The March of Progress Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Aim of the Game
  • Anatomy of a Country Card
• Introduction: The Thirty Years War
  • Sequence of Actions card
  • Game Set-up
• Sequence of Play
  • Initiative
• Actions
  • Movement actions (MOVE 1 and MOVE 2)
  • Recruit action (RECRUIT)
  • Fortify action (FORTIFY)
  • Attack actions (ATTACK and ATTACK+1)
  • Combat
  • Increase army strength action (STRENGTH)
  • Score action (SCORE)
  • Controlling a country
• Game End and Winning
• An Example of Play
• Scenarios
• Scenario: The Age of Marlborough
  • Scenario Set-up
  • Rule changes
  • Game end
• Scenario: Vive l'Empereur: The Napoleonic Wars
  • Scenario Set-up
  • Rule changes
  • Game end
• Scenario: The War to End War: World War 1 in the West
  • Scenario Set-up
  • Rule changes
  • Game end
• Scenario: World War 2 in the West
  • Scenario Set-up - first part
  • Rules changes
  • End of first part
  • Scenario Set-up - second part
  • Game End
  • Variants
• Scenario: Politics By Other Means: A 3-Player Scenario
  • Scenario Set-up
  • Rules changes
  • Game end

Components

• 3x Country cards (1 home country for each player, and 1 neutral country)
• 41x Scenario specific cards
• 1x Double-sided initiative card
• 1x Sequence of Actions card
• 16x Action cards (8 for each player)
• 6x Armies (3 in each of 2 player colours)
• 18x Victory point (VP) cubes (12 white = 1VP; 6 black = 5VPs)
• 6x 6-sided dice
• Rules booklet
• Scenario booklet

Aim of the Game

The aim of The March of Progress is to control countries through the play of action cards, in order to generate VPs during scoring. The winner is the player with most VPs at the end of the game. If VPs are equal, the game is tied.

We recommend that new players start with the introductory scenario "The Thirty Years War". This introductory game is to help you to familiarise yourself with the core rules of The March of Progress quickly, before you move on to the full experience of the later historical campaigns. The 4 historical scenarios change the set-up and rules to give a flavour of strategy in different time periods. Pay close attention to the changes; these are vital to each scenario!

Anatomy of a Country Card

A country card has a name, a capital with garrison, a VP space and an army strength space (home country cards show a Defence +2 garrison, VP range 0-3 and army strength range 1-6; the neutral country card shows VP range 0-2).

Introduction: The Thirty Years War

This introductory game is to help you to familiarise yourself with the core rules of The March of Progress quickly, before you move on to the full experience of the later historical campaigns.

The Thirty Years War ran from 1618 to 1648 and was fought across Western and Central Europe involving most states in the area at various stages. This introductory scenario is an abstract portrayal of a conflict between 2 states fighting across a part of Germany.

Sequence of Actions card

MOVE 1 & MOVE 2 *; RECRUIT; FORTIFY; ATTACK & ATTACK+1 *; STRENGTH; SCORE.

* If both choose MOVE actions or both choose ATTACK actions, side with initiative chooses who goes first. Then flip initiative.

Game Set-up

Each player chooses a home country card and takes the 3 armies, 8 action cards and 2 dice matching the country card's colour.

1. Home country cards: Place the 2 home country cards, landscape oriented, in the centre of the playing area.
2. Neutral country card: Place the neutral country card between them.
3. Action cards: The 8 action cards form your hand of cards at the start of the game.
4. Sequence of Actions: Place the Sequence of Actions card nearby, so that both players can see it.
5. Victory Points: Put 5 black cubes and 10 white cubes at the edge of the playing area as a stock of 35 VPs (leave 1 black and 2 white cubes from the total stock in the box; these are used in other scenarios). The VP cubes are limited. If they run out, players cannot earn any more VPs.
6. Initiative: Roll 1 dice each. The player with the highest roll, re-rolling any ties, places the initiative card next to the country cards so that it shows their colour; that player has the initiative at the start of the game.
7. Starting VP dice: Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the VP space of each country card. Set the home country dice to 3, and the neutral country dice to 2.
8. Starting army strength: Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the army strength space of each home country card. Set the army strength dice to 1.
9. Armies in play: Put a single army matching the home country's colour on each home country card. The neutral country has no armies.
10. Armies in stock: Set the other armies to one side to form a stock.

Sequence of Play

Each turn, follow the sequence of play described below. Keep playing turns until the end of the game. The game ends at the end of any turn that 1 player has gained at least 18VPs, or when both players agree to end the game.

1. Simultaneously and secretly, each player picks 1 action card from their hand of cards and places it face down on the table.
2. Reveal the played cards simultaneously.
3. Play the actions on the revealed cards in the following order: a. Movement actions (MOVE 1 or MOVE 2). b. Recruit actions (RECRUIT). c. Fortify actions (FORTIFY). d. Attack actions (ATTACK or ATTACK+1). e. Increase army strength actions (STRENGTH). f. Score actions (SCORE).
4. Put the played action card into your discard pile. You don't get the discarded cards back into your hand until you have played the SCORE action card. Discarded cards are visible to both players.

Initiative

If both players have played movement actions or both players have played attack actions, the player with the initiative chooses which player carries out their action first. Then flip the initiative card so that the other side has the initiative. The initiative only changes when both players pick one of the move actions or one of the attack actions. If either player considers the order of play to be significant in any other circumstance, the player with the initiative chooses who goes first, but do not flip the initiative card.

Actions

Action cards: MOVE 1; MOVE 2; RECRUIT (only in your home country and only if you control it; limit: 3 armies in play at any one time); FORTIFY (fortified armies have +1 in defence); ATTACK; ATTACK+1 (discard 1 card from your hand; not SCORE); STRENGTH (-1 VP dice of a country you control, +1 army strength, max: 6); SCORE (score 1VP + VPs for each country you control, and return all your action cards to your hand; can only be played if you have at least 1 card in your discard pile).

Movement actions (MOVE 1 and MOVE 2)

MOVE 1: Move 1 of your armies from the country card it occupies to an adjacent country card.

MOVE 2: Move 1 of your armies or a group of 2 of your armies from a single country card they both occupy to a single adjacent country card. Note: you cannot move 1 of your armies twice with this action, nor can you move 2 armies in different countries, nor can you move 2 armies to different countries!

If you have 1 or more armies in play, and you play a movement action, you must move at least 1 army. If you have no armies in play, then your movement actions do nothing.

Enemy armies do not block movement.

If you move a fortified army (see Fortify action below), it becomes a normal army; stand it up and then move it.

Recruit action (RECRUIT)

RECRUIT: Put 1 of your armies from the stock onto your home country card.

If you have no armies in the stock, or the enemy currently occupies your capital (see Combat below), your RECRUIT action does nothing.

Fortify action (FORTIFY)

FORTIFY: Choose 1 of your armies in play and place it on its side. It is now a fortified army and is worth +1 strength in defence.

If you have no armies in play, your FORTIFY action does nothing.

Attack actions (ATTACK and ATTACK+1)

ATTACK: Carry out a combat between all your non-fortified armies on 1 country card and all enemy forces on that country card. If you have at least 1 non-fortified army that could attack, you must do so. You cannot withhold a non-fortified army from an attack in the country you have chosen.

ATTACK+1: As for ATTACK, but your total strength is increased by +1. If you have any cards in hand in addition to the SCORE card, you must choose and discard 1 of them; you cannot discard the SCORE card. If you have only the SCORE card in hand, treat ATTACK+1 as if it was ATTACK.

When you attack, you may optionally change any of your fortified armies that are in the country of the combat into normal armies and include them in the attack. They immediately become normal, non-fortified armies; stand them up.

If you don't have any armies in a country that contains at least 1 enemy army or garrison, then your attack actions do nothing; if you played ATTACK+1, you don't discard a card.

Combat

Add up the total strength of each side's available forces in the country, as follows:

• Each normal army has a strength denoted by its home country's current army strength.
• Each fortified army adds +1 to that side's army strength, but only in defence. Fortified armies cannot attack, unless they become normal armies again by standing up.
• If the attacker has played ATTACK+1 and has discarded a card from hand, increase the attacker's total strength by +1.
• Both home country cards have a pre-printed capital with a permanent garrison strength of 2, which is added to the home country's strength in defence only. The garrison cannot attack or move. The garrison is never more than 2 strength and is unaffected by increases in army strength. If the enemy controls your home country, neither side can use your country's garrison strength.

Compare the total strength of each side's forces.

• If the total strengths are equal, all armies in the country from both sides are destroyed. Put them back in each player's stock. Garrisons are unaffected.
• If one total is higher than the other, all armies on the side with the lower total are destroyed. Put them back in the player's stock. The armies of the side with the higher total are unaffected. If the combat is taking place in the defender's home country and the attacker wins, place 1 of the attacker's armies on the pre-printed capital on the home country card; the capital is now occupied and will remain occupied as long as that army is undefeated and does not move or attack.

Increase army strength action (STRENGTH)

STRENGTH: Choose any country card that you control (see Controlling a country below). Reduce that country card's VP dice by 1 (minimum 0; if it reaches 0, remove the dice). Then increase the army strength dice on your home country card by 1 (maximum 6). All your armies are now worth 1 more strength point. Your garrison's strength stays at 2.

You must reduce a VP dice of a country that you control if possible. If this is not possible (for example, because of scenario restrictions, or no available VP dice), then your STRENGTH action does nothing.

Note: you cannot reduce the army strength dice to increase the VP dice!

Score action (SCORE)

SCORE: Score 1VP plus the VPs shown on the current VP dice of country cards that you control (see Controlling a country below). Then return all your action cards to your hand, including the SCORE card. You cannot play your SCORE card until your discard pile has at least 1 card in it; this means that you cannot play your SCORE card on 2 consecutive turns.

If your capital is occupied by the enemy when you carry out a SCORE action, you do not score any VPs.

Controlling a country

You control your home country if the enemy has no army on your capital. Enemy armies in your country but not on your capital do not break your control.

You control the neutral country if you have 1 or more armies there and your opponent has none.

You control the enemy's home country if you currently occupy their capital. You can only occupy their capital if you have won a combat in the enemy's home country.

Game End and Winning

The game ends at the end of any turn that 1 player has gained at least 18VPs, or when both players agree to end the game. The winner is the player with most VPs. If VPs are equal, the game is tied.

An Example of Play

In this example, Blue moved straight into the neutral country on turn 1, while Orange recruited. Then, Blue increased army strength, hoping to use the neutral country VP dice, but Orange advanced 2 armies into the neutral country. So, no longer controlling the neutral country, Blue was forced to use their own home country's VP dice.

With the opposing forces at 2 strength each (Blue on 2 army strength with 1 army, Orange on 1 army strength with 2 armies), both players decide to attack, using the ATTACK+1 action. Unfortunately for Orange, Blue has the initiative, so chooses who attacks first. Unsurprisingly, Blue chooses to attack first, and discards their MOVE 2 card (it could have been any card from hand, except the SCORE card). Blue's strength is increased to 3 by the ATTACK+1 action, so Blue wins 3 vs 2.

Both Orange's armies are removed, and Orange's ATTACK+1 action fizzles, because there are no longer any opposing armies in any country. Orange doesn't have to discard a card for the ATTACK+1 action that does nothing.

Scenarios

For these scenarios, follow the rules for the Thirty Years War introductory game except where changed in the scenario details. For Vive l'Empereur and World War 2 in the West, we recommend playing the scenario twice, switching sides for the second time.

Scenario: The Age of Marlborough

Warfare in the 18th century, from Marlborough to Frederick the Great, is often seen as a period of "limited war", differentiated from the extremes of the religious wars of the 17th century and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars leading into the 19th century. Typically, an objective for warfare in this period might be the annexation of a province or the enforcement of a dynastic claim, and military action might consist of lengthy manoeuvring for advantage against the opponent's lines of supply, or sieges with relatively uncommon pitched battles.

Scenario Set-up

Each player chooses a home country card from The Age of Marlborough scenario cards and takes the corresponding armies, action cards and dice.

1. Home country cards: Use France (blue) and The Dutch Republic (orange).
2. Neutral country cards: Place both neutral country cards, the Spanish Netherlands and the Electorate of Bavaria, between the home country cards, and also adjacent to each other.
3. Action cards: Remove both ATTACK+1 cards from the game; they are not used in this scenario. The remaining 7 action cards form your hand of cards at the start of the game.
4. Sequence of Actions: Place the Sequence of Actions card nearby, so that both players can see it. Put The Age of Marlborough play aid alongside the Sequence of Actions card.
5. Victory Points: Put 5 black cubes and 11 white cubes at the edge of the playing area as a stock of 36 VPs. The VP cubes are limited. If they run out, players cannot earn any more VPs.
6. Initiative (as for Thirty Years War): Roll 1 dice each. The player with the highest roll, re-rolling any ties, places the initiative card next to the country cards so that it shows their colour; that player has the initiative at the start of the game.
7. Starting VP dice: Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the VP space of each country card. Set the home country dice to 3. The starting VPs of the neutral countries will range between 1 and 3. Roll 2 dice, counting a roll of 1 or 2 as 1VP, 3 or 4 as 2VPs, and 5 or 6 as 3VPs. Place a dice on each of the neutral countries' VPs with the VP number from 1 to 3 showing.
8. Starting army strength (as for Thirty Years War): Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the army strength space of each home country card. Set the army strength dice to 1.
9. Armies in play (as for Thirty Years War): Put a single army matching the country's colour on each home country card. The neutral countries have no armies.

Rule changes

• Increase army strength action (STRENGTH): You cannot reduce your home country's VP dice to less than 2.
• Score action (SCORE): If at least 1 enemy army is anywhere in your home country, you cannot score VPs for your home country.

Game end

The first player to reach 18VPs at the end of any turn is the winner. If both players reach 18VPs at the end of a turn, the game is tied.

Scenario: Vive l'Empereur: The Napoleonic Wars

Early in 1805, Napoleon's Army of England was poised to invade Britain when the Austrians joined the Third Coalition. In a carefully planned volte-face, the renamed "La Grande Armée" swept eastwards, enveloping the unfortunate Austrian General Mack at Ulm in October. This first Austrian catastrophe was overshadowed by the French Emperor's decisive victory over the combined Austrian and Russian army at Austerlitz in December. This scenario gives the French player some clear tactical advantages, but a lot to do to achieve victory. The areas now known as Italy and Germany were important targets of conquest and influence; the neutral country cards represent these areas.

Scenario Set-up

Each player chooses a home country card from the Vive l'Empereur scenario cards and takes the corresponding armies, action cards and dice. One player will be France under Napoleon (blue), the other will be Austria under Francis (orange).

1. Home country cards: Use France and Austria. Place them landscape oriented in the centre of the playing area.
2. Neutral country cards and the Alps: Use both neutral country cards, Italian states and German states, placing them as indicated in the set-up diagram, so that they are both touching France and Austria, but with a gap between each other. Armies cannot move directly from one neutral country to the other.
3. Action cards: Replace the blue SCORE and ATTACK+1 cards and the orange SCORE card with the Vive l'Empereur versions. Put the Austrian's MOVE 2, ATTACK+1 and RECRUIT cards to one side (not to the discard pile). The French start with 8 Action cards, the Austrians with 5.
4. Sequence of Actions: Place the Sequence of Actions card nearby, so that both players can see it. Put the Vive l'Empereur play aid card alongside the Sequence of Actions card.
5. Victory Points: Use all 12 white cubes and 6 black cubes, so the total of VPs available is 42. These cubes are limited. If they run out, players cannot earn any more VPs.
6. Initiative: The French have the initiative for the whole game. It does not change.
7. Starting VP dice: Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the VP space of each country card. Set both home country dice to 3, and both neutral country dice to 1.
8. Starting army strength: Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the army strength space of each home country card. Set both army strength dice to 2.
9. Armies: The French start with 2 armies in France and 1 in the stock. The Austrians start with 2 armies in Austria and 1 army in one of the neutral countries, chosen by the Austrian player.

Rule changes

• ATTACK+1 action: Napoleon: When the French player plays the ATTACK+1 action card and discards the ATTACK card with it, total French strength is increased by +1 for each French army in the combat in addition to the normal +1. For example, if Napoleon is used with 2 French armies at army strength 2, then French strength would be 7.
• Combat: The French score 1VP immediately for each Austrian army destroyed.
• Score action (SCORE):
  • Austrian Army reform: Before the Austrian player scores VPs or gains a VP for British support, they may choose to pay 2VPs to return 1 of the previously set aside MOVE 2 or ATTACK+1 or RECRUIT cards to their hand, without revealing which card to the French player. Discard the VPs back to the stock. All 3 cards can be regained, but only 1 card per turn.
  • British support for the Austrians: When the Austrian player carries out the SCORE action, if they control Austria and there is at least 1 Austrian army outside Austria, then the Austrian player gains 1VP. This is in addition to gaining normal VPs.

Game end

The game ends when either

1. The French control 3 countries and complete a SCORE action. They win; or
2. Either side reaches 20 or more VPs. The side with the most VPs wins. In the case of a tie, the French win.

Scenario: The War to End War: World War 1 in the West

World War 1 on the Western Front started with the German gamble on the decisive defeat of France with a version of the Schlieffen Plan. After that strategic failure, years of stalemated trench warfare ensued, only broken in 1918. This scenario reflects the power of the defence and the attritional struggle in France and Belgium.

Scenario Set-up

Each player chooses a home country card and takes the corresponding armies, action cards and dice.

1. Home country cards: Use WW1 Germany and the Western Allies. Place them landscape oriented in the centre of the playing area.
2. Neutral country card: Place the Belgium neutral country card between them.
3. Action cards: Replace the SCORE, MOVE 1 and MOVE 2 cards for both sides with the WW1 versions. The 8 action cards form your hand of cards at the start of the game.
4. Sequence of Actions: Place the Sequence of Actions card nearby, so that both players can see it. Make sure both players are able to refer to the play aid and rules changes for this scenario easily.
5. Victory Points: Use 12 white cubes and 4 black cubes, so that the VP total is 32. From these, give each side 3VPs. The VP cubes stock is limited. If the VPs run out, players cannot earn any more VPs.
6. Initiative (as for Thirty Years War): Roll 1 dice each. The player with the highest roll re-rolling any ties, places the initiative card next to the country cards, so that it shows their colour; that player has the initiative.
7. Starting VP dice: Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the VP space of each country card. Set the home country dice to 3, and the Belgium dice to 2.
8. Starting army strength (as for Thirty Years War): Put a dice matching the country card's colour on the army strength space of each home country card. Set the army strength dice to 1.
9. Armies in play (as for Thirty Years War): Put a single army matching the country's colour on each home country card. Belgium has no armies.
10. Armies in stock: Set the other armies to one side to form a stock.

Rule changes

• Movement actions (MOVE 1 and MOVE 2): If you enter an enemy-occupied country, put your armies on your home country's side of the card and the enemy's armies on the other side. Do this whichever side of the country card you enter from. If the enemy has a fortified army in a country in which you start your move, your armies may not move past it onto an adjacent country card. For example, if the German player has a fortified army in Belgium, Western Allies armies cannot move from Belgium to Germany. They can still move to the Western Allies home country.
• Combat: The defender (only) may optionally discard either the MOVE 1 or MOVE 2 action card (not both) to gain an extra +1 to their combat strength. Successful combats only destroy 1 enemy army, not all of them. Tied combats destroy 1 army on each side, not all of them.
• Scoring action (SCORE): When you SCORE, you do not gain 1VP automatically; you only gain VPs for each country you control. If you play your SCORE action card and do not pick up ATTACK or ATTACK+1 from your discard pile, you gain VPs as described above, then you lose 1VP. Remove that VP from the game.

Game end

The game ends in 1 of 3 ways:

1. by agreement; or
2. if, at the end of a turn, a player has no VPs (that side loses); or
3. all VPs have been claimed. The side with the most VPs wins. If VPs are tied, the game is a draw.

By agreement represents a negotiated peace treaty. No VPs represents the collapse of the state from revolution. All VPs claimed represents a dictated peace treaty after the collapse of one side through military defeat, or both sides through mutual destruction and exhaustion.

Scenario: World War 2 in the West

In Spring 1940, after the German conquest of Poland and the period known sometimes as "the Phoney War", the Germans invaded France and neighbouring neutral states and conquered them in a short campaign. In north-west Europe there was then a stand-off, as Britain retained its air and naval defence against German invasion, and with the Americans and other allies, built up forces preparatory to invading Normandy and assisting the Soviet Union in the direct conquest of Germany itself.

A primary advantage of the Western Allies was their vast resources based on the industrial might of the USA, whereas the Germans had initial tactical and strategic advantages. In this longer scenario, both sides have strategic and logistic decisions to make that reflect these differences.

This is, potentially, a 2-part scenario, recreating this vast struggle in microcosm. If the Germans (blue) win the first part, then there will be a second part that will decide the contest. The Western Allies (orange) win the scenario if at any time they occupy the German capital. Germany wins by reaching 15VPs in both parts of the game.

Scenario Set-up - first part

Each player chooses a home country card and takes the corresponding coloured armies, action cards and dice.

1. Home country cards: Use WW2 Germany and the Western Allies. Place them landscape oriented in the centre of the playing area.
2. Neutral country card: Place the Minor States neutral country card between them.
3. Action cards: Replace the Western Allies MOVE 1, MOVE 2 and STRENGTH cards, and the German ATTACK+1 and STRENGTH cards with the WW2 versions. The Western Allies start with their MOVE 1, MOVE 2 and FORTIFY action cards in their discard pile. The Germans start with all 8 cards in hand.
4. Sequence of Actions: Place the Sequence of Actions card nearby, so that both players can see it. Make sure both players are able to refer to the play aid and rules changes for this scenario easily.
5. Victory Points: Use all 12 white cubes and 6 black cubes, so the total of VPs available is 42. The German player starts with 2VPs, the Western Allies start with 1VP. See below for additional uses for VP cubes.
6. Initiative: The Germans start with the initiative.
7. Starting VP dice: Germany starts with VP dice set to 2. The Western Allies start with VP dice set to 4. Set the Minor States' VP dice to 2.
8. Starting army strength: Germany starts with army strength dice set to 2. The Western Allies start with army strength dice set to 1.
9. Armies in play: Germany starts with 1 army in Germany. The Western Allies start with 1 army fortified in the Minor States.
10. Armies in stock: Set the other 2 armies of each player to one side to form a stock.

Rules changes

• Initiative: Germany (only) can optionally discard 1VP to the VP stock to flip the initiative card at any time.
• Movement actions: The Western Allies (only) can pay 2VPs to play a second MOVE card from hand immediately after an initial MOVE card's action has been completed. Put the cubes back in the stock. No army can move more than once in the turn.
• Increase army strength (STRENGTH): Germany cannot increase army strength above 5 at any time in the scenario. Both sides can optionally discard 5VPs when playing the STRENGTH action, instead of reducing a VP dice. Put the VP cubes back in the stock.
• ATTACK+1 action: BLITZKRIEG: When using the ATTACK+1 action card, Germany (only) can discard the MOVE 1 or MOVE 2 card to gain +2 to their total strength instead of +1. Note: you only discard 1 card!
• Victory Points: If the stock of VPs runs out, then Germany (only) can take them from the Western Allies instead of the stock.

End of first part

The Germany player wins this part if they reach 15VPs at the end of any turn. The Western Allies player wins the whole scenario if they occupy the German capital at the end of any turn.

Scenario Set-up - second part

Only play the second part of the scenario if Germany won the first part. Leave the armies, army strength dice and VP dice where they were at the end of part 1. Both players gather all their cards into their hands.

Compare the VPs of both sides at the end of part 1. The side with the most VPs starts part 2 with VPs equal to the difference between the 2 totals. The other side starts with 0VPs. For example, Germany won part 1 with 15VPs, but the Western Allies scored 18VPs; at the start of part 2, Germany's VPs are set to 0, the Western Allies' to 3.

Air Power: Replace the Western Allies ATTACK+1 card with the WW2 version. If the Western Allies player uses ATTACK for the required discard when using ATTACK+1 WITH AIR POWER, they may spend up to 1VP per Western Allies army in the force for +1 strength for this combat per VP spent. Air Power +1 bonuses are in addition to the normal +1 for ATTACK+1. For example, the Western Allies player uses ATTACK+1 WITH AIR POWER in an attack with 3 armies each worth 4 combat strength; the player decides to use 2 VPs to increase their total combat strength to 15 (armies: 3x4, +1 for ATTACK+1, +2 for Air Power). The player could have spent an additional VP for Air Power to support the third army, but decided against it.

VWeapons: Replace the German MOVE 1 card with the VWEAPONS card. The VWEAPONS card counts as a MOVE action. When used, if at least 1 German army is on the Minor States country card, remove 1 Western Allies VP from the game.

All the other rules for the first part apply to the second part.

Game End

The German player wins the scenario if they reach 15VPs at the end of any turn in part 2. The Western Allies player wins the whole scenario if they occupy the German capital at the end of any turn in part 1 or part 2.

Variants

There are 2 variants to this scenario: America's Economic Breakthrough / Speer's Armaments "Miracle", and "Materialschlacht". Either or both of these scenarios can be played with the World War 2 in the West scenario. Details of the changes are given on the WW2 Variants card (not part of this booklet). When playing America's Economic Breakthrough / Speer's Armaments "Miracle", use the replacement Germany and Western Allies home country cards to remind players that VP dice can be increased by 1 in part 2 of the scenario.

Scenario: Politics By Other Means: A 3-Player Scenario

Neutral countries are rarely powerless. This scenario gives the ruler of a neutral country caught in the middle of a conflict between more powerful states the opportunity to use propaganda, partisans and militia to influence the outcome or even win!

Scenario Set-up

Set-up and play are the same as The Thirty Years War Introductory Scenario with the following changes:

1. Add a 3rd player, the Neutral player, to play the neutral country.
2. The Neutral player has no armies and 3 action cards (PROPAGANDA, PARTISANS and MILITIA).
3. The Neutral player also takes the remaining white dice and places it with the 1 face up. This dice shows the current Propaganda level (see below).
4. Use 37 VPs (12 white and 5 black cubes).

Rules changes

The Neutral player can play 1 of 3 action cards (see below) and acquire VPs.

Neutral player's cards: When the other players select their action cards and place them face down on the table, the Neutral player also plays 1 action card from hand face down on the table. Turn it face up when the other action cards are revealed. Play MILITIA action 2 when the Attack actions are carried out. Play Militia action 1, the PARTISANS and PROPAGANDA actions after all the other actions have been completed. The Neutral player always returns their played card to their hand at the end of the turn.

PARTISANS: VP cubes in the neutral country represent partisans or militia. Choose 1 of the following options:

• EITHER: If the neutral country contains at least 1 army, put a 1VP cube from the stock onto the neutral country card. If there are no armies in the neutral country, this option does nothing.
• OR: Take all the VP cubes, if any, on the neutral country card and put them in your personal VP stock. If there are no VP cubes in the neutral country, this option does nothing.

PROPAGANDA: Increase the Propaganda level dice by 1 (maximum 6) if:

1. Either of the other players has played the SCORE action while controlling the neutral country this turn; or
2. Either of the other players has played their STRENGTH card this turn and depletes the neutral country's VP dice.

If neither of these conditions has been met, your PROPAGANDA action does nothing.

Propaganda level: The Propaganda level represents the influence that the neutral country has on outside powers that might intervene on their behalf. Multiply the Neutral player's VP total by the Propaganda level to calculate that player's adjusted VP tally. Use the Neutral player's adjusted VP tally in comparison with the Blue and Orange players' VP scores when assessing victory.

MILITIA: VP cubes in the neutral country represent partisans or militia. Choose 1 of the following options:

• EITHER: If there are no armies in the neutral country, put a 1VP cube from the stock onto the neutral country card. If there is at least 1 army in the neutral country, this option does nothing.
• OR: If there is at least 1 cube in the neutral country and ATTACK or ATTACK+1 has been played, add +1 to either side (your choice) after any other attack choices have been made. NOTE: The combat can be in any country. If the combat was in the neutral country, and there are no armies in the neutral country at the end of the turn, score 1VP. Put the VP in your personal VP stock. If there are no attack actions this turn, this option does nothing.

COUNTER-INSURGENCY: Instead of attacking enemy armies in the neutral country, or if there are no enemy armies there, the Blue and Orange players may use the ATTACK+1 action to attack the partisans and militia. When playing the action, discard either MOVE 1 or MOVE 2 (not both) to remove 1VP cube from the neutral country card. Put it back in the stock.

Game end

The scenario ends by agreement between all the players or at the end of a turn when there are no VP cubes left in the stock. The player with most VPs wins.