, Medals, Bomb Tokens, and Arrow Tags.

7 Nation Storage Trays: Each holds a Nation's supply of Command Tokens, National Flags, and extra Territory Cards.

7 Resource Charts and 28 Pegs: Insert color-coded pegs into the corresponding channels to keep track of each Nation's accumulated resources: Oil, Iron, and OSR (other Strategic Resources). The white peg is for tracking over 20. Markings (such as a "G", "E", "P", etc.) indicate starting amounts depending on the selected scenario. The backs are used in the optional Quick Play rules (see Optional Quick Play Rules).

1 World Map: This is the game board. Note the Turn Order Track and Homeland Status Track near the polar area.

1 Morale Board: Use this board to calculate each Nation's accumulating Stress, a key game factor. The gold side has Stress Threshold numbers for the Global War and The Eastern Front scenarios, while the silver side is used for the War in Europe, War in the Pacific, and North Africa scenarios (see War Room Scenarios).

7 Pads of Operations and Production (O&P) Charts: Every round, each Nation will secretly write orders for movement and purchasing new Units on a new O&P Chart. Order more charts at www.nightingale-games.com, or make copies.

2 Battle-Boards: One side is for land/air battles and the reverse side is for sea/air battles. The second Battle-Board is for optional faster play with simultaneous battles.

2 Dry-Erase Quick Battle Charts: These double-sided charts (red for Axis and blue for Allied Forces) are used for the optional Quick Battle Rules instead of the standard Battle-Boards.

131 Territory Cards: These double-sided cards will be exchanged when territories are captured. The front side of a card displays Resource income, while the reverse side (with red and white stripes) shows reduced Resource income for when the territory is "Embattled". Starting forces for setup are also shown on each card.

11 Card Holders: These are slotted to hold a Nation's Territory Cards that have Resource income. Keep cards for other territories (without Resources) in the Storage Trays. Besides having 1 Card Holder for each Nation, there are 4 extra blank Card Holders for any Nation that needs more slots. Fold up the long edge flaps to hold cards in place. Gently push a tab from the back to insert a card.

2 Reference Mats: One mat covers the 7 phases of a game round, while the other is a Combat Operations reference. There is a World Map reference on the back of each, useful for secret discussions.

10 Dice: Use the Dodecahedron Dice (d12) to resolve combat. Each Die has the following sides: 1 white, 1 black, 1 red, 2 green, 3 blue, and 4 yellow.

JUMBO FLAGS: Apply the Flag stickers of each Nation to the BLACK plastic tokens to make JUMBO Flag Tokens.

• Turn Order Track (use 1 round Jumbo Flag for each Nation participating in the scenario)
• Homeland Status Track (use 1 square Jumbo Flag for each Nation participating in the scenario)

Nations: CHINA, BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, SOVIET UNION, UNITED STATES, GERMANY, ITALY, IMPERIAL JAPAN.

NATIONAL FLAGS: These smaller chipboard Flag markers are used for the following:

• Territories (to show control other than as originally shown on the World Map by color and Region ID)
• Stress Track on Morale Board (use a Flag for each Nation participating in the scenario to track Stress)
• Trans-Ocean Convoys (to show control other than as originally shown on the World Map by Flag)
• Carrier Fighters (to show ownership, if needed)
• Battle-Board (to show which unit is which amongst allies, if needed)

COMMAND TOKENS: Command Tokens rest atop stacks of Units, thereby identifying ownership of the Units beneath them and allowing for specific orders. Commands are limited to what is shown on the bottom of each Nation Storage Tray (and by scenario), but may be recycled as needed (once eliminated in battle). Command Tokens are not Units. Spare parts and stickers are included.

• Land Commands (square)
• Air Commands (circle)
• Naval Commands (elongated hexagon)

COMMAND ID: The large number code on a black background is the Command ID (1-9 for Naval, 11-19 for Air, and 20+ for Land) for the indicated Nation. The small region ID code and the small colored shape silhouettes facilitate setup (see Setting Up).

COMMAND STACK: A stack of Units is capped by a Command Token. There is a limit of 8 stacked Units per Command. A Command stack may NOT be disbanded (in order to free up a Command Token to be used elsewhere).

LAND UNITS: These represent various land forces — Infantry, Artillery, Armor.

AIR UNITS: These represent various air forces — Fighters, Bombers. CARRIER FIGHTERS: These special Units don't require Command Tokens or written orders. They launch in a special step after all movement orders are executed.

NAVAL UNITS: These represent various naval forces — Submarines, Cruisers, Aircraft Carriers, Battleships.

MULTIPLIER UNITS: Units are not piece-limited. Use these white tokens to represent 3 of whatever Unit Type is directly below it in the stack (Land Unit Multipliers, Air Unit Multipliers, Naval Unit Multipliers).

30 HOTSPOT MARKERS: These markers will be placed on any region that requires a resolution. The flip side (with red and blue) indicates an Embattled status (i.e. an ongoing conflict to be continued next round). Also use Hotspots during raids and on the Battle-Board as counters.

30 MEDALS/CIVILIAN GOODS: Medals represents battle achievements, and are used on the Morale Board. The reverse side denotes Civilian Goods, which are purchased with Resources and can be used to cancel Stress.

25 BOMB TOKENS/INDUSTRY TOKENS: The Bomb side is used in territories to show Infrastructure damage due to Strategic Bombing Raids. Use the Industry side to mark Units under construction.

20 ARROW TAGS: These are used to indicate that an Air Command must land during the Land Air Commands step in Phase 5: Refit and Deploy. Red=Axis; Blue=Allied Forces. They are also used to denote Force Advantage in battle.

World Map Features

SEA REGION: These are blue regions with an ID code in large light blue text (e.g., A-5).

CONVOY: A Convoy is 1 or more ship silhouettes surrounded by a ring (which is NOT a region boundary). Coastal Convoys are linked to a territory. Trans-Ocean Convoys have labels indicating their origination and destination territories. Convoys can be raided by Enemy forces (see Convoy Raids).

NARROW SEA PASSAGE: These narrow sea channels have rules restricting passage of ships (see The World's Narrow Sea Passages below).

TERRITORY: These are land regions that feature an Information Bar, including islands (e.g., G1).

ISLAND: For movement purposes, everything inside the island's circle is considered land (i.e., a territory). Any island without a Region ID may not be entered. The tiny Flags clarify original control.

IMPASSABLE REGIONS (BY LAND): Land Commands can't move into the Sahara (in Africa) nor the Himalayas (in Asia). Air Units may fly over these regions but not land in them.

ADJACENCY: Regions that meet only at a corner are NOT adjacent. For example, U3 is NOT adjacent to P-4 and R16 is NOT adjacent to P-2. Note: As Sicily's circle overlaps Italy, the two territories are adjacent to each other; In contrast, Aleutian Islands and Alaska are not adjacent to each other. Note: Gibraltar has a magnifying circle surrounding it, and its Port is NOT adjacent to A-15.

INFORMATION BAR: This is a strip of codes for each territory including: Region ID, a Strategic Value (SV), and Resources produced. A National Flag on the left side of an Information Bar indicates a Capital territory.

REGION ID: An ID code is shown in a black box for territories and in light blue lettering for sea regions. For example, Greater Germany is G1 ('G' for GERMANY), and the Baltic Sea region north of Greater Germany is A-5 ('A' for Atlantic).

STRATEGIC VALUE: Strategic Value (SV) is shown in a white box on the World Map and Territory Cards. The greater the SV the more important the territory, as this value conveys Stress gained when the territory is lost.

RESOURCES: Most territories provide Resources as income. Red = Oil, Blue = Iron, Yellow = OSR. The numbers indicate how many of each Resource is provided.

INDUSTRY ICONS: These icons show where new Land, Air, and Naval Units can be constructed. Each icon's number of smokestacks (equal to the territory's SV) limits the quantity of Units that may be constructed there at one time.

MOBILIZATION ICONS: CHINA has special rules for Infantry mobilization (see Chinese Mobilization in Phase 7: Production).

PORTS: Undamaged Ports provide Port Advantage (see Phase 4: Combat Operations - Setup) in sea battles. Additionally, newly manufactured Naval Units can only be launched into a sea region connected to a Port that is part of a territory with Industries.

RAILS: Undamaged Rails allow for rapid land movement across connected territories.

TRADE ICONS: Some Neutral territories (see Neutrals) offer Resources of a certain Type in trade as shown by a round Resource icon. This is NOT Resource income (see Trade with Neutrals in Phase 7: Production).

Narrow Sea Passages restrict sea movement for Enemy Naval Commands and Troop Transports (the restriction is not optional). Air Unit movement is unaffected. These passages are red (with white dots) sea region border lines and canals (Suez and Panama Canals). The sea regions on either side of them are adjacent to one another. Friendly Nations may pass freely. You or an ally must:

• Control (or be aligned with) Central America (the territory) to pass through the Panama Canal (A-12, P-7).
• Control Egypt to pass through the Suez Canal (M-3, M-5).
• Control both Denmark and Norway to pass through the Danish Straits (A-5, A-6).
• Control Gibraltar to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar (A-15, M-1).
• Control Malaya to pass through the Strait of Malacca (I-9, P-15).
• Control Turkey to pass through the Turkish Straits (M-3, M-4). Note: Turkey is Neutral, so neither Alliance may pass through initially.

Setting Up

WORLD MAP: Place the World Map such that all players have access.

CHOOSE SCENARIO: Choose 1 of the 5 scenarios to play (see War Room Scenarios).

ASSIGN NATIONS: Each player decides which Nation(s) to play, as allowed by the scenario.

HOMELAND STATUS TRACK: Each participating Nation places 1 square Jumbo National Flag on the White (Start) Zone of the Homeland Status Track.

TURN ORDER TRACK: Each participating Nation places 1 round Jumbo National Flag on the Turn Order Track. These Flags will be sequenced at the end of Phase 2: Strategic Planning.

O&P CHARTS: Each Nation takes their pad of O&P Charts and writes the round number in the indicated space with a pencil on the first sheet.

RESOURCE CHARTS: Each Nation places each of the 3 pegs for Oil, Iron, and OSR (Other Strategic Resources) into the "0" row of its respective column on that Nation's Resource Chart. The white peg is for tracking above 20. Resources are public information.

BOARDS: Place the Morale Board nearby. Each participating Nation places 1 National Flag on the "0" box of the Stress Track.

BATTLE BOARD AND DICE: Place the Battle-Board and 10 Dice nearby.

COMMON TOKENS AND UNIT STORAGE: Place the supply of common tokens and Unit Storage nearby. Common Tokens include:

• Hotspot Markers
• Bomb/Industry Tokens
• Arrow Tags
• Medals/Civilian Goods

RULES AND REFERENCE: Keep the Rulebook and Reference Mats handy.

NATION COMPONENTS: Each player claims the relevant Nation's Storage Tray of components, which include Command Tokens, National Flags, and starting Territory Cards. Insert Territory Cards (prioritizing those with Resource icons) into each Nation's slotted Card Holder for convenience in adding up income during Phase 1: Direct National Economy. The Embattled sides (with red and white stripes) should all be facing down, except for the Solomon Islands. Use the blank Card Holders for additional slots as needed. The bottom of each Nation Storage Tray's slipcase is printed with all of that Nation's Commands for reference.

PLACE COMMAND TOKENS: Referring to the Territory Cards or the Command Tokens, place Command Tokens on the World Map according to their indicated Region IDs. Command Tokens without a Region ID are not placed during setup but may be used later.

PLACE UNITS: Units may be set up now or players may opt to wait, thereby using the Rapid Setup method. If using Rapid Setup, then players need to position Units beneath Commands only after a given Command Stack enters battle or needs to be split or merged. If not using the Rapid Setup method, place Land and Air Units of the designated Type(s) beneath each Command Token to form a Command Stack now. Place Naval Units beneath the Command Tokens in the indicated sea regions. Place the Storage Trays of remaining Units nearby. Note: Some Territory Cards call for Units from two Nations. For example, the territory of Great Britain starts the game with both BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and UNITED STATES forces.

PLACE HOTSPOT: Place a Hotspot Marker in the Solomon Islands (when in play). It is the only region to start the game Embattled, with opposing Alliances both present.

The Phases and Officers

Choose a player to be the Scheduling Officer. This person is responsible for keeping the game moving along. For more regulated play, see Officer Roles (in Advanced Optional Rules). Each round of play has 7 phases:

• PHASE 1: DIRECT NATIONAL ECONOMY
• PHASE 2: STRATEGIC PLANNING
• PHASE 3: MOVEMENT OPERATIONS
• PHASE 4: COMBAT OPERATIONS
• PHASE 5: REFIT & DEPLOY
• PHASE 6: MORALE
• PHASE 7: PRODUCTION

Phase 1: Direct National Economy

Important Terms

TERRITORY CONTROL: A Nation that owns the Territory Card has "control" of the territory. Sea regions are never controlled.

ALLIANCE: Alliance refers to which side you are on: the Allied Forces or the Axis.

FRIENDLY: Nations of the same Alliance are "Friendly" and can never attack each other or themselves. This also applies to Neutrals (see Neutrals) aligned with that Alliance. The term "Friendly" can apply to territories and Units if they belong to you or a Friendly Nation.

ENEMY: Territories and commands of an opposing Alliance (or Neutrals aligned with an opposing Alliance) are described as "Enemy". Standard Neutrals are neither Friendly nor Enemy until invaded (see Neutrals).

UNIT CATEGORY: Each Unit Category (Land, Air, or Naval) has its own dedicated shape (square, circle, or elongated hexagon).

UNIT TYPE: Unit Type refers to a specific color within its Category (for example: green Armor, blue Artillery, yellow Infantry).

ACTIVE REGION: This refers to any region that has a conflict in need of resolution. This could be due to opposing forces sharing a territory, a Convoy Raid, or even an invasion of an empty territory (see Garrison Forces and Strategic Bombing Raids). A Hotspot Marker is placed in the region during Phase 3: Movement Operations and should be either flipped to the Embattled side or removed after the conflict is addressed during Phase 4: Combat Operations. There should be no Hotspots showing by the end of Phase 4: Combat Operations.

EMBATTLED REGION: After a battle, if opposing Land or Naval Commands share a territory or sea region, it becomes "Embattled".

• During Battle Debrief (see Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief), flip the Hotspot Marker to its blue and red Embattled side.
• Flip the Territory Card (if relevant) to its Embattled side showing red and white stripes.
• The controller of an Embattled territory keeps the Territory Card but receives slightly reduced Resource income as indicated on the flipped Embattled side of the Territory Card.
• Flip all Embattled Markers to Active Hotspots at the start of Phase 3: Movement Operations to indicate another battle needs to occur.
• The Territory Card will remain flipped to its Embattled side until the territory is no longer in conflict.
• Air Commands can land during Phase 5: Refit & Deploy in an Embattled territory if the territory is Friendly.

STEP 1. CHECK TERRITORY CARD FACING

Check to make sure Territory Cards are facing the correct way because Embattled Territories receive slightly reduced income. Any time a territory is no longer either Embattled or Active, its card should be immediately restored face-up and the Hotspot Marker removed from the World Map. Exception: All Territory Cards in the color of a Collapsed Nation should be permanently flipped to the Embattled side (with reduced income) even if they are currently controlled by a different Nation. This depletion of Resources represents the drain of prolonged warfare.

CHINA can neither gain nor spend Oil during the game. CHINA can only make Artillery Units if it gains control of an Industrial territory such as Peiping. CHINA may not trade at all. CHINA may not enter sea regions with Land Commands. CHINA may not capture Air or Naval Units, such as those being manufactured at Peiping by the Enemy.

STEP 2. TALLY RESOURCE INCOME

Each Nation now counts up each type of Resource (Oil, Iron, OSR) as shown on their Territory Cards and adjusts their respective Resource Chart accordingly by moving pegs upwards in each column, adding to the existing amount. Note: If any Nation exceeds the maximum shown on one of their Resource Tracks, add a white peg (leaving the original peg at the 20 spot). The standard initial income is based on the territories controlled at the beginning of the scenario being played (see notation on the Resource Chart). Resources are public information. A Nation maintains its Resources until it has Collapsed (see Collapsed Nation Check in Victory & Defeat).

Phase 2: Strategic Planning

STEP 1. WRITE ORDERS AND TURN ORDER BIDS

WRITING MOVEMENT ORDERS

All Nations simultaneously write TOP SECRET orders on their O&P Charts. Discussion among allies is encouraged. Players may agree to a time limit. If a player is controlling multiple Nations, then use a separate O&P Chart for each Nation. Nations may write 1 movement operation in each of the 9 boxes on the left side of their O&P chart. To plot an order, write the Command ID of the chosen Stack above the arrow and the destination Region ID below the arrow. Its destination may be its current region. Multiple orders may NOT be written for the same Command in the same round. Each Nation may have no more than 9 written orders for any given round. CHINA and ITALY may write only 6 orders.

BIDDING OIL FOR TURN ORDER

Each Nation may bid Oil for improved Turn Order Rank. There is no bidding limit (except how much Oil that Nation currently has). A Nation may bid 0, while CHINA must bid 0 (but it is not necessarily last if other Nations also bid 0).

Announce and complete Command splits or mergers before proceeding to Step 2. Once Step 1 is complete, players may not change written orders or bids.

A Nation may opt to cancel any order during their turn in Phase 3: Movement Operations, or an order might be auto-canceled due to a mistake. Canceling intentionally is usually due to preemptive Enemy movements that cause a change of plans.

Nations may reorganize their Command Stacks (splitting and merging as needed) within each region only at the following times:

• Phase 1: Direct National Economy - At any point;
• Phase 2: Strategic Planning - Only during Step 1 - splits and mergers are never written as orders;
• Phase 3: Movement Operations - Only Commands forced to split due to pinning (such Commands may split once – i.e., it may not split into 3 or more Commands) (See Pinning below);
• Phase 4: Combat Operations - Only during Battle Debrief and within the Active region;
• Phase 5: Refit & Deploy - At any point;
• Phase 6: Morale - At any point;
• Phase 7: Production - At any point.

All splits and mergers MUST be announced. There is no limit to the number of Command Stacks in a region.

If a Nation does not have a Command available in the supply, then a split may not occur. If Enemy pinning caused the split, then the movement order must be canceled.

If it matters which Nation reorganizes first, then follow the Turn Order Rank (decide the order randomly if it's the first game round before Step 3).

TIP: Merge Command Stacks to move more Units efficiently with fewer orders. Split Command Stacks to prepare for multiple destinations or bluffing.

STEP 2. REVEAL BIDS AND ESTABLISH TURN ORDER

Once all players are finished writing orders, each Nation announces their bid for Turn Order Rank. In descending order of Oil bid (as written on each O&P Chart), each Nation selects ANY open slot on the Turn Order Track in which to place their National Flag. Sometimes it is advantageous to go first, other times it is better to go last. Randomly draw National Flags to break any sets of ties (including 0 bids) as they come up, with each drawn Nation choosing a slot before the next Flag is drawn. CHINA should be included in a random draw among multiple 0 bids. Note: Turn Order Rank becomes the universal tie-breaker when not otherwise specified.

STEP 3. PAY OIL FOR BIDS

Each Nation now pays for their Turn Order Rank bid. All bids must be paid - win or lose. Adjust each Nation's Oil Resource Track accordingly.

PINNING

A Land or Naval Command trying to exit a region containing Enemy Land or Naval Units must leave behind a number of Units equaling the Enemy Units present within that Category (Land or Naval). Within the region, Units stacked under other Friendly Commands (including ones that moved into the region previously in the current round and ones belonging to an ally) are always used to satisfy this requirement first. Any excess number of Units not needed to match the Enemy pinning MUST continue per the written order to the original destination if possible (unless the order is canceled). The owner places a new Command Token on the pinned force, which remains behind. Pinning is not optional for either party (see exception in Non-Aggression Pacts and the Stalin Doctrine). Permission from allies is never required for pinning.

PLOTTING LAND COMMANDS

Land Commands may move to 1 adjacent territory (except regions impassable by land), or any distance along a Friendly connected Rail path with the following restrictions:

PLOTTING LAND COMMANDS BY RAIL: Rail movement is implied if the destination territory is not adjacent; as such, no special notation is needed. If moving by Rail, Land Commands may not enter an Enemy-controlled territory (or non-Friendly Neutral territory), even if empty of Enemy Units. In short, a Nation may not invade by Rail. Also, they may not enter ANY territory with Enemy Land Units present (even if the territory is controlled by Friendly forces). Territories with Bomb Tokens also prevent Rail movement into, out of, or through that territory (see Strategic Bombing Raids). Any such obstructed Land Command with orders to move beyond an adjacent territory by Rail must cancel its order entirely - it may not make a partial move to the obstruction. Land Commands may exit a Friendly territory (but NOT an Enemy territory) by Rail per normal pinning rules, following all rules above. Be aware that the Yellow Stress Zone penalty can limit Rail movement, see Stress Zone Penalties in Phase 6: Morale.

TRANSPORTING LAND COMMANDS BY SEA: Land Commands are considered "Troop Transports" while being transported at sea. Troop Transports can move up to 2 regions only if both the first and second move END in a sea region. When going ashore they can only move to 1 adjacent territory. (See Long-Range Amphibious Landings in Advanced Optional Rules.)

TROOP TRANSPORTS DURING BATTLE: Troop Transports do not participate in battle while at sea and are sitting ducks. Any Troop Transports will be sunk at the end of battle (or if there was no battle) if Enemy Air or Naval Units are in the region and no Friendly Air or Naval Units survive to defend them (this check occurs prior to the Land Air Commands step in Phase 5: Refit & Deploy). If both sides' naval and air forces are completely destroyed in the region, the Troop Transports on both sides survive. Troop Transports do not affect Enemy Troop Transports.

PINNING – Troop Transports never pin other Troop Transports or Enemy Naval Units. Troop Transports never contribute to offset an Enemy pin that would allow Friendly Naval Commands to leave. Land Command pinning rules apply if Troop Transports have orders to enter a sea region from land. Troop Transports (regardless of their quantity or destination) are pinned by Enemy Naval Units that are unmatched by Friendly Naval Units (with one exception). EXCEPTION: Troop Transports may ignore pinning if they have written orders to move ashore to an adjacent Friendly-controlled Territory (regardless of Embattled status).

PLOTTING AIR COMMANDS

Air Commands may initially move 1 or 2 land/sea regions (including over Enemy territory or regions impassable by land). During Phase 5: Refit & Deploy, Air Commands that were moved or participated in battle (as marked by Arrow Tags) will be able to again move up to 1 or 2 regions to safely land (see Phase 5: Refit & Deploy). Air Commands may not move by Rail.

PINNING – Air Commands can't pin nor be pinned.

PLOTTING NAVAL COMMANDS

Naval Commands may move 1 or 2 sea regions.

PINNING – Naval Commands may pin Enemy Naval Units or Troop Transports.

For any Troop Transport or Naval Command, if there are multiple possible routes, the choice of which path to take is made during Phase 3: Movement Operations. Also, a destination can be the same as its origin, with intent to loop back (except in the case of Troop Transports moving from land to sea or vice versa).

Phase 3: Movement Operations

STEP 1. FLIP EMBATTLED HOTSPOTS

Flip all the Embattled Hotspots (from the previous round) to the Active side.

STEP 2. RESOLVE MOVEMENT IN TURN ORDER

Each Nation takes their turn, resolving (or canceling) ALL ROWS of their written orders on the O&P Chart for the round. Typically, an opponent reads the active Nation's orders, while the active Nation moves their Commands on the World Map accordingly. Until a Nation takes their turn, their written orders remain secret. The O&P Chart is always read from left to right and from row 1 to row 3. All orders must be moved as written or canceled. After all Nations have taken their turns, proceed to Phase 4: Combat Operations.

TAG AIR COMMANDS: Place Arrow Tags (red for Axis - blue for Allied Forces) atop Air Commands as they are moved and/or participate in combat this round. Only Air Commands with Arrow Tags can be moved during the Land Air Commands step in Phase 5: Refit & Deploy.

CANCELING ORDERS AND RESOLVING ILLEGAL ORDERS: A Nation may opt to cancel any of their orders by drawing a slash through the order and announcing the cancellation. If an Air Command's order is canceled, the Air Command is not assigned an Arrow Tag (unless it participates in combat). Partial cancellations are not allowed. During this phase, all players may review the active Nation's written orders for illegal orders. Illegal orders must be canceled. If a Command has multiple orders written for it, only the FIRST instance can be executed.

PARTIAL MOVEMENTS AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS: Partial movements are not permitted except as noted (i.e., Units being pinned, see Phase 2: Strategic Planning). Be sure to check for other movement restrictions, such as Narrow Sea Passages (see World Map Features) or blocked Rail movement (see Phase 2: Strategic Planning).

SPLITTING COMMANDS DURING MOVEMENT: Other than leaving a matching force behind (due to pinning) when leaving an Active region, Commands can't merge or split during the Movement Operations phase (see Reorganizing Commands in Phase 2: Strategic Planning). For a forced split, if no Commands are available, cancel the order.

PLACE HOTSPOT MARKERS: Place Hotspots on any Active regions as they become apparent (even if no orders were written for that region). Remember:

• Invaded territories defended only by a Garrison Force (see Garrison Forces in Phase 4: Combat Operations - Setup);
• Potential Convoy Raids (as no orders are needed);
• Conflicts arising due to Naval Unit production (rather than due to any movement this round);
• Embattled regions persisting from the previous round (rather than due to any movement this round).

STEP 3. CARRIER FIGHTER MOVEMENT

NO WRITTEN ORDERS FOR CARRIER FIGHTERS: Aircraft Carriers have special Carrier Fighters that optionally engage after all other movements have been made. Keep Carrier Fighters in storage until needed. The Carrier Fighters are double-sided: use the red side for the Axis and the blue side for the Allied Forces. They can never become part of an Air Command Stack.

LAUNCH CARRIER FIGHTERS: Each Nation may now launch a single Carrier Fighter from each of their Carriers (done in Turn Order if anybody insists). A Carrier Fighter may be placed either in the sea region with its "parent" Carrier or in an adjacent land or sea region (to adjacent territory, to Carrier's sea region, or to adjacent sea region). Carrier Fighters never pin, nor are they pinned.

REMOVING CARRIER FIGHTERS AFTER COMBAT: Move destroyed Carrier Fighters to the Casualty List (see Remove Eliminated Units in Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief). Surviving Carrier Fighters are removed from the World Map in the Battle Debrief part of Phase 4: Combat Operations (they are presumed to have returned). Carriers always have exactly 1 Carrier Fighter on board at the start of each new round. If a Carrier is eliminated, its Carrier Fighter still participates in combat during that round. If a Carrier Fighter is not eliminated but its parent Carrier is eliminated, move only the Carrier to the Casualty List.

Movement Examples

Below is an example round for IMPERIAL JAPAN with 7 written orders, viewed against the World Map before IMPERIAL JAPAN's movement:

ROW 1

Order: 65 (Command 65, 2 Artillery and 1 Infantry) from j5 (Manchuria, J3) to P-13/P-12. Move the 65 [2 Artillery and 1 Infantry] from Manchuria (J3) down to Chekiang-Kwangtung (J5) by Rail. CHINA's 101 Command moved previously, causing Peiping (J4) to become Embattled. This prevents all Rail movement into or through Peiping (it is not a matter of pinning). The 65 Command's order must be canceled. IMPERIAL JAPAN draws a diagonal line through the box to show this. (If the written destination was Peiping (J4), movement would still have been possible, as moving to an adjacent territory does not require Rail movement.) If the 24 Command had orders to move to Korea (J2) by Rail out of Peiping (J4), it would still be able to do so as (J4) is still controlled by IMPERIAL JAPAN, but with only 1 of its Units, due to 1 being pinned by CHINA's 101.

Order: 97 (3 Infantry) from P-13 to P-13, via P-12. Move the 97 [3 Infantry] at sea from P-2 to P-13. If IMPERIAL JAPAN chooses to move the 97 Troop Transport through P-1, it will be pinned by the 2 UNITED STATES Naval Units unless IMPERIAL JAPAN already has a matching force of Naval Units present, which it doesn't yet. IMPERIAL JAPAN chooses to move the 97 to P-13 via P-12, which is empty of Enemy forces. Despite having a majority of Troop Transports to UNITED STATES Naval Units (3 to 2), ALL Japanese Troop Transports would be pinned if entering P-1 (unless IMPERIAL JAPAN had enough Naval Units to match the pinning UNITED STATES Units). Troop Transports can only leave a sea region with an unmatched force of Enemy Naval Units present if they are entering a Friendly-controlled territory.

Order: 18 (2 Fighters) from j20 (Iwo Jima, J20) to P-12. Move the 18 [2 Fighters] from Iwo Jima (J20) to sea region P-12. Air Commands are never pinned, nor can they pin. Other than canceling, IMPERIAL JAPAN could NOT have them stop early for any reason. Add an Arrow Tag atop the Air Command to remind that these Fighters must later land safely (or perish) in Phase 5: Refit and Deploy. Note: These landing movements are never written.

ROW 2

Order: 8 (1 Carrier, 1 Submarine, 1 Cruiser) from P-13 to P-0, via j20. Move the 8 [1 Carrier, 1 Submarine, 1 Cruiser] from P-0 to P-13. IMPERIAL JAPAN may choose whether to pass through P-1 or through P-14 on its way to P-13, as only the destination is specified (or cancel the move entirely). The UNITED STATES had moved warships into P-1, so IMPERIAL JAPAN decides to engage and partially pin itself, leaving the Carrier and Submarine behind to deal with the 2 UNITED STATES Naval Units. IMPERIAL JAPAN must continue on to the final destination with the third Unit, leaving NO MORE than an equal force behind. The Cruiser continues on to P-13, while the 2 Units left behind gain a new Command Token, the 2nd.

Order: 24 (1 Armor and 1 Infantry) from P-0 to P-0. Move the 24 [1 Armor and 1 Infantry] from Peiping (J4) to sea region P-0. Due to CHINA's previous move, the Command is partially pinned by 1 Chinese Infantry in Peiping. IMPERIAL JAPAN must leave behind a matching force or cancel the move entirely. IMPERIAL JAPAN chooses to leave behind the Armor, creating a need for a new Command Token (the 41) to be placed on it, while the Infantry (as the 24) keeps the current Command and enters the sea. Even if IMPERIAL JAPAN was moving in other forces in a subsequent order, it must resolve the pinning now, as orders must be resolved left to right and top to bottom. If another Axis Command, including one of an ally, were in Peiping (J4), it would be used to satisfy IMPERIAL JAPAN's pinning requirement first.

Order: 16 (1 Fighter) from j20 (Iwo Jima) — canceled. Move the 16 [1 Fighter] from Formosa (J16) to Iwo Jima (J20). IMPERIAL JAPAN has blundered. The 16 can't reach J20 with its 2 movement. IMPERIAL JAPAN cancels the move by slashing the box. It can't move partially, nor may it move during the Land Air Commands step (unless a battle occurs in J16), as the Fighter never took off.

ROW 3

Order: 6 (1 Submarine and 1 Carrier) from P-12 to j21 — canceled. Move the 6 [1 Submarine and 1 Carrier] from P-12 to Mariana Islands (J21). IMPERIAL JAPAN has made a mistake. Naval Units may NOT enter territories. Everything inside an island's circle is considered a territory. IMPERIAL JAPAN slashes the order box. Note: The Carrier Fighter will still get to launch even though the order was canceled, as launching Carrier Fighters requires no orders.

Phase 4: Combat Operations - Terms

BATTLE STAGES: A battle may have 1 or 2 distinct Stages, depending on the type(s) of Units present. Each Stage is fully conducted in turn, as necessary. A Nation may never attack an ally or itself.

• AIR BATTLE STAGE: This first Stage resolved includes all attacks against Air Units by Enemy Units, both anti-air Units on the surface and Air Units in the sky.
• SURFACE BATTLE STAGE: This second Stage resolved targets Land or Sea Units. These involve attacks against Land or Naval Units from surviving Air Units (including those damaged) and/or from Enemy Land or Naval Units.

INITIAL STATUS: Units start in their respective slot as labeled.

LIGHTLY DAMAGED: Carriers, Battleships, and Armor have extra damage boxes. No repair is required if the Unit is only lightly damaged.

DAMAGED: Any box with a red cross icon indicates it is "damaged" to a point that requires repair. Note: Carriers, Battleships, and Armor, with their additional boxes, can receive 1 hit before they become damaged. Most damaged Units are vulnerable to white Die results, as indicated by the white triangle in the box.

ELIMINATED: Any Units ending up in this column will be removed at the end of the battle.

DIVE: Damaged Submarines in the "DIVE" box are not susceptible to white hits. After each batch of Enemy Dice rolled, Submarines that are damaged, but not eliminated, will flee the battle, thereby avoiding further damage entirely and the need to repair. Move such escaped Submarines to the ESCAPED area after each batch of dice hits are fully assigned.

AIR COMBAT VALUE / SURFACE COMBAT VALUE: There is often a choice of Stance for a given Unit Type. Stances have labels such as DEFENSE or OFFENSE. Some Stances have both an AIR COMBAT VALUE and a SURFACE COMBAT VALUE. Each Combat Value is used for its respective Stage. (It is not an either/or choice.)

Phase 4: Combat Operations - Setup

ORDER OF BATTLES: In Turn Order, each Nation selects an Active Hotspot, and then it is addressed. The chosen conflict or raid must involve the current Nation's forces or territory (or the Nation must pass if there are no such Hotspots). Repeat this process until all Hotspots are addressed exactly once. A region should never have more than 1 Hotspot Marker present. Remove Hotspots from the World Map as they become resolved (unless they remain Embattled). Placement and resolution of a Hotspot is NOT optional. In rare cases, a territory captured in this phase may either cause a new Convoy Raid, which will require Hotspot placement (but only if there was not one already), or cause the removal of an existing Convoy Raid Hotspot (as a Nation cannot raid itself or its ally).

BATTLE SETUP

Step 1. Set Facing of Battle-Board: Flip the Battle-Board to the relevant side: LAND or SEA.

Step 2. Place Units on Battle-Board: Allied Forces are on the right side and Axis are on the left. Move each Unit from the chosen Active region on the World Map to the Battle-Board into its respective starting box according to Type and Nationality. Troop Transports remain on the World Map to be dealt with during Battle Debrief. Units under construction do not battle and are prone to capture if the territory is lost.

Step 3. Place Command Tokens on Flags: Place the Command Tokens on the matching Flags printed on the Battle-Board. When there are multiple Friendly Nations on either side, use National Flags (or the orientation of Units) to keep track of which Units belong to which Nation and align them in columns.

Step 4. Assign Commanders: Multiple Nations of the same Alliance must choose a Commander (from among those involved) to make all battle decisions and roll all Dice for the current conflict. Settle any disputes concerning who is to be Commander by using Turn Order Rank. In Battle Debrief, the Commander decides from among the participating allies which Nation claims a newly won territory and which Nation(s) receives the Medal(s).

Step 5. Assign Combat Stances: There is a choice of Stance for most Unit Types. Each Stance has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, a Stance may allow rolling more Dice during Air Battle Stage but fewer Dice during the Surface Battle Stage. Move each Unit to an "INITIAL STATUS" box matching its Type and preferred Stance. Not all Units of a single Type need be assigned to the same Stance. Mix them up as you please. The Alliance whose Commander is first in Turn Order must finalize their Units' Stances first. Stances now remain in effect for both Battle Stages.

Step 6. Note Advantages: Place Arrow Tags in the relevant boxes to remind players of Force Advantage and Port Advantage. Alliances share both conditions.

FORCE ADVANTAGE: During the Surface Battle Stage ONLY, the side with more Land or Naval Unit Types on the Battle-Board has Force Advantage. If one side has Force Advantage, black and white Dice results are considered misses for the other side. Stances are irrelevant. If both sides have an equal number of relevant Unit Types, neither side has Force Advantage. Force Advantage is evaluated ONLY at the start of the Surface Battle Stage. If the balance of Unit Types changes after any batch is resolved, do NOT re-evaluate. Air Units attacking Land or Naval Units do not affect Force Advantage, but their Dice results are affected. For example, if GERMANY has Artillery and Infantry, while the SOVIET UNION has only Fighters and Infantry, then the SOVIET UNION's black and white Dice results miss for the entire Surface Battle Stage, as GERMANY has Force Advantage.

CRUISER "ESCORT" STANCE: Each Cruiser assigned to this special "Escort" Stance gives its Commander the option for the Cruiser to take hits (including white or black hits) that would normally be assigned to a Carrier (green) or a Battleship (red). After blue hits are resolved, the choice of substitution is made in response to each hit assigned to a Carrier or Battleship by the Enemy, one at a time. A damaged Cruiser may still use this ability, until it is sunk. Allies can protect each other's Units with this ability.

PORT ADVANTAGE: If a battle occurs in a Port-connected sea region, the side with a Friendly Port-connected territory has Port Advantage. Both sides may end up with Port Advantage. Damaged Ports and Ports controlled by Nations in the Yellow Zone or worse on the Homeland Status Track (see Stress Zone Penalties in Phase 6: Morale) do not provide Port Advantage. For a side with Port Advantage, roll 2 extra Dice (observing the 30 Dice limit) for the Surface Battle Stage of sea battles if Friendly Naval Units are present. Also, repairs for Naval Units are free (instead of the usual 1 Resource per damaged Unit - see Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief). Additional Ports on the same side have no effect. Note: Territory control and therefore Port Advantage is updated immediately after each battle, thus the order of Hotspot resolution can be critical for Port Advantage.

GARRISON FORCES: All empty territories have a Garrison Force (including Neutral territories that have had their Defense Force eliminated but have not been captured - see Neutrals). If the territory is attacked by LAND forces, the attacking force doesn't roll against the Garrison Force. Rather, the Garrison Force rolls 2 Dice. If both Dice roll the same color (2 yellow, 2 blue, etc.) matching an invading Land Unit Type, then 1 Unit of that Type is eliminated (no partial damage, hence no repairs) and moved to the Casualty List. Black results are wild (i.e., can be used as any color). White results are misses. After this exchange, the territory will be captured if any invading Land Units remain.

Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battles

BATTLE RESOLUTION

After setup, resolve the battle in the following order:

1. Conduct the Air Battle Stage if Air Units are present. (Air Units eliminated in this Stage do NOT participate in subsequent steps.)
2. Resolve Raids if applicable. To conduct a Strategic Bombing Raid or Convoy Raid, see Phase 4: Combat Operations - Raids.
3. Conduct the Surface Battle Stage if Land or Naval Units are present. (Damaged Air Units participate if in a Ground or Surface Stance.)
4. Conduct Battle Debrief. See Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief.

To conduct a Battle Stage (Air or Surface), follow the steps (A-C) below:

Both Commanders now multiply the number of their own Units in each row on the Battle-Board by that row's respective Combat Value for the current Battle Stage (Air or Surface). If there is Force Advantage, place an Arrow Tag by the side suffering the penalty as a reminder. Then, each side adds all of its row totals to form a grand total, which may never exceed 30 Dice per Battle Stage per side (ignore the excess). The 30 dice limit applies to each Raid also. Use Hotspots along the far left and far right edges of the Battle-Board to keep track of each side's grand total Dice count to be rolled for the current Battle Stage.

Step A. Calculate Dice to Be Rolled by Each Side

Air Battle Stage: Count all Air Units and any Land or Naval Units with anti-air firepower.

Surface Battle Stage: Count all Land or Naval Units and any surviving Air Units except those conducting Strategic Bombing Raids.

Step B. Roll Dice in Batches

For each Battle Stage, results are effectively simultaneous, as the Combat Values are totaled before rolling begins. Commanders roll in batches of 10 Dice until all Dice for the current Stage are rolled. (Only the last batch per Battle Stage rolled may have fewer than 10 Dice.) The Commander first in Turn Order rolls his first batch, then the opposing Commander will roll her first batch. Then both remove a Dice-tracking Hotspot from the board edge. Commanders then repeat this sequence for each of their second and third batches, if relevant. When multiple allies are present, each Commander rolls all Dice for its own Alliance. Perform Step C. Assign Damage for each batch before rolling the next. No results can be set aside to combine with a later (or previous) batch roll.

SURFACE BATTLE EXAMPLE: The Germans and Italians together have 12 Surface Battle Stage Dice to roll. The Soviets have 21. Neither side has Force Advantage. GERMANY is the Axis Commander and is first in Turn Order Rank. GERMANY rolls a batch of 10 Dice and resolves the results. The SOVIET UNION rolls a batch of 10 Dice and resolves the results. GERMANY rolls and resolves their leftover batch of 2 Dice. The SOVIET UNION rolls another full batch and resolves it, and then finally resolves their last batch of a single Die.

Only Air Units may be hit during the Air Battle Stage (even though Land or Naval Units might have participated). Only Land or Naval Units may be hit during the Surface Battle Stage (even though Air Units might have participated).

Step C. Assign Damage

If a rolled Die color matches an Enemy Unit color, it is a hit against that Unit Type. The current Dice roller (attacker) must assign hits to Enemy Units by moving them 1 step closer to their row's "ELIMINATED" box. A damaged (including lightly damaged) Unit must be eliminated before another in the same ROW can be assigned a hit (e.g., CHINA could have up to 1 damaged Artillery in each of both Anti-Air Stance and Ground Stance). Note: When playing with multiple allies in the same battle, transfer eliminated Units immediately to the Casualty List so they don't get mixed up. Example: CHINA rolls 5 Dice resulting in 2 yellows, 1 green, 1 black, and 1 white, and applies hits to their Enemy, IMPERIAL JAPAN. The two yellows hit a single Infantry Unit in the Defensive Stance. It is moved 2 steps over to the "ELIMINATED" box. IMPERIAL JAPAN has no Armor present, so the green is a miss. CHINA assigns the black to an Artillery, moving it into the "DAMAGED" box. White can apply to the damaged Artillery, and so it is pushed to the "ELIMINATED" box. Hits may NEVER be assigned to Units that are not legal targets for the current Battle Stage. Resolve all results of a single color before moving on to the next color in the following order: YELLOW, BLUE, GREEN, RED, BLACK, WHITE.

ASSIGNING BLACK AND WHITE DIE ROLLS: Each BLACK result is a WILD hit (for the current Battle Stage) and may be used as any other color (even to intentionally miss). Each WHITE result may only be used to hit any Enemy Unit within a box with a white triangle (in the current Battle Stage). Note: If the Enemy has Force Advantage, black and white results are always MISSES.

Phase 4: Combat Operations - Raids

STRATEGIC BOMBING RAIDS

Strategic Bombing Raids can occur in any territory with a potential Enemy target: i.e., Resources, Units under construction (including Naval Units), and/or Infrastructure. During Battle Setup, Bombers may be placed on the "Strategic" Stance of the Battle-Board. Such Bombers conduct Raids between the Air Battle Stage and the Surface Battle Stage (if they survive the Air Battle Stage). The attacker rolls 4 Dice for each raiding Bomber and applies damage before rolling for the next Bomber. Remove destroyed Units under construction to the Casualty List and record lost Resources by Type (subject to Resource Loss Limits, see below) on the target Nation's Resource Chart.

• Yellow: Destroy 1 Infantry or Submarine under construction, or deplete 1 Enemy OSR.
• Blue: Destroy 1 Artillery or Cruiser under construction, or deplete 1 Enemy Iron.
• Green: Destroy 1 Armor, Carrier, or Fighter under construction.
• Red: Destroy 1 Bomber or Battleship under construction, or deplete 1 Enemy Oil.
• White: Damage all Infrastructure, which includes any Ports and Rails, by adding a Bomb Token to the territory.
• Black: Choose any 1 of the above results (even if it results in no damage).

Bomb Tokens are permanent unless using the Bomb Damage Repair rule (see Advanced Optional Rules). Only territories with Industries can have more than 1 Bomb Token. A bombed territory that is captured will remain damaged. Effective immediately:

• NO PORT ADVANTAGE: Ports no longer provide Port Advantage (but are otherwise functional).
• NO RAIL MOVEMENT: There can be no Rail movement into, out of, or through the territory.
• LOSE 1 SMOKESTACK: If relevant, each Bomb Token permanently reduces that territory's Production output by 1 (see Phase 7: Production).

CONVOY RAIDS

Convoys are represented on the World Map as groups of color-coded transport ship silhouettes within a ring. Convoys may be raided once each round (orders are not required) and will "refresh" to be active for the next round. A change in control of a linked territory affects Convoy control immediately.

TRANS-OCEAN CONVOYS: These each bear a National Flag and labels for its territories of origin and destination. If both territories are controlled by Nations of the same Alliance, the Convoy is active and may be raided by the opposing Alliance. If two Axis Nations control the territories, they must decide amongst themselves which Nation places their National Flag to denote control and suffer the liability. If the territories are controlled by opposing Nations, the Convoy is inactive and may not be raided. Raids on Trans-Ocean Convoys are unaffected by Resource Loss Limits (see below), except that a Nation's Resources can't drop below 0.

COASTAL CONVOYS: These are linked to certain Ports on the World Map. The Nation that controls the linked territory will suffer any Resource losses due to a Raid. A Coastal Convoy is located only in the sea region containing its ship silhouettes (even if its ring extends into an adjacent sea region). Coastal Convoys are always active.

CLUSTERS: There are a few sea regions (A-4, I-1, P-0, P-15, and P-16) where several rings connect to form a single, large "Convoy Cluster". Convoy Clusters are raided as though they were a single, combined Convoy (see below).

IDENTIFYING CONVOY RAIDS: If an air or naval force is in a sea region with an active Enemy Convoy (or Convoy Cluster) AND there are no defending Naval or Air Units present at the very beginning of Phase 4: Combat Operations, then place a Hotspot there to indicate a raid must be resolved during that phase. If defenders are in the region, then no raiding may occur, even after a battle is resolved. Troop Transports do not act as defenders and may be sunk in addition to a Convoy Raid occurring (see Step C. in Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief).

RESOLVING CONVOY RAIDS: Each Convoy may only be raided once each round, and each Command may raid only 1 Convoy (or Convoy Cluster) in its region (each Carrier Fighter is considered a Command for this purpose). If multiple Friendly Commands target the same Convoy, they conduct 1 raid together, choosing a Commander if necessary. To resolve each raided Convoy, the attacker rolls 1 Die per Air or Naval Unit in the raiding Command(s). The 30 dice cap applies. If at least 1 yellow result is rolled, then ALL yellow ENEMY ships will be sunk within that Convoy, and the controlling Nation must immediately track the loss of 1 OSR for each of their yellow ships sunk. Follow the same procedure for blue (Iron) and red (Oil) results. Each Black result is wild (may be used for any color). For Coastal Convoys, keep in mind LOSS LIMITS.

RESOURCE LOSS LIMITS FOR RAIDS: A territory can't lose more total Resources of each Type than it currently produces (taking flipped Territory Card status into account) from a single raid (from either a Strategic Bombing Raid OR a Convoy Raid). However, a territory's Resources could be lost twice in a single round if struck by both Strategic Bombing Raid AND a Convoy Raid, as each raiding attack on a region is resolved independently. Resource losses deplete current totals, not future income. A Nation's Resources can't drop below 0.

Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief

After completing both Air and Surface Battle Stages, resolve the following steps (A-G):

Step A. Assess Unit Status and Pay for Repairs

At the end of a battle, Units can only be in 1 of 3 states:

• INITIAL STATUS*: normal;
• DAMAGED: must be repaired or eliminated;
• ELIMINATED: must be removed to Casualty List.

*Battleships, Carriers, and Armor have an extra box, "LIGHTLY DAMAGED", which requires no repair. Move Units in "LIGHTLY DAMAGED" boxes to their "INITIAL STATUS" boxes.

Naval Units gain free repair if Port Advantage applies. Move each repaired Unit to its "INITIAL STATUS" box.

For each Unit remaining in a "DAMAGED" box, the owning Nation may pay 1 Resource (any type) per damaged Unit to repair it. Move each repaired Unit back to its "INITIAL STATUS" box. A Nation's Resources may not drop below 0, nor may it trade outside of Phase 7: Production. Each Nation may decline (or be unable) to repair; if so, move such damaged Units (including Carrier Fighters) to their "ELIMINATED" boxes. Note: Air Units eliminated due to lack of repair still get to participate in the Surface Battle Stage or Strategic Bombing Raids, as the option to repair occurs after all Battle Stages.

Step B. Remove Eliminated Units

Move Units in "ELIMINATED" boxes to the Casualty List on the Morale Board per the corresponding Nation and Type. When multiple allies are present in a battle, move eliminated Units to their owning Nation's row on the Casualty List immediately during battle.

CARRIER FIGHTERS: Eliminated Carrier Fighters ARE moved to the Casualty List. However, if a Carrier is eliminated in battle and its Carrier Fighter is not, then the Carrier Fighter is NOT moved to the Casualty List.

Step C. Check for Lost Troop Transports

Unguarded Troop Transports (Land Commands at sea) without a Friendly Naval or Air Unit in the same sea region will ALL be eliminated if any Enemy Air or Naval Units are present in the same region. However, if the only Friendly Units present are Submarines and there are any Enemy Air Units, the Troop Transports will be eliminated. The presence of Enemy Troop Transports has no effect. Transfer any Units in eliminated Troop Transports to the Casualty List. Example: GERMANY has 1 Submarine and 1 Land Command (Troop Transport) present in a sea region. The UNITED STATES has 1 Carrier Fighter present. All of GERMANY's Land Units in the sea region are eliminated.

Step D. Return Command Stacks to World Map

Return surviving Command Stacks to the appropriate region on the World Map, and optionally reorganize within that region. Be careful not to mix up Units owned by Friendly Nations. To avoid confusion, do NOT return surviving Carrier Fighters to their parent Carriers (Carrier Fighters will be removed from the World Map in Phase 5: Refit & Deploy, and a new Carrier Fighter will be generated by each surviving Carrier).

Step E. Update Territory Status (Land Battles)

Determine Who Controls the Territory: A Nation gains control of an Enemy-controlled territory if their Alliance is the only force with at least 1 surviving Land Unit. Otherwise, if both sides still have Land Units or neither side has Land Units, control of the territory doesn't change hands. Air Units by themselves cannot capture or hold a territory. If the territory is captured and there were multiple Nations on the victorious side, the Commander decides which of those Nations will be the new controller (as long as that Nation has at least 1 surviving Land Unit). An ally must restore recaptured territories to the original Friendly controller (as indicated by the Territory Card) unless the original controller is in the Gray Zone on the Homeland Status Track or out of the game. Note: The Commander chooses who gains the Medal(s) from those who participated, even if the captured territory is then restored to an ally.

Exchange the Territory Card or Update Its Embattled Status: If control changes, the former controlling Nation surrenders the Territory Card to the new controller. If control doesn't change and Enemy Land Units remain in the territory, be sure that the Embattled side of the Territory Card is face up.

Replace (or Retain) National Flag: If control changes, the National Flag on the territory is changed. If the new controller is the original controller (as indicated by map color), simply remove all Flags; otherwise, remove the current Flag (if any) and place the new controller's Flag on the territory. Original Enemy territories (once captured) CANNOT be transferred between allies. For example, if the BRITISH COMMONWEALTH captured France from GERMANY, and the UNITED STATES moves into France on a later round, the UNITED STATES is not allowed to take control of France from the BRITISH COMMONWEALTH.

Check for Captured Units: Any Units under an Industry Token are also captured and will be deployed under the new ownership during Phase 5: Refit & Deploy. CHINA may capture Land Units (including Armor), but never captures Air or Naval Units (such units are removed to storage).

Evacuate Enemy Air Commands: If the Alliance that does not control the territory has only Air Commands remaining, those Commands will either need to be moved to a Friendly territory during the Land Air Commands step of Phase 5: Refit & Deploy or be eliminated. The territories with brown or yellow borders revert control to the Soviets or Chinese, respectively, if recaptured (e.g., Belarus, Ukraine for the SOVIET UNION; Peiping, Manchuria, Chekiang-Kwangtung for CHINA).

Step F. Assign Stress and Medals

Add newly gained Medals to the Morale Board atop the relevant war medal image(s). Reposition the National Flags on the Stress Track of the Morale Board as appropriate.

AWARD MEDALS FOR THE ACTIVE HOTSPOT: If a territory is captured (or recaptured), the victorious Commander chooses which Friendly participating Nation(s) is awarded the Medal(s). Medals may be awarded to a participating Nation even if all of its Units present were eliminated. A Nation receiving Medal(s) needn't be the one taking control of the territory (in a land battle). Medals are never awarded for capturing Neutrals.

• CAPTURE OF A NON-CAPITAL TERRITORY: 1 Medal (regardless of its SV)
• CAPTURE OF A CAPITAL TERRITORY: 3 Medals (regardless of its SV or whether its capture is a victory requirement)

Note: Medals can be awarded unevenly among Friendly participating Nations.

APPLY STRESS FOR THE ACTIVE HOTSPOT:

• LOSS OF THE TERRITORY: A territory's former controller gains Stress equal to the SV of the lost territory, regardless of whether or not it was the original controller as indicated on the World Map.
• BREAKING THE SOVIET-JAPANESE NON-AGGRESSION PACT: The first Nation to break the Pact gains 6 Stress.
• INVASION OF A NEUTRAL TERRITORY: Win or lose, a Nation gains 1 Stress per invasion (the first time only).

Step G. Update Hotspot Marker

If the region remains Embattled (Land or Naval Units remain on both sides), flip the Hotspot Marker to show its red and blue Embattled side. Otherwise, remove it.

Phase 5: Refit & Deploy

STEP 1. LAND AIR COMMANDS

All Air Commands that were moved and/or participated in combat should have been marked with an Arrow Tag. Each of these may now move up to 2 regions and must land in a Friendly territory (allowable even if it is still Embattled or has been captured by Friendly forces in the current round).

• If any player insists, resolve these landings in Turn Order.
• As Air Commands are landed, remove their Arrow Tags.
• Air Command landing movements should NOT be written on the O&P Chart.
• Air Commands may split at this time, thereby landing in multiple territories. If an Air Command has no legal moves possible, then it is eliminated (transferred to the Casualty List).
• Air Commands, by themselves, may never take control of an Enemy territory after a battle, even if no Enemy forces are present.
• Remove all Carrier Fighters from the World Map to storage.

STEP 2. DEPLOY UNITS

This step is skipped on the first round of play as Production has not yet occurred (unless using the optional Quick Play rules, see Optional Quick Play Rules).

Nations must simultaneously deploy their newly constructed Units (see Phase 7: Production).

1. Remove Industry Tokens.
2. Create new Command Stacks with the same Unit Category only (Land, Air, or Naval) OR merge the new Units into existing Command Stacks of that Category, respecting the 8 Unit per Command limit.
   • Land or Air Units must be deployed to the territory in which they were constructed (even if the territory is Embattled).
   • Naval Units must be deployed to a Port-connected sea region (even if the sea region is Embattled or only Enemy Units are present).
3. Bombed Infrastructure affects deployment limits. Excess Units unable to deploy due to newly bombed Industries with a reduced smokestack limit are transferred to the Casualty List (owner's choice of which). (See Strategic Bombing Raids in Phase 4: Combat Operations - Raids.)
4. If sufficient Command Tokens are not available to accommodate all of the deployed Units (even after merging to free some up), then the excess Units (owning player's choice) become Deferred Units and remain stacked under an Industry Token. (This occurs rarely.)

STEP 3. REORGANIZE COMMANDS

• Nations may merge or split their own Commands that share a region.
• Reorganizing Commands may happen all at the same time, or in Turn Order if anyone insists.
• No Command Stack can exceed 8 Units.
• There is no limit to the total number of Commands in any region.
• Units, when merging, must be all the same Unit Category (Land, Air, or Naval).
• When splitting a Command, be sure to assign a new Command Token.
• Store all Command Tokens that are not being used.

Phase 6: Morale

CONVERT CASUALTIES INTO STRESS

In Turn Order, each Nation adds up their Unit Casualty Points and converts that sum into Stress Points. Follow these steps for each Nation:

1. For each Unit Type, multiply the number of lost Units by its corresponding factor (shown in the red columns just to the left or right of its column).
2. Add the results for all Unit Types to get the Nation's total Casualty Points.
3. Convert Casualty Points into Stress Points according to the Conversion Chart, adding it to any pre-existing Stress Points.
4. Shift the National Flag along the Stress Track to reflect the new Stress total (add National Flags on the "10+" box as needed). E.g., the loss of a Battleship (20) and a Bomber (6) results in 26 Casualty Points, converting into 1 Stress Point.
5. Return the lost Units to storage.

RESOLVE MEDALS AND STRESS POINTS

Besides the Stress gained from Casualty Points, Stress might also have been gained previously from territory control exchanges, by invading a Neutral territory, or due to a broken Soviet-Japanese Pact (see Non-Aggression Pacts and the Stalin Doctrine). Complete each step below for ALL Nations BEFORE proceeding to the next step. Nations may not backtrack in reaction to other Nations' choices (i.e., each step is done in Turn Order).

Step 1. Submit Medals to Cancel Stress Points: Each Nation may give up any combination of Medals and/or Civilian Goods to cancel Stress Points at a rate of 1 Medal or 1 Civilian Good per 1 Stress Point. Stress Points, Medals, and Civilian Goods may NEVER be traded among Nations (Friendly or not). Medals and Civilians Goods not spent to cancel Stress may be kept indefinitely for later use.

HOMELAND STATUS TRACK: This track, featuring color-coded Zones, is located near the center of the World Map. Each Nation marks their current position on the track with a National Flag, and may be forced to advance around the track as its Stress level increases. Arriving at each new Stress Zone imposes harsher consequences.

Step 2. Evaluate Stress Levels: Each Nation's square Flag printed on the Stress Track indicates its Stress Threshold. For example, ITALY's Stress Threshold is 4. If a Nation now has Stress Points equal to or greater than its Stress Threshold, move that Nation's Flag up to the next Zone on the Homeland Status Track. Also update the Morale Board, reducing that Nation's Stress Point total by the amount of its Stress Threshold (keeping any remainder). A Nation might move up more than 1 Zone per round, so repeat this process until any Stress Points remaining are less than its Stress Threshold. Additionally, if a Nation has no Units or controls no Territories on the World Map, it advances 1 Zone. If a Nation is in the Gray Zone (see below), it can't advance further on the Homeland Stress Track and therefore does not reduce its Stress Points.

Step 3. Relieve Stress: At this point only, each Nation may spend any combination of its Medals and/or Civilian Goods equal to its Stress Threshold value to slide back 1 Zone on the Homeland Status Track. A Nation can't slide back more than 1 Zone per round, nor go beyond the White Zone.

Step 4. Apply Stress Zone Penalties: Stress penalties are CUMULATIVE and RECUR each round (i.e., if a Nation is at that level or worse).

• White Zone: "Acceptable Stress" – No penalty (starting position).
• Blue Zone: "Labor and Civil Unrest" – The Nation must pay any 3 Resources, if able, in order to restore order in the homeland.
• Yellow Zone: "Dysfunctional Rails and Ports" – All Rails controlled by the Nation (including Rails in captured Enemy territories) are not usable by that Nation or any ally (see Phase 2: Strategic Planning). The affected Nation may still use an ally's Rails if that ally's Nation has not reached this Zone. No trade by sea is allowed (see Phase 7: Production). Ports controlled by the Nation no longer provide Port Advantage, but deployment (see Phase 5: Refit & Deploy) may still occur at those Ports.
• Orange Zone: "Disrupted Supply Lines" – Due to depleted morale and disorganization at the front, the Nation has 3 fewer orders available to write during Phase 2: Strategic Planning. Draw slashes through the last 3 boxes on the affected Nation's O&P Chart.
• Red Zone: "Economic Collapse" – No new Resources may be added to the Nation's Resource Chart. Current Resources may still be spent or lost.
• Gray Zone: "Mass Desertion" – The Nation must now transfer to the Casualty List a number of their Units (of any Type, excluding Units under construction and Carrier Fighters) from the World Map equal to their current Stress Points. The Stress Points are NOT reduced for such desertions. Note: After resolving the Gray Zone penalties, if an Embattled territory loses its last defending Land Unit, control of the territory is not lost to the Enemy until the Combat Phase of the following round. A battle against a Garrison Force will take place if no defending Units are present, unless the Nation controlling the territory collapses before such a battle occurs (see Collapsed Nation Check in Victory & Defeat).

Phase 7: Production

It is time to manufacture weapons and mobilize new infantry forces. Each Nation secretly fills out the Production side of its O&P Chart.

STEP 1. MARK STARTING RESOURCES

Each Nation fills in the "Initial Resources" boxes by referring to their respective Resource Chart.

STEP 2. NOTE PURCHASE OF UNITS

Nations simultaneously decide the number of Units planned for purchase per Unit Type using the O&P Chart. Colored dots show the cost of Resources per Unit. After finalizing purchases, each Nation totals expenditures by Resource, subtracts them from the initial (post-trading) Resources, and notes the remaining Resources on their O&P Chart. Civilian Goods cost 5 Resources (of any Type, which may be mixed). Purchase Example: 2 new Fighters will cost 4 Oil, 2 Iron, and 2 OSR.

Trade is only possible in the Global War scenario, during Step 2 of Phase 7: Production. Referring to the World Map, trade is only permitted with non-Embattled Neutrals (see Neutrals) that show a round icon with an offered Resource Type. Neutrals will only accept either of the other two Resource Types in exchange. For example, Mexico only offers Iron; so it will not accept Iron. Player-controlled Nations may not trade with each other.

ALLIANCE RESTRICTIONS: Unless captured, "Pro-Allied Neutrals" (colored light green on the World Map) will not trade with the Axis. A captured Neutral will only trade with its aligned Alliance. CHINA may not trade at all.

EXCHANGE RATES: OSRs are traded in blocks of 5, Iron in blocks of 3, and Oil in blocks of 2. (Example: It takes 2 Oil to get 5 OSRs and vice versa.)

TRADE ACCESS BY LAND: A Nation may trade by land if either they or an ally control a non-Embattled territory adjacent to the trading Neutral territory.

TRADE ACCESS BY SEA: A Nation may trade by sea if the sea region connected to at least one of the trading Neutral's Ports has no Enemy Naval Commands. The Axis, additionally, must have a Friendly Naval Command in that sea region (for intimidation), unless the Neutral is Pro-Axis. The Axis may trade with Arabia by land if the Axis control either Egypt or Middle East. The Axis may trade with Arabia by sea if its Port-connected sea region, I-1, contains an Axis Naval Command and no Allied Naval Commands.

TRACKING A TRADE: Trades must be declared, and land OR sea access verified, before Step 3. Then the trading Nation adjusts their Resource Chart accordingly, and writes the exchange and new Resource totals on their O&P Chart. Each Nation is restricted to 1 trade per round total (e.g., gain exactly 2 Oil for giving up 5 OSR). Each Neutral may trade with multiple Nations each round.

STEP 3. REVEAL PURCHASES & UPDATE RESOURCES

After all Nations have finished writing their purchases, each Nation confirms validity with an opponent by exchanging O&P Charts. Then all Nations gather Units purchased from Storage Trays and update their Resource Charts simultaneously.

STEP 4. PLACE NEW UNITS

Nations, in Turn Order, now place purchased Units on the World Map in controlled Industrial territories (even if Embattled or captured from an Enemy Nation). Within each territory, keep all Units under construction in 1 (optionally upside-down) stack, ignoring the normal 8 Unit stack limit and combining all Unit Categories (Land, Air, and Naval). Cap each stack of new Units with an Industry Token. An opponent should verify the "smokestack" limits, as the number of Units that may be constructed in each Industrial territory is limited to its SV, less the number of any Bomb Tokens and/or Deferred Units present in it. The owner chooses which excess Units are lost and returned to the Unit Storage Tray. Naval Units may only be constructed in territories that have a Port (do not deploy Naval Units to the sea until Phase 5: Refit & Deploy). New Units under construction may not move nor engage in battle, but are prone to Strategic Bombing Raids and being captured. Place new Civilian Goods immediately on the Morale Board in that Nation's "Medals" box, as they are not limited by smokestacks nor linked to any Industrial territory. Placement Example: 1 Carrier, 1 Artillery, and 1 Bomber are placed under an Industry Token. Only 3 Units can be constructed in Eastern Australia (as the smokestacks and SV show).

CHINESE MOBILIZATION: CHINA must now deploy newly purchased Infantry immediately in 1 or more Chinese-controlled territories marked with a Mobilization or Industry icon. Artillery purchased by CHINA must be placed as normal in controlled Industrial territories (e.g., Peiping) for deployment in Phase 5: Refit & Deploy. The number of Infantry Units deployed in each Mobilization territory is limited by its SV (Bomb Tokens have no effect on this). The total number of Units constructed and/or immediately deployed in each Industrial territory is limited by its SV, less any Bomb Tokens/Deferred Units.

REMINDER: After completing Phase 7: Production, a new round begins. Check for Embattled status changes on Territory Cards.

Victory & Defeat

Your Alliance has won the war if it has fulfilled the scenario requirements, typically capturing a certain number of Capital territories, at the end of any game round. If both sides meet the victory requirements in the same round, continue the war until that is no longer the case. In the rare case in which all Nations have no Units on the World Map, then both sides lose.

If a Nation has no Units on the World Map and is in the Gray Zone at the end of a round, it is now "Collapsed" and out of the game. Remove its Resource Chart from play; its remaining Resources are lost. Keep any National Flags on the World Map until those territories are claimed by other Nations. If an ally already occupies such a territory with any Units at the time of collapse (regardless of Embattled status), they MUST now claim the Territory Card and place their own National Flag, gaining any Resource income in future rounds (if multiple allies squabble, use Turn Order Rank). Once a Nation collapses, permanently flip all Territory Cards showing its Flag to the Embattled side (to represent the drain of prolonged warfare). After a Nation has Collapsed, it is no longer Friendly to any Nation (even former allies). Its original territories are treated in the same way as Enemy territories by all Nations for all rules purposes, and will no longer have defensive Garrison Forces. They may be claimed by any other Nation in the normal manner, during Battle Debrief of future rounds. Award a Medal (3 if the Capital) each time a Nation (formerly Friendly or not) does so.

COLLAPSED NATIONS AND VICTORY CONDITIONS: If a Nation is Collapsed and its Capital is NOT currently occupied by any Units of an ally, then that is equivalent to its Capital being captured for determining victory.

Non-Aggression Pacts and the Stalin Doctrine

SOVIET-JAPANESE NON-AGGRESSION PACT

This historical 5-year Non-Aggression Pact between the SOVIET UNION and IMPERIAL JAPAN is active for the Global War scenario only.

MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS (WHILE THE PACT IS IN EFFECT):

• Neither party may enter nor pass through territories controlled by the other (even by air).
• Neither party's Units may contribute to the pinning of the other party's Units. (For example, if the SOVIET UNION announces its order to invade Burma from India, this invasion would normally break the Pact. However, if IMPERIAL JAPAN's Units in India pin the invaders, IMPERIAL JAPAN will have broken the Pact first. The SOVIET UNION would only be at fault if IMPERIAL JAPAN chose to not pin ANY of the SOVIET UNION's Units AND the movement order to Burma was not canceled.)
• Neither party may enter a Neutral territory if the other controls it or has Units present in it.
• The SOVIET UNION may not move Troop Transports into the Pacific (sea regions prefaced with an ID code of "P-").

COMBAT RESTRICTIONS (WHILE THE PACT IS IN EFFECT):

• Neither party may raid the other party's Convoys.
• Neither party may participate in a battle that could cause casualties to the other.
• In rare cases, multi-National situations could require two distinct battles in the same region to avoid a breach of the Pact. Resolve such battles sequentially in Turn Order of the parties.
• Neither party may prevent the capture of a third-party territory by its presence. If both parties are present in a sea region or a third-party-controlled territory, they must co-exist. If either party ends up with Land Units in a territory controlled by the other party, then the offending party must carry out orders to leave in the next round (or be sent to the Casualty List), unless pinned.
• Neither party may provide Port Advantage in battles involving the other party's Units.

Note: Battle, Convoy Raids, and Port Advantage are normally not optional, but such actions ARE optional if the Pact is relevant.

DISSOLVING THE PACT: The Pact permanently dissolves (without penalty to either party) if:

• either party's position on the Homeland Status Track is in the Red Zone or worse at the end of Phase 6: Morale, or
• either Moscow or Greater Germany is captured or Embattled.

BREAKING THE PACT: If either party does not cancel an order or action that violates any of the above restrictions, then the Pact is broken immediately and permanently upon violation. Either party can also break the Pact any time at will, except during Phase 6: Morale and Phase 7: Production. Use Turn Order to determine which party decides first if there is a dispute of exact timing.

• STRESS PENALTY - The party breaking the Pact immediately receives a one-time penalty of 6 Stress Points (on the Morale Board).
• MEDAL PENALTY - The party breaking the Pact receives no Medals for captured territories of the other party for the entire round, but still receives Medals for territories captured from other Enemy Nations.

THE SINO-SOVIET NON-AGGRESSION PACT

Soviet Land Commands may not enter original Chinese territories (tinted or bordered with yellow, see Occupied Territories in Phase 4: Combat Operations - Battle Debrief) that are under Chinese control, nor may Chinese Land Commands enter original Soviet territories (tinted or bordered with brown) that are under Soviet control. Soviet Air Commands may enter, but not land in, original Chinese territories. This Pact permanently dissolves if either party's position on the Homeland Status Track is in the Red Zone or worse at the end of Phase 6: Morale.

THE STALIN DOCTRINE

The Stalin Doctrine is active until the SOVIET UNION's position on the Homeland Status Track is in the Red Zone or worse at the end of Phase 6: Morale, at which point it permanently dissolves. While it is active, the following restrictions apply:

• U.S. and British Land Commands may NOT enter original Soviet territories (tinted or bordered with brown) that are under Soviet control, UNLESS they are occupied by Axis Land Units at the time of movement.
• U.S. and British Air Commands may enter, but NOT land in original Soviet territories, regardless of control or Axis presence.

For example, a UNITED STATES Land Command could follow a German force into an original Soviet territory under Soviet control, but only if UNITED STATES moved after GERMANY in Turn Order, or the territory was already Embattled previously. A UNITED STATES Air Command would be restricted only when landing in Phase 5: Refit & Deploy.

If foreign Allied Forces Land Units end up in restricted territories (due to the defeat of Axis forces there) while the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact or Stalin Doctrine are in effect, then:

• Such foreign Land Units may remain there indefinitely.
• Such foreign Land Units may also enter other restricted territories that already have foreign Land Units present.
• No additional foreign Land Units may enter such territories from outside them, including those that have left them.
• If any such territory contains no foreign Land Units at the end of Phase 3: Movement Operations, that territory reverts to being fully restricted.

Neutrals

THREE TYPES OF NEUTRALS

Neutrals do not produce nor contribute directly to Resource income. In the Global War scenario only, certain Neutrals displaying a Resource icon can trade Resources during Phase 7: Production (see Trade with Neutrals). A Neutral's Defense Force (listed below and marked on the World Map) is only activated if invaded (and only once during the entire game). The 3 types of Neutrals are:

Standard Neutrals (Light gray on the World Map) are aligned to neither Alliance initially. If any Neutral becomes controlled by a Nation, its alignment changes to match its controller's Alliance - Pro-Allied or Pro-Axis. New trading restrictions may apply.

• Afghanistan – 4 Infantry
• Angola – 3 Infantry
• Colombia – 4 Infantry (trades OSR)
• Ireland – 3 Infantry
• Mongolia – 3 Infantry
• Mozambique – 3 Infantry
• Portugal – 4 Infantry
• Arabia – 3 Infantry (trades Oil)
• Spain – 6 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 1 Fighter (trades OSR)
• Sweden – 4 Infantry, 1 Artillery, 1 Fighter (trades Iron)
• Switzerland – 3 Infantry
• Turkey – 6 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 1 Fighter
• Venezuela – 4 Infantry (trades Oil)

PHASE 3: MOVEMENT OPERATIONS: When Units enter a Standard Neutral for the first time, place an Arrow Tag in the Neutral territory to indicate its status shift to Pro-Allied or Pro-Axis in opposition to the invader, blue side up for pro-Allied or red side up for pro-Axis. Place a Hotspot Marker and the Neutral's Defense Force (see above list or look at the Neutral on the World Map) in the invaded Neutral territory without a Command Token. Note: Air Units merely passing through Neutrals will not trigger an alignment shift nor activate Defense Forces.

PHASE 4: COMBAT OPERATIONS: A Garrison Force is active if the Neutral territory is empty (even in a case without a Defense Force, e.g., Iceland). The side now aligned with the Neutral chooses a Commander for the initial battle (use Turn Order Rank to settle any dispute). During Battle Debrief of this initial battle only, transfer eliminated Defense Force Units to storage rather than the Casualty List.

IF THE INVADER WINS (i.e., has surviving land forces and defeats all Enemy land forces in the Neutral), the victorious Commander chooses from among its surviving participating allies which Nation will replace the Arrow Tag with their National Flag denoting control. This Nation will also take the Territory Card.

IF ANY DEFENSE FORCE UNITS SURVIVE, the defending Commander replaces the Arrow Tag with his Flag, takes the Neutral Territory Card, and caps the stack(s) of surviving Neutral Units with his own Command Token(s). Any such Units for which a Command Token is not available are returned to storage. These new Commands may even move out of the Neutral in a later round, but may not be transferred to an ally. Now the territory may only change hands if the Enemy wins control in another battle.

PHASE 5: REFIT & DEPLOY: If only Air Units (from the Neutral's Defense Force) survive the initial invasion, they must land in a Friendly territory or be eliminated. (This landing site could be the original Neutral Territory if the Enemy did not take control.)

PHASE 6: MORALE: The first Nation that invaded the Neutral (during Phase 3: Movement Operations), successfully or not, gains 1 Stress (the first time only for that Neutral). Nations do not receive Medals for capturing (or recapturing) a Neutral.

PHASE 7: PRODUCTION: Members of the corresponding Nation's Alliance (except CHINA) may potentially trade with a controlled Neutral.

Pro-Allied Neutrals (Light green on the World Map) are Friendly to the Allied Forces Nations and will not trade with the Axis (unless control shifts to the Axis). A Defense Force only activates if an Axis Command invades (follow steps above). (No such activation is caused by an Allied Forces Command's presence or movement.) Pro-Allied Neutrals will provide Port Advantage support to the Allies.

• Brazil – 4 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 1 Fighter (trades Iron)
• Greenland – no Units
• Mexico – 3 Infantry, 1 Artillery (trades Iron)
• Central America – no Units
• Iceland – no Units
• West Indies – no Units

Pro-Axis Neutrals (None exist at game start; a Standard or Pro-Allied Neutral can become controlled by the Axis.) Pro-Axis Port Advantage will apply. Pro-Axis Neutrals as indicated by a Flag Token will only trade with the Axis (until control shifts again due to another invasion).

War Room Scenarios

CHOOSE A SCENARIO TO PLAY

The 5 scenarios listed below each pertain to a specific "theater" of the Second World War, which allows for a range in the number of players and duration of play. Some players may need to control more than one Nation on the same side. For National integrity, each Nation's O&P Chart and Resources must be maintained separately. No matter which scenario you choose, the entire Second World War is considered to be going on in every corner of the globe.

TERRITORY CARD AND COMMAND RESTRICTIONS: Use only the Territory Cards as prescribed in the scenario when placing Units and collecting Resources; however, Command Tokens take precedence over the Territory Cards when referencing scenario setup inclusion or exclusion in sea regions. Unused territories offer no Units or Resources to the controlling Nation. In each scenario, all unlisted territories, including Neutrals, as well as sea regions outside of the depicted map, may not be entered or passed through (not even by Air Units). Commands in regions that would start outside of the depicted scenario map are not placed during setup and may NOT be used during play, however Commands without a Region ID may be used.

MISCELLANEOUS RESTRICTIONS: Trading with Neutrals is only permitted in the Global War scenario. Non-Aggression Pacts are only valid for the Global War scenario. The Stalin Doctrine is only valid for the Global War and War in Europe scenarios. For scenarios other than Global War, block the unused, lower rank Turn Order slots with Arrow Tags.

Global War

6 Player (Full Game)

• Player 1 - CHINA and UNITED STATES
• Player 2 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 3 - SOVIET UNION
• Player 4 - GERMANY
• Player 5 - ITALY
• Player 6 - IMPERIAL JAPAN

5 Player

• Player 1 - CHINA and UNITED STATES
• Player 2 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 3 - SOVIET UNION
• Player 4 - GERMANY and ITALY
• Player 5 - IMPERIAL JAPAN

4 Player

• Player 1 - CHINA and SOVIET UNION
• Player 2 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and UNITED STATES
• Player 3 - GERMANY and ITALY
• Player 4 - IMPERIAL JAPAN

3 Player

• Player 1 - CHINA and SOVIET UNION
• Player 2 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and UNITED STATES
• Player 3 - GERMANY, ITALY, and IMPERIAL JAPAN

2 Player

• Player 1 - All the Allied Forces Nations (CHINA, BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, SOVIET UNION, and UNITED STATES)
• Player 2 - All the Axis Nations (GERMANY, ITALY, and IMPERIAL JAPAN)

Scenario Conditions: The Axis (GERMANY, ITALY, and IMPERIAL JAPAN) win if they simultaneously control any 2 of the following Capital territories: Great Britain, Moscow, Eastern United States. The Allied Forces (CHINA, BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, SOVIET UNION, and UNITED STATES) win if they simultaneously control both Greater Germany and Japan. Use the side of the Morale Board labeled "Global".

Territory Cards: This scenario uses ALL the Territory Cards of the game, including Neutrals.

War in Europe

5 Player

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 2 - SOVIET UNION
• Player 3 - UNITED STATES
• Player 4 - GERMANY
• Player 5 - ITALY

4 Player

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 2 - SOVIET UNION
• Player 3 - UNITED STATES
• Player 4 - GERMANY and ITALY

3 Player

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH (and SOVIET UNION*)
• Player 2 - UNITED STATES (and SOVIET UNION*)
• Player 3 - GERMANY and ITALY
• (* Either of Players 1 or 2 can elect to play the SOVIET UNION, but 1 of them must play it.)

2 Player

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, SOVIET UNION, and UNITED STATES
• Player 2 - GERMANY and ITALY

Scenario Conditions: The Axis (GERMANY and ITALY) win if they control any 1 of the following Capital territories: Great Britain, Moscow, Eastern United States. The Allied Forces (BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, SOVIET UNION, and UNITED STATES) win if they control Greater Germany.

• The BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and the UNITED STATES may each write up to only 6 orders per round.
• Use the side of the Morale Board labeled "Europe".

Territory Cards:

• GERMANY and ITALY use all their Territory Cards.
• The SOVIET UNION (USSR) uses all their Territory Cards except Soviet Sakhalin.
• The UNITED STATES uses only the Eastern United States and Central United States Territory Cards.
• All Neutrals are in play except Mongolia and Afghanistan.
• The BRITISH COMMONWEALTH does not use the following Territory Cards: India, Ceylon, Papua, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Eastern Australia, New Hebrides, New Zealand.

War in the Pacific

3 Player

• Player 1 - CHINA and BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 2 - UNITED STATES
• Player 3 - IMPERIAL JAPAN

2 Player

• Player 1 - CHINA, BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, and UNITED STATES
• Player 2 - IMPERIAL JAPAN

Scenario Conditions: IMPERIAL JAPAN wins if they control – at the same time – 1 of the following territories: Eastern Australia or India, and 1 of the following territories: Hawaii, Alaska, or Western United States. The Allied Forces win if they control Japan. Place Medals on the World Map to highlight non-standard Capital territories.

• The BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and the UNITED STATES may each write up to only 6 orders per round.
• Use the side of the Morale Board labeled "Pacific".

Territory Cards:

• IMPERIAL JAPAN uses all of their Territory Cards. CHINA uses all of their Territory Cards.
• The UNITED STATES uses all their Territory Cards except for Eastern United States (and their forces in Great Britain).
• Neutrals in play are Colombia, Central America, Mexico, Mongolia, and Afghanistan.
• The BRITISH COMMONWEALTH uses only the following Territory Cards: Iran, Maldives, India, Ceylon, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Eastern Australia, Papua, New Hebrides, New Zealand, Western Canada.

North Africa

4 Player

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 2 - UNITED STATES
• Player 3 - GERMANY
• Player 4 - ITALY

3 Player - Option A

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and UNITED STATES
• Player 2 - GERMANY
• Player 3 - ITALY

3 Player - Option B

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• Player 2 - UNITED STATES
• Player 3 - GERMANY and ITALY

2 Player

• Player 1 - BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and UNITED STATES
• Player 2 - GERMANY and ITALY

Scenario Conditions: The Axis (GERMANY and ITALY) win if they control – at the same time – Egypt and Middle East. They also can win by capturing either Eastern United States or Great Britain (however unlikely). The Allied Forces (BRITISH COMMONWEALTH and UNITED STATES) win if they control Italy or control - at the same time - all 5 African territories adjacent to the Mediterranean: French Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

• All Nations may each write up to only 6 orders per round.
• Use the side of the Morale Board labeled "Europe".

Territory Cards:

• The BRITISH COMMONWEALTH uses all their Territory Cards except: Ceylon, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Eastern Australia, Papua, New Hebrides, New Zealand.
• The UNITED STATES uses only the Eastern United States and Central United States Territory Cards (and their forces in Great Britain).
• GERMANY uses the following Territory Cards (and their forces in Libya): France, Bulgaria-Rumania, French Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Crete, French West Africa, Madagascar.
• ITALY uses all their Territory Cards.
• All Standard Neutrals are out of play. Reminder: Air Commands may NOT fly over them. Pro-Allied Neutrals are in play as normal (Brazil, Central America, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, and West Indies).

The Eastern Front

2 Player

• Player 1 - SOVIET UNION
• Player 2 - GERMANY (ITALY is not used as it is considered to be focusing on the Mediterranean Theater.)

Scenario Conditions: A Nation wins if it controls both Capitals at the end of the Morale Phase. Otherwise, continue until a Nation Collapses.

• Use the side of the Morale Board labeled "Eastern Front".
• Only sea regions adjacent to territories in play may be entered, excluding the Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
• GERMANY always maintains control of the Danish Straits.

Territory Cards:

• Neutrals in play are Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
• The SOVIET UNION uses all of their Territory Cards except Soviet Sakhalin.
• To represent GERMANY's two-front war, GERMANY uses only the following Territory Cards: Greater Germany, Poland-Slovakia-Hungary, Bulgaria-Rumania, Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic States, Finland.

Advanced Optional Rules

The following optional rules may be used in any combination if all players agree.

SIMULTANEOUS BATTLES: In order to expedite large games, players may resolve multiple Hotspots simultaneously. Ideally, any single player should not be involved in multiple simultaneous battles. A second set of 10 Dice and a second Battle-Board will also likely be required, unless resolving Raids or Garrison Force battles.

FORCE ADVANTAGE BATCH CAP: For the Surface Battle Stage ONLY:

• If a side has 1 fewer Land or Naval Unit Type, it can only roll 2 batches maximum (20 Dice).
• If a side has 2+ fewer Land or Naval Unit Types, it can only roll 1 batch maximum (10 Dice).

LONG-RANGE AMPHIBIOUS LANDINGS: Troop Transports may also move 2 regions if they start their movement in a sea region, their first move ends in a sea region, their second move ends in a territory, AND at least one of the following is true:

• The destination territory is Friendly-controlled (regardless of Embattled status);
• The destination territory already has Friendly Land Units present at the time of entry (beachhead established);
• The destination territory has no Enemy Land Units present at the time of entry.

A Garrison Force battle will occur if the territory is Enemy-controlled. The Pinning Exception rule does not apply here.

BOMB DAMAGE REPAIR: During Phase 7: Production, after trading but before finalizing purchases, a Nation may pay 9 Iron to remove 1 Bomb Token from any territory they control (updating their Iron total on their O&P Chart immediately). A Nation must announce this repair action before Production Step 3 when purchases are revealed. Each Nation may remove only 1 Bomb Token per round.

OFFICER ROLES

Randomly or by consensus, assign 3 General Officers the following leadership roles to facilitate and expedite game play: Strategic Planning Officer (SPO); Combat Operations Officer (COO); and Economic, Morale & Production Officer (EMPO).

Strategic Planning Officer (SPO) Duties:

• After completing your orders, secure them and announce to all that they have 5 more minutes to complete their orders.
• Facilitate and establish the round's Turn Order.
• Manage the bidding process and verify Oil payments for bidding.
• Oversee Command Stack movements and verify that they correspond to the written orders.
• Ensure any orders deemed ambiguous or impossible to perform will not be conducted.
• Announce cancellations of movement orders and verify that they have been lined out on the Nation's O&P Chart.
• Identify Active regions and place all required Hotspot Markers on the World Map.
• Announce Carrier Fighter launches.

Combat Operations Officer (COO) Duties:

• Oversee the resolution and status upkeep of Hotspot Markers.
• Assist and guide the players through battles:
  • Ensure that the Battle-Board is set up correctly.
  • Ensure that players have chosen their Stances and that Force and Port Advantages are observed.
  • Oversee Air Battle and Surface Battle Stages.
  • Verify repair payments and Port Advantage opportunities.
  • Oversee the tracking of Stress and Medals.
  • Oversee the replacement of surviving Units to the World Map and the placement of eliminated Units on the Casualty List.
  • Verify that Territory Cards are exchanged when necessary.
• Appoint an available player to temporarily take over the COO position when participating in a battle.
• Oversee Phase 5: Refit and Deploy, ensuring that all Air Units are properly landed or eliminated and that Commands are correctly merged or split.

Economic, Morale & Production Officer (EMPO) Duties:

• During Phase 1: Direct National Economy, ensure that each Nation's Resource Chart reflects the correct Resource count shown on its Territory Cards.
• During Phase 6: Morale, resolve the Morale Board as well as any Homeland Status penalties.
• During Phase 7: Production, after completing your purchases, announce to others that there are 5 minutes remaining to complete their purchases.

'Take Her Down' Nano-Expansion

(in reference to a famous WWII quote by Howard W. Gilmore)

Components: 20 Convoy Casualty Tokens/Dived Submarine Tokens. The Convoy Casualty side is used to mark sunk convoy ships on the Morale Board. The Dived Submarine side is used to mark Submarines (once returned to the World Map) that escaped combat by diving.

Note: As expansions are optional by nature, these rules are optional. The intention is to make Convoy Raids a more important part of the game, as they were very significant historically. There are 2 aspects to this very tiny expansion which correspond to the two sides of the tokens.

CONVOY CASUALTIES

For each Resource lost in a Convoy Raid, place a Convoy Casualty Token on the Morale Board in the "SUBMARINE" box of the Casualty List corresponding to the Nation which controlled the Convoy. (Convoy Casualty Tokens are worth 6 Casualty Points each in Phase 6: Morale.)

For example, during a raid, if 2 yellow convoy silhouettes and 1 blue convoy silhouette are sunk, the Nation suffering the Resource losses will gain 18 Casualty Points (6 Casualty Points x 3 silhouettes).

NOTE: A Resource must be actually lost before a Convoy Casualty Token can be applied. See "Resource Loss Limits for Raids" (in Phase 4: Combat Operations - Raids).

For example, if Peiping is Embattled and therefore currently produces no Iron, then the linked blue convoy silhouette can't be sunk in a raid. For example, if CHINA controls Iran, then the red convoy silhouette linked to Iran is ignored.

DIVED SUBMARINES

At the end of Battle Debrief, Submarines which escaped the now-resolved battle by diving may immediately move to any 1 adjacent sea region, ignoring pinning. If splitting from a Command, these Submarines are placed under a new Command Token (they may not merge with an existing Command). Place a Dived Submarine Token on the escaped Submarine Command to indicate that these Units may NOT be involved in any conflict or raid in their new region for the rest of the current round (new Hotspot Markers are not placed), nor may they eliminate unguarded Enemy Troop Transports in any region.

Escaped Submarines may move even if all Enemy Units were eliminated in the battle and may move into Enemy-occupied regions. Narrow Sea Passage movement restrictions apply normally. If a Nation has multiple Submarines which escaped, they may split up and move to different adjacent sea regions, (or some may not move at all), assuming sufficient Naval Command Tokens are available. Dived Submarine Tokens are removed at the beginning of Phase 5: Refit and Deploy, at which point the Submarines are considered to have resurfaced and may optionally reorganize Commands as normal.

NOTE: Submarines which do not exercise the option to escape to an adjacent sea region are treated normally (they may eliminate unguarded Enemy Troop Transports).

Howard W. Gilmore, Commander, USN. The Battle of the Atlantic: The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. As reflected on the World Map, the convoys are coming from North America and heading to Great Britain and the SOVIET UNION. The UNITED STATES is faced with the great challenge of delivering desperately-needed war materiel to their European allies through the gauntlet of German U-boats prowling the Atlantic Ocean.

In the Pacific, another great contest at sea was occurring. This time it was the Imperial Japanese Axis running their convoys through dangerous waters. If IMPERIAL JAPAN can't keep their sea lanes open, they will militarily and economically collapse. Suddenly there seems to be a lot more naval activity to consider while playing WAR ROOM.

You are invited to try out this new optional Convoy Raid game mechanic. The temperature of the war at sea has just gone way up! The loss of millions of tons of vital resources will now have an increased impact on national morale. You can now be the judge of whether or not this official, optional expansion more closely represents the historical threats.

- Larry Harris

Designer Notes

It was an amazing time. We were flying in one of the brand new Pan Am Clipper jets. It was 1960, and we were flying to Tehran, Iran, for Dad's new assignment.

Over the speaker I heard the Captain speak: "Ladies and Gentlemen… Off to our right…" (Maybe he said left) "…are the beaches of Dunkirk." In my rather excited, curious, and loud 12-year-old voice, I yelled out across the aisle, "What's Dunkirk, Dad?"

I immediately knew I had just embarrassed him, and only then did I, too, become embarrassed. There were looks from the adults all around me. Not mean looks – not even condemning looks. They were looks of surprise, and a few looks that suggested disappointment that this young lad never heard of Dunkirk. How could that be possible? Those were the looks that bothered me most.

My Dad leaned over and slowly began to tell me the amazing and detailed story. Inevitably, the conversation lead to me asking, "Tell me what you did in the war, Dad." He was my direct connection – he participated in it. I knew he had been in a war. I had even found a diary he had kept during the war, but its full importance and significance had not yet occurred to me. That day was the emergence of my recognition. That was the longest and quickest flight of my life, and that conversation continued until 2010.

I'm not obsessed with or a fan of war. I have no false illusions about what war is. I don't question the horror and suffering it brings. However, over time, I simply became fascinated by it and immediately began to learn everything I could: the human toll, the redrawing of maps, and the political and economic implications. I became interested in wars that occurred hundreds and even thousands of years ago. I wanted to know what they were about and why they happened. I wanted to know where they took place and who the commanders and heroes were. These clashes are a big part of our human story. I noticed how the paths of human history seemed to flow from one dot to the next. Each dot is a war and at each dot the line takes another direction. I was fascinated with how World War II changed all our lives. It seemed to be the biggest dot of them all.

I often learned about World War II directly from those who participated in it. I grew up with them all around me, and I sought them out. While living in Iran (I was there for 3 years), I learned that my neighbor was the Shah's personal pilot. I thought that was really cool, but when I learned that he had been in the Luftwaffe and had been shot down 17 times over Russia (I'm not exaggerating, and neither did he), I was awestruck. At times, I'm sure my endless questions tested his patience, but the stories and conversations kept coming.

These days the people I routinely meet seem to know less and less about World War II, especially the young people. When I introduce the war into the conversation, I learn that their father, or grandfather, had served in the war or in one of the many wars that have occurred since World War II. I often hear things like… "My father fought in some battle – I think", "I think it was the Battle of Bulge", or "He landed on Omaha Beach", or "My grandmother worked in a munitions factory." Or, like my Dad, whose National Guard unit got activated on December 8th, 1941, was rushed to the Pacific, and fought as an infantryman in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and then on to the Philippines.

Am I now one of those adults on that Pan Am Clipper jet? No… probably not… I'll never really be an adult. All I want to do is design and play games. I'm just a concerned guy who wants to delay, for as long as he can, the inevitable day when our Greatest Generation is no longer here, when they are no longer in our conversations and the lessons that they taught us are no longer heeded. I do not want their sacrifices on our behalf forgotten anytime soon… at least not in my lifetime. Their amazing story will only continue if we continue to pass their stories from one generation to the next.

As the years pass, one after the other, there are fewer and fewer eyewitnesses of the Second World War around us. At this writing, 72 years have passed since the Japanese surrendered on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. If you were a young sailor of 20 on that day, you'd now be 92 years old. If you are ever so lucky as to meet one of these "once young" men, who in their own ways saved the world, be sure to shake hands, express your gratitude, and demonstrate your awe. Thank him or her for their service. Someday you'll be able to say that you shook hands with one of this country's most special people.

War Room has been a labor of love for me. If it can bring World War II into your conversations, if it can generate interest and awareness of this monumental event, then I have contributed in some way to the war's continued legacy.

In general terms, this game will give you the big picture of that war: what its Generals and Strategists pondered and where these far off and strangely named places were. Hopefully, you'll walk away with a better understanding of the scale and reasoning of it all.

If you are already aware of all things World War II, then I hope you appreciate and recognize the historic thread that runs through this game. Now you can direct those armies that you know so well. In either case, be you new to this topic or an old student, you can test your skills at commanding the simulated forces that shaped our present world.

It is my belief that a game should tell you a story and take you on an adventure. Maybe like the story my Dad told me on that flight. Come on… let's go push some command tokens around on the War Room map and, for a moment, at least in our minds, we can be close to being back in that amazing time and place – that's what a good story should do. I like this game! I like playing it. I'm very proud of it, and now you know why.

• Larry Harris

Credits

Game Designer and Inventor: Larry Harris. Art and Development: Thomas Gale. Executive Counsel: Joe Minton. Kickstarter Videographer: Angus Reid. Kickstarter Logistics Support: Rory Madden. Rulebook Editor: Kevin Chapman.

Alysia Bartok, Simon Reid, Joe Minton, Jay Adan, Rory Madden, Rob Eng, Robert Bealer, Kevin Grant, Paul Gordon Hughes, David Vogel, Adam Haley, Katherine Williams, Randy Van Dyke, Josiah Milette, Levi Van Dyke, Joel Greenhalgh, Lucas Sanford-Long, John Flynn, Todd L. Nicholson, Joe Churma, Erik Stonemark, Trisdin Hart, Seth Lustig, Michael LaCasse, and many more…

©2019-2025 Nightingale Games LLC ~ WAR ROOM Trademark owned by Larry Harris. For news and updates visit: www.Nightingale-Games.com

Optional Quick Play Rules

Any of the 5 scenarios may be played using these rules. Unless an exception is stated below, follow standard rules.

SETTING UP: Territory Cards and the Morale Board are not needed. Use the reverse side of the Resource Charts and insert 3 pegs (red, blue, and yellow) into the respective columns (Casualty Points, Production Value, and Stress Points). Casualty and Stress Points start at 0, while the blue peg (Production Value) starts at a position according to the scenario and Nation. Each Nation starts with 1 Medal. Pegs and Medals are always visible to all. Players may use Rapid Setup (see Setting Up).

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT - Scenario Production Values (PV) by Nation and scenario:

• CHINA: Global 3, North Africa —, Pacific 3
• BRITISH COMMONWEALTH: Global 7, Europe 4, Pacific 3, North Africa 3
• SOVIET UNION: Global 5, Europe 5, Eastern Front 5
• UNITED STATES: Global 10, Europe 5, Pacific 5, North Africa 5
• GERMANY: Global 8, Europe 8, North Africa 3, Eastern Front 5
• ITALY: Global 4, Europe 4, North Africa 4
• IMPERIAL JAPAN: Global 6, Pacific 6

PHASE 1. STRATEGIC PLANNING

NEUTRALS: Standard Neutrals cannot be entered or passed through (not even by air). Pro-Allied Neutrals follow normal rules.

BIDDING FOR TURN ORDER: Nations may bid Medals for Turn Order Rank. After all orders are written, Nations announce bids and establish Turn Order as normal (resolving ties randomly). All Medals bid are paid.

PHASE 2. PRODUCTION

Disregard all Resource tracking and trading. Civilian Goods may not be purchased. Instead of using Resources to purchase new Units, each Nation will roll a number of Production Dice equal to their Production Value (PV) plus their Production Bonus. A Nation's PV is based on their Industrial Output for the scenario (see chart above).

1. DETERMINE BONUS: In Turn Order, each Nation may return any number of their Medals for an equal number of Production Bonus Dice. A Nation can never roll more than 20 Production Dice in a round. Any Production Bonus Dice must be acquired before rolling.
2. PRODUCTION ROLL: In Turn Order, each Nation rolls their Production Dice in batches of 10. New Units are produced according to the colors of the Dice results. Dice results may not be saved for use in a later batch. Dice results could yield several options: Black results are WILD and can be used as any color result. White results are WILD, but only usable for Air or Naval Units. Only 1 white result can be used per Unit. For example, 1 red, 1 black, and 1 white result allow the possibilities of either 1 Battleship OR 1 Bomber plus any 1 Land Unit.
3. PLACE NEW UNITS: In Turn Order, each Nation places their new Units in controlled Industrial territories beneath Industry Tokens (limited by smokestacks, Bomb Tokens, and Deferred Units as normal). Otherwise, those new Units are lost. CHINA may add their new Infantry Units into Commands which have orders already written from Phase 1: Strategic Planning. Reminder: CHINA's production is limited to Infantry (and Artillery if controlling an Industrial territory). During this phase, newly purchased Chinese Infantry are deployed immediately in Chinese-controlled territories with a Mobilization or Industry icon.

PHASE 3. MOVEMENT OPERATIONS

Resolve orders as normal. Note: The Soviet-Japanese Non-Aggression Pact may not be broken (but may be dissolved).

PHASE 4. COMBAT OPERATIONS

Use the Quick Battle Rules to address Hotspots. See Quick Battle Reference for instructions. The Quick Play exceptions are:

• Raids: No Convoy Raids. Resolve Strategic Bombing Raids as normal, except depleting Resources is not an option.
• No Garrison Forces: Transfer control of defenseless territories immediately, without rolling Dice. Invaders must still have at least 1 Land Unit present in order to gain control of a territory.

BATTLE DEBRIEF: Tally Casualty Points immediately after each battle (instead of during Phase 6: Morale) by moving the red peg up on each Nation's pegboard according to the Casualty Points per Unit chart: Land Unit 1, Air Unit 2, Submarine or Cruiser 3, Carrier or Battleship 5. (Likewise, adjust the red peg immediately for any casualties outside of Battle Debrief.) Check for lost Troop Transports as normal.

Track Stress Points gained with the yellow peg on each Nation's pegboard.

Award Medals for captured territories as follows: 3 for each Capital territory, 2 for each non-Capital Industrial territory, and 1 for each other territory.

PHASE 5. REFIT & DEPLOY

As normal, land Air Units, then deploy Units which were placed beneath Industry Tokens.

PHASE 6. MORALE

Convert Casualties: Convert Casualty Points (red peg) into Stress Points (yellow peg) at a rate of 5 to 1, dropping any remainder. For example, GERMANY converts their 17 Casualty Points into 3 Stress Points (17/5=3), ignores the remaining 2, and resets their red peg to 0.

Resolve Medals and Stress Points: Follow these steps as normal except track Stress Points with a yellow peg on each Nation's Chart: Step 1. Submit Medals to Cancel Stress Points, Step 2. Evaluate Stress Levels, Step 3. Relieve Stress, and Step 4. Apply Stress Zone Penalties.

Penalties are unchanged, except: Upon entering the Blue Zone (from the White Zone), a Nation loses 1 PV (moves their blue peg down) instead of Resources, and loses a second PV upon advancing into the Yellow Zone (if reversing on the Homeland Status Track, undo these losses). Once in the Red Zone, a Nation's PV drops to 0, and no Medals may be returned for a Production Bonus.

Quick Battle Reference

The following optional Quick Battle Rules are designed to speed up play. Unless stated otherwise, the standard rules are unchanged.

Do not transfer Command stacks away from the World Map. Instead, each Commander uses a dry-erase Quick Battle Chart.

Step A. Record Units

• Each Commander records the number of his Units per Type participating in the battle in the center area of all rows. If directing multiple Nations, write values in columns aligned with the corresponding Flag. Exclude Troop Transports.
• Assign Stances only for Bombers in land battles where there is a potential target for a Strategic Bombing Raid.
• Be sure to update the Air Unit totals after the Air Battle Stage is resolved, as eliminated Air Units do not battle in the Surface Battle Stage.

Step B. Calculate Dice to Be Rolled by Each Side

• For each participating Unit Type, multiply the number of Units by its Combat Value for the current Battle Stage (Air or Surface).
• Each Commander totals his column for the current Battle Stage and notes how many Dice to roll (using Port Advantage if relevant).

REMINDER: CHECK FORCE ADVANTAGE (Surface Battle Stage only):

• If one side has a majority of Land or Naval Unit types, then that side has Force Advantage. Take note if your side is penalized.
• For the side with fewer Land or Naval Unit types, black and white results become misses and may not be used at all.

REMINDER: FORCE ADVANTAGE BATCH CAP ADVANCED OPTIONAL RULE (Surface Battle Stage only):

• A side with 1 fewer Land or Naval Unit Type can only roll up to 2 batches of Dice. Draw a slash through the third batch field.
• A side with 2+ fewer Land or Naval Unit Types can only roll 1 batch of Dice. Draw slashes through the second and third batch fields.

Step C. Roll Dice in Batches

• Check off each batch as it is rolled and resolved.
• If there is only 1 Die to be rolled in the last batch, add a second Die.

Step D. Assign Hits

• For each batch, match pairs of results by color (in any order) to eliminate a Unit of that color. Black and white results are WILD and are paired with any color or another WILD (black or white) result. However, only one white result may be applied to each Unit. For example, all pairings will eliminate 1 Infantry Unit, except for the pair of white results.
• Unpaired results are misses and do not carry over to the next batch.
• Battleships and Carriers (capital ships) require triplets (3 hits) to eliminate. Again, only 1 white result may be applied to each Unit.
• Draw an X for each eliminated Unit below the corresponding Unit Type and the relevant Nation's Flag.

CRUISER ESCORT STANCE: This ability does not apply in Quick Battle.

SUBMARINES: White results can't be used against submarines at all. 1 Submarine will escape if an odd yellow result remains unpaired in a batch. Track escaped Submarines in the boxes with the diving Submarine icon.

Step E. Battle Debrief

• There is no repair of Units, as Units never exist in a damaged state in Quick Battle. Remove eliminated Units from the World Map rather than from the Battle-Board, and reorganize Command Stacks if desired.