Constructing a war plan can expose gaps in the supporting research, which is why the scenario begins by defining its rules. The new supreme commander arrives on 1 April 1941 and may move existing personnel and formations within the Far East. The exercise permits no better ships, extra divisions, or other forces that were historically unavailable to the theatre. Planning must use only what leaders could have known at the time, including uncertainty about where Japan would attack. The simulation ends on 28 February 1942 because a different outcome at Singapore would alter the campaigns that followed. These limits make the exercise a constrained command problem instead of a hindsight-driven search for an ideal order of battle.
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Rules for rebuilding the Far East command
The counterfactual begins in April 1941 with the existing forces only, no foreknowledge of Japan's attack, and a mission to prevent Singapore's fall.