One of the innovations which Gandhi brings to the COIN series is a subtle change in the mechanics of Control. In previous games, Control has been determined by whichever Faction had more pieces in the space than any other – a plurality is insufficient, a strict majority is required for Control. While some games have riffed on this concept (most notably Liberty or Death, which requires an English piece to establish Control), most COIN titles stay true to the basic model of Control established in Andean Abyss.

In Gandhi, Control works in a different way. Only the Raj can Control a space, and only by having more Active pieces than all other Factions combined. This small change has huge impacts to the way that Operations and Special Activities impact the state of the board. Let’s illustrate this with a few examples (All illustrations are from the playtest Gandhi module).

Let’s start with a basic example: at the beginning of the Main scenario, the Raj have one Troop (red cube) and one Sepoy (white cube) in Punjab. Raj cubes are always Active, so they Control the space because their 2 Active pieces exceed the number of Active adversary pieces (zero). Raj Control is one half of the Raj Victory Condition, so the other Factions will seek to deny the Raj the ability to Control spaces, especially 2-Pop spaces like Punjab. So what ways can they deny Control?

First, let’s review which pieces are Active: Raj Troops and Sepoys (cubes), as mentioned, are always Active. So are Gandhi (the Congress Leader piece), Muslim League Bases, and Revolutionaries Bases. Congress and Muslim League Activists (cylinders) are only Active if they are on Railways (which cannot be Controlled) or if they are in a space with a Protest Marker. Finally, Guerrillas are Active only if Activated by an Operation or Special Activity, or Event (Raj Sweep or Revolutionaries Attack, for example).

To remove Raj Control, the Adversary Factions have a few options. One way to increase the burden of Control on the Raj would be to place a Base or two in Punjab.

This would increase the number of pieces the Raj needs to Control the space without activating any of their pieces and making them vulnerable. Unfortunately, barring a fortunate Event card, this is a very expensive way to deny Raj Control. Instead, the best way to remove Raj Control is to place a Protest Marker in the space using the Civil Disobedience Operation. Once that Protest Marker is placed, the two Activists both become Active. Note that it doesn’t matter which Faction places the Protest Marker; any time there is a Protest Marker in a space, the Activists there are Activated. With both Activists now Active, Raj cubes no longer exceed all other Active pieces, and Control is lost.

This method of determining Control presents opportunities for more subtle interactions and ways of gaining/denying Control. One new wrinkle comes in the Revolutionaries Attack Operation.

For example, let’s consider this situation in East Bengal. The Raj have Control with their Troop and 2 Sepoys, but this Control is precarious. The Revolutionaries have the ability to remove Control by Activating their 2 Guerrillas (along with the always Active base). The Revolutionaries have several options to Activate these two Guerrillas:

• Aid Special Activity to gain Resources, then Unrest Operation to add Unrest. Each activates one Guerrilla.
• Unrest Operation to add Unrest (and Activate a Guerrilla), then Assassinate to remove the Troop. This removes Control since Raj now has only 2 Active pieces.
• Attack to Activate all Guerrillas, and possibly remove Raj pieces. As a bonus, a successful Attack adds Unrest if there is no Raj Control (which would have been removed by the activation of the Guerrillas).

As you can see from these examples, the small change to Control only counting Active Pieces creates many new opportunities for Factions to interact in ways that enrich the narrative in Gandhi. This is by no means an exhaustive list – we hope you enjoy exploring and discovering the new ways that Factions interact!

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Previous Article in this Series: The Gandhi Chronicles Issue #2: An Overview of Nonviolent Operations in Gandhi

Next Article in this Series: The Gandhi Chronicles Issue #4: Playing the British Raj in Gandhi — Operations and Special Activities