Flashpoint: South China Sea

Flashpoint: South China Sea (2022) GTM Games

And we’re off—the first game of the 2025 10 Wargame Challenge: Flashpoint: South China Sea!

Flashpoint: South China Sea (FSCS) is a game by Harold Buchanan, published by GMT Games in 2022. A second printing is on the way, pending the 500-order threshold (currently at 53 as of writing, so probably not anytime soon).

FSCS is a fast-paced, easy-to-learn, two-player, card-driven strategy game that simulates the complex geopolitical contest between the United States and China in the South China Sea.

As always with GMT, the game’s quality is impeccable. There are cards, a mounted game board, small wooden cubes and discs, three “books” (rules, playbook, and solo play rules), and no dice (you don’t need them). Introduction The game is about as abstract as it gets. It’s a significant step away from “normal” wargames (whatever that is) you might be used to. FSCS is closer to Twilight Struggle or Labyrinth, neither of which I’ve played yet. The game is card-driven, with an event deck from which both players draw and play. Events are based on real-world occurrences and leaders, which ties the game nicely to reality. It reminds me a bit of the event cards in COIN games—they offer small but valuable history lessons. That said, FSCS feels a little more detached.

Cards

Game Mechanics

The basic mechanic is that you get a hand of six cards and alternate playing one card at a time until no more cards remain. This concludes a round, or as it’s called in the game, a Campaign. You play three Campaigns before the game concludes with a final scoring turn. Each card can be used in one of three ways, depending on its affiliation: Chinese, United States, or neutral (which both players can use). You can play the event for your side cards (and neutral). You can play other cards for their operational value or as a scoring opportunity. Events and Operations let you place Influence cubes or conduct operations that abstractly let you flex the military muscles. A key feature is the Scoring Opportunity. You decide when and what to score on, but only if your opponent hasn’t already used that scoring opportunity or the cards allow it. There’s also a mechanic where you can use the event or scoring opportunity from a just-played card, meaning you’re never really “safe” when playing the other side’s cards.

Hands of cards

Gameplay

The game is easy to learn and quick to play. We managed two games—including learning the rules—in about two and a half hours, or around an hour per game, just like the box says. Nice! A hand of six cards gives you a limited range of actions per Campaign. You also need to score at the right time. Success depends on a mix of luck (drawing the right cards), strategy (planning your actions), and your opponent’s missteps (hoping they draw poorly or can’t counter your moves). It’s a bit nerve-wracking! While the game is easy to grasp if you can get past its abstract nature, figuring out what actions lead to victory takes some learning.

Our Two Games

We think we’ve coined a phrase in our group: “Playing like a Golden Retriever.” It means just going along without fully understanding what you’re doing or where it’s leading. Maybe it’s unfair to Golden Retrievers, who are wonderful dogs, but that’s how it felt in our first game. Things happened all around me, more or less out of my control. By the second game, though, I started to get a handle on it—fleetingly. I played China in the first game and won, even though the score swung wildly. In the second game, I played the United States. I started with a three-point VP lead (you bet VPs on who plays who) and managed to get as high as 13 points during the game. A 15-point lead is an automatic victory, but I won with 8 points after the final scoring.

Middle of second Campaign in the second game

Conclusion

Flashpoint: South China Sea is a neat, fast, and easy-to-learn game that’s quick to bring to the table. It has some depth and feels like it can be replayed many times (and will be). This was my first real event-card-driven game, and I was sceptical. I prefer games with a more direct connection to their theme/history. I want to love games like Labyrinth, Twilight Struggle, and the COIN series. Still, coming from a more classic hex-and-counter gaming background, it will take some adjustment. That said Flashpoint: South China Sea is an excellent game on its right, and I greatly enjoyed it. I’ll definitely play it again. It feels like a good introduction to this type of game—accessible but with enough substance to keep things interesting. For me, it’s a stepping stone to eventually tackling Labyrinth. But even on its own, it’s well worth the time.

End of final Campaign going into scoring