Irish Freedom (2013 edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Terminology
• The Map
• The Counters
• The Cards
• War of Independence
• Turn Sequence (War of Independence)
  • Random event phase
  • Treaty check phase
  • British upgrade phase
  • British move phase
  • Irish move/recruit phase
  • End Turn phase
• Combat
• Treaty Sequence
• Civil War
• Turn Sequence (The Civil War)
  • Random event phase
  • Surrender check phase
  • Republican upgrade/recruitment phase
  • Republican move phase
  • Free State move/recruit phase
  • End Turn phase
• Ending the Game
• Play Aid Sheet
• Game Design Notes and Historical Commentary
  • The Ulster Question
  • A personal appeal

Game Terminology

Unfortunately, in Ireland terminology is fraught with political meaning. So this will offend someone, or maybe everyone. Oh well, this is the terminology the game uses:

Term	What it means in the game
Ireland	The whole island of Ireland, including Ulster.
IRA	Nothing. This name was used by the Irish forces fighting the British in the War of Independence, and it was then used by both sides as the name of their armed forces fighting each other. Even today there are several organisations in Ireland that use this name for their armed forces. Too confusing to use.
Northern Ireland	Although Northern Ireland only consists of 6 of the 9 counties that make up the province of Ulster, in the game Ulster will be synonymous with Northern Ireland, not least because in the 1920s the border was still disputed.
Free State	This is the state that was set up from the Treaty with Britain that ended the War of Independence, and which evolved into the Republic of Ireland we know today. In the game, the Free State is your side in the Civil War. Your forces are the Free State forces (blue units).
Republicans	This is the side that was opposed to the Treaty with Britain at the end of the War of Independence that set up the Free State. They are the enemy in the Civil War, and their units are green. Please note that in the War of Independence you will control both the Green Republican and Blue Free State units, as they were on the same side at that point.
British	As well as the British army, this term includes all forces that fought against the Irish rebels, even though most of them were Irish themselves. All red and Orange counters are British.
Irish

The Map

There is map of Ireland is divided into six Regions, each of which is divided into four Areas. The six Regions correspond to broad geographical portions of Ireland, concentrating on those where the fighting was heaviest:

1. Dublin – This represents the city of Dublin, as well as the surrounding counties.
2. Midlands – This represents the central portion of Ireland. Geographically a large area, but it saw little fighting.
3. Ulster – Consists of both the six counties now comprising Northern Ireland, and the neighbouring parts of Ulster, notably Donegal.
4. The West – The West coast from Limerick up almost to Sligo. Includes the counties of Limerick, Mayo, Galway and Clare. Only Limerick is represented as a city due to its strategic value in the wars.
5. Cork – Covers the Southern portion of Ireland from Cork in the West to Wexford in the East.
6. Kerry – Although this is the smallest Area, it was the heartland of the the rebel forces fighting the British, and then the "Munster Republic" fortress of the Republicans in the Civil War. As well as county Kerry, it includes West county Cork.

Each Region is numbered, as above. This is important for two things: You can determine a Region randomly by rolling a six-sided die ("D6"). A roll of a further D6 compared the the Region number will determine the type of forces raised.

Regions are connected to each other – roads show which Region connects to which other Region. For example, Kerry connects to Cork and The West. The small white numbers are to help determine a road randomly.

Within a Region, the four Areas are also numbered, so that one can be randomly selected with a roll of a D6. The letters in coloured circles are only to help with setting up the game.

Each Area has a type of terrain representing it. There are 3 types of terrain in the game:

1. City: The large Urban Areas, distinct in size and prestige from other towns in Ireland. They are Belfast, Cork city, Limerick city and Dublin city, which, due to its size, covers 2 Areas.
2. Townland: A generic terrain of Ireland, covering the open, rolling green fields and their associated villages and towns.
3. Bogland: Above the townlands and at the edges of fertile lands, boglands cover a range of rough upland grass, mountainous heath and outright swamp. Still, the Area is scattered with rudimentary farms and microscopic villages and offers excellent refuge, or ambush opportunity, for a small group of rebels on the run.

The map has a grid numbered 1 to 10, which can be used to keep track of the turn number and also morale levels. There is also a red box for the War of Independence where eliminated British units (red only) that affect morale can be placed, as an aide-memoir.

The Counters

There are several counters in the game, most representing the fighting forces. British forces have a red or orange background, Irish have blue or green.

British forces:

Red represents Crown forces – there are 3 types of these:

• Army – The British army – fresh from beating the Germans in the Great War, probably the best soldiers in the world. Except they are no longer fighting a conventional enemy, and the war is supposed to be over.
• RIC – Royal Irish Constabulary. The armed police force in Ireland. Charged with keeping order, including suppressing local rebels.
• Tans – The infamous Black and Tans. Irregular soldiers with little interest in Ireland except in keeping themselves alive, collecting pay, and collecting scalps. Brutal and, sometimes, effective.

Orange represents forces loyal to the Crown, but not officially beholden to the Crown:

• UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force – a paramilitary force raised before the Great War to oppose Irish home rule, many members then fought in the Great War and they are a force to be reckoned with in their home Areas.
• Mob – Various protestant mobs that will intimidate local Areas and keep Irish forces occupied.

Irish forces:

Blue represents the rebel forces that will eventually join the pro-Treaty (Free State) side in the Civil War. Green represents the rebel forces that eventually join the anti-Treaty (Republican) side in the Civil War.

• Guerrillas – The mainstay of rebel forces – small groups able to spring up, cause damage, and then melt away before they can be seriously confronted.
• Mobs – assorted protest groups, rioters, saboteurs and general nuisance makers who take precious resources and manpower to suppress.
• Regulars (blue only) – Better trained guerrillas with a semblance of military organisation and efficiency.
• Flying Columns (green only) – More efficient guerrillas with better mobility to hit harder and run faster.

Every armed force counter has 3 ratings. These are their strengths (from left to right) in Bogland, Townland and City terrain. For example, the Flying Column is 3-2-1, so it has a strength rating of 3 in Bogland, 2 in Townland and 1 in City terrain.

All units can move within a Region from one Area to any other Area, except for Mobs, which cannot move at all.

All units can move between two Regions along a road, except for Guerrillas, RIC, and UVF (and Mobs).

Counter strengths (Bogland – Townland – City). The source prints "Counters. Make more if you run out – this does not represent any kind of limit."

Counter	Colour	Strength
RIC	Red	1-2-2
Tans	Red	2-3-2
Army	Red	3-4-4
UVF	Orange	1-1-2
Mob (British/Unionist)	Orange	1-1-1
Mob (Irish)	Green or Blue	1-1-1
Guerrilla	Green or Blue	2-1-1
Flying Column (Fly. Col.)	Green	3-2-1
Regular

Note: the counter art in the source is an image; the strengths above are read from the printed counter sheet.

The Cards

There are two sets of nine cards. The green ones are for the War of Independence only, while the blue ones are for the Civil War only. These cards add historical flavour to the game by generating random events, but could be omitted, if desired.

Random events – War of Independence deck:

• Tom Barry – Place a Flying column on any British unit in Kerry. If none, place it on any British unit in Cork. If still none, place it in a random Area in Kerry.
• Kevin Barry – Roll two random Areas in two random Regions. Place a green Mob in the first and a blue Mob in the other.
• Belfast Riots – Place a British (orange) Mob in a random Area in Ulster, and a green Irish Mob in another random Area in Ulster.
• Army Auxiliaries – Place an additional Army unit in a random Area in a Random Region. Place a green Mob in a random Area in the same Region.
• UVF mobilisation – Place a British (orange) UVF unit on any Irish unit in Ulster. If none, place it in a random Area in Ulster.
• Limerick Soviet – British units cannot move from one Region to another this turn.
• G Division – Replace any Irish non-Mob unit in either of the Dublin City Areas with a Mob of the same colour. If none, no effect.
• Bloody Sunday – Eliminate any RIC unit in Dublin Region. If there is none, replace any Tan counter in Dublin with an RIC counter. If still none, no effect.
• Reprisals – Roll a random Area in each Region. If there is a unit in that Area, it must immediately be moved to another random Area.

Random events – Civil War deck:

• Churchill – Place a blue Artillery on any blue Regular.
• The Mutineer – Roll to select a random Region with a green unit present. Place a green Armoured car on the strongest green unit in the Region.
• Border Campaign – Place a green Irish Guerrilla in a random Area in Ulster.
• Michael Collins – Any one attack of your choice in either Cork or Kerry gains the Free State forces a +2 modifier to their strength.
• Emmet Dalton – This turn only, you may make a single Naval landing at any Area in any Region with no port symbol, apart from Ulster and The Midlands.
• Dublin Guards – Nominate any blue Regular unit. This unit gets a +1 in any attack this turn, but raise a green Mob in a random Area in the Region the attack takes place.
• Liam Lynch – Place a green Flying Column in a random Area in a random Region.
• The Big House – Roll for a random Region other than Ulster. Remove the weakest green Unit from play in that Region (randomly decide, if more than one).
• Executions – Select a random Area in a random Region. Place a green Mob in that Area.

War of Independence

Set the turn counter to 1 on the turn track. Shuffle the two separate decks of cards (War of Independence and Civil War). Set the British morale points to 10. Find a regular six-sided die (D6).

Set up units in the Regions are follows:

1. Dublin – Place an RIC in the Townland, an Army in the City 3-4 Area, and a Blue Irish Mob in the City 6 Area.
2. Midlands – Place an RIC in the 3-4 Townland, and a Blue Irish Guerrilla in the 1-2 Bogland.
3. Ulster – Place an RIC in the 5 Townland, place an Army and a UVF in the City, place another UVF in the 6 Townland, place a Green Irish Guerrilla in the Bogland.
4. The West – Place an RIC in the City, place a Green Irish Guerrilla in the 1-2 Bogland.
5. Cork – Place an RIC in the 1-2 Townland, place an Army in the City, place a Green Irish Guerrilla in the Bogland.
6. Kerry – Place an RIC in the Townland, place a Green Flying column in the 1-2 Bogland.

The map has small letters in coloured circles to help ease set-up: R = RIC, A = Army, U = UVF, F = Flying column, G = Guerrilla, M = Mob. Irish units placed correspond to the colour of the circle.

Turn Sequence (War of Independence)

The War of Independence consists of 6 phases, as detailed below:

1. Random event (skip on first turn)
2. Treaty check (skip on first turn)
3. British upgrade
4. British move
5. Irish move/recruit
6. End turn

Random event phase

Draw a card from the War of Independence deck. Perform the action noted on the card and then discard the card.

Treaty check phase

Calculate the British Morale Points:

• 1 per Region with a British (red or orange) unit in it
• 1 per City Area without an Irish unit in it (i.e. contains either a British unit or is unoccupied)
• Subtract 1 per British unit eliminated (only Army, RIC or Tan. UVF and Mob do not matter)

Roll a D6. If the result is greater than the British morale points (obviously not possible if the morale points are 6 or greater), there is an immediate ceasefire and the Treaty happens. If the Treaty happens, skip the rest of the turn and perform the special Treaty sequence.

British upgrade phase

Roll a single D6 to select a Region:

• If there is an RIC unit in this Region, remove it and replace it with a Tan counter.
• If there is no RIC, but there is a Tan counter in the Region, roll a D6 to determine an Area in the Region. Roll another D6 – if this is greater than the Region number, place a Blue Irish mob in the Area, otherwise place a Green Irish Mob.
• If there is no RIC or Tan counter in the Region, nothing happens.

British move phase

Roll a single D6 to select a Region. If there are no British units in the Region (or just Mobs), nothing happens and proceed to the next phase. Otherwise, select the most powerful British unit in the Region. This will be Army, then Tans, then RIC, then UVF. Mobs cannot be selected. If there are two or more units of the same power, select one of them randomly using whatever method you prefer.

Immediately move this unit to the weakest Irish unit in the same Region. If there are two or more units of the same power, select one of them randomly using whatever method you prefer.

If there are no Irish units in the Region, and the selected unit is Army or Tans (not RIC or UVF), roll a D6 and move the unit along the road selected to the adjacent Region, and place it on the weakest Irish unit there. If there is no Irish unit in that Region, roll randomly for which Area to place the unit in. (In the case where the selected unit is RIC or UVF and there is no Irish unit in the Region, nothing happens, and proceed to the next phase).

At the end of the British move phase, if there is a British and Irish unit in the same Area, combat occurs (see combat section).

Irish move/recruit phase

As the Irish player you have two actions in this phase. They are Recruit or Move. You can do both the same, or both different, in any order. Note that you may move a unit you have just recruited.

Recruit – select any Region. You may do one of the following:

• Replace a Mob with a Guerrilla of the same colour (e.g. replace a blue Mob with a blue Guerrilla)
• Replace a blue Guerrilla with a blue Regular
• Replace a green Guerrilla with a green Flying Column
• Roll a D6 to select an Area. Roll another D6 – if this is greater than the Region number, place a Blue Guerrilla in the Area, otherwise place a Green Guerrilla. It does not matter if there is already another British or Irish unit in the Area.

Move – Select an Irish unit, other than a Mob, in any Region. Move this unit as follows:

• Guerrilla – move to any other Area in the same Region
• Regular/Flying column – move to any other Area in the same Region, or, move to any Area in any Region joined by a road.

After the two actions are complete, if there are British and Irish units in the same Area, combat occurs (see combat section).

End Turn phase

1. Advance the turn marker by 1.
2. Start a new turn, unless the turn marker is beyond turn 10 – in this case, the game ends immediately with a British victory and you have lost (badly).

Combat

This happens at the end of each phase where there are two opposing units occupying the same Area. Wait until the phase is completely over before resolving combat.

The side that moved into the contested Area (or was recruited there) is the attacker, the side originally present in the Area is the defender.

Total up the strength of the attackers for the Area's terrain and subtract the total strength of the defenders for the terrain. Then roll a D6 and add this to the result to get a combat score:

• 1 or less: 2 attackers eliminated, any other attackers retreat.
• 2: 1 attacker eliminated, any other attackers retreat.
• 3: All attackers retreat.
• 4: All defenders retreat.
• 5: 1 defender eliminated, any other defenders retreat.
• 6 or more: 2 defenders eliminated, any other defenders retreat.

Eliminated: Eliminate the weakest unit first. If two units are the same, chose one randomly. The victor in this combat may upgrade one unit. First, a mob is upgraded to a Guerrilla (of the same colour). Secondly, a blue Guerrilla is upgraded to a blue Regular, while a green Guerrilla is upgraded to a green Flying Column. Again, if two units are tied for an upgrade, chose one randomly. British never upgrade through combat.

Retreat: Roll a D6 – the units move to that Area in the Region (which could be the same one the combat was just in). If this Area has units of opposing sides in it, fight another round of combat, with the retreating units as the attackers.

Armoured cars and Artillery retreat with the loser. However, if the loser is entirely eliminated, replace the Armoured car or Artillery with a different colour. It remains in place as property of the victor.

Optional rule: Sometimes one side or other will have a modifier of 4 or greater. In these cases, treat the worst possible result for that side as the enemy retreating, rather than an enemy elimination.

Treaty Sequence

This is a special one-off event, which will end the Irish War of Independence and set the game up for the Civil War.

The victory level in the War of Independence is determined by the turn:

• Turn 2-4 = 4 Victory points
• Turn 5-6 = 3 Victory points
• Turn 7-8 = 2 Victory points
• Turn 9 or 10 = Victory point

Plus, you are awarded a bonus Victory point if there are more strength points of Irish forces in Ulster than there are British.

• 4+ Victory points = Major Irish Victory
• 3 Victory points = Good Irish Victory
• 2 Victory points = Historical Irish Victory
• 1 Victory points = Poor Irish Victory

You can stop playing at this point, or if you want you can continue to the Civil war.

Civil War

During the civil war, you will control the blue Irish units (Free State), while the green Irish units (Republican), and the remaining British units, will be the enemy.

To set the game up for the Civil War – follow the steps below:

1. Remove British units in all Regions, except for Ulster.
2. In Ulster, remove any Army, RIC or Tan counters. Place an RIC in the 5 Townland, place an Army in the City. Any UVF and/or Mob counters remain in place.
3. Replace all blue Guerrillas with blue Regulars.
4. Replace all green Guerrillas with green Flying columns.
5. Replace all Irish mobs with a Guerrilla counter of the same colour.
6. Roll for a random Irish recruitment in each Region, except Ulster.
7. Place a green Guerrilla unit in Area 6 of Dublin Region.
8. Place a blue Regular unit in Area 3-4 of Dublin Region.
9. Place a blue Artillery counter on another blue counter in any Area of Dublin Region.
10. Place a blue Armoured car counter on another blue counter in any Area of any Region, except Ulster.
11. If there are any Areas with both blue and green Irish units, perform an immediate combat between them, as per the combat section, with the blue as the attackers.
12. If there are any Areas in Ulster with either blue or green Irish units and British units, perform an immediate combat, as per the combat section, with the Irish units as the attackers.
13. Place the turn marker on turn 1.
14. Remove the British morale counter and place the Republican morale marker - Set the Republican morale points as follows:

• 1 point for each Region with green Irish units
• 1 point if the above Region has no blue Irish or British units
• 1 point per City Area that does not contain blue Irish or British units

Turn Sequence (The Civil War)

The turn sequence for the Civil War is very similar to the War of Independence, with 6 phases:

1. Random event (skip on first turn)
2. Surrender check (skip on first turn)
3. Republican upgrade/recruitment
4. Republican move
5. Free State move/recruit
6. End turn

Random event phase

Draw a card from the Civil War deck. Perform the action noted on the card and then discard the card.

Surrender check phase

Calculate the Republican Morale points:

• 1 per Region with a Republican (green) unit in it
• 1 per Region with a Republican (green) unit in it and no British or Free State (blue) units in it
• 1 per city either unoccupied by any unit, or with a Republican (green) unit in it.

Roll a D6. If the result is greater than the Republican morale points (obviously not possible if the morale points are 6 or greater), there is an immediate Republican surrender and the game ends – see the Ending the Game sequence.

Republican upgrade/recruitment phase

Roll a D6 to select a Region. If a green Mob is present, replace it with a green Guerrilla. If there is no green Mob, but there is a green Guerrilla, replace it with a Flying Column.

If the Region contains no green units, or just Flying column(s) roll a further D6 to select an Area, and then a final D6. If this final D6 is greater than the Region number, place a green Mob in the selected Area, otherwise place a green Guerrilla in the selected Area.

Republican move phase

Roll a D6 to select a Region, if the Region contains no green Irish units or British units, nothing happens and proceed to the next phase. Otherwise, choose the strongest unit in the Region. This will be Army (British), then Flying Column (Republican), then RIC (British), then Guerrilla (Republican), then UVF (British). Mobs cannot be selected. If there are two or more units of the same power, select one of them randomly using whatever method you prefer.

Immediately move this unit to the weakest enemy unit in the same Region. For the British, this will be any Irish unit, whether green or blue. For the Republicans, this will be either a British or blue Irish unit. If there are two or more units of the same power, select one of them randomly using whatever method you prefer.

If there are no enemy units, and the selected unit is a Republican Flying column (green Irish), roll a D6 and move the unit along the road selected to the adjacent Region, and place it on the weakest enemy unit there. If there is no enemy unit in that Region, roll randomly for which Area to place the unit in. (If the selected unit is not a Flying column and there are no units in the Region for it to attack, nothing happens and proceed to the next phase).

(Green Armoured car or Artillery units will move along with any green Irish unit they started in the same Area with).

Combat will now occur in any Area where there are British and Irish units (green or blue) in the same Area, or else Republican (green) and Free State (blue) units in the same Area (see combat section).

Free State move/recruit phase

In this phase, you get three (not two) actions – which can be either move or recruitment, in any combination and/or order. Units recruited with one action may be moved using another action.

Recruitment: Place either a blue Regular unit, or a blue Armoured car, or a blue Artillery in either one of the Dublin city Areas. However, an Armoured car or Artillery cannot be placed unless there is a blue Free State Regular unit also present in the same Area.

Move – Select any blue Free State Irish unit, other than a Mob, in any Region. Move this unit as follows:

• Guerrilla – move to any other Area in the same Region.
• Regular – move to any other Area in the same Region, or, move to any Area in any Region joined by a road. Or – special naval movement – a Regular starting in an Area with a port symbol may move to any other Area in any Region which also has a port symbol – except for Ulster.
• Any one Armoured car or one artillery can move for free along with a Regular, as long as it starts in the same Area as the Regular. This includes special naval movement.

Combat will now occur in any Area where there are British and Irish units (green or blue) in the same Area, or else Republican (green) and Free State (blue) units in the same Area (see combat section).

End Turn phase

1. Advance the turn marker by 1.
2. Start a new turn, unless the turn marker is beyond turn 10 – in this case, the game ends immediately with a Republican victory/British intervention and you have lost (extremely badly).

Ending the Game

When the Republicans surrender, you gain victory points as follows:

• 1 Victory point if the surrender was on turn 5 or 6.
• 2 Victory points if the surrender was on turn 3 or 4.
• 3 Victory points if the surrender was before turn 3.
• 1 Victory point per Region with no units in it other than blue units.

Total the Victory points from the War of Independence with the total above. The maximum possible is 5 from the War of Independence and 9 from the Civil War, for a total of 14.

• 9 or more = Major Victory (Michael Collins)
• 7 or 8 = Good Victory (The Wind that Shakes the Barley)
• 5 or 6 = Average Victory (The Field)
• 4 or less = Poor Victory (The Crying Game)

Play Aid Sheet

The source includes a two-column play aid sheet, reproduced here as a table.

Phase	War of Independence	Civil War
Random event*	Draw card from green deck.	Draw card from blue deck.
Treaty/Surrender check*	Calculate British Morale: +1 per Region with British forces. +1 per City without Irish forces. -1 per eliminated Army, RIC, or Tan. Roll a D6 greater than British morale points triggers the Treaty sequence.	Calculate Republican Morale: +1 per Region with green forces. +1 if this Region has no blue/British forces. +1 per City unoccupied or occupied by green units. Roll a D6 greater than the Republican morale points triggers the End game phase.
Enemy upgrade	Randomly select Region: If RIC present, replace with Tan. If no RIC, but Tan is present, determine random area, D6 higher than Region number = place blue Mob, otherwise green Mob. No RIC or Tan = nothing happens.	Randomly select Region: Upgrade green Mob to Guerrilla. Otherwise, upgrade green Guerrilla to Flying column. Otherwise select random Area, and D6 higher than Region number = place green Mob, otherwise green Guerrilla.
Enemy movement	Randomly select Region: Move strongest British unit to weakest Irish unit. No Irish unit = Army or Tan can move to adjacent Region and weakest unit there.	Randomly select Region: Move strongest British/Republican unit. British move to weakest green or blue unit. Republicans move to weakest British or green unit. No unit to move to, Flying column only can move to adjacent Region and weakest unit there.
Player move/recruit

* skip this phase on the first turn only.

Treaty sequence (play aid):

• Remove all British except UVF/Mob.
• Ulster = RIC in 5 Townland, Army in City.
• Upgrade Guerrillas, then upgrade Mobs.
• Roll for a random Irish recruitment in each Region, except Ulster.
• Dublin Area 6 = green Guerrilla; Area 3-4 = blue Regular.
• Blue Artillery anywhere in Dublin; Blue Armoured car anywhere (not Ulster).
• Resolve combat – British vs green/blue, then green vs. blue.
• Turn marker on Turn 1.
• Set Republican morale points.

Combat section (play aid): Total strength for Area's terrain. Subtract defender from attacker. Add D6:

• 1 or less: 2 attackers eliminated, rest retreat.
• 2: 1 attacker eliminated, rest retreat.
• 3: All attackers retreat.
• 4: All defenders retreat.
• 5: 1 defender eliminated, rest retreat.
• 6 or more: 2 defenders eliminated, rest retreat.

Elimination: Weakest first. Victor may upgrade (Mob before Guerilla). Armoured car/Artillery captured if all units eliminated. Retreat: Roll for random Area (could be same Area). Resolve combat again if required.

Victory points (play aid):

War of Independence:

• Treaty on turn 2-4 = 4 Victory points
• Treaty on turn 5-6 = 3 Victory points
• Treaty on turn 7-8 = 2 Victory points
• Treaty on turn 9 or 10 = 1 Victory point
• +1 Victory point if there are more strength points of Irish forces in Ulster than there are British.

Civil War:

• 1 Victory point if the surrender was on turn 5 or 6.

• 2 Victory points if the surrender was on turn 3 or 4.

• 3 Victory points if the surrender was before turn 3.

• 1 Victory point per Region with no green/British units.

• 9 or more = Major Victory (Michael Collins)

• 7 or 8 = Good Victory (The Wind that Shakes the Barley)

• 5 or 6 = Average Victory (The Field)

• 4 or less = Poor Victory (The Crying Game)

Game Design Notes and Historical Commentary

There are very few games on either the Irish War of Independence, or the subsequent Civil War. This has mildly annoyed me, since I live in Ireland, and I have wondered why this is. It is not a well documented period of history. The British don't want to mention a defeat. The Irish spend far too much on the brief 1916 rising and, also don't really want to mention a shameful Civil War - on top of that, the losers of the Civil War after a brief period out of power, came back and, as the Fianna Fail party dominated politics for half a century. I have no proof, but I think that writing about the Civil War would have been frowned upon by the powers that be. Your career could be at stake. Fianna Fail have had a lot of allegations against them, and whether true or not, it would certainly make one think twice.

As wars go, neither of them were particularly heavy in terms of casualties. And both could have been easily avoided.

The War of Independence can be indirectly blamed on the Germans. In 1912, after years (centuries, some would say) of resistance, the British parliament passed the Irish Home Rule bill. The bill then began to grind its way through parliament to become law. This was widely approved in Ireland, apart from the North-east, where the largely Protestant population feared for their future in what would be a largely Catholic state. They started to arm themselves as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), and so did their Irish nationalist adversaries as th Irish Volunteers. Civil war looked likely, but was happily averted by the sudden arrival of several million heavily armed Germans in Belgium and France. Both the UVF and the Irish Volunteers then went and joined the British army to fight the common foe. Meanwhile, the home rule bill was suspended for the war's duration, but sure it would all be over by Christmas... wouldn't it?

It wasn't, and by 1916 some more radical Nationalists (called Republicans) got fed up and in Easter staged a farcical uprising, limited to those units that didn't get the message that it had been called off - including even an advert in a newspaper! It was crushed, but the hanging of the leaders, and the increasing harshness of British measures as the war progressed caused a sea-change in public opinion. In the 1918 general election, almost all of Ireland (notably not the Protestant North-east) voted in the Sinn Fein party, which refused to sit in the British parliament and, in 1919 declared Irish independence. Desultory fighting started between the new Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British forces. This is the point at which the game starts, with IRA units of varying capability in most areas of Ireland, and British garrisons (mostly Royal Irish Constabulary) throughout. In 1920 the home rule bill (remember it) passed, but by now with a special amendment allowing two parliaments - one for the North-east (now called Northern Ireland) and one for the rest of Ireland. Sinn Fein ignored it, as they already considered themselves independent, while Northern Ireland voted itself into existence. The game shows this effect with Northern Ireland having extra military units of the UVF.

As the war progressed, the IRA were most successful in the Southern parts of Ireland, and the British forces were gradually excluded from the countryside and limited to towns. The game simulates this by giving different units different strength depending on the terrain - IRA guerrillas and Flying columns are best in the countryside, the British better in the urban areas.

Part of the British response was to organise extra para-military forces to supplement the beleaguered RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) who were bearing the brunt of IRA attacks. These were the infamous "Black and Tans" (so called because of their mismatched uniforms) who were assigned to RIC barracks to give them improved firepower. The game shows this policy through the upgrading of RIC units to Tans, which are better units. However, the Black & Tans, along with regular British forces, were not well disciplined and were prone to taking out their frustrations on innocent Irish bystanders and Irish property. This obviously acted as a recruiting agent for anti-British activity, which is why the game has the possibility for Mobs to be raised during the British upgrade phase. The other paramilitary force raised by Britain to supplement their forces was the "Auxiliaries". These were ex-officers from the British army made redundant by the end of the Great War. They operated separately, and were much more efficient than the Tans. They were also prone to the same indiscipline as the Tans, so their arrival as a card event also generates a corresponding Irish Mob.

It should be noted that the units are not representative of any particular formation, or numbers. The British army in Ireland was tens of thousands strong, and there were 10,000 members of the RIC, but the IRA and affiliated formations probably never numbered more than a few thousand active guerrillas. The presence or absence of a counter signifies that the Area is under active operational control. Elimination of a counter is not the death of everyone in that unit, but simply represents the removal of influence. Thus, an RIC elimination will simulate the withdrawal from exposed, remote barracks (as happened in the war), and an unwillingness to leave the remaining barracks. An IRA elimination will represent arrests and unwillingness of volunteers to leave their day-jobs for dangerous guerrilla activity.

Mobs represent something else again. They are not actual rioters (although that can be part of their description), rather they simulate a polarising of public opinion in an Area resulting in actions that will be detrimental to British activity (except for the one Unionist Mob, which would be hostile to Irish activity). Mobs represent passive and active civilian resistance, ranging from strikes and riots to simpler sabotage and lack of cooperation. Repressing a mob is usually easy, but if left to fester, they can be upgraded to better guerrilla units. This is the expected outcome of uncoordinated resistance becoming organised into a semblance of military effectiveness.

Guerillas are the mainstay of the IRA. They, too, can be upgraded. In the War of Independence, the better guerrilla forces called themselves "flying columns" - a reference to their mobility and ability to hit and run. In the game this is represented by Guerrillas being restricted to their home Region, while Flying Columns and Regulars can move between Regions. Is should be noted that "Regulars" at this point in the war would have referred to themselves as Flying Columns. The game makes a distinction to show the difference between the forces that became anti-Treaty and those that were pro-Treaty.

The War of Independence ended with this Treaty. With neither side able to win, and the British half expecting the home rule bill to have solved things in the first place, a peace treaty was signed. In the game, you are aiming to force Britain to the Treaty table. If the British think they are winning, they will not be interested in a treaty. This is abstracted in the game as "British Morale". You decrease the British Morale by eliminating Army and RIC, and also by dominating the Regions and Cities.

The Treaty gave Southern Ireland (now called the Free State) Dominion status (like in Australia or Canada), with the King still as head of state, and cemented the separation of Northern Ireland. Naturally, this disgusted the more radical elements of Sinn Fein (led by Eamon De Valera), and IRA military units who considered that they had won and so should have full independence. An election in 1922 was won handily by the pro-treaty Sinn Fein, but this did not solve things and fighting started as the pro-treaty IRA forces, under Michael Collins, started to assert themselves over the anti-treaty IRA forces. At this point, the player's forces are split - largely along historical lines, with the South containing more anti-treaty forces, and the East more pro-treaty forces. As the player, you control the Free State forces against the anti-treaty republicans. This also means that you need to be careful how you fight the British in the War of Independence, since you will be raising troops that may not be loyal to the Free State!

This is the reasoning behind the numbering of the regions. The higher the number, the more likely the IRA there would be anti-Treaty. In the game, this is mapped to the historical divisions, where the IRA in the East were more likely to be pro-Treaty, while in the West they were anti.

Initially outnumbered, the Free State forces rapidly mobilised and quite quickly crushed the Republicans. They used innovative tactics, notably landing troops by ship at key points behind enemy lines, and were able to win battles because they generally had artillery and armour (armoured cars) while the republicans didn't. In the game you can perform naval landings, and you have attached artillery and armoured car units to give a bonus in combat.

The Ulster Question

Not so much a question as an unsolved physics conundrum, it does mean that Ulster is treated somewhat differently in the game. The primary reason is that in the early 1900s, Protestants associated most closely with the ruling classes in Ireland, and they were most concentrated in Ulster. Home rule for Ireland would mean that the ruling class would be Catholic, and that was a threat. Therefore, when the War of Independence broke out, Protestants were almost entirely on the side of the British. In practical game terms, this means that the paramilitary UVF in Ulster are going to fight against any Irish units in their Areas, but they will not leave Ulster. Since the initial aim of the Irish was to gain control over the whole Island (something that, ironically, the British were going to give them for free in 1914), as a player you will get a bonus victory point if you manage to get military dominance in Ulster.

After the treaty, the Protestants in Ulster had sufficiently made their case, so that part of the treaty involved partitioning Ireland into two jurisdictions. Just temporarily until they could sort out their differences. This means that Ulster will be of very little value in the Civil War because of its large number of forces. If you want to try the game with the assumption that the treaty involved a united Ireland, remove the Army and RIC in Ulster, and place one UVF in each non-bogland Area, plus an orange Mob in the City Area.

A personal appeal

This is foremost a game and a historical conflict simulation (a "wargame"). It does not intend to make any political points, and is not intended to cause offence. If you disagree with some of the commentary above, feel free to change the set up of the units in the game, or make new cards, to fit your own viewpoint. But most of all, have fun!