Recently played The Dragon & the Hermit Kingdom: The Second Korean War from Decision Games found in Modern War #45 from November 2019. The publisher’s blurb is as follows:
The Dragon and The Hermit Kingdom is a two player game that covers the hypothetical simulation of a second Korean War that could occur in the very near future. This game is a precursor to The Dragon that Engulfed the Sun (Modern War #42). It simulates the war that would have occurred on the Korean peninsula just prior to that game’s setting. The Dragon that Engulfed the Sun assumes that a Chinese victory had already occurred in Korea. This game, however, simulates the entirety of that preceding conflict, beginning with a supposed North Korean invasion of South Korea.
Game Overview, BGG
Snippet Thoughts
Magazine game with typical single map, low density (single sheet of counters) and rules based on an ongoing series.
A different take on a “Third Party Intervention” scenario for a next Korean War; instead of the PRC entering to prevent the Combined Forces player from going too far north, postulates the PRC enters on the side of North Korea from the beginning of a conflict.
Order of Battle like a very typical “modern day” next Korean War game but with lots (and I mean lots) of airpower for both sides. Oh yeah, and the PLA/PLAAF/PLAN/PLASF too…
The PRC has fewer Cyberwar units than the West? That’s being very charitable…
Missiles and airpower become overwhelmingly important in “shaping” the battlefield.
If PRC intervenes in a Korean conflict, any reinforcement to the Peninsula will have to get past PLA anti-access/area denial (A2AD) systems. This is somewhat portrayed in the game (plenty of PLASF missile units).
What’s the Game’s Message?
If the Chinese intervene invade with the North Koreans it’s not going to be the ground forces the Combined Forces need worry about; it’s the airpower and A2/AD capabilities the PLASF brings that will shape the battlefields on the Peninsula. Oh yeah, and there is not much the Combined Forces will be able to do about it either…
Feature image courtesy wuxinghongqi.blogspot.com
Glossary: A2AD = anti-access/area denial; PLA = People’s Liberation Army; PLAAF = People’s Liberation Army Air Force; PLAN = People’s Liberation Army Navy; PLASF = People’s Liberation Army Strategic Force; PRC = People’s Republic of China
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