Gandhi includes a brand new Solitaire system, called Arjuna, that replaces the flowcharts that have become a staple of the COIN Series. Players who play COIN Solitaire have asked many questions about how the system works – and don’t fear! – COIN Series Developer Jason Carr is here to walk through the design, ergonomics, and play of Arjuna. This installment shows Arjuna in action in the mid campaign.

Now that we are 5 cards into the Campaign, it’s time to start thinking about when a Campaign card may pop up. Campaign cards are seeded into the bottom 7 cards of each 13 card stack, so while we can see the 6th card, The Salt March, we can’t be sure the 7th card won’t be a Campaign card. In Gandhi, when a Campaign card is revealed as the Upcoming Card, it is immediately swapped with the Current Card and a Campaign Round is performed. So it pays to be on our toes.

A quick note about Sarojini Naidu Inspires the Masses: Nicknamed “The Nightingale of India”, Naidu was a prominent figure in the Indian Independence movement, speaking in favor of Women’s Rights across India, as well as in England and the United States. She was the first woman president of the Indian National Congress, and was a leading figure in non-violent resistance. So, while Gandhi comes with a single Leader cylinder for Gandhi, there are times when it is more appropriate to think of that cylinder as representing the other key leaders of the Independence movement, including Naidu, who often continued with Protests and Satyagraha after Gandhi was arrested. Many of these major and minor leaders have cards in Gandhi: Jawaharlal Nehru, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Lala Lajpat Rai, Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, and Sarojini Naidu. Many others do not: Rajendra Prasad, Khan Mohammad Abbas Khan, Chakravarti Rajgopalachari, and many, many others.

Congress gets the first crack at Sarojini Naidu Inspires the Masses, and since it is not a Critical Event, they will execute an Operation and Special Activity instead. The Congress execute Arjuna Card K, which checks if there are any spaces with Protest, Congress Activists, and no Raj Control: there are two, Bihar and Bombay Presidency. Congress will execute Non-Cooperation in those spaces, creating Opposition, but first they will attempt to set up the Non-Cooperation to be as effective as possible. This all hinges on the next instruction on the card: “Any Protest Spaces without Congress Activists?” – if there are spaces with Protest and no Activists, Congress can use Satygraha to move Gandhi and place an Activist, possibly creating another space for Non-Cooperation; if there are no such spaces, Congress can use Persuade to attempt to remove Raj Control in a Protest space and create another opportunity for Non-Cooperation. Either way, the Special Activity serves to set up the Operation. I don’t know about you but I find this very cool. Even cooler, the card does not force this – the normal priorities for Moving Gandhi take precedence, meaning Gandhi will go where he is needed most rather than always attempt to set up the Operation. Double cool!

Nerding out on Arjuna’s internals aside, there is one space with a Protest and no Congress Activist: West Bengal. So the first thing Congress does is a Satyagraha Special Activity, moving Gandhi (using the Move Gandhi column of the Congress Space Selection Priorities) in place in East Bengal and removing Unrest. In this case, Congress checks back the Revolutionaries rather than create more Opposition; a shrewd move given where we are in the Campaign, and not at all what I expected (Even after 25+ games against Arjuna, I am surprised by what it does from time to time, much like human players). Then, Congress executes Non-Cooperation in all eligible spaces (Bihar and Bombay Presidency), increasing Total Opposition by 4. Finally Congress shifts Restraint -1 as the Raj respond to the Non-Cooperation movement. That makes two consecutive turns that Restraint has been lowered; this makes Raj Operations, and Revolutionaries Unrest, cheaper but also made 2 more Protest markers Available for placement. Now that Restraint is at 1, India is closer to Crisis, as well.

Now I can act! I pass and collect 3 Resources. Why? I am first Eligible on the next card, The Salt March, and I am dying to take a “Full Turn” Operation and Special Activity, and push for my Victory. I draw the next card and – whew – it’s not a Campaign Card, so next week I will take my Operation and Special Activity and see if I can establish some badly needed order across India.

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Previous Article in this Series: The Arjuna Chronicles #6: Great Bengal Famine

Next Article in this Series: The Arjuna Chronicles #8:The Salt March