Dawn's Early Light: The War of 1812 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1.0 Introduction
• 2.0 Components
  • 2.1 The Map
  • 2.2 Regions
  • 2.3 Region Types
  • 2.4 Region Alignment
  • 2.5 Forces
  • 2.6 Markers
  • 2.7 Political Contest Tracks
  • 2.8 Cards
• 3.0 Setup
• 4.0 Sequence of Play
  • 4.1 Turns
  • 4.2 Prelude Turn
  • 4.3 Recruit Upkeep
  • 4.4 Eras
• 5.0 Card Play
  • 5.1 Playing Cards as Events
  • 5.2 Playing Cards as Operations
• 6.0 Operations
  • 6.1 Recruit
  • 6.2 Campaign
  • 6.3 Construct
• 7.0 American Operations
  • 7.1 Privateer
  • 7.2 Cruise
• 8.0 British Operations
  • 8.1 Raid
  • 8.2 Deploy Squadrons
• 9.0 Battles
  • 9.1 Combat Rounds
  • 9.2 Retreat
  • 9.3 Bonus Dice
  • 9.4 Capturing Towns
• 10.0 Indians
  • 10.1 Indian Forces
  • 10.2 Indian Town Exclusion
  • 10.3 Indian Evasion
• 11.0 Forts & Waterways
  • 11.1 Forts
  • 11.2 Waterways
• 12.0 Greater Conflict
  • 12.1 Activation & Removal
  • 12.2 Greater Conflict Effects
• 13.0 Political Contest
  • 13.1 Political Contest Tracks
• 14.0 Naval Theater
  • 14.1 Squadrons
  • 14.2 Blockades
  • 14.3 Landing Attacks
• 15.0 Scoring & Victory
  • 15.1 Earning Victory Points
• 16.0 Glossary & Clarifications
  • 16.1 Clarifications
• 17.0 Sample of Play
  • Setup
  • Action Rounds
  • Prelude Upkeep
  • Next Turn Analysis

1.0 Introduction

Dawn's Early Light: The War of 1812 is a two-player card-driven grand strategy game. Players take the role of the United States or Great Britain over a four-year period spanning the war and its run-up. It is a quick-playing, low-complexity simulation of the conflict at a high level, encompassing the naval, political, and economic competition between the two sides as well as the land war for dominance of the American continent.

These rules are organized into numbered sections and subsections. Throughout you will see references to other rules sections (for example, 2.1 or 3.2) that are related to the section you are reading.

2.0 Components

A complete set of Dawn's Early Light includes the following:

• One 22" x 34" map
• 86 cards
• One rules booklet
• Two player aid cards
• Four six-sided dice
• 154 punch-out counters

2.1 The Map

The game map depicts the Eastern part of North America from Quebec and Nova Scotia to Florida and from the Atlantic seaboard roughly to the Mississippi.

2.2 Regions

The map is divided into 31 regions where land forces can be placed and controlled. Regions that border one another are adjacent and allow Campaign operations (6.2) to be made between them. All regions are types based on whether they are towns, rural areas, or Indian regions, and an alignment: either a home region or a neutral region.

Map legend (Regions & Waterways): Town region (2.3.1) - Recruit Power (2.2.1) and Victory Point value; Rural region (2.3.2) - Victory Point value; Neutral region (2.4.2); Waterway (11.2); Indian region (2.3.3); Region border.

2.2.1 Recruit Power: Most town regions have a Recruit power value which indicates how many Recruit counters (2.6.1) they can contain. Recruit counters are used during a Recruit operation (6.1).

2.2.2 Victory Points: Rural and town home regions are worth victory points to the enemy player if that player controls them during Turn Scoring (15.0). Players never earn VPs for control of their own home regions.

Gray and yellow regions -- Ft. Dearborn, Niagara, and Spanish Florida -- are worth VPs to whichever player controls them.

Indian regions -- colored green -- are worth no victory points to either player.

2.3 Region Types

2.3.1 Town Regions: Towns are populous settlements in the United States, Canada, and along the frontier. Towns are the most common site for Recruit operations (6.1), and are the only valid targets for Raid operations (8.1) and Landing attacks (14.3). Most towns are home regions (2.2.4).

2.3.2 Rural Regions: Rural regions are settled areas that are sparsely populated or distant from any sizable town. Eight of the rural regions are home regions (2.4.1).

2.3.3 Indian Regions: Indian regions are remote wilderness areas that are home to native tribes. They are colored green and named after a tribal group common to the area. Indian regions are always aligned neutral (2.4.2).

2.4 Region Alignment

All regions have an alignment in addition to their type. This alignment can limit which operations are available to which players in the region.

2.4.1 Home Regions: Town and rural regions colored red or blue are home regions: red regions are home regions for Great Britain, and blue are home regions for the United States. A home region is considered controlled by its home side whenever there are no forces occupying it.

2.4.2 Neutral Regions: Any region that is not a home region is a neutral region. These regions are colored green, grey, or yellow. Neutral regions are not home regions for either side. They must be occupied by forces to be controlled.

2.5 Forces

Forces are land-based military units. They are what players Recruit (6.1) and use to Campaign (6.2) and fight Battles (9.0). There are several types of forces including army forces -- Militia and Regulars -- and Indian forces.

2.5.1 Militia: Militia are the weakest and cheapest army forces.

2.5.2 Regulars: Regulars are stronger army forces but more expensive to recruit.

2.5.3 Indians: Indians are a special type of force. They are controlled by the GB player but have special rules for when and how they can be used (10.0).

2.6 Markers

There are several types of markers used to represent different aspects of the conflict not covered by regions and forces.

2.6.1 Recruit Counters: Recruit counters indicate the number of ready volunteers that can be formed into new forces in a given region via a Recruit operation (6.1). They are placed on the map in their associated region during turn upkeep (4.3).

2.6.2 Squadrons: The strength of the British Navy is represented with squadron counters. These are placed in the British Navy box on the map when idle, or in a blockade space or coastal town region when the British player makes a Deploy operation (8.2).

2.6.3 Forts: Fort markers indicate stronger defenses for rural and Indian regions. They are placed when a player makes a Construct operation (6.3) and can be destroyed in battles.

2.6.4 Waterway Control Markers: These are used to claim control spaces on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waterways when a player performs a Construct operation (6.3).

2.6.5 Armistice Markers: Armistice markers are placed on the border between adjacent regions when a player plays the card event that calls for them. An armistice marker prevents either player from making a Campaign (6.2) operation between those two regions while the marker is in play. Armistice markers are removed during turn upkeep.

2.6.6 Greater Conflict Markers: These markers are used to indicate when a Greater Conflict effect is active (12.0). They are set aside from the board when inactive or resolved, and in the Greater Conflict box on the map when active.

2.7 Political Contest Tracks

The political contest tracks represent the competition over superiority in Public Opinion, Economy, and Diplomacy. Each side has their own progression on the three tracks, and gains levels starting at the neutral position and moving to the right. All effects are cumulative: players gain the benefits of their current level and all lower levels (see Political Contest, 13.0).

2.8 Cards

There are 86 cards in the game. Each card contains an Operations (OPS) Value, a Deck Category (era), a Title, an Effect, and an Association.

2.8.1 Association: Each card is associated either with Great Britain (indicated by the British flag), the United States (indicated by the United States flag), or Either (indicated by both flags). A card's association affects each player's options for how they may play the card (5.1 - 5.2).

2.8.2 Remove After Event: Some cards contain the rule Remove After Event beneath the title. This means that the card is to be removed from the game after its event occurs. If the card is played in such a way that the event does not occur, the card remains in play and is discarded normally after use.

2.8.3 Cards that are not marked Remove After Event are discarded in a discard pile beside the draw deck after use. Anytime the draw deck is depleted, reshuffle these discarded cards into a new draw deck.

3.0 Setup

3.1. Separate the cards into three decks by era -- Prelude, 1812, and 1814 -- and shuffle each deck. Place the 1812 deck in the draw deck position and set the 1814 deck aside. The 1814 deck will be used when the 1814 era begins (4.3). Then deal out the entire Prelude deck: six cards to each player.

3.2. Place the following starting forces for the United States:

• 2 Militia and a Fort marker in Penobscot
• 2 Regulars, 1 Militia in Baltimore/Washington
• 1 Militia each in Detroit, Nashville, New Orleans, Shenandoah, and Hudson

3.3. Place the following starting forces for Great Britain:

• 1 Regular, 2 Militia in Halifax
• 2 Militia in Montreal
• 1 Militia in Kingston

3.4. Place the following starting Indian forces:

• 2 Indians each in Shawnee, Miami, and Creek
• 1 Indian each in Potawatomi, Cherokee, and Chippewa

3.5. After starting forces have been placed, set aside each side's remaining forces into their own global supply pool. Recruit operations (6.1) draw forces from this pool.

3.6. Place Great Britain Waterway Control markers in both the Upper and Lower St. Lawrence spaces.

3.7. Place 4 Squadrons in the British Navy box.

3.8. Place Recruit counters in each town region that has Recruit power (2.1.6) equal to half the town's Recruit power value, rounded up.

3.9. Place appropriate track markers for each player at their neutral position on each of the political contest tracks. Place the Naval Theater Privateering and Blockading markers to the left of their tracks at the zero position. Place the scoreboard marker at the zero position.

4.0 Sequence of Play

Dawn's Early Light takes place over eight turns preceded by a special Prelude turn (4.2). The game continues until either player achieves an instant victory or until the eighth and final turn has been completed and scored (15.5).

4.1 Turns

Each normal turn is composed of the following phases: Public Policy, Actions, Scoring, and Upkeep.

4.1.1 Public Policy Phase. This phase occurs on odd-numbered turns only starting with Turn 1. After viewing their hand of cards for the turn, each player may advance one level on a Political Contest track of their choice. The United States player chooses first.

4.1.2 Action Phase. Players take turns to play one card from their hand (see Card Play, 5.0). The United States player always plays first. This phase continues until both players have exhausted their entire hand.

4.1.3 Scoring Phase. Calculate points for both players and apply the difference to the scoreboard (15.0). All points are awarded before either player checks for instant victory.

EXCEPTION: The Scoring phase does not occur during the Prelude Turn (4.2).

4.1.4 Upkeep Phase. This phase occurs last before the new turn begins. Complete the following tasks:

1. Add Recruit counters to all applicable towns (see Recruit Upkeep 4.3).
2. Reset the Privateering track to the zero position.
3. If any Squadrons are deployed to Blockade zones (14.2), the Great Britain player chooses one to recall to the British Navy box.
4. Recall any Squadrons deployed on a landing attack (14.3) to the British Navy box.
5. Remove any Armistice markers on the map.
6. Deal cards until each player has a hand of seven. If there are not enough cards left in the draw deck, deal all the remaining cards before reshuffling the discard pile into a new draw deck and continuing. Note: Turn 5 only: shuffle the 1814 deck into the current draw deck before dealing hands.

4.2 Prelude Turn

The Prelude Turn is a special turn that occurs at the start of the game before Turn 1. On this turn, do the following:

1. Deal out the entire Prelude deck, six cards to each player.
2. Perform the action phase as normal until each player has two cards remaining in their hand.
3. Skip the scoring phase during the Prelude Turn.
4. Shuffle the Prelude turn's discard pile together with the 1812 deck to form the first draw deck.
5. Perform the upkeep phase as normal, dealing five cards to each player to give each a hand of seven.

When this sequence is complete, the Prelude Turn is over and Turn 1 begins.

4.3 Recruit Upkeep

Recruit counters are added in the first step in the Upkeep phase. A region's Recruit power determines the maximum number of counters that region can contain. During upkeep, each region with Recruit power that does not already have the maximum number of counters gains one new Recruit token.

Town regions with Recruit power continue to generate them during upkeep (up to their maximum) even if the town is under enemy control. Recruit operations (6.1) are not allowed in regions under enemy control, but the counters remain and will be available for use if and when the region's home player regains control.

4.4 Eras

The game has two eras that each cover four of the eight turns. After the Prelude Turn, the game begins in the 1812 era with Turns 1 - 4. The 1814 era begins on Turn 5 and continues until Turn 8 and the end of the game.

4.4.1 1814 Era. When the 1814 era begins, do the following before starting Turn 5:

• Add 2 Squadrons to the British Navy box
• Shuffle all 1814 cards into the current draw deck.

5.0 Card Play

Cards may be played in one of two ways: as Events or as Operations.

5.0.1. Association Restriction: Only the side that matches a card's association (2.8.1) may play that card as an event. Either side may play the card for operations (5.2).

5.1 Playing Cards as Events

To play a card as an event, read aloud and perform the card's effects. The OPS value of the card is ignored unless specifically required by the event.

5.1.1. If the effects of an event conflict with a written rule, the event takes precedence. This also counts if the event being played conflicts with the effects of a previously-played event.

5.1.2. If the card is marked Remove After Event (2.8.2), it is set aside out of the game after it has been resolved. If not, it is discarded normally.

5.2 Playing Cards as Operations

A player can choose to play any card for operations regardless of the card's event or association. The player selects one, and only one, type of operation and uses all of the card's OPS value to perform it.

5.2.1. Triggering the Other Side's Events: When a player plays a card for operations that is associated with their opponent, that card's event will also occur. The player that played the card decides whether their operation or the card's event occurs first. However, when the event does occur, the side associated with the card implements the event as if they had played it themselves.

Example: The GB player has the card "Surprise at Fort Mackinac," which is a British-associated card. Since this association matches their side, the GB player may choose to play the card for its event or for its 2 OPS points. They also have the card "Kentucky Riflemen", which is a 2-OPS, American-associated card. If the GB player wishes to play this card, they may only do so for its OPS points. They would gain the 2 OPS for the operation of their choice, but the American player would get to implement the "Kentucky Riflemen" event the same turn. The GB player would decide which occurs first.

5.2.3. If card play triggers an opponent's event but the event has no effect, the event is still considered to have occurred and will still be removed from play (2.8.2) if required.

5.2.4. Playing a card for operations that is associated with "Either" does not trigger the event. These cards are considered associated with whichever side is playing them.

6.0 Operations

The operations in this section are available to both sides.

6.1 Recruit

Recruiting allows a player to create new forces (2.5). A Recruit operation requires a controlled, home region with at least one Recruit token present. If the region is a home region but is presently controlled by enemy forces, recruiting is not permitted there even if counters are present. Players may not use their opponent's Recruit counters to Recruit when occupying their regions.

6.1.1. It costs a combination of OPS points and Recruit counters to create a new force, depending on the type of force being created:

• One (1) Militia force costs 1 OPS point and 1 Recruit token
• One (1) Regular force costs 2 OPS points and 1 Recruit token

Remove the spent Recruit counters and place the new force counter in the same region.

6.1.2. Players can divide their points among multiple regions with Recruit counters in any distribution they choose.

6.1.3. If a player has no available forces of the desired type in their global supply, recruitment of that type of force is not permitted.

6.1.4. Indian forces cannot be created via this operation.

EXCEPTION: When the Creek Civil War Greater Conflict effect is in play, the Great Britain player may use a Recruit operation to create Indian forces (see Creek Civil War, 12.2.2).

6.2 Campaign

Campaigning is used to move groups of forces from one region to another and to trigger Battles (9.0).

6.2.1. It costs one (1) OPS point to move any number of forces in one region to any one connected region. Connected regions include all adjacent regions and any regions connected by an adjacent controlled waterway, if available. Players can divide their OPS points to move forces in different regions to different destinations in any combination they choose, but each individual force can move only once in a single Campaign operation.

6.2.2 Triggering Battles: If forces are moved into a region containing enemy forces, a Battle (9.0) occurs. Battles are resolved immediately before the Campaign operation continues.

6.2.3. Players do not have declare all their Campaign movements at the start of the operation and are free to change these movements based on the result of a Battle.

6.2.4. Great Britain may include Indian forces along with their army forces when making Campaign movements.

Campaign Example: The two US Regular forces in Penobscot can campaign in any of the indicated ways: (1) into adjacent regions that share a border with Penobscot (Maritimes, Montreal, Kingston, Boston, or Hudson), or (2) into Lower Canada via the US-controlled Upper St. Lawrence waterway.

6.3 Construct

Construct operations are used to build ships to control a waterway, and/or to build forts in rural or Indian regions. When making this operation, players may split their OPS among ships and forts in any combination.

6.3.1 Building Ships: Ships (not Squadrons) represent control of a waterway -- the two Great Lakes and the two sections of the St. Lawrence River (11.2). It costs 1 OPS to add or remove a Waterway Control marker on the waterway. Players must add their own Waterway Control markers to empty spaces first before removing Waterway Control markers belonging to their opponent.

6.3.2 Building Forts: Forts improve the defense of rural and Indian regions (11.1). It costs 1 OPS to build a fort. The fort must be built in a controlled rural or Indian region. Only one fort is allowed per region.

7.0 American Operations

The operations in this section are only usable by the United States player.

7.1 Privateer

This operation represents the use of government-sanctioned piracy to harass British shipping and disrupt its economy.

7.1.1. It costs one (1) OPS point to make a Privateering roll. The US player makes as many rolls as their card's OPS points. For each roll of 3+, advance one space on the Privateering track.

7.2 Cruise

Cruising is used to combat the build-up of British squadrons in blockades to relieve the pressure on American coastal towns.

7.2.1. It costs one (1) OPS point to make a Cruising roll. The US player first declares which Blockade they are targeting, then makes as many rolls as their card's OPS points. For each roll of 4+, remove one British squadron from the target blockade.

7.2.2. If the US player scores more hits than there are squadrons in the target blockade, they may use the overflow to remove squadrons from a second blockade, but only after the target blockade has been completely emptied. The US player may only remove squadrons from up to two blockades in this way.

8.0 British Operations

The operations in this section are only usable by the Great Britain player.

8.1 Raid

Raiding is used to attack US settlements with Indian forces to scatter and terrorize the frontier population.

8.1.1. Raiding uses the same rules as a Campaign operation, but with two differences:

1. The operation must use only Indian forces.
2. The forces must be moved to attack a US home town controlled by the US.

8.1.2. If the targeted town has US forces present, first resolve the Battle as if the Indians were attacking a rural region. After the battle (or immediately if no forces were present to defend), roll one die for each Indian force participating. For each roll of 5+, score 1 VP immediately. All participating Indian forces are then removed.

Raid Example: Three Indian forces are poised to Raid into Nashville. Raids must use only Indian forces and must be directed against US Home towns. One US force is defending Nashville, so the Indians must battle against the defenders until all are destroyed or retreated. Assuming the Indians defeat the US but lose one force doing so, the British player would then roll two dice - one each for their two remaining forces - scoring a VP on each roll of 5 or more. All remaining Indian forces that participated in the raid are then removed from play.

8.2 Deploy Squadrons

This operation is used to direct the squadrons (14.1) that represent the British Navy. Note that these are different than the Ships described in 6.3.1.

8.2.1. It costs one (1) OPS to move a squadron token from its present deployment to any other deployment. Players may divide their OPS points to move squadrons between different positions in any combination they choose, but each squadron can be moved only once per Deploy operation.

EXCEPTION: Squadrons that are presently deployed on a landing attack cannot be redeployed in the same turn.

8.2.2. Squadrons can be placed in any of the following positions:

• On an open space in a Blockade Zone (14.2)
• In a valid town region as a landing attack (14.3)
• In the British Navy box (i.e. in supply) on the map.

9.0 Battles

Battles are fought between land forces for control of regions. A battle is triggered any time forces from the two sides are placed in the same region. This is most commonly the result of a Campaign operation, but card events that call for creating or placing forces in regions can also trigger battles.

9.1 Combat Rounds

A battle is fought in successive combat rounds. During a round, both sides simultaneously roll their total battle dice (9.1.1) and attempt to score hits. Each hit allows the player to remove one opposing force, and which force they can remove depends on the strength of the hit. Combat rounds continue until one side retreats (9.2) or all their forces are eliminated.

9.1.1 Battle Dice. Each side's total dice for a combat round is the combination of their force dice and bonus dice:

• Force Dice: 1 die for every force participating. For the US player this is all Militia and Regulars. For the GB player, this is all Militia, Regulars, and Indians. Recalculate force dice at the start of each combat round to account for any forces lost in the previous round.
• Bonus Dice. Check all conditions that award bonus dice including attacker/defender advantages, forts, controlled waterways, and any card events or Greater Conflict effects that are in play. Calculate bonus dice only once at the start of the battle and use that number until the battle is over.

9.1.2. Hit Rolls. Each force type has a minimum roll necessary to hit and remove it. Players must roll this number or higher to remove the force. Hit values for each force type are:

• Regular forces are hit on rolls of 6
• Militia forces are hit on rolls of 5+
• Indian forces are hit on rolls of 4+
• In some battles, Indian forces have a chance to evade when hit (10.3)

If there is a conflict between forces that would be hit, the player that scores the hit gets to decide which force to remove.

Battle Example:

GB campaigns their 2 Militia and 1 Regular from Montreal to Penobscot, triggering a Battle.

Round 1: GB has 4 dice, 3 for their forces plus 1 Bonus die for waterway control. US has 3 dice, 2 for their forces plus 1 Bonus die for defending with a Fort. GB scores 1 Militia hit with the 5. US scores 1 Militia hit with the 5 and 1 Regular hit with the 6. The hit forces are removed.

Round 2: GB has 2 dice, 1 for their surviving Militia and the Bonus die from waterway control. US has 2 dice, 1 for their surviving force and the Bonus die from the Fort. GB scores 1 Militia hit with their 5. US scores no hits. Hit forces are removed.

Resolution: With all US forces removed, the battle is over! GB has won and now controls Penobscot. Because the US player was defeated while defending with a Fort, the Fort is also destroyed and removed.

9.2 Retreat

After any combat turn, either side may choose to retreat and save their remaining forces. If the defender retreats, their forces must move to an adjacent region that is controlled by their side. If the attacker retreats, their forces retreat to the region they attacked from. The defender must declare whether they will retreat or not before the attacker declares.

9.2.1. If there is no separate region of origin for the attacker -- e.g. in the case of forces added as a result of a card event that caused an immediate battle -- then the attacker does not have the option to retreat and must fight until victorious or destroyed.

9.2.2. Similarly, if the defending forces have no adjacent region controlled by their side to which they could legally retreat, then they also do not have this option and must fight until victorious or destroyed.

9.2.3. Forces making a landing attack cannot retreat (14.3).

9.3 Bonus Dice

Bonus dice are extra dice a side can roll in battle under certain conditions. Each battle has its own bonus dice based on the specific conditions of that battle, and these dice are available for as long as the battle continues.

The following conditions always award bonus dice:

If you are the defender:

• 1 Bonus Die when defending a home town region (2.4.1)
• 1 Bonus Die when defending a region with a fort (11.1.1).

If you are the attacker:

• 1 Bonus Die when attacking a region with an adjacent controlled waterway (with restrictions, 11.2.3).
• (Great Britain Only) 1 Bonus Die when attacking a US town under a completed Blockade. This applies to attacks from the land or sea.

9.4 Capturing Towns

9.4.1 Capturing Towns with Recruit Counters: When an attacking player captures a town, any Recruit counters in that town remain in place. The capturing player cannot use them to recruit for their own side -- Recruit operations can only be made in a player's own home towns (6.1). However, the town's aligned player also will not be able to use them until they regain control of the town.

9.4.2 Capturing Towns with Indians: Indian forces can join with GB army forces to attack towns, but Indian forces are never allowed to occupy a town region (10.2). If the GB player wins a battle against an enemy town with a mixed force, only the army forces may continue to occupy the town; all Indian forces must retreat to their starting region after the battle.

Similarly, if a town battle proceeds until no army forces are left on either side, all remaining Indian forces must immediately retreat.

10.0 Indians

Indians are a faction allied with and controlled by the Great Britain player, with special rules and advantages.

10.1 Indian Forces

Indian forces are represented by their own force counters. They are usable by the Great Britain player alone or in combination with army forces for Campaign operations, and they have their own special Raid operation only they can perform.

Indian forces have the following special conditions:

1. Indian forces are not British army forces (2.3.4). They do not count for controlling a region without at least one accompanying Militia or Regular force. Similarly, Indians do not gain Bonus Dice for controlled waterways if they Campaign without any accompanying army forces.
2. Indian forces cannot be created by a Recruit operation (6.1). a. EXCEPTION: See Creek Civil War Greater Conflict effect, 12.2.2.

10.2 Indian Town Exclusion

Indian forces can never occupy town regions. They cannot move into a friendly town to defend it, and they cannot take control of neutral or enemy towns. Indian forces can join with GB army forces on a Campaign operation to attack an enemy-controlled town, but after the battle they must retreat to their starting region (9.2).

10.3 Indian Evasion

When defending in a battle in an Indian region, Indian forces gain the ability to evade. Any time an Indian force in this situation would be removed, the British player rolls a die. On a result of 4+, the force is relocated to an adjacent neutral or controlled Indian region. If no such region is available, the force is removed as normal.

11.0 Forts & Waterways

11.1 Forts

Forts are buildable improvements that can aid forces defending a rural or Indian region. They are created using the Construct operation (6.3).

11.1.1. The player defending a fort gains 1 bonus die in battle (9.3).

11.1.2. If all the forces defending the fort retreat or are destroyed in a battle, the fort is destroyed and removed from play. If these forces simply move away and leave a fort undefended, however, the fort remains in play and can be reclaimed by forces from either side.

11.2 Waterways

This term refers to the controllable inland waterways that can support the war for land territory: two Great Lakes and two sections of the St. Lawrence River.

11.2.1 Control: Each waterway has one or more control spaces where either side may place a control marker by using the Construct operation (6.3). Whichever player has the majority of control markers on the waterway has control of it. If both players are tied for control markers or if there are no control markers present, neither side controls the waterway.

EXAMPLE: Lake Erie has two control spaces, and the US player currently has one marker on it. The US player therefore controls the lake with a majority of one. The GB player then spends 2 OPS to Construct two ships on Lake Erie. Their first OPS adds a GB marker to the lake, tying the US player for markers and rendering the lake uncontrolled. Their second OPS then removes the US marker, making the score 0-1 in favor of GB and giving GB control of the lake.

11.2.2 Region Connection: Waterway areas are not regions and forces cannot be positioned on them. Instead, they act as connections for the controlling player between all the regions that they border. With control of a waterway a player may Campaign their forces from any region adjacent to the waterway to any other region adjacent to it.

11.2.3 Waterway Bonus Battle Dice: Controlled waterways provide bonus dice to attacking players when the target region borders the waterway, with the following restrictions:

1. Players can gain a maximum of one bonus die from controlled waterways, even if they control more than one waterway bordering the target region.
2. Indian forces attacking alone, without any GB army forces participating, do not gain a bonus die for a controlled waterway (10.1).

Waterways Example: In this example, Great Britain controls the Upper St. Lawrence river. This control acts as a connection that lets them move their 2 regular forces in Lower Canada directly into Penobscot if they choose. Additionally, if Great Britain attacks any region bordering the Upper St. Lawrence waterway - Kingston or Penobscot in this case - it will gain 1 Bonus Die in that battle due to their waterway control.

12.0 Greater Conflict

The Greater Conflict refers to regional or global situations beyond the control of either side that have a persistent effect on the war.

12.1 Activation & Removal

Each Greater Conflict (GC) effect can be in one of three positions: inactive, active, and removed.

12.1.1. All effects start the game as inactive with their markers set aside off the game board. Inactive effects have no impact on the game.

12.1.2. Once a card event is played that calls for "Activating" an effect, that effect's marker is placed in the Active box on the game board and its rules apply immediately. Active effects remain in play until a card event is played that calls for "Removing" the effect. At that time the effect's marker is removed from play.

12.1.3. Each Greater Conflict effect can be activated and removed only once, and always in that order. Effects cannot be removed before they are activated, and any card event that removes an effect that is inactive is ignored. Similarly, after an effect has been removed it can never be re-activated and re-enter play, and any future card event that activates the effect is ignored.

12.2 Greater Conflict Effects

These are the five Greater Conflict effects:

12.2.1 Tecumseh: GB gains 1 Bonus Die when attacking in any battle involving Indian forces.

12.2.2 Creek Civil War: The Great Britain player may use Recruit operations (6.1) to create Indian forces in Creek region. These forces cost 1 OPS each, no Recruit counters required.

12.2.3 Death Struggle: US adds 1 to all dice rolls made for Privateering and Cruising operations.

12.2.4 Bonaparte Abdication: The Great Britain player may use Recruit operations to add Regular forces to the British Navy landing supply. These forces cost 2 OPS each, no Recruit counters required.

12.2.5 Peace Negotiations: Victory Points earned from the Diplomacy track are doubled.

13.0 Political Contest

The Political Contest represents the competition between the two sides in non-military terms: their economy, public opinion, and diplomacy.

13.1 Political Contest Tracks

Each political contest is represented by a track with three levels. As a side advances down this track from Neutral (left side) to the maximum level, they gain the benefit of the effects printed on those spaces. These effects are cumulative: players get the effect for their current level and all lower levels.

13.2. A player's level can change either as a result of a card event or by their choice during the Public Policy phase at the start of odd-numbered turns (4.1.2).

13.3. Each level on a given track shows one or two effects. If one, the same effect is granted to both sides when they reach that level. If two, each side gains the effect associated with them. US-associated effects are shown along the top of each track, and GB-associated effects are along the bottom.

14.0 Naval Theater

The Naval Theater represents the conflict at sea between the British Navy and the various entities supporting the United States, including their navy and privateers.

14.1 Squadrons

Squadrons are the units for the British Navy. These are used in Deploy operations (8.2) which let the GB player establish blockades (14.2) and conduct landing attacks (14.3).

14.1.1 The British Navy begins the game with 4 Squadrons, and gains 2 more at the start of Turn 5 when the game enters the 1814 era (4.3.1). An additional 4 Squadrons can only be gained from card events or political contest effects (13.0).

14.1.2 Adding and Removing Squadrons: When the GB player adds squadrons, they are placed in the British Navy box indicating they are available to Deploy. If the GB side ever loses squadrons -- after losing position on the political contest track due to a Card Event, for example -- they remove them first from the British Navy box, then from any active blockades. Set removed squadrons to the side of the board to indicate they are not currently in play.

14.2 Blockades

Great Britain can commit squadrons to blockading the American coast, strangling their economy and threatening to besiege their coastal towns.

14.2.1 Blockade Zones: There are three blockades zones: New England, Chesapeake, and the Southern Coast. Each zone has two or three control spaces where squadrons can be placed during a Deploy operation. Each zone also links to one or two United States town regions -- shown via the dotted line connecting the zone to the town. These towns where the GB player will gain bonus dice or landing attack opportunities when the linked blockade zone is complete.

14.2.3 Completing Blockades: A blockade is considered complete when all of the control spaces in it are occupied by squadrons. Complete blockades confer bonus die to GB attacks on the linked US towns, and allow the GB player to use their Deploy operation to make landing attacks on those linked towns. Complete blockades also advance the GB player to the appropriate level on the Blockading track in the Naval Theater box.

Blockade Zone example: GB placement of two Squadrons into the New England Blockade zone will complete that blockade (14.2.3). Completing the New England Blockade will result in: (1) an immediate update of the Naval Theater Blockades track with possible Victory Point impact during the turn Scoring Phase, (2) the conferring of a bonus die to any subsequent GB attacks against Boston or New York, and (3) the enabling of Landing Attacks (14.3) against Boston or New York.

14.2.4 Blockade Victory Points: The Naval Theater Blockades track reflects how many blockades the GB currently has complete. Any time a blockade is completed or broken, this track is updated immediately. At the end of the turn, Great Britain's position on this track is used to calculate the Naval Theater victory points (adding any Political Track bonuses that apply).

14.3 Landing Attacks

Landing attacks occur when the GB player uses a Deploy operation to carry forces to attack a coastal town. They can be triggered by a normal Deploy movement in the same way Battles follow from Campaign movements.

14.3.1 Blockade Requirement: Landing attacks can only be made against coastal towns under complete blockades. This blockade must be complete at the start of the Deploy operation, and remain complete during the landing attack. The squadrons used to carry the forces for the landing attack must come from a deployment other than the target town's blockade.

Landing Attack example: In this example, the GB player has completed the New England Blockade (14.2.3, during this or any previous turn). This allows them to attack Boston via the connected port using a Deploy operation (8.2). Each squadron the GB player deploys to Boston can bring 2 Regular forces with it (14.3.3). Note that the New England Blockade must remain in effect at all times in order for a Landing Attack to occur, so the deploying GB squadrons must come from the British Navy box, or another Blockade zone.

14.3.2 Landing Forces: Landing attacks must use Regular forces from the British Navy landing supply on the map. Forces are placed in this supply as a result of card events, or the GB player may use a Recruit operation (6.1) to create them when the Bonaparte Abdication Greater Conflict effect is in play (12.2.4).

14.3.3 Landing Squadrons: Each Squadron used for a landing attack can carry up to 2 forces from the British Navy landing supply. These squadrons are placed in the town region along with the landing forces when the attack is made. If the attack is successful, these squadrons must remain in the town region until the end of the turn. If the attack fails, the squadrons are immediately returned to the British Navy box.

14.3.4 Retreats: If the GB player wishes to retreat from a landing attack, the squadrons and all remaining forces are returned to the British Navy box.

14.3.5 Halifax Exception: The Great Britain home town of Halifax can always be the target of a landing without any complete blockade. Deploying landing forces to Halifax in this way can also be used to reinforce the town while it is still under British control.

15.0 Scoring & Victory

The Scoreboard tracks one score for both players, showing a range between US 20 and GB 20 with a 0 space in between, for a total of 41 possible score positions. When the game begins the score marker is placed on the "0" space indicating neither player is winning. Whenever a player earns Victory Points, they move the score marker that many spaces in their favor: either reducing their opponent's score if the marker is on the opposing side of the scoreboard, or adding their own score if the marker is on their side. The "0" space should be counted when adjusting score.

EXAMPLE: If the score marker stands at the 5 space on the GB side of the scoreboard, that indicates the GB player is winning by 5 points. If the US player then scores 3 VPs, they would move the marker 3 spaces in their favor to the 2 space on the GB side. If the US were to then earn another 3 VPs, they would move the marker to the 1 space on the US side, counting the 0 space as part of the change.

15.1 Earning Victory Points

Players earn Victory Points either instantly as the result of a card event or during the Scoring phase at the end of each turn (4.1.3). During this phase, VPs are earned as follows:

15.1.1 Home Region Victory Points: Each side earns VPs for enemy home regions they control. The VP value of each home region is shown in a banner in the region on the game board.

15.1.2 Neutral Region Victory Points: The three gray/yellow-colored regions -- Ft. Dearborn, Niagara, and Spanish Florida -- are worth VPs to whichever player controls them.

15.1.3 Naval Theater Victory Points: The United States Privateering value is compared to the Great Britain Blockade value. Whichever player is ahead earns VPs equal to the difference. Political Contest and Greater Conflict effects can modify these VPs.

15.1.4 Political Contest Victory Points: Both sides earn VPs from their Diplomacy track effects, if applicable.

15.1.5 Winning the Game: The game ends automatically after Turn 8 scoring. At that time, whichever player is ahead in Victory Points is the winner. If the two sides are tied, the United States player wins.

15.1.6 Instant Victory: There are also three ways to score an instant victory in Dawn's Early Light:

• Either player will win instantly if they reach 20 points. Note that if this could occur during a turn's scoring phase, all VPs earned by both players must be applied before checking for an instant victory.
• The United States player wins instantly if they capture both Halifax and Montreal.
• The Great Britain player wins instantly if they capture any three of the following four towns: Boston, New York, Baltimore/Washington, and New Orleans.

16.0 Glossary & Clarifications

GB: Great Britain, or the Great Britain player/side.

US: United States, or the United States player/side.

Force: a unit of land-based military strength. Includes all Militia, Regulars, and Indian forces. "GB forces" or "US forces" refers to all types of forces that player controls.

Army Force: Militia and Regular forces only; Indian forces are not considered army forces (2.5.4).

Among: When directed to add or remove forces "among" multiple regions, the player divides the whole quantity between the indicated regions in any distribution. They do not add the specific quantity to each region.

Friendly: a force or home region belonging to your side. Indian forces count as friendly for the Great Britain side.

Controlled: a side controls a region if they have forces occupying it, or if it is one of their home regions and has no enemy forces present.

Adjacent: two regions are adjacent when they share a border.

Connected: two regions are connected if Campaign operations (6.2) are allowed between them. This includes all adjacent regions and any regions connected via a controlled waterway (11.0).

Threatened: a region is threatened if it has least one adjacent region containing enemy forces. Regions must be adjacent, not simply connected, to be able to threaten one another.

Coastal: any town region with an anchor symbol connecting it to a blockade zone.

Under Blockade: a town is under blockade if the blockade zone linked to it is complete (all of its control spaces are occupied by British squadrons).

16.1 Clarifications

Use these guides to answer questions about rules clarifications.

• Raid operations, while similar to Campaign operations, are a separate operation type. Players making a Raid operation cannot move army forces as well, and cannot benefit from rules that grant bonus OPS to Campaigning.
• When a card's event says "Score VPs," the player aligned with the card is the one that receives the points. If the card is neutrally-aligned, the player playing the card receives the points.
• Card events that offer Recruit operations that "require no Recruit counters" can be made in towns that have no counters present or Recruit power (e.g. Detroit). The town must still be a controlled home town to be a valid Recruit location.
• Great Britain's Public Opinion level 1 effect adds 1 VP to the value shown in the Naval Theater box. For example, if the GB player had two complete blockades, the Naval Theater box shows they should earn 3 VPs. If they also have Public Opinion level 1, they would earn 4 VPs instead.

17.0 Sample of Play

In this section we present a sample of play from the start of the game through the upkeep before Turn 1. You'll see players using their cards in a variety of ways as they pursue their strategies and respond to the moves of their opponent.

Setup

American hand: Treaty of Ft Wayne, The Prophet, Embargo Act, Tippecanoe, Surprise at Fort Mackinac, The Henry Letters.

British hand: Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, The Federalist-Republican Riots, Little Belt Affair, War Hawks, Lord Liverpool Leads Parliament, Free Trade and Sailors' Rights.

Action Rounds

American Action 1: Embargo Act as the Event: +1 Economy. Getting started in the Political Contest is critical in the early turns. Privateering is a valuable source of VPs for the Americans so the early extra dice will help, but it's also a step towards the powerful +1 OPS for Recruit level. The Americans depend on numbers to cover their large territory, and being able to mobilize their recruitment pool will help.

British Action 1: Lord Liverpool Leads Parliament as the Event: +2 British Squadrons. The Diplomacy track gain would be nice, but going from four squadrons to six right out of the gate puts a lot of pressure on the American player. From Turn 1 the British player can complete any two blockades they want and still maintain at least one squadron for landing attacks. With this move the British player may spook the American player into early allocations towards defense rather than offense.

American Action 2: Surprise at Fort Mackinac to Campaign (2 OPS). Moves 1 Militia from Hudson to Niagara; moves 2 Militia and 2 Regulars from Baltimore/Washington to Shenandoah. The American player responds with some pressure of his own against the weak center of the Canadian frontier. Capturing Niagara is worth a VP each turn, with the bonus of access to both Great Lakes and plenty of time to see counterattacks coming. Staking an early claim to this critical town could force the British player to divert from his natural focus on New England and spread his thin forces even thinner. Meanwhile, the campaign out of Baltimore/Washington is a good nudge towards getting that large army into range of the coming battles.

The British event adds one militia to Potawatomi region, far from the action now and a safe concession by the American player.

British Action 2: Little Belt Affair to Recruit (2 OPS). Create 1 Militia in Kingston, 1 Militia in Montreal. Adding two forces to the New England border both responds to the capture of Niagara and puts pressure on Penobscot and Boston.

American Action 3: The Prophet to Recruit (4 OPS). Create 1 Regular in Boston, 1 Regular in New York. GB adds 1 Indian each to Shawnee, Miami, Creek, and Cherokee. Two new regulars in New England responds to Britain's latest recruitment. Playing this card now also gets the dangerous Prophet event out of the game at a time when it can be managed. The American player has two cards left in their hand that are powerful anti-Indian events, so they feel confident they can blunt the effect.

British Action 3: Free Trade and Sailors' Rights to Campaign (1 OPS). Move 2 Militia and 1 Regular from Halifax to Penobscot via Lower St. Lawrence waterway, triggering a Battle. US adds Recruit counters to Boston, New York, and Detroit.

Battle Round 1: GB has 4 dice for 3 forces and controlled waterway (St. Lawrence). US has three dice for 2 forces and the fort.

1. GB rolls 1, 2, 4, 5, removing 1 Militia
2. US rolls 4, 5, 6, removing 1 Militia and 1 Regular
3. Both sides elect to continue

Battle Round 2: GB has 2 dice for 1 force and controlled waterway. US has 2 dice for 1 force and the fort.

1. GB rolls 3, 5, removing 1 Militia
2. US rolls 2, 5 removing 1 Militia
3. No forces remain, the battle is over

Battle Resolution: all forces on both sides were destroyed, leaving the US in control of Penobscot by default (home region). Since the defending forces were destroyed, the fort in the region is also destroyed. Britain takes a chance on this bloody battle. By committing all their forces in Halifax they leave that city exposed, but safe for now with Montreal's forces ready and control of the St. Lawrence. If they had managed to capture Penobscot, GB would have posed a serious threat to Boston and its 3 VPs. Fighting to a stalemate leaves the US a bit safer, but the loss of the fort in Penobscot weakens the American defense of New England and will divert much-needed OPS to shore it up.

American Action 4: Treaty of Fort Wayne to Recruit (4 OPS). Create 1 Militia in Boston, 1 Militia in Detroit, and 2 Militia in Nashville. By spending this powerful event for OPS, the American player simultaneously rebuilds after the battle in Penobscot, reinforces their positions in Detroit and Nashville against Indians poised to raid, and buries the activation of Tecumseh. This card will come back, but the American player can exploit a reprieve from its Indian-strengthening effects for a while.

British Action 4: Chesapeake-Leopard Affair to Deploy (3 OPS). Moves 2 Squadrons to New England Blockade, 1 Squadron to Southern Coast Blockade. US chooses to advance 1 on Public Opinion track. In the last action of the Prelude turn, the British player has a window to safely shift focus to the naval war and start stocking up their blockades. These are points-generating necessities and valuable assets for fighting down the coast. By completing New England, the British player keeps some pressure on Boston's forces not to leave town to try to capture any part of Canada. And by starting the Southern Coast blockade, the British player spreads out the theater towards the easier VPs in Savannah and New Orleans.

The American player's Political Contest choice shrewdly backs up their defense deficit in the North: they'll regain those precious Recruit counters twice as quickly and make it harder for the British to realistically threaten the New England towns.

Prelude Upkeep

New cards in American hand: Oliver Hazard Perry, Massacre, Frontier Fortifications, Indiana Rangers, Kentucky Riflemen

New cards in British hand: Tenskwatawa, Indian Reprisals, Shawnee, William Henry Harrison, Loyalists and Immigrants

Next Turn Analysis

Both sides get a surprise! The American player receives a hand rich in US events but relatively weak in points and focused on anti-Indian operations, which has not been their focus. If the US were to pivot they might try to clear the Indians in Shawnee territory with their Tippecanoe card and then dig in with Frontier Fortifications and Indiana Rangers. Britain, meanwhile, enjoys a similar pro-Indian hand with some very powerful cards in Tenskwatawa and Shawnee, and they hold the US's best counter in William Henry Harrison. With the abundance of Indian forces established during the Prelude, the British player could go on a raiding spree and earn a lot of VPs. However, that's far distant from the New England and naval moves they were setting up last turn, so they must decide whether to embrace these opportunities in the West or try to convert the points to complete their Atlantic plans. Tough decisions, triumphs, and setbacks await both players this game of Dawn's Early Light!