A very short paper cannot adequately connect ship design, treaty politics, interwar service, and wartime consequences. The 3,000-word minimum sets a realistic expectation for developing that causal chain. The 10,000-word ceiling prevents a book-length submission from overwhelming shorter entries through sheer volume and keeps judging more comparable. A test outline for a history-heavy entry came to roughly 6,500 words. The limits therefore encourage enough depth to explain consequences while still forcing the writer to select the most important developments.
Chapter · 8:08-11:09
Why the scenario needs 3,000 to 10,000 words
The word limits are designed to provide enough room for historical causation while preventing book-length submissions from overwhelming shorter entries.