The East is Red: The Sino Soviet War

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

Description

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

Components

The game includes:

  • 22" x 34" paper hex grid map scaled at 50 km (31 mi) per hex
  • rulesheet
  • 100 die-cut counters

Gameplay

The East Is Red uses an alternating system of "I Go, You Go" turns, movement and combat first developed by SPI for Kursk: Operation Zitadelle (1971).[1]

Victory conditions

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

Publication history

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

After the demise of SPI, Decision Games acquired the rights to the game. Joseph Miranda revised and updated the rules to allow for more modern armaments, and a second edition titled Dragon vs Bear: China vs Russia in the 21st Century with cover art by Eric R. Harvey was published in 2014 as a pullout game in Modern War #12.[2]

Reception

In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Nicholas Palmer called it a "good brisk game with little innovation over the [Kursk: Operation Zitadelle] game system but unusual theme."[1]

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

Other reviews and commentary
  • Strategy & Tactics No. 46
  • Panzerfaust No. 66
  • Jagdpanther No. 6, #8 & No. 10
  • International Confederation of Wargamers Newsletter No. 34
  • Outposts No. 2 & No. 10
  • Pursue & Destroy No. 18

References
  1. Palmer, Nicholas (1977). The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. London: Sphere Books. p. 148.
  2. "Dragon vs Bear: China vs Russia in the 21st Century (2014)". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  3. Young, John Michael (February–March 1974). "Victories & Defeats: A Critical View of SPI Game Development and Design in 1973". Moves. No. 13. pp. 15 and 18.
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