The Bell of Treason: 1938 Munich Crisis in Czechoslovakia Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Cards
• Pieces
• Game Board
• Presence and Control
• Setup
• Gameplay Overview
• Sequence of Play
• Round Cards
• Initiative Phase
• Playing Strategy Cards
• Crisis Tracks and Cube Pools
• German Activity and Mobilization
• Pivotal Space Bonus Actions and Dimension Scoring
• Objective Card Scoring
• Repeated Strategy Cards
• Final Decision
• Victory
• Solo Opponent Rules
  • Definitions
  • Overview
  • Setup
  • Solo Sequence of Play
  • Placing and Removing Cubes
  • Selecting Spaces
  • Performing Events
  • Pivotal Space Bonus Actions
  • Final Decision Round
  • Game End
• Glossary

Components

• 26 green Influence cubes
• 26 white Influence cubes
• 3 red German Activity disks
• 1 black Victory Point marker
• 1 mounted board
• 1 6-sided die
• 1 Rules of Play (this manual)
• 1 Playbook
• 39 Strategy cards
• 12 Objective cards
• 3 Round cards
• 1 Mobilization card
• 1 Initiative card
• 2 double-sided Player and Solo Opponent Aid Cards

Cards

Strategy Cards ~ A deck of cards, each listing Operations Points, a title with a color background (green, white, or blue), event text, flavor text, and (only on some cards) a tab at the bottom that indicates how they can be used in the Final Decision round. A Strategy Card can be played for its event, for Operations Points, or to use the previously discarded event. A Strategy Card can only be played for its event if the event title's colored background matches that player's color (green: Defend, white: Concede) or is neutral (blue). Some Strategy Cards are marked as "Repeated" (card symbol just below the Operations Points); these cards will be reshuffled into the deck from the discard pile at the end of each round.

Objective Cards ~ A deck of cards, each listing a specific space on the map and an event. Objective Cards are revealed at the end of each round, scoring a Victory Point and optional event if a player controls their own Objective space. Each space on the map has an associated Objective Card.

Final Decision Cards ~ Each player has a Final Decision Card which is placed face-up in front of them. This card may be played for its Operations Points during a regular game round or for its event during the Final Decision round.

Round Cards ~ Three cards used to indicate which round is being played, in addition to any special instructions associated with that round.

Mobilization Card ~ One double-sided card used to indicate the availability of Partial and then General Mobilization, including text explaining when each is triggered and how to resolve it.

Initiative Card ~ The current Initiative Player is tracked with the Initiative Card.

Pieces

Influence Cubes ~ Used to indicate influence in a space. Most of these cubes begin play on the Crisis Tracks, German Activity track, or Mobilization card/area. Once they enter play, cubes cycle between map spaces and the player's cube pool. There may never be more than four of each player's Influence cubes in a map space.

Design Note: White cubes represent the idea of conceding the Sudetenland to Germany while green cubes represent the idea of not doing so and therefore defending Czechoslovakia by force. For example, when placed in ČSR Germans a cube shows the opinions of this group, while in France it represents the diplomatic message that power is sending.

German Disks ~ Red disks used to indicate the increasing activity of the Nazi-aligned Germans, both in Sudetenland and in Germany, are brought into play via events or automatically at the start of Round 2 and Round 3. They are placed on the German Activity track, maximum one per space, releasing Influence cubes for the Concede player and eventually triggering Partial and then General Mobilization.

Game Board

Map Spaces ~ Spaces on the board are coded by a color indicating which Dimension they belong to, labeled with an individual name. Each space can hold up to four of each player's cubes (four green plus four white).

• International – yellow spaces, including United Kingdom, France, and Soviet Union.
• Political – purple spaces, including President, Government, and Opposition.
• Military – green spaces, including General Staff, State Defense Guard, and Moravian HQs.
• Public – red spaces, including Czechoslovaks, Press, and ČSR Germans.

Each set of three same-color map spaces is a Dimension. During scoring at the end of a regular round a player gains 1 Victory Point for each Dimension where they Control all three spaces. At the end of the Final Decision Round, a player may only gain Victory Points for the Political or Military Dimensions (still worth 1 Victory Point each).

Adjacent spaces are connected by single or double arrows; the direction of the arrow indicates adjacency (e.g., President is adjacent to United Kingdom but not the other way around; Opposition and General Staff are adjacent to each other).

A space exerts Pressure over another space if that second space is adjacent to it (for example, United Kingdom exerts Pressure over President, but President does not exert Pressure over United Kingdom).

Concede is always considered to control a "virtual" space that can exert Pressure over United Kingdom, Government, and ČSR Germans, indicated by small white cubes with arrows pointing at these spaces.

Defend is always considered to control a "virtual" space that can exert Pressure over Czechoslovaks, General Staff, and Moravian HQs, indicated by small green cubes with arrows pointing at these spaces.

Pivotal Space ~ The star-shaped space in each Dimension is a Pivotal Space (United Kingdom, President, General Staff, and Czechoslovaks). Control of a Pivotal Space gives the player a bonus action at the end of the round, before determining Control of that Dimension and scoring victory points.

Crisis Tracks ~ The two tracks on the right side of the board, one for each player (Concede at the top, Defend at the bottom). Most Influence cubes begin play on the Crisis Tracks as available cubes. Each track is composed of three zones (Cube Pool, Escalation, and Tension). When the first cube is removed from a zone, that zone is breached. When a zone is breached, the cubes from that zone are immediately moved to both player's cube pools. If either player breaches their Tension zone they immediately lose 1 Victory Point.

Victory Point Track ~ Victory Points are tracked using a black Victory Point marker on the track towards the top right of the board. Only one side can have a positive Victory Point value at a time, and any gain in Victory Points moves the track towards that player's side of the track. The 0 Victory Point space at the center of the track favors Concede, meaning that Concede is considered to be ahead on Victory Points if the marker is on 0. The red die icons above the green side of the track indicate that Defend victory by Hitler's Decision can be triggered when Defend has 2 or more Victory Points. Neither side may exceed 5 Victory Points, and any further shift beyond this is ignored.

German Activity Track ~ A three-space track at the left side of the board, where German disks are placed during play, generally to the lowest numbered space without a disk (unless otherwise specified on a card). There may only be a maximum of one disk per track space. Each track space contains one white cube at the start of the game, which is unlocked when a red German disk is placed in the space, and is then immediately placed by the Concede player in either the ČSR Germans space or the Concede cube pool (they may choose which). If a disk is removed from the track it should be taken from the lowest numbered space first, and the white cube in that space remains unlocked.

Design Note: The German Activity track represents German activity, both paramilitary and military, in the Sudetenland and in Germany during the crisis, including terror attacks and kidnappings by the newly-formed Sudetendeutsche Freikorps, eventually with SS support from across the border. These attacks were intended to intimidate the Czechoslovak population and escalate the crisis, but also served to lay the ground for the planned German invasion of Czechoslovakia (Case Green). As violence escalated alongside the Chamberlain-Hitler negotiations, the track is also used to trigger the mobilization of the Czechoslovak army.

Mobilization ~ A space for the Partial/General Mobilization card to be placed, Partial side up at the start of the game with one green Defend cube on it, and with three additional green Defend cubes placed adjacent to it. These cubes will be unlocked during play when sufficient German disks are placed, as indicated on the Mobilization card. Execute each Mobilization card immediately when the required number of red German disks have been placed.

Note: The General Mobilization card moves half the cubes in General Staff to Moravian HQs, rounded down and selected randomly. To select cubes randomly, either place them all in a bag and draw them out one at a time, or assign odds and use the die to determine which cubes are moved.

Design Note: The Czechoslovak army was partially mobilized in May 1938 in response to reports of German maneuvers close to the border, and fully mobilized in September after Hitler's ultimatum at Bad Godesberg. This included the repositioning of the army's high command from Prague to the headquarters in Moravia, where they would be able to continue operations should the Germans cut the country in half.

Cube Pool ~ Influence cubes that are not on the map, Crisis Tracks, German Activity track, or Mobilization area/card are placed in their respective faction's cube pool (Concede at the top of the board, Defend at the bottom of the board).

Presence and Control

A player has Presence (or is present) in a space if they have one or more cubes there.

A player Controls a space if they have more cubes in it than their opponent.

A player Controls a Dimension if they control all three of its spaces.

Important! Presence and Control is assessed once at the start of each card play, before conducting all operations.

Setup

Place the black Victory Point marker on the "0" space of the Victory Point track. Stack the three Round cards in order, face-up with Round 1 on top, and place these on the Final Decision space on the board. Place one white cube on each space of the German Activity track, and the red disks off the board to one side. Place the Mobilization card with its Partial Mobilization side up in the "Mobilization" space, with one green cube on it and three green cubes in the indicated spaces to the left of it.

Place six white cubes in the Concede cube pool, four white cubes and five green cubes in the Concede Escalation zone, and two white cubes and three green cubes in the Concede Tension zone. Place six green cubes in the Defend cube pool, four green cubes and five white cubes in the Defend Escalation zone, and two green cubes and three white cubes in the Defend Tension zone. Finally, place one white cube in the United Kingdom space and two white cubes in the ČSR Germans space, and one green cube each in the France and Soviet Union spaces.

Place each player's Final Decision Card face up in front of them. Shuffle the Strategy and Objective decks separately and place them near the board. Place the Initiative Card above the board with the Defend side face up.

Gameplay Overview

At the beginning of each round, carry out the instructions on the Round card (if any). Then, deal five Strategy Cards and two Objective Cards to each player. Both players secretly choose one of their Objective Cards to keep and remove the other from play without revealing it (return them to the game box). Then conduct the Initiative Phase.

Starting with the Initiative Player, alternate playing Strategy Cards until both players have played four times. Each player's remaining Strategy Card is set aside face down for the Final Decision.

Perform Pivotal Space bonus actions, followed by Dimension scoring, both in the order decided by the Initiative Player. Then Objective Cards are revealed simultaneously, and if a player Controls their own Objective space they score 1 VP and may execute the event text on the Objective. Finally, reveal the next Round card and continue to the next round.

Sequence of Play

1. Conduct the instructions on the Round card.
2. Deal five Strategy Cards and two Objective Cards to each player.
3. Each player secretly chooses one Objective Card to keep as this round's objective and removes the other from play, without revealing it to their opponent.
4. Conduct the Initiative Phase to determine the Initiative Player.
5. Alternate playing Strategy Cards until each player has played four times.
6. Each player sets aside their remaining Strategy Card for use during the Final Decision.
7. Perform Pivotal Space bonus actions.
8. Score Dimensions.
9. Reveal, score, and execute Objective Cards.
10. Return Repeated Strategy Cards to the deck from the discard pile, then shuffle the deck.
11. Reveal the next Round card and continue to the next round.

Round Cards

The second and third Round cards each contain a short list of instructions that must be carried out at the start of the Round. First, remove all white cubes and all but one green cube from the Soviet Union space (Stalin's Politics). Next, if Defend has 2 or more Victory Points, roll a die, and if the result is less than or equal to the current Defend Victory Points, German forces invade and the game ends immediately (Hitler's Decision). If the game ends in this way and Partial Mobilization has not yet occurred, both players lose; otherwise it is a Defend victory. During Round 2 any Defend cubes released by Partial or General Mobilization may not be placed in International spaces (Chamberlain-Hitler Deal). Finally, at the start of Round 2 place a red disk on the second space of the German Activity track unless one is already there, and at the start of Round 3 place a red disk on the third space of the German Activity track if no disk is already there (German Preparations). This disk placement might immediately trigger either Partial or General Mobilization.

Design Note: The special events at the beginning of Round 2 and Round 3 reflect international affairs that impacted the crisis in Czechoslovakia. They represent the Soviet's game of trying to ignite the war in Europe, the uncertainty of when the Germans will launch the attack, the Chamberlain-Hitler negotiations, and continuous German preparations for war.

Initiative Phase

Initiative Phase ~ The Initiative Phase occurs just before Strategy Card play in each of the three regular rounds and the Final Decision Round. The player who has fewer Victory Points (or Defend if the track is on 0) decides whether to play first or second in the round. Flip the Initiative Card with the first player's faction face up; that player becomes the Initiative Player.

Initiative Player ~ The player whose faction is face up on the Initiative Card is the Initiative Player. The Initiative Player plays the first Strategy Card each round and will decide the order in which Pivotal Space bonus actions, Dimension scoring, and Objective Card execution will be resolved at the end of the round. The Initiative Player is also first to resolve each Strategy Card played in the Final Decision.

Playing Strategy Cards

When played during a regular round, each Strategy Card can be used in one of three different ways: for its event, for operations, or to use the previously discarded event. After playing four Strategy Cards, each player sets aside their remaining Strategy Card (face-down) for use during the Final Decision. When played during the Final Decision, a Strategy Card is used only for a single Escalate or Persuade action in the space marked at the bottom, or for its event, if its Final Decision tab allows. A card with nothing marked at the bottom has no effect during the Final Decision.

Event ~ A player may use an event on a Strategy Card if the background color of the event's title matches that player's color (green: Defend, white: Concede) or is neutral (blue). If a card is played for its event, implement the event text exactly as written ("add" is mandatory while "may add" is not). Some events can only be played if their conditions are satisfied (e.g., "If…" or "must"). When a card is played for its event, first place it on top of the discard pile – any additional cards discarded as a result of the event will be placed on top of it.

Note: Anything that says "up to" a certain number of cubes includes zero cubes. If an event calls for using Operations points in a specific space, those points may only be used in that space alone (which may mean that they cannot be used at all).

Operations ~ A player may spend the Operations Points from a card in hand to Persuade and/or Escalate. Each operation may be performed in a different space. After a card is played for Operations Points, place it on top of the discard pile.

Important! Determine Control and Presence once at the start of the card play (i.e., no "daisy-chaining"). This means that you can never use Persuade in a space that you were not present in at the start of the card play.

Persuade Operation ~ Spend 1 Operations Point for each cube removed to remove enemy cubes from spaces where the acting player was Present at the start of the card play. Place removed cubes in the enemy cube pool.

Escalate Operation ~ Spend 1 Operations Point for each cube placed to place friendly cubes in spaces where the acting player is either Present or adjacent to spaces they Controlled at the start of the card play. One may never place the opponent's cubes.

Note: Remember that Concede are always considered to Control a "virtual" space that exerts Pressure over United Kingdom, Government, and ČSR Germans spaces, while Defend are always considered to Control a "virtual" space that exerts Pressure over the Czechoslovaks, General Staff, and Moravian HQs spaces. A player may always Escalate to place a cube into a space that they exert Pressure over in this way.

Use a discarded event ~ A player may use the event of the Strategy Card on top of the discard pile, even if it was played in the previous round, by discarding a card with equal or more Operations Points. If it is a neutral event, they may only do this if the event has not already been executed (by either player). The event occurs immediately, and then the discarded card is placed on top of the discard pile.

Play Final Decision Card ~ In any regular round, instead of playing a card from their hand, a player may choose to discard a card to use their Final Decision card for its Operation points. The Final Decision Card is then removed from the game. Otherwise, the Final Decision Card is available for use during the Final Decision round.

Crisis Tracks and Cube Pools

When adding cubes to the map, a player must first use any cubes in their cube pool. If their cube pool is empty, the player must use cubes from their Crisis Track, removing cubes one at a time from the leftmost (Concede) or rightmost (Defend) side of their track.

Note: If no cubes are available, the player may not relocate cubes on the map.

As cubes are removed from the Crisis Track, zones (Escalation and Tension) will be breached. When a zone is breached, the owning player must immediately take the cubes from that zone and place them in each player's cube pools. If either player breaches their Tension zone, they also immediately lose 1 Victory Point.

Cubes are also placed in their respective cube pools when they are removed from map spaces by either player. Both cube pools have unlimited room for cubes. Cubes are never removed from the game.

German Activity and Mobilization

Additional cubes begin the game on the German Activity track (Concede) and on or next to the Mobilization card (Defend). These cubes enter play when certain conditions are met:

• Germans ~ One white cube begins play on each space of the German Activity track. Red German disks (only) may be placed on these spaces by event or Round card effects, maximum one disk per space. If a red disk is placed on a space with a white cube, the Concede player must immediately place that cube either in the ČSR Germans space or in their cube pool (their choice). If a red disk is removed its space remains empty; no white cube is returned there.
• Mobilization ~ One green cube begins play on the Partial Mobilization card, with three more green cubes placed next to it. These cubes will enter play as instructed on the Partial Mobilization card and then its reverse side, General Mobilization. When the conditions on each card are met, the green cube(s) that are released may be placed by Defend in any spaces (except for during Round 2, where due to the Chamberlain-Hitler Deal they may not be placed in International spaces).

Pivotal Space Bonus Actions and Dimension Scoring

After each player has played four Strategy Cards for the round and placed their remaining card aside for the Final Decision Round, check for Control of each Pivotal Space. The Initiative Player decides in which order Pivotal Space bonus actions will be performed for each controlled Pivotal Space. Within spaces of that Dimension, the player controlling the Pivotal Space (if any) may do one of the following:

• Escalate ~ Place one of their cubes in a space where they are Present or adjacent to a space they Control, in that Dimension.
• Persuade ~ Remove one enemy cube in a space where they are Present, in that Dimension.
• Spread ~ Move up to two of their cubes between any spaces in that Dimension.
• Alternatively, they may choose to do nothing.

After performing all Pivotal Space bonus actions, players gain 1 Victory Point for each Dimension that they Control—in the order decided by the Initiative Player.

Note: Pivotal Space bonus actions are performed before Dimension Control and Objectives are checked for scoring, so they can be an important way to gain Victory Points.

Objective Card Scoring

After scoring Dimensions, both players reveal their Objective Cards simultaneously. A player controlling the space on their own Objective Card gains 1 Victory Point (as noted on the card) and then may execute the event text on the card—in the order decided by the Initiative Player. Then remove each Objective Card from play.

Note: Control of both Objectives is checked simultaneously, so it is not possible to use the event text on an Objective Card to prevent the other player from scoring their own Objective. A player does not gain a Victory Point or execute the event if they Control their opponent's Objective space.

Repeated Strategy Cards

After completing Objective Card scoring, search the discard pile for any Strategy Cards marked as "Repeated" (symbol in top left corner) and shuffle these into the deck. Then reveal the next Round Card and continue play.

Final Decision

After completing three regular rounds, players conduct the Final Decision Round. Determine the Initiative Player as normal.

First, players gather the three cards they set aside for Final Decision and their Final Decision Card (if it is still in play), then discard one card (face up) if they now have more than three. Then, they each select one card and simultaneously reveal it. If the text at the bottom of both cards indicates the same space, neither player conducts an action; otherwise they each perform an action according to the text at the bottom of their card, Initiative Player first. If a player's card specifies a space, they may conduct one Persuade or Escalate operation in that space (if possible). Either kind of operation may only target the space specified on the card, and must meet all of the usual conditions to do so (Persuade requires the presence of a friendly cube in order to remove an enemy cube, and Escalate requires either presence or the Control of a space exerting Pressure in order to place a cube). If a player's card also specifies "Event", they may instead perform the Event text on the card (only if it matches their faction color or is neutral). If the card has no text at the bottom, then they take no action. Once both players have had a chance to act, they select and simultaneously reveal their second card and proceed as above, and then do the same for their third card.

Once all three cards have been played, score just the Political and Military Dimensions again — each player gains 1 VP for either of these Dimensions that they Control, in the order decided by the Initiative Player. No Pivotal Space bonus actions are performed. Then check for victory as described below.

Victory

To win:

• The Defend player needs at least 1 Victory Point, and at least as many green cubes in either the President space, or a single space that exerts Pressure over it, as there are white cubes in the President space.
• Otherwise, the Concede player wins.

Alternatively, the Defend player can win with Hitler's Decision at the beginning of either Round 2 or Round 3 if they have at least 2 Victory Points, Partial Mobilization has occurred, and they roll less than or equal to their current Victory Points (or by the same procedure if an event calls for a Hitler's Decision roll). If Hitler's Decision occurs before Partial Mobilization and the Defend player rolls less than or equal to their current Victory Points, then both players lose the game (Hitler surprises Czechoslovakia with a swift attack).

Design Note: A snap decision by Hitler to invade Czechoslovakia would have forced the hand of the Czechoslovak government into defending their country. However, if this happened before at least partial mobilization, the chances of withstanding the invasion would have been low.

Solo Opponent Rules

The Bell of Treason can be played by a single Player with the game controlling the side not controlled by the Player. This Solo Opponent is governed by the Solo Sequence of Play in this rulebook and the included Solo Opponent Aid. Unless specifically noted in this section, the Solo Opponent follows all the rules of the two-player game. It is recommended that you become familiar with the two-player game before playing with these rules.

Definitions

Available cubes – A cube is Available if it is in the Solo Opponent's cube pool or on the Crisis Track but not in the Tension zone. During the Final Decision Round the Defend Solo Opponent treats cubes in its Tension zone as Available if it has 2 or more VP, and the Concede Solo Opponent treats cubes in its Tension zone as Available if either side has 2 or more VP. Once the Player breaches the Tension zone, treat cubes in the Solo Opponent's Tension zone as Available.

Friendly – A Strategy Card belonging to the Solo Opponent's side only (does not include Neutral Cards).

Isolated cubes – A cube is Isolated if it is not adjacent to any spaces controlled by that faction. Concede cubes in the United Kingdom, Government, and ČSR Germans spaces, and Defend cubes in the General Staff, Moravian HQs, and Czechoslovaks spaces can never be Isolated.

Spaces with Room – A space has Room for the Solo Opponent's cubes until it has one more of the Solo Opponent's cubes than the Player's cubes, or two more in a Pivotal Space. Additionally, for the Concede Solo Opponent only, the President space has Room until it has two more Concede cubes in it than Defend cubes in any single space that exerts Pressure over President. During the Final Decision Round only, the President space always has Room for Concede cubes, and the President and all spaces that exert Pressure over it always have Room for Defend cubes. A space with four Solo Opponent cubes never has Room (as they cannot legally place cubes there).

Overview

The Solo Opponent never holds a hand of cards or keeps cards for the Final Decision. Instead, the Solo Opponent makes all decisions according to the Solo Sequence of Play and Solo Opponent Aid. During the Solo Opponent's card play, reveal a Strategy card and follow the instructions in the Solo Sequence of Play to determine whether the Solo Opponent uses the revealed Event, the Event on the top card of the discard pile, or performs operations using the revealed card.

The Solo Opponent uses tables printed on the Solo Opponent Aid to decide which operation to perform and where to resolve events and operations. Some steps of the Solo Sequence of Play break the two-player rules and should be followed literally. Your card plays follow the regular sequence of play, as in a two-player game.

Setup

Setup is the same as that for the two-player game. Find the Solo Opponent Aid for the side controlled by the Solo Opponent and place it beside the board for easy reference. Determine the difficulty level you would like to use:

• The Easy Solo Opponent plays with minimal advantages and is best when learning the game.
• The Normal Solo Opponent conducts an additional 1 Operations Point after performing an Event.
• The Hard Solo Opponent gets the same advantage as Normal, plus it treats 1 Operations Point cards as if they have 2 Operations Points when conducting operations.

Solo Sequence of Play

Follow the Solo Sequence of Play literally. Several steps are modified from the two-player Sequence of Play.

1. Follow the instructions on the current Round Card (if any).
2. Draw 5 Strategy Cards. Do not deal any Strategy Cards to the Solo Opponent.
3. Draw 2 Objective Cards. If both Objective Cards are in the same Dimension, return them to the Objective deck, shuffle, and repeat. Select one Objective Card to keep for yourself and the other to use as the Solo Opponent's Objective Card.
4. Conduct the Initiative Phase. If the Solo Opponent has fewer Victory Points (or 0 if it is Defend), it will choose to play second.
5. Alternate playing Strategy Cards until each side has played four times. On the Solo Opponent's card play, reveal the top card of the Strategy Deck and:
   • If the card is Friendly, use the Event if it would place or remove cubes from the board and can be completely executed, otherwise conduct operations with the revealed card's Operations Points.
   • If the card is Neutral, perform the Event only if it would place a German disk and at least one Solo Opponent cube, otherwise conduct operations with the revealed card's Operations Points. When the Solo Opponent is executing a neutral Event they are considered to be the acting player and will only choose to place their own cubes.
   • If the card is Enemy, check if the top card of the discard is Friendly and has the same or fewer Operations Points than the revealed card. If so, perform the Friendly event on top of the discard if it would place or remove cubes from the board and can be completely executed. Otherwise, conduct operations with the revealed card's Operations Points.
   • If playing Hard difficulty, add 1 Operations Point to all 1 Operations Point cards when conducting operations.
   • Then, if playing Normal or Hard difficulty and an event was performed, use an additional 1 Operations Point after resolving the event (determine Presence and Control again before this operation).
   • Finally, discard the revealed Strategy Card.
6. Set aside your remaining Strategy Card for the Final Decision. The Solo Opponent does not set aside a Strategy Card for the Final Decision.
7. Perform Pivotal Space bonus actions (see "Pivotal Space Bonus Actions" below for additional Solo Opponent instructions).
8. Score VP for Control of Dimensions.
9. Score Objective Cards. If both sides control their Objective space and the Solo Opponent is the Initiative Player, it will choose to resolve its Objective event after the Player.
10. Return Repeated Strategy Cards to the deck and shuffle it.
11. Reveal the next Round Card and continue to the next round.

Placing and Removing Cubes

When using Operations Points, the Solo Opponent must determine if it will remove any Player cubes. The Solo Opponent will only remove cubes if there are cubes it can legally remove, and if instructed to do so by the "Select whether to place or remove" table on the Solo Opponent Aid.

Starting at the top of the table, check each condition, considering only spaces that could legally be selected for the current action; if the condition is met, follow the instruction for that condition. If the condition is not met, continue to the next condition. If instructed to Remove, the Solo Opponent will remove a single Player cube, then consult the "Select whether to place or remove" table again. Once instructed to Place, or once there are no more Player cubes that the Solo Opponent can legally remove, the Solo Opponent will spend all remaining Operations Points to place its own cubes.

Selecting Spaces

Note: Space selection is covered in detail in the Solo Example of Play found in the Playbook.

Whenever placing or removing cubes (whether by operation, event, Pivotal Space bonus actions, German disk placement, or Mobilization resolution), the Solo Opponent selects spaces in which to act one at a time using the corresponding Space Selection table on the Solo Opponent Aid. Once a space is selected, the Solo Opponent will place or remove a single cube from that space.

To select a space, determine all legal spaces for the action. Then, starting at the top of the corresponding Space Selection table, eliminate all spaces that do not meet the condition in each row, in order, until only one space remains. If applying a condition would eliminate all spaces, skip that condition. If multiple spaces remain after applying all rows in the table, roll a die to select from the remaining spaces. If the action is not complete, select another space by determining a new set of legal spaces and starting again at the top of the Space Selection table.

Important! The Space Selection table cannot tell you which spaces are legal choices for the operation or event being performed. For example, the Solo Opponent must still have Presence in order to remove your cubes (Persuade).

Performing Events

The Solo Opponent will always perform a used event as completely as possible (including an event played by the player that allows the Solo Opponent to do something), within the following guidelines:

• Events that might not place or remove cubes from the map are not used.
• Neutral events are used by the Solo Opponent only if they would place a German disk and at least one Solo Opponent cube.
• Use the "Select where to place cubes" table for events that place or replace cubes and the "Select where to remove cubes" table for events that remove cubes.
• Never voluntarily place cubes in a space without Room (but will still do so if required to by an event).
• Never voluntarily place cubes that are not Available (but will still do so if required to by an event).
• If given the option to move cubes, the Solo Opponent will use the "Select where to place cubes" table to choose where to move cubes to, and will move them one at a time from spaces with the most cubes, without losing Control, until there is no Room in the destination space. If they are still able to move cubes, they will choose a new space and continue as above.
• If multiple exclusive options are on a card, perform the first option listed on the card that would be fully implemented, within these guidelines. If neither option can be fully implemented, the Solo Opponent will not use the event.
• If given a choice by an event, the Concede Solo Opponent will never execute the next Mobilization, and the Defend Solo Opponent will always do so.
• If an event performed by the Player gives the Solo Opponent an opportunity to place cubes, they will do so using their "Select where to place cubes" table, provided that they have Available cubes and there are eligible spaces with Room.

Pivotal Space Bonus Actions

If the Solo Opponent is the Initiative Player, the Pivotal Spaces bonus actions are always resolved in this order: Political, International, Military, Public (if you are the Initiative Player then you determine the order as normal). The Solo Opponent conducts Pivotal Space bonus actions according to the normal rules. The Solo Opponent will conduct the first possible action from this list within each Dimension where they control the Pivotal Space:

a. Persuade to gain Control of a Dimension. b. Spread to gain Control of a Dimension. Move cubes from the space with the most friendly cubes, without losing Control, until there is no Room in the destination spaces. c. Escalate to gain Control of a Dimension using Available cubes. d. Persuade using the "Select where to remove cubes" table. e. Spread to gain Control of the Solo Opponent's Objective space. Move cubes from the space with the most friendly cubes (non-Pivotal if tied), without losing Control, until there is no Room in the destination space. f. Spread to remove Player Control of the Player's Objective space. Move cubes from the space with the most cubes (non-Pivotal if tied), without losing Control, until there is no Room in the destination space. g. Escalate using the "Select where to place cubes" table using Available cubes. h. Do nothing.

Final Decision Round

At the start of the Final Decision Round, shuffle the Solo Opponent's Final Decision card (No Discussion for Defend and About Us for Concede) facedown with three regular Strategy Cards from the top of the deck, then place these cards back on top of the deck. Then, in each card play of the Final Decision Round, first select the card that you want to play. After selecting your card, reveal the top card from the deck. If the card has Final Decision text at the bottom it will be the Solo Opponent's card for that card play. If not, reveal new cards from the top of the deck until you find a card with Final Decision text at the bottom to be the Solo Opponent's card for that card play (if you run out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck).

Note: This procedure means that the Solo Opponent may not play their Final Decision card, which is intentional in order to introduce some additional uncertainty for the player. There is also a small chance that the Solo Opponent's Final Decision card will be drawn and discarded during play of the Jan Masaryk (#22) event, which cannot happen in a normal two-player game. This is fine and will not have a significant impact on the balance of the solitaire game.

If the Solo Opponent is given the option between playing operations or an Event, they will choose the Event if it could place or remove at least one cube in President or a space that exerts Pressure over it. When choosing whether to use an Operations Point to remove or place cubes, only consider the space indicated on the card. Perform final scoring per the Sequence of Play (check only the Political and Military Dimensions).

Game End

Determine victory as in the two-player game.

Glossary

Adjacent ~ A space connected to another space by single or double arrow is considered adjacent; the direction of the arrow indicates adjacency (e.g., President is adjacent to United Kingdom but not the other way around). Spaces connected by a double arrow are adjacent to each other.

Breach ~ When the first Influence cube in a Crisis Track zone is removed. When a zone is breached, the cubes from that zone are immediately moved to their respective players' cube pools. If a player breaches their Tension zone they immediately lose 1 VP.

Concede ~ This player represents those who would prefer to surrender the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany to prevent further conflict. Concede is represented by white Influence cubes on the board.

Control ~ Control is assessed once before conducting all operations, so it cannot change during a player's card play.

• Space ~ A player controls a space if they have more Influence cubes in it than their opponent.
• Dimension ~ A player controls a Dimension if they control all three of its spaces.

Crisis Track ~ Two tracks on the right hand side of the board, one for each player (Concede at the top, Defend at the bottom). Most Influence cubes begin play on the Crisis Track. Each track is composed of two zones (Escalation and Tension).

Cube Pool ~ Cubes that are not on the map or Crisis Track are placed in their respective faction's cube pool. Both cube pools have unlimited space for cubes.

Defend ~ This player represents those who would prefer to stand and fight against German aggression, no matter the cost. Defend is represented by green Influence cubes on the board.

Dimension ~ A set of three same-color map spaces. During scoring at the end of each regular round, a player gains 1 VP for each Dimension where they control all three spaces. At the end of the Final Decision Round, they only gain 1 VP each for controlling either the Political and/or Military Dimensions.

Escalate ~ Place a friendly cube in a space with friendly Presence or adjacent to friendly Control.

German Preparations ~ At the start of Rounds 2 and 3 a German disk is placed on the same-numbered space of the German Activity track (unless one is already there), possibly triggering Partial or General Mobilization.

Hitler's Decision ~ If the Defend player has 2 or more Victory Points at the start of Rounds 2 or 3, they roll a die to see if Hitler invades, ending the game immediately if the roll is equal or lower than their current Victory Points. If the game ends in this way and Partial Mobilization has not yet occurred, both players lose (as the country is not prepared for war with Germany); otherwise, Defend wins. This die roll can also be triggered by some events.

Influence Cubes ~ Colored wooden pieces used to indicate influence in a space. Most of these cubes begin play on the Crisis Track. Once removed from the Crisis Track, they cycle between map spaces and the player's cube pool. There may never be more than four of each player's Influence cubes in a space.

Initiative Phase ~ The Initiative Phase occurs just before Strategy Card play in each of the three regular rounds and the Final Decision Round. The player who has fewer Victory Points (or Defend if the track is on 0) decides whether to play first or second in the round. Flip the Initiative Card with the first player's faction face up; that player becomes the Initiative Player.

Initiative Player ~ The player whose faction is face up on the Initiative Card is the Initiative Player. The Initiative Player plays the first Strategy Card each round and will decide the order in which Pivotal Space bonus actions, Dimension scoring, and Objective Card execution will be resolved at the end of the round. The Initiative Player is also first to resolve each Strategy Card played in the Final Decision.

Map Spaces ~ Spaces on the board are coded by a color indicating which Dimension they belong to, labeled with an individual name. Each space can hold up to 4 of each player's cubes.

• International – yellow spaces, including United Kingdom, France, and Soviet Union.
• Political – purple spaces, including President, Government, and Opposition.
• Military – green spaces, including General Staff, State Defense Guard, and Moravian HQs.
• Public – red spaces, including Czechoslovaks, Press, and ČSR Germans.

Mobilization ~ A space for the Partial/General Mobilization card to be placed, Partial side up at the start of the game with one green Defend cube on it, and three additional green Defend cubes placed adjacent to it. These will be unlocked during play when sufficient German disks are placed, as indicated on the Mobilization card.

Objective Cards ~ A deck of cards, each listing a specific space on the map and an event. Objective Cards are revealed at the end of each round, scoring a Victory Point and optional event if a player controls their own Objective space. Each space on the map has an associated Objective Card.

Operations Points ~ The number at the top-left of each Strategy Card which is used to conduct operations. Operations Points are also referenced when playing the card to use a discarded event.

Persuade ~ Remove one enemy cube from a space with friendly Presence.

Pivotal Space ~ The star-shaped space in each Dimension is a Pivotal Space (United Kingdom, President, General Staff, and Czechoslovaks). Control of a Pivotal Space gives the player a bonus action at the end of the round before determining Control of that Dimension.

Presence ~ A player has Presence (or is Present) in a space if they have one or more Influence cubes there. Presence is assessed once before conducting all operations.

Pressure ~ A space exerts Pressure over another space if that second space is adjacent to it (for example, United Kingdom exerts Pressure over President, but President does not exert Pressure over United Kingdom). Concede always exerts Pressure over United Kingdom, ČSR Germans, and Government. Defend always exerts Pressure over Czechoslovaks, General Staff, and Moravian HQs.

Stalin's Politics ~ At the start of Rounds 2 and 3 all white cubes and all but one green cube are removed from the Soviet Union space, reflecting Stalin's hard to read posture.

Spread ~ A Pivotal Space bonus action to move up to two friendly cubes among the spaces in that Dimension.

Strategy Cards ~ A deck of cards, each listing Operations Points, a title with a color background (green, white, or blue), event text, flavor text, and an indication at the bottom left for how they can be used in the Final Decision Round. A Strategy Card can be played for its event, for Operations Points, or to use a discarded event. A Strategy Card can only be played for its event if the event title's colored background matches that player's color (green: Defend, white: Concede) or is neutral (blue).

German Activity Track ~ A three-space track at the left side of the board, where German disks are placed during play, generally to the lowest numbered space without a disk (unless otherwise specified on a card), maximum of 1 disk per space. Each track space contains one white cube at the start of the game, which is unlocked when a red German disk is placed in the space, and can then immediately be placed either in the ČSR Germans space or the Concede cube pool. If a disk is removed from the track the white cube remains unlocked.

Victory Point Track ~ Victory Points are tracked using a black Victory Point marker on the track towards the top right hand side of the board. Only one side can have a positive Victory Point value at a time, and any gain in Victory Points moves the track towards that player's side of the track. The 0 Victory Point space at the center of the track favors Concede, i.e., Concede is considered to be ahead on Victory Points if the marker is on 0. Neither side may exceed 5 Victory Points.