This spring sees the release of the new Alex Garland film, Civil War. Set in an America which is breaking apart, the film is about a group of journalists travelling across the United States in an ever escalating conflict which is engulfing the entire country.
Though I’ve not seen the film and don’t know how it ends, I was reminded of a book I have read, Dead of Night by Brendan DuBois, which is about the aftermath of a (near) civil war in the US.
For years UN peacekeepers have been deployed to war-torn regions of the world from Rwanda to Serbia and Congo to East Timor.
Now it’s America’s turn.
Samuel Simpson is a young, idealistic journalist from Canada. Seeking adventure, he volunteers to become a records keeper for a UN war-crimes investigation team at work in upper New York State. Months earlier, a crippling terrorist attack against the United States resulted in its cities being emptied, its countryside set afire, and its government shaken to its knees. In the aftermath of this attack, a virtual civil war broke out, until UN peacekeepers arrived to establish an uneasy peace. While Samuel and his team travel through the New York countryside, searching for evidence of an atrocious war crime, he promptly realizes that death is quick to strike from any farmhouse, road corner, or rest area.
There are lots of potential gaming scenarios from this background.
I mentioned in my previous post on Civil War that the background to the film raises a lot of ideas for gaming scenarios. The aftermath of the situation after the film, with the addition of UN peacekeepers adds a range of different forces, vehicles, aircraft, and armour.