by RockyMountainNavy, 4 September 2025
Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is a very different wargame. First, it is a wargame designed by wargame practitioners for service members first and the general public second. Secondly, though the game is intended to be fun to play, the primary goal of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is to educate. Third, unlike many wargames by wargame practitioners for military sponsors, the Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is available to the general public for purchase. This post is going to look first at the wargame practitioners who developed Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific followed by a quick unboxing and then a discussion of game mechanisms. The post concludes with a look at how Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific compares to issues raised in a recent article in International Security titled, “Access Denied? The Sino-American Contest for Military Primacy in Asia.”
Air Force wargame practitioners
The mission statement of the US Air Force Wargame Institute (AFWI) out of Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama reads, “Accelerate USAF and Combined Force capabilities for Great Power Competition by exploring complex problems in a world-class immersive environment to generate analytical insights and enable agile solutions.” Wargaming forms a vital part of this mission. AFWI defines a wargame as:
A unique, interactive research model using both purposefully selected game participants and purposefully developed scenarios to generate data that does not already exist to provide insights and/or options in response to a sponsor’s problem.
AFWI goes on to explain that, “Wargames are invaluable to investigate processes, explore issues, identify questions, evaluate doctrine, and to gain insights into complex problems and/or issues.” They then continue by describing when wargames should be used:
Interestingly, for an organization so serious about using wargames, AFWI also discusses when wargaming should NOT be used:
Indo-Pacific air wargame
Most of the wargames AFWI develops are for the US Air Force and other government sponsors. One wargame, however, is available to the public for purchase. That game is titled Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific (occasionally abbreviated as AFWI which I will NOT use as it is too easy to confuse with the AFWI acronym for the “Air Force Wargame Institute”). AFWI briefly describes Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific this way:
The Air Force Wargaming Institute designed, developed, and created Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific to foster education and strategic thinking in joint all-domain operations. Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific contextualized the wargame to a conflict between the United States and China in the South China Sea.
[There is an expansion called Air Force Wargame Europe Expansion that is also available but I do not have in hand at the moment. The Europe Expansion description states:
“Air Force Wargame Europe Expansion, contextualizes the conflict to Northern Europe and enables players to choose from three additional factions including Russia, the United Kingdom, and France. Air Force Wargame Europe Expansion adds three new sets of decks and tokens and a new map of Northern Europe. Air Force Wargame Europe Expansion also includes two Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic (DIME) boards, which enable players to integrate warfighting and DIME concepts.”]
In a July 2024 press release, AFWI provided an extensive introduction to Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific:
The Air Force Wargaming Institute created a new wargame titled, “Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific.”
They incorporated Headquarter Air Force inputs from the Trilateral Strategic Studies Group into a tabletop wargame to provide every Airman across the Air Force with access to an introductory experience that teaches and reinforces the instruments of national power, multi-domain integration and Agile Combat Employment.
“The goal when we set out for this was to have a game that could teach the basics of modern, multi-domain, air-centric warfare in under two hours,” said Philip Bolger, Wargaming Director at the Air Force Wargaming Institute. “As we return to Great Power Competition, and the specter of conventional war has re-emerged, it’s crucial that people understand what the stakes are, what tools we have, what tools do our adversaries have, and relatively speaking, how capable they are.”
The wargame consists of two players trying to accomplish a specified mission, and they have a variety of tools from various domains to engage with. The game matches the U.S. against the People’s Republic of China as the pacing threat so players will become more familiar with their capabilities.
“You’re not facing a random red force, you’re facing a specific adversary, because our National Defense Strategy from our executive branch has said this is the pacing threat,” explained Bolger. “That’s meaningful, and that’s something we wanted to communicate in the game.”
One of the greatest challenges in conflict is balancing risk versus reward. If a force dedicates resources to achieve any objective, or to accomplish a mission, be it equipment, technology, or human lives, critical thinking must take place at a rapid pace because the environment and the risks associated are rapidly changing.
“The air does not exist in a vacuum, the ground does not exist in a vacuum, and maritime does not exist in a vacuum, and especially space and cyber touch all,” Bolger said. “There is no such thing as infinite protection. Everything will eventually be beaten. It may not be beaten at a good cost efficiency curve for the adversary, it may not be defended at a good cost efficiency curve for us, but eventually it will go down and you are vulnerable.”
The AFWI team want players of their wargame to understand that current and future adversaries will have competing technologies and resources, and through engaging with their training tools will provide a better understanding of how our forces must operate to succeed in that kind of environment.
Force Package
Opening the box of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific reveals a relatively simple looking wargame. The hard-mounted board folds out to a respectable 24” x 18” and the tokens are large and a bit chunky 2” squares. Each side has a deck of standard-sized playing cards for Mission, Posture, Squadrons and Enablers. Blue and red wooden cubes are used for tracking Cyber and Intel as well as showing weapon expenditures and hits. The game comes with four dice but do not look for the standard d6; instead we get two blue and two red d4.
The rulebook Player Guide for Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is 12 glossy pages long. The two-column format is decently laid out with plenty of full-color graphics. The last page of the Player Guide lists pre-defined Campaigns or scenarios.
[Practitioner Problems: The Player Guide for Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific was a bit hard to understand at first. I sense that the writers of the Player Guide suffer from a common wargame practitioner affliction which I term “Wargame Practitioners writer’s block.” All too often I encounter wargame practitioners who know their game and can explain the rules very well…in person. Writing down those rules in a coherent, understandable flow is often a challenge (and just as often only an afterthought or an end-of-contract deliverable that is very unlikely to ever be read). Many wargames that wargame practitioners deliver are one-off or ran for just a few sessions often under the direct tutelage of the practitioner. Writing down a set of rules that flows in an understandable manner is not a make-or-break requirement unlike the commercial or hobby wargame sector that can see a game live or die based on the writing quality in a rulebook.]
While the Player Guide for Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific could be written better, I must commend AFWI for making an excellent tutorial video that is publicly available though it is a bit lengthy at 45 minutes. I did not view this video until after I read the Player Guide; perhaps I should have viewed the video first.
The most important key to unlocking the process of learning to play Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is a realization that the game is not simply an area movement wargame but actually a Card-Driven Game (CDG). Yes, battles between Tokens (units) takes place on the map board with combat adjudicated using a die roll but the real “action” in the game comes from selecting and playing different cards. There are cards for Mission and Posture which tell you what you must do and what resources are available. Tokens all originate from (and return to) Squadron Cards. Most importantly, the multi-domain elements of combat are shown in the form of Enabler Cards. Players who understand how to optimally employ their cards (capabilities) are far more likely to succeed in combat than those who focus strictly on the Tokens (units).
Practicing ACE
Playing a Campaign (scenario) of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is not very complex. Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is not a simulation but very much an abstract representation of warfare in the air domain. The abstraction starts with the scale which is not defined. Each turn, called an ATO Cycle, should doctrinally cover 72 hours but the time is never stated. Distances in the game is not measured in miles or kilometers or even hexes but in terms of Bands of which there are five with a sixth on each side holding the Airbase and Standoff boxes as well as the Contingency Location for the US. Most aircraft can acquire enemy Tokens at no more than 2-Band range and can often shoot only 1-Band away (a notable exception being heavy bombers capable of striking out to a 6-Band range).
A Campaign in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific starts with the assignment or secret selection of a Mission. Each Mission Card has a pithy mission statement and the various ways to score Victory Points (VP) in the Campaign. The Chinese Mission Card “Counter-Intervention” is shown below. Of note, Mission Cards are secret and not revealed until scoring at the end of the Campaign.
[Education Waypoint 1: The Mission Cards are the first of many valuable teaching/learning points in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific. Going all-out and clubbing the enemy into submission is not always the assignment; the Mission Cards not only tell you the goal but how you will be judged on accomplishment of it. In more than one way the Mission Cards are ‘advising’ you on what Squadron Cards (forces) and Enabler Cards (supporting elements) one should consider.]
Once the Mission for a Campaign of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is assigned/selected players execute the Campaign (scenario) in a series of Air Tasking Order (ATO) Cycles (turns). An ATO Cycle begins with the selection of Posture. The chosen Posture Card details how many Squadron and Enabler Cards can be selected. It also may include a special rule related to that Posture. Unlike Mission Cards, however, Posture Cards are “public knowledge” and played face-up. The US Posture Card “ACE” is shown below.
[Education Waypoint 2: The Posture Cards are the next learning/teaching point in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific. Whereas the Mission Card is the desired end state, the means to achieve that goal is governed by your Posture. In a Campaign, a Posture Card is selected each ATO Cycle and cannot be repeated (exception is “Standard” Posture). This simple rule introduces a small bit of campaign planning into the game as players have to consider what strategy they will use to get after the goals of the Mission within the limits of the Postures available.]
Your actual fighting units in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific come from Squadron Cards. Each Squadron Card not only describes the unit but is deployed to either the Airbase or Contingency Location spaces on the board. The Squadron Cards are where the Tokens (Flights) of that unit are based. The Squadron Card is also a target for enemy attack. The Squadron Cards are kept face down (secret) until activated at which point the Squadron Card is turned face-up (though the generated Tokens are face-down and unacquired).
Enabler Cards are the most important of all the cards in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific. If you are familiar with wargame practitioner and designer Sebastian Bae’s Littoral Commmander series of wargames from The Dietz Foundation and the Joint Capability Cards (JCCs) used there then the Enabler Cards in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific should feel familiar. Some Enabler Cards are one-time use while others create persistent effects; some are played in response to an enemy action or situation. Broadly speaking, the US Enabler Cards fall into six different categories:
- Force Multipliers – Capabilities that are usually found in the USAF that can replenish or otherwise sustain combat or create a combat effect.
- Cyber Warfare
- Electronic Warfare
- Space Warfare
- Multi-Domain Land – Represents capabilities units in the Land Domain bring to the fight.
- Multi-Domain Sea – Represents supporting capabilities the US Navy delivers.
Though a few Chinese Enabler Cards are mirrored from US Enabler Cards, many are tailored to the Chinese way of war. Enabler Cards for China fall into six categories with a special single-card seventh category:
- Force Multipliers
- Cyber Warfare
- Space Warfare
- Multi-Domain Land
- Multi-Domain Sea
- Ballistic Missiles
- Special – “Shandong J-15 Squadron” representing the air wing from China’s aircraft carrier.
Enabler Card selection is secret with the number allowed governed by the current Posture Card. As we will soon see, an Intel Roll as part of the Bid for Initiative step could reveal some of the Enabler Cards before the ATO Cycle even begins.
[Education Waypoint 3: Enabler Cards in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific are perhaps best thought of as “special powers” or abilities that other elements of the USAF/PLAAF or Joint Force bring to the fight. The selection of capabilities presented in the Enabler Cards is far from complete; indeed, as a Navy Veteran I must express some disappointment that US Navy aircraft carriers get no mention whereas the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong gets an exclusive card. That said, the selection of Enablers for the USAF is in keeping with the focus of the game on USAF actions in an Indo-Pacific fight. Even the Chinese Enabler Cards are not all-inclusive and, like the US cards, are air-centric. Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is, after all, an Air Force wargame focused at an Air Force audience learning the air-centric elements of the fight and is not designed to be a Joint Force training tool.]
Once the Mission is assigned, Posture selected, Squadrons chosen and deployed, and Enabler Cards picked, players of a Campaign in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific then Bid for Initiative. Players can discard Enabler Cards for a +1 die roll modifier from each discard. The winner of Initiative:
- Chooses who goes first in the ATO Cycle
- Attempts to increase their Cyber Rate (roll against next box on Cyber Track)
- Gains Intel Advantage.
The next step following the Bid for Initiative in playing Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific sees both players roll for their Intelligence rating. The player with Intel Advantage rolls 2d4 and chooses the higher number. The number rolled by each player is the number of Enabler Cards that are revealed by the opposing player (though both players can keep at least one Enabler Card hidden regardless of the Intel die roll).
[Education Waypoint 4: The Bid for Initiative in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific represents many off-battlefield activities. Not only does it represent which side has operational momentum going into the ATO Cycle, it also captures—in a highly abstract manner—much of the strategic and operational-level cyber activities that are setting the stage for the Campaign. Finally, the results of the Bid for Initiative shows which side is having greater success in the realm of strategic and operational intelligence, especially those related to Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR). The level of abstraction is arguably very high which also likely means it will be less understood by the players—which is another way of saying it is an excellent training/educational opportunity.]
Play of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific now proceeds into an ATO Cycle (turn). Starting with the player who has Initiative, players alternate taking Player Turns. In a Player Turn a player can play an Enabler card AND Activate a Squadron Card OR Move-Aquire-Shoot a single Token in whichever order they please. Play continues until both players Pass in succession.
As already stated, Enabler Cards in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific are the true heart of the game. In addition to the six (or seven) different “classes” of Enabler Cards, mechanically each is one of four types:
- Single Use – Playable once per Campaign
- Multiple Use – Playable one time per ATO Cycle (can be selected again in a later ATO Cycle if desired)
- Response Enabler – Played in response to an opponent action
- Enduring Effect – Once played the effect remains active for the rest of the ATO Cycle.
[Education Waypoint 5: While the Posture Card limits the number of Enabler Cards that can be selected for that ATO Cycle, and the Enabler Cards themselves deliver different special abilities. How they are played in the course of an ATO Cycle of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is vitally important. When is the right time in the Campaign to play that Single Use card? A Multiple Use card can be powerful…if it is on the table and not in the player’s hand. A player also likely has only a few (if any) Response Enabler cards; when is the right time to drop that one? Finally, the few Enduring Effect cards are powerful…if they are available from the Posture and if they are on the table. If nothing else, the play of Enabler Cards reinforces the need to “set the conditions” of a battle before it is joined because, once the fight is on, opportunities to reset or otherwise alter the conditions are few and far between.]
Activating a Squadron in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is simply the act of taking the Tokens assigned to that Squadron and moving them to the board. If the Squadron is activated from the Airbase space all Tokens are launched; if launching from the Contingency Location space a die roll is needed to determine how many actually launch. Launched Tokens are placed either in Band 1 of the map or into the Standoff space unless otherwise noted.
[Education Waypoint 6: Whoa. If the number of Tokens launched from a Contingency Location (CL) is determined by a random die roll—meaning from 1 to 4 Tokens might be launched—why would one ever place a Squadron in the Contingency Location? As we will see later, striking a Squadron Card in the Contingency Location is treated a bit differently which may be enough to make it worthwhile to base in the CL. There are also Enabler Cards available that might assist—if the US player chose them within the limits of the Posture Card.]
The combat model in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is embodied in the Move-Acquire-Shoot action. When selected, a Token (Flight) can MOVE a given distance based on it’s Movement Range. The Token can then try to ACQUIRE an enemy Token at a range based on it’s Sensor Range. Finally, if within range, the Token can SHOOT at the enemy using either its Air Attack or Ground Attack Damage Die depending on the target.
Engagement Example
For example, in the Pre-Defined “Campaign 1: Meeting Engagement” a Squadron of American F-16C are up against a Squadron of Chinese J-10 fighters. The USAF won the Initiative. Both Squadrons launched four Tokens (Flights) each and are moving to intercept. When an F-16C Token/Flight MOVES to Range 2 from an unidentified Chinese Token/Flight it tries to ACQUIRE it. At this point the Tokens are actually unidentified and only their back is facing up showing a “Roll to Acquire 2+.” The US player rolls a [4] and is successful at revealing the J-10 which is now turned face up; the range is, however, beyond the anti-air weapons of the F-16C.
In the Chinese Player Turn another J-10 is activated so the previously acquired J-10 does nothing. The next US Player Turn the F-16C MOVES one band (now range 1 from the J-10 and, having previously ACQUIRED the J-10, SHOOTS at it. The F-16C Air Capability is Range 1 / 3+ to hit. The US player rolls a [1] that misses. A roll of less than [4] (hit or miss) also means the F-16C is “Winchester” or out of ammo. Yikes! The F-16C can automatically return to base (RTB)…in a following USAF Player Turn.
In the following Chinese Player Turn—before the F-16C can RTB—a previously unacquired J-10:
- MOVES one Band to range 1.
- Roll to ACQUIRE is [2] meaning the F-16C is turned face-up.
- SHOOTS with Air Capability Range 1 / 3+ to hit; a roll of [4] is not only a hit (the F-16C is shot down and removed from the game potentially scoring Victory Points) but the roll of [4] also means the combat was accomplished without going Winchester and the J-10 remains fully combat ready.
Strikes against Squadron Cards in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific follow the same basic combat model as air-to-air attacks except the Squadron Cards are always located—there is no need to Acquire them before shooting. These Base Attacks inflict hits on Squadron Cards; once enough hits are scored (usually two hits) the Squadron Card is removed from the game. Most strikers score a single hit for each successful shot. Some strikers, like the US B-52 bomber, have an “Exploding Die” which means that the player rolls a d4 to determine how many hits are scored. In the case of multiple hits, the hits are spread across any unit in the Airbase space. If the Squadron Card is in the Contingency Location, however, only the targeted Squadron Card is struck; there is no “spillover” of hits to other Squadron Cards in the CL space.
[Education Waypoint 7: …and there it is. A powerful reason to operate US Squadrons from the Contingency Location is to limit strikes to a single Squadron Card with no “spillover” rule.]
Given the premise that Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific focuses on the air domain and particularly the US Air Force and PLAAF, other parts of the Joint Force are abstracted—some to a very large degree. Some Joint Force actors appear as an Enabler Card. Two elements of the Joint Force that are noticeably called out—in this case even with Tokens—are Air Defenses and certain naval ships:
- Air Defenses come available from Posture or Enabler Cards. Air Defense units usually have an extended range to ACQUIRE targets. Air Defense units can SHOOT at Tokens but also passively resist attacks into their defended area by forcing the attacker to roll at disadvantage (roll 2d4 and use lesser roll) when striking.
- Certain Enabler Cards will bring naval ships to the board. Once placed, naval ships do not move but can make attacks against surface or air targets. Like Air Defenses, attacks that pass through the Band the ship occupies roll with disadvantage when attacking. Unlike Air Defense units, however, naval ships have ammunition limits.
[Education Waypoint 8: I can already hear my Navy brethren shouting, “But what about the anti-access fight? How do I fight my carrier battlegroup into the Second or First Island Chain?” The short answer is, “You don’t.” Once again, Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is not a Joint Force simulation but a wargame narrowly focused on the air domain as viewed from a USAF perspective.]
Player Turns in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific continue until both players Pass in succession. After some administrative actions a new ATO Cycle starts with the selection of a Posture Card and then Bid for Initiative. The Campaign ends after a designated number of ATO Cycles are played. The Player Guide provides five Pre-Defined Campaigns ranging from one to five ATO Cycles with each having special rules for Mission, Posture, or VP scoring.
“Access Denied?”
In the Summer 2025 edition of International Security, Nicholas D. Anderson and Daryl G. Press write in “Access Denied? The Sino-American Contest for Military Primacy in Asia”:
How has the balance of power shifted in maritime East Asia, and what does this change mean for the U.S.-China military competition in the region? We examine these questions by focusing on a central pillar of U.S. military might—land-based air power—in the context of a war over Taiwan. We create a new, unclassified, and transparent model of a Taiwan conflict, which allows users to explore multiple scenarios, alternative U.S. basing options, various People’s Liberation Army attack strategies, and a range of potential U.S. defensive enhancements to see how those alternatives influence outcomes. We find that: (1) the United States’ current approach to defend Taiwan exposes U.S. forces to significant risk of catastrophic defeat; (2) the U.S. Air Force’s answer to this problem is both unlikely to work and escalatory; and (3) a combination of hardening air bases and enhancing missile defenses and local jamming at U.S. facilities is a better option. More broadly, U.S. national security policy toward China approaches an inflection point. The United States can lean in and significantly enhance the resilience of its forces in East Asia; lean back and rely more on instruments of military power that are less vulnerable to China’s regional defense systems; or reconsider its broader geopolitical goals in the region. The current path, seeking to deter Chinese attacks with a vulnerable forward-based military posture, courts disaster. (Abstract)
Looking at the the first finding—the current US approach risks catastrophic defeat—through the lens of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific reveals that while the game considers the ballistic missile threat that Anderson and Press highlight, it does not show the same quantity of threat. In Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific the Chinese ballistic missile force is represented by four, Single Use, Enabler Cards. While each Enabler Card is certainly powerful, as Single Use they are basically “one and done” actions—a far cry from the overwhelming numbers Anderson and Press contend the USAF will repeatedly be forced to deal with.
The second finding—the US answer to the missile threat is unlikely to work—contends that the USAF Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept—which is the core teaching point underpinning Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific—is ineffective. That assertion runs counter to the entire premise behind the development, production, and reason to play Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific. As Anderson and Press point out, staying the course on ACE “courts disaster” and actually could make matters worse by adding pressure to escalate a conflict rather than end it. Interestingly, while ACE is the primary premise behind Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific, ACE is represented by just one of five US Posture Cards. The different Posture Cards show that the wargame practitioners behind Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific do not exclusively showcase ACE but offer up alternative Posture options for exploration—an approach well-aligned to an emphasis on education and not analysis.
The third major finding—harden air bases and enhance missile defense—is in many ways a cue to wargame practitioners to “home brew” new rules in Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific. Or maybe not; the game comes with a US Posture Card named “Hedgehog” which grants an additional Air Defense unit. The single Posture Card is certainly not the level of enhancement that Anderson and Press call for but it is both a start and a sign of how Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific can be used to educate about alternatives to ACE. Indeed, the core game mechanisms are simple and abstract enough that adding/enhancing Air Defense units likely will not break the game.
While some might contend that Anderson and Press have, in effect, invalidated the entire premise of Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific, the reality is that both Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific and the military campaign analysis model from Anderson and Press are not incompatible. Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is not intended to be used for analysis but for education to introduce the ACE concept (and even some alternatives) to Air Force and Joint members. If the ACE concept is going to have any chance of success, even against overwhelming odds like Anderson and Press contend is the reality, it needs to be understood and exercised. That is the intent behind Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific—an introductory wargame to teach basic concepts to further knowledge and understanding in the name of exploring a topic in an interactive manner against a thinking opponent. Active learning over passive. From that perspective Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is very successful even if analysis signals that the sponsor’s underlying approach is potentially disastrous.
[Acquisitions Process]
[Though the Pentagon is reforming the military acquisitions process—known as the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS)—the process for gamers to acquire Air Force Wargame Indo-Pacific is already streamlined. The game is publicly available for purchase at thegamecrafter.com under the title, “AFWI Educational Game.” Holders of a Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC) can also access the game through this link.]
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