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 (Parts of this OP shamelessly stolen from Tekopo and others.) It is the year 1917 and chaos reigns in Russia. The tsar’s abdication and the crushing losses of the First World War have lead to a power struggle between the Provisional Government and the Leningrad Soviet. As the two competing administrations fight, the peripheries of the former empire seek to establish their own sovereignty and end Russian rule once and for all. One such territory is the former Grand Duchy of Finland, which has for a hundred years existed as a highly autonomus province in the northwestern part of Russia. Now Finnish nationalists see their chance to declare independence from Russia and the creation of the first sovereign Finnish state. But all is not well. Finnish society has divided itself between the right and the left. The educated bourgeoisie and the labor movement have been struggling for political power for the last thirty years. Now, as events in Russia unfold, both sides will scramble to make their vision of an independent Finland a reality. Political violence becomes more commonplace as the Civil Guards and the Red Guards begin arming themselves. Political moderates try in vain to keep things from getting out of hand. In the span of a few months the country will have plunged itself into it’s own civil war.  All Bridges Burning is the tenth game in GMT Games’ COIN series. It is a 3 -player game depicting the events before, during and after the Finnish Civil War of 1918. In this LP three teams of goons will play to see which faction can make their Finland into a reality. I will be using Vassal to run this game on the forums. In a COIN game multiple factions with differing abilities and victory conditions are pitted against each other. Each turn revolves around an event card during which factions can act, either to use the historical event on the card or perform some kind of operation on the board. Seeded throughout the deck of cards are Propaganda cards - at a Propaganda card victory conditions are checked and the board resets in various ways, which means that winning is a question of timing since if you get too far ahead too soon before a propaganda card another faction could knock you back! Full rules are here for anyone who wants to have a peek and reading them is all you need to participate in this game. Also here is a playbook detailing some historical background for the game, strategies for the different factions and examples of play. I will be using the following two variant rules for this game, concerning the Moderate faction: quote:1) At the start of the Politics Phase of each Propaganda Round, check whether the Personality (1.4.4) is on the map. If it is, end this step without effect and proceed with the rest of the Politics Phase normally. If the Personality is not on map, adjust the Moderates’ Resources by -3 and the Moderates player must place the Personality in a Town with at least one Moderates Cell. If there is no such Town just deduct the Resources. Then proceed with the rest of the Politics Phase. quote:Change the Moderates’ Victory margin passage at 7.3, third bullet point, to: “Moderates: Lower of Moderates Resources minus 14 or Resolved Issues plus Networks plus one minus Polarization”. Factions Unlike most COIN games, all playable factions in All Birdges Burning are what could be called ’insurgents’. The three fighters are:  Called the Whites, Senates or the Government and representing the conservative and bourgeoisie leadership and their Civil Guards. You are the legitimate government of Finland and the Reds are just a collection of bolshevik puppets, so put them in their place! The Senate seeks to establish control after the Red Revolt and is mainly concerned with retaking the southern cities of Finland. They can utilize the Jägers, Finnish volunteers who have been trained by and fought for the Imperial German Army. You will have to gather up your strength before marching down south against the Reds.  The Reds, officially the Finnish People’s Delegation, will be thrust into an armed revolt that they are not prepared for. During the conflict your main goal is to build up opposition towards the White government and to create a new administration from scratch so you can actually govern. When fighting the Civil War, the untrained Red Guards will be the underdogs against the Senate forces.  Do you think political violence is a bunch of humbug and enlightened centralism is the way to go? Enter the Moderates! The Moderates represent a collection of politicians, activists, authors, businessmen and who else from both sides of the political divide who are opposed to radicalism and political violence. As the civil war unfolds the Moderates will try their damnedest to keep the Finnish people unified and focused on the true objective: a truly independent Finland, free of any foreign influence. Unlike the other two factions the Moderates will not use violence to achieve their objectives, meaning you wont actually participate in the fighting. This wont stop the Whites or the Reds from getting rid of your activists, though! In addition to the three player-led factions, two NPC factions are also ready to throw their hats into the ring:  The Imperial German Army is very invested in an independent, German-aligned Finland right on the Russian border. Not only have they trained around a thousand Jäger troops to be used by the Whites, they will also eventually land German troops on the Finnish coast to beat the Reds. The Germans will act on their own accord, not always doing what the White’s would want them to do.  Around 50,000 Russian soldiers are still stationed in Finland as the Civil War breaks out. Quite a number of these troops will support the Reds in spirit but even then only a small minority will take part in the conflict – unless the Reds actively pursue their co-operation. The Russian troops will never do anything on their own and instead need the Reds to tell them what to do. Their numbers will also steadily dwindle without Red interference as the Russians are about to have their own, much more famous civil war. If either side relies on their foreign sponsor too much the threat of becoming a satellite of Imperial Germany or Bolshevik Russia is very real, and everyone becomes a loser! Game board  The board is divided into different regions in which the pieces are placed. Each area can either be a province or a city (shown as the five circled cities on the map). Each region has a number which shows the approximate population of the city/province, a space to mark who controls the region and if the population is in support/opposition to the government. Control of a region is gained by having more pieces than all other factions within a space and is important when determining what you can do to affect the area. Support/Opposition are part of the victory conditions for the Reds and affect the effectiveness of Rallying new troops for both the Reds and the Whites. There's no stacking limit for any of the spaces except for Administrations and Networks, with no more than two from whichever faction allowed on a single space.  The game uses different shaped pieces in order to represent activists and conventional troops. The three playable factions have hexagon-shaped cylinders which represent activist cells/groups/mobs/Guards of either flavor. Activists can either be active (with their symbol face up) or underground (with their symbol facing down). Unlike most COIN games, in All Bridges Burning both the Whites and the Reds want their units to be active to conduct operations with them while the Moderates want their units to be underground. The conventional forces of the two foreign powers are represented by cubes: either grey (Germany) or brown (Russia). These forces will be drastically more effective in conventional fighting than the White or Red Guards. The Reds and Moderates can both build bases, or Administrations for the Reds and Networks for the Blues, represented by red and blue discs. These are closely linked to both of their victory objectives.  Rather than each player having their own hand, cards in COIN games are played one by one from the deck! Players will be able to see the currently active card and the next card. Each card has an event, many of which are twin-events and thus can be played either for one event or the other. Again unlike most COIN games the cards in All Bridges Burning don’t have initiative symbols on the top: more on this in a moment. Some events are considered 'Capabilities', things like extra cannons or armored trains or Jäger troops that can be utilized by the Whites or the Reds in combat.  Propaganda cards are some of the most important in the game: victory conditions are only checked when a propaganda card is played. Propaganda cards also allow factions to gain resources and build up support (Whites) and opposition (Reds) or move spaces towards neutrality (Moderates). Once the fourth (and last) propaganda card is played, the game ends and the winner (if there wasn't one already) is determined by the closest margin to victory. Remember that there is a number of ways for none of the player factions to win: if political polarization in the country gets too high or either the Germans or the Russians gather too much influence in Finland.  One special card is the Red Revolt! All Bridges Burning is split into two Phases. During Phase I the Whites and the Reds will focus on building up their forces and preparing for the fighting to start. Once the conditions for the Red Revolt! are met (either the second Propaganda card gets played or the combined number of White and Red Cells on the map gets too high) the card is played automatically and the game enters Phase II meaning that bullets will start flying.  Most COIN veterans are used to each event card showing the order in which factions can act during that card depending on how many of them acted on the previous card. In All Bridges Burning, not only are all factions eligible for most of the cards but the order in which they choose their actions (and the options available to them) are decided using the above Sequence of Play Chart. Make sure to read the rules pertaining to this so you understand how the turn order works! When the turn for one of our three player factions to act comes the players on that team will need to vote on the course of action they want to take. Votes should say the exact moves you want to do like so (using the Red faction as an example): Example Red Action posted:Rally in Helsinki, Viipuri and Tampere. Replace 2 Cells with an Administration in Tampere. Foreign Relations to increase Russian Vassalage by 1. The option with the most votes will get carried out. I will not set a strict time limit at first, but we’ll see how long it takes for decisions to get made and I might impose some later if needed to get the game moving. Sign up for your chosen team if you want to take part! If it looks like one of the three playable factions is getting left out I will randomly assign teams between those who have signed up to even the numbers. HerraS fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Dec 30, 2021 |
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Dec 30, 2021 12:02
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Links for game documents: Rules of the Game Playbook Player Aid showing all Actions for each Faction and the German Flowchart The two following variant rules are in use during this game! quote:1) At the start of the Politics Phase of each Propaganda Round, check whether the Personality (1.4.4) is on the map. If it is, end this step without effect and proceed with the rest of the Politics Phase normally. If the Personality is not on map, adjust the Moderates’ Resources by -3 and the Moderates player must place the Personality in a Town with at least one Moderates Cell. If there is no such Town just deduct the Resources. Then proceed with the rest of the Politics Phase. quote:Change the Moderates’ Victory margin passage at 7.3, third bullet point, to: “Moderates: Lower of Moderates Resources minus 14 or Resolved Issues plus Networks plus one minus Polarization”. Faction summaries: Players: ChubbyChecker Win condition: Total Population of Senate controlled Towns is 4 or more AND German Vassalage plus Polarization is less than 6. Resource gain during Propaganda: Per level of Support (regardless of Population). Players: Ithle01 Win condition: Total Opposition plus Reds Administrations is 12 or more AND Russian Vassalage plus Polarization is less than 6. Resource gain during Propaganda: Up to controlled Population. Players: Mighty Eris Win condition: Moderates Resources is 15 or more AND Resolved Issues plus Networks plus one is equal to or greater than Polarization. Resource gain during Propaganda: For every two levels of Polarization at five or less, add one Resource, then, for each one level of Polarization above five, add one Resource. HerraS fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Jan 13, 2022 |
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Dec 30, 2021 12:03
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Yes! Another COIN! Don't forget to use the variant rule that prevents the Moderates from winning by spending the entire game passing.
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Dec 30, 2021 12:24
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SelenicMartian posted:Yes! Another COIN! Yeah, this game will be using two rule variants made by Vez, the designer of the game, concerning the Moderates.
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Dec 30, 2021 12:53
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I'll give this a shot if you need people. Don't care which faction and I'll be sure to read the rules a bit tonight - obviously given the new year I'll be a bit flaky tomorrow and the next day, but after that I'll be good to go for anything.
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Dec 31, 2021 02:48
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I’ll sign on as a moderate. Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle?
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Dec 31, 2021 04:34
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I’m not looking to play; I’m just here for the inevitable shitstorm.
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Dec 31, 2021 05:21
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I'll probably aim to get this started sometime next week, so if you have even the slightest nit of interest in joining please do! Also, here is a link where you can read about the conflict if going to Wikipedia is not your thing.
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Dec 31, 2021 10:30
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sure why not, i've been pondering about learning to play these coin games
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Dec 31, 2021 10:44
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We have three players, so game is happening! Anyone willing can still join or hop in during the game. By the power of random chance Chubby Checker will be playing the Senate and Ithle01 will be playing the Reds. I'll post the game setup next week, Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how busy I am. Also a happy new year to everyone! The anniversary of the Finnish Civil War is the 27th of January but I didn't think about that before I made this thread and we won't be waiting until then. Hitting the same month is close enough for my dumb rear end. HerraS fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 19:27
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Alright that works out for me. Let me know when we're good to go!
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Jan 1, 2022 21:35
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quote:The year 1918 was one of the darker chapters of our recent history. Our country was just about to free itself from centuries of repression and to reach a long dream of independence. This beautiful moment, however, was almost ruined by a bitter brotherly feud. The people split into two camps, passions inflamed on both sides, and soon blood began to flow, threatening to drown our budding independence. The period of the civil war was brutal and even after its end, brutalities and the desire for revenge went on for a long time." -- Väinö Tanner Game Setup Per the rulebook, one Senate cell and one Moderate cell are placed at random: With a roll of 5, one Senate cell is placed in Viipuri. Viipuri is now Uncontrolled. With a roll of 1, one Moderate cell is placed in Turku. Turku is now Uncontrolled. Game map at start:  Order of Play: 1. Moderates 2. Senate 3. Reds Current Event Card:  Next Event Card:  Game Summary: Senate Resources: 5 Population in Senate controlled Towns: 1 Reds Resources: 5 Total Opposition + Administrations: 3 Moderate Resources: 5 Networks + Resolved Issues +1: 1 German Vassalage: 3 Russian Vassalage: 3 Total number of Senate & Reds Cells on map: 13 The Moderates will act first, followed by the Senate, followed by the Reds. The game is afoot! Please post your commands below, preferably in order! I won't hold on to any strict timelines for now.
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Jan 5, 2022 18:37
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Alright, I've read up on the rules and the playbook and this looks a lot more complicated than the other COIN games I've played, but I think I got this. Waiting on my turn to come up since it looks like I'm 3rd on this card.
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Jan 5, 2022 21:28
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Okay - I've played some other COIN games but it's clear this one has a few wrinkles, so please let me know if there's anything I screw up. Moderates - Limited Command - Rally in Helsinki
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Jan 5, 2022 21:42
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That's alright, and everyone is free to ask questions at any point about anything that you're not completely sure about and I'll answer the best I can (or go bother the developer on Discord)! Moderates choose a Limited Command to Rally in Helsinki. Moderates spend one Resource to place one Cell in Helsinki. Moderate Resources are now 4. It is now the Senates turn to act. Your choices are Command /w Special Activity, Limited Command, or Pass.
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Jan 5, 2022 22:05
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orders will be incoming later today
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Jan 6, 2022 09:15
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Ok, I have skimmed the books, and I'm vaguely aware of what I can do, though no idea what I should do. Senate - Command /w Special Activity - Rally in Helsinki, Karelia, Viipuri ChubbyChecker fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Jan 6, 2022 |
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Jan 6, 2022 18:20
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The Senate spends 3 Resources to Rally in Helsinki, Karelia and Viipuri. One Senate Cell is placed in each. Karelia and Viipuri are now under Senate control. Senate Resources are now 2. Total number of Senate & Red Cells is now 16. Senate can still perform a Special Activity, either Foreign Relations (to increase/decrease German Vassalage) or Prepare (place a white Prepared marker on the map). Let us know if you want to do either, but since they wont affect the map for now the Reds can act. It is now the Reds' turn. You can either do a Limited Command or Pass.
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Jan 6, 2022 19:20
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HerraS posted:The Senate spends 3 Resources to Rally in Helsinki, Karelia and Viipuri. One Senate Cell is placed in each. Karelia and Viipuri are now under Senate control. Senate Resources are now 2. Total number of Senate & Red Cells is now 16. No special activities.
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Jan 6, 2022 19:25
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Alright, from now on everyone please note in your post whether or not you're performing Special Activities when choosing Command /w SA. 
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Jan 6, 2022 19:27
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I'll pass so I can play first on the next card. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing next, but will wait until I see the next card before announcing.
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Jan 6, 2022 19:55
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Even if you do a Limited Command, you would still act first on the next card. Do you still intend to Pass?
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Jan 6, 2022 19:57
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Huh, I thought Mighty Eris would go first because they also took a limited command, but looking closer I see that the second Lim. Command box has a "c" and not a "d". I had to zoom into like 200% magnification on the rulesbook to see that. I'll still pass though, I'll take the +1 resource and scheme a bit. I pretty much know my next move, but I know I should wait to see the next card before I do anything.
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Jan 6, 2022 20:25
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The Reds Pass. +1 Resource to Reds.quote:The will of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets has been predetermined by the enormous feat of the uprising of Petrograd workers and soldiers which occurred last night. -- Leon Trotsky As Finnish activists keep a close eye on the power struggle in Russia, new White Guards are created in the southeastern parts of the country. At the same time moderate decision makers begin strengthening their position in the nation's capital. Game map:  Order of Play: 1. Reds 2. Moderates The Senate is not eligible to play this turn. Current Event Card: Next Event Card:  Game Summary: Senate Resources: 2 Population in Senate controlled Towns: 2 Reds Resources: 6 Total Opposition + Administrations: 3 Moderate Resources: 4 Networks + Resolved Issues +1: 1 German Vassalage: 3 Russian Vassalage: 3 Total number of Senate & Reds Cells on map: 16 The Reds will act first, followed by the Moderates.
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Jan 6, 2022 21:54
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lol, didn't know that i had to skip a turn, time to read the rules more closely
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Jan 6, 2022 22:15
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Pretty much all you need to remember is that doing a Command with Special Activities will always mean skipping your next turn. The Order of Play box can be a little confusing when starting out!
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Jan 6, 2022 22:26
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Yeah I was initially confused because I thought it worked similar to Colonial Twilight where the player with the initiative can either do a limited command or take the event on a card and keep the initiative or give it up and do a full command plus special. Also, my eyes aren't that great these days and I had trouble reading the tiny letters that I can now tell are clearly a "c" and "d". Anyway on to my action: Play the Event: Place one Moderate cell in Vaasa and shift Turku to passive opposition.
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Jan 7, 2022 00:53
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The Reds play the General Election event. One Moderate Cell is placed in Vaasa. Vaasa is now Uncontrolled. Senate controlled Town Population is now 1. Turku is set to Passive Opposition. Opposition + Administrations is now 4. The Moderates' turn to act. Your choices are Command /w Special Activity, Limited Command, or Pass.
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Jan 7, 2022 08:43
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edit - Sorry but had to double check how initiative works. Moderates pass.
Mighty Eris fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 18:01
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The Moderates Pass. +1 Resource to Moderates. In the general election of 1917, the Social Democratic party once again emerges as the largest single party in the Finnish parliament. Anti-government sentiment grows in Turku, the second largest city and old capital. Game map:  Order of Play: 1. Moderates 2. The Senate 3. The Reds Current Event Card: Next Event Card:  Game Summary: Senate Resources: 2 Population in Senate controlled Towns: 1 Reds Resources: 6 Total Opposition + Administrations: 4 Moderate Resources: 5 Networks + Resolved Issues +1: 1 German Vassalage: 3 Russian Vassalage: 3 Total number of Senate & Reds Cells on map: 16 The Moderates will act first, followed by the Senate, followed by the Reds.
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Jan 7, 2022 19:24
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Moderate Event - Moderates conduct a Special Activity or free Limited Command - Dialogue in Turku, shift support to Neutral.
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Jan 7, 2022 21:50
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The Moderates play the shaded version of the Food Supply Issues event, performing a Dialogue Special Activity in Turku. The Moderate Cell in Turku is Activated. The Opposition in Turku is shifted one step to Neutral. Opposition + Administrations is now 3. The Senate's turn to act. Your choices are Command /w Special Activity, Limited Command, or Pass. HerraS fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 21:58
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Senate - Pass
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Jan 7, 2022 22:33
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The Senate Passes. +1 Senate Resources. The Reds' turn to act. Your choices are Command /w Special Activity, Limited Command, or Pass.
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Jan 7, 2022 22:45
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no bridges burning yet, everyone is passing time gathering matches
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Jan 7, 2022 23:04
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Alright let's see if the dice gods favor me. Limited Command: Activism. Spend 1 resource, roll a d6, and activate that number of cells evenly. Even though this is a limited command it can affect multiple places at once (otherwise it would be really bad). Ithle01 fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 23:22
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Ithle01 posted:Alright let's see if the dice gods favor me. I think that you can state the order of the towns and provinces for that.
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Jan 7, 2022 23:24
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ChubbyChecker posted:I think that you can state the order of the towns and provinces for that. edit: you know what nevermind, this actually pretty clear to me what order I want. Hame, Uusimaa, Tampere, Turku, Helsinki, Viipuri Ithle01 fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 23:25
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Ithle01 posted:I would, but the number I roll would affect my decision. Ah, I thought that you had to decide that before the roll.
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Jan 7, 2022 23:27
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Your die roll is a 4! And I see you edited your post while I was typing this up. Update to follow in a minute. The Reds spend 1 Resource to perform Activism as a Limited Command. With a roll of 4, one Red Cell is Activated in Häme, Uusimaa, Tampere and Turku. HerraS fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 23:36
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