COIN (board game)

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A game of Cuba Libre in progress; played using a Vassal module. Cuba Libre vassal module.jpg
A game of Cuba Libre in progress; played using a Vassal module.

COIN (short for COunterINsurgency) is a series of multiplayer asymmetric strategy board wargames simulating historic insurgency and counter-insurgency conflicts and irregular warfare throughout the world. It is published by GMT Games. It consists of the main series of games, numbered as volumes, and the spinoff Irregular Conflicts series ("ICS") games, which are not numbered and which apply the game mechanics and counterinsurgency framing of the main series to events that would not be traditionally described as insurgencies.

Contents

The series has been noted for its innovative and dynamic gameplay, compared to more traditional hex-and-counter two-player wargames. [1]

Game

COIN games simulate past and ongoing historical insurgencies and counter-insurgencies with up to four players controlling a different faction, each with unique play styles and winning conditions. All games in the COIN series share the same underlying system first found in Andean Abyss, the original game of the series, designed by game designer and CIA national security analyst Volko Ruhnke. [2]

COIN games use variable turn order. For example, in Andean Abyss, players draw from a deck of event cards to decide the order in which factions take turns. [3] Meanwhile, in Colonial Twilight (a two-player game), one player holds the initiative until that player performs an action that gives the initiative to the other player. [4] In addition to event cards, the games use mechanics like area control and opportunity cost to represent factors such as winning hearts and minds, lines of communication, and government legitimacy.

Non-player rules are included for each faction, enabling a non-player-controlled faction to participate in the game based on a predetermined set of actions. The earlier COIN games used flowcharts to determine non-player procedures, while games in the series since Gandhi have included a small deck of cards with non-player actions. [5]

List of COIN games
VolumeTitlePublishedConflict
IAndean Abyss2012 Colombian conflict
IICuba Libre2013 Cuban Revolution
IIIA Distant Plain2013 War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
IVFire in the Lake2014 Vietnam War
VLiberty of Death: The American Insurrection2016 American Revolutionary War
VIFalling Sky: The Gallic Revolt Against Ceasar2016 Gallic Wars
VIIColonial Twilight: The French-Algerian War, 1954-622017 Algerian War
VIIIPendragon: The Fall of Roman Britain2017 End of Roman rule in Britain
IXGandhi: The Decolonization of British India, 1917-19472018 Indian independence movement
XAll Bridges Burning: Red Revolt and White Guard in Finland, 1917–19182020 Finnish Civil War
N/AThe British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire2023 British decolonization
XIPeople Power: Insurgency in the Philippines, 1981-19862023 People Power Revolution
XIIRed Dust Rebellion2024Fictional conflict following colonization of Mars
XIIIChina's War 1937-41forthcoming Second Sino-Japanese War
XIVThe Pure Land: Ōnin War in Muromachi Japan, 1465-1477forthcoming Warring States Period
XVA Fading Star: Insurgency and Piracy in Somaliaforthcoming Somali civil war c. 2007


List of ICS games
PublishedTitleSubject matter
2024Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398Founding of the Vijayanagara Empire
2024A Gest Of Robin Hood Robin Hood legend
2024Cross Bronx Expressway Mid-20th-century New York urban development
forthcomingEcho from the DarkFictional conflict following the invention of faster-than-light travel

References

  1. ↑ "Review of COIN Series by The Player Aid" . Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  2. ↑ Albert, Jason (10 January 2014). "In the world of role-playing war games, Volko Ruhnke has become a hero". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ↑ Delwood, Robert (14 March 2013). "Andean Abyss – Boardgame Review". Armchair General.
  4. ↑ Train, Brian (24 April 2016). "Introducing Colonial Twilight: The French-Algerian War, 1954-62". InsideGMT. GMT Games.
  5. ↑ Carr, Jason. "The Arjuna Chronicles #1: An Intro to Gandhi's Arjuna System". insidegmt.com. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
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