Don't Tread on Me: The American Revolution Solitaire Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Equipment
• Set Up
• Force Adjustment
• Smugglers Phase
• Naval Phase
• British Ground Phase
• Battle Procedure
• Place Rebels Phase
• Second Battle Phase
• Rebel Campaigns
• Logistics Phase
• Liberty Phase
• Random Events Phase
• Specific Events List
• Designer Notes
  • Britain's Vietnam
• Unit I.D. Abbreviations

Game Equipment

"We must not despair. The game is yet in our own hands. To play it well is all we have to do; and I trust the experience of error will enable us to act better in future." – George Washington

"I am unalterably determined at every hazard and at every risk of every consequence to compel the colonies to absolute submission." – King George III

• One 11 x 17" color map
• One 8½ x 11" color Turn Record Track Card (one sided)
• One 8½ x 11" black/white Player Aid Card (two sided)
• One sheet of 88 one-sided color playing pieces ("units")
• One 16-page rules booklet (you're reading it)
• One six-sided die (you need three)

Map: The map portrays the part of North America where most of the Revolutionary War took place. It is divided into five large regions called States. Each State is broken up into four smaller areas called Counties. Each County has its own terrain type (wilderness, farm, town or fort); Battle in a County is affected by the terrain in that County since fighting in the woods is a whole different game from fighting in a farmer's open field (see Battle Procedure). Each County is marked with dice symbols, which indicate the die rolls governing the random placement of Rebel units in that State (see Place Rebels Phase).

Pennsylvania includes New Jersey and Delaware; Virginia includes Maryland; and "Carolina" comprises Georgia in addition to North and South Carolina. "Counties" are even more abstract; a given County may depict a different historical place within a State on one turn than it did on a previous turn. Of course, States should really be called "Colonies" or "Provinces" from the British perspective!

Out at sea, six blue Sea Zones can be occupied by hostile Smugglers (these ferry supplies from Europe to the American rebels).

The Turn-Record Track shows 17 boxes, numbered 0 to 16. Except for the zero box, these all represent the 16 numbered Game Turns. A Turn simulates six months of "real time"; Turn 1 is Early 1775, while Turn 14 is Late 1781. The same boxes also keep track of how many "Pounds" (£) you have to spend. The boxes also keep track of the Loyalty levels of each State. There is a "zero" box because a State may have "zero" Loyalty and you will often have "zero" Pounds to spend. Red State abbreviations (e.g. the [VA] in the 11 box) are Loyalty Ceilings. The indicated State may never have a Loyalty level higher than its Ceiling (ignore anything that would push it higher). The five States are: [CA] Carolina, [NE] New England, [NY] New York, [PA] Pennsylvania, [VA] Virginia. The colors of the Target State are marked in either red or green (e.g. Target: New England on Turn 1; Target: Virginia on Turn 14). This is just a visual reminder that the Target State will change over time.

The Units: Differently colored sets of playing pieces (henceforth called units) are supplied. These represent the armed forces that fought in the Revolutionary War. The units are differentiated by nationality, type and strength, as represented by their various printed numbers and symbols.

"Rebel unit" means any ground unit on the Rebel side, including COS, the French Army, and units of the Continental Army ("Continentals"). "British player unit" means any ground unit on the British side, including British, Loyalist, Hessian and Indian units.

There are also Game Turn, Battle, Liberty, and "Pound" (£) markers. These will all be explained in the rules along with helpful examples.

Ground Units: These represent land forces. Unit nationality is specified by the word on top of the unit (e.g. "British", "French", "Continental"). The British player has three types: "Foot" (infantry), "Horse" (cavalry), and Indians. All Foot units are marked with flags. Horse units have horses, and Indians have tomahawks. Ground units are marked with three numbers, e.g. "1-2-3", which show how many Strength Points (SP's) that unit has in a Battle.

British General Henry Clinton remarked that the British goal in the war was "to gain the hearts and subdue the minds of America." Public opinion was always the key to victory, and Americans were deeply divided in their loyalties. The five "Loyalty" markers represent the level of public support for the British cause in their state. Low Loyalty means high support for Congress and the Revolution; high Loyalty means the people prefer to maintain ties with the Mother Country.

Ground units represent brigade-sized formations of roughly 1,000 to 2,500 fighting men. The Unit I.D. designations honor famous regiments. Continental units are named after notable U.S. generals; their different strengths reflect the skills and talents of those men. All flags on the Foot units are for dramatic purposes only and (for instance in the case of the Hessians) may represent political entities that did not yet have their own national flags as of 1775.

"Band": Certain British, Hessian and Loyalist ground units are grouped into categories by colored "Bands". This refers to the color around the Strength Point numbers on the units.

Blue Band units are available at the start of the game. They are all removed on Turn 11 ("Invasion Scare").

Gold Band units, and the one Black Band unit, are not available at the start, but come in as the result of events.

White Band units are not available at the start, but come in as the result of events; they may also leave the game due to random events.

"Lobsters": Any red colored unit marked as "British", regardless of any flag or band on it, is referred to by the colonists' nickname of "Lobsters" in these rules.

Naval Units: The British Player's naval units consist of two 4-strength units or 'Ships of the Line' (Howe and Parker) and two 3-strength units or 'Frigates' (Graves and Arbuthnot). The Rebels have three types: eight "Smugglers", two "Privateers", and the French Fleet.

Dice: You will need three ordinary six-sided dice.

Sequence of Play: The game consists of 16 Game Turns starting on Turn 1 (Early 1775) and ending on Turn 16 (Late 1782). During each turn, the listed 'phases' are performed in the precise order shown in the Detailed Sequence of Play on the Player Aid Card.

Set Up

"This war has gone too slowly. It is a war of hard cash, and if we drag it out, the last shilling may not be ours." – Le Comte de Vergennes

1. Place the Game Turn marker on the "1. Early 1775" box on the Record Track. Place the "Pounds" (£) marker in the zero box to show that you have no money at the start of Game Turn 1.

2. Place the "Liberty" marker in the zero box, and place the "Battle" marker inside the "Battle Box" for the time being.

3. Place Loyalty markers: New England goes in the 3 box, Virginia 5, Pennsylvania 7, Carolina 8 and New York 10.

4. Place two Smugglers in Sea Zone 1, "North Atlantic." Place two Smugglers in Sea Zone 2, "Massachusetts Bay" and one Smuggler in the "Caribbean" box. The other three Smugglers are placed in the "Units Out of Play" area on the Turn Record Track. Place both Indians in the "Available Indians" box.

5. Rebel COS and British/Loyalist Foot units go on the map as shown:

   Location	Units
   Québec	1 Loyalist Foot ("RHE") and one Blue Band British Foot ("Cam").
   Boston	3 White Band British Foot ("4KO", "Gnd", and "18RI"). These cannot leave Boston till Turn 3. See "Boston Evacuated" under Force Adjustment.
   1. New England	5 COS in the 4 County, and in the same County, 1 Blue Band British Foot ("Mar") and one British Foot ("43").
   3. Pennsylvania	Place "Congress" in the American Leadership box.
   4. Virginia	1 Loyalist Foot ("BGP") in the 5-6 County.
   5. Carolina	1 Loyalist Foot ("RNC") in the 3-4 County.

6. Place the "R. Howe" Royal Navy unit in the British Ships at Sea box, and the two "Militia Present" markers in their own "zero" boxes on the Militia Present Track. Place the "Vermont Status" marker in the "Neutral" Vermont box.

7. In the "Units Out of Play" area, place:

   • All remaining White & Gold Band units.
   • The one Black Band Loyalist unit.
   • The French Army and Fleet units.
   • The "FM" COS unit.
   • The "Washington" and "Jefferson" units.
   • Both "Privateer" units.
   • All remaining British naval units (Parker, Graves and Arbuthnot).

8. In the British Player Force Pool, place:

   • All four no-band Hessians.
   • Two Blue Band British Horse units.
   • The 5 remaining British Foot units ('Lobsters').

9. Now place all 16 Continentals and the remaining 3 COS units in the American Rebel Force Pool. The Continentals should be placed face-down and drawn randomly, as some of them have different strengths; you can put the Continentals in a coffee cup and pick them randomly that way if you prefer. We do!

Force Adjustment

"What is the meaning of this, Sir? I demand to know the meaning of this disorder and confusion!" – George Washington at Monmouth Court House

Starting at step "A" in the Sequence of Play, you will receive money (£) from London to spend. There will be "News" instructing you to perform certain actions, usually changes in either side's Force Pool.

Pounds (£): Each Game Turn box has a Pound award, e.g. [£10]. Move the "Pounds" marker up that much to show the pittance that London has sent you this turn. You can always save money at the end of a turn, but you can never have more than £16 in your treasury; additional funds that push the treasury over that limit are lost.

To spend Pounds, reduce your treasury. If you have £10 and you spend £2, move the "£" marker from the 10 box down to the 8 box.

News: The Turn-Record Track includes "News" headlines which the Player must implement at this time (unless otherwise specified). When instructed to "add" a unit, always take the unit from the "Units Out of Play" box and put it in the designated location (usually its side's Force Pool). For unit "removal," see Unit Removals under Random Events Phase.

• Admiral Rodney! Deliberately violating the Royal Navy's arcane "Fighting Instructions" that kept the fleet from close engagement with the enemy, Rodney sails through the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. Roll a die. On a 1-4, Rodney wins; remove the French Army and Fleet from the game. On a 5-6, Rodney loses: Remove 1 4-strength and 1 3-strength British naval unit from the game.
• Benedict Weds Peggy! Disgruntled U.S. General Benedict Arnold begins his journey to the 'dark side' by marrying prominent Tory Peggy Shippen, and is soon passing classified information to British agents. The British player is now free to 'Turn' Arnold (see Turn Benedict Arnold under Place Rebels Phase).
• Boston Evacuated! Britain withdraws its besieged garrison and widens the war. Take the 3 British units from Boston and add them to the British Force Pool. Add the two 3-strength naval units (Arbuthnot and Graves) to the British Ships at Sea box, and add one Smuggler to the Caribbean. Washington is now free to take command of the Continental Army: place him in the American Rebels Force Pool (see Place George Washington under British Ground Phase). The Boston box is now permanently Rebel-controlled.
• Charlottesville Raid! Redcoats try to kidnap Thomas Jefferson. Roll a die; add +1 to the roll if any British player Horse unit is in Virginia. On a 6 or higher, the raid seizes Jefferson: Increase Virginia Loyalty by +3 and all other States' Loyalty by +1. (Any other roll is a failure.) Either way, remove Jefferson from the game (he is either captured or flees in disgrace).
• Continental $ Collapses! Unrestrained deficit spending by Congress, backed by enormous issues of worthless paper money, led to the near collapse of the U.S. economy. Only massive cash infusions from France kept the war effort going. At the same time, the British were able to pay American farmers and merchants in real money, further depressing public enthusiasm for the Revolution in many places. The British player may, this Turn only, raise Loyalty by +3 for every £1 spent on Trading with the Enemy.
• Enlistments Expire: Continental troops signed short-term contracts at first; they didn't always re-up. See Enlistments Expire under Liberty Phase.
• France Declares War! France allies with the American Rebels. You now roll 3 dice (not 2) for Random Events for the rest of the game. French forces head for America to fight les Rosbifs: place the French Army in Boston, and the French Fleet in the Caribbean (see Rebase the French Fleet under Naval Phase and Check for French Intervention under Battle Procedure). Add 1 White Band British Foot and 1 Gold Band Loyalist Foot to the British player Force Pool.
• Hortalez et Cie.! The wily French set up a fake corporation to funnel "private" aid to the American revolutionaries from the French and Spanish governments. Add two Smugglers to the Caribbean.

Smugglers Phase

"When considerations of State impel you to extend a helping hand to the Americans, policy requires that Your Majesty proceed with such caution, that aid secretly conveyed to America may not become in Europe a brand to kindle strife between France and England." – Memorandum to the King of France, 1776

Smugglers: During this phase, if any Smugglers are in the Caribbean, rolls are made to place two of those Smugglers off the American coast. Roll two dice and place one Smuggler from the Caribbean in each corresponding numbered Sea Zone. (A roll of 1 puts the Smuggler in the North Atlantic; a roll of 2 puts the Smuggler in Massachusetts Bay; and so forth.) If there is only one Smuggler in the Caribbean, then roll only one die. If there are no Smugglers, no roll is needed.

A maximum of two Smugglers may occupy any one Sea Zone; any die roll that would put a third Smuggler into a Sea Zone has no effect. Do not re-roll; that Smuggler stays in the Caribbean.

Privateers: Two Rebel naval units are "Privateers". A Privateer is an 'armed Smuggler'; it is an ordinary Smuggler for all purposes (including the two Smugglers per Sea Zone limit), except that it can defend itself when fired at (see Privateers Fire First under Naval Phase).

If a Privateer is in the Caribbean, then when you roll your 2 dice to place Smugglers, the lower of the two dice which successfully places a Smuggler in a Sea Zone places the Privateer unit there instead of an ordinary Smuggler. If two Privateer units are available, then both successful Smuggler placement die rolls place Privateer units.

Example: There are 3 Smugglers and one Privateer in the Caribbean. You roll 2 dice: a 2 and a 6. So you should place Smugglers in Sea Zones 2 (Massachusetts Bay) and 6 (Cape Fear). But there are already two Smugglers in Massachusetts Bay, so that roll was wasted – you can't have three Smugglers in a Sea Zone. Moving to Cape Fear, there's one Smuggler there already, which means you can still place another. Since "6" is your lowest successful die roll, place the Privateer in Cape Fear instead of an ordinary Smuggler.

"Privateer" units include the tiny Continental Navy, but most of the Rebel naval presence was made up of licensed American freebooters, who obtained "Letters of Marque and Reprisal" from States to legalize their activities against the British. The British, of course, considered them pirates – but couldn't make much of a moral argument given Britain's long history of employing pirates to fight Spain.

Naval Phase

"Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive – and with it everything honourable and glorious. A constant naval superiority would terminate the war speedily." – George Washington

Rebase the French Fleet: If the current Turn has a "hurricane warning flag" on the Turn Record Track, then it's hurricane season in the Caribbean. Move the French Fleet to Boston from its current location. If the Turn does not have a warning flag, move the Fleet to the Caribbean from its current location.

Attack Smugglers: The player may now use the Royal Navy to attack Smugglers. Take each Navy unit from the British Ships at Sea box and place it in any Sea Zone next to the Smuggler you wish to attack. For each Royal Navy unit attacking, you must pay the cost (£2 or £1) listed on the unit. Royal Navy units must have designated targets before rolling for any of them.

Roll a die: the Royal Navy successfully sinks a Smuggler on a roll equal to or less than its own strength. If you succeed, put the Smuggler in the Caribbean. After your Navy unit takes its one shot at a Smuggler, put it in the British Ships in Harbour box to end its Turn. If you designated two (or more) Royal Navy units to attack a single Smuggler, the battle ends automatically (and all Royal Navy units there return to the "in Harbour" box) when the Smuggler is hit or all Royal Navy units there have fired unsuccessfully.

Privateers Fire First: In a Sea Zone, if there is a Privateer you must attack the Privateer before attacking any other Smuggler there. The two Rebel Privateer units are attacked like ordinary Smugglers. However, if you attack a Privateer unit, the Privateer gets to fire a shot at you first. Roll a die. On a 1 or 2, the attacking British Player unit is hit and is placed "in Harbour" to show it doesn't get to shoot back. Otherwise, the Privateer "misses" its British target and you can proceed to fire at the Privateer as you would any other Smuggler.

Shadow the French: One Royal Navy unit still in the "at sea" box may now be sent to 'shadow' the French Fleet. Place the Navy unit on top of the French Fleet marker (in Boston or the Caribbean). There is no cost in £ to shadow the French. See Check for French Intervention under Battle Procedure for effects.

British Ground Phase

"I assure you that I am quite tired of marching about the country in search of adventures." – Lord Cornwallis

Note: Skip this entire phase on Turn 1!

Winter Attrition: At this time, if the current Turn is a blue-shaded box on the Turn Record Track, then all Continental Army units (only) must be checked to see if they survived the harsh North American winter. Each Continental in a State or in Québec rolls a die. The unit must roll higher than the 'survival number' in the Turn box, or else it is placed into the Rebel Force Pool.

Add/subtract any/all of the six relevant die roll modifications:

• George Washington is in the State: +2
• Unit is in Carolina: +2
• Unit is in a Town or Fort: +2
• Unit is in a Farm: +1
• Unit is in Virginia: +1
• An Indian unit is in the State: -1

Amnesty: Consult the Prisoners of War box. If either side has more than five units in the box, those excess units (player's choice) are placed in their respective Force Pools.

Paroles: If there are any remaining units of both sides in the Prisoners of War box, then "Paroles" occur. The British player selects an equal number of British player units and Continental units (player's choice) from the POW box and places them in their respective Force Pools. (Note how the total number of 'paroled' units is limited by the size of the smaller force.)

Rules of civilized warfare in the 18th century allowed for prisoner exchanges. The parolees were usually assigned to garrison duty, and the garrisons they replaced were then sent to war.

When choosing Rebel units for Amnesty or Parole, the British player must give priority to the French Army, the "Arnold" Continental, and the "H. Lee" Continental (in that order). Whenever the French Army is released, place it in Boston.

Unit Purchase: The British player can now 'buy' ground units from the Force Pool (British, Loyalist or Hessian) using Pounds. Each unit's price is listed in the "ROYAL GAZETTE" cost chart on the map.

Hessian Top Priority: When buying units, the British player must first buy any available Hessian unit which he can afford. Only after all Hessians are on the map can you buy any non-Hessians.

German Mercenaries called "Hessians" (from Germany's Hesse region) were hired mainly for financial reasons, and because they were 'expendable'. But Americans – even Loyalists – were appalled that King George would hire mercenaries to kill his own countrymen.

Here's a bit of irony: the Continental Army was made up of mercenaries too – men who enlisted to fight for liberty on condition of being generously paid by Congress for their selfless patriotism.

Unit Deployment: After you buy a unit, you may place it in any County of any State, or in Québec. There is no limit to the number of units (on either side) that can be placed or located in a single box.

However, the counter mix is an absolute limit in this game: Neither side gets to "make its own" units if it runs out!

In addition, at this time you can "land" any ground unit which is "at sea" (see British Retreat To Sea under Battle Procedure), in any County of the State adjacent to the Sea Zone where it is located. There is no £ cost.

Unit Movement: Any British player Foot/Horse units can now be moved to any County in the same State at no cost.

Abandoning a State: A British player unit voluntarily leaving a State, whether by Forced March, Horse Action or Naval Transport, is considered to be "abandoning" that State, unless there is a Lobster still in the State at the end of the unit's move. Each such unit leaving the State reduces the State's Loyalty by -1. The last Lobster to leave a State is also considered to be "abandoning" the State and imposes the same -1 Loyalty penalty.

The British player may never completely evacuate his other units from a State if this would leave an Indian as the only remaining British player unit in that State. He must leave at least one behind.

The cost in Loyalty is due to the collapse of Loyalist morale in any region evacuated by British forces. Loyalists understood all too well that they were being abandoned to the tender mercies of their Rebel neighbors if the Redcoats left. And abandoning the locals to Indians, by leaving no British, Loyalist or Hessians at all in a State, would have been politically intolerable.

Forced March: The British player may now move any ground unit (not Indians) by 'Forced March' to another State. To do so, pick up the British player unit and place it in any desired County on the map. Then roll a die for each army so moved. The unit survives on a roll of 1-5, but on a roll of 6 is placed in the British Force Pool.

The die roll is modified by +1 if you are placing the unit in an enemy-occupied County, and also +1 if the State entered is not adjacent to the State it came from. ("Adjacent" states on the map should be fairly obvious: Virginia is adjacent to Pennsylvania and Carolina, but not to New York or New England.)

For Forced March purposes (only), Québec and New York are adjacent to each other, as noted by the orange flag on the map.

When selecting units for Forced March, you pick a unit and roll for it, then pick another and roll, etc. You do not have to plan all your Forced Marches in advance of the first die roll!

If a unit leaves a State by Forced March, check to see if it is Abandoning the State (above). No unit may use Forced March to leave, enter, or pass through a State that contains the Continental "H. Lee" Horse unit.

Example: You have a Loyalist unit in the 1 County of Virginia and you want to Forced March it to the Continental-occupied 3 County of New York. Pick up the Loyalist and place it in New York 3; you will add +1 to the die roll for entering an enemy-occupied County, and +1 because New York is not adjacent to Virginia. Your total modifier is +2. The roll is 3; adding +2 you get 5. Since a Forced March succeeds on 1-5, your Loyalists arrive successfully in New York.

Example: If Harry Lee is in New York, you can't use Forced March to move British Player troops from Pennsylvania into either New York, New England, or Québec.

"Light Horse" Harry Lee represents the Rebels' rudimentary cavalry arm. Lee's only special game effect is to block Forced March, British Horse Action, and Horse Reaction. Otherwise, Lee behaves just like any regular Continental Army unit.

British Horse Action: Any British player Horse units can now be moved to any County in any State (including Québec) at no cost. If a Horse unit leaves a State, check to see if it is Abandoning the State (above). If a State contains the Continental "H. Lee" Horse unit, then no British player Horse unit may leave, enter, or pass through that State at this time.

Place George Washington: If Washington is in play, determine which of the three 'middle' States (New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia – marked with an "American Leadership" box) has the most British player units in it, and place the Washington unit in that State's American Leadership box. If two or more States are tied or all three have no British player units in them, place Washington in the Target State (see The Target State under Liberty Phase). If that fails (for instance, if the Target State is Carolina, where Washington cannot enter), then roll a die to break the tie.

Aside from 'presiding' over the Siege of Boston (which in game terms is not a field command), Washington never left the middle tier of states. So, in the game, he can't enter New England or Carolina. However, if the current Turn is a "New York City Siege" Turn, you must place Washington in the New York Leadership Box instead.

As the result of raising and moving British units, there may now be Counties that contain both British and Rebel units. Battle must now occur in all such Counties (see Battle Procedure and Sequence of Play, Step "E").

Battle Procedure

"The rebels attacked us in a very scattered irregular manner, but with perseverance and resolution. Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob will find himself very much mistaken." – Lord Percy

Battle occurs between British player forces and Rebel forces when units of both sides coexist in the same County. Battle involves only 'ground' units (Foot, Horse, Indian and COS units), although it can be affected by the French Fleet (see Check for French Intervention, below).

There is no £ cost for Battle. The "Battle" marker can be placed in a County involved with Battle so that the units there can be temporarily removed to the "Battle Box" for a less crowded resolution of the Battle, if the Player wants to.

Battle can occur at three points in the Turn: the First Battle Phase, the Second Battle Phase, and Rebel Campaigns. The procedure for Battle is always the same, except for the order in which Battles are fought:

In the First Battle Phase, the British have the initiative. The British player chooses the order in which all Battles are fought.

In the Second Battle Phase, the Rebels have the initiative. All Battles are fought in a fixed order, starting from Québec, then County 1-2 in New England, and proceeding County by County until the last Battle is fought (potentially) in County 6 of Carolina.

In Rebel Campaigns, the Rebels have the initiative. Follow the procedure described under Rebel Campaigns.

Each Battle always follows these steps, in order.

Check for French Intervention: If the Battle (on or after Turn 7) takes place in a County marked with a blue die, then the French may intervene in that Battle.

Roll 1 die, and subtract -1 from the die if the French Fleet is shadowed. If the Fleet is in Boston, it will intervene on a (modified) roll of 4, 5 or 6. If the Fleet is in the Caribbean, it will intervene on a (modified) roll of 5 or 6.

If the French Fleet does intervene, place the French Fleet in the Sea Zone corresponding to the State where the Battle takes place. (So if the intervention occurs in Pennsylvania 3, the Fleet goes to Sea Zone 4.) Next, place the French Army in the Rebel stack in that Battle (no matter where it was on the map, unless it's in the Prisoners of War box). On any other roll, move the French Fleet back to its base (Boston or the Caribbean). The French Army remains where it is on the map until it retreats, advances (e.g. in a Rebel Campaign), intervenes somewhere else, or is taken prisoner.

Note: Players should note that the French Fleet can never deploy in Long Island Sound (New York). The huge British base at New York City ('abstracted' out of the game) as well as navigational issues caused the French to flat-out refuse to commit their forces there. Also, please remember: If the French Army is still on the map somewhere and is attacked or attacks British forces in a normal Battle, this does not somehow trigger the arrival of the French Fleet. The French Fleet only intervenes if called for under this rule.

Determine Sides: In any Battle, one side is the "Attacker", which means the other side is automatically the "Defender." As a rule, whichever side was in the County first is the "Defender."

Example: Congress is in the "American Leadership" box next to the State of New York. In the Farm County (5-6) of New York, we find one Loyalist 2-2-2 Foot and one British 4-4-3 Horse (the 17th Light Dragoons). During the "Place Rebels" Phase, one 2-2-2 Continental and one 2-1-1 COS are deployed in that County, which provokes a Battle there. Since the British were there first, the British are the Defenders and the Rebels the Attackers.

Call for Militia: Find the State's current Loyalty level on the Turn Record Track, then find the corresponding row on the Militia Table. Roll a die and cross-reference the two to determine whose local Militia show up for the battle, and how many. The result will be two numbers, e.g. "2/1". This is read as "two Loyalist Militia and one Rebel Militia." Adjust the "Militia Present" markers on the Militia Present Track accordingly.

Example (continued): New York's current Loyalty Level is 9. You roll a die for a result of 5. The Militia Table (row 9, column 5) indicates a result of "2/1". This means there are 2 Loyalist Militia and 1 Rebel Militia present in the battle. Move the Loyalist Militia marker to its "2" box and the Rebel Militia marker to its "1" box. (Vermont is neutral, so it has no effect on Militia.)

Indian and Hessian Effect: If a Battle has any Indian and/or Hessian units in it, subtract -1 from the Militia die roll (no more than -1 maximum).

The Minutemen were always more eager to show up for a fight if the detested Hessians or hostile Indians were on the menu.

Loyalist Strongholds: Any County with a British flag icon is a hotbed of Loyalist support. If a Battle is fought there, add +1 to the Militia die roll.

"No Militia" Areas: Two areas on the map, Québec and Quaker Country (Pennsylvania 3-4), are marked with "people" icons (Guy Carleton in Québec and a typical Quaker in Pennsylvania). In any Battle in either place, do not roll for Militia. The Battle proceeds with no Militia present.

French-speaking people in Québec weren't thrilled with either side, forcing both to rely on their regular armies. Large parts of Pennsylvania were settled by pacifist Quakers and German religious sects like Mennonites and Dunkers who shunned both warring parties and lent them no goods or assistance.

Vermont: If the Vermont marker is in its pro-British box, then add +1 to the Militia roll for any Battle in New York.

This means the Arlington Junto faction is in ascendancy in Vermont, colluding with the British to drive out New York officials.

British Horse Reaction: The British player may now move any Horse unit from any County in that State and add the Horse unit to the Battle, even if that Horse unit has already fought.

Exception: The British may not conduct this Horse Reaction move in a State where the Rebel "H. Lee" Horse unit is located.

Example (continued): The Queen's Light Dragoons Horse unit is in the 1-2 County of New York, minding its own business. But when the Battle is set to begin in the 5-6 County, the British player picks up the QLD and places it into the battle. Since the Battle is taking place in a Farm area, the British Horse adds its 4 SP to the Battle. (If Lee were anywhere in New York, the QLD could not be moved like this to the Battle.)

Total Strength Points: Each side in the Battle now totals its own Strength Points ("SP's"). Each County is marked for terrain, whether Wilderness, Farm, Town, or Fort. Terrain determines the SP's of a unit fighting in that County.

Virginia is an example of all four Terrain types. "Piedmont" is Town, "Tidewater" is Wilderness, "Southside" is Farm and "Hampton Roads" is Fort. The pictures illustrate the different terrain types.

Each ground unit has three numbers to indicate the unit's strength in (from left to right) Wilderness, Farm, and Town/Fort. A typical "1-2-3" British unit, for instance, has "1" SP in the Wilderness, "2" on the Farm, and "3" in a Town/Fort. (Town and Fort are the same.)

In Battle, each Militia unit always has "1" SP regardless of the terrain.

Example (continued): Our Battle continues to unfold in the New York 5-6 County. Because this is a "Farm" County, you use each unit's middle number to determine its Strength Points for this Battle. The British side has two 4-value Horse, a 2-value Foot, and two 1-value Militia, for a grand total of 12. On the Rebel side, we have a 2-value Continental, a 1-value COS, and one 1-value Militia, making a grand total of 4.

Calculate Odds: To resolve a Battle, divide the total Attacker SP's by the total Defender SP's to obtain a percentage result. Round the result down to the nearest percentage expressed by a column on the Combat Results Table. For instance, if you have 8 Rebel SP's attacking 3 British player SP's, then 8 ÷ 3 = 266%, rounding down to the 200% column. Any ratio under 50% (for instance, 3 Rebel SP's attacking 8 British ones, = 37.5%) uses the "<50%" column.

Example (continued): The attacking Rebel total is 4, and the defending British total is 12. Since 4 ÷ 12 = 33.3%, the odds are lower than 50%. Since we always round the odds down, this attack is fought on the <50% column of the CRT.

Column Shifts: If a "Column Shift" occurs in a State, any Battle fought there is fought on the CRT column to the left or the right of where it 'should' be fought.

Example (continued): Our battle in New York should be fought on the <50% column of the CRT, but Congress is currently in New York State, which gives the attacking Rebels a one column shift advantage to the right (see Congress, below). So the Rebels attack on the 50% column instead.

Congress: If the Battle takes place in a State where Congress is in the American Leadership Box, then all Battles in that State are fought with one Column Shift favoring the Rebels. (Any British attack in that State takes 1 Column Shift to the left; any Rebel attack in that State takes 1 Column Shift to the right.)

Thomas Jefferson: If the Battle takes place in Virginia while Thomas Jefferson is located in the Leadership Box, then all Battles in Virginia are fought with one Column Shift favoring the British. (Any British attack in Virginia takes 1 Column Shift to the right; any Rebel attack takes 1 Column Shift to the left.)

Jefferson was a great writer but a lousy military leader. Note that if Congress and Jefferson both happen to be in Virginia, the Column Shifts cancel each other out.

Vermont (Column Shift): If the Vermont marker is in its pro-Rebel box, then Ethan Allen's "Green Mountain Boys" are busy aiding the Revolution. All Battles in New York are fought with one Column Shift favoring the Rebels. (Any British attack in New York takes 1 Column Shift to the left; any Rebel attack in New York takes 1 Column Shift to the right.)

Determine Results: Roll a die and cross-index the die roll row with the appropriate CRT column to see the final result of this Battle.

Example (continued): Our battle in New York is being fought on the 50% column of the CRT. You grab your die and roll it, getting a result of 3, which yields an "AR-P" conclusion to the Battle. The attacking Rebels are forced to retreat, and you may be able to chase after them. Tally ho!

The CRT results are:

• AE: Attacker Eliminated. All attacking units are eliminated, and the Defender wins the Battle.
• AR: Attacker Retreats. The Attacker's units retreat (see Retreats, below) and the Defender wins the Battle.
• AR-P: Attacker Retreats-Pursuit. The Attacker's units retreat and the Defender wins. The Defender may now Pursue the losers. See Pursuit, below.
• CA: Counterattack. The initial attack is parried as the defending side launches a bold counterattack! Refight the Battle: the original attacker is now the defender; the original defender is now the attacker. Roll a die on the 100% column of the CRT (ignore the real odds, ignore Column Shifts, and leave any existing Militia and French in place.) Apply that final result to the Battle.
• DE: Defender Eliminated. All defending units are eliminated, and the Attacker wins the Battle.
• DR: Defender Retreats. The Defender's units retreat (see Retreats, below) and the Attacker wins the Battle.
• DR-P: Defender Retreats-Pursuit. The Defender's units retreat, and the Attacker wins. The Attacker may now Pursue the losers. See Pursuit, below.
• EX: Exchange. Pay close attention to the total of Strength Points (SP) on each Side in the Battle, including Militia. The side with the lower SP total is completely eliminated and loses. The winning side then must eliminate a number of SP's to equal the number of eliminated SP's on the losing side; however, if this would result in the winner losing every unit that fought in the Battle, he retains his weakest non-Militia unit (to control the battlefield now that the Battle is over).

Important: If the Rebels win an EX and the French Army is in the stack, the French always survive to hold the battlefield.

Example: In the (Farm) 5 County of Carolina, the British Grenadiers, Fraser's Highlanders and the Black Guides and Pioneers (total SP: 7) attack two Continentals, Morgan and Harry Lee (total SP: 5). Sadly for the British, the Militia roll adds 3 Rebel Militia and no Tories, for a grand total of 7 British SP vs. 8 Rebel SP, which works out to 87.5% which in turn rounds down to a 65% column attack. The player rolls a 3, which causes an "Exchange" result.

The smaller force is the 7 SP British, so the British lose the Battle and lose their entire force. The victorious Rebels now need to remove 7 SP's from their stack: They remove their 3 Militia units for a total loss of 3 SP. Their remaining ground units are Morgan (2 SP) and Lee (3 SP). They take Lee as a loss (total SP's lost so far: 6). They can keep Morgan on the map, because he's the weakest winning unit. Morgan stays on the map and holds the battlefield. The Battle is over; Rebels win.

If forces in an Exchange are exactly equal, then the Battle is a draw: both sides are completely eliminated and nobody wins!

Apply Battle Results: When any COS unit is "eliminated", it is placed in the Rebel Force Pool. When any Indian unit is "eliminated", it goes back to the "Available Indians" box.

When any Continental, French, or other British player unit is "eliminated", it is placed in the Prisoners of War box. It may later be amnestied or paroled (see Amnesty and Paroles under British Ground Phase).

Retreats: An AR (AR-P) or DR (DR-P) result will compel the Attacker or Defender (respectively) to Retreat from the County where the Battle took place.

Retreat Priority: Units will always Retreat one County in the highest-priority direction. If two Counties have the same priority, Rebel units Retreat to the 'left' (i.e. to the lower-numbered County); British player units will always Retreat to the 'right' (i.e. the higher-numbered County). The County entered by retreating forces is called the Refuge County. The priority list is as follows:

1. If British player units are retreating, and the French Fleet is present in the Sea Zone adjacent to the State where the British are retreating, then apply the special result under Effect of the French Fleet on British Retreat, below.
2. Otherwise, Retreat to a County containing only friendly units.
3. Otherwise, Retreat to an "empty" County (only the Rebels can do this!)
4. Otherwise, Retreat to a County containing units of both sides; this will immediately trigger a new Battle in the Refuge County.

1. If the Refuge County contains both Rebel and British forces, a new Battle is immediately fought there. If Pursuit was possible, the Rebels always pursue; the player may choose to pursue. The retreating side will be considered the Attacker in this Battle.

2. If the Refuge County does not contain units belonging to the Battle winner, then the Battle is over. If the result (AR-P or DR-P) allows Pursuit, the British player (only) may choose to pursue; see Pursuit, below.

Note: British troops moving unopposed into the Congress County do not force Congress to flee. Only a Battle there will force Congress out. If the British walk into a town unopposed, then that must not be the town where Congress is located! If the Rebels defend it, or fight to retake it, then it has to be the town where Congress is located. Important: Add +1 to the Loyalty of the State as soon as Congress is put to flight there – even if Washington is in the State!

3. Units unable to Retreat are eliminated. The Battle is over. Exception: If the Battle took place in a Wilderness, or in the lowest-numbered County of the State, then retreating Rebel forces are not eliminated but 'scatter into the woods' and are placed directly into the Rebel Force Pool (the French go straight to Boston).

4. Retreating British player units in a Loyalist Stronghold may be able to Retreat to sea; see British Retreat To Sea, below.

Effect of the French Fleet on British Retreat: If the French Fleet is in the Sea Zone adjacent to the State where the British are retreating:

1. Any British unit retreating from a Blue Die County is permanently removed from the game. (This is what happened at Yorktown.)

2. Any British unit retreating from a Loyalist stronghold (marked with the British flag) may not choose the "Retreat to Sea" option. It may still retreat in any other legal manner. If unable to Retreat, it is eliminated in the normal way.

British Retreat To Sea: British units which lose a Battle in any Loyalist Stronghold may choose to Retreat to Sea (unless the French Fleet is in the adjacent Sea Zone). Place the British player units in the directly-connected Sea Zone (i.e. not Sea Zone 1). They may leave the Zone only by Naval Transport or Landing (see Unit Deployment under British Ground Phase).

• Exception: Indians cannot Retreat to sea; they are immediately returned to the Available Indians box.
• Rebels cannot Pursue British player units retreating to sea.
• The British player cannot Retreat to Sea in a Battle when the French Fleet is present in the State's connected Sea Zone.

Battle Effect on Loyalty: At the end of each and every Battle, if the British player won the Battle, add +1 to the Loyalty of the State where the Battle took place. And if the Rebels won the Battle, subtract -1 from that State's Loyalty.

Exception: If George Washington is in the State where the Battle took place, then the British player never gets a +1 Loyalty for winning.

Battle Effect on Congress: If (1) Congress is in a State, and (2) a Battle occurs in the County in that State marked with the "Congress" icon, and (3) that Battle ends with British player forces in control of that County, then Congress is "put to Flight". Place the "Congress" marker in the red "in Flight!" box. Congress has no Battle effect while it is in Flight.

If Congress has been scattered by British military action, it is unable to meet or legislate. During the Revolution this was a serious blow to U.S. morale, though it might be seen as a good thing today!

Reset Militia: At the end of every Battle, reset both "Militia Present" markers to zero.

Pursuit: An AR-P or DR-P result, in addition to forcing a normal Retreat, may allow the winning side's forces to "pursue" the retreating units into the Refuge County, where another Battle between the two sides will be fought immediately. This is considered a follow-up to the original Battle, but remember that these are two separate Battles!

Note that a Pursuit result may result in another Pursuit. The two sides might range all over a State as the result of a "chain reaction" of Pursuits leading to multiple Battles.

British Player Pursuit: If the Player wins an AR-P or DR-P result and forces the Rebels to retreat, the player may elect to pursue the retreating Rebels into the Refuge County with any or all of his forces that just won the Battle. In this case, a new Battle is fought right away in the Refuge County, with the British Player as the Attacker and the Rebels as the Defender. Rebel forces already in the County before the Retreat/Pursuit simply join in the one big Battle.

Rebel Pursuit: The Retreat Priority rules spell out the Rebel options: Rebels will pursue if the British Refuge County has Rebel units; they will not pursue if the Refuge County has no Rebel units. If the Rebels do Pursue, then a new Battle is fought (as above) but with the Rebels as the Attackers and the British as the Defenders.

Place Rebels Phase

"Our only dependence now is upon the speedy enlistment of a new army. If this fails, I think the game will be pretty well up." – George Washington

Two sorts of Rebel unit may now deploy on the map: "Committees of Safety" (COS) and Continentals. Rebels deploy in a County regardless of the presence of any other Rebel or British player units.

"Committees of Safety" (COS units, pronounced "koss") are essentially armed partisans. COS units represent the self-proclaimed local Rebel authorities that sprang up in the Colonies to seize power from British officials. They function as weak Continental army units, but the Rebel Militia will gladly help them out. Note they fight best in the woods.

COS Placement: If there are any COS in the Rebel Force Pool, roll a die to select a State. If a State is chosen on a roll of 1-5, roll another die to select a County inside that State, and place one COS in that County. (If the original State roll was a 6, however, place two COS – randomly – in the Target State.) No more than 2 COS units may deploy at this point in the Turn.

If the special "FM" COS unit is in the Rebel Force Pool, the first COS placed in Carolina must be this unit. It may not deploy in any other State (although it may advance into another State as the result of a Planned Operation).

This unit represents the "Swamp Fox," Francis Marion – the war's greatest guerrilla fighter.

Continental Army Placement: Each Sea Zone connects to one State on the map (shown with an arrow), except for Zone #1, the "At Large" North Atlantic Zone. The North Atlantic connects to whichever State is the current Turn's "Target State".

This shows Rebel reliance on French aid, smuggled across the Atlantic into U.S. ports. The French sent muskets, powder, cannons, uniforms, shoes, advisors, vast sums of cash, and eventually almost 10,000 soldiers to aid the Rebel cause.

Roll a die. The result is the first Sea Zone to deploy Continental reinforcements this Turn. Then each other State follows in numerical order, with 1 following 6. For each Smuggler (or Privateer) in a Sea Zone, roll 1 die and place a randomly drawn Continental in that numbered County of the State.

Example: It is Turn 5 (Early 1777). It's been a good year for the Royal Navy. There are only four Smugglers on the map: Two in the North Atlantic, one in Delaware Bay, and one in Chesapeake Bay. So you roll a die; the result is 4. This means Sea Zone #4 Delaware Bay is the first to receive supplies from France this turn. Since there is one Smuggler in Delaware Bay, roll another die: the result is 3, so you reach into the cup and randomly pick out Stirling; put him in the 3-4 ('Quaker Country') Farm County of Pennsylvania.

The next Sea Zone, #5 Chesapeake Bay, also has one Smuggler. So you roll one die (result: 1) for Virginia, and pull Knox out of the cup at random; place him in the 1 (Town) County of Virginia. The next Sea Zone is #6 Cape Fear, but that contains no Smugglers, so you loop around to #1 North Atlantic, which contains two Smugglers. North Atlantic is the "At Large" Zone, and this turn (Early 1777) Lord Germain says the Target State is New York. Roll 2 dice: 1 and 3. Place one Continental Army (Stark) in the 1-2 (Wilderness) County of New York, and a second Continental Army (Lincoln) in the 3 County (Fort) of New York. There are no Smugglers in Massachusetts Bay or Long Island Sound, so you can ignore those Sea Zones this Turn.

No More Continentals: If a Smuggler is able to place a Continental in a State, but there are no more Continentals in the Rebel Force Pool to place, then reduce the Loyalty of that State by -1 instead. (The smugglers are supplying the local Rebel government.)

Move George Washington: If Washington is in play, he is now placed in the "American Leadership" box of the State with the most Continental and French units in it. Procedure is the same as Place George Washington under British Ground Phase, except that Rebel units are counted, not British.

However, if the current Turn is a "New York City Siege" Turn, you must place Washington in the New York Leadership Box instead. (Note that the "New York City Siege" does not prevent Washington from leading a Planned Operation.)

Turn Benedict Arnold: If the Continental "Arnold" unit is on the map and there is a Lobster in the same State, and it is Turn 9 or later, the British player may attempt to 'turn' Arnold against the Rebels. Roll a die: On a 1-2, Arnold is shot for Treason (remove him from the game). On a 3-4, Arnold escapes to the British lines (remove him but add the "AL" Loyalist unit to the British Force Pool). On a 5-6, Arnold's scheme succeeds (same result as 3-4, plus all Continentals stacked with Arnold go into the Prisoners of War box).

Second Battle Phase

"Slaughter was commenced... owing to... a vindictive asperity not easily restrained." – Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton's official report on the conduct of his troops after the Battle of Waxhaws, 1780.

During this Phase, Battle is conducted in Counties containing units of both sides (i.e. Counties that were just invaded by the Rebels). Battle takes place exactly as explained under Battle Procedure, above; pay attention to that rule. By definition, during this Phase the British player's armies will be the Defenders, and the Rebels are the Attackers.

Rebel Campaigns

"Our Army no longer consider themselves fighting the battle of Republics in Principle, but for Empire and Liberty to a people whose object is property." – U.S. General John McDougall

In this phase, a Minor or Major Campaign may occur in any State (not Québec). In any Battle in this Phase, Rebels are the Attackers and the British player's armies will be the Defenders. The procedure is:

1. Roll for Minor or Major Campaign and place Rebel reinforcements.

2. If Campaigns are Minor, conduct one Battle (and possibly new Pursuit Battles) in each indicated State.

3. If Campaign is Major, add in any Extended Support from States that have no British Player units present. Conduct the one Major Campaign until a) the Rebel force takes any losses or retreats, or b) the State is empty of all British player units.

4. If the Major Campaign leaves the State empty of all British player units, proceed to conduct a Planned Operation.

Roll 2 dice to choose 2 States (New England is 1, New York is 2, etc.) If the roll is doubles (e.g. 2 & 2) one Major Campaign occurs in that one State. If one roll is 1-5 and the other is a 6, then one Major Campaign occurs in the one State rolled from 1-5. If the roll is 6 & 6, then one Major Campaign occurs in New England. On any other roll, two Minor Campaigns occur, one in each of the States rolled between 1-5. Now proceed to Rebel Reinforcements.

Rebel Reinforcements: Before proceeding to Campaigns, the State(s) rolled now receive Rebel Reinforcements. If two States are Campaigning (both Minor), the Reinforcements are:

(a) One randomly selected Continental Army from the Rebel Force Pool, placed in the lower-numbered State; and

(b) One COS unit from the Rebel Force Pool, placed in the higher-numbered State (if that's Carolina, then Francis Marion if possible).

If only one State is Campaigning (Major), that one State gets both one Continental (as above) and one COS as reinforcements. These may then be joined by Rebels from other States (see Extended Support, below).

Place Rebel Reinforcements in the State in this order of priority:

1. In the lowest-numbered Rebel-occupied County; then move any Rebel forces in higher-numbered Counties in that State to that County.

2. In the lowest-numbered empty County in the State.

3. In the lowest-numbered British-occupied County in the State (this will, by necessity, be the 1 or 1-2 County).

Minor Campaign: On a roll of 1-5, a Minor Campaign can occur in each chosen State. (Start with the lower-numbered State.) If the State does not have British player units, all Rebels in that State must be placed in the Critical County of that State.

Definition of "Critical County": Each State has one Critical County. In New England, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Carolina, the Critical County is the "blue die" County (Rhode Island, Around Philadelphia, Hampton Roads and Charles Town, respectively). In New York, the Critical County is Hudson Valley.

If the State does contain British player units, then the Rebels in that State launch a Minor Campaign (one Battle) against British player units there, following this "Attack Protocol" (in order of priority):

1. Attack British units already in the same County as the Rebel stack;
2. Attack the 'nearest' British forces to the 'left' (i.e. the next lower-numbered British location from the Rebel position);
3. Attack the 'nearest' British forces to the 'right' (i.e. the next higher-numbered British location from the Rebel position).

A battle now occurs (see Battle Procedure); this ends the Minor Campaign in that State. Now proceed to the other State (if necessary) or to the Logistics Phase.

Major Campaign: If a State experiences a Major Campaign, place reinforcements (see Rebel Reinforcements, above) and check to see if the Major Campaign is augmented by Extended Support. If the State has no British player units, place all Rebel units in the Critical County. Proceed to the Planned Operation against the Target State if necessary.

If both sides' units are in the State, Rebel units in the State attack the British units using the same Attack Protocol as a Minor Campaign. A battle now occurs. The stack then moves through that State, attacking each County in turn (following the protocol), fighting battles, if necessary, until it either takes any losses (EX or AE result) or else is forced to Retreat (AR or AR-P result). If that happens, it stops. But if the Rebels rid the State of all British player units (by a DE or DR result), the Campaign does not end; instead, it may expand even further into a "Planned Operation"!

Rebel Strategic Coordination:

Extended Support: If a Major Campaign occurs in one State, all the other States (not Québec) are checked to see if they can provide Extended Support for that Major Campaign. Every State (even including the Target State) containing only Rebels moves all its Rebel units into its own Critical County.

If there are more than 2 Rebel units in the State, then leave 2 of them behind (randomly-picked Continentals, if possible; otherwise COS). The rest of the Rebels in that State, whether Continentals or COS, are added to the rebel stack in the Major Campaign State and fight in the Major Campaign.

Planned Operation: If the Major Campaign sweeps the State free of British presence, or if there were no British Player units there to begin with, place all the State's Rebels in the Critical County. If the Campaign State is not the Target State, the Rebels conduct a Planned Operation if they possess more than two Rebels (follow the same procedure as with Extended Support above). These forces will 'reinforce' the Rebels in the Target State (follow the same protocol as for any other campaign reinforcement).

If the French Army is in any State or in Boston, now immediately place it in the Planned Operation stack regardless of its current location. Next, place George Washington in the Target State's American Leadership Box (if there is one), and immediately launch another Major Campaign in the Target State (following the same attack protocol and 'stop' conditions as any other Major Campaign). If completely successful (boy, are you in trouble!), place the remaining Rebels in the Critical County of the Target State.

Example: If the Target State is New York with every County filled with British, then a Major Campaign starting in Virginia would launch a Planned Operation against New York 1-2. If the Target State were Carolina, with British in County "1-2" and County "5", and rebels in County "3-4" and County "6", then a Planned Operation moving out of Virginia would move into Carolina County "3-4", add the Rebels from County "6", finally attacking the British in County "1-2".

If the Target State has no British units, simply sweep all the Rebels in the State into the Extended Operation stack and pile the lot in the Critical County of the Target State. (If there are 'no British units' due to an EX result, however, the Rebel advance has ended.)

Planned Operations are never formed in, or target, Québec.

Example: New York is the Target State this turn. New England (1) has units of both sides. New York (2) has British units in every County. Pennsylvania (3) has units of both sides. Virginia (4) has only British player units (but not in every County). Carolina (5) has Rebel units, but no British player units.

• On a roll of 3 & 5, Pennsylvania (3) has Rebel units in both the "2" and "5-6" Counties, and British units in the "3-4" County. They get a Continental added to the "2" County, to be joined by units from the "5-6" County. They will attack the British in County "3-4" to fulfill their Minor Campaign.

Carolina (5) has Rebel units in both the "3-4" (one COS), and "6" Counties (three Continentals), and no British units. They get a COS reinforcement added to the "3-4" County, to be joined by the units from the "6" box, being a Minor Campaign, their eventual location will be the "6" County.

• On a 4 & 6, Virginia has British units in Counties "1" and "4", and no Rebel units. They place a Continental and a COS in County "2-3", and add one Continental and one COS from Carolina (Extended Support) to County "2-3" and launch a Major Campaign, which first targets the British in box "1", and if successful in 'sweeping' Virginia without loss, will then provide enough 'mass' to attack the Target State (New York) with 2 COS.

• On a 2 & 3, New York (2) has British in every County; place a Continental in County "1-2" which they will shortly fight. Pennsylvania (3) as the first bullet point, except their reinforcement is a COS rather than a Continental.

• On a 6 & 6, New England adds both a Continental and a COS; these join the Continental and 5 COS already in County "1-2". Next, one Continental and a COS from Carolina will join that stack, and all attack the British in County "3". If that attack succeeds, the stack then attacks County "4". If the British are removed without loss, two Continentals will be placed in County "3" (the Critical County), and the remaining Continental and 7 (!) COS will continue the Major Campaign by attacking New York (the Target State), in County "1-2" – relentlessly attacking until stopped.

Logistics Phase

"The vast extent and enormous expanse of the war will not admit of dilatory or languid movements." – Lord Germain

Trading With the Enemy: The British player may spend any remaining Pounds on improving Loyalty in any State, as long as there is a Lobster unit in that State. For each £1 spent, raise any one such State's Loyalty by +1. The number of these +1 modifications in a State is limited to the number of Counties in that State currently occupied by Lobsters (maximum: 4).

The British Army often sustained the local economy, paying farmers and merchants real money for their goods. A frequent refrain among shopkeepers was that peace would be bad for business!

Naval Transport: All British player units may now be moved to any County in any State – even the State the unit is already in – so long as that County does not contain a Rebel unit. (But see below.)

Exception: British player units may use Naval Transport to go to Québec even if Rebel units are there. Any Battle in Québec that such a move would cause is deferred till the next turn's First Battle Phase.

Each British player unit moved in this fashion pays £1. If a unit leaves a State by Naval Transport, check to see if it is Abandoning the State (see Abandoning a State under British Ground Phase).

Units at Sea: British ground units at sea may be moved back to land at this time. The unit may be Landed free of charge in any Rebel-free County in the State connected to the Sea Zone; or the unit may be moved elsewhere by ordinary Naval Transport for £1.

French Fleet blocks a Sea Zone to Naval Transport: No British player ground unit may move by sea into, out of, or through a State connected to such a Sea Zone.

Naval Reset: Finally, move any British player naval units in the "in Harbour" box, Boston, or the Caribbean, back to the "at Sea" box.

Reconvene Congress: If the "Congress" marker is 'in Flight', it now reconvenes. Roll a die; if the roll is 1, Congress convenes in New York; if the roll is a 2-4, in Pennsylvania; and on a 5, in Virginia. Place the Congress marker on the appropriate "American Leadership" box. If the roll was a 6, then Congress remains 'in Flight', and you must immediately move the Liberty Marker one box to the left!

When Congress convenes in any State, reduce that State's Loyalty by -1. But if Congress convenes in Virginia, also add +1 to the Loyalty of Pennsylvania, New York and New England. If Congress convenes in New York, then add +1 to the Loyalty of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Carolina and move the Vermont marker to the Pro-British box.

Liberty Phase

"I need not inform your Lordship how much I prize the hope of being the first British officer to rend a stripe and a star from the flag of Congress." – General Sir Archibald Campbell

Enlistments Expire: On Turns 2 and 4 only, all Continentals on the map must roll to see if their soldiers (signed to one-year contracts) re-enlist or go home. Roll 1 die for each Continental Army on the map. On a roll of 1-4, the unit is placed in the Rebel Force Pool. (Exception: If the unit is in the State where George Washington is currently located, then the unit is only placed in the Rebel Force Pool on a roll of 1-3.) Do not roll for COS units.

State Control and Liberty: The "Liberty" marker keeps a cumulative tally of how successfully the Rebels have denied the British player control of the majority of States over the course of the Revolutionary War. To win the game for King George III, you need to keep the Liberty marker low!

To "control" a State, the British player must have the only units in it. British and Loyalists all count for control purposes (Hessians and Indians do not). Your objective, each turn, is to control at least three States, one of which must be the Target State. If you meet that objective at this point, the Liberty marker stays put. If you fail, then advance the Liberty marker 1 space on the Turn Record Track.

Control of Boston is irrelevant. Boston is not part of a "State."

The Target State: Each Turn the Turn-Record Track will designate one State as the "Target." If you do not control the Target State at this moment, then the Liberty marker advances automatically at this point, no matter how many other States you do control!

The 'Target State' is Lord Germain's idea (the Colonial Secretary, directing British strategy in America from his desk in London) of which bits of America deserve subduing this season.

State Loyalty Modifications: Last minute changes to Loyalty are now made:

• If a State has no units of either side in it, its Loyalty does not change.
• If a State is British controlled, then increase that State's Loyalty by +1.
• If a State has only Continental, COS, or French units in it, it is said to be "Rebel controlled." Reduce that State's Loyalty by -1.
• If George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Congress is in a State, reduce that State's Loyalty by -1 for each.
• If Indians and/or Hessians are in a State, reduce that State's Loyalty by -1, but no more than -1 total for that State this Turn.

Note: If you're on the maximum Loyalty level but more than one modifier applies, apply them in sequence (potentially losing Loyalty). (The alternative would be to take a cumulative total and then apply it to the Loyalty level, but we've always played it as clarified here.) Also note that the final modifier (Indians or Hessians) still applies even if Loyalists or Lobsters are present.

Control of Québec: At this point in the Turn, if there is any Rebel unit in Québec, then Québec is Rebel-controlled; advance the Liberty Marker one space. Note that this may make the Liberty Marker advance more than 1 space in a Turn, once for normal State Control and once for Québec. This is the only situation in the game when the Liberty marker can move up twice in one turn.

Victory and Defeat: If the Liberty marker reaches 9 or higher, then the British player is catastrophically defeated and the Rebels have won the Revolutionary War ('Game Over'). If this doesn't occur, then continue the game to this point of Turn 16, to find out your level of victory. The position of the Liberty marker determines the level of British victory (less Liberty means more glory for you).

At this moment during Turn 14 or 15 (the "Lord North Resigns?" turns), if the Liberty marker is in box 7 or lower, the British player may concede American independence and end the game with a Marginal British Victory (6-7 below).

Of course, if the Liberty marker is below 8, you can always keep playing the last two turns to cling to an even higher level of victory.

9 or higher: British Disaster. The treacherous Americans and their foppish French allies have laid Britain low. The Thirteen Colonies are lost; the French restore their rule in Canada; even Gibraltar has fallen to the Spaniards! King George abdicates and a fractious Parliament tries to provide political direction in the context of economic and moral disaster. Chaos reigns in Scotland and Ireland, while in England itself there are portents of a new Oliver Cromwell at every turn....

8: Marginal British Defeat. You have lost the Thirteen Colonies, and fighting goes on for years over the Caribbean and Gibraltar. But the reparations you pay to France give the French Monarchy a new lease on life, averting a French Revolution and giving King George and his ministers precious time to right the ship of state. An age of uneasy peace ensues – it could have been so much worse!

6-7: Marginal British Victory. You have lost the Thirteen Colonies, but you retain Canada and vital outposts in the Caribbean and Gibraltar. Your fleet is ready to give the French a proper whipping. Trade with the Americans quickly picks up where it left off, and within a decade Britannia is back to ruling the waves and the world economy, while the bankrupt French sink into revolutionary tumult. (This is the historical outcome.)

4-5: Substantive British Victory. An isolated New England is all that remains of the "United States." The reconciliation of the remaining Colonies, under generous terms of autonomy offered by the victorious British forces, has ended America's experiment at republican broil for the time being. Emerging threats from France and Spain make it easier for His Majesty to make his case to the Colonists that an economic and political association with the British Empire is in everyone's best interests at the present time.

0-3: Cosmic British Victory. The quick implosion of France into atheistic despotism following the collapse of the American revolution leaves the English-speaking world terrified but united. Lord Washington enters politics as a beloved symbol of reconciliation and peace. A surge of support for the Monarchy in America takes place as revolutionary Republican France guillotines its enemies by the thousands. And the Second Great Awakening lends a new religious shine to the growing spirit of American loyalty.

Random Events Phase

"How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?" – Samuel Johnson, English literary critic, 1775

General Rule: If the game continues, the very last thing in a Game Turn is to roll on the Random Events Table (see Player Aid Card). Beginning on Turn 1, you roll 1 die. After the Invasion of Québec event first occurs, then you roll 2 dice each turn. Finally, once France enters the war on Turn 8, you roll 3 dice each turn. The cumulative die roll determines the events which occur that turn. Don't roll for Random Events on Turn 16, and remember: roll 2 dice after Québec is invaded and 3 dice once France is in the war.

There will be rare games when Québec is never invaded; there may also be games when it is invaded more than once. Note if a Québec invasion is rolled but all invading units die before they get there, the invasion still 'happened'.

Random Events Table: See Player Aid Card.

Québec: The "Province of Québec" is a special State-like region to the left of New York on the map. The terrain in Québec is Farm. Loyalty is not measured for Québec (J'y suis, j'y reste!). Québec is a "No Militia" area.

The British player can move his own forces in and out of Québec with Forced March and Naval Transport, and can always raise units there.

If Québec is empty (meaning British-controlled) or contains any British units, and a Rebel invasion is launched (by a random event), follow this procedure:

1. A 1d6 roll determines the number of Continentals invading Québec. The British player then takes those Continentals (player's choice) off the map, beginning in the lowest-numbered County of New England and moving down the map in numerical order. These units are said to be "invading Québec." If there are insufficient Continental units to match the die roll, you simply move what is available.

Example: There are 2 Continentals in New England, 3 in New York and 1 in Pennsylvania. You roll the random Québec invasion, and then roll a die for its size. You roll a 4. Take the 2 Continentals from New England, and 2 of the 3 Continentals from New York's lowest-numbered Counties. This leaves 1 in New York and the 1 in Pennsylvania untouched.

2. Next, roll for each unit invading Québec. On a 1-3 the unit deserts, surrenders, or dies from smallpox; either way it goes back to the Rebel Force Pool. On a 4-6 it reaches Québec successfully.

3. Using the surviving units, fight a normal Battle for control of Québec (do not roll for Militia). The Rebels are the Attackers; if the Rebels retreat they go to New York 1-2 (if possible – and they can be pursued!). If the British retreat they go to Sea Zone 1; they may later Land in Québec, or move via Naval Transport at a £1 cost.

Unit Removals: If a Random Event (or News Headline) orders a unit to be "removed" from the game, you must remove it permanently from the highest possible position on this list:

• A County (or Québec) on the map;
• The unit's own Force Pool;
• The Prisoner of War Box;
• The Units Out of Play Box.

End of Turn: The Turn is now over. Advance the Game Turn marker to the next turn and go back to Force Adjustment.

Specific Events List

"Perpetual itching without scratching, to the enemies of America!" – Massachusetts drinking toast

Invasion of Québec: After railing against Catholic Québec as "the dwelling of Satan, and [the] reign of Antichrist," Congress orders an invasion of Québec in vain hopes of rallying the support of Catholic French Canadians against the British. See Québec under Random Events Phase for the procedure.

The game calls it Québec instead of Canada because, under the 1774 Québec Act, the official name of the French-speaking territory stretching from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was "Québec". Note that in the game, the Invasion of Québec may happen more than once. As the British player you want the Rebels to invade Québec every chance they get, as long as you prepare for it properly!

Remember: Once the "Invasion of Québec" is rolled for the first time, you roll two dice for Random Events, not just one, on subsequent turns. Once France enters the war (Turn 7), you will be rolling three dice for random events, which means that it becomes mathematically impossible for the Rebels to invade Québec again. It's safe to move your whole army out of Québec after that.

Desertions to Vermont: Disgruntled, unpaid Continental Army troops defect to the de facto neutral 'Republic of Vermont'. If the Vermont marker is either Neutral or pro-British, the player may remove one Continental army from either New York or New England – player's choice – and place it in the Rebel Force Pool. (Note that the Rebels won't bother escaping to a pro-Rebel Vermont.)

Revolution Hijacked: New England aristocrats and Southern slave-owners have their own plans for post-war America that clash with the popular 'working class' militias that form the backbone of the American Revolution. Roll 2d6: The corresponding State(s) increase Loyalty by +1 if (and only if) at least one Rebel unit is present. (The State gains +2 Loyalty if 'doubles' were rolled; any die roll of 6 has no effect).

Example: The "Revolution Hijacked" event is rolled. To find out where the Crown is gaining popular support this turn, roll 2 dice: The result is 3 + 6, which indicates that you will raise the Loyalty of Pennsylvania by +1, but that no other state is affected (the roll of 6 has no effect).

Tar and Feathers: Mob violence and oppressive state laws drive Loyalists underground or into exile. Roll 2d6: The corresponding State(s) decrease Loyalty by -1 if (and only if) at least one Rebel unit is present. (The State loses -2 Loyalty if 'doubles' were rolled; any die roll of 6 has no effect).

Southern Reactionaries: Outspoken slavery supporters and other Southern reactionaries divide the Revolutionary consensus, while Congress is accused of giving undue deference to the slave-owning Southern aristocracy. Decrease Virginia and Carolina Loyalty by -1; increase New England and New York Loyalty by +1. Then roll a die for Pennsylvania's Loyalty: if the die roll is even, increase Pennsylvania Loyalty by +1; if the roll is odd, decrease Pennsylvania Loyalty by -1.

Northern Radicals: Abolitionists, Deists and other New England radicals divide the Revolutionary consensus, while Congress is accused of furthering the interests of 'Negroes' and northern commercial concerns with unpatriotic ties to Britain. Decrease New England and New York Loyalty by -1; increase Virginia and Carolina Loyalty by +1. Then roll a die for Pennsylvania's Loyalty: if the die roll is even, increase Pennsylvania Loyalty by +1; if the roll is odd, decrease Pennsylvania Loyalty by -1.

Indians Attack: Ridiculously overestimating their military value, London orders the use of Indian tribes in the war against Congress. If there are any Indians in the "Available Indians" box, the player must choose one and place it immediately; if the Indian chosen is Mohawk, place it in New York or Pennsylvania; if the Indian chosen is Cherokee, place it in Carolina or Virginia. The Indian must be placed in the lowest-numbered County free of Rebel units; then immediately reduce the chosen State's Loyalty by -1. If there is no eligible County in any eligible State, treat as "No Event."

Atrocities: This Event may apply to British, Hessian, Loyalist ("Tory") or Indian forces, all of whom committed some sort of war crimes during the conflict, atrocities which were effectively amplified by the rebel press. Randomly pick one State (roll again if the result is 6) that has at least one of the designated armies in it, and reduce that State's Loyalty by -2. If no State has that particular type of unit in it, treat as "no event."

Example: A "Tory Atrocity" Event is rolled. Consult the map; there are four green Loyalist units on the map: one in New York, two in Pennsylvania, and one in Carolina. This makes three States. Pick one State at random by rolling a die (you'd pick New York on a roll of 1-2, Pennsylvania on a roll of 3-4, and Carolina on a roll of 5-6). You roll a 2, so the atrocity occurs in New York. Decrease New York's Loyalty by -2.

Frigates Diverted: One of the 3-strength British naval units (Arbuthnot or Graves; player's choice) is moved to the "in Harbour" box. It can't be used next turn.

Ships of the Line Sent Abroad: One of the 4-strength British naval units (Howe or Parker; player's choice) is moved to the "in Harbour" box. It can't be used next turn, since it's busy fighting the French, the Dutch, the Spanish or some other global threat.

Hessian Desertions: Immediately and permanently remove the 2-2-2 Hessian unit from the game. If it happens again, treat as "no event."

War in India/Caribbean: Remove one White Band unit permanently from the game. It is sent overseas to deal with Britain's growing list of enemies. If there are no remaining White Band units in the game (because they've all withdrawn already), treat this as "no event."

Continentals Mutiny: Roll a die to determine a State (roll again if the result is 6 or the State contains no Continentals). Then roll 2 dice for each Continental Army in that State. Add +2 for each British player unit in that State. Add +5 to the die roll if George Washington is in the State; add +3 to the die roll if Thomas Jefferson is in the State (all modifications are cumulative). If the modified roll is lower than the Loyalty rating of that State, then the unit "mutinies" and is placed in the Rebel Force Pool. Raise the State's Loyalty by +2 for each Continental Army that successfully mutinies. If more than three Continentals in a State successfully mutiny in a Turn, remove the French Army/Navy from the game!

Loyalty Oath: Local British commanders demand that harmless fence-sitting neutrals openly swear loyalty to King George III. The effect is to drive thousands of otherwise uninvolved Americans into the arms of their Rebel neighbors. The British player must choose one State – player's choice – and reduce its Loyalty by -5. (The chosen State must have a Loyalty of at least 5 to begin with. If no such State is available you must pick whichever State has the highest Loyalty and reduce its Loyalty to zero. Player's choice if tied.)

Anti-French Hysteria: Patriots respond to their French allies with riots, lawsuits and anti-Catholic insults. If the French Army is in a State, increase that State's Loyalty by +1. If the French Army is in Boston, increase New England's Loyalty by +1. If the French army is not currently in a State (or Boston), treat as "no event."

Sequestration Order: Local British commanders threaten to expropriate the property of wealthy Rebels, resulting in a rush of upper-class support for the Crown. The British player must choose one State containing at least one Lobster and increase the State's Loyalty by +1, then either remove 1 COS from that same State or increase the State's Loyalty by another +1.

Dutch Smugglers: The 'neutral' Dutch will trade with anybody! If there is a Smuggler in the Caribbean, place a Smuggler (or Privateer, if one is available) in a Sea Zone of the player's choice containing less than 2 Smugglers. (It's going where it knows you're not patrolling.)

Smallpox: When this Event is rolled, first remove all Indians from the map and return them to the "Available Indians" box. Next, roll a die for a State (a roll of 6 means Québec). In the State rolled, remove all Loyalist, COS, and Continental (not French) units to their respective Force Pools. (Exception: if it is Turn 6 or later, then "Inoculation" has occurred. Do not remove Continentals; they are now immune to smallpox.)

Convention Army: Immediately consult the Prisoner of War box. The British player chooses three (or fewer, whichever is most) British player units in the box, and then rolls a die for each unit chosen. Place the units on the Turn Record Track that many turns ahead; those units then enter the British Player Force Pool during Force Adjustment on the designated Turn(s). If it happens again, treat as "no event." And if there are no British units in the Prisoners of War box when the event is rolled, treat as "no event" (keep checking every time it's rolled, the event can happen once but only once).

Example: It is Late 1777 (Turn 6) and the Convention Army event is rolled. There is one British unit (the "RNC" Loyalist Foot) in the Prisoner of War box, so you roll for it. The roll is 3, so you place the RNC unit in the "Early 1779" (Turn 9) box. It will return to your Force Pool on that turn, and not before.

Vermont Check: Roll 1 die to determine which way Vermont's chaotic, double-dealing political establishment lurches this season. On a 1, move the Vermont Status marker to the pro-British box. On a 2-4, Vermont becomes Neutral. On a 5-6, Vermont goes pro-Rebel. Important: if Congress is in New York when this Event occurs, Vermont immediately and automatically goes pro-British!

Designer Notes

"You may now despise all your enemies." – Admiral Rodney to the British Admiralty after winning the Battle of the Saintes, 1782

Britain's Vietnam

Ever since the emotionally stirring and historically woeful Mel Gibson epic "The Patriot" goaded me to do so, I have worked on designing a game on the American Revolutionary War (hereafter: ARW). Since that film came out in 2000, it's been a long, strange trip to get 'DTOM' to final publication.

I have always been intrigued by comparisons between the strategic dilemmas faced by Britain in the ARW with those faced by Americans, two centuries later, in Vietnam. Each conflict was essentially a civil war caught up in a wider global conflict. In both cases the losing side (American Loyalists/Vietnamese capitalists) were backed by a foreign superpower (Britain/USA) that failed to win enough 'hearts and minds' to bring victory, while a rival foreign superpower (France/USSR) supported the winning side through covert deliveries of goods (Hortalez & Co./Ho Chi Minh Trail). In each case there were controversial internal dynamics: a ruthless rebel minority convinced the wavering majority, through intimidation and (let's be frank about this) terrorism, that the far-off superpower was too weak to defend its interests, so the majority should switch its support to the rebel side as quickly as possible for its own safety. Public opinion in Britain was deeply split between pro- and anti-war factions – another intriguing parallel. Finally, each war ended with flotillas of "boat people" taking refuge on the territory of the defeated foreign power: Vietnamese and Hmong from Southeast Asia, and "Tories" who fled George Washington and the young United States for Canada, the Caribbean, Africa and Britain. As a percentage, the Loyalist flight from the USA would be equivalent to nearly 7,000,000 Americans quitting the country today!

I should confess my historical perspective up front. I grew up hearing stories about the American Revolution from my Arkansas-born father, whose parents named him Harry Lee. This was ironic, as Harry Lee Madison's grandmother was the daughter of Private Michael Knoop (1757-1834) of Cumberland, PA, a Loyalist who fought in the Prince of Wales American Regiment in South Carolina and then settled in New Brunswick after the war. As an Episcopalian I also have that curious dual loyalty to my American homeland and to the British crown that symbolically heads my church. Going to college in England didn't help either.

One wonders what a force for good a United Empire would have been during the centuries before the rupture in the English-speaking world was effectively healed by Wilson, Roosevelt, Churchill, NATO, Thatcher and Reagan.

British historians often lean on the theme of the ARW as a civil war with parallels to Vietnam. Robert Harvey, for instance, refers to the whole conflict as "Britain's Vietnam" and notes how there were, in effect, plenty of British Jane Fondas ready to advocate for the cause of American rebellion in London. It is a theme which resurfaces in Hugh Bicheno's luscious, over-the-top-caustic classic.

This perspective gets only occasional mention in the wargaming biz, but Rob Markham's thoughtful Give Me Liberty! (3W, 1992) was explicitly informed by it. Andrew Mulholland's brilliant article "Keeping the Colonies Royal" in Against the Odds magazine (August, 2008) built on this argument in what amounted to a plea to the wargaming industry to take this approach and design an ARW game that integrated more political elements. Telling the story from their perspective was something to set my design apart from the rest, and I began working on a two-player Revolution game over a decade ago, which nearly reached fruition in a form adapted from my successful American Civil War design, C.S.A. I could never quite get that proposal to work, and so I spent a good many years on the prowl for a simple but first-rate Vietnam War game whose internal mechanics might translate into an ARW setting and incorporate the work I had already done.

Vietnam Solitaire: Special Edition (White Dog Games, 2013) came along one day as an answer to my prayers. As well as being a rollicking good game on its own, it had aspects that clearly looked like the sort of game I had been trying to design – with the advantage of being a solitaire game, a format to which I had been increasingly drawn thanks to my work with Victory Point Games (Swing States 2012; Mound Builders; The First Jihad). As a result, Don't Tread on Me owes an enormous debt to the design crew behind Vietnam Solitaire: Dave Kershaw, Steve Kling and Chris Hansen. In many places, this game is simply a bald-faced rip-off of theirs (with their permission, of course) but their system is so fun to play that I make no apologies for that!

Several things make Don't Tread on Me different from other ARW games, perhaps most obviously the fact that it casts the player in the role of the historical loser. When designing a solitaire game, you have to take sides, and here I broke with tradition.

ARW games are notorious for failing to mirror the war's actual events. Mulholland shows how no ARW game can accurately show Washington's bold leap from New York to Yorktown. (This game is the exception!) It is a conflict that cries out for huge general areas, with movements inside them handled more abstractly. Vietnam Solitaire was that game. As soon as I saw its abstraction of the Ho Chi Minh trail, through which North Vietnamese forces infiltrate the South, I imagined French naval support for the American Patriot cause; voilà – Don't Tread on Me was conceived. If you've played their game, the similarities will be obvious. Regions and Areas become States and Counties; US forces become British; ARVN forces become Tories; B-52 bombers become the Royal Navy, Airmobile troops are now horse cavalry and the American guerillas of the Revolutionary War echo the Viet Cong. The eventually unstoppable North Vietnamese Army of Gen. Giáp morphs into the triumphant Continental Army of Gen. Washington. The overall flow of their game system fits the "feel" of the American Revolution astonishingly well.

Added to the basic game system were elements I had already drawn up (with the aid of Wes Erni, my long-time professional game design partner) for my earlier, unpublished, ARW game. I dispensed with the gamey 'major victory' rule that some ARW games adopt to drive/explain French entry but which can be manipulated by players. French entry in DToM is a fixed event. Features of the conflict that fascinate me, such as the Loyalists, Quakers, Vermont, and all the raids and skirmishes that saw action in my ancestral New Brunswick also get a nod in the game. Late in the process I changed "Partisan" units to "Committees of Safety," because I love the conspiratorial sound of that phrase! Incidentally, you may wonder why some Patriot leaders like Charles Lee and Horatio Gates aren't on the Continental units. The reason is that since the units are randomly drawn, I chose American generals that (1) served during the entire war, and (2) operated in multiple theaters. It seemed wrong to draw Pulaski out of a cup years after he'd been killed in battle. (Still, it leaves room for an expansion kit...)

Where the game takes off into its own identity is the appearance of "Loyalty" as a measurable factor. I was quite proud of the Loyalty system, only to discover that Joseph Miranda beat me to the printer's in 2011 when he created a similar system in The American Revolution: Decision in North America. Great minds think alike – although, for what it's worth, I think my game integrates Loyalty better with other aspects of the game than his does. The ARW was the first "modern war," a war decided more by public opinion than by professional armies. One factor making ARW battles so unpredictable was the employment of local militias, armed civilians who would (or wouldn't) "turn out" for a battle at the call of whatever alpha male bellowed the loudest. Local "Tories" who supported the British cause also fought, alongside the British Army. Although they may not have fought with as much spirit as the Rebel Militias did, they were often better armed and trained. The Militia rules in this game came about at first as a way of shrinking the countermix, but ended up adding a critical dimension of unpredictability.

For a combat system, I decided that Vietnam Solitaire involved too much dice-rolling and so I went back to a good ol' odds-based CRT system, whose results Wes and I based on an analysis of 59 actual Revolutionary War battles that saw at least 1,000 men on a side. Players can usually game such systems by packing in just enough strength points to get to the next odds column, but the randomness of the "Militia Present" rule makes this harder. The "Pursuit" rules make combats bloodier (which is what I wanted, since control of a State by one side or the other is key to the design). They also exploit a map feature that Vietnam Solitaire never fleshed out: the four Counties are a linear path from the interior to the sea with each 'player' retreating to his own base.

To increase playability, a few features of the ARW were abstracted out, such as the large, inactive British army occupying New York City. Forces and actions in New England and Virginia, generally speaking, represent events on a smaller scale than elsewhere on the map. The 'defeat' of Continentals in battle often reflects their ability to flit from the battlefield and evade chase, more than their actual destruction. The British player should remember that the Continentals are always out there, waiting for French smugglers to infuse them with new shoes and ammunition! This means the player's 'control' of the map is largely illusory. A State empty of Rebel forces and full of 'Lobsters' is as firmly under your control as the rice paddies of South Vietnam.

Unit I.D. Abbreviations

• AB = Anspach-Bayreuth
• AL = American Legion (Benedict Arnold's Loyalists)
• AZF = Anhalt-Zerbst Freikorps
• Brw = Brunswick
• BGP = Black Guides and Pioneers (an amalgam of small African-American "Tory" units)
• BW = The Black Watch (42nd Foot)
• Cam = Cameronians (26th Foot)
• FH = Fraser's Highlanders
• FM = Francis Marion's Men
• Gds = Guards
• Gnd = Grenadiers
• HCJ = Hesse-Cassel Jägers
• HCM = Hesse-Cassel Musketeers
• HH = Hesse Hanau
• H.Lee = Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee (Father of Robert E. Lee.)
• KO = The King's Own
• Kosc. = Tadeusz Kościuszko
• Lafay. = Le Marquis de la Fayette
• LD = Light Dragoons
• Mar = His Majesty's Marines
• Moult. = William Moultrie
• Muhl. = John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg
• NJV = New Jersey Volunteers
• PWL = Prince of Wales' Loyal American Volunteers
• QAR = The Queen's American Rangers
• QLD = The Queen's Light Dragoons
• RF = Royal Fusiliers
• RHE = Royal Highland Emigrants
• RI = Royal Irish
• RNC = Royal North Carolina (incl. Highlanders)
• Roch. = Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur de Rochambeau
• RWF = Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Foot)
• TBL = (Tarleton's) British Legion
• Wal = Waldeck