// WHAT IS THIS //
Theater of War is a turn-based conflict simulator. You command one side of a real or historical conflict across a strategic map. Each turn you issue orders to your forces, execute them, watch the AI opponent respond, then read an after-action intelligence assessment.
The goal is not just to win — it's to understand why these conflicts resist resolution. Every scenario is designed around a genuine strategic dilemma. The mechanics are the lesson.
// TURN SEQUENCE //
01
READ THE SITUATION
Check the status panel. Note enemy positions, your force strength, and any special mechanics active this turn (mine levels, political will, panzer status).
02
CLICK A TERRITORY
Click one of your units on the map. The Orders panel updates with available actions and targets. Unit Detail shows threats and support.
03
CHOOSE AN ACTION
Select ATTACK, HOLD/FORTIFY, REINFORCE, or a scenario-specific action like MINESWEEP. Choose a target and force commitment.
04
QUEUE THE ORDER
Hit QUEUE ORDER. Repeat for other units. A dashed outline appears on queued units. You can queue multiple orders before executing.
05
SPECIAL WEAPON
If available, click an enemy block to target it, then launch your special weapon — drone, naval guns, air cavalry, Tomahawk, or sniper team. Button disappears during cooldown and reappears when ready.
06
EXECUTE ORDERS
Hit EXECUTE ORDERS. Your orders resolve, then the AI takes its turn. An After-Action Report appears with the full operational summary.
// ORDERS //
| ATTACK | Commit forces against an adjacent enemy territory. Combat is probabilistic — terrain, force strength, and modifiers all affect the outcome. You can capture, achieve an inconclusive result, or be repelled. |
| HOLD / FORTIFY | Stay in position and dig in. Adds ~10% of current forces as a fortification bonus. Useful for securing key positions or recovering from casualties. |
| REINFORCE | Move forces from one territory to an adjacent friendly territory. The source territory keeps a minimum of 2 forces. Use to concentrate strength before an attack. |
| MINESWEEP | Hormuz only. Clears mines from adjacent strait zones. Essential for keeping transit capacity above the critical threshold. |
// IMPORTANT //
Each territory can only have one queued order per turn. Queueing a second order on the same territory replaces the first. You don't have to order every unit — unordered territories hold their position automatically.
// COMBAT //
Combat uses a dice-roll system modified by force strength, terrain, and faction bonuses. The attacker commits a portion of their forces; both sides take casualties regardless of outcome.
OUTCOMES
| CAPTURED | Attacker wins decisively. Territory changes hands. Defender reduced to a small garrison. |
| INCONCLUSIVE | Neither side wins. Both take moderate casualties. Territory stays with defender. |
| REPELLED | Defender holds. Attacker takes heavier casualties and retreats. |
TERRAIN MODIFIERS
| URBAN / CAPITAL | +20-30% defence bonus. Cities are hard to take. |
| MOUNTAIN | +35% defence. Near-impossible to assault without heavy force advantage. |
| JUNGLE | +40% defence. Special weapons also reduced by 50% in jungle terrain. |
| BEACH (D-Day) | +35% defence for Germans in Phase 1. Naval gunfire partially offsets this. |
| ISLAND | +20% defence. Limited approach vectors. |
// SPECIAL WEAPONS //
Each scenario has one special weapon available to the player. All work the same way: click an enemy block on the map to designate the target, then hit the launch button. The button disappears during cooldown and reappears when ready. 4-turn cooldown after each use.
NAVAL BOMBARDMENT
D-Day only. HMS Warspite / USS Texas fire support. 5-9 force damage. Range limited to coastal and inland regions in Phase 1, beaches only in Phase 2.
AIR CAVALRY
Vietnam only. UH-1 Huey / AH-1 Cobra gunships. 5-9 force damage, halved in jungle terrain. Available from Turn 4. All NVA regions in range.
DRONE STRIKE
Eastern Front only. Bayraktar TB2 / Switchblade. 5-9 force damage. Range: 2 hops from any friendly territory — further reach than ground attack.
TOMAHAWK STRIKE
Hormuz only. BGM-109 cruise missile. 8-14 force damage. Can hit any Iranian zone. Essential for degrading Bandar Abbas and Jask missile batteries.
SNIPER TEAM
Stalingrad only. Vasily Zaitsev and the 62nd Army's elite marksmen. 3-6 force damage per deployment. Click an enemy zone, then deploy. 4-turn cooldown. Best used to weaken Mamayev Kurgan and the factory districts before assault.
// AI FEATURES //
AFTER-ACTION REPORT
After each turn an AI analyst generates a classified military assessment of your operations. Dry, precise, no sentiment. Read it — it often catches things you missed.
FLASH INTEL CABLES
8-15 seconds into each orders phase, a FLASH cable slides in under the map hinting at enemy intentions. Sourced from BLETCHLEY PARK, MACV SAIGON, or CENTCOM J2 depending on scenario.
// NOTE //
AI features require an internet connection to the game server. If the assessment shows "INTELLIGENCE FEED OFFLINE" the game continues normally — it's a cosmetic feature only.
// SCENARIO BRIEFINGS //
STRAIT OF HORMUZ
ACTIVE — CRITICAL
CENTCOM — PERSIAN GULF — PRESENT DAY
The core mechanic is the Strait Capacity bar — not territory capture. Iran wins by closing the strait (capacity below 30%) for 5 consecutive turns. You win by keeping it open for 20 turns or destroying Bandar Abbas and Jask.
Iran deploys mines each turn. Mines degrade capacity and stack up fast. Use MINESWEEP orders from adjacent zones to clear them. Watch the Mine Density bar — if it hits critical the strait closes regardless of who holds the zones.
The Tomahawk strike is your main offensive tool. Use it to degrade Iranian coastal positions before they can mine the strait.
Iran deploys mines each turn. Mines degrade capacity and stack up fast. Use MINESWEEP orders from adjacent zones to clear them. Watch the Mine Density bar — if it hits critical the strait closes regardless of who holds the zones.
The Tomahawk strike is your main offensive tool. Use it to degrade Iranian coastal positions before they can mine the strait.
Keep at least one coalition unit adjacent to each strait zone so you can sweep mines immediately.
[ DEPLOY TO HORMUZ ]
EASTERN FRONT
ACTIVE — 2022
USEUCOM — UKRAINE — 2022
The only scenario where you choose your faction — play as Ukraine or Russia. Each has different win conditions and advantages.
As Ukraine: you receive +5 forces per turn to Lviv (western resupply). Survive 20 turns or capture Moscow. Your drone range is 2 hops — use it to attrit Russian forces before they concentrate.
As Russia: you have air superiority (+20% attack) but suffer overextension penalties if you hold more than 50% of the map. Capture Kyiv or hold Kharkiv and Odesa simultaneously to win.
As Ukraine: you receive +5 forces per turn to Lviv (western resupply). Survive 20 turns or capture Moscow. Your drone range is 2 hops — use it to attrit Russian forces before they concentrate.
As Russia: you have air superiority (+20% attack) but suffer overextension penalties if you hold more than 50% of the map. Capture Kyiv or hold Kharkiv and Odesa simultaneously to win.
Drones are most effective against high-value enemy capitals with large force concentrations.
[ DEPLOY TO UKRAINE ]
OPERATION OVERLORD
HISTORICAL — 1944
SHAEF — NORMANDY — JUNE 6 1944
Two phases. Phase 1 (Turns 1-5): Hold 3 of 5 beaches to establish a beachhead. Germans have a massive defence bonus on beaches — use naval bombardment to soften them first. You have naval gunfire support (+25% attack on beaches) in Phase 1.
Phase 2 (Turns 6-20): Once the beachhead is secure, +8 reinforcements arrive via Utah each turn. Race to Paris before the Germans consolidate.
The Panzer Lock is your window — for the first 3 turns Hitler refuses to release reserves. The German AI is noticeably weaker. Use this time aggressively. When the Panzers release (Turn 4) the German defence jumps sharply.
Watch the German Awareness bar. The longer you take, the more forces divert from Calais to Normandy.
Phase 2 (Turns 6-20): Once the beachhead is secure, +8 reinforcements arrive via Utah each turn. Race to Paris before the Germans consolidate.
The Panzer Lock is your window — for the first 3 turns Hitler refuses to release reserves. The German AI is noticeably weaker. Use this time aggressively. When the Panzers release (Turn 4) the German defence jumps sharply.
Watch the German Awareness bar. The longer you take, the more forces divert from Calais to Normandy.
Naval bombardment Caen in Turn 1 before assaulting — it has 28 forces and +25% urban defence.
[ DEPLOY TO NORMANDY ]
VIETNAM 1965
HISTORICAL — 1965
MACV SAIGON — VIETNAM — 1965
The hardest scenario. You're playing against time and your own public support, not just the NVA.
The Political Will bar starts at 30 and loses 1 point per 6 US casualties. When it hits zero you're forced to withdraw regardless of the military situation. This is the lesson of Vietnam — military success and political sustainability are different problems.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail feeds VC insurgency in the south. While the NVA holds the trail, southern regions suffer 2-4 attrition damage per turn. Cutting the trail stops this — but the trail has a +30% defence bonus and is deep in enemy territory.
Air Cavalry is available from Turn 4. It's halved in jungle — don't waste it on jungle regions unless you have no choice.
The Political Will bar starts at 30 and loses 1 point per 6 US casualties. When it hits zero you're forced to withdraw regardless of the military situation. This is the lesson of Vietnam — military success and political sustainability are different problems.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail feeds VC insurgency in the south. While the NVA holds the trail, southern regions suffer 2-4 attrition damage per turn. Cutting the trail stops this — but the trail has a +30% defence bonus and is deep in enemy territory.
Air Cavalry is available from Turn 4. It's halved in jungle — don't waste it on jungle regions unless you have no choice.
Hold Saigon at all costs. Losing Saigon is an instant defeat. Reinforce it every turn.
[ DEPLOY TO VIETNAM ]
STALINGRAD 1942
HISTORICAL — 1942
EASTERN FRONT — VOLGA — AUTUMN 1942
You play as the Soviet 62nd Army with your back against the Volga. There is no retreat.
The first 8 turns are survival. German reinforcements arrive every turn — you receive almost nothing. Hold your Volga bank zones or your supply line is cut and reinforcements stop entirely.
Turn 8 is the turning point. German supply lines are cut. No more reinforcements arrive for the 6th Army. Watch the Uranus Readiness bar — it builds as Germans push deeper into the city. When it hits 100%, Operation Uranus triggers, encircling the German rear zones.
Once the Kessel is active, German units bleed 4-8 forces per turn with no resupply. Now you push. Recapture the factories while the 6th Army collapses from within.
The first 8 turns are survival. German reinforcements arrive every turn — you receive almost nothing. Hold your Volga bank zones or your supply line is cut and reinforcements stop entirely.
Turn 8 is the turning point. German supply lines are cut. No more reinforcements arrive for the 6th Army. Watch the Uranus Readiness bar — it builds as Germans push deeper into the city. When it hits 100%, Operation Uranus triggers, encircling the German rear zones.
Once the Kessel is active, German units bleed 4-8 forces per turn with no resupply. Now you push. Recapture the factories while the 6th Army collapses from within.
Don't attack in Turns 1-4. Reinforce Volga bank zones and use your sniper to weaken Mamayev Kurgan. Survive until Turn 8 — then the war changes.
[ DEPLOY TO STALINGRAD ]