Introduction
Components
Setup
Winning and Losing
Initiative
Turn Sequence
Player Cards
Morale Bonus
Teamwork Bonus
Hero Points
Victory on a Front
Defeat on a Front
Tracks and Triggers
Medallions
Final Bid for Glory
End of the Year
Appendix 1: Symbol Key
Appendix 2: Medallions
Appendix 3: Rules for Non-Player Factions
Resources/Credits
2
2
3
4
4
5
6
7
7
7
8
8
9
10
10
10
11
11
12
15
INTRODUCTION
July 17, 1936 – A coup has just been launched – aimed at
overthrowing the Republic! A coalition of Fascist groups, led by
right-wing military officers, has been coordinating in secret to
install a dictatorship. Just five months ago, the Popular Front,
which includes Liberals, Socialists, and Communists, won the
General Election and took control of the Republican government.
Inspired by Italy and Germany, the Spanish Fascists are determined
to destroy this left-wing democracy before it can effect real reforms.
Meanwhile, masses of oppressed Spanish peasants are taking over
the land and farming it collectively, and thousands of worker-
cooperatives are organizing in the cities to self-manage Spanish
industry as the bosses flee to the Fascist side. Some two million such
workers and peasants are represented by the anarcho-syndicalist CNT, the nation’s largest labor union. But this growing
liberty and collectivization are also a threat to the Republican government, which desperately needs to appease potential
foreign allies in the capitalist powers of Britain, France, and the United States.
In the depths of the Great Depression, and after years of strikes, repression, and assassinations – between Left and Right,
rich and poor, Catholic and atheist – Spain is plunged into Revolution and Civil War.
Led by Generals Sanjurjo and Mola, the Fascist conspirators have seized control of half of the nation’s army and navy,
including all of the elite forces of the Army of Africa. To prevent total collapse, the Republic is forced to distribute arms to
the revolutionary CNT and the more reformist UGT labor union. These militias, along with the remaining Republican
army, manage to defeat the officers’ coup in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, but other key cities like Sevilla, Valladolid,
and Zaragoza have fallen to the rebels. Now about one-third of mainland Spain is held by the Fascists, and thousands
who find themselves on the wrong side of the front line are being hunted down and massacred. To survive, many go
underground as guerrillas to carry on the fight behind enemy lines.
With Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Communist Russia sending both troops and weapons to escalate the conflict, and
the entire world watching closely, could the Civil War in Spain perhaps be the first act in another World War, or will the
workers of Spain achieve true self-determination?
COMPONENTS
•
One 22”x17” Board
•
3 Player aids with Non-Player rules
on the reverse
•
111 Poker Sized Cards Including:
• 54 Players Cards (18 cards
per faction)
• 54 Fascist Cards (18 cards
per year)
• 3 Reference Cards
•
141 Counters and & 5 Standees
•
Bag of Glory
•
Rulebook
SETUP
Place 2 Fascist Attack tokens on each of the 4 Fronts.
Assemble the Standees. Place the corresponding standee on the following spaces of each track: 5 on Liberty and
Collectivization, 6 on Government, 3 on Soviet Support and Foreign Aid.
Place both the Morale and Teamwork Bonuses to their “on” side in the Bonuses area.
Place all the Medallions into the bag and randomly draw out 5 of them, placing them in the Medallions area.
Return the others to the game box.
Give each player their Player aid, deck, and tokens. Shuffle the decks and each player draws their starting hand of
5 cards.
Each player places one of their tokens in the Bag of Glory.
The Moderate player begins with the Initiative. The other players begin with 2 Hero points.
Shuffle the Fascist decks. Place the Year 1 deck on the board.
Keep the reference cards, Attack/Strength tokens, Hero points, and Blank markers within reach of all players.
Full setup on the Back Cover.
3D Standee by
Dean Groth
WINNING AND LOSING
•
The game is divided into 3 Years: Year 1 (1936–37), Year 2 (1937–38), and Year 3 (1938–39). Each Year has 4
turns. If the players do not lose the war earlier, the game will end at the end of Year 3. If the war is lost, all players
lose. If the war is won, the player with the most Glory is the winner.
•
There are 4 Fronts: Madrid, Northern, Aragon, and Southern. The presence of Fascist Attack tokens signifies that
the Front has a negative value – each Fascist token equals a -1 value. Conversely, the presence of Republican
Strength tokens signifies that the Front has a positive value – each Strength token equals a +1 value.
⇒
If a Front ever falls to -10, it suffers Defeat immediately.
⇒
If a Front ever rises to +10, it achieves Victory immediately.
(See pg. 8 for full effects of Defeat or Victory on a Front.)
•
The war can be lost in 3 ways:
⇒
Defeat on the Madrid Front (instant loss).
⇒
Defeat on any 2 Fronts (instant loss).
⇒
Any 2 Fronts at 0 or worse at the end of Year 3.
•
The war can only be won in 1 way: 3 Fronts must be at +1 or better at the end of Year 3.
•
If the war is won, player tokens are drawn from the Bag of Glory until the Glory area is full. The player with the
most Glory wins the game.
•
In the case of a tie, the Initiative player breaks the tie. (The Initiative token breaks all ties.)
INITIATIVE
•
One player always has the Initiative token. This allows them to go first in turn order, break all ties, and most
importantly add one of their player tokens to the Bag of Glory at the end of every turn AND at the end of every
Year. Having the most tokens in the Bag of Glory greatly increases your odds of winning the game – presuming
you win the war, of course.
•
Initiative is held by the Anarchists if both the Liberty AND Collectivization tracks are at 6 or above.
•
If either Liberty OR Collectivization are below 6, Initiative is held by whichever player controls the Government
– either the Communists or Moderates. The Moderates begin the game with Initiative because they control the
government and the Anarchist Revolution is not in full effect.
•
Initiative is claimed by a new player as soon as the Liberty, Collectivization, or Government tracks move past the
necessary thresholds. (See Tracks and Triggers, pg. 9.)
TURN SEQUENCE
Fascist Event – Reveal the top card of the current Year deck. The Fascist
Event card will add a certain number of Attacks to the Fronts, labeled
M, N, A, S (for Madrid, Northern, Aragon, and Southern) or V or D
(for the Front closest to Victory [+10] or Defeat [-10]). Events in Year 2
add more Attacks than those in Year 1, and Year 3 Events are still more
damaging. Fascist Events have other immediate negative effects, like
reducing tracks or turning off Bonuses.
⇒
Example: An Event (see right) with 4 M and 2 V adds 4 Attacks
to the Madrid Front and 2 Attacks to the Front closest to
Victory. The Madrid Front was at +2 (indicated by the presence
of 2 Republican Strength tokens), so 4 Attacks drops its value
to -2 – flip the Strength tokens to the negative side to show 2
attacks. The Front closest to Victory is now the Southern Front
at +2, so 2 Attacks drops that Front to 0 – remove all tokens
from the Front. This card also reduces Liberty by 1.
⇒
Finally, each Fascist Event also contains a Test, challenging the players to support a specific Front to increase
its value to a certain threshold. (In this example, the Test is on the Madrid Front and the threshold is 0.)
The Test will be resolved after the players take their turns (see part 3 below).
Player turns – Each player simultaneously chooses one card to play on their turn. Once all have chosen, the
Initiative player goes first, revealing and playing their card. They also have the opportunity to spend Hero points
at any time during their turn. When that player has finished their turn, the next player reveals their card and takes
their turn, etc. until all three have finished. (See Player Cards, pg. 6 and Hero points, pg. 7.)
⇒
Turn order is clockwise for Year 1 and Year 3, and counter-clockwise in Year 2.
Resolve Fascist Test – The Test challenges one specific Front each turn. If the players have supported that Front to
boost its value sufficiently to pass the Test, there will be a reward. That reward may benefit all players or only one
specific player. On the flip side, if the Test fails, there will be a penalty, which may affect all players or only one
specific player. Depending on the Test, it’s possible one or more players will prefer for the Test to fail, but typically
at least two players will be incentivized to pass the Test.
⇒
Tests on the Northern Front typically affect the Moderates; Tests on the Aragon Front typically affect the
Anarchists; Tests on the Southern Front typically affect the Communists; Tests on the Madrid Front
typically affect the Initiative player or the Government.
⇒
If a Test is passed, all players who contributed to the success gain 2 Hero points. (See Hero Points, pg. 7.)
Bag of Glory – At the end of every turn, the Initiative player adds one of their tokens to the Bag of Glory. If it is
the end of the Year, they also add one more. (See End of the Year, pg. 10.)
Remove all player tokens from the Fronts.
PLAYER CARDS
•
Each player has their own unique deck of 18 cards. Their deck contains twelve cards of strength 1, five cards of
strength 2, and one card of strength 3 – their Leader card. Players will have a hand of cards, a discard pile, and may
use cards to build a tableau in front of them.
•
At the start of each Year, all players draw 5 cards to their hand from their deck. At the start of Year 1, players will
have 5 cards; at the start of Year 2 - 6 cards; Year 3 – 7 cards. (See End of the Year, pg. 10.)
•
Each turn, all players will play one card from their hand. Cards can be played in two ways – either for the card’s
Event effects OR for its Action Points (and possible Morale Bonus).
•
When a card is played for its Event effects, the player activates each line
in the card’s Event text in the order written (in the example to the right,
the text beginning with Liberty +1). The card is then trashed (place it in
the game box). Events typically provide a larger, short-term benefit to
the player; trashing the card means that it will likely not be seen again.
•
When a card is played for its Action Points (AP), the strength number
in the top-left of the card is used to affect one area of the board – any
single area of the player’s choice: a Front, a Track, or to turn on Bonuses.
⇒
Action Points can be used to add strength to a single Front equal
to the number of AP (e.g. a card with 1 AP would remove 1
Fascist Attack or add 1 Republican Strength).
⇒
AP can be used to move a single Track that number of steps. The
player can choose to move the Track either up or down. (See
Tracks and Triggers, pg. 9.)
⇒
AP can be used to turn on the Morale Bonus, the Teamwork
Bonus, or both (1 AP per Bonus).
⇒
AP cannot be divided into multiple areas of the board. If any AP
is left over, it is wasted.
•
If a card is played for AP, it is added to the player’s tableau. This allows
them to also make use of the icons on the card through the Morale
Bonus.
•
Most cards in players’ hands and tableaus will go to their discard pile at
the end of the Year, but they will be allowed to keep 1 in both places at
the end of Year 1, and 2 at the end of Year 2. (See End of the Year, pg. 10.)
The discard pile will eventually be recycled into players’ decks when
their deck runs out and they need to draw again.
MORALE BONUS
•
If the Morale Bonus is on, a player can use it when they play a card for
Action Points. The Morale Bonus allows the player to choose any 1 icon on
the left side of their current card to activate, multiplying the effect of that
icon by the number of times it appears in their tableau, including their
current card.
•
In the example to the right, the Morale Bonus would allow the player
to increase Foreign Aid, move the Government in their direction, or reduce
Collectivization. If they also had 2 other cards in their tableau with the
Foreign Aid icon, their Morale Bonus could increase Foreign Aid by 3.
Remember, the Morale Bonus can only activate one icon on the player’s
current card. (See Appendix 1, pg. 11 for the Symbol Key.)
•
The Morale Bonus produces 1 benefit, not multiple benefits. A Morale
Bonus of adding Strength to a Front must all be applied to a single Front.
TEAMWORK BONUS
•
When a player strengthens a Front (including removing Attacks), they place one (and only one) of their player
tokens in that Front to show their positive contribution this turn. First, if that Front is the location of the Fascist
Test, then that player will earn 2 Hero points if Success on the Test is achieved. Second, whenever the second (or
third) different player token is added to the same Front, it may trigger the Teamwork Bonus.
•
If the Teamwork Bonus is on, it adds +1 Strength to the same Front where the second or third player adds Strength
on the same turn. This allows players to benefit from coordinated efforts. It is not possible for one player to
trigger the Teamwork Bonus with themselves.
•
At the end of each turn, remove all player tokens from the Fronts.
HERO POINTS
•
Hero points are a currency that players earn by performing heroic acts, primarily at the Fronts:
⇒
A player immediately earns a Hero point when they strengthen a
Front to Republican control (bringing that Front’s value from 0 or
worse to +1 or better).
⇒
All players who contributed to Success on the Fascist Test earn 2 Hero
points. They must have strengthened that Front this same turn.
⇒
All players who contributed to Victory on a Front earn 3 Hero points.
(See Victory on a Front, pg. 8.) They must have strengthened that Front this same turn.
⇒
Hero Points can also be earned through certain Event effects and Medallions.
⇒
If there are no Hero point tokens available, players cannot receive those earned. If the supply is insufficient
when multiple players earn Hero points simultaneously, the Initiative player receives Hero points first,
then the other players in turn order until there are no tokens remaining.
•
A player may spend any number of Hero points any time during their turn for the following benefits:
⇒
Draw cards – 1 Hero point per card.
⇒
Turn on a Bonus – 2 Hero points.
⇒
Move the Soviet Support or Foreign Aid tracks – 2 Hero points per step.
⇒
Move the Liberty or Collectivization tracks – 3 Hero points per step.
⇒
Move the Government track – 4 Hero points per step.
⇒
Certain Medallions cost Hero points to activate once they have been acquired by the player. (See
Appendix 2, pg. 11.)
•
Hero points can be lost as a result of Fascist cards or stolen by other players’ cards.
VICTORY ON A FRONT
•
As soon as any Front reaches +10, the players achieve Victory on that Front. Cover the Front with a “Victory on
a Front” card. The victorious Front can never again be Attacked or damaged in any way.
•
All players who contributed to the victorious Front this turn
receive 3 Hero points.
•
For the rest of the game, any Fascist Attack on the victorious Front
instead Attacks the Initiative player’s choice of Front, and any Tests
on the victorious Front automatically pass.
•
Any Player cards affecting the victorious Front can now be applied
to the Front of the player’s choice.
•
The Front closest to Victory is that closest to +10. If there is a tie, it is broken by the Initiative player.
DEFEAT ON A FRONT
•
As soon as any Front falls to -10, the players suffer Defeat on that Front. Cover the Front with a “Defeat on a
Front” card. The defeated Front can never again be strengthened or recovered in any way.
•
If the defeated Front is Madrid, or the second Front to be defeated, the game is over and all players have lost.
•
Immediate effects of Defeat on a Front: the Morale Bonus is turned
off; Collectivization, Soviet Support, and Foreign Aid are all reduced
by 1.
•
For the rest of the game, any Fascist Attack on the defeated Front
instead Attacks the remaining Front closest to Defeat, and any Tests
on the defeated Front automatically fail.
•
Any Player cards affecting the defeated Front must now be applied
to the remaining Front closest to Defeat.
•
The Front closest to Defeat is that closest to -10. If there is a tie, it is broken by the Initiative player.
TRACKS AND TRIGGERS
•
Each player has two Tracks that belong to them. The Anarchists have the Liberty and Collectivization tracks, and
are incentivized to increase those as much as possible. The Communists have the Soviet Support track and want
to pull the Government track as far as possible in their direction (to the left – lower values). The Moderates have
the Foreign Aid track and want to move the Government track to the right (higher values).
•
Each player has one track that is dependent on their other track. For
the Anarchists, Liberty cannot advance past 7 unless Collectivization
is at least 8. For the Communists, Government cannot go below 3
unless Soviet Support is at least 8. For the Moderates, Government
cannot advance past 7 unless Foreign Aid is at least 8. If a standee is
already inside one of these restricted areas on the dependent track
and the other track falls below 8, the standee remains where it is but
cannot advance further unless the other track is restored to 8 or above.
•
The five Tracks have icons on them representing triggers which take effect immediately when the standee on those
Tracks moves to or through the given step. When an icon is triggered, place a Blank marker on the space to cover
up the icon, showing that the trigger is extinguished. The Anarchist flag on space 6 of the Liberty and Collectivization
tracks is not a trigger; this indicates that the Anarchists claim the Initiative when both tracks are 6 or higher. Do
not place a Blank marker on these spaces.
•
The Turn off Morale Bonus trigger at the bottom of each Track does not get covered by Blank markers. Whenever
any track reaches 0 (or when any Front falls to Defeat), the Morale Bonus is turned off. This could be triggered
multiple times during a game.
•
The Center of the Government track is between spaces 5 and 6. When the Government moves “towards Center,”
it moves precisely one step and may pass across the Center line to give control of the Government to the other player
(e.g. Government is at 6 and moves “towards Center” so it goes to 5 and gives the Communists control of the
Government). When the Government moves “away from Center,” it moves one step in the direction of the player
that already controls the Government.
•
When a “+1 to a Front” trigger is reached on one of the tracks, the player who that track belongs to decides which
Front to add that Strength to, even if another player was responsible for moving the track and hitting that trigger
(e.g. the Communist player moves Foreign Aid to 7, triggering +1 Strength to a Front, but the Moderate player
decides which Front to add +1 to).
MEDALLIONS
•
When a player’s track is maxed out they may earn one of the available Medallions (e.g. Government reaches the
Medallion trigger on space 1, earning one for the Communists). Each game there are 5 random Medallions
available at the start of the game. The player earning a Medallion may choose the one they desire from the board.
If there are no Medallions remaining, they do not receive one.
•
Some Medallions give an immediate one-time bonus, others give a permanent upgrade or a new way to utilize
Hero points (for the full list of Medallions, see Appendix 2, pg. 11).
FINAL BID FOR GLORY
•
The final turn of the game is structured differently. After the Fascist Event,
each player simultaneously chooses up to 3 cards from their hand as their Final
Bid. These cards will not be played; they will be used for the Final Bid and then
discarded.
•
The player who bid the largest total number of Action Points wins the Final
Bid. The winning player scores one of their tokens directly to Glory – skipping
the Bag and immediately increasing their end-game score.
•
After the Final Bid, the rest of the turn sequence is as normal. Players
simultaneously choose the card they wish to play from their hand and take
their final turns; the Fascist Test is resolved; the Initiative player adds the final
two tokens to the Bag of Glory.
END OF THE YEAR
•
Each Year ends after the fourth turn has concluded. In addition to the normal
token at the end of the turn, the Initiative player adds a second token to the
Bag of Glory.
•
At the end of Year 1, pull 1 player token from the Bag of Glory and score it.
The other two players receive 1 Hero point (for selfless commitment to the
war effort). Each player may keep 1 card in their hand and 1 in their tableau.
The rest of the hand and tableau cards go to the player’s discard pile. Flip the
Initiative token to indicate turn order becomes counter-clockwise for Year 2.
All players draw 5 new cards. Replace the Year 1 Fascist cards on the board
with the Year 2 Fascist deck.
•
At the end of Year 2, pull 2 tokens from the Bag of Glory. Any player(s) who did not score this Year instead
receive(s) 2 Hero points. All players may keep 2 cards in their hand and 2 in their tableau. The rest go to their
discard piles. Flip the Initiative token to indicate turn order becomes clockwise for Year 3. All players draw 5 new
cards. Replace the Year 2 Fascist cards on the board with the Year 3 Fascist deck.
•
At the end of Year 3, determine if the war is won or lost. (Three Fronts at +1 or better.) If it is won, pull the
last 5 tokens from the Bag of Glory. The player with the most Glory wins the game. (Initiative breaks ties.)
Colorization by Julius Backman
(@julius.colorization on Instagram)
Colorization by Julius Backman
(@julius.colorization on Instagram)
APPENDIX 1 – SYMBOL KEY
APPENDIX 2 - MEDALLIONS
RESOURCES
Books
•
Ackelsberg, Martha A. Free Women of Spain: Anarchism and the Struggle for the Emancipation of Women.
AK Press, 2004. First published 1991.
•
Peirats, José. Anarchists in the Spanish Revolution. Freedom Press 1990. First published 1976.
•
Graham, Helen. The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005.
•
Orwell, George. Homage to Catalonia. Harcourt Inc. 1980. First published 1938.
Films
•
BBC. The Spanish Civil War. Six part documentary series. 1983.
•
Loach, Ken. Land and Freedom. 1995.
Music
•
Original playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6558sdACTJdxpQjmSWacdA
CREDITS
Design: Alex Knight
Development: Ryan Heilman
Cover, Counters, Map, & Cards: José Ramón Faura
Player/Non-Player Aids, & Cards: Ryan Heilman, & Alex Knight
Rulebook: Ryan Heilman, Alex Knight, & Dave Shaw
Printed and Published in the USA by Blue Panther LLC
Thank You to Playtesters
Phil Amylon, Ana Maria, Jen Armento, Chris Backe, Batu, Christian Beck, G. Paul Blundell, Brad, Jay
Bucciarelli, Mark Bray, Break My Game, Dan Bullock, Joe Byer, Casey, Dan Cassar, Tom Chaykun, Ian
Chinich, Emma Chu, Jacob Cook, Glenn Cotter, Jim Cummings, Dean, Jason Del Gandio, Matthew
DiPaolo, James Firnhaber, Allan Gomez, David Gordon, Jamie Graham, Jo Grim, Ryan Heilman, Alex
Hilgeman, Kane Humboldt, Isaac, J.D., Mathijs Jansen, Jeric D. Jones, Joseph, Josh, David K., Katie,
Kenton Kelly, Bryan Kline, Aaron Kreider, Kyle, Harold Kyle, Jasper Kyle, Lidora, Greg Loring-Albright,
Claire Lutz, Nicole Matchette, Alison Miner, Pasha Mamontov, Nathaniel Miller, Adi Narayan, Nathan,
David Newton, Jorge Niederhoff, Niluk Peiris, Shanti Pothapragada, Kevin Roche, Jack Rosetree, Ryan,
Chris S., Adam Schlesinger, Joe Schmidt, Seth, Dustin Shannon, Dave Shaw, Phil Simmons, T.L. Simons,
Ian Smith, Natalie Smith, Shan Shan Song, Michael Sosa, Steven, Suzy Subways, John Sun, Nicola
Tenaglia, Mike Toland, Tony, Alex Torrez, Daniel Tucker, Jay Vowles, Evan Walter, Bill Ward, Mick
Ward, Shellie Wass, Wes, Jan Westman, Russ Wetli, Keith Wilcoxon, Amy Wilson, Jordan Winquist,
and any others omitted. Game design is an impossible job without people willing to slog through an
unfinished project. Thank you!