While every culture has its own methods of nonverbal communication, in the 1980s it was common to see Filipinos raise their hands to communicate their allegiance to one of the Presidential candidates: a “V” for Marcos, or an “L” for Corazon Acquino. While the Communist Party of the Philippines (the political arm of the New People’s Army) did not field a candidate in the 1986 election, supporters of the CPP/NPA used the ubiquitous raised fist to indicate their fidelity to communist ideals. These gestures were an essential part of the milieu of the Philippines in the 1980s, and People Power uses these gestures throughout the game. Therefore, it is important that we understand their origin and meaning.

While the dramatic events of the People Power Revolution are familiar to many people, far fewer know the events that led to the mass protests and to Marcos’ deposition. The event deck in People Power covers these lesser known events – the events of February 1986 are simulated via a different method – and they are no less dramatic. These events range from assassinations to nonviolent protests; from corrupt bargains to public works projects; from public trials of military figures to private paranoia that almost destroyed the NPA. This article looks at a few examples of events from People Power – note that all cards shown in this article are prototype art.

As I mentioned in Chapter 1 of this series, getting the Government faction right in People Power was a big challenge. The main reason for that challenge was the narrative around the Marcos government. To some, Ferdinand Marcos was a hero, a champion of stability and democracy, and a strong leader fighting against those who would tear his country apart. To others, Marcos was a corrupt dictator, stealing from the people, denying free elections, and sparking the violence that characterized the First Quarter Storm and NPA insurgency.

The New People’s Army (NPA) has its genesis in the Hukbalahap rebellion, fought by tenant farmers after World War II. By the late 1960s, the social conditions which had led the Huks to rebel remained unresolved and led to the formation of the New People’s Army by José María Sison and Bernabe Buscayno. The NPA was not the only insurgency fighting the Filipino Goverment – the Bangasamoro people of Mindanao were in the early years of the Moro Independence struggle, which peaked during the mid 70s, before a peace agreement was brokered by Muammar Ghaddafi in 1976.

In People Power the Reformer faction encompasses all the liberal, nonviolent, political opposition to the Marcos regime, including politicians, Catholic leaders, and regular citizens who were willing to voice their disdain for Marcos and his cronies. However, there is little doubt that the voice of the Reformers was, for many years, one man: Benigno Aquino Jr, known to Filipinos simply as “Ninoy.”

The first COIN project I worked on was Bruce Mansfield’s Gandhi. Even as a relative newcomer to the COIN Series, I knew that Gandhi was a very different game. The model of nonviolent resistance presented in Gandhi sparked my imagination; where else could conflicts be modeled using these principles? As I continued to read I was surprised to find that one of the most common examples of how nonviolent resistance works was the People Power Revolution of 1986. I was even more surprised to find that Ken was already very far along in his design of People Power.

Unlike other COIN games, People Power does not simply measure the Support for, or Opposition to, the Government. In most COIN games, Support and Opposition measure the willingness of a population to actively enable or hinder the operations of a faction through supplying guerillas, providing intelligence, and supporting Government operations.

Whenever I develop a game, I am always looking for ways to make the narrative shine. Usually, that involves consistent terminology, clear rules, concise player aids, and suggestions on what tweaks can be made to help the game get out of the way of the player, and allow for full immersion in the story. Occasionally more major changes occur, and while painful, these almost always improve the end result.

People Power is one of the latter cases. Ken Tee (the designer of People Power) has always had a strong personal story in mind for People Power, but playtesters were not experiencing the narrative in the way Ken intended. One major hurdle was the MNLF (Moro) faction, which ended up being dropped, but the main narrative issue with People Power was the victory condition for the Government. While many COIN factions use Victory conditions centered around Support for the Government (US in Fire in the Lake, Batista in Cuba Libre, France in Colonial Twilight), the Marcos regime was fundamentally unlike these governments.