Sandbox War Dispatch

Sandbox War Dispatch is a two-sided strategy game in which you build bases, move armies and fight to break through the opposing capital. Each side receives 15 upgrade opportunities at intervals and can choose a location for a new military base each time. Victory goes to the side that breaks through the enemy capital first.

Bases and defenses

The game has eight base types: the capital, oil plant, steel plant, submarine base, aircraft carrier port, military base, missile base and anti-missile interception base. Military bases, along with the capital, can create armies. Each base has two to four internal divisions near different intersections and exits; it surrenders only when the enemy occupies all of them.

Fences separate the divisions and make it harder for attackers to infiltrate between them, encouraging them to approach from the rear. Level 1 fences stop infantry, while level 2 defenses require resources to upgrade with anti-tank hedgehogs and can stop tanks. Helicopters can infiltrate any division regardless of the internal defenses.

Move your armies

The three armies use the same navigation grid, whose routes follow the terrain. Many key paths connect to only one division of a city base. Armies are created inside bases in a garrison state; selecting the direction icon in the army panel opens route planning. In the field, you can edit an army’s route using the icon above it.

Armies can also travel by transport plane. You set the landing point with the parachute button, but this option is available only while the military base’s small left division is not occupied by the enemy. When an army reaches an enemy force or base, it enters combat and cannot keep moving. Defenders can use this to delay an advancing army.

Battles and combat values

The game has urban and field battles. An urban battle begins automatically when an attacker reaches a defender’s base by following a route. The attacker’s route and its geographical distance through the city determine the attack zone, creating tactical choices around the base’s divisions. The area to the defender’s right provides extra supplies and a battle-damage-ratio advantage, but only while that area remains unoccupied.

A field battle begins automatically when two armies meet along a field route. The meeting point becomes a battlefield, and all troops that pass through it join the fight until it is won or lost. The field battle includes both sides’ fronts; normally, each side has a 180-degree rear, and a force can be at a disadvantage in combat values when approached from behind. In field battles, the side that forms an encirclement gains an advantage to its battle damage ratio.

Each army has a combat power (ce) value, set manually when the army is created. The allowed range varies by military type. In both battle modes, the game totals the combat power of each side’s participating armies; the side with the higher total gains an advantage in the battle damage ratio (kdr). You can view the ratio in the battlefield panel.

Missiles and interception

At level 7, both sides unlock missile bases. These can launch air strikes but cannot trigger ground battles. You choose a target location in the base panel, and each launch consumes fuel and steel. A missile hit can greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of troops stationed at the targeted enemy base, but does not damage the base itself.

At level 10, both sides unlock anti-missile interception areas. These units do not trigger ground battles, and each area is responsible for intercepting missiles aimed at bases within its coverage. They reduce the missiles’ hit rate.

Aircraft carriers and submarines

At level 5, each side unlocks an aircraft carrier in its port. Before using it, a train must deliver fuel and steel to the port. Cities along the two railway lines can increase train speed, while the safety of the base at the originating station determines whether the train can be used. Once you set the carrier’s route and it departs or arrives, you can use its carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft to fly near the shore. The aircraft disrupts the enemy interception system’s success rate in the area and improves the hit rate of friendly missiles there.

You can also load troops onto the carrier before it departs and land them when it docks at sea. Submarines, unlocked by both sides at level 12, are the carrier’s natural enemy. Research consumes resources and increases submarine damage. Submarines deal continuous damage, reduce an aircraft carrier’s durability and limit how long it can operate at sea.