The Wargamer

Introduction

Since the signing of the armistice agreement in July 1953 the two Koreas have been sitting on a powder keg which either side could have reignited at any time. North Korea is viewed as a rogue state by many due to its nuclear capability, its ability to transport a nuclear device, and its unpredictable totalitarian regime. On the other hand South Korea with its booming economy and its western style consumerism is the complete antithesis of North Korea's starving population and economic woes. This makes South Korea rich target for a regime with little to lose. 

Korea '85 is the third game in John Tiller's Modern Battles series and creates a hypothetical invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces in 1985. 

Setting

Korea '85 is the sister game to Fulda Gap '85. Fulda Gap hypothesizes what would have happened if the Soviet Union had decided to invade Europe using the Fulda Gap corridor into central Germany. The premise for Korea '85 is that the North Korean leaders see an opportunity to press their claims to reunite Korea into one country while most of US military resources are tied up defending Europe. 

Anyone familiar with Tiller's previous Modern Battles games or his World War II series games will be more than familiar with the way this game works. For gamers who haven't played one of these games but have played Talonsoft's The Operational Art of War or the recently released Korsun Pocket they will be familiar with Korea '85's basic gameplay. It is turn-based with turns broken down into various stages: movement, offensive fire, assault, and defensive fire.. 

Players may take the side of either the North Korean or joint command of the South Korean and U.S. forces. It can be played against the AI, Play by E-Mail (PBEM), or Network Play. The main objective in all scenarios is to inflict as much harm on the enemy as possible and to take what is his. In this game as the South Korean and US side, players must to stop the North Koreans from infiltrating through the border and taking key supply points. Units are represented by tiles with standard army unit designations in 2D mode or in 3D mode. The view is always top down with a small map called a jump map which gives the player an idea where all the forces are located. I found this was especially useful when North Korean paratroopers start appearing as red dots on the map. 

The game has a number of different time settings which allow playing at a normal or accelerated pace. Acceleration is very useful when playing scenarios with a large attacking force, otherwise the player will have to sit watching the battle unfold on the enemy's turn twiddling his thumbs or reading the paper while the other side attacks. Each turn in the game represents three hours real time and each hex represents one mile across. 

Presentation

Thousands of men are killed in this game, but like playing a game of chess, there are no heart wrenching screams or pools of blood; just cold hard facts: 40 men killed, one vehicle destroyed. This makes Korea '85 suitable for all ages especially those who have enjoy strategic warfare without the blood and anguish. It is not a fast game and can take many hours if not days to play. Of course, all scenarios and campaigns can be saved to hard disk. 

Plot

The North Korean forces have been preparing for the opportunity to strike down the peninsular ever since the ceasefire came in to effect. North Korean engineers over the years have been digging large tunnels through the hills, under the border and into South Korean territory. Some have been discovered and destroyed, but there are others still undiscovered. In the tunnels equipment and men have been stationed awaiting the call to advance.

There are three large campaigns (180 turns) which explore both summer and winter invasions. The campaigns are really just large scenarios. They do not have separate scenarios broken down within the campaign. The campaign scenarios focus on various types of invasion and are not linked with one another.