In the previous InsideGMT article on All Bridges Burning, we looked in in more detail at some historical particularities the game deals with. It is understood that as a topic the Finnish Civil War is relatively little known, and so gamers may appreciate detailed looks at some aspects of the history and how these are simulated in the game.
In this article we’ll look in more detail at some of the Moderates faction’s commands and special activities.
As a gaming topic, the Finnish Civil War is relatively unknown. Gamers might therefore appreciate thematic guidance as to what they are thematically doing when interacting on the game board. A previous InsideGMT article already provided a basic account of the general faction characteristics and aims. In the next two InsideGMT articles on All Bridges Burning, I want to go in some detail highlighting some of the historical particularities pertaining to the Finnish Civil War and how these are handled in the game.
Below is the third in a series of People Power articles from Ken Tee. The previous two articles can be found here.
Below is the second in a series of People Power articles from Ken Tee. The first article, “Joining the COIN Family – People Power’s Journey from Concept to Reality”, can be found here.
The Finnish civil war goes down as a particularly bloody conflict: in the space of a mere five months over 36 000 people died (of 3.1 million), a staggering 9 700 of the victims executed or murdered. Terror was an inseparable part of how both sides conducted the war.
In this fourth InsideGMT article showcasing the game (the first three articles can be found here), we’ll look at the game’s concept of Terror, both, in its role in the mechanics of game play as well as historically.
Welcome to the first article about People Power, Insurgency in the Philippines, 1983-1986, Volume XI of GMT’s popular COIN series! This journey started almost as soon as the first COIN volume – Andean Abyss was released back in 2012. It was designer Volko Ruhnke’s third published design, and I was already a big fan of his previous contributions: Wilderness War and Labyrinth. I saw Wilderness War as another brilliant CDG (as he himself admitted, it was an adaptation of Mark Herman’s We the People) But it was with Labyrinth, where Volko modified the standard CDG mechanics, that Volko really showed me that he just wasn’t an adapter of popular game systems, but also an innovative designer willing to take risks and see them through. One of those risks I respect is the willingness to take on obscure topics such as the French and Indian War and even more precariously, the War on Terror. Colombia and the War on Drugs was probably an even more unpopular topic in the eyes of some, but I had read Mark Bowden’s Killing Pablo as well as watched the documentary that followed later so as far as I was concerned, I could not wait for the release of Andean Abyss.
This is the third InsideGMT article on All Bridges Burning, a COIN system game for three-players dealing with the political and military events surrounding the Finnish Civil War of 1918. In the first two articles (found here and here), the focus was somewhat on illustrating the historical background of various design decisions made during the development of this game. In this article I want to try to give everyone a better idea of how the game plays not forgetting, however, to explain the historical background to the design choices I’ve made as well.
Exactly a hundred years ago today, in the night from 27 to 28 January 1918, the Red Revolt was launched in Finland. The revolt also triggered the Finnish Civil War, one of the first of the 20th century socialist revolutions. Alongside the larger ideological struggle, the revolt also had a very particular background in the Finnish societal and political landscape of the day.
The war was tightly bound to class conflict in a rapidly modernizing society for which the unexpected social upheaval in the Russian Empire gave room to roam. –Tepora and Roselius in The Finnish Civil War 1918
This article is the second in the series (see Part One here) showcasing the features of All Bridges Burning, a new COIN Series system game on the Finnish Civil War, currently on GMT Games’ P500 list. In this article we’ll take a historical look at the game’s three-faction make-up and describe the political dimensions of the game as they are manifested in the concept of Polarization and the Political Display mechanic.
All Bridges Burning is a COIN Series system game simulating the political and the military events of the Finnish Civil War of 1918 including a period of build-up to the conflict. It is the first COIN Series volume to have been designed for three players.
In All Bridges Burning, the three factions –the Reds, the white Senate, and the blue, non-violent, Social Democratic faction– compete for getting to define the shape of post-conflict Finland. The game is divided in two phases of pre-war build-up and the war itself. Alongside the player controlled factions, also simple German and Russian non-player sides bring their military force to bear.
Triggered by one of the first socialist revolts of the 20th century, the Finnish Civil War was in part about drawing the borders between the socialist and the democratic world systems, and in part about societal issues internal to Finland itself.
Barg-i-Matal, Nuristan, Aug 2010
I want to introduce you all to Chris Davis, the creator of the Practical Tactical blog. Chris currently serves in the US Army, and is a veteran of Afghanistan. Chris likes to use simulations as teaching tools to train soldiers, but he’s also very interested in how designers create games based on their own experiences and perspectives. This article – hopefully the first of many from Chris – shares some of his reflections on A Distant Plain based on his experiences in Afghanistan. I hope you enjoy the article! – Gene
