The constellation of conflicts that consumed the former Russian Empire in the period 1918 to 1921 and beyond, known shorthand as the Russian Civil War (or the “Russian” Civil Wars by Jonathan Smele’s book of the same name), went far beyond a simple division of Reds. vs. Whites. 

As Smele emphasizes, the new Bolshevik state that Lenin and comrades had birthed in revolution the previous October was at war for survival against enemies both Left and Right, democratic and totalitarian, urban and rural, ruling class, bourgeoisie, and peasant, Russian and non-Russian, Christian, Muslim, and atheist, as well as foreign intervention forces from Russia’s former Great War allies, the British, French, Japanese, and Americans, among others. 

A two-player Reds vs. Whites duel cannot capture the complexity of this maelstrom in a holistic way, particularly when forces such as Petliura’s new Ukrainian state and the Makhnovist “Black Army” separately waged war against both Red and White armies for their own independent aims, using characteristically distinct strategies and tactics.

Hammer and Sickle expands the playing field of this 20th century-defining conflict by delineating four asymmetric factions, yet with an elegant ruleset that enables quick learning and fast play, so that the entire conflict is covered in 2-3 hours.

Let’s break down the four factions and their asymmetries.

Anarchists – Alliance: Revolutionary / Base: Sickle (Rural) Territories

The Anarchist faction represents the left-wing opposition to Bolshevik dictatorship during the Civil War, highlighted by Nestor Makhno’s Insurrectionary (Black) Army in Ukraine, the Kronstadt sailors controlling the Baltic fleet, and peasant rebellions often labeled the Green Armies. They are united by the rejection of the Bolshevik state’s policy of prodrazvyorstka, or food patrols, that starved the countryside to feed the cities, along with the stifling of workers’ self-management in industry and freedom of speech and association.

The Anarchists’ asymmetrical advantage in Hammer and Sickle is Agitation, a token they can assemble in territories with escalating effects. One Agitation in a territory gives the Anarchists presence, allowing future actions in that space. Two Agitation puts a territory on Strike – a Striking Sickle territory will not produce Food, and a Striking Hammer territory will not produce Firepower. Three Agitation constitutes a full-on Rebellion, forcing enemy troops to flee the territory and replacing them with one Anarchist troop. As the Anarchists struggle in combat with limited troops and Firepower, fomenting Rebellion is a unique way for them to expand and achieve their Objectives. Other factions are compelled to remove Agitation from their territories or risk losing them – each has a Subjugate Action that accomplishes this with differing benefits to that faction.

Bolsheviks – Alliance: Revolutionary / Base: Hammer (Urban) Territories

The Bolshevik faction embodies Vladimir Lenin’s nascent Communist state, which seized power a year earlier in the October Revolution. Initially capturing popular support through their opposition to World War I, along with promises of “land to the peasants, factories to the workers”, the Bolsheviks have instead imposed a policy of “war communism” based on forced rationing and the “militarization of industry”. Still, their faith in Karl Marx’s “dictatorship of the proletariat” as the pathway to global revolution remains unshaken.

The Bolshevik’s advantage is their ability to produce larger numbers of troops than other factions, and so long as they control the urban Hammer territories, their ability to produce far more Firepower as well. The trouble with those Hammers is that they require large quantities of Food, creating an economic imbalance for the Bolsheviks that is especially exacerbated in Winter Seasons when Food production is diminished. The Bolsheviks’ secret weapon is the Armored Train, referencing Leon Trotsky’s famous train that he used to command numerous fronts with rapid mobility. The Armored Train weapon has two advantages over regular Firepower. First, it can be deployed every Season without being discarded. Second, the Bolshevik player can upgrade it to become more and more powerful over the course of the game. Identifying the most strategic moments to deploy the Train is a different challenge.

New Nations – Alliance: Counter-Revolutionary / Base: Hammer (Urban) Territories

The New Nations faction represents the myriad nationalist state-formations that declared independence from the collapsing Russian Empire at the end of World War I. They are led by Józef Piłsudski, the father of modern Poland, who proposes an “Intermarium” coalition of states from the Baltic to Black Seas to uphold the mutual defense and sovereignty of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine. Against their former oppressor in Russia, a policy of “Prometheism” aims at an even larger alliance of all non-Russian territories threatened by the Soviets, including Finland, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

The New Nations have two unique advantages in Hammer and Sickle. The first is Nationalism, a unique token they can add to territories to improve both a territory’s combat strength as well as the capacity of that territory to produce New Nations troops. Like Anarchist Agitation, Nationalism can be removed by other factions’ Subjugate actions. Additionally, the New Nations have the backing of the British Navy, providing special mobility via two New Nations cards to transfer their troops between any coastal territories. This Sea Command allows them to shift support to distant territories or even evacuate threatened troops to safety. Finally, as a Counter-Revolutionary faction, the New Nations receive Foreign Aid from the Western powers in the forms of Food and/or Firepower, and this Aid can be greatly augmented for the long term if the player chooses to invest some attention diplomatically.

White Army – Alliance: Counter-Revolutionary / Base: Sickle (Rural) Territories

The final faction is the White Army, headed by Supreme Leader Alexander Kolchak, the Russian Admiral installed by a 1918 coup to lead the counter-revolutionary movement with the backing of the British government. The Whites represent the traditional landed aristocracy of the countryside, and as such are determined to undo the gains of the peasants and workers achieved in the last year’s upheavals. They also aim to restore the glory of the Russian Empire, whether under a monarchy, republic, or a new form of dictatorship. 

The White asymmetry in this game is a token called Terror, which the White Army player acquires whenever they conquer a new territory. Terror works as a currency that is unique to the Whites – one Terror token can be spent in place of Food to boost a Draft or Mobilize action; two Terror tokens can remove an Agitation or Nationalism from a White territory; and three Terror can increase the Foreign Aid the White Army gains for long-term income in the form of Food and Firepower. Compared to the New Nations, the White Army receives greater Foreign Aid, and with Terror has an additional avenue to boost it. The other regular lever for the Counter-Revolutionaries to increase their Foreign Aid is through Propaganda, which occurs at the end of each Season and provides each faction a choice of one of four distinct benefits.

That’s it for now! Next time, we’ll examine the two loose alliances in Hammer and Sickle – the Revolutionaries and Counter-Revolutionaries – and how to achieve victory in the game.

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