Niepodległa Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Basic Version
  • Components
  • Mission Cards
  • Dice Symbols
  • Setup
  • Playing the Game
  • Rounds I–V
    • Preparation of the Round
    • Struggle for Independence in Rounds I–V
      • Selecting Missions and Dividing the Dice
      • First Roll
      • Passing Dice and Re-rolling
    • Summary of Rounds I–V
    • Rewards for Completing Missions in Rounds I–V
    • Additional Bonuses
    • Using Dice and Symbols
    • Housekeeping
  • Round VI – The Final Round
    • Preparation of the Final Round
    • Struggle for Independence in the Final Round
    • Summary of the Final Round
  • Basic Version: Setup and Rounds Summary
• Advanced Version
  • Components
  • Mission Cards
  • Dice Symbols
  • Setup (Advanced Version)
  • There Will Be No Independence Without National Consent
  • Course of the Game
    • Phase 1: Allocation of Pawns and Dice
    • Phase 2: Struggle for Independence
  • Obstacle Tokens and Independence Tokens
    • Phase 2 (continued): Passing Dice and Re-rolling
    • Phase 3: Negative Effects

Basic Version

Components

1. Board (side B face up).
2. 4 final mission tokens.
3. 24 independence tokens.
4. 1 time marker.
5. 14 dice:
   • 8 neutral dice,
   • 5 figure dice,
   • 1 black threat die.
6. 12 morale markers (8 yellow and 4 orange).
7. 15 pawns (3 pawns in each player colour).
8. 5 large figure cards with biographies: Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Wincenty Witos and Józef Haller.
9. 28 mission cards:
   • 5 countdown cards, marked with Roman numerals I–V,
   • 11 first-stage cards, marked with the numeral "1",
   • 12 second-stage cards, marked with the numeral "2".
10. 4 auxiliary cards showing the distribution of symbols on the dice.

Note: Mission cards with dark reverses are intended for the advanced version. They are set aside in the box.

Mission Cards

Each mission card shows:

• the deck to which the card belongs,
• the name of the card,
• the symbols that must be obtained on the dice for the mission to succeed,
• the reward for completing the mission: 1 or more independence tokens, and information about where players may place them,
• the card number (the prefix "B" means that the card belongs to the basic version),
• the date on the reverse, which gives the time at which the event shown on the front took place.

Dice Symbols

The game uses four symbols: people, diplomacy, money and armed action. Every neutral die has the same distribution of symbols. Figure dice, which belong to the most important independence activists, have different distributions (more favourable, but also more specialised, than the neutral dice). The table of symbol distribution for the dice is on the auxiliary cards, one for each player.

The symbols are:

• social activity, activating the Polish element (the figure of a person): people,
• political activity (an envelope): diplomacy,
• financial and material resources (a coin): money,
• armed action (crossed rifles): armed action.

A portrait on a figure die replaces one symbol of the player's choice from those shown above, depending on the need.

Setup

1. Place the board in the middle of the table. Place the time marker on the board, on the hourglass field at the start of the time track (1910–1913).
2. Place the final mission tokens on the board on the spaces marked for them, so that the missions show the appropriate number of symbols:
   • In a game of two or three players, each mission should have only one symbol visible.
   • In a game of four players, each mission should have two symbols visible.
3. Place the countdown cards marked with Roman numerals in the correct order on their designated spaces on the board. These are the rounds I–V.
4. Divide the mission cards marked "1" and "2" in the corners into two decks according to their markings, and shuffle each deck separately. Place the deck marked "2", face down, on its designated space on the board. Place the deck marked "1", face down, on its designated space.
5. Depending on the number of players, place the morale markers on the morale track. On the first four spaces of the morale track, always place the orange markers; on the subsequent spaces, place the yellow markers.
   • Two players: place 4 orange and 3 yellow markers.
   • Three or four players: place 4 orange and 4 yellow markers.
6. Each player chooses one of the figures: Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Wincenty Witos or Józef Haller. Then take the figure card, the pawns and the figure die in the colour of the chosen figure, and place them in front of you.
   • In a two-player game, each player uses 3 pawns in the colour of the figure.
   • In a three- or four-player game, each player uses only 2 pawns.
7. Leave the remaining figure cards, pawns and figure dice that were not chosen in the box. Additional dice and figure cards (except the card of General Józef Haller), neutral dice and morale markers can be obtained during the game, for filling spaces with independence tokens.

The illustrations for the setup show a four-player game and the components intended for one player.

Playing the Game

The game lasts six rounds. Each round is divided into three phases:

1. Preparation of the round.
2. Struggle for independence.
3. Summary.

Rounds I–V

Preparation of the Round

Move the time marker to the next position on the time track (this does not apply to the first round, in which the marker is already on the correct position).

Then players reveal the countdown card assigned to the round, and must change the difficulty level of the final mission according to the symbol shown beneath the revealed card.

Next, reveal from the top of the mission deck the appropriate number of cards, depending on the number of players, and lay them out beside the countdown card:

• two or three players: reveal five missions,
• four players: reveal seven missions.

The countdown cards are also mission cards which can be carried out. On the table there should be, in total, as many mission cards (including the countdown card) as there are pawns of players in the game.

Struggle for Independence in Rounds I–V

Selecting Missions and Dividing the Dice

Players become acquainted with the open missions and jointly decide which mission each of them will take on. They indicate this by placing their pawn on a given mission card. Only one pawn may be placed on a single card.

Note: When dividing up missions, it is worth considering which missions seem most important at the given moment, and which figure has the best chance of completing the given task. For example, Józef Piłsudski specialises in missions that require armed action and/or influence over the people, while Ignacy Paderewski specialises in diplomacy and in organising financial resources.

Together with the choice of missions, players jointly divide the available neutral dice, so that each player receives at least 1 neutral die, and so that no neutral die remains unused. (Players may divide them equally, or, for example, the player whose pawns are on the most difficult missions may take most of the neutral dice; the decision belongs to the players.)

Note: The black die is not included in the division.

First Roll

When all missions have been chosen and all neutral dice have been distributed, each player makes one roll of all the dice they have received: the neutral dice together with their own figure die. The aim of the round is to obtain, on the dice, the symbols shown on the missions. Each player tries to obtain symbols only for those cards on which their pawns lie.

Note: Players may roll their dice simultaneously, without dividing into turns. The order of the rolls is arbitrary.

Note: If after the first roll some of the symbols obtained on the dice match the requirements of a mission, the player may (but need not) immediately place those dice on the appropriate card, so that everyone can see which symbols are still missing. The result of a die may not be changed.

Passing Dice and Re-rolling

Next, in turn, players decide whether they want to pass dice to another player, and whether they want to keep re-rolling.

• If there are at least two morale markers left in the morale pool, any player may discard two of them from the pool in order to pass one of their dice to another player, without changing its result. The die may be a neutral die or a figure die. The player who receives such a die may immediately place it on a matching mission, or hold it for further re-rolling.
• Regardless of the state of the morale pool, any player may decide to re-roll any of their dice. The player selects the dice whose results do not satisfy them, adds the black die to them, and rolls the whole collected pool:
  • If the black die shows a face with 1 or 2 pips, then the same number of morale markers (one or two) must immediately be discarded from the morale pool. If the number of markers to be discarded is greater than the number of markers remaining in the pool, all remaining markers must be discarded, and this phase of the round ends immediately.
  • If the black die shows a blank face, nothing bad happens. Players do not lose morale markers.

Note: For re-rolling, you may choose any of your dice, regardless of whether it has already been placed on a mission card, whether it was previously re-rolled, or whether it was received from another player.

Note: When a player gathers on the dice symbols matching one of their missions, they may lay their pawn on that mission horizontally, so that everyone can see that the mission will succeed.

Example: In successive rolls, a player obtained 1 armed-action symbol and 1 figure portrait, which may replace any symbol. The player placed the dice with these results on the mission "Polska Organizacja Wojskowa" (Polish Military Organisation), and additionally placed their pawn on it, to inform the other players that this mission will succeed.

Players may keep performing the above actions in any order, and any number of times, for as long as there are morale markers left in the pool, or until they are satisfied with the results obtained on the dice and decide on their own that the round is over.

Summary of Rounds I–V

After the struggle stage ends, check how many morale markers remain in the pool. If there are 4 or more, nothing bad happens. If there are fewer, the players must raise the difficulty of the final missions:

• If the players have only 2 or 3 morale markers left: raise the difficulty of one freely chosen final mission by one level (move the token covering it one space to the left).
• If the players have 0 or 1 morale markers left: raise the difficulty of one final mission by two levels, or the difficulty of two final missions by one level each. The choice should be a joint decision of the players.
• Fewer than 0: if, as a result of an unlucky roll of the black die, the players should discard more morale markers than there are in the pool, increase the difficulty of any final missions by a total of three levels. For example: one mission by three levels, three missions by one level each, or one mission by two levels and another by one level.

Rewards for Completing Missions in Rounds I–V

Each player compares the symbols on their dice with the symbols of the missions they took on. If a player obtained on the dice all the symbols of a given mission, they set the matching dice aside together with the card, and bring into the game the independence token(s) in the regions indicated on the card. The reward on each card is one of the following:

• Place 1 independence token on one of the free spaces in the Russian partition or in the Kingdom of Poland.
• Place 1 independence token on one of the free spaces in the Prussian or Austro-Hungarian partition.
• Place 1 independence token on one free space of the "National Consent" track (Zgoda narodowa).
• Place 1 independence token on one free space of the "Foreign Policy" track (Polityka zagraniczna).
• You may place 1 independence token on one of the free spaces in the Russian partition or the Kingdom of Poland, or in the Prussian or Austro-Hungarian partition (the player chooses).
• You may place 2 independence tokens on free spaces in the Russian partition, the Kingdom of Poland, or the Prussian or Austro-Hungarian partition. The player who completed the mission chooses whether both tokens go into one region or into two different areas.
• Place 1 independence token on any free space of the board. The decision is made by the player who completed the mission.

Additional Bonuses

• If all five spaces of one colour on the board are filled, players take from the box the additional figure die shown on the board and add it to the common pool. If that figure was chosen at the start of the game, players receive an additional neutral die instead.
• If players place the sixth independence token on a given part of the board, they add an additional morale marker from the box to the morale pool, or they reduce the difficulty level of the corresponding final mission. If players can place a seventh or subsequent independence token on a given part of the board, no token is placed, but the chosen bonus (a morale marker or a reduction of mission difficulty) is received again.

Example: One of the players completed the mission "Polska Organizacja Wojskowa" (Polish Military Organisation). They may now place two independence tokens: either in the brown-red part of the board, that is the Prussian or Austro-Hungarian partition, or in the green part, that is the Russian partition and the Kingdom of Poland. The green part already contains four tokens. The player decides to increase the influence of the independence activists in the Kresy (the eastern borderlands) and places both tokens in the Russian partition.

When a player places the fifth independence token, a new die from the box goes into the pool. Since the players already have Dmowski's die, they receive a neutral die instead.

By placing the sixth token in one part of the board, the players receive an additional morale marker from the box into the pool. Instead of the additional morale marker, they could also reduce the difficulty of the final mission "Wojna polsko-bolszewicka" (Polish-Soviet War) by one level.

Note: It is not necessary (and most often it will not be possible!) to complete all missions in each round. Each mission is resolved separately, and failing to complete one does not affect the course of another.

Using Dice and Symbols

Each die (and the result visible on it) may be used at this stage only once. A player may complete only those missions which they marked with their pawns, and may use for this only those dice they have (that is, dice received at the start of the round, or dice passed to them at the cost of two morale markers).

If a die shows more than one symbol, the player may split the symbols between the missions of one player. For example, if a die shows two people symbols, the player may use one of these symbols for one mission and the other for a different mission.

Housekeeping

After introducing into the game the effects of missions that were completed successfully, collect the cards of the unfulfilled missions and place them at the bottom of the mission deck.

Each player takes back their figure die and their pawns.

All neutral dice (the starting ones, and those gained by filling spaces on the board) are returned to one common pool beside the board.

All used morale markers (the starting ones, and those gained during the game in exchange for placing the sixth or more tokens in one area) are placed again on the morale track on the board.

Note: The 4 orange morale markers have the same meaning as the yellow ones. They differ only in colour, so that it is easy to see whether the players are still safe or will have to make some final missions harder.

The round ends, and the players may proceed to the preparation phase of the next round.

Round VI – The Final Round

Preparation of the Final Round

Move the time marker to the last position on the time track. The Great War has ended, and the players must check whether on 11 November 1918 they managed to establish an independent Polish state:

• If in each of the areas of the board at least 5 independence tokens were placed (the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian partitions, the Russian partition and the Kingdom of Poland, and the "National Consent" and "Foreign Policy" tracks), Poland appears again on the map, and the players may play the final round.
• If it was not possible to fill the required twenty spaces of the board, the players immediately lose the game.

Example: The players managed to place at least 5 required independence markers in each area of the board, so they may proceed to play the final round.

Struggle for Independence in the Final Round

In this round, the players must complete all four final missions visible on the board. Their difficulty levels depend on the earlier course of the game. In this round the difficulty of no mission is raised any further, and no new cards are revealed from the deck.

Each player chooses one mission and places their pawn on it. In a game of two or three players, one or two missions remain unchosen. The remaining pawns of all players are placed on them. As a result, each player has one individual mission and takes part in the joint completion of one or two other missions.

Next, play out the struggle stage under the standard rules: players divide the neutral dice, each makes one roll of all their dice, and then they may perform re-rolls and pass dice to each other, for as long as they still have morale markers.

The final round ends when players discard all morale markers, or when they obtain all the symbols required by the final missions (whichever happens first).

Note: In a game of two or three players, each player may add dice to the joint missions. It is permitted to split the symbols of one die between a mission carried out jointly and your own private mission.

Summary of the Final Round

If the players have completed all final missions, the game ends in success. Poland was defended, its borders were secured through diplomacy, uprisings and armed struggle, a stable government was established, and the Bolshevik aggression was halted.

In the event of failing to complete one or more final missions, the players suffer defeat. They can now only count how many symbols they were short of a happy ending, and play again to improve that result.

Basic Version: Setup and Rounds Summary

Setup summary (table)

Number of players	Pawns per player	Mission cards per round	Neutral dice	Morale markers
2	3	6	6	7
3	2	6	5	8
4	2	8	4	8

Rounds I–V summary

• Preparation of rounds I–V: 1. Move the time marker. 2. Reveal the next countdown card. 3. Change the difficulty of the final mission according to the round. 4. Lay out cards from the mission deck according to the table above.
• Struggle for independence in rounds I–V: 1. Choose missions. 2. Divide the neutral dice. 3. First roll (without the threat die). 4. Pass dice and re-roll chosen dice, including the threat die (together with the black die).
• Summary of rounds I–V: Check morale and, if necessary, change the difficulty of the final missions.
• Rewards for completing missions in rounds I–V: Place independence tokens according to the completed missions.
• Housekeeping: Collect the cards of unfulfilled missions and place them at the bottom of the mission deck. Sort the dice. Return the morale markers to the track.

Advanced Version

The advanced version is the full game: cooperative board game for 2–4 players aged 12 and up, playing time 90 minutes. It uses the reverse (side A) of the board, and the mission cards with dark reverses.

Components

1. Board (side A face up).
2. 46 obstacle tokens (żetony przeszkód):
   • 25 double-sided tokens showing the influence of the Russian Tsarist Empire, which in the second part of the game show the influence of the Bolsheviks,
   • 15 tokens showing the influence of the Central Powers,
   • 6 tokens showing Ukrainian influence.
3. 34 independence tokens.
4. 1 time marker.
5. 1 national consent marker (Zgoda narodowa).
6. 1 foreign policy marker (Polityka zagraniczna).
7. 1 shield token.
8. 19 dice:
   • 13 neutral dice,
   • 5 figure dice,
   • 1 black threat die.
9. 13 morale markers (9 yellow and 4 orange).
10. 8 tokens with the symbols that appear on the dice.
11. 24 small threat cards, divided into 2 decks: "1914–1916" and "1917–1918".
12. 15 pawns (3 pawns in each player colour).
13. 1 card showing the place of Piłsudski's imprisonment in Magdeburg, marked with a padlock.
14. 13 large figure cards with biographies: Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Wincenty Witos and Józef Haller, as well as other figures and organisations.
15. 2 large main final mission cards, marked with the letter "F".
16. 77 mission cards with dark red reverses, divided into 6 decks:

Mission Cards

Each mission card shows:

• the deck to which the card belongs,
• the name of the card,
• the symbols that must be obtained on the dice for the mission to succeed,
• the positive effect, which is introduced into the game at the moment the mission is completed. The card shown in the rulebook gives players two options: they must choose which effect they want to introduce into the game, and the other one is ignored,
• the negative effect, which enters the game if nobody takes on the mission,
• the card number (the prefix "A" means that the card belongs to the advanced version),
• the date on the reverse, which gives the time at which the event shown on the front took place. On cards with historical figures, the date gives the year of the figure's birth.

Dice Symbols

The advanced version uses the same four symbols as the basic version: people, diplomacy, money and armed action. The auxiliary cards show the distribution of the symbols on the dice, one card for each player.

Setup (Advanced Version)

1. Place the board in the middle of the table. Place the time marker on the board, on the hourglass field at the start of the time track. Place the foreign policy marker and the national consent marker on their tracks, on the positions marked with the corresponding symbols.

2. Shuffle the two threat decks separately, and place them face down on the designated space of the board. First place the deck marked "1917–1918", and on top of it the deck marked "1914–1916".

3. Depending on the number of players, prepare the morale pool on the morale track. On the first four spaces of the morale track, always place orange markers; on the subsequent spaces, place yellow markers.

   • Two players: 4 orange and 2 yellow markers.
   • Three players: 4 orange and 3 yellow markers.
   • Four players: 4 orange and 5 yellow markers.

4. Place the starting obstacle tokens in the indicated areas, according to the table below.

   Starting obstacle tokens

   Location	Number of tokens	Token colour (as shown in the table)
   Gdańsk	2	dark blue
   Poznań	1	dark blue

The illustrations show the setup for a four-player game.

There Will Be No Independence Without National Consent

In the game "Niepodległa" the players play together against the game: either all of them win, or all of them lose. Therefore all decisions should be made jointly, as the result of consultation and negotiation.

If the players in some case cannot reach agreement, the final decision is made by the player who holds Piłsudski's die.

Course of the Game

The game lasts ten rounds. Each round is divided into six phases:

1. Allocation of pawns and dice.
2. Struggle for independence.
3. Negative effects.
4. Morale check.
5. Positive effects.
6. End of the round and preparation for the next round.

Phase 1: Allocation of Pawns and Dice

The players become acquainted with the revealed missions and jointly decide who will take on which mission. Their choices are indicated by placing their pawns on the cards.

Note: Only one pawn may be placed on a single mission card.

Note: More missions are available than the players have pawns!

Together with the choice of missions, the players jointly divide the available neutral dice, so that each player receives at least one neutral die, and so that no neutral die remains unused. (The players may divide them equally, or, for example, the player whose pawns lie on the most difficult missions may take most of the neutral dice. The decision belongs to the players.) The black die is not included in the division.

Unselected missions carry negative effects, therefore when dividing the missions the players must consider which mission is the most important at the given moment, and which negative effect it is better to avoid at that moment. In the later part of the game, when the players have figure dice and activist tokens at their disposal, they must also consider which player has the greatest chance of successfully completing the given mission.

Note: Some cards bear the exclamation-mark symbol (⚠). The negative effect of such a card enters the game not only when nobody takes the mission, but also when the mission does not end in success. The only way to avoid the negative effect is therefore to complete the mission successfully.

Example: The card "Komitet Narodowy Polski w Paryżu" (Polish National Committee in Paris), with the warning symbol, shows the negative effect that applies if the mission is not completed successfully.

Phase 2: Struggle for Independence

When all pawns have been assigned to missions and all neutral dice have been distributed, each player makes one roll of all the dice they have received: the neutral dice together with their own figure die. The aim of this round is to obtain on the dice the symbols that appear on the missions. Each player tries to obtain symbols only from those cards on which their pawns lie.

Note: Players may roll their dice simultaneously, without dividing into turns. The order of the rolls is arbitrary.

Note: If after the first roll some of the results on the dice match the requirements of a mission, the player may (but need not) immediately place those dice on the appropriate card, so that everyone can see which symbols are still missing. The result of a die may not be changed.

Obstacle Tokens and Independence Tokens

During the game the players add independence tokens in various regions of the map. The map is divided into four regions:

• grey: the Prussian partition,
• pink: the Austro-Hungarian partition,
• yellow: the Eastern Borderlands (Kresy Wschodnie),
• green: the central territories (tereny centralne).

Each region is divided into 3 to 5 areas, in which obstacle tokens and independence tokens are placed. Each region is named after one of the largest cities in that region.

Example: Such a set of symbols means that the players must place an independence token in the area of Kraków.

Example: The players must place an obstacle token (Central Powers influence) in the area of Lublin.

If the symbols on the game elements do not indicate the name of a city in the given region, the players, while placing the given token, jointly choose one of the cities of the region.

Example: The symbol shown means that the players may choose one of the cities of Galicia (in the Austro-Hungarian partition) themselves: Cieszyn, Kraków, Lwów or Stanisławów.

Note: On the cards "Pierwsza Kadrowa usiłuje wywołać powstanie..." (A-04, First Kadra Company tries to provoke an uprising...) and "Bitwa pod Kostiuchnówką..." (A-54, The Battle of Kostiuchnówka...), the symbols order the placement of 2 independence or obstacle tokens in cities of one region, which the players may choose themselves. These tokens are placed in DIFFERENT cities of the indicated region. The players jointly decide which cities they choose.

If the symbol of an independence token has no designation concerning a city or a region, the players may place the token in any freely chosen area.

Any number of tokens may lie in each city. However, independence tokens and obstacle tokens cancel each other out: when a token is added to a city in which the opposing token lies, both must immediately be removed from the board.

The rule is shown on the auxiliary graphic: an independence token plus any obstacle token (Central Powers, Russian, Bolshevik or Ukrainian) gives nothing.

Example: If in the area of Kraków there is a symbol of Central Powers influence, and the players may place an independence token in this area, then instead of placing the token on the board, both tokens must be discarded: the influence token and the independence token.

Note: All obstacle tokens are treated the same in the game, regardless of their colour or pattern. Obstacle tokens do not cancel each other out, and more than one kind of such token may lie in one city. Only the Bolshevik tokens will have an additional meaning in the final round of the game.

If at least one independence token lies in a given area, the players have succeeded in gaining influence in that area and activating the Polish element. If at least one independence token lies in every city of a given region, the players receive the bonuses associated with that region. This is checked after phase 6, at the end of the round.

Note: The number of obstacle tokens is unlimited. If tokens run out in the game, they must be replaced with something.

Phase 2 (continued): Passing Dice and Re-rolling

In the next order, the players decide whether they want to pass dice to each other, and whether they want to keep re-rolling:

• If at least two morale markers remain in the morale pool, any player may discard two of them from the pool, in order to pass one of their dice to another player without changing its result. The die may be a neutral die or a figure die. During the game it is not possible to pass part of a result: passing always concerns the whole die with the result visible on it. The player who receives such a die may immediately place it on a matching mission, or hold it for further re-rolling.
• Regardless of the state of the morale pool, any player may decide to re-roll any of their dice. The player selects the dice whose results do not satisfy them, adds the black die to them, and rolls the whole collected pool:
  • If the black die shows a blank face, nothing bad happens. There is no penalty.
  • If the black die shows a face with 1 or 2 pips, the same number of morale markers (one or two) must immediately be discarded from the morale pool.

Note: Using the tokens that show morale markers allows players to immediately add to the morale pool the number of markers shown on the token.

Note: If as a result of an unlucky roll of the black die the players should discard more morale markers than remain in the pool, all the remaining markers must be discarded, and this phase of the round immediately ends. The players place a morale marker on the "X" symbol to mark this fact.

Note: For re-rolling, you may choose any of your dice, regardless of whether it has already been placed on a mission card, whether it was previously re-rolled, or whether it was received from another player.

Note: When a player gathers on the dice symbols matching one of their missions, they may lay their pawn on that mission horizontally, so that everyone can see that the mission will succeed.

When a player finishes re-rolling a given die, they set it aside on a mission with matching symbols (or aside, if the symbols of that die will not be used). Each die may be used only to complete the mission of the player who is performing it. If a die shows more than one symbol, it is permitted to split the symbols between two (or more) missions carried out by the same player.

Example: The player marked two missions with their pawns: "Pierwsza Kadrowa usiłuje wywołać powstanie w zaborze rosyjskim" (First Kadra Company tries to provoke an uprising in the Russian partition), which requires people and armed action; and "Komitet Narodowy Polski w Warszawie" (Polish National Committee in Warsaw), which requires people and three diplomacy symbols. On the dice they obtained: two people symbols, two armed-action symbols and one diplomacy symbol. They complete the first mission thanks to the two people symbols and one armed-action symbol. If the player obtained two additional diplomacy symbols (for example, by re-rolling the second die with the armed-action result, which is of no use to them), they would also complete the second mission: they already had the people symbols on one die (the green one), and the obtained symbols may be divided between their missions.

It is not necessary (and most often it will not be possible!) to complete all missions in each round. Each mission is resolved separately, and failing to complete one does not affect the course of another.

Phase 3: Negative Effects

When the players agree that they no longer want to perform more rolls, or when the morale pool is exhausted, they must:

• release all imprisoned components, and
• introduce into the game the negative effects of the missions that nobody took on (that is, the missions on which no pawns were placed).

Note: A reminder: the negative effects of cards marked with the exclamation mark (⚠) in the upper right corner also enter the game when someone took on the mission but did not succeed in completing it!

The negative effects are shown by the following symbols:

• Hourglass: the time marker on the time track is moved forward by 1 position, accelerating the end of the game. Immediately introduce into the game the effects described on the time track. In round 9 this effect is ignored.
• Foreign policy symbol crossed out (blue track): the importance of the Polish cause in the international arena decreases. Move the foreign policy marker back by 1 position on the blue track. The marker cannot fall below its starting position. If it is already at 0, nothing happens.
• National consent symbol crossed out (orange track): there is a lack of consensus among politicians and independence activists. Move the national consent marker back by 1 position on the orange track. The marker cannot fall below its starting position. If it is already at 0, nothing happens.
• Obstacle token symbols (dark blue, yellow crown, red star and blue-and-yellow trident): the symbol indicates what kind of obstacle token should be placed on the board, and the name next to it specifies the city near which the token should be placed. If an independence token lies there, both tokens are mutually removed.
  • Several obstacle tokens may lie on one area.
  • Tokens representing Russian influence are double-sided: before the February Revolution (rounds 1–5) they are placed on the board with the yellow side, showing the tsarist crown, face up; from round 6 they are placed with the red side, showing the Bolshevik star, face up.
• Black threat die symbol (black square): roll the black threat die and remove from the morale pool as many morale markers as the result of the roll shows. If as a result of the roll the players should discard more morale markers than there are in the pool, all the markers remaining in the pool are discarded, and the players mark this fact by placing one morale marker on the "X" sign. If the black die shows a blank face, nothing bad happens. As a result of this roll the players do not lose morale markers.
• Hourglass crossed out (card symbol): remove the given card from the game. Completing this mission is no longer possible.

Blocking Components

During the game, some components (a morale marker, one neutral die, any one figure die, or a player's pawn) may be imprisoned for one round. This means that the given component must be moved onto the card showing the place of Piłsudski's imprisonment, marked with a padlock. In the nearest round it will not be available. Components leave prison in phase 3 of the round.

Card caption: House on the grounds of the fortress in Magdeburg, where Brigadier Józef Piłsudski was interned in August 1917.

Phase 4: Morale Check

In the next order, the players check how many morale markers remain on the morale track.

Note: 4 orange morale markers have the same meaning as the yellow ones. They have a different colour, so that it is easy to see whether the players are facing any new threats.

• If 6 or more morale markers remain, the players cover with the shield token the negative effects of the next round on the time track.
• If 4 or 5 markers remain, nothing happens.
• If 2 or 3 markers remain, the players must reveal 1 card from the threat deck and immediately introduce its effects into play. In rounds 1–5 the players reveal cards from the "1914–1916" deck, and in rounds 6–9 from the "1917–1918" deck.
• If 0 or 1 marker remains, the players must reveal 2 cards from the current threat deck.
• If during the roll of the threat die the players lose all the remaining morale markers, and according to the die they should have discarded more markers than were in the pool, the players must reveal as many as 4 threat cards. (The marker placed on the "X" sign reminds them of this.)

Note: The skull symbols next to the morale track remind the players of the maximum number of threat cards to reveal when the space next to them is empty (contains no morale marker).

Phase 5: Positive Effects

After the morale check, the positive effects of those missions which the players succeeded in completing are introduced into play.

• Globe symbol (foreign policy): the importance of the Polish cause in the international arena grows. Move the foreign policy marker on the blue track ("Polityka zagraniczna") forward by 1 position.
  • Note: After reaching some spaces of this track, the players receive additional bonuses, for example they may remove any obstacle token from the board.
• Handshake symbol (national consent): politicians and activists cooperate with each other for the Polish cause. Move the national consent marker on the orange track ("Zgoda narodowa") forward by 1 position.
  • Note: After reaching some spaces of this track, the players receive additional bonuses, for example an additional morale marker is added to the morale pool.
• Independence token symbol: the players place 1 independence token on any free space of the map. If it is placed where an obstacle token lies, both tokens cancel each other out.
  • If a city name is given next to the independence token symbol, the players must place the token in the indicated area.

Threat Cards

Additional symbols appear on threat cards. The table below omits the symbols described above.

• Card showing two crossed-out missions: discard 2 revealed missions from those which nobody took on.
• Card showing a morale marker with a padlock: imprison 1 morale marker.
• Card showing a pawn with a padlock: imprison 1 pawn. The players jointly decide whose pawn will be imprisoned.
• Card showing a neutral die with a padlock: imprison 1 neutral die.
• Card showing a figure die with a padlock (deck 1917–1918): imprison 1 figure die. The players jointly decide whose die will be imprisoned. If the players have no figure dice, nothing happens.

Note: Symbols in the lower part of a card: if there is no independence token in one of the indicated areas (here: the Eastern Borderlands or the central areas), the indicated negative effect enters into force (here: the foreign policy marker on the blue track is moved back by 1 position).

Note: Sometimes cards contain two negative effects. The upper effect always enters the game. The lower one enters the game only if the players fail to meet the condition given.

Phase 5 (continued): Positive Effects – Symbols

• Figure symbol (figure card icon): the player who completed the mission receives the indicated figure die. This die does not enter the general pool. The player who gained it is its owner until the end of the game. (They may temporarily pass this die to another player, like any other die, at the cost of 2 morale markers in the mission phase.) To remember who obtained the die, take the corresponding card with the activist's biography.
• Shield symbol: place the shield token over the negative effects of the next round on the time track.
  • Note: This effect is independent of the morale level.
  • Example: At the end of round 1 the players have 4 morale markers left, so in phase 4 (morale check) they do not receive a shield. They nevertheless manage to complete the mission "Powołanie Polskiego Skarbu Wojskowego" (Call-up of the Polish Military Treasury). Thanks to it, they move the national consent marker 1 position forward, and cover with the shield token the negative effects of round 2.
• Activist token symbol: the player who completed the mission receives the token indicated on the card, and is its owner until the end of the game. The token is treated like a die on whose face the symbol shown appears. If the token is used to complete a mission, it is turned over to its other side, signalling its use. The token may temporarily be passed to another player at the cost of 2 morale markers in phase 2. Later in the game it will be possible to turn all the tokens with symbols back to their active side, when the rules indicate this symbol.
• Morale token symbol (two tokens with morale markers): the player who completed the mission receives the indicated token and is its owner until the end of the game. Using a token with morale markers allows the players, for one round, to add the indicated number of morale markers to the morale pool immediately. If the token is used, it is turned over to its other side, signalling its use.
  • Note: This token is not taken into account when refilling the morale pool (phase 6).

To remember who obtained a given token, take the corresponding card with the biography of the activist or the description of the organisation.

After a mission is completed successfully, its card is set aside in the box. Mission cards which were not completed stay on the table. After completing the mission actions, each player takes back their pawns, and also the dice and activist tokens which belong to them. Used activist tokens remain covered (grey, inactive side up), and until they are turned back to their active side they cannot be used again.

Neutral dice and morale markers form, at the beginning of the next round, a new pool, common to all players.

Phase 6: End of the Round and Preparation of the Next Round

In this phase the players advance the time marker, refill the mission cards and the available pool of dice and tokens.

Time Effects

Move the time marker to the next position on the track, and introduce into play the negative effects described in the red field below it, if they were not earlier covered by the shield.

Example 1: If in round 1 the players did not obtain the shield token, then before the start of round 2 they must add an obstacle token of the Central Powers in Kraków.

Example 2: Before the start of round 4 one must add a Russian Tsarist obstacle token in any city of the Kresy (Kowno, Wilno, Pińsk or Łuck). The players jointly decide which city to choose.

Example 3: Before the start of round 6, place one Bolshevik obstacle token in each of two DIFFERENT cities of the Russian partition. (For example, one token may be placed in Łuck and one in Wilno, but two tokens may not be placed in Wilno.) The players jointly decide which cities they choose.

Refilling the Mission Cards

After following the instructions on the time track, refill the mission cards. The players reveal cards from the top of the deck and lay them beside the cards that remained from the previous round, so that 9 cards are revealed (11 in a four-player game).

The exhaustion of a deck (of missions or threats) has no effect on the game. The players will simply have fewer missions, or new threats will not harm them.

Refilling the Dice Pool and Morale Markers

At the end of the round preparation phase, place on the morale track all available morale markers. Morale markers added temporarily to the pool with the help of morale tokens are not taken into account.

Note: In this phase always check again which cities are currently controlled by the players. If the situation on the board has changed, the element in question must be added to or removed from the pool.

Rewards for Controlling Whole Regions

The players receive the following rewards for controlling all the cities of a region on the board:

• Gdańsk + Poznań + Opole: 1 neutral die.
• Kowno + Wilno + Pińsk + Łuck: 1 neutral die.
• Cieszyn + Kraków + Lwów + Stanisławów: 1 morale marker.
• Kielce + Lublin + Łomża + Łódź + Warszawa: 1 morale marker.

The markers and dice received as a reward are taken out of the box.

Example (four-player game): In phase 6 we fill the morale pool. The national consent marker on the orange track reached level 4, and the players managed to place at least 1 independence token next to each of Cieszyn, Kraków, Lwów and Stanisławów. This means that the pool of morale markers increases by 2. Unfortunately 1 marker was imprisoned, so in the end the morale pool for the next round consists of 10 markers.

Special Events

Round 6: The February Revolution

In round 6 the February Revolution breaks out. Before it begins:

• All yellow obstacle tokens (Russian Tsarist influence) located on the board are turned over to their other side, the red one with the Bolshevik star. Their number does not change.
• The threat cards "1914–1916" are placed under the bottom of the deck marked "1917–1918".
• All tokens with symbols are turned over to their white, active side.

Round 10: 11 November 1918

In the last round the players will face the final challenges. The description of this round is given in the section "Final Round" below.

Note: Special effects connected with the outbreak of the February Revolution and with 11 November 1918 always enter the game, regardless of whether the players have the shield token or not.

Final Round

On 11 November 1918 the capitulation of Germany and the end of the First World War follow. Depending on the effectiveness of the players in the previous rounds, it will be decided whether the Polish state is rebuilt, and whether Poland wins the struggle for its borders and remains on the map of the world. The three phases of the final round are played analogously to the phases of rounds 1–9, with the following differences.

I. 11 November 1918 – Regaining Independence

After moving the time marker to position 10 on the time track, the players must check whether the markers on the policy tracks have met or passed each other. If the markers are at the same height, or have passed each other, then the Polish state has been created and the players begin the struggle for the borders.

Diagram captions: "Defeat" (the markers are still apart); "May proceed to the phase 'Defence of the borders'" (the markers have met or passed each other).

In the opposite case the players' actions were ineffective, and even if Poland arose, it would be a state dependent on the greater powers. In the opposite case the players immediately lose.

II. Defence of the Borders

If the players did not lose on 11 November (see above), turn all the tokens with symbols that they hold to their white, active side. Remove from the table all the mission cards of the previous round. Instead of them, lay out:

• 2 large main mission cards,
• 6 randomly drawn cards from the final mission deck "F" (in a four-player game, lay out 8 randomly drawn "F" cards).

The main missions have a variable difficulty level, which depends on the players' achievements so far. Set the difficulty of both main missions according to the descriptions printed on them:

• "Paris Peace Conference" (Konferencja pokojowa w Paryżu) is easier the further apart the markers on the policy tracks have moved from each other.
• "Battle of Warsaw" (Bitwa Warszawska) is easier the fewer red obstacle tokens representing the Bolsheviks lie on the board.

Example: The national consent marker on the orange track has reached level 7, and the foreign policy marker on the blue track has reached level 6. This means the markers have moved apart by 3 positions, so the mission "Paris Peace Conference" now requires only 6 diplomacy symbols.

Each small final mission card is double-sided. The side with a white frame denotes the harder mission, and the side with a red frame denotes the easier one. After drawing the cards, they are laid out harder side up. Then, for each card, it is checked whether the conditions allowing it to be turned to the easier side occur in the game, according to the symbols on the cards.

Example 1: The card "Powstanie wielkopolskie" (Greater Poland Uprising) requires the symbols: people, armed action, armed action and armed action. If, however, there is at least 1 independence token on the board in the area of Poznań, the mission may be turned to its easier side, requiring only two symbols: people and armed action.

Example 2: The card "Usunięcie wojsk zaborczych" (Removal of the Partition Armies) requires the symbols: people, people, diplomacy and diplomacy. If, however, the players managed to place on the board at least 1 independence token in each of 11 or more areas, the mission may be turned to its easier side, requiring only two symbols: people and diplomacy.

Then prepare the pool of neutral dice and morale markers as in the previous rounds. The game proceeds further according to the normal rules. The players divide the pawns and dice, make rolls, pass dice to each other, roll again, and so on.

Conditions Allowing the Final Cards to Be Turned to the Easier Side

• "Piłsudski becomes Supreme Commander and Head of State" (A-61): if the national consent marker reaches a level greater than 6, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Poland joins the League of Nations" (A-68): if the foreign policy marker reaches a level greater than 6, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Blue Army and Greater Poland help liberate Eastern Galicia" (A-64): if each of the named areas (Kraków, Lwów and Stanisławów) has at least 1 independence token, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Silesian Uprisings" (A-65): if the area of Opole has at least 1 independence token, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Wedding with the Sea" (A-69): if the area of Gdańsk or Poznań has at least 1 independence token, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Elections and convening of the Constituent Sejm" (A-66): if the players managed to place at least 1 independence token in each of the 16 areas of the map, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Call of the peasants to fight for the freedom of the homeland" (A-67): if the players managed to place at least 1 independence token in 2 or more areas of the Eastern Borderlands (Kownie, Wilnie, Pińsku and/or Łucku), the mission card may be turned to its easier side.
• "Removal of the partition armies" (A-63): if the players managed to place at least 1 independence token in more than 10 areas, the mission card may be turned to its easier side.

Ending the Defence of the Borders

The defence of the borders ends in two cases:

• If morale drops to zero before all missions have been completed, the players immediately lose. The defence of the borders has failed.
• If the players manage to gather the symbols needed to complete all missions, the game immediately ends in victory! They have succeeded in establishing an independent Poland, in fixing its borders through diplomacy, uprisings and armed struggle, in creating a stable government, and in defending the country against Bolshevik aggression.

Note: There are exactly as many final mission cards as there are players' pawns, so no mission will remain unchosen!

Note: The main missions are carried out jointly by all players at the same time, and there is no need to place pawns on them. Each player may place on them dice with matching symbols without paying morale markers. It is permitted to split the symbols of one die between the joint mission and one's own private missions.

Variant for Experienced Players

After the first games, experienced players may decide that the defence of the borders was too easy. For them, special additional challenge cards marked with the letter "D" are intended. They describe further events that followed the regaining of independence, or conflicts which in reality could not be decided in Poland's favour.

At the end of the preparation phase of the final round, once the difficulty level of all missions has been established, the players may jointly decide whether they want to raise the stakes. If they agree, they draw from 1 to 6 additional challenge cards "D", which are to be undertaken in the final round in parallel with the main missions.

Each additional mission is carried out simultaneously by all players, similarly to the main final missions. Each player may set aside on them dice with matching symbols, and may split the symbols between their missions and their private missions.

Additional challenges are not obligatory. However, when the players finish the struggle-for-independence phase, they must roll the black threat die for each additional challenge that was not completed. If the morale level falls to zero in this way, the game immediately ends in defeat.

Completed additional challenges bring the players additional points, which are symbolised by the eagle.

Scoring

When the players finish the final round, they count the points for the missions completed:

Mission	Points in a 2–3 player game	Points in a 4-player game
Paris Peace Conference (Konferencja pokojowa w Paryżu) "F"	10	10
Battle of Warsaw (Bitwa Warszawska) "F"	10	10
Each small final mission "F"	4	3
Each overcome additional challenge "D"	2	2

The number of points obtained can be compared with the table below:

Points	Rank achieved
53–56	Marszałek Polski (Marshal of Poland)
52	generał broni (general of arms)
51	generał dywizji (major general)
50	generał brygady (brigadier general)
48–49	pułkownik (colonel)
47	podpułkownik (lieutenant colonel)
45–46	major (major)
44	rotmistrz (cavalry captain)
Less than 44	Record the result and try again...

The "Foreign Policy" and "National Consent" Tracks

The blue track ("Polityka zagraniczna") denotes the situation of the Polish cause in the international arena. At the start of the game the marker indicates position "0": no one in the West makes plans, and nobody considers the independence of Poland. During the game the players will raise the level of this indicator, fighting for the support of France, Great Britain, the United States and the other countries of the Entente. The highest level of this track means that Poland is close to regaining independence thanks to brilliant diplomacy.

The orange track ("Zgoda narodowa") marks the cooperation of Polish politicians for the Polish cause, regardless of their party affiliation. At the start of the game the marker indicates position "0": each party pursues its own plans, and most politicians have different conceptions of the Polish state. Higher levels of this indicator denote the working out of a compromise. The highest level of this track means that a stable, cross-party government has been formed, and Poland is close to rising through a method of faits accomplis, even against the policy of the world and the intentions of the neighbouring states.

Note: The players do not have to bring either track to its highest level, but for an independent Poland to arise, both markers must meet or pass each other before the last, 10th phase of the game arrives.

As the levels of the foreign policy and national consent tracks rise, the players receive additional benefits whenever the marker reaches a given field (from a lower value):

• Crossed-out multicoloured circle: the players may remove 1 obstacle token of their choice from the board.
• Yellow morale marker: from the next round, the players receive an additional morale marker into the pool.
• Card-with-arrow symbol: the players turn all their tokens with symbols to their active side.

Note: If the national consent level falls below the level that gives the players an additional morale marker, the players lose that marker in the next round. However, obstacle tokens removed from the board as a result of the rise in national consent are not put back into the game when the level later falls. After a further rise in national consent, the next token may be removed.

Advanced Version: Setup and Rounds 1–9 Summary

Setup summary (table)

Number of players	Pawns per player	Mission cards per round	Neutral dice	Morale markers	Final cards
2	3	9	7	6	6
3	2	9	9	7	6
4	2	11	11	9	8

Rounds 1–9 summary

• Allocation of pawns and dice: 1. Choose missions. 2. Divide the neutral dice.
• Struggle for independence: 1. First roll without the threat die. 2. Pass dice and re-roll the chosen dice, including the threat die.
• Negative effects: Release all imprisoned components. Introduce the negative effects of missions that nobody took on.
• Morale check: Check whether the players received the shield, or whether they must reveal threat cards.
• Positive effects: Introduce the positive effects of the missions completed successfully.
• End of the round and preparation of the next round: 1. Move the time marker. 2. Introduce the negative effects of the time track, unless they are covered by the shield. 3. Refill the mission cards according to the table above. 4. Refill the pool of dice and morale markers.