Fort Sumter: The Secession Crisis, 1860-61
Fort Sumter: The Secession Crisis, 1860-61 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 25 gray wooden tokens
- 1 gray two-sided scoring cylinder
- 25 blue wooden tokens
- 1 blue two-sided scoring cylinder
- 1 yellow round marker
- 1 Peace Commissioner "meeple"
- 1 board
- 1 Rules of Play (this manual)
- 1 Historical & Designer's Notes manual
- 40 strategy cards
- 12 objective cards
Important Terms
Unionist ~ This player represents the peoples opposed to the disunion of the northern and southern states. The Unionist is represented by blue components and uses the events with their color background.
Secessionist ~ This player represents a political movement attempting to preserve a dying culture built on slave labor. Driven by Lincoln's election and his platform that slavery cannot expand, the Secessionist player is exiting the US Constitution to avoid having slavery legislated out of existence. The Secessionist is represented by gray components and uses the events with their color background.
First Player ~ During the game, events or rules may call for the "first player" to take an action. When this happens, the player with the current highest VP score is considered the first player. In the case of a tie, the Unionist player is first player. The role of first player may change within a round of play.
Map Spaces ~ Spaces on the board are coded by a color/icon combination and labeled with an individual name. Each space can hold up to four of each player's tokens.
- Blue/Star — Secession
- Yellow/Bell — Political
- Red/Cannon — Armaments
- Green/Person — Public Opinion
Crisis Dimension ~ A set of three same-color/icon map spaces. During scoring at the end of a round and at the conclusion of the Final Crisis, a player gains 1VP per Crisis Dimension they control.
Pivotal Space ~ One space of a Crisis Dimension denoted by a double white border around the space (Washington, Border States, Newspapers, and Federal Arsenal). Control of a pivotal space allows a player a bonus movement at the end of the round.
Control ~ A player controls a space if they have more tokens on the space than his opponent. A player controls a Crisis Dimension if they control all three of its spaces.
Crisis Track ~ Two tracks encircling the left side of the game map, one for each player. Political Capital tokens begin play on the Crisis Track. Each track is composed of four zones (Starting, Escalation, Tension, and Final Crisis).
Breach ~ When the first Political Capital token is removed from a Crisis Track zone.
Strategy Cards ~ A deck of cards, each listing a value with a color background (blue, gray, or both), an event, a title, and a Final Crisis Dimension location. A strategy card's image is for historical flavor only. Strategy cards are played for their value during a round to add Political Capital tokens. A strategy card can only be played for its event if the value's colored background (Blue: Unionist, Gray Secessionist) matches that player's color or both colors are displayed.
Objective Cards ~ A deck of cards, each listing a specific location on the map and an event. An objective card's image is for historical flavor only. Objective cards are revealed at the end of each round for victory points and, under certain conditions, for their event.
Value ~ The number (1, 2 or 3) at the top-left of each strategy card which indicates the number of Political Capital tokens a player may place on the map for the turn.
Event ~ The text on a strategy or objective card outlining options for the owning player, generally to add or remove Political Capital tokens on the map.
Move ~ Control of a Pivotal Space allows you to move up to two tokens. Movement is just picking up and placing the tokens in another space aligned with the Pivotal Space.
Political Capital Tokens ~ Colored wooden pieces used to indicate political influence in a space. These tokens begin play on the Crisis Track. Once removed from the Crisis Track, they cycle from the player's token pool and map spaces.
Peace Commissioner ~ The wooden piece used to block the placement and removal of Political Capital tokens in a space.
Set Up
Place the board in the middle of the play area (see illustration below).
Place the yellow round marker on the first space of the Round Track. Place both scoring cylinders on the "0" space of the VP (Victory Point) Track with their "+10" side down.
There are two crisis tracks—one for the gray Secessionist, one for the blue Unionist—where each player will set up 16 of his wooden Political Capital tokens, one per space. Then each player places bonus tokens: two in his Escalation box, three in his Tension box, and four in the shared Final Crisis box.
Set the Peace Commission "meeple" off to the side near the board.
Shuffle the strategy deck and the objective deck separately and place them near the board.
The two long edges of the board (each facing one of the players) indicate off-board areas for players to place Final Crisis cards, Hidden Objectives and token pools. These spaces all start the game empty.
Game Play
At the beginning of each round, deal four strategy cards and two objective cards to each player. Both players secretly choose one of their objective cards to keep, then shuffle the other one (unrevealed) back into the objective card deck.
Starting with the first player (Unionist player at the beginning of Turn 1), players alternate taking turns playing one strategy card either for its value or its event. Play continues back and forth until both players have played three strategy cards. The remaining strategy cards (one for each player) are set aside face down for the Final Crisis.
Pivotal space bonus actions are then performed by the first player, followed by the opposing player. Crisis Dimensions are scored and then objective cards are revealed and scored. Indicate each player's current score by adjusting his Scoring Cylinder on the Victory Point track (flipping to the "+10" side if needed). Check if conditions have been met for the Final Crisis and, if not, continue with the next round.
Sequence of Actions Each Round
- Deal four strategy cards to each player.
- Deal two objective cards to each player.
- Each player chooses one objective card to keep and then shuffles the other one back into the deck.
- Take turns playing strategy cards for their value or their events until each player has played three cards.
- Set aside the remaining card for each player in his Final Crisis space at the edge of the board.
- Perform Pivotal Space bonus actions.
- Score Crisis Dimensions.
- Reveal and score objective cards.
- Perform objective event if you scored your objective.
- Check for Final Crisis or end of third round.
Up to three rounds of play are completed, then the Final Crisis is conducted and final scoring determines the winner.
Playing Strategy Cards
When played during a normal round, each strategy card can be used for either its event or its value after which it is removed from the game. When a strategy card is played during the Final Crisis, only the colored band containing the Crisis Dimension type is used.
Sample card layout: Value (split box indicates event can be played by either side) — top left. Card ID # — top right. Image — center. Title and event text — below the image. Final Crisis Dimension Location — bottom band.
Event ~ A player may use an event if the background color (i.e., blue for Unionist, or gray for Secessionist) of the event's Value box matches that player's color—or if both players' colors are displayed (as in sample card above) in a diagonally split box. If a card is played for its event, implement the event text exactly as written. Events can add, move, or remove tokens from the map.
Helpful Hint: When a card says "up to x tokens", you may choose from zero to x.
Value ~ A player may use the value of any card in hand to add up to that number of tokens to the map. Values range from 1 to 3 and indicate the number of his tokens a player may add to spaces on the map.
Reminder: There is a limit of four tokens per player per space.
Sample Cards:
- Naval Relief — 2-value Unionist event card, Public Opinion Final Crisis Dimension location. Add up to 3 tokens to Fort Sumter and/or Fort Pickens spaces. Remove up to 2 opposing tokens from either Fort Sumter or Fort Pickens.
- Temporary Truce — 3-value Unionist or Secessionist event, Armaments Final Crisis Dimension location. Place the Peace Commission in either the Fort Sumter or Fort Pickens space.
- Gun Batteries — 1-value Secessionist event, Secession Final Crisis Dimension location. Add up to 3 tokens to Armaments spaces, or Remove 1 opposing token from an Armaments space.
Political Capital Tokens
When adding tokens to the map, a player must first use any tokens in his token pool. If his token pool is empty, the player may use tokens from his Crisis Track, removing tokens one at a time from the highest-numbered spaces. Tokens removed from the map by either player are placed in the owning player's token pool for later use.
Neither player begins the game with Political Capital tokens in his token pool.
At the conclusion of a strategy card play, if a Crisis Track space within a colored zone (Escalation, Tension, or Final Crisis) is uncovered, the owning player must take his bonus tokens from that box and place them in his token pool. The player who first removes his tokens from the Final Crisis box in this way immediately loses 1VP. The second player to reach the Final Crisis box receives only two of his four bonus tokens (leave the other two in the box for the remainder of the game), but does not lose a VP.
Crisis Box Bonus Tokens: Spaces 10 and 9 have been revealed due to play of a strategy card. Once the card play has been concluded, the Unionist player moves his two bonus tokens from his Escalation box to his token pool.
Crisis Zones
Each player has a Crisis Track, which is composed of four zones:
- Starting zone (no color) – spaces 15 to 11
- Escalation zone (yellow) – spaces 10 to 8
- Tension zone (orange) – spaces 7 to 6
- Final Crisis Zone (red) – spaces 5 to 0
The first time a token is removed from a section, that section is considered "breached". When a zone is breached, the player finishes his turn and then take the following action, depending on which zone was breached:
Escalation: The player moves his two bonus tokens from his Escalation box to his token pool.
Tension: The first player to breach his Tension zone moves his three bonus tokens from his Tension box to his token pool. Then the other player immediately moves the Peace Commissioner from wherever it is onto the map in any space. The second player to breach his Tension zone moves his three bonus tokens from his Tension zone box to his token pool.
Final Crisis: The first player to breach the Final Crisis moves his four bonus tokens from the Final Crisis box to his token pool and loses 1VP. The second player to breach this zone moves only two of his bonus tokens to his token pool.
It is possible to breach multiple zones in a single turn. If this occurs, follow the procedures above in sequence (Escalation > Tension > Final Crisis) for each zone breached.
Peace Commissioner
Placement
Tension zone breach ~ The first time either Tension zone is breached, the opposing player must place the Peace Commissioner in any space on the map after the other player has fully completed his card play.
Event card play ~ There are three events (Peace Commissioner, Peace Conference, Temporary Truce) that place the Peace Commissioner token.
Movement
Move/remove Peace Commissioner ~ Once placed, the Peace Commissioner can only be moved by play of an event card or a subsequent breaching of the Tension zone. Remove the Peace Commissioner from the map at the beginning of the Final Crisis.
Effect
The Peace Commissioner blocks all placement and removal of political capital tokens in the space it occupies, including via events.
Pivotal Space Bonus
After each player has played his three strategy cards for the round, the first player checks for control of each pivotal space. If controlled, the first player may, within any spaces of that Crisis Dimension:
- Move any two tokens; or
- Remove any two tokens (yours or opponents); or
- Move one token and remove one token (yours or opponents).
Once the first player is finished, the opposing player does the same for each space he or she controls.
Crisis Dimension Scoring
After performing all Pivotal space bonuses, each player earns 1VP for each Crisis Dimension they control (all three same-colored spaces).
Objective Card Scoring
After scoring Crisis Dimensions, both players reveal the objective cards that were chosen at the beginning of the round and score 1 VP for each of those objective locations they control. Then, beginning with the first player, if he scored a VP for his card, perform the events on those cards. Then remove both objective cards from the game.
Objective Cards: Each space on the map has an associated objective card. The card shows the Location at the top and the Event below it.
Final Crisis
At the end of any round where both Final Crisis zones are breached, or after completing three rounds of strategy card play, players perform the Final Crisis by performing the following actions in the order shown:
Remove the Peace Commissioner token from the game.
Both players take their Final Crisis strategy cards into hand from where they were set aside in the prior rounds. If fewer than three cards are gathered this way, deal strategy cards to both players until they each have three. Turn the cards upside down so the colored bar and type at the bottom are now face-up at the top of the cards. This is the only portion of the card that will be used during the Final Crisis, everything else will be ignored.
The upturned card shows only the Final Crisis Location type.
Each player should secretly place his three Final Crisis cards face-down on the table in the order they wish to play them (first on top, last on the bottom). Both players simultaneously reveal their first (top) card.
If the location types match: Each player, starting with the first player, must:
- remove one of his tokens from a space of that location type, or
- remove two of his tokens from any space or spaces.
If the location types don't match: Each player, starting with first player, may move up to two of his tokens from any spaces and/or token pool into one or two spaces that match his played location type.
Repeat this process for the second and third Final Crisis cards.
Final Crisis Scoring
Each player now scores 1VP:
- for each Crisis Dimension he controls; and
- if he controls Fort Sumter; and
- if there are at least three more tokens remaining in his token pool than in his opponent's token pool.
The player with the most VPs wins the game. In case of a tie:
- The player who controls Fort Sumter wins.
- If no one controls Fort Sumter, the player who controls the most spaces on the map wins.
- If there is still a tie, the Unionist player wins.
Event Discard (Optional)
When your opponent plays a strategy card with a value solely matching your color (Unionist blue, Secessionist gray; not both colors), you may on your next card play substitute any card of equal or greater token value in your hand for this card. The player must immediately play this newly claimed card for its event. This option must occur within the same round of play and does not carry over to the next round or final crisis.
- Opponent plays strategy card, completes his action, and discards the just-played card.
- As your turn you discard a card whose strategy value is equal to or greater than the opponent's just-played card and pick up it up.
- Immediately play the newly-claimed card for its event.
Victory Point Summary
During Rounds:
- Score 1 VP for control of a Crisis Dimension (pivotal and two associated spaces).
- Score 1 VP for controlling either player's objective card space.
End of Final Crisis (after all three cards have been played):
- Score 1 VP for control of each Crisis Dimension (pivotal and two associated spaces).
- Score 1 VP for control of Fort Sumter space.
- Score 1 VP for at least 3 more tokens in your token pool than opponent.