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COIN Series, Volume III by Brian Train and Volko their own direct interest. Like players, they
Ruhnke sometimes help, sometimes harm, one another.
1
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Low Resources. When the Non-player GUIDELINES: Unless otherwise specified, carry
Warlords with zero Resources is to out whatever actions apply to the maximum
execute Operations, or the Government extent (such as with the most pieces and in
with fewer than three, they Pass instead most spaces allowed and only as long as
(earning Resources). NOTE: Non-player needed pieces and Resources are available).
Coalition can Operate even when the Normal Resource costs, requirements, and
Government is out of Resources, and the procedures still apply.
Non-player Taliban may use a Special IMPORTANT: When Operations instructions
Activity to gather Resources. incorporate a Special Activity (e.g. in the second
Government Train bullet), conduct the Special
No Voluntary Removal. Non-player
Activity to fullest possible extent at once when
Factions never use the option to take
the guidelines evoke it. Use, first, the relevant
their own forces from the map in order to
instructions in the Operations box that trigger
place them elsewhere when they have no
the Special Activity, then, if the Special Activity
appropriate pieces Available.
may be conducted in further spaces than the
Non-Player Operations Not Limited. Operations box has used up, use the
Whenever a Non-player Faction is to instructions in the relevant Special Activity box.
2
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
After that complete the Operation. (See Error: then the Coalition, then the Government.
Reference source not found Error: Reference The counter-insurgents remove and
source not found.) replace the pieces of any Players, then
the Taliban, and finally, the Warlords.
IMPORTANT: When executing Operations and
Special Activities, first select all the spaces in Never place two COIN Bases in a single
which actions are to take place, then execute space. EXCEPTION: The Non-player
the actions in the legal sequence as indicated in Coalition will often place a Base in a
the rules of play if it differs from the sequential space with a Government Base (see
order. EXAMPLE: The legal sequence for the Surge in 8.6.5 below).
Government Train Operation differs slightly from
the sequential order described in the flowchart Place friendly Bases before other pieces.
and in 8.7.5 Train below in that the Civic Actions If possible, place friendly pieces where
must occur at the very end of the Operation. there are other pieces of the same
Faction.
8.2.1 Procedure Guidelines
March so as to get as many Underground
In so far as the Event text or the Operation and Guerrillas as possible to destinations at
Special Activity priorities do not specify this, use Support.
the guidelines below, both, to select the spaces
and, once the spaces have been selected, to 8.2.2 Abbreviations Used
place, remove or relocate pieces in them. This is a list of abbreviations (in the alphabetical
Target or remove enemy Players before order) used in this document and the Faction
Non-players Resources and pieces flowcharts.
whenever possible. 1+, 2+, etc.: One or more, Two or more.
Within the above, and in general when AND: The use of the capitalized AND indicates
choice, target the Player with the best that all/both terms of the conjunction have to
victory margin, otherwise and within that be able to be executed for the priority in
a random Player. question to be executed. EXAMPLE: The
instruction Train AND Civic Action AND Govern
Remove pieces to be replaced even if no
for Patronage is to be executed only if all three
pieces are available to replace them.
elements can be executed in the selected
Remove or replace enemy Bases before space.
other pieces, and Underground before At highest Pop, At highest Econ, At most
Active Guerrillas. Remove or replace Oppose, Lowest cost: Select a space or
enemy Troops and Police randomly. spaces in the descending order of population
Remove or replace friendly pieces in the size, LoC Economic value, cost of the action, i.e.
reverse order from the above, to the from the highest to lowest. Select from among
degree possible, and Active before eligible, legal or otherwise available spaces.
Underground Guerrillas. Remove or Civ Act: Civic Actions.
replace friendly Troops and Police from
spaces with other pieces of the same For 2/3 of Res: For two-thirds of the available
kind first, otherwise randomly. Resources (round down).
3
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Support and/or Opposition such that the If neither the sequential and/or nested
greatest possible swing occurs. priorities narrow the candidate selection
sufficiently, select randomly among
Min, Max: Minimum, maximum.
remaining candidates (see 8.4).
Op+SA: Operation with Special Activity.
PLAY NOTE: Many of the flowchart items contain
OR: The use of the capitalized OR indicates that text in red font color. These are not Non-player
at least one term of the disjunct has to be able priorities but reminders about the rules of play
to be executed for the priority in question to be pertaining to the Operation or Special Activity at
executed. hand. EXAMPLE: The first bullet of the Non-
player Government Govern action contains the
Pop: The Population value of a space.
reminder, in red, that the action may occur in a
Res: Resources (available to the Faction at space with Support, COIN Control and no
hand). Coalition Base only.
VPs: Victory points as tracked by each Faction's
Victory marker.
8.3 Non-Player Events
NOTE: Events will not always benefit the
W/: With.
executing Non-player Faction directly.
8.2.3 Reading the Flowcharts 8.3.1 Event Instructions
The Non-Player flowcharts use bullet points with
Whenever any Non-player Faction is to execute
numbers (e.g. , , , ) and letters ( a , b ) to
an Event and that Factions symbol on the card
indicate the character and order of the
has a gray halo, check any special instructions
priorities:
for that Event on the Special Event Instructions
Numbered priorities (, ) are sequential sheet.
priorities. Execute the instructions in
each sequential priority to the maximum
extent (as per 8.2) before moving to the
next sequential priority. NOTE: Some top
level sequential priorities (e.g. Warlords
Rally Bullet ) contain further sequential
priorities ( and , sub-bullets) which
are to be treated as parts of, and as
sequential steps to, the top level priority.
Lettered priorities ( a , b ) are nested
priorities. Nested priorities act as tie
breakers within the
sequential priorities to
which they are
ordained. Each nested
Event Card 9. Special Forces with the
priority further narrows A flowchart detail showing halo around the Government symbol at
the thus far selected the numbered sequential
priorities as well as the
the top.
set of spaces. To lettered, nested tie
Otherwise, follow the priorities listed in the
improve readability of breaker priorities. Pass, Event or Operations? box on that faction's
the flowcharts, the nested priorities are flowchart as well as the general instructions
displayed against a green background.
4
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
8.3.5 Events that Shift Finally, carry out as much of the action as
possible in the candidate reached, then roll
Support/Opposition again to select another space, if needed.
Unless otherwise specified, Non-player Factions
5
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
6
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
shift the Islamabad track (only if the Within the bullets one, two and three above, if
Taliban are a Player) unable to activate all enemies in space, activate
as able in this order of priority: a random
If none of the above, continue below. Player Taliban Warlords.
8.6.3 Sweep If no such Sweep was possible, skip to 8.6.4
If there is an Underground Taliban Guerrilla in a Assault, bullet one, below.
Support space OR an Underground Guerrilla of a Otherwise, if a Sweep occurred but no Special
Player Faction in a Coalition Base space, the Activity has yet been performed, and if Air
Coalition will Sweep as follows. Strike could remove any Bases, the last piece of
Preliminaries: When conducting the actions a Player's Faction at Support or at a Base of any
below, do not use Sweep to move any Faction's Faction, Air Strike, otherwise Air Lift, per below.
last cube at any Coalition Bases, nor those AIR LIFT. Preliminaries: Do not lift last Coalition
needed for a Sweep in a Support space, nor last Troop from a Coalition Base, nor last two
three cubes from any non-Pashtun spaces with Government Troops from where there are any
Support. Within the bullets one and three Coalition pieces (for they might then be
below, use Sweep to bring the maximum vulnerable to Taliban Ambush), nor last three
number of Government Troops (one per each cubes from non-Pashtun spaces with Support
moving Coalition Troop at a cost of three (as enemies will then be able to March in
Resources per destination space) into spaces without being Activated).
where there are less than two Government
cubes. First, get up to two Government Troops
into each space in which there are any
First, sweep into or in place in all pieces of the Coalition AND the Taliban
reachable highest Population spaces with AND in which there are no Government
Support and enemy using sufficient cubes (to protect the Coalition from the
Troops needed to activate most enemies. Taliban Ambush). Lift the cubes first from
If otherwise unable to active all enemies, sources identified in the bullet below (if
use Air Lift per the Air Lift priorities any), otherwise from random sources.
below, otherwise Air Lift enough
random Coalition Troops sufficient to Then, relocate Government Troops from
active all enemies. spaces with a Coalition Base by having
the Coalition Troops outnumber
NOTE: If the Special Activity does not Government Troops in these spaces. (The
here occur in the maximum allowed purpose is to enable the Coalition to
number of spaces, attempt to complete decide the extent of the Civic Actions
the Special Activity per the Air Lift during the next Propaganda Round,
priorities below before completing the whenever that might be.) Within this
Sweep. priority, relocate first from spaces with no
Then, Sweep everywhere in place. Support, then or within that from highest
Population spaces. Relocate the
Then, Sweep into or at one reachable Government Troops first to spaces
highest Population space with at least identified in the first bullet above,
one Population, and enemy. Sweep with otherwise to random space(s) such that
maximum Coalition Troops to active all they do not disable any forthcoming
enemies at any Coalition Bases Coalition Propaganda Round Civic Actions
where most Bases of any faction. there.
7
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
If no such Air Lift is possible, conduct no Special Assault (see IMPORTANT in 8.2 above).
Activity with Train. Otherwise Air Strike per
If (and only if) pieces were removed in
below.
the bullet above, or the Coalition is
AIRSTRIKE. Preliminaries: Conduct strikes in up unable to conduct any other Operations:
to three Provinces in Afghanistan. Assault everywhere in place.
Strike to remove If no such Assault was possible, skip to 8.6.5
Train, bullet one, below. Otherwise, if no Special
First, Bases
Activity has been performed yet, and if Air
Then Guerrillas Strike could remove any Bases, the last piece of
a Player Faction at Support or at Bases of any
Within both bullets above, strike first in space Faction, Air Strike. Otherwise Air Lift, per 8.6.3
with Support, then or within that in spaces with above.
a Coalition Base, then or within the above to
remove a Faction's last Guerrilla in a space, 8.6.5 Train
then or within the above, to remove pieces of,
If neither Sweep nor Assault occurred, the
first, a random Player, then the Taliban, then
Coalition will Train as follows.
the Warlords.
Preliminaries: Train in up to three spaces (in
If no such Air Strike is possible, Air Lift per
Kabul or where Coalition pieces) but for a
above. If Air Lift also already did not occur (i.e.
maximum of two-thirds of available Resources
if in a loop), then conduct no Special Activity.
(rounding down) only, or without a spending
8.6.4 Assault limit if the Government has less than nine
Resources. Place no Government cubes unless
If no Sweep occurred, and if Assault alone or indicated in the priorities below.
with the aid of Air Strikes would remove a
Player controlled Faction's Bases or any pieces NOTE: When executing the Train Operation, first
of any Faction that reside in Support spaces, the select all the spaces in which actions are to take
Coalition will Assault as follows. place, then execute the actions in the legal
sequence as indicated in the rules of play. See
Preliminaries: Add Government Assault in up to 8.2 above.
one space (for a cost of three Resources per
space). First, if the Government is a Player and
Patronage is at 11 or more, Train and
First, Assault to remove Player or Taliban
reduce Patronage in Kabul.
pieces targeting first Bases*, then pieces
at Support*. Then, if the Taliban are a Player and have
18 or more points of Opposition and
* NOTE: If and as helpful to removing a
Bases on the map, conduct Civic Actions
Base or all enemy pieces in a Support
to the maximum extent in one space (or
space, in that space or spaces add, first,
in up to two spaces if the unshaded PRTs
a Government Assault, then, an Air
Capability is in effect) with COIN Control
Strike**, then, an Air Lift**.
and any Coalition piece(s) selecting the
** NOTE: If the Special Activity does not space(s) such as to remove the most
here occur in the maximum allowed Opposition.
number of spaces, attempt to complete
Then, if one or more Coalition Bases are
the Special Activity per the Air Lift
Available, or it is the final Campaign,
priorities (in 8.6.3) before completing the
pause Train now to attempt to conduct a
8
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Surge per the Special Activity instructions at least one Population (Kabul or spaces
below, then return here. with COIN Control). As per 8.2.1 never
have more than one Coalition Base in a
Then, at one Coalition Base space with
single space.
COIN Control (or in up to two spaces if
the unshaded PRTs is in effect), conduct Then, move on-map Base(s) to other map
Civic Actions to the maximum extent. spaces, accompanied by at least one
Within that, select spaces to cause the Coalition Troop per Coalition Base if
greatest shift in Support/Opposition, then otherwise none such already are in the
or within that, select spaces that are non- target space (to or from Kabul or any
Pashtun, then or within the above, COIN Controlled spaces). Move pieces
spaces that contain no Taliban pieces. only if the target space has a higher
Population value spaces than the origin.
Then, if Resources permit, during the
Move the pieces from the lowest
space selection above, Train at each Population value spaces that have no
Coalition Base with less than two Support (and from such spaces only).
Government pieces or no Police (only). Within that, prioritize moving to spaces
Place the maximum number of cubes with most Support.
placing first all Police they can, and only
then Troops to reach the maximum. Then, and only if pieces moved above,
conduct the following actions.
Then, in one space (or in two if unshaded
PRTs) with COIN Control and any Coalition First, if the next Propaganda is not
piece(s), conduct Civic Actions. Within final, roll 1d6 and that many Troops
that, select spaces so as to cause the between Available and the map to get
greatest shift in Support/Opposition. the number of Available Troops as
close as possible to the number of
If no such Train was possible, skip to 8.6.3
Support currently existing on the
Sweep, bullet one, above. Otherwise, conduct a
map. NOTE: This could mean either
Special Activity as follows.
moving into or out of the Available
SURGE. Preliminaries: Move any Coalition box.
pieces among three map spaces and the
Within this bullet and the next bullet
Coalition Available Forces box.
below, prioritize moving to spaces
First, if the next Propaganda is final only: with no Support, then, to spread
relocate the maximum number of Troops forces evenly.
from Kabul or COIN Controlled spaces to Then, for protection purposes, if able,
Available (thereby bettering the Non-
get at least one Coalition Troop per
player Coalition's victory margin)
each Coalition Base space.
without, for protection purposes,
relocating the last Coalition Troop from Finally, if the Government is a
any Coalition Bases. Within that, relocate Player, add Aid only if
last from a space with Support. Patronage is less than 6,
otherwise always add Aid.
Then, get as many Available Bases as
possible, accompanied by at least one If no such Surge is possible, Air Lift per 8.6.3
Coalition Troop per Base if there above.
otherwise aren't any there already, to
different highest Population space(s) with
9
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
REDEPLOY. Redeploy Coalition Troops as follows. place Government pieces or afford the
Government free Operations or Special
First, Redeploy Troops from LoCs or from Activities
spaces with no COIN Base that have no
Support AND have zero to one Population shift Islamabad, but execute the Event
(and from such spaces only). only if the Taliban are a Player.
Then, Redeploy to Kabul or to COIN Otherwise, if Government has less than three
Controlled spaces that have a COIN Base Resources, Pass. If none of the above, continue
in this order of priority: below.
10
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
If no such Eradicate is possible, after Assault, Finally, Assault on one LoC on which
Transport per below, otherwise, Govern per removing the most pieces of any Player,
8.7.4 below, OR if in a loop, Transport per below. then the Taliban, then the Warlords.
TRANSPORT. Preliminaries: Do not move the last If no such Patrol is possible, skip to 8.7.5 Train,
Troop of any LoC or Government Base. bullet one, below. Otherwise, execute the
Transport such that no COIN Control is lost. Govern Special Activity per below.
First, get up to four Troops, or more if GOVERN. Govern as follows.
needed, to establish COIN Control at one First, if able, Govern for
highest Population space with one or Patronage in up to two highest
more Population AND no COIN Base Population spaces with Support,
(paying one Resource to the Warlords per COIN Control, and no Coalition
each entered space with any Guerrilla). Base.
Transport Troops from where there are
Then, place +1 Pop markers, if any are
11
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
still available, in up to two highest COIN Control and without displacing last
Population spaces with one or more Government Troop from the space: Train
Population that are at Support and have in a space placing the maximum allowed
COIN Control AND a COIN Base number of Troops there AND then, from
(do not place a marker in any that Train space, Transport five Troops to
spaces with no COIN Base). a highest Population space with two or
Prioritize spaces with Government Bases more Population AND then Train there
over those with the Coalition Bases. replacing three random cubes with a
Government Base. Within the above,
If no such Govern is possible, Eradicate, OR, if in
Train in such a space that the following
a loop, Transport, both per 8.7.3 above.
Transport can occur at lowest possible
8.7.5 Train cost (for the Government must pay the
Warlords one Resource per used
If no Assault or Patrol occurred, and there are Transport space with any Guerrillas).
ten or more Government Troops Available OR
executing the Train Operation bullet one below Then, Train placing cubes at Kabul or in
would place a Government Base, the COIN Base spaces. Within that, prioritize
Government will Train as follows. spaces in which there are the least
Government cubes, then or within that,
Preliminaries: Train in up to three spaces, but
prioritize highest Population spaces.
for a maximum of two-thirds of available
Resources (rounding down) only, or without a Then, if no Civic Actions were conducted
spending limit if the Government has less than yet, nor a Base placed, Train and conduct
nine Resources. Place the maximum number of Civic Actions in any one COIN Controlled
cubes possible and always two more Troops space where this removes the most
than Police, if Available. (E.g. if placing six Opposition (placing zero cubes if no COIN
Cubes, have four of them be Troops and two Base there).
Police.)
If no such Train is possible, skip to 8.7.6 Sweep,
First, Train in a highest Population bullet on, below. Otherwise, conduct a Special
Province with one or more Population and Activity as follows. If Aid is at two or less OR the
three or more Government cubes, no Warlords is a Player Faction, Eradicate per 8.7.3
COIN Base but room for one, and replace above, otherwise Govern per 8.7.4 above.
three random cubes with a Base.
8.7.6 Sweep
Then, if no Base was placed above, in a
If neither Assault, Patrol nor Train occurred, the
highest Population Province with two or
Non-player Government will Sweep as follows.
more Population, COIN Control, no
Coalition Base, and no Terror: first, Train Preliminaries: Sweep in or into up to two
(placing zero cubes if no COIN Base exist spaces. Do not move the last Troop of any LoC
there) AND then conduct Civic Actions (if or at a Government Base. Sweep such that no
no Support already) AND then Govern for COIN Control is lost.
Patronage. Next, if Govern above did not
Use Sweep to get up to four Troops (or
yet occur in the maximum number of
allowed spaces, complete Govern per more if needed) to add COIN Control to
8.7.3 above, then return here. the highest Population spaces with one or
more Population AND no COIN Base.
Then, if no Base was placed and no Sweep with Troops taking them evenly
Special Activity occurred above, losing no from random sources. Within that, select
12
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
the target space(s) to which the lowest spaces with no COIN Base(s), spreading
cost Sweep is possible (paying the them evenly but such that at least one
Warlords one Resource per each entered Troop exists in Kabul and in spaces with
LoC with any enemies). NOTE: The Non- COIN Control and a COIN Base.
player Government may well be
Then, move Police onto LoCs or to COIN
sweeping into spaces that contain no
enemies. Controlled spaces to:
13
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Shaded Aerostats: Flip at, first, Then, if the Taliban still have zero
Support, then at a Taliban Base, Resources, Extort everywhere possible.
then in a random space.
If no such Extort is possible, conduct no Special
8.8.2 Pass, Event, or Operations? Activity.
If the current card is a Capability Event, play it 8.8.4 Rally
per 8.1 Capability. Otherwise, if the current card
If no Terror occurred, and there are 15 or more
is a Momentum Event, play it per 8.1
Taliban Guerrillas Available OR Rally per the
Momentum. Otherwise, play the shaded part of
second bullet below would replace Guerrillas
the current card if it is effective AND either part
with a Base, the Taliban will Rally as follows.
of the card could:
Preliminaries: Rally in up to six spaces in which
shift Support down, Opposition or Taliban
paying Resources (Rally in Pakistan may be free
Resources up or down as per the Islamabad Track). Pause Rally to
remove or place Taliban Bases or remove Extort per 8.8.3 above whenever more
Coalition pieces Resources needed. At the end of the Rally, do
not forget to see the Taliban can buy Sharia for
shift the Islamabad Track the greatest shift (at one Taliban Base
If none of the above, continue below. regardless of Control).
* IMPORTANT: Where indicated below, Rally
8.8.3 Terror placing Guerrillas until none are Available.
If the Terror Operation would shift shift three or Thereafter, Rally to flip Guerrillas Underground.
more points of Opposition and Support
First, Rally at all Taliban Bases with no
combined, the Taliban will Terror as follows.
Taliban Guerrillas.
Preliminaries: Do not expose the last one
Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban Base (the last two Then, Rally in spaces with three or more
if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect). Pause Taliban Guerrillas replacing two Guerrillas
Terror to Extort per below whenever more with a Base (per 8.2.1 replace Active
Resources needed. before Underground Guerrillas). Within
that, prioritize Rallies in Pakistan.
First, Terror in Support spaces.
Then, Rally where all Taliban Guerrillas at
Then, in Neutral spaces. Taliban Base(s) are Active AND there are
Within the bullets one and two above, prioritize any cubes in the space*. Within that,
the highest Population spaces. prioritize the highest Population spaces.
If no such Terror is possible, skip to 8.8.4 Rally, Then, Rally in Kabul, if there is no
bullet one, below. Otherwise, conduct a Special Underground Taliban Guerrilla there
Activity as follows. already.
EXTORT. Preliminaries: Do not expose the last Then, Rally in up to two spaces that are
one Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban Base (the last at Neutral, have no Coalition and no
two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect). Taliban pieces. Within that, prioritize the
highest Population spaces.
First, Extort everywhere possible without
exposing the last Taliban Guerrilla in a Then, Rally at all Taliban Bases*. Within
space with no Opposition. that, Rally in Pakistani spaces last, then
14
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
or within that prioritize the highest thirds of available Resources (rounding down),
Population spaces. or without a spending limit if the Taliban have
less than nine Resources. Do not relocate the
Finally, Rally in all three Pakistani
last one Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban Base (the
spaces*, if Rally there is free. last two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect).
If no such Rally is possible, skip to 8.8.5 March, March such that no Taliban Control is lost.
bullet one, below. Otherwise, conduct a Special First, use March to get one Underground
Activity as follows.
Guerrilla to each Taliban Base with no
EXTORT. Extort as follows. such Taliban Guerrilla already. Only March
into such Pakistani spaces that have no
Extort on the 3 and 4 Economic Value
Guerrillas at the Base(s) there.
LoCs.
Then, get three Guerrillas (Underground,
If no such Extort is possible, Infiltrate per below.
if able, from multiple sources if needed)
INFILTRATE. In one space with Underground to one Afghan space with room for a
Taliban Guerrilla(s), Infiltrate as follows. Base, only if Taliban Base(s) are
Available.
Select spaces to remove pieces, first, of a
Player, then the Government, then the Then, get one Underground Guerrilla
Warlords. Within each of the above, each into up to three spaces as follows:
If the Government is a Player, First, to Neutral spaces with no Taliban
Infiltrate where able to remove the and no Coalition pieces.
most Government cubes
Then, to spaces with Support.
(remembering to reduce Patronage
per each cube removed) Within each bullet above, prioritize Marches into
spaces to which the Taliban March at the lowest
then or within that, where removing
cost, then or within that, to spaces with the
any Faction's last piece or pieces in
highest Population.
the space
Then, get up to two Guerrillas onto each
then or within that, prioritize the
LoC to which the Guerrillas are adjacent
highest Population and the highest
(and onto adjacent LoCs only) to
Economic Value spaces.
outnumber the any enemies on these
NOTE: After executing the priorities above, if a LoCs (including also if there are zero
single cube got removed, place also a Guerrilla enemies there). Within that, prioritize
there. Marches onto the highest Economic Value
LoCs, then or within that, prioritize those
If no such Infiltrate is possible, Extort per 8.8.3 target spaces to which the Taliban are
above. able to get Guerrillas Underground.
8.8.5 March If no such March is possible, skip to 8.8.4 Rally,
If no Terror nor Rally occurred, and Attack with bullet one, above. Otherwise, Extort per 8.8.4
or without Ambush now cannot remove two or above.
more Coalition pieces, the Taliban will March as
follows.
8.8.6 Attack
If no Terror or Rally occurred, but Attack with or
Preliminaries: March for the maximum of two- without Ambush would remove two or more
15
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Coalition pieces, the Taliban will Attack as the fewest Terror markers.
follows.
REDEPLOY. Relocate Taliban Guerrillas from LoCs
Preliminaries: Do not expose the last one and spaces with no Taliban Base spreading
Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban Base (the last two evenly to spaces with Taliban Base(s) and
if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect). Taliban Control or to Pashtun spaces in Pakistan
such as to
First, Attack (with Ambush if needed to
ensure success) where doing so removes have at least one Taliban Guerrilla per
Coalition pieces. (Remember any each Taliban Base space. Within that,
Government pieces in the space prevent relocate to Afghan spaces before
the removal of Coalition pieces.) Pakistan.
Then, Attack per the Ambush priorities
8.9 Non-player Warlords Actions
below using Ambush, except in spaces
where there are six or more Taliban This section details the actions by the Non-
Guerrillas. player Warlords as shown on the Warlords
flowchart.
Then, Attack with groups of four or more
Taliban Guerrillas. 8.9.1 Capability and Momentum Events
AMBUSH. Preliminaries: Do not expose the last If the following unshaded Capability is in effect,
one Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban Base (the last do the following:
two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect).
Unshaded Find Fix Finish: When moving
Select Ambush spaces so as to remove pieces the Warlords pieces in the context of
of: Operations, Special Activities or Events,
get and/or keep two Underground
first, the Coalition. Within that, prioritize
Warlord Guerrillas per each space with
the removal of Bases, then of Troops. two Warlord Bases.
then, the Government. Within that,
8.9.2 Pass, Event, or Operations?
prioritize Bases, then Police, then Troops.
If the current card is a Momentum Event, play it
then, the Warlords. Within that, prioritize per 8.1 Momentum. Otherwise, if the current
Bases, then Guerrillas. card is a Capability Event, play it per 8.1
If no such Ambush is possible, Extort per 8.8.3 Capability. Otherwise, play the shaded part if it
above. will:
16
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
17
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
18
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
19
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
will not cover in this example. that is, the first few lines of text, in Italics,
immediately after the Operation name we note
After the Warlords have executed their
there's a spending limit to the Government Train
Operations and a Special Activity, with two
Operation. The priorities tell us to spend 2/3
Factions having now acted on the current card,
of Res max, an abbreviated form of expression
the card gets discarded and 12. Village Stability
for saying that we may spend up to two-thirds
Operations becomes the new current card. We
of all the Resources (rounded down) currently
remember that the Non-player Coalition
available to the Faction at hand (see 8.2.2
specifically passed on the previous card to be
Abbreviations Used). Doing the math, two-thirds
Eligible to take the Capability on this card. And
of 20 Resources (rounding down to the closest
so the Non-player Coalition now takes the
full number) make 13 Resources that the Non-
unshaded Village Stability Operations Capability.
player Government will maximally spend here.
We ignore the second sentence of the
9.2 Example #2: Govt Train + preliminaries for now.
Special Activity and the
Moving on to the first bullet of the Train box, we
Spending Limit check if the Government would replace its
For some Non-player Operations a spending cubes with a Base. For this purpose, we look for
limit obtains. An example of this is the Non- a space with these characteristics: one or more
player Government Train operation. (The Taliban Population, no existing Government or Coalition
March as well as the Government Sweep and Base but space for one, and at least three
Assault Operations are further examples of Government cubes. There is no such space.
actions to which a spending limit applies.) (Suppose, however, that Herat did not yet have
Set Up: Set the board as at the start of the a Government Base there. Then it would
Short Scenario except reduce the Government become the first location in this Government
Resources down to 20 AND shift two Coalition Train Operation. Per the general replacement
Troops from Kabul to Nuristan (the latter now instructions in 8.2.1, the fourth bullet, the
becomes COIN Controlled). Government would replace three randomly
selected cubes of theirs in Herat with an
Execution: Suppose the Non-player Available Government Base.)
Government is first Eligible on a random current
card and that the Pass, Event or Operations? Moving on to the second bullet of the Train box,
box leads them to perform an Operation with a now we are looking for spaces with these
Special Activity. Looking through the diamond characteristics: the space has two or more
shaped conditions on the left hand side, we Population, COIN Control, no Coalition Base, and
pass through the first two diamonds along the no Terror markers. Nuristan, with its two
No arrow as the Government will not be able to Population, fills the bill. There is a longish list of
Assault anyone (with all Guerrillas on the map things that are now going to happen there. In
being Underground) nor are there any the flowchart, the capitalized AND's indicate
insurgents on the LoCs for the Patrol Operation that for this bullet to be executed at all, all the
to get triggered. elements conjoined by the AND's must be
executable. (This is also clarified in 8.2.2
Arriving at the third diamond condition we note, Abbreviations Used.) We now go through these
however, that there are more than 10 steps one by one.
Government Troops Available. Hence, we follow
the Yes arrow to the Train box. First, let's mark Nuristan as a Government Train
location. In this case, the Train simply involves
Looking at the preliminaries of the Train box
20
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
marking the space as a Train location, and be useful to remind ourselves of the spending
paying three Resources, without placing any limit for this Operation again as this is one of
cubes. No cubes may be placed in Nuristan for the potential limits to in how many spaces the
the lack of a COIN Base there, but it is still a Government will seek to place cubes (Train in
legal Train location. up to three spaces is the other limit). With six
Resources already marked for spending at the
Second, still in Nuristan, the Government buys
second bullet, we've got another 7 Resources to
Civic Actions there for another three Resources
spend before we hit the 13 Resources limit. That
shifting the space to Support. Yet, third, that
is, the Government will be able to Train in two
Support gets immediately wiped off again as
more spaces (for a total cost of 6 Resources).
the Non-player Government selects Nuristan as
a location for the Govern Special Activity: we Here the flowchart incorporates a helpful rules
transfer two points of Aid to Patronage and shift reminder, in red, that if the Government is to
Nuristan back to Neutral again. That is one place cubes, it may do so at COIN Bases or in
ruthless move by the Government right there, a Kabul (only). There are plenty of candidate
move that fully exploits any carelessness on the spaces on the map. However, in the green box
Coalition's part if they leave any Support in the flowchart, there are some tie breakers
dangling without protecting it by the presence that will help us narrow down the group of
of a Coalition Base! This is a move the legal candidate spaces.
execution of which requires the Player to grasp
The first tie
some subtle nuances pertaining to the Train
breaker, a, tells
Operation and the Govern Special Activity.
us to pick those
There's a cross at the end of the second bullet spaces with the
that refers to a note telling us to now finish up least
the Govern Special Activity that, exceptionally, Government
was called for already in the Operations box. cubes among all
There are a few Non-player Operations that do the candidate
that in this variant. Let us, therefore, turn to the spaces
Govern box. Govern may occur in up to two identified
spaces, one of which was already selected in above. Glancing
The Government Trains in Kabul, Khowst and
the Train Operation box. at the map we Nuristan. In the latter, also the Govern
note that each Special Activity occurs.
We see that there is no space (with Support) in
candidate space has got exactly the same
which more Patronage could be extracted, so
number of Government cubes in them, four with
we skip to the second bullet. The Government
the exception of Kabul where there are two blue
won't be placing any +1 Pop markers either as
cubes. Therefore, the tie breaker a selects
there are no legal target spaces (with Support)
Kabul. We will need to look at the tie breaker b
for that. Therefore, this time, the Govern
to figure out the other Train space. This tells us
Special Activity only occurs in a single space
to prioritize the highest Population spaces
selected in the Train Operation box.
among the candidates. After Kabul, the next
Return now to the Train Operations box to finish most populous spaces in which the Government
up the Train. Since the Government has now could place cubes are Khowst and Konduz with
executed a Special Activity, we may skip the two plus one Population in each. We need a
third bullet arriving at the fourth bullet which random roll to select one of these two locations.
involves the Government potentially placing Say Khowst gets selected.
some forces on the map. This is where it might
With the Train spaces selected, we now place
21
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
the cubes. Now the second sentence of the cost 0 Resources. Finally, place two Warlords
preliminaries becomes relevant. It tells us to Guerrillas and two Police from Available onto
place the maximum number of cubes normally the LoC leading from Kabul toward the Khyber
six, although possibly limited to four by the Pass, and relocate two Police from Kandahar
shaded Night Letters Capability, or by piece onto the adjacent LoC with the Economic value
availability but always two more Troops than of three leading from Kandahar towards Spin
Police. That is to say, the Government will now Boldak.
place four Troops and two Police in each of
Execution: Suppose the Non-player Taliban are
Khowst and Kabul if the shaded Night Letters
first Eligible on a random current Event but that
was in effect, the second sentence of the
it is of no interest to the Non-player Taliban as
preliminaries would see the Government place
per the Pass, Event, or Operations? box on the
three Troops and one Police per each Train
flowchart. Thus, we follow the If None arrow to
space.
the first diamond of the flowchart.
That concludes this Government Train Operation
Inspecting the diamond and the map, we note
with the Govern Special Activity.
that, while the Taliban is able to execute Terror
in Helmand as well as in Paktika, the combined
9.3 Example #3: Taliban March + shift in Support/Opposition would not equal or
Infiltrate exceed three. We, therefore, pass on along the
The Non-player Taliban March action can be one No arrow to the next diamond. This diamond,
of the most complicated actions of this variant too, we pass by as we note that there are way
to execute it is so in the multi-player game as fewer than 15 Taliban Guerrillas Available and
well, mind you. This is because there are a the Taliban also already has all its Bases on the
number of Capabilities as well as the status of map and is therefore unable to place any
the Islamabad Track that essentially complicate further Bases.
the March Operation. Also, per the rules, the We follow the No arrow to the next diamond. For
Taliban is able to March again if the previous the Taliban to be able to remove Coalition
destination was a Pashtun space, which further pieces by an Attack and/or Ambush, the pieces
expands the cost as well as the possibilities to have to be unaccompanied by Government
consider. cubes since, per the rules of play, Government
Set Up: Set the board as at the start of the cubes must all be removed before the Coalition
Short Scenario except as follows. Add two pieces may be removed.
Taliban Guerrillas each to Kandahar, Ghazni, Therefore, we again follow the No arrow which,
Khowst, Waziristan, and the Northwest Frontier. however, takes us to the March box: having
Add one Taliban Base to each of the three inspected the board state, the Non-player
Pakistani spaces. Shift all the Afghan spaces Taliban has opted to execute the March
among these as well as Nuristan to Opposition. operation.
Remove the two Taliban Guerrillas in Zabol and
in Oruzgan, respectively. Oruzgan becomes Let's inspect the Preliminaries in detail. For this
COIN Controlled. Reduce the Taliban Resources Operation, a spending limit applies. The Taliban
by four to 11. Assume further that the have got 11 Resources, two-thirds of this makes
unshaded Aerostats Capability (Event card 5.) is 7.33 which gets rounded down to 7 Resources
in effect increasing the Taliban March costs by that the Taliban will maximally spend on this
one per destination. Note, however, that the Operation.
Islamabad Track is at Backing which makes the The Preliminaries also specify that the Taliban
Taliban Marches to and from Pakistan spaces
22
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
ought not March out any last Guerrilla and all this for a cost of zero because of the
protecting its Bases or any last two Guerrillas if Islamabad Track.
the unshaded Find Fix Capability is in effect. It is
However, now that the unshaded Aerostats is in
a powerful Capability with which each Coalition
effect, even the otherwise free Marches cost
Assault may remove one Underground Guerrilla
one Resource as per the Capability. In these
in addition to any Active ones. Thus the Taliban
circumstances, the tie breaker a limits the
had better leave sufficient protection at its
choice to Waziristan as the sole space from
Bases when Find Fix is in play. The Capability is
which a Guerrilla is able to get to Zabol for the
not in effect in this example, however.
cost of one Resource. Conduct that March now.
The Preliminaries also
Moving on to the second bullet, the aim there is
instruct the Taliban not to
to set up a group of Guerrillas for a future Base
March the last
building opportunity but only if at least one
Underground Guerrillas out
Taliban Base is Available. None are, so we may
of spaces with no
skip this bullet altogether.
Opposition. This is to keep
those spaces set up for The third bullet seeks to spread Taliban forces
later Terror Operations. for the purposes of setting up future Terror
Finally, the March ought to Operations. As per the bullet, we are seeking to
lead to no loss of Taliban March into up to three spaces getting an
Control, the keeping of Underground Guerrilla to each selected space.
which might come handy during the next Our first targets are spaces with the following
Propaganda's Sharia phase. Also, the Non- characteristics: at Neutral, no Taliban and no
player Taliban has to be careful not to award the Coalition forces. There are multiple such targets
Government any extra points by losing Taliban given the Taliban ability to March again from
and possibly creating COIN Control. Pashtun spaces (hence, even a far-away space
like Herat is a reachable space via the Pashtun
With the Preliminaries in mind, we move on to
spaces adjacent to it). Let's have the first tie
the first bullet which tells us to get one
breaker, that of prioritizing lowest cost Marches,
Underground Guerrilla to each Taliban Base with
narrow down the candidates for us.
no such Guerrilla. Zabol has got a Taliban Base
and no Guerrillas whatsoever so we've got to By this tie breaker, Badakhshan becomes the
get one Underground Guerrilla there. Where is it first March target as it is the sole space to which
going to come from? As an example of how the the Taliban may March for the cost of a single
Capabilities and/or the Islamabad Track can Resource. Furthermore, for the March to cost a
complicate the March Operation, were the single Resource, the Guerrilla has to come from
unshaded Aerostats not in effect, the Guerrilla the Northwest Frontier if it came from Nuristan,
could come from practically anywhere on the the cost would be two Resources, one for the
board. While the first tie breaker for the bullet March itself, and another for the Aerostats
under consideration tell us to prioritize the Capability. We conduct that March now.
lowest cost Marches, the effect of the status of
We've got two more target spaces to find as per
the Islamabad Track combined with the Taliban
the third bullet and there are way more legal
ability to March again from Pashtun spaces,
candidate spaces than that. The tie breaker b
practically enables the Taliban to March
tells us to order the March destinations per
Guerrillas around for free. That is, they may
descending Population size. This gives us
March a Guerrilla from an adjacent Afghan
Baghlan (with two plus one population) as the
space to one of the Pashtun spaces in Pakistan
next destination to which a Guerrilla from
and then March it out into Afghanistan again,
23
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Nuristan alone is able to get to for the lowest the two highest value LoCs are out from among
cost of two Resources. the candidate targets.
The last target space to be selected per the Two of the LoCs with an Economic value of one
third bullet of the Taliban March instructions remain in the race and random selection picks
involves a tie between Ghowr and Bamian: both the LoC leading from the town of Kandahar
can be reached for the cost of two Resources toward Farah. Two Guerrillas from the Kandahar
and have the same Population value. As always, Province are able to get onto that LoC. Their
once the tie breakers run out, we will select March renders Kandahar COIN Controlled. With
targets randomly from among the set of that we have reached our spending limit and no
candidates we have arrived at. Say Ghowr gets further Marches may be executed.
selected to which a Guerrilla from Helmand is
Next we will select a Special Activity. In the
the only one to be able to get to.
flowchart, there is a With arrow going out of the
We have now selected the three March March box toward one of the Extort boxes. The
destinations per the third bullet and so, as per box probes whether the Non-player Taliban is
the second sub-bullet of the third bullet that we able to Extort on one of the lucrative three and
have been executing, the Support spaces will four Economic value LoCs. There being no
not be targeted at all this time. We have also Taliban Guerrillas on these LoCs we pass on
spent six of the seven Resources leaving us a along the if None arrow to Infiltrate.
single Resource to spend to fulfill the Marches
As the flowchart shows us, the Non-player
per the fourth and the final bullet.
Taliban prefers to target the Player Faction first.
The final bullet aims to get some Taliban Suppose the Government is a Player controlled
Guerrillas onto the Lines of Communication, or Faction. Therefore, we browse the board for
LoCs, if and only if they then outnumber the spaces with Underground Taliban Guerrillas and
enemies there. The fourth bullet specifies that Government cubes. There are more options
we are looking to March onto adjacent LoCs than the one space in which Infiltrate may
only. Note that one could get further afield using maximally occur: Helmand, Kandahar, Ghazni,
the March-again ability, but the Non-player Paktika, and Khowst.
Taliban does not make use of that ability. Also,
So again we resort to
the Non-player Taliban will want to get up to two
the tie breakers. The
Guerrillas onto each LoC but no more than that.
first tie breaker, a,
Normally, the March onto a LoC costs no says to prioritize
Resources, but again the unshaded Aerostats spaces in which the
imposes a cost of one Resource even upon most Government
these otherwise free Marches. We've got cubes can be
multiple LoCs that could be reached, but only a removed, which by
single Resource and thus a single March to the rules of play
make. Again we will need the tie breakers. pertaining to
Infiltrate is two
The first tie breaker has the Taliban target the
cubes. This is
highest Economic value LoCs those are the
possible in all the
ones leading toward Pakistan but both of those
candidate targets.
LoCs are occupied by two enemy pieces which
The second tie The Non-player Taliban has Marched
means that Taliban is unable to outnumber the
breaker, b, prioritizes onto the Kandahar Farah LoC. The
enemies there by the up to two Taliban Infiltrate Special Activity is about to
spaces in which the occur in the Province of Kandahar.
Guerrillas it is prepared to use here. Therefore,
24
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
last Government cubes can be removed. That Train box. Once again the Preliminaries state a
gives us Kandahar as the winner. spending limit two-thirds of 30 make 20
Resources which we however are unlikely to
The Infiltrate Special Activity removes the two
get even close to breaking. The Preliminaries
remaining Government Troops cubes exposing
also state that the Coalition Train Operations
the Coalition forces to a potential Taliban Attack
will not place any Government cubes unless so
with Ambush later on. The removal of the two
indicated in the priorities themselves. Let's keep
cubes also decreases the Patronage by two
that in mind.
points. That concludes this example of play.
The first two bullets of the Coalition Train box
9.4 Example #4: Coalition Train + are safeguards put in place to counter any
Surge Taliban or Government attempts if these are
controlled by a Player at getting too far ahead.
Surge is one of the most important actions of No Faction is close to winning so we pass these
the Coalition allowing them to increase or bullets by.
decrease their Troop commitment on the ground
as well as to strategically position their Bases. The third bullet, however, asks us to check if
The Non-player Coalition will be a tame any Coalition Bases are Available yes, one
opponent without properly executed Surges. Base is and if so, to pause the Train Operation
to conduct the Surge Special Activity. Therefore,
Set Up: Set the board as at the start of the we take note to return to this position in the
Short Scenario with the following changes. Train box later and head over to the Surge box.
Move the two Police cubes in Ghazni to
Available. Also move all Coalition pieces from The first Surge bullet is there to trigger a
Kandahar to Available and the four Government Coalition pull-out of Afghanistan in the final
cubes there to Baghlan. Also relocate the Campaign and is not relevant now. The second
Government Base in Konduz to Baghlan. bullet is all about getting Coalition Bases out
Kandahar becomes Taliban Controlled and onto the map. The preference written into the
Baghlan COIN Controlled. Adjust the Coalition's bullet is to get Bases into the highest Population
Support + Avail marker up by three. spaces. A rules reminder in red tells us that a
Surge may target COIN Controlled spaces and
Execution: For this example, suppose the Kabul (regardless of who is in Control there).
Warlords are a Player controlled Faction. Worth keeping mind is also the priority in 8.2.1
Suppose further that the Non-player Coalition is never to have two Coalition Bases in a single
first Eligible on a random current Event card space.
that is of no interest to them as per the Pass,
Event or Operations? box. We follow the If None Therefore, we search the map for a single space
arrow onward to the first decision diamond. with no Coalition Base already but that is COIN
Controlled as the home for the Available Base.
We pass by the first diamond there are no There are two such spaces, Herat and Baghlan.
Underground Taliban Guerrillas in Support Herat immediately drops out as the lower
spaces nor Underground pieces of the Player Population space. Now place a Coalition Base
(i.e. the Warlords) at a Coalition Base. We pass from Available to Baghlan.
by the second diamond too as no Bases are
exposed and removable by a Assaults or Air The bullet we are working through right now
Strikes nor can any pieces be removed in the also says that if any of the newly placed Bases
sole Support space, Kabul. have no Coalition Troops at them, then each
such Base also receives a single protecting
Therefore, we follow the No arrow down to the Coalition Troop. The Base in Baghlan indeed has
25
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
no Coalition Troop at it, so let us place one from already moved pieces around, because if no
Available there. We have no used one of the pieces moved so far it probably is not worth
three legal spaces in which Surge may take doing a Surge at all, but some other Special
place. Activity instead.
The third bullet of the Surge box checks if any In any case, per the first sub-bullet of the bullet
of the Coalition Bases already on the map could four, we are now to roll one six-sided die and
be relocated to more favorable locations. That is either withdraw to Available or place onto the
to say, moving again between Kabul and COIN map, that 1d6 worth of Coalition Troops. The
Controlled spaces only (such spaces being the direction of movement will depend on the
only legal Surge targets per the regular rules of current level of Support as compared to the
play), the Non-player Coalition seeks to relocate number of Troops in the Available box. Thus, at
its Bases to higher Population value spaces than this moment Support is four (all of it in Kabul)
where it already has spaces. We note that both and there are seven Troops in the Available box,
Konduz and Herat have no Coalition Bases but which is to say the Non-player Coalition will
are COIN Controlled and thus possible Surge seek to reduce the number of Available Troops
targets. until it hits four. Overall the mechanic here is
meant to simulate the decision to respond to a
As the source spaces of the to-be-relocated
low level of Support by increasing the boots on
Coalition Bases we look for COIN Controlled
the ground or vice versa.
spaces with a Coalition Base and a lower
Population than the target space. Konduz has a Suppose we roll a 1d6 and the result is a four.
higher Population (two plus one) than each of The Non-player Coalition will now place three
Ghazni, Paktika and Helmand (Population one). (not four) Troops from Available onto the map
Konduz will thus become the target space while after which the number of Available Troops
the source space will be chosen at random. equals the level of Support.
Suppose Helmand gets chosen.
Where are these Troops going to? As we are
Therefore, we mark executing a Surge and have already selected all
Helmand and Konduz three Surge targets, the three new-comer
as the second and the Troops must go to one of the already selected
third spaces in which targets. Beyond that, there's a tie breaker b
Surge is to take place that sees the incoming Troops be spread out
and transfer the evenly, so let us place one Troop in each of the
Coalition Base from the three selected spaces.
former to the latter. The
The second sub-bullet of the bullet four
bullet in question also
The Non-Player Coalition has got attempts to secure sufficient protection for the
specifies that we are to the high Population space Coalition Bases, but all of them already have at
relocate one Troop from Baghlan at Support which the
Coalition Base there will serve to least one Coalition Troop. Therefore, we move
Helmand to protect the protect. It will be hard for the on to the final sub-bullet. The Surge Special
Base in Konduz. That enemies to preach this
stronghold. Activity also allows the Coalition to increase Aid.
concludes the third
The Non-player Coalition will always do this if
Surge bullet.
the Government is also a Non-player, otherwise
Next, in the fourth bullet, the Non-player more Aid is conditional on low Patronage. In the
Coalition looks at readjusting its Troop present case, the Government is a Non-player,
commitment. Note that this bullet will be so we roll 1d6 and add that many points of Aid.
executed if and only if any of the bullet above
Altogether the above Surge reduced the
26
A Distant Plain Non-Player Variant (v1.0)
Coalition Victory margin by five. Move the the maximum number of Police cubes. Only if
Support + Avail marker from 13 down to eight. there aren't enough of them Available will
That concludes this Surge and we return to the Government Troops get placed. At present
Train box. enough Police are Available and so we place six
of them in Ghazni.
The next Train bullet to process is the bullet four
which has the Non-player Coalition conduct The final bullet of the Train procedure checks if
Civic Actions. This is legal in a single space with Civic Actions already occurred to the extent
COIN Control (or in two spaces if the PRTs they can, and if not, Civic Actions will occur now
Capability is in effect). In addition, in this bullet, (this time also in other than Coalition Base
the Non-player Coalition prefers to conduct spaces). In the present examples, the Civic
Civic Actions at its own Bases only all of which Actions already occurred, so nothing happens
are now on the map. We resort to the tie on this last bullet. That concludes this example.
breakers to narrow down the selection. The first
tie breaker has us looking to cause the greatest Credits
shift, that is, where the most total points of Producer: Volko Ruhnke.
Opposition/Support gets shifted. This time there
is no Opposition on the map, so the tie breaker Charts and Aids: Charlie Kibler.
effectively has us target the highest Population Playtesters: Ian Doran, Phil Fowler, Adam
and therefore the highest shift spaces. These Gastonguay, Matthias Jahr, Lino Sanguino, Brian
are Khowst and Baghlan, with two plus one Schlorholtz, Jason Sherlock, Mic Slipko, Rex
Population each. The second tie breaker, b, Stites, Colin Taylor.
favours the non-Pashtun space Baghlan over
Khowst and we mark the former space as a The designer would like to thank Volko for the
Train target. opportunity to make a contribution to my
favorite board game series, the COIN Series,
The Coalition does not pay any Resources for a and Rodger B. MacGowan for publishing this
Train unless they also place cubes. This is where variant, as well as all those whose invaluable
the second sentence of the Preliminaries volunteer work made this variant possible and
becomes significant: Place no Govt unless my wife for her patience!
indicated. There is no indication that any
Government cubes get placed here, so we
simply Train for zero Resources, pay three
Resources for Civic Actions, and place a Support
marker in Baghlan. This bumps the Coalition's
Support + Avail marker three spaces forward.
It is in the fifth bullet of the Train box that we
finally look at maybe placing some Government
cubes (in spaces with any COIN Bases as per
the regular rules of play). The conditions for this
to occur are pretty stringent: only if a space has
less than two Government cubes or no Police
are we to place any. Looking around on the map
we see that the only such space is Ghazni, it
has no Police. Let's mark Ghazni as a Train
location and pay three Resources. It is the
preference of the Non-player Coalition to place
27