Cambridge Residents Play Out Scenario for World War III

"We're going to go trap by sea," the head of the National Security Council announced last night.

But no U.S. forces stirred, because the speaker was actually a Cambridge resident and the situation a hypothetical war acted out by local citizens at the University Lutheran Church last night.

The war game was developed by Ground Zero, a Washington-based organization formed to educate the public about nuclear war. Dr. H. Frederick Reisz Jr. Lutheran Campus Minister and President of the United Ministry at Harvard, conducted the game for 11 local participants.

Each player took the role of an advisor to the U.S. or Soviet government in the face of a simulated international crisis.

The game, entitled "Firebreaks," is intended to teach players how quickly a nuclear war might develop, Patricia Campbell, a Ground Zero official, said yesterday.

She said "Firebreaks" was a term coined by the Ground Zero staff to denote any measures that could restrict the possibility of nuclear war. Actions in the game emphasize those options, she added.

Last night's players faced a developing war of superpowers in two theaters. In Nicaragus. Cabin forces clashed with U.S. Marines while U.S. and Soviet levies fought for control of Yugoslavia.

While players advised their respective leaders throughout the developing scenario, the commanders made the actual choices. To expedite the game, the leader's decisions frequently went against the recommendations of the generally pacifist group.

"The outcomes had to be more military than participants might choose, just so that a nuclear situation might occur, and the decision about the employment of those weapons arise," said Campbell.

However, the groups did make the final decision whether to launch a nuclear attack Last night's game came to a happy conclusion, both advisories voting for a cease-fire.

Reisz bought the game in April but postponed the enactment until he had time to advertise the simulation.

Campbell estimated that 525,000 people had played the game since its invention in April. Schools, peace groups and churches buy most of the games, she added.

Of the games played, 35 percent ended in nuclear conflict and 72 percent in some sort of military action, said Campbell.