The British Way - Review

 

The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire is the first of several COIN multipacks, containing four separate games exploring a series of thematically related insurgencies. Between 1945 and 1960, the British fought four major “emergencies,” as they referred to their counterinsurgency campaigns, each trying to manage their retreat from empire. The four games in this pack focus on exploring British counterinsurgent responses to a variety of different opponents, including communist insurgents in Malaya, militant nationalists in Kenya, and smaller and more clandestine terrorist organizations in Palestine and Cyprus. The games adjust the core COIN mechanics to provide a compelling new way of handling two-player conflicts, while also streamlining several mechanics to quicken gameplay. The British Way offers an approachable introduction to the COIN series for new players, while presenting experienced players with four mechanically distinct games to explore and compare.

For regular fans, there is no doubt that I am a big fan of the COIN series and this product marks a before and after in the series.

One of the "problems" that could be attributed to the COIN series would be the length of the sessions and the number of players. This game fixes these problems. We will find 4 "mini-COIN" set in the independence of certain British colonies. They are for 2 players and the games will not exceed an hour and a half. In addition, it has a campaign mode that allows you to see the complete historical situation in a long afternoon The 4 games can be differentiated into two groups:

-Terrorist movements (Palestine and Cyprus)

The COIN series had always been based on fighting insurgent groups, while in these two games, the rebels are terrorist groups. The terrorists do not put bases, but weapons caches that help them with their operations and in the propaganda phase they can change their position. You have to think very carefully about what operations to do, since losing cells will be more harmful than in other games, since here they will go to prison and you will only recover half of them in the propaganda phase.

The government also has new weapons to adapt to this type of conflict. Throughout the game, they will be able to gain intelligence markers that will allow them to eliminate underground cells. The barbed wire will hinder infiltration and recruitment in the places where they are placed.

-Insurgent movement (Malaysia and Kenya)

Here we will find a continuist formula. The situation of the Malayan Communist Party is complicated, since the British forces double them in number, but the British have a lot of ground to cover and cannot leave his valuable troops without police support.

In Kenya, we abandon the theory of the "Hearts and Minds" of the population, instead, it submits it to coercion. In addition, the insurgent forces are at significant inferiority and will have to act with cunning.

OPINION

Let's start with the negative points first. On the solo track it is marked with a 7 out of 9. I think that is a higher figure than it should be, since the game does not have any solo system and you have to split up to take both sides. The games can be somewhat simple for the most veteran, but it is also true that it must be considered as an introductory game of the series.

For me, apart from the solitaire problem, I consider it a product of 10. The new Political Will mechanic to determine victory is a breath of fresh air to the series.

This product opens the doors to an infinity of new scenarios that otherwise we would not have seen in the series, considering conflicts of lesser magnitude.