Thanks! I think the best route might be to not go crazy trying to get a small SBC, but to get a small form factor PC with a core i3 or better off ebay or craigslist for cheap. it doesn't need to be low power and the size is not a big concern.
It looks like if you compile world war vi with OPENLASE=1, it hopefully does the simplification for you. The guy has videos of his laser rig running a simplified version.
Thanks for the perspective on the hardware!