A Distant Plain 1

COIN Series, Volume III

T HIRD P RI NT I NG UP DAT E S
TO T H E

N ON- PLAYE R RUL E S

GMT Games, LLC

P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308
www.GMTGames.com
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
2 A Distant Plain

• Player Operations Limited. On the last Event card before each

8.0 Non-Player Factions Propaganda Card, any Player Operations must be Limited (no Special
This section governs actions by any Factions beyond those represented Activities) and may not include Sweep or March. The Non-players
by a player. In a 1-Player game, the player may play any one Faction. are unaffected. If desired, treat this as an optional rule for greater
The Non-players can also be used to handle any Faction in multi-player difficulty.
games.
• Non-player Taliban and the Islamabad Track. Note also the special
NOTE: Non-player Factions may not act only in their own direct inter- effect on the Non-player Taliban as printed on the Islamabad Track
est. Like players, they sometimes help, sometimes harm, one another. on the game map.

IMPORTANT: If playing solitaire, be sure to read the special victory 8.2 Non-Player Events, Operations, and Special
conditions (8.5) before you start! Activities
To execute a Non-player Faction’s Operations, Special Activities or a
8.1 Non-Player Sequence of Play specific Event, see the Non-player flowcharts and the relevant priorities
• Event, Ops, or Pass? For a decision, consult first any Special Event below.
Instructions (8.3.1) then the Pass, Event or Operations? box in each
Faction’s flowchart. GUIDELINES: Unless otherwise specified, carry out whatever actions
apply to the maximum extent (such as with the most pieces and in
• Ineffective Events. Non-player Factions do not opt for Events that most spaces allowed and only as long as needed pieces and Resources
do not have an effect. EXAMPLE: If no Coalition pieces are Out of are available). Normal Resource costs, requirements, and procedures
Play, the Non-player Coalition will consider the unshaded part of the still apply.
Event 41. NATO Politics Ineffective and choose an Operation with a
Special Activity instead. Important: When Operations instructions incorporate a Special Activ-
• Momentum. Non-player insurgents consider the shaded and ity (e.g. in the second Government Train bullet), conduct the Special
counter-insurgents the unshaded Momentum Events only (see e.g. Activity to fullest possible extent at once when the guidelines evoke it.
10. Partnering Policy). Non-players opt for Momentum Events only Use, first, the relevant instructions in the Operations box that trigger
when the next card showing is not Propaganda. EXCEPTIONS: the Special Activity, then, if the Special Activity may be conducted in
further spaces than the Operations box has used up, use the instructions
◊ 45. Tribal Elders: The Non-player Coalition and the Taliban always
in the relevant Special Activity box. After that complete the Operation.
play the Event.
Important: When executing Operations and Special Activities, first
select all the spaces in which actions are to take place, then execute
the actions in the legal sequence as indicated in the rules of play if it
differs from the sequential order. EXAMPLE: The legal sequence for the
◊ 36. Mullah Omar: The Non-player Taliban always play the Event. Government Train Operation differs slightly from the sequential order
• Capability. Non-players opt for Capabilities as follows: described in the flowchart and in 8.7.5 Train below in that the Civic
◊ Coalition & Taliban: If this or the next card is a Capability that the Actions must occur at the very end of the Operation.
Non-player Faction at hand has or definitely will (accounting for 8.2.1 Procedure Guidelines
the Eligibility order and the effects of any Faction Passing) have In so far as the Event text or the Operation and Special Activity priorities
the opportunity to take AND if 1d6 rolls less than or equal to the do not specify this, use the guidelines below, both, to select the spaces
number of unplayed Propaganda cards: first, take take the current and, once the spaces have been selected, to place, remove or relocate
Capability, otherwise Pass and take the upcoming Capability once pieces in them.
that card becomes the current Event. The Taliban choose the shaded
and the Coalition the unshaded part of the card. • Target or remove enemy Players’ before Non-players’ Resources and
pieces whenever possible.
◊ Government & Warlords: The Non-player Government Non-player
Warlords will take the shaded/unshaded Capability (the Non-player • Within the above, and in general when choice, target the Player with
Warlords on the Non-player Taliban’s behalf, the Non-player the best victory margin, otherwise and within that a random Player.
Goverment on behalf of the Non-player Coalition) if 1d6 rolls • Remove pieces to be replaced even if no pieces are available to replace
less than the number of unplayed Propaganda cards. The Warlords them.
choose the shaded and the Government the unshaded part of the • Remove or replace enemy Bases before other pieces, and Underground
card. EXAMPLE: The Taliban and the Warlords are Non-players. before Active Guerrillas. Remove or replace enemy Troops and Police
The Warlords will seek to play any shaded Capabilities, subject to randomly.
the die roll on the Taliban’s behalf.
• Remove or replace friendly pieces in the reverse order from the above,
• Low Resources. When the Non-player Warlords with zero Resources to the degree possible, and Active before Underground Guerrillas.
is to execute Operations, or the Government with fewer than three, Remove or replace friendly Troops and Police from spaces with other
they Pass instead (earning Resources). NOTE: Non-player Coalition pieces of the same kind first, otherwise randomly.
can Operate even when the Government is out of Resources, and the
• Non-player insurgents remove and replace the pieces of, first, any
Non-player Taliban may use a Special Activity to gather Resources.
Players, then the Coalition, then the Government. The counter-
• No Voluntary Removal. Non-player Factions never use the option to insurgents remove and replace the pieces of any Players, then the
take their own forces from the map in order to place them elsewhere Taliban, and finally, the Warlords.
when they have no appropriate pieces Available.
• Never place two COIN Bases in a single space. EXCEPTION:
• Non-Player Operations Not Limited. Whenever a Non-player The Non-player Coalition will often place a Base in a space with a
Faction is to execute a Limited Operation, it instead executes a full Government Base (see Surge in 8.6.5 below).
Operation and a Special Activity. Non-players ignore the Final Event
• Place friendly Bases before other pieces. If possible, place friendly
Card restriction. NOTE: Limited Operations afforded by Events (such
pieces where there are other pieces of the same Faction.
as 10. Partnering Policy) remain Limited.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 A Distant Plain 3

• March so as to get as many Underground Guerrillas as possible to 8.3 Non-Player Events

destinations at Support. NOTE: Events will not always benefit the executing Non-player Faction
8.2.2 Abbreviations Used directly.
This is a list of abbreviations (in the alphabetical order) used in this
document and the Faction flowcharts. 8.3.1 Event Instructions
Whenever any Non-player Faction
1+, 2+, etc.: “One or more”, “Two or more”. is to execute an Event and that
AND: The use of the capitalized AND indicates that all/both terms of the Faction’s symbol on the card has
conjunction have to be able to be executed for the priority in question a gray halo, check any special
to be executed. EXAMPLE: The instruction “Train AND Civic Action instructions for that Event on the
AND Govern for Patronage” is to be executed only if all three elements Special Event Instructions sheet.
can be executed in the selected space. Otherwise, follow the priorities
At highest Pop, At highest Econ, At most Oppose, Lowest cost: Se- listed in the Pass, Event or Op-
lect a space or spaces in the descending order of population size, LoC erations? box on that faction’s
Economic value, cost of the action, i.e. from the highest to lowest. Select flowchart as well as the general
from among eligible, legal or otherwise available spaces. instructions below.

Civ Act: Civic Actions. Important: If choice, execute the

Event such that one or more of the
Evenly: Spread as equally as possible among space (See e.g. Coalition conditions designated in the Pass,
Surge, 8.6.5). Event or Operations? box on the
For 2/3 of Res: For two-thirds of the available Resources (round down). flowchart, and thereafter in the general priorities below, are satisfied.

Govt: The Government Faction. 8.3.2 Dual Use

When executing a Dual-Use Event, the Non-player Warlords and Taliban
For greatest shift: Select spaces to shift Support and/or Opposition use the shaded text, the Non-player Government and Coalition use the
such that the greatest possible swing occurs. unshaded, unless the Special Event Instructions note otherwise.
Min, Max: Minimum, maximum. Important: Events with a single-use unshaded text (e.g. 44. Pakistani
Politics) are considered shaded Events by the Insurgent factions.
Op+SA: Operation with Special Activity.
8.3.3 Event Placement, Removal and Relocation
OR: The use of the capitalized OR indicates that at least one term of Place, remove, or relocate as many pieces as the Event, availability,
the disjunct has to be able to be executed for the priority in question and stacking allow.
to be executed.
8.3.4 Who and Where
Pop: The Population value of a space.
Unless otherwise specified:
Res: Resources (available to the Faction at hand). • When there is a choice of who gets Event benefits (such as placing
VPs: Victory points as tracked by each Faction’s Victory marker. pieces or free Operations), select the executing Faction, then another
random Non-player Faction.
W/: With. • For free Operations or Special Activities, use that Faction’s flowchart,
then, if needed, the general priorities in 8.2.1 above.
8.2.3 Reading the Flowcharts
The Non-Player flowcharts use bullet points with numbers (e.g. , , , • Select Event spaces to ensure that as many pieces as possible are
) and letters ( , ) to indicate the character and order of the priorities: placed, removed, or replaced, using the guidelines in 8.2.1 above.
• Numbered priorities ( , ) are sequential priorities. Execute the • Otherwise, select spaces randomly (see 8.4).
instructions in each sequential priority to the maximum extent (as 8.3.5 Events that Shift Support/Opposition
per 8.2) before moving to the next sequential priority. NOTE: Some Unless otherwise specified, Non-player Factions select spaces for Event
top level sequential priorities (e.g. Warlords Rally Bullet ) contain effects that shift Support or Opposition as follows:
further sequential priorities ( and , sub-bullets) which are to be
treated as parts of, and as sequential steps to, the top level priority. • Coalition: first, for the highest gain in Total Support,
• Lettered priorities ( , ) are nested priorities. Nested priorities otherwise the highest loss in Total Opposition.
act as tie breakers within the sequential priorities to which they are • Taliban: first, for the highest gain in Total Opposition,
ordained. Each nested priority further narrows the thus far selected otherwise the highest loss in Total Support.
set of spaces. To improve readability of the flowcharts, the nested • Warlords and Government: first, for the highest loss in
priorities are displayed against a green background. the VPs of a Player, otherwise randomly.
• If neither the sequential and/or nested priorities narrow the candidate • Remove Terror markers only if Resources suffice also to
selection sufficiently, select randomly among remaining candidates shift Support/Opposition in the space.
(see 8.4).
NOTE: The Factions never play Events such that they directly diminish
their own VP count. EXAMPLE: The Taliban selecting to play 71. Coup!
would, in certain circumstances, reduce Opposition.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

4 A Distant Plain

8.4 Random Spaces • ISR: Select the space so as to activate the maximum
If several candidate spaces have equal priority for a Non-player action, number of enemies.
select spaces using the Random Spaces Map: • Tribal Elders: Shift to Support.
First, roll the green die and refer to the map: select the colored region
8.6.2 Pass, Event or Operations?
corresponding to the die roll value.
If the current or the next card is a Capability, play it per 8.1 Capability.
Then, roll any die to select one of the corresponding six space within Otherwise, if the current card is a Momentum Event, play it per 8.1
the selected region. Momentum. Otherwise, play the unshaded part of the current card if it
is effective AND either part of the card could:
Then, if the resulting space is not a legal candidate, follow the arrows • shift Support up or Opposition down
on the map until one is reached.
• place or remove Taliban Bases or Coalition pieces, or
Finally, carry out as much of the action as possible in the candidate • shift the Islamabad track (only if the Taliban are a Player)
reached, then roll again to select another space, if needed.
If none of the above, continue below.
8.4.1 Random LoCs
If only LoCs are candidates, choose:
8.6.3 Sweep
If there is an Underground Taliban Guerrilla in a Support space OR an
• First those with the highest Economic Value. Underground Guerrilla of a Player Faction in a Coalition Base space,
• Then with an equal chance die roll. the Coalition will Sweep as follows.

Sabotage only unSabotaged LoCs. Preliminaries: When conducting the actions below, do not use Sweep to
move any Faction’s last cube at any Coalition Bases, nor those needed for
8.5 1-Player Victory a Sweep in a Support space, nor last three cubes from any non-Pashtun
A game involving any Non-players ends during the Propaganda Round spaces with Support. Within the bullets one and three below, use Sweep
Victory Phase of the second or subsequent Propaganda card and if (and to bring the maximum number of Government Troops (one per each
only if) any Non-player Faction has a positive victory margin regardless moving Coalition Troop at a cost of three Resources per destination
of any Player’s victory margin. To win, the Player(s) must avoid any space) into spaces where there are less than two Government cubes.
Non-player Faction reaching a positive victory margin through each • First, sweep into or in place in all reachable highest Population spaces
Propaganda Round (excluding that of the first Propaganda card of the with Support and enemy using sufficient Troops needed to activate
scenario at hand) and have the highest victory margin after the final most enemies. If otherwise unable to active all enemies, use Air Lift
Propaganda Round. per the Air Lift priorities below, otherwise Air Lift enough
random Coalition Troops sufficient to active all enemies.
If the Player Faction(s) avoids the above situation, after the final Pro-
paganda Round, the Faction with the highest margin wins. Ties go to NOTE: If the Special Activity does not here occur in the maximum
the Non-player(s), Warlords, Taliban, Government, then the Coalition: allowed number of spaces, attempt to complete the Special Activity per
• If Warlords—Feudal Patchwork! Afghanistan returns to its primordial the Air Lift priorities below before completing the Sweep.
normal, a region of fiefdoms rather than a nation. Opium production • Then, Sweep everywhere in place.
flourishes.
• Then, Sweep into or at one reachable highest Population space with
• If Government—Pashtun Dictatorship! Karzai successors consolidate at least one Population, and enemy. Sweep with maximum Coalition
control—loyal to themselves rather than any international norms or Troops to active all enemies at any Coalition Bases where most
bonds. Peace with the Warlords and Taliban is shaky, human rights Bases of any faction.
off the agenda.
• If Taliban—Extremist Return! The central Government falls in Within the bullets one, two and three above, if unable to activate all
the face of Coalition withdrawal and Pashtun yearning for Taliban enemies in space, activate as able in this order of priority: a random
stability. Years of Coalition effort have left Afghanistan as it was Player Taliban Warlords.
before 2001. If no such Sweep was possible, skip to 8.6.4 Assault, bullet one, below.
• If Coalition—Fundamentalism Denied! The invaders have exhausted
the Taliban, reduced to negotiating their place in an Afghanistan ruled Otherwise, if a Sweep occurred but no Special Activity has yet been
by laws of man not God. performed, and if Air Strike could remove any Bases, the last piece of
a Player’s Faction at Support or at a Base of any Faction, Air Strike,
otherwise Air Lift, per below.
8.6 Non-player Coalition Actions
This section details the actions by the Non-player Coalition as shown AIR LIFT. Preliminaries: Do not lift last Coalition Troop from a Co-
on the Coalition flowchart. alition Base, nor last two Government Troops from where there are any
Coalition pieces (for they might then be vulnerable to Taliban Ambush),
8.6.1 Capability and Momentum Events nor last three cubes from non-Pashtun spaces with Support (as enemies
If a particular unshaded Capability or a Momentum Event is in effect,
will then be able to March in without being Activated).
make use of them as follows:
• First, get up to two Government Troops into each space in which there
• PRTs: Conduct Civic Actions in up to two spaces. are any pieces of the Coalition AND the Taliban AND in which there
• VSO: At the end of a Coalition Train Operation, place are no Government cubes (to protect the Coalition from the Taliban
Police (in one space with Coalition Troop or Troops), Ambush). Lift the cubes first from sources identified in the bullet
first where there are Government cubes, then in a below (if any), otherwise from random sources.
highest Population space available. • Then, relocate Government Troops from spaces with a Coalition
• Predators: Air Strike also in Pakistan if that would Base by having the Coalition Troops outnumber Government Troops
remove a Base. in these spaces. (The purpose is to enable the Coalition to decide

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 A Distant Plain 5

the extent of the Civic Actions during the next Propaganda Round, • First, if the Government is a Player and Patronage is at 11 or more,
whenever that might be.) Within this priority, relocate first from Train and reduce Patronage in Kabul.
spaces with no Support, then or within that from highest Population • Then, if the Taliban are a Player and have 18 or more points of
spaces. Relocate the Government Troops first to spaces identified in Opposition and Bases on the map, conduct Civic Actions to the
the first bullet above, otherwise to random space(s) such that they maximum extent in one space (or in up to two spaces if the unshaded
do not disable any forthcoming Coalition Propaganda Round Civic PRTs Capability is in effect) with COIN Control and any Coalition
Actions there. piece(s) selecting the space(s) such as to remove the most Opposition.
If no such Air Lift is possible, conduct no Special Activity with Train. • Then, if one or more Coalition Bases are Available, or it is the final
Otherwise Air Strike per below. Campaign, pause Train now to attempt to conduct a Surge per the
Special Activity instructions below, then return here.
AIRSTRIKE. Preliminaries: Conduct strikes in up to three Provinces
• Then, at one Coalition Base space with COIN Control (or in up to two
in Afghanistan.
spaces if the unshaded PRTs is in effect), conduct Civic Actions to
Strike to remove the maximum extent. Within that, select spaces to cause the greatest
shift in Support/Opposition, then or within that, select spaces that are
• First, Bases non-Pashtun, then or within the above, spaces that contain no Taliban
• Then Guerrillas pieces.
Within both bullets above, strike first in space with Support, then or • Then, if Resources permit, during the space selection above, Train
within that in spaces with a Coalition Base, then or within the above to at each Coalition Base with less than two Government pieces or no
remove a Faction’s last Guerrilla in a space, then or within the above, Police (only). Place the maximum number of cubes placing first all
to remove pieces of, first, a random Player, then the Taliban, then the Police they can, and only then Troops to reach the maximum.
Warlords. • Then, in one space (or in two if unshaded PRTs) with COIN Control
and any Coalition piece(s), conduct Civic Actions. Within that, select
If no such Air Strike is possible, Air Lift per above. If Air Lift also spaces so as to cause the greatest shift in Support/Opposition.
already did not occur (i.e. if in a loop), then conduct no Special Activity.
If no such Train was possible, skip to 8.6.3 Sweep, bullet one, above.
8.6.4 Assault Otherwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows.
If no Sweep occurred, and if Assault alone or with the aid of Air Strikes
SURGE. Preliminaries: Move any Coalition pieces among three map
would remove a Player controlled Faction’s Bases or any pieces of
spaces and the Coalition Available Forces box.
any Faction that reside in Support spaces, the Coalition will Assault
as follows. • First, if the next Propaganda is final only: relocate the maximum
number of Troops from Kabul or COIN Controlled spaces to Available
Preliminaries: Add Government Assault in up to one space (for a cost (thereby bettering the Non-player Coalition’s victory margin) without,
of three Resources per space). for protection purposes, relocating the last Coalition Troop from any
• First, Assault to remove Player or Taliban pieces targeting first Bases*, Coalition Bases. Within that, relocate last from a space with Support.
then pieces at Support*. • Then, get as many Available Bases as possible, accompanied by
at least one Coalition Troop per Base if there otherwise aren’t any
*NOTE: If and as helpful to removing a Base or all enemy pieces in a
there already, to different highest Population space(s) with at least
Support space, in that space or spaces add, first, a Government Assault,
one Population (Kabul or spaces with COIN Control). As per 8.2.1
then, an Air Strike**, then, an Air Lift**.
never have more than one Coalition Base in a single space.
** NOTE: If the Special Activity does not here occur in the maximum • Then, move on-map Base(s) to other map spaces, accompanied by
allowed number of spaces, attempt to complete the Special Activity at least one Coalition Troop per Coalition Base if otherwise none
per the Air Lift priorities (in 8.6.3) before completing the Assault (see such already are in the target space (to or from Kabul or any COIN
IMPORTANT in 8.2 above). Controlled spaces). Move pieces only if the target space has a higher
• If (and only if) pieces were removed in the bullet above, or the Population value than the origin. Move the pieces from the lowest
Coalition is unable to conduct any other Operations: Assault Population value spaces that have no Support (and from such spaces
everywhere in place. only). Within that, prioritize moving to spaces with most Support.
• Then, and only if pieces moved above, conduct the following actions.
If no such Assault was possible, skip to 8.6.5 Train, bullet one, below.
Otherwise, if no Special Activity has been performed yet, and if Air ◊ First, if the next Propaganda is not final, roll 1d6 and that many
Strike could remove any Bases, the last piece of a Player Faction at Troops between Available and the map to get the number of
Support or at Bases of any Faction, Air Strike. Otherwise Air Lift, per Available Troops as close as possible to the number of Support
8.6.3 above. currently existing on the map. NOTE: This could mean either
moving into or out of the Available box.
8.6.5 Train
If neither Sweep nor Assault occurred, the Coalition will Train as Within this bullet and the next bullet below, prioritize moving to spaces
follows. with no Support, then, to spread forces evenly.
◊ Then, for protection purposes, if able, get at least one Coalition
Preliminaries: Train in up to three spaces (in Kabul or where Coalition Troop per each Coalition Base space.
pieces) but for a maximum of two-thirds of available Resources (round-
ing down) only, or without a spending limit if the Government has less ◊ Finally, if the Government is a Player, add Aid only
than nine Resources. Place no Government cubes unless indicated in if Patronage is less than 6, otherwise always add
the priorities below. Aid.
If no such Surge is possible, Air Lift per 8.6.3 above.
NOTE: When executing the Train Operation, first select all the spaces
in which actions are to take place, then execute the actions in the legal
sequence as indicated in the rules of play. See 8.2 above.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
6 A Distant Plain

8.6.6 Coalition Propaganda Procedures (and only on such LoCs), then or within the above, Assault to remove
This section describes the Non-player Coalition actions during the the Player’s, then the Taliban, then the Warlords pieces.
Propaganda Rounds as also shown on the Player Aid.
If no such Assault is possible, skip to 8.7.4 Patrol, bullet one, below.
CIVIC ACTIONS. Preliminaries: Conduct Civic Actions to the max- Otherwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows. If Aid is at two or
imum extent but for the maximum of two-thirds of available Resources less OR the Warlords is a Player Faction, Eradicate, otherwise Govern,
(rounding down) unless acting on the final Propaganda card in which per below.
case observe no spending limit. Remove Terror only if Resources also
suffice to cause a shift in Support or Opposition in that space. ERADICATE. Eradicate as follows.
• First, in any legal space at Opposition.
Conduct Civic Actions in spaces with COIN Control, with Police, and
where Coalition Troops equal or outnumber the Government Troops • Then, only if Aid is zero, in any legal space.
as follows. • Then, in non-Pashtun spaces (thus avoiding placing a Taliban
• First, if this Propaganda is final, conduct Civic Actions everywhere Guerrilla).
possible. • Finally, in a random space.
• Then, conduct Civic Actions at all Coalition Bases. Within that,
For the third and fourth bullet above, if the Taliban are a Player con-
first prioritize spaces with no Taliban Base, then where there are
trolled Faction, only execute these bullets if Government has played
no Taliban pieces.
the 45. Tribal Elders Event (and may thus shift the space’s Support /
REDEPLOY. Redeploy Coalition Troops as follows. Opposition level to what it wants, see 8.7.1 above).
• First, Redeploy Troops from LoCs or from spaces with no COIN If no such Eradicate is possible, after Assault, Transport per
Base that have no Support AND have zero to one Population (and below, otherwise, Govern per 8.7.4 below, OR if in a loop,
from such spaces only). Transport per below.
• Then, Redeploy to Kabul or to COIN Controlled spaces that have a TRANSPORT. Preliminaries: Do not move the last Troop of any
COIN Base in this order of priority: LoC or Government Base. Transport such that no COIN Control is lost.
◊ First, to control Kabul.
• First, get up to four Troops, or more if needed, to establish COIN
◊ Then, to have at least one Coalition Troop per each Coalition Base Control at one highest Population space with one or more Population
space. AND no COIN Base (paying one Resource to the Warlords per each
◊ Then, to the highest Population spaces that contain a Coalition entered space with any Guerrilla). Transport Troops from where there
Base but no Support. are the most of them in excess of maintaining COIN Control. Within
◊ Then Redeploy, to one random space. that, prioritize the target space to which the lowest cost Transport is
possible.
8.7 Non-player Government Actions If no such Transport is possible, execute no Special Activity.
This section details the actions by the Non-player Government as shown
on the Government flowchart. 8.7.4 Patrol
If no Assault occurred, and there are two or more Player pieces on a LoCs
8.7.1 Capability and Momentum Events somewhere OR the Taliban exceed Enemies on the 3 or 4 Economic
If the following Momentum Event is in effect, make use of it as follows. Value LoCs, the Government will Patrol as follows.
• Tribal Elders: Shift to Support until the Coalition
victory margin equals that of the Government, thereafter Preliminaries: Patrol first with all available Police, only then use
shift to Neutral only. Troops, moving them one by one equally from where there at that point
exist the most of that type of cube. Do not move the last Police of any
8.7.2 Pass, Event or Operations? Government Base or non-Pashtun space. Patrol only such that no no
If the current card is a Momentum Event, play it per 8.1 Momentum. COIN Control is lost.
Otherwise, if the current card is a Capability Event, play it per 8.1 • First, Partol to establish COIN Control in Kabul.
Capability. Otherwise, play the unshaded part if it will:
• Then, Patrol, first, to get Government cubes to equal any Player’s
• shift Patronage, Government Resources, Aid or COIN Control up pieces on the highest Economic value LoCs that contain a Player’s
• place Government pieces or afford the Government free Operations pieces, then, to get two cubes on each of the 3 and 4 Economic Value
or Special Activities LoCs, and, then, to get one cube on each of the remaining LoCs.
• shift Islamabad, but execute the Event only if the Taliban are a Player. • Finally, Assault on one LoC on which removing the most pieces of
any Player, then the Taliban, then the Warlords.
Otherwise, if Government has less than three Resources, Pass. If none
of the above, continue below. If no such Patrol is possible, skip to 8.7.5 Train, bullet one, below.
Otherwise, execute the Govern Special Activity per below.
8.7.3 Assault
If an Assault would place two or more Population under COIN Control GOVERN. Govern as follows.
or remove a Taliban Base, the Non-player Government will Assault as • First, if able, Govern for Patronage in up to two highest
follows. Population spaces with Support, COIN Control, and
Preliminaries: Assault in up to three spaces, but for the maximum of no Coalition Base.
two-thirds of available Resources (rounding down), or without a spend- • Then, place +1 Pop markers, if any are still available, in up to two
ing limit if the Government has less than nine Resources. highest Population spaces with one or more Population that are at
• First, Assault where it is able to establish COIN Control. Support and have COIN Control AND a COIN Base (do not place
a marker in any spaces with no COIN Base). Prioritize spaces with
• Then, Assault to remove, first, Base(s), then the most Guerrillas.
Government Bases over those with the Coalition Bases.
Within the above, Assault last on LoCs with Player or Taliban pieces
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 A Distant Plain 7

If no such Govern is possible, Eradicate, OR, if in a loop, Transport, If no such Sweep is possible, skip to 8.7.5 Train, bullet one, above.
both per 8.7.3 above. Otherwise, Transport per 8.7.3 above.

8.7.5 Train 8.7.7 Government Propaganda Procedures

If no Assault or Patrol occurred, and there are ten or more Government CIVIC ACTIONS. Preliminaries: Targeting spaces with COIN
Troops Available OR executing the Train Operation bullet one below Control, Police and more Government than Coalition Troops, remove
would place a Government Base, the Government will Train as follows. Terror markers and conduct Civic Actions for a maximum of two-thirds
Preliminaries: Train in up to three spaces, but for a maximum of of available Resources (rounding down) only. Remove Terror markers
two-thirds of available Resources (rounding down) only, or without a only if Resources suffice also to shift Support/Opposition in the space.
spending limit if the Government has less than nine Resources. Place • First, unless this is the final Propaganda Round, add Support in spaces
the maximum number of cubes possible and always two more Troops in which there is a Government but no Coalition Base (and in such
than Police, if Available. (E.g. if placing six Cubes, have four of them spaces only).
be Troops and two Police.) • Otherwise, conduct Civic Actions to remove the most Opposition
• First, Train in a highest Population Province with one or more (without adding any Support).
Population and three or more Government cubes, no COIN Base but
room for one, and replace three random cubes with a Base. Within both bullets above, prioritize spaces with the highest Population
value, then or within that, act in spaces with Terror markers last.
• Then, if no Base was placed above, in a highest Population Province
with two or more Population, COIN Control, no Coalition Base, and REDEPLOY. Preliminaries: Do not relocate or remove any space’s
no Terror: first, Train (placing zero cubes if no COIN Base exist there) last Troop or Police. Relocate from LoCs last.
AND then conduct Civic Actions (if no Support already) AND then
• Desertion: Remove Police and Troops evenly beginning the removal
Govern for Patronage. Next, if Govern above did not yet occur in
with Troops.
the maximum number of allowed spaces, complete Govern per 8.7.3
above, then return here. • Redeploy: Relocate Troops from LoCs and spaces with no COIN
Base(s), spreading them evenly but such that at least one Troop exists
• Then, if no Base was placed and no Special Activity occurred above,
in Kabul and in spaces with COIN Control and a COIN Base.
losing no COIN Control and without displacing last Government
Troop from the space: Train in a space placing the maximum • Then, move Police onto LoCs or to COIN Controlled spaces to:
allowed number of Troops there AND then, from that Train space, ◊ first, maintain COIN Control of as much total Population as
Transport five Troops to a highest Population space with two or more possible (taking into account the Guerrillas the Taliban will have
Population AND then Train there replacing three random cubes with to Redeploy later in the Propaganda Round, if relevant).
a Government Base. Within the above, Train in such a space that ◊ then, to get up to two Police each on the 3 and 4 Economic Value
the following Transport can occur at lowest possible cost (for the LoCs, and up to one Police per the other LoCs, if able.
Government must pay the Warlords one Resource per used Transport
space with any Guerrillas). 8.8 Non-player Taliban Actions
• Then, Train placing cubes at Kabul or in COIN Base spaces. Within This section details the actions by the Non-player Taliban as shown on
that, prioritize spaces in which there are the least Government cubes, the Taliban flowchart.
then or within that, prioritize highest Population spaces.
8.8.1 Capability and Momentum Events
• Then, if no Civic Actions were conducted yet, nor a Base placed, If a particular Capability or a Momentum Event is in effect, make use
Train and conduct Civic Actions in any one COIN Controlled space of them as follows.
where this removes the most Opposition (placing zero cubes if no
COIN Base there). • MANPADS Scare: Roll a 1d6, if 1-4, cancel any Air Lift
or Air Strike until the Taliban Resources are less than
If no such Train is possible, skip to 8.7.6 Sweep, bullet on, below. Oth- five.
erwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows. If Aid is at two or less OR • Tribal Elders: Shift to Opposition.
the Warlords is a Player Faction, Eradicate per 8.7.3 above, otherwise
Govern per 8.7.4 above. • Unshaded Find Fix: When moving the Taliban pieces in
the context of Operations, Special Activities or Events,
8.7.6 Sweep get and/or keep two Underground Taliban Guerrillas
If neither Assault, Patrol nor Train occurred, the Non-player Government per each Taliban Base space in Afghanistan.
will Sweep as follows. • Shaded Accidental Guerrillas: Place the Guerrilla, first,
Preliminaries: Sweep in or into up to two spaces. Do not move the at Support, then at Taliban Bases, then randomly. Within
last Troop of any LoC or at a Government Base. Sweep such that no each, prioritize the highest Population spaces.
COIN Control is lost. • Shaded Aerostats: Flip at, first, Support, then at a
Taliban Base, then in a random space.
• Use Sweep to get up to four Troops (or more if needed) to add COIN
Control to the highest Population spaces with one or more Population 8.8.2 Pass, Event, or Operations?
AND no COIN Base. Sweep with Troops taking them evenly from If the current card is a Capability Event, play it per 8.1
random sources. Within that, select the target space(s) to which the Capability. Otherwise, if the current card is a Momentum Event, play it
lowest cost Sweep is possible (paying the Warlords one Resource per 8.1 Momentum. Otherwise, play the shaded part of the current card
per each entered LoC with any enemies). NOTE: The Non-player if it is effective AND either part of the card could:
Government may well be sweeping into spaces that contain no
enemies. • shift Support down, Opposition or Taliban Resources up or down
• Then, Sweep in place where activating most pieces of any Player first, • remove or place Taliban Bases or remove Coalition pieces
then or within that the Taliban, then or within that the Warlords. • shift the Islamabad Track
If none of the above, continue below.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
8 A Distant Plain

8.8.3 Terror ◊ If the Government is a Player, Infiltrate where able to remove the
If the Terror Operation would shift shift three or more points of Oppo- most Government cubes (remembering to reduce Patronage per
sition and Support combined, the Taliban will Terror as follows. each cube removed)
◊ then or within that, where removing any Faction’s last piece or
Preliminaries: Do not expose the last one Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban
pieces in the space
Base (the last two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect). Pause Terror
to Extort per below whenever more Resources needed. ◊ then or within that, prioritize the highest Population and the highest
Economic Value spaces.
• First, Terror in Support spaces.
NOTE: After executing the priorities above, if a single cube got removed,
• Then, in Neutral spaces.
place also a Guerrilla there.
Within the bullets one and two above, prioritize the highest Population
If no such Infiltrate is possible, Extort per 8.8.3 above.
spaces.
If no such Terror is possible, skip to 8.8.4 Rally, bullet one, below. 8.8.5 March
Otherwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows. If no Terror nor Rally occurred, and Attack with or without Ambush
now cannot remove two or more Coalition pieces, the Taliban will
EXTORT. Preliminaries: Do not expose the last one Taliban Guerrilla March as follows.
at a Taliban Base (the last two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect).
Preliminaries: March for the maximum of two-thirds of available
• First, Extort everywhere possible without exposing the last Taliban Resources (rounding down), or without a spending limit if the Taliban
Guerrilla in a space with no Opposition. have less than nine Resources. Do not relocate the last one Taliban
• Then, if the Taliban still have zero Resources, Extort everywhere Guerrilla at a Taliban Base (the last two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is
possible. in effect). March such that no Taliban Control is lost.
• First, use March to get one Underground Guerrilla to each Taliban
If no such Extort is possible, conduct no Special Activity.
Base with no such Taliban Guerrilla already. Only March into such
8.8.4 Rally Pakistani spaces that have no Guerrillas at the Base(s) there.
If no Terror occurred, and there are 15 or more Taliban Guerrillas Avail- • Then, get three Guerrillas (Underground, if able, from multiple
able OR Rally per the second bullet below would replace Guerrillas with sources if needed) to one Afghan space with room for a Base, only
a Base, the Taliban will Rally as follows. if Taliban Base(s) are Available.
Preliminaries: Rally in up to six spaces in which paying Resources • Then, get one Underground Guerrilla each into up to three spaces as
(Rally in Pakistan may be free as per the Islamabad Track). Pause Ral- follows:
ly to Extort per 8.8.3 above whenever more Resources needed. At the ◊ First, to Neutral spaces with no Taliban and no Coalition pieces.
end of the Rally, do not forget to see the Taliban can buy Sharia for the ◊ Then, to spaces with Support.
greatest shift (at one Taliban Base regardless of Control).
Within each bullet above, prioritize Marches into spaces to which the
• Important: Where indicated below, Rally placing Guerrillas until
Taliban March at the lowest cost, then or within that, to spaces with
none are Available. Thereafter, Rally to flip Guerrillas Underground.
the highest Population.
• First, Rally at all Taliban Bases with no Taliban Guerrillas.
• Then, get up to two Guerrillas onto each LoC to which the Guerrillas
• Then, Rally in spaces with three or more Taliban Guerrillas are adjacent (and onto adjacent LoCs only) to outnumber the any
replacing two Guerrillas with a Base (per 8.2.1 replace Active before enemies on these LoCs (including also if there are zero enemies there).
Underground Guerrillas). Within that, prioritize Rallies in Pakistan. Within that, prioritize Marches onto the highest Economic Value
• Then, Rally where all Taliban Guerrillas at Taliban Base(s) are Active LoCs, then or within that, prioritize those target spaces to which the
AND there are any cubes in the space*. Within that, prioritize the Taliban are able to get Guerrillas Underground.
highest Population spaces.
If no such March is possible, skip to 8.8.4 Rally, bullet one, above.
• Then, Rally in Kabul, if there is no Underground Taliban Guerrilla
Otherwise, Extort per 8.8.4 above.
there already.
• Then, Rally in up to two spaces that are at Neutral, have no Coalition 8.8.6 Attack
and no Taliban pieces. Within that, prioritize the highest Population If no Terror or Rally occurred, but Attack with or without Ambush would
spaces. remove two or more Coalition pieces, the Taliban will Attack as follows.
• Then, Rally at all Taliban Bases*. Within that, Rally in Pakistani Preliminaries: Do not expose the last one Taliban Guerrilla at a Taliban
spaces last, then or within that prioritize the highest Population spaces. Base (the last two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect).
• Finally, Rally in all three Pakistani spaces*, if Rally there is free.
• First, Attack (with Ambush if needed to ensure success) where doing
If no such Rally is possible, skip to 8.8.5 March, bullet one, below. so removes Coalition pieces. (Remember any Government pieces in
Otherwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows. the space prevent the removal of Coalition pieces.)
• Then, Attack per the Ambush priorities below using Ambush, except
EXTORT. Extort as follows. in spaces where there are six or more Taliban Guerrillas.
• Extort on the 3 and 4 Economic Value LoCs. • Then, Attack with groups of four or more Taliban Guerrillas.
If no such Extort is possible, Infiltrate per below.
AMBUSH. Preliminaries: Do not expose the last one Taliban Guerrilla
INFILTRATE. In one space with Underground Taliban Guerrilla(s), at a Taliban Base (the last two if unshaded Find Fix Finish is in effect).
Infiltrate as follows. Select Ambush spaces so as to remove pieces of:
• Select spaces to remove pieces, first, of a Player, then the Government, • first, the Coalition. Within that, prioritize the removal of Bases, then
then the Warlords. Within each of the above, of Troops.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 A Distant Plain 9

• then, the Government. Within that, prioritize Bases, then Police, then or within that, where there are the most Bases (of any Faction).
Troops. • Then, Rally at all Warlord Bases*. Within that, prioritize the highest
• then, the Warlords. Within that, prioritize Bases, then Guerrillas. Population spaces.
If no such Ambush is possible, Extort per 8.8.3 above. • Then, Rally where there are Warlord Guerrilla(s) but no Warlord
Bases.
8.8.7 Taliban Propaganda Procedures • Then, Rally in one random highest Population space with one or more
SHARIA. Preliminaries: In spaces with Taliban Control, conduct Sha- Population.
ria to the maximum extent. Remove Terror markers only if Resources • NOTE: Rally placing Guerrillas until none are Available. Thereafter,
suffice also to shift Support/Opposition in the space. Rally to flip Guerrillas Underground.
• Conduct Sharia to cause the greatest possible shift in Support/ If no such Rally is possible, skip to 8.9.4 March, bullet one, below.
Opposition. Within that, prioritize spaces with Support, then or within Otherwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows. If the Warlords have
that, spaces with the fewest Terror markers. less than 43 Resources, Cultivate, otherwise, Suborn, both per below.
REDEPLOY. Relocate Taliban Guerrillas from LoCs and spaces with CULTIVATE. Cultivate as follows.
no Taliban Base spreading evenly to spaces with Taliban Base(s) and
Taliban Control or to Pashtun spaces in Pakistan such as to • First, if this is the last Campaign, skip to Traffic below.
• Then, Cultivate in a space with an existing Warlords Base.
• have at least one Taliban Guerrilla per each Taliban Base space. Within
that, relocate to Afghan spaces before Pakistan. • Then, in a space with no Warlords Base.
• If no eligible Cultivation space has yet been found, Rally in one more
8.9 Non-player Warlords Actions space AND then Cultivate there.
This section details the actions by the Non-player Warlords as shown
Within the bullets two, three and four above, prioritize the highest
on the Warlords flowchart.
Population spaces available.
8.9.1 Capability and Momentum Events If no such Cultivate is possible, Traffic per below. If Traffic and Suborn
If the following unshaded Capability is in effect, do the following: have already been attempted, conduct no Special Activity.
• Unshaded Find Fix Finish: When moving the Warlords pieces in the
TRAFFIC. Traffic as follows.
context of Operations, Special Activities or Events, get and/or keep
two Underground Warlord Guerrillas per each space with two Warlord • First, Traffic at all uncontrolled Warlord Base spaces.
Bases. • Then, Traffic at all Warlord Bases excluding those where this would
give any Player Resources or Patronage (i.e. spaces with Taliban or
8.9.2 Pass, Event, or Operations? COIN Control).
If the current card is a Momentum Event, play it per 8.1 Momentum.
Otherwise, if the current card is a Capability Event, play it per 8.1 If no such Traffic is possible, Suborn per below.
Capability. Otherwise, play the shaded part if it will:
SUBORN. Preliminaries: Suborn only such that the Warlords do not
• increase uncontrolled Population or the Warlord Resources thereby fall below 41 Warlords Resources.
• place Warlord Guerrillas on LoCs or Warlord Base(s) on the map
• First, Suborn in spaces such that it reduces the Government Player’s
Otherwise, if the Warlord have zero Resources, Pass. If none of the Victory margin by up to four points.
above, continue below. • Then, Suborn to remove any Control in one highest Population space
in Afghanistan.
8.9.3 Rally
If the Rally Operation bullet one would replace Guerrillas with a Base, If no such Suborn is possible, after Terror or Attack, conduct no Special
the Warlords will Rally as follows. Activity. Otherwise, Cultivate per above.

Preliminaries: Rally in up to three spaces. 8.9.4 March

If no Rally occurred and no Player Faction has a positive Victory margin,
• First, in spaces with three or more Warlord Guerrillas: the Warlords will March as follows.
◊ First, if there is no space for a Warlords Base there AND there
is a Government Base in the space, then Suborn against the Preliminaries: Do not relocate the last one Warlords Guerrilla at a War-
Government Base** removing it AND then Rally replacing two lords Base (the last two where there are two Warlord Bases if unshaded
Warlord Guerrillas with a Base there. Find Fix Finish is in effect). Create no COIN nor Taliban Control.
◊ Otherwise, replace two Warlord Guerrillas with a Base. • First, use March to get one Underground to each Warlord Base with
no such Guerrilla.
**NOTE: If the Suborn Special Activity does not here occur in the
maximum allowed number of spaces, attempt to complete the Special • Then, get exactly two Guerrillas on each reachable LoC (Marching
Activity per the Suborn priorities below before completing the Rally with Active Guerrillas first, if choice). Ignore this bullet if the
(see IMPORTANT in 8.2 above). Warlords have 45 or more Resources OR this is the last Campaign.
• Then, in one highest Population space with one or more Population, • Then, unless this is the last Campaign in which case ignore this bullet,
a single Warlords Base, and room for another: get three Warlord Guerrillas (from multiple random sources, if needed)
into each reachable space with one or more Population and room for
◊ If Rally placing Guerrillas enables Cultivate, Rally* AND then a Base. Within that, prioritize the highest Population spaces, then or
Cultivate within that, spaces where there are no Coalition pieces.
◊ Otherwise, Cultivate AND then Rally* • Then, March to remove most Control. Within that, prioritize spaces
• Then, Rally in all spaces where there are Warlord Bases but no Warlord in which removing Control by a Player Faction.
Guerrillas. Within that, prioritize the highest Population spaces, then
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
10 A Distant Plain

• Then, only if in a loop and the Warlords have already tried to perform 8.9.6 Attack
all other Operations: If no Rally, March or Terror occurred, the Warlords will Attack as
◊ First, March to a highest Population space with one or more follows.
Population.
Preliminaries: Attack in spaces with four or more Warlord Guerrillas
◊ Otherwise, the Warlords conduct no Operation and Pass instead (only). Do not expose the last one Warlords Guerrilla at a Warlords
(earning a Resource). Base (the last two where there are two Warlord Bases if unshaded Find
If no such March is possible, skip to 8.9.3 Rally, bullet one, above. Oth- Fix Finish is in effect).
erwise, conduct a Special Activity as follows. If the Warlords have less • First, Attack to attempt to reduce the Victory margin of any Player
than 43 Resources, Cultivate, otherwise, Suborn, both per 8.9.3 above. Faction (by removing Control or Bases). Within that, prioritize the
highest Population spaces.
8.9.5 Terror
If no Rally nor March occurred, and Terror could reduce the Victory If no such Attack is possible, skip to 8.9.5 Terror, bullet one, above.
maring of any Player Faction, the Warlords will Terror as follows, Otherwise, conduct the Suborn Special Activity per 8.9.4 above.
otherwise skip to 8.9.6 Attack below.
Preliminaries: Terror in up to three spaces (shifting these to Neutral).
Do not expose the last one Warlords Guerrilla at a Warlords Base (the
last two where there are two Warlord Bases if unshaded Find Fix Finish
is in effect).
• First, Terror to reduce the Victory margin of any Player
controlled Faction. Within that, prioritize the highest
Population spaces.
• Then, Terror in one random space in which causing the greatest
reduction in Support or Opposition.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 A Distant Plain 11

T HIRD P RI NT I NG UP DAT E S
TO T H E

P LAYB OO K
N O N - P L AY E R E X A MP L E S

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

12 A Distant Plain

Per the Eligibility order on the current card, the Non-player Gov-
1-PLAYER EXAMPLES OF PLAY ernment is the next Faction to act. We note that the current card 11.
This section contains a few examples of play illustrating the use of Strategic Release is a Momentum Event. Therefore, per the Pass,
the Non-player priorities detailed above. Event or Operations? box of the Government flowchart we again
refer to the rules section 8.1. There we see the Non-player Govern-
Example #1: Momentum and Capability Events ment will automatically execute the Momentum Event since the
This Non-player variant incorporates some novel mechanics for upcoming card is not a Propaganda card. Let’s shift the Government
handling Non-player Event play. This example illustrate some of cylinder into the 1st Faction Event box and remember that from now
these mechanics. on, the effects of 11. Strategic Release apply.
Set Up: For this example, simply mark all Factions as Eligible (no Next, as the third Faction in the Eligibility order of the current card
need to set up the board). Then, select the Event card 11. Strategic we’ve got the Non-player Warlords. They will now execute an
Release as the current card and the card 12. Village Stability Opera- Operations with a Special Activity the details of which we will not
tions as the upcoming Event. In this example, the Taliban are a human cover in this example.
controlled Faction while the other three Factions are Non-players.
After the Warlords have executed their Operations and a Special
Activity, with two Factions having now acted on the current card,
the card gets discarded and 12. Village Stability Operations becomes
the new current card. We remember that the Non-player Coalition
specifically passed on the previous card to be Eligible to take the
Capability on this card. And so the Non-player Coalition now takes
the unshaded Village Stability Operations Capability.

Example #2: Govt Train + Special Activity and

the Spending Limit
For some Non-player Operations a spending limit obtains. An
example of this is the Non-player Government Train operation.
(The Taliban March as well as the Government Sweep and Assault
Operations are further examples of actions to which a spending
limit applies.)
Set Up: Set the board as at the start of the Short Scenario except
Execution: Inspecting the Eligibility order on the current card, we reduce the Government Resources down to 20 AND shift two
see the Non-player Coalition has the first opportunity to act. Looking Coalition Troops from Kabul to Nuristan (the latter now becomes
at the Pass, Event or Operations? box in the top left corner of the COIN Controlled).
Coalition flowchart, we note that the first bullet asks us to check Execution: Suppose the Non-player Government is first Eligible on
whether this OR the next card is a Capability Event. The next card a random current card and that the Pass, Event or Operations? box
indeed is a Capability, and so we do as the chart says and refer to leads them to perform an Operation with a Special Activity. Look-
the rules booklet section 8.1 for further instructions. ing through the diamond shaped conditions on the left hand side,
There in a bullet named Capability, the instructions detail a decision we pass through the first two diamonds along the No arrow as the
making mechanic according to which the Non-player Coalition will Government will not be able to Assault anyone (with all Guerrillas
now roll a 1d6 and—if the roll value equals or is less than the number on the map being Underground) nor are there any insurgents on the
of unplayed Propaganda cards AND the Coalition is certainly able LoCs for the Patrol Operation to get triggered.
to take the upcoming Capability—the Coalition will Pass now to Arriving at the third diamond condition we note, however, that there
pick up the Capability of the next card. As the Coalition are marked are more than 10 Government Troops Available. Hence, we follow
as the first Eligible Faction on the upcoming card (their symbol is the Yes arrow to the Train box.
listed first), the Coalition is guaranteed to get the first crack on the
Capability. Note that a Faction whose symbol is not the first in the Looking at the “preliminaries” of the Train box –that is, the first few
Eligibility order on a given card may nonetheless be guaranteed to lines of text, in Italics, immediately after the Operation name– we
be first Eligible on a Capability card if the Faction(s) before in the note there’s a spending limit to the Government Train Operation. The
Eligibility order are guaranteed to be Ineligible on that card (e.g. if priorities tell us to spend “2/3 of Res max”, an abbreviated form
that Faction has already played on the current card and will thus be of expression for saying that we may spend up to two-thirds of all
Ineligible on the next card). the Resources (rounded down) currently available to the Faction at
hand (see 8.2.2 Abbreviations Used). Doing the math, two-thirds of
Suppose, for the sake of this example, that we’ve got four Propa- 20 Resources (rounding down to the closest full number) make 13
ganda cards left hidden in the deck, and suppose further that the Resources that the Non-player Government will maximally spend
Non-player Coalition now rolls a three. This is less then the number here. We ignore the second sentence of the preliminaries for now.
of unplayed Propaganda cards meaning the Coalition will Pass: we
shift the Coalition cylinder into the Pass box of the Sequence of Play Moving on to the first bullet of the Train box, we check if the Gov-
display and add three to the Government Resources. Perhaps you ernment would replace its cubes with a Base. For this purpose, we
will find it useful to place a spare Coalition colored marker onto the look for a space with these characteristics: one or more Population,
upcoming card as a reminder of what is to happen. no existing Government or Coalition Base but space for one, and at
least three Government cubes. There is no such space.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 A Distant Plain 13

(Suppose, however, that Herat did not yet have a Government Base However, in the green box in the flowchart, there are some tie break-
there. Then it would become the first location in this Government ers that will help us narrow down the group of candidate spaces.
Train Operation. Per the general replacement instructions in 8.2.1,
the fourth bullet, the Government would replace three randomly se- The first tie breaker, a, tells us to pick those spaces with the least
lected cubes of theirs in Herat with an Available Government Base.) Government cubes among all the candidate spaces identified above.
Glancing at the map we note that each candidate space has got ex-
Moving on to the second bullet of the Train box, now we are looking actly the same number of Government cubes in them, four with the
for spaces with these characteristics: the space has two or more Pop- exception of Kabul where there are two blue cubes. Therefore, the
ulation, COIN Control, no Coalition Base, and no Terror markers. tie breaker a selects Kabul. We will need to look at the tie breaker
Nuristan, with its two Population, fills the bill. There is a longish list b to figure out the other Train space. This tells us to prioritize the
of things that are now going to happen there. In the flowchart, the highest Population spaces among the candidates. After Kabul, the
capitalized AND’s indicate that for this bullet to be executed at all, next most populous spaces in which the Government could place
all the elements conjoined by the AND’s must be executable. (This cubes are Khowst and Konduz with two plus one Population in
is also clarified in 8.2.2 Abbreviations Used.) We now go through each. We need a random roll to select one of these two locations.
these steps one by one. Say Khowst gets selected.
First, let’s mark Nuristan as a Government Train location. In this
case, the Train simply involves marking the space as a Train location,
and paying three Resources, without placing any cubes. No cubes The Government
may be placed in Nuristan for the lack of a COIN Base there, but it Trains in Kabul,
is still a legal Train location. Khowst and
Second, still in Nuristan, the Government buys Civic Actions there Nuristan. In the
for another three Resources shifting the space to Support. Yet, third, latter, also the
that Support gets immediately wiped off again as the Non-player Govern Special
Government selects Nuristan as a location for the Govern Special Activity occurs.
Activity: we transfer two points of Aid to Patronage and shift
Nuristan back to Neutral again. That is one ruthless move by the
Government right there, a move that fully exploits any carelessness
on the Coalition’s part if they leave any Support dangling without
protecting it by the presence of a Coalition Base! This is a move the
legal execution of which requires the Player to grasp some subtle
nuances pertaining to the Train Operation and the Govern Special With the Train spaces selected, we now place the cubes. Now the
Activity. second sentence of the preliminaries becomes relevant. It tells us
to place the maximum number of cubes –normally six, although
There’s a cross at the end of the second bullet that refers to a note possibly limited to four by the shaded Night Letters Capability,
telling us to now finish up the Govern Special Activity that, excep- or by piece availability– but always two more Troops than Police.
tionally, was called for already in the Operations box. There are a few That is to say, the Government will now place four Troops and two
Non-player Operations that do that in this variant. Let us, therefore, Police in each of Khowst and Kabul – if the shaded Night Letters
turn to the Govern box. Govern may occur in up to two spaces, one was in effect, the second sentence of the preliminaries would see the
of which was already selected in the Train Operation box. Government place three Troops and one Police per each Train space.
We see that there is no space (with Support) in which more Patronage That concludes this Government Train Operation with the Govern
could be extracted, so we skip to the second bullet. The Govern- Special Activity.
ment won’t be placing any +1 Pop markers either as there are no
legal target spaces (with Support) for that. Therefore, this time, the
Govern Special Activity only occurs in a single space selected in
Example #3: Taliban March + Infiltrate
The Non-player Taliban March action can be one of the most com-
the Train Operation box.
plicated actions of this variant to execute –it is so in the multi-player
Return now to the Train Operations box to finish up the Train. Since game as well, mind you. This is because there are a number of Capa-
the Government has now executed a Special Activity, we may skip bilities as well as the status of the Islamabad Track that essentially
the third bullet arriving at the fourth bullet which involves the complicate the March Operation. Also, per the rules, the Taliban is
Government potentially placing some forces on the map. This is able to March again if the previous destination was a Pashtun space,
where it might be useful to remind ourselves of the spending limit which further expands the cost as well as the possibilities to consider.
for this Operation again as this is one of the potential limits to in
Set Up: Set the board as at the start of the Short Scenario except
how many spaces the Government will seek to place cubes (Train
as follows. Add two Taliban Guerrillas each to Kandahar, Ghazni,
in up to three spaces is the other limit). With six Resources already
Khowst, Waziristan, and the Northwest Frontier. Add one Taliban
marked for spending at the second bullet, we’ve got another 7 Re-
Base to each of the three Pakistani spaces. Shift all the Afghan spaces
sources to spend before we hit the 13 Resources limit. That is, the
among these as well as Nuristan to Opposition. Remove the two
Government will be able to Train in two more spaces (for a total
Taliban Guerrillas in Zabol and in Oruzgan, respectively. Oruzgan
cost of 6 Resources).
becomes COIN Controlled. Reduce the Taliban Resources by four
Here the flowchart incorporates a helpful rules reminder, in red, that to 11. Assume further that the unshaded Aerostats Capability (Event
if the Government is to place cubes, it may do so at COIN Bases or card 5.) is in effect increasing the Taliban March costs by one per
in Kabul (only). There are plenty of candidate spaces on the map. destination. Note, however, that the Islamabad Track is at Backing

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

14 A Distant Plain

which makes the Taliban Marches to and from Pakistan spaces cost Where is it going to come from? As an example of how the Ca-
0 Resources. Finally, place two Warlords Guerrillas and two Police pabilities and/or the Islamabad Track can complicate the March
from Available onto the LoC leading from Kabul toward the Khyber Operation, were the unshaded Aerostats not in effect, the Guerrilla
Pass, and relocate two Police from Kandahar onto the adjacent LoC could come from practically anywhere on the board. While the first
with the Economic value of three leading from Kandahar towards tie breaker for the bullet under consideration tell us to prioritize the
Spin Boldak. lowest cost Marches, the effect of the status of the Islamabad Track
combined with the Taliban ability to March again from Pashtun
Execution: Suppose the Non-player Taliban are first Eligible on a spaces, practically enables the Taliban to March Guerrillas around
random current Event but that it is of no interest to the Non-player for free. That is, they may March a Guerrilla from an adjacent Afghan
Taliban as per the Pass, Event, or Operations? box on the flow- space to one of the Pashtun spaces in Pakistan and then March it
chart. Thus, we follow the If None arrow to the first diamond of out into Afghanistan again, and all this for a cost of zero because
the flowchart. of the Islamabad Track.
Inspecting the diamond and the map, we note that, while the Tali- However, now that the unshaded Aerostats is in effect, even the
ban is able to execute Terror in Helmand as well as in Paktika, the otherwise free Marches cost one Resource as per the Capability. In
combined shift in Support/Opposition would not equal or exceed these circumstances, the tie breaker a limits the choice to Waziristan
three. We, therefore, pass on along the No arrow to the next diamond. as the sole space from which a Guerrilla is able to get to Zabol for
This diamond, too, we pass by as we note that there are way fewer the cost of one Resource. Conduct that March now.
than 15 Taliban Guerrillas Available and the Taliban also already
has all its Bases on the map—and is therefore unable to place any Moving on to the second bullet, the aim there is to set up a group
further Bases. of Guerrillas for a future Base building opportunity but only if at
least one Taliban Base is Available. None are, so we may skip this
We follow the No arrow to the next diamond. For the Taliban to be bullet altogether.
able to remove Coalition pieces by an Attack and/or Ambush, the
pieces have to be unaccompanied by Government cubes since, per The third bullet seeks to spread Taliban forces for the purposes of
the rules of play, Government cubes must all be removed before the setting up future Terror Operations. As per the bullet, we are seeking
Coalition pieces may be removed. to March into up to three spaces getting an Underground Guerrilla to
each selected space. Our first targets are spaces with the following
Therefore, we again follow the No arrow which, however, takes us characteristics: at Neutral, no Taliban and no Coalition forces. There
to the March box: having inspected the board state, the Non-player are multiple such targets given the Taliban ability to March again
Taliban has opted to execute the March operation. from Pashtun spaces (hence, even a far-away space like Herat is a
Let’s inspect the Preliminaries in detail. For this Operation, a spend- reachable space via the Pashtun spaces adjacent to it). Let’s have
ing limit applies. The Taliban have got 11 Resources, two-thirds of the first tie breaker, that of prioritizing lowest cost Marches, narrow
this makes 7.33 which gets rounded down to 7 Resources that the down the candidates for us.
Taliban will maximally spend on this Operation. By this tie breaker, Badakhshan becomes the first March target as
The Preliminaries also specify that the Taliban ought not March out it is the sole space to which the Taliban may March for the cost of
any last Guerrilla protecting its Bases—or any last two Guerrillas if a single Resource. Furthermore, for the March to cost a single Re-
the unshaded Find Fix Capability is in effect. It is a powerful Capabil- source, the Guerrilla has to come from the Northwest Frontier—if
ity with which each Coalition Assault may remove one Underground it came from Nuristan, the cost would be two Resources, one for the
Guerrilla in addition to any Active ones. Thus the Taliban had better March itself, and another for the Aerostats Capability. We conduct
leave sufficient protection at its Bases when Find Fix is in play. The that March now.
Capability is not in effect in this example, however. We’ve got two more target spaces to find as per the third bullet and
The Preliminaries also instruct there are way more legal candidate spaces than that. The tie breaker
the Taliban not to March the last b tells us to order the March destinations per descending Population
Underground Guerrillas out of size. This gives us Baghlan (with two plus one population) as the
spaces with no Opposition. This next destination to which a Guerrilla from Nuristan alone is able to
is to keep those spaces set up for get to for the lowest cost of two Resources.
later Terror Operations. Finally, The last target space to be selected per the third bullet of the Taliban
the March ought to lead to no March instructions involves a tie between Ghowr and Bamian: both
loss of Taliban Control, the can be reached for the cost of two Resources and have the same
keeping of which might come Population value. As always, once the tie breakers run out, we will
handy during the next Propa- select targets randomly from among the set of candidates we have
ganda’s Sharia phase. Also, arrived at. Say Ghowr gets selected to which a Guerrilla from Hel-
the Non-player Taliban has mand is the only one to be able to get to.
to be careful not to award the
Government any extra points We have now selected the three March destinations per the third
by losing Taliban and possibly bullet and so, as per the second sub-bullet of the third bullet that
creating COIN Control. we have been executing, the Support spaces will not be targeted at
all this time. We have also spent six of the seven Resources leaving
With the Preliminaries in mind, we move on to the first bullet which us a single Resource to spend to fulfill the Marches per the fourth
tells us to get one Underground Guerrilla to each Taliban Base with and the final bullet.
no such Guerrilla. Zabol has got a Taliban Base and no Guerrillas
whatsoever so we’ve got to get one Underground Guerrilla there. The final bullet aims to get some Taliban Guerrillas onto the Lines
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 A Distant Plain 15

of Communication, or LoCs, if and only if they then outnumber The Infiltrate Special Activity removes the two remaining Gov-
the enemies there. The fourth bullet specifies that we are looking ernment Troops cubes exposing the Coalition forces to a potential
to March onto adjacent LoCs only. Note that one could get further Taliban Attack with Ambush later on. The removal of the two cubes
afield using the March-again ability, but the Non-player Taliban does also decreases the Patronage by two points. That concludes this
not make use of that ability. Also, the Non-player Taliban will want example of play.
to get up to two Guerrillas onto each LoC but no more than that.
Normally, the March onto a LoC costs no Resources, but again
Example #4: Coalition Train + Surge
Surge is one of the most important actions of the Coalition allowing
the unshaded Aerostats imposes a cost of one Resource even upon
them to increase or decrease their Troop commitment on the ground
these otherwise free Marches. We’ve got multiple LoCs that could
as well as to strategically position their Bases. The Non-player Co-
be reached, but only a single Resource and thus a single March to
alition will be a tame opponent without properly executed Surges.
make. Again we will need the tie breakers.
Set Up: Set the board as at the start of the Short Scenario with the
The first tie breaker has the Taliban target the highest Economic
following changes. Move the two Police cubes in Ghazni to Avail-
value LoCs—those are the ones leading toward Pakistan—but both
able. Also move all Coalition pieces from Kandahar to Available
of those LoCs are occupied by two enemy pieces which means that
and the four Government cubes there to Baghlan. Also relocate the
Taliban is unable to outnumber the enemies there by the up to two
Government Base in Konduz to Baghlan. Kandahar becomes Taliban
Taliban Guerrillas it is prepared to use here. Therefore, the two
Controlled and Baghlan COIN Controlled. Adjust the Coalition’s
highest value LoCs are out from among the candidate targets.
Support + Avail marker up by three.
Two of the LoCs with an Economic value of one remain in the race
and random selection picks the LoC leading from the town of Kan- Execution: For this example, suppose the Warlords are a Player
dahar toward Farah. Two Guerrillas from the Kandahar Province controlled Faction. Suppose further that the Non-player Coalition
are able to get onto that LoC. Their March renders Kandahar COIN is first Eligible on a random current Event card that is of no interest
Controlled. With that we have reached our spending limit and no to them as per the Pass, Event or Operations? box. We follow the
further Marches may be executed. If None arrow onward to the first decision diamond.

Next we will select a Special Activity. In the flowchart, there is a We pass by the first diamond—there are no Underground Taliban
With arrow going out of the March box toward one of the Extort Guerrillas in Support spaces nor Underground pieces of the Player
boxes. The box probes whether the Non-player Taliban is able to (i.e. the Warlords) at a Coalition Base. We pass by the second di-
Extort on one of the lucrative three and four Economic value LoCs. amond too as no Bases are exposed and removable by a Assaults
There being no Taliban Guerrillas on these LoCs we pass on along or Air Strikes nor can any pieces be removed in the sole Support
the if None arrow to Infiltrate. space, Kabul.

As the flowchart shows us, the Non-player Taliban prefers to target Therefore, we follow the No arrow down to the Train box. Once
the Player Faction first. Suppose the Government is a Player con- again the Preliminaries state a spending limit—two-thirds of 30 make
trolled Faction. Therefore, we browse the board for spaces with 20 Resources—which we however are unlikely to get even close
Underground Taliban Guerrillas and Government cubes. There are to breaking. The Preliminaries also state that the Coalition Train
more options than the one space in which Infiltrate may maximally Operations will not place any Government cubes unless so indicated
occur: Helmand, Kandahar, Ghazni, Paktika, and Khowst. in the priorities themselves. Let’s keep that in mind.

So again we resort to the tie breakers. The first tie breaker, a, says The first two bullets of the Coalition Train box are safeguards put
to prioritize spaces in which the most Government cubes can be in place to counter any Taliban or Government attempts—if these
removed, which by the rules of play pertaining to Infiltrate is two are controlled by a Player—at getting too far ahead. No Faction is
cubes. This is possible in all the candidate targets. The second tie close to winning so we pass these bullets by.
breaker, b, prioritizes spaces in which the last Government cubes
The third bullet, however, asks us to check if any Coalition Bases
can be removed. That gives us Kandahar as the winner.
are Available—yes, one Base is—and if so, to pause the Train Op-
eration to conduct the Surge Special Activity. Therefore, we take
note to return to this position in the Train box later and head over
to the Surge box.
The first Surge bullet is there to trigger a Coalition pull-out of
Afghanistan in the final Campaign and is not relevant now. The
second bullet is all about getting Coalition Bases out onto the map.
The preference written into the bullet is to get Bases into the highest
Population spaces. A rules reminder in red tells us that a Surge may
target COIN Controlled spaces and Kabul (regardless of who is in
Control there). Worth keeping mind is also the priority in 8.2.1 never
to have two Coalition Bases in a single space.
Therefore, we search the map for a single space with no Coalition
Base already but that is COIN Controlled as the home for the Avail-
able Base. There are two such spaces, Herat and Baghlan. Herat
The Non-player Taliban has Marched onto the Kandahar – Farah immediately drops out as the lower Population space. Now place a
LoC. The Infiltrate Special Activity is about to occur in the Province Coalition Base from Available to Baghlan.
of Kandahar.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
16 A Distant Plain

The bullet we are working through right now also says that if any Suppose we roll a 1d6 and the result is a four. The Non-player
of the newly placed Bases have no Coalition Troops at them, then Coalition will now place three (not four) Troops from Available
each such Base also receives a single protecting Coalition Troop. onto the map after which the number of Available Troops equals
The Base in Baghlan indeed has no Coalition Troop at it, so let us the level of Support.
place one from Available there. We have no used one of the three
legal spaces in which Surge may take place. Where are these Troops going to? As we are executing a Surge and
have already selected all three Surge targets, the three new-comer
The third bullet of the Surge box checks if any of the Coalition Bases Troops must go to one of the already selected targets. Beyond that,
already on the map could be relocated to more favorable locations. there’s a tie breaker b that sees the incoming Troops be spread out
That is to say, moving again between Kabul and COIN Controlled evenly, so let us place one Troop in each of the three selected spaces.
spaces only (such spaces being the only legal Surge targets per the
regular rules of play), the Non-player Coalition seeks to relocate The second sub-bullet of the bullet four attempts to secure sufficient
its Bases to higher Population value spaces than where it already protection for the Coalition Bases, but all of them already have
has spaces. We note that both Konduz and Herat have no Coalition at least one Coalition Troop. Therefore, we move on to the final
Bases but are COIN Controlled and thus possible Surge targets. sub-bullet. The Surge Special Activity also allows the Coalition to
increase Aid. The Non-player Coalition will always do this if the
As the source spaces of the to-be-relocated Coalition Bases we look Government is also a Non-player, otherwise more Aid is conditional
for COIN Controlled spaces with a Coalition Base and a lower Pop- on low Patronage. In the present case, the Government is a Non-play-
ulation than the target space. Konduz has a higher Population (two er, so we roll 1d6 and add that many points of Aid.
plus one) than each of Ghazni, Paktika and Helmand (Population
one). Konduz will thus become the target space while the source Altogether the above Surge reduced the Coalition Victory margin by
space will be chosen at random. Suppose Helmand gets chosen. five. Move the Support + Avail marker from 13 down to eight. That
concludes this Surge and we return to the Train box.
The next Train bullet to process is the bullet four which has the
Non-player Coalition conduct Civic Actions. This is legal in a single
space with COIN Control (or in two spaces if the PRTs Capability
is in effect). In addition, in this bullet, the Non-player Coalition
prefers to conduct Civic Actions at its own Bases only all of which
are now on the map. We resort to the tie breakers to narrow down
the selection. The first tie breaker has us looking to cause the great-
est shift, that is, where the most total points of Opposition/Support
gets shifted. This time there is no Opposition on the map, so the tie
breaker effectively has us target the highest Population and therefore
the highest shift spaces. These are Khowst and Baghlan, with two
plus one Population each. The second tie breaker, b, favours the
non-Pashtun space Baghlan over Khowst and we mark the former
space as a Train target.
The Coalition does not pay any Resources for a Train unless they also
The Non-Player Coalition has got the high Population space Baghlan place cubes. This is where the second sentence of the Preliminaries
at Support which the Coalition Base there will serve to protect. It will becomes significant: “Place no Govt unless indicated”. There is no
be hard for the enemies to preach this stronghold. indication that any Government cubes get placed here, so we simply
Therefore, we mark Helmand and Konduz as the second and the third Train for zero Resources, pay three Resources for Civic Actions,
spaces in which Surge is to take place and transfer the Coalition Base and place a Support marker in Baghlan. This bumps the Coalition’s
from the former to the latter. The bullet in question also specifies Support + Avail marker three spaces forward.
that we are to relocate one Troop from Helmand to protect the Base It is in the fifth bullet of the Train box that we finally look at maybe
in Konduz. That concludes the third Surge bullet. placing some Government cubes (in spaces with any COIN Bases
Next, in the fourth bullet, the Non-player Coalition looks at read- as per the regular rules of play). The conditions for this to occur
justing its Troop commitment. Note that this bullet will be executed are pretty stringent: only if a space has less than two Government
if and only if any of the bullet above already moved pieces around, cubes or no Police are we to place any. Looking around on the map
because if no pieces moved so far it probably is not worth doing a we see that the only such space is Ghazni, it has no Police. Let’s
Surge at all, but some other Special Activity instead. mark Ghazni as a Train location and pay three Resources. It is the
preference of the Non-player Coalition to place the maximum num-
In any case, per the first sub-bullet of the bullet four, we are now ber of Police cubes. Only if there aren’t enough of them Available
to roll one six-sided die and either withdraw to Available or place will Government Troops get placed. At present enough Police are
onto the map, that 1d6 worth of Coalition Troops. The direction of Available and so we place six of them in Ghazni.
movement will depend on the current level of Support as compared
to the number of Troops in the Available box. Thus, at this moment The final bullet of the Train procedure checks if Civic Actions al-
Support is four (all of it in Kabul) and there are seven Troops in the ready occurred to the extent they can, and if not, Civic Actions will
Available box, which is to say the Non-player Coalition will seek to occur now (this time also in other than Coalition Base spaces). In
reduce the number of Available Troops until it hits four. Overall the the present examples, the Civic Actions already occurred, so nothing
mechanic here is meant to simulate the decision to respond to a low happens on this last bullet. That concludes this example.
level of Support by increasing the boots on the ground or vice versa.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC