UKRAINIAN CRISIS
(c) 2014 Brian Train
v. 1.2, 9 June 2014
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Ukrainian Crisis is a politico-military game for two
players exploring some possible resolutions of the
situation in the spring and summer of 2014 between
the governments of Ukraine and the Russian
Federation. Players represent the political and
military leaders of these respective governments. The
action begins in late February as elected President
Yanukovytch departs from the capital of Kyiv and a
new government is formed. The time covered by an
entire game may represent several weeks to several
months.
1.1 General Course of Play
The play of the game is divided into six Strategic
Rounds (SR), divided into two phases – pre-Invasion
and Invasion. During the pre-Invasion Strategic
Rounds, players play cards on a matrix divided into
Military, Diplomatic and Information areas. After
either player has started the Invasion phase of the
game the sequence of SRs continues except that each
SR contains a variable number of Operational Turns
(OTs) during which each player’s military units move
on the map and engage in combat. It is possible to
play a game without an Invasion ever being declared.
The game must end if at the beginning of the Final
Segment of any SR that a player’s Prestige is zero, or
the Final Segment of the sixth SR. In either case, play
stops and players judge victory as in 9.0.
2.0 GAME COMPONENTS AND CONCEPTS
Each game comes with a sheet of 70 counters, an
area-movement map of the general region of Ukraine,
a Player Aid Card, and these rules. The game also
uses a deck of 50 cards; either use these, or a more
deterministic form of the game can be played by
using an ordinary deck of playing cards as directed in
10.1. Players will also need several six-sided dice
(d6).
2.1 Cards
 Resource Cards. (36) This group of cards is
divided into two identical sets of 18, further
divided into Minor (9), Moderate (6) and
Maximum (3) Efforts. Each category potentially
provides greater amounts of Resource Points
(RP) a card provides to whatever activity it is
being applied, depending on the roll of one or
two dice on the Effort Chart. The effects of a
given card depend on what area it is played on
(Military, Diplomatic or Information) and
whether it is the pre-Invasion or Invasion phase
of the game (see 6.0). Resource cards are laid
aside after resolution and not used again during
the game.
 Event Cards. (14) At the beginning of each SR,
each player draws one Event Card. Its effects can
be good or bad for one or both players,
depending on the general situation and which
phase the game is in. See the Event Cards chart.
There are two blank cards so you can substitute
your own events, or treat them as “No Event”.
2.2 Counters
There are 70 counters in the game. Some of them are
informational markers used to keep track of the status
of different record tracks, and mostly their use is
obvious. Most of them represent military formations
that could be used in the event of armed conflict
between Ukraine and Russia, and so are deployed and
moved on the map. These are called “units” and each
one has the following information on it:
 Type symbol. This will tell you what type of
formation the counter represents, and its troop
type (Irregular, Regular or Special Forces). See
the Identification Chart.
 Combat Values. Each Irregular and Regular unit
has a Combat Value (CV) printed underneath its
troop type symbol. This is the number of d6 it
will roll during combat. Note that Special Forces
units have no Combat Value: this means they
may not be engaged in combat of any type. See
7.32. Also, the reverse side of each unit has its
Combat Value marked in parentheses, to denote
that it has been neutralized in combat and cannot
attack (however, it can defend itself).
 Nationality. Russian units are red; Ukrainian
units are yellow.
2.3 Maps and Displays and Playing Aids
2.31 Map. The map is an area movement map of the
eastern two-thirds of Ukraine and the immediate
region. Each area in Ukraine is equal to an oblast (an
administrative division). During Operational Turns
units move from one area to another (see 7.2).
 Some areas are marked with airfield (triangle) or
port (anchor) symbols; these are used to
determine whether units can use Airborne or
Amphibious movement from there (7.21).
 Each area in Ukraine is marked with a Victory
Point value that is awarded to the player in sole
possession of it at the end of the game (that is,
only that player has Regular or Irregular units in
it – Special Forces units do not count either
way).
 Note that the city of Kyiv is a special area,
located entirely inside the Kyivs’ka area.
 “Sevastopol” is a special enclave of Russian
territory within the Crimea area, representing the
pre-existing Russian military bases there. It is
treated as part of Russia and belongs to no Ethnic
Zone.
2.32 Displays. Also located on the map sheet are the
Foreign Relations Display, the All-purpose Record
Track and a Unit Box (with Reserve and Mobilized
areas) for each player to group his units.
2.33 Player Aids. Finally, there is a player aid card
that contains the Card Matrix and a reminder chart.
2.4 Game Concepts
 Countries and International relations. Seven
foreign countries appear in the game as potential
allies of Ukraine. Each country has a marker
with a two-letter code to identify it, and a
number denoting its Rank (a quantification of its
relative power and ability to influence the
situation). The attitudes of their respective
governments towards Ukraine are portrayed on
the Foreign Relations Display. During the game,
especially during the pre-Invasion phase, the
Ukrainian player will be trying through
diplomacy to build a coalition of countries
willing to support his government against
perceived Russian aggression, through various
means. Due to the general political and
diplomatic situation, Russia does not have any
allied countries (at least none in any position to
affect this crisis) and so is more concerned with
manoeuvring potential Ukrainian allies towards
neutrality.
 Ethnic Zones: With a certain degree of
simplification (to put it mildly), the political
divisions and cultural aspirations of Ukrainian
citizens, and their ethnicities, are congruent
geographically. That is, pro-Russian sentiment is
concentrated, along with many ethnic Russians,
in the eastern zone of the country while Ukrainian
nationalism is concentrated in the western zone.
Consequently certain areas on the map are
colored reddish (for pro-Russian) or yellowish
(for pro-Ukrainian). The city of Kyiv is
considered to be in both Ethnic Zones (and so is
coloured orange).
 Prestige: During play, a player will have a greater
or lesser amount of Prestige, recorded on the All-
Purpose Record Track. In the game, the term
“Prestige” does not have quite the positive
connotation of respect or high esteem it normally
does – in effect, it is a quantification and
combination of several things, including:
o the amount of intimidation or
dominance a player can exert on, or the
compliance they can exact from, the
other player or the Countries portrayed
in the game;
o the general stability or resolve of the
Ukrainian or Russian government and
leaders to pursue the crisis, particularly
with respect to using military force to
resolve it;
o the country’s international standing,
occupation of the “moral high ground”
(in a very relative sense), and ability to
control or shape information on events;
o the country’s overall economic health
and future prospects; etc..
There are occasions during the game when the
player may voluntarily expend Prestige to get
something he wants. This can represent making
deals for future concessions, political or
diplomatic negotiations, threats that are or are not
delivered, and so on. The game will end if one
player’s Prestige score is zero at the end of a
Strategic Round (this signifies a collapse of will
to continue, or resignation to the situation), at
which time victory is judged. In cases where a
player’s Prestige is zero, he may not voluntarily
expend Prestige, and any Prestige points he may
be required to lose are instead added to the other
player’s Prestige.
 Scale: The game has an abstract scale in all
respects. There is no fixed ratio of Resources to
any physical commodity, numbers of people or
equipment to any military unit, or interval of time
to any turn.
 Victory: at the end of the game players total up
their Victory Points, which they have collected
for various activities during the game, depending
on whether the game entered the Invasion Phase
or not. See 9.0.
3.0 SETTING UP THE GAME
 Separate the Resource and Event Cards. Divide
the Resource cards into two piles, one for each
player. Shuffle the Event Cards and put them in a
mutually convenient place on the table.
 Sort the unit counters out by nationality and
group them in the “Reserve” section of the Unit
Box on each player’s Player Aid Card.
 Take the seven Country counters and place them
on the Foreign Relations Display as follows (If
players wish to alter the starting positions of
Countries to make things harder or easier for
either player, or if they have a different view of
the relative attitude of each country, then feel
free to do so.):
o BY, DE, FR, GB, RO: Neutral
o US, PL: Support
 Place markers on the All-Purpose Record Track
to show a starting Prestige of 20 for the
Ukrainian player and 25 for the Russian (again,
this can be adjusted if players wish).
Chart as dictated by the type of Resource Card played
(Minor, Moderate or Maximum Effort), which will
give them a number of Resource Points to apply or
use in some fashion in resolving action for that area.
At this point, either or both players may implement
an Event card if its effect is somehow applicable to
what is being resolved.
Critical Incidents: if a player plays a Maximum
Effort card and rolls doubles, a Critical Incident has
occurred. Resolve the incident depending on which
double number was rolled, then the player receives
the indicated number of RP and play continues.
However, the same Critical Incident may not occur
twice: if its number comes up twice, treat this as “No
Incident”.

4.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY Area by area, the player with more Prestige at the
moment (Russian wins ties) either goes first to
Each Strategic Round is organized into the following expend the RP he has received or tells the other
Segments, performed in order. The body of the rules player to go first. A player’s options of how to expend
explain what to do in each Segment. the RP depend on what area the card was played in,
and whether the game is in the pre-Invasion or
 Event Card Segment Invasion phase. Refer to the following table. A player
may choose only one of the options presented. Any
 Card Play and Resolution Segment
leftover RP are lost when players move on to another
 (Invasion Phase only) Operational Turns
area.
Segment
 Final Segment
 (start next Strategic Round with the Event Card Area Pre-Invasion Invasion
Segment)
Military  mobilize/  mobilize/
deploy deploy
5.0 EVENT CARD SEGMENT
units (6.1) units OR
Each player will draw one Event Card at random. If a  determine
Card says “Must Play”, the event is immediately number of
resolved. Otherwise the player has a choice of Operational
whether or how to implement the event during the Turns this
Strategic Round. Event Cards are discarded in the Round, and
Final Segment of the current Strategic Round: use the number
‘em or lose ‘em. of units that
can move
6.0 CARD PLAY AND RESOLUTION or recover
SEGMENT in each
Operational
Each player will select THREE Resource Cards of Turn (7.0)
their choice from their as yet unplayed stock and Diplomatic  attempt to  attempt to
place one card in each of the three areas of the Card move one move one
Matrix (Military, Diplomatic and Information), face or more or more
down. Either player may, at this moment only, declare countries countries
the start of the Invasion phase of the game. on Foreign on Foreign
Relations Relations
The player who has the higher Prestige at the moment Display Display OR
(Russian wins ties) may choose which area of the (6.2)  attempt a
Card Matrix will be resolved first. Both players turn Truce (6.4)
up their cards and roll one or two d6 on the Effort Information  reduce  reduce
 enemy’s enemy’s
Prestige Prestige
score (and score (and
their own, their own,
see 6.3) see 6.3) OR
OR  add to own
 add to own Prestige
Prestige
6.1 Mobilizing and Deploying Units
6.11 Mobilizing units. A unit is mobilized by moving
it from the Reserve section to Mobilized section of
the Unit box. It costs one RP to mobilize a unit of any
type.
6.12 Deploying units. It costs one RP to deploy a
unit of any type. A unit may be mobilized and
deployed in the same Strategic Round. To deploy a
unit, take it from the Mobilized section of the Unit
Box and place it in an area on the map, within the
following guidelines depending on its type:
 Regular: any area within the player’s country
that is either empty or contains friendly units
(Special Forces units do not count as friendly or
enemy units). Also, depending on the resolution
of the “Belarus” event, the Russian player may
be able to deploy Regular units to Belarus.
Depending on the outcome of the “Moldova”
Event Card, he may deploy one Regular combat
unit in Moldova (but may not deploy any other
units there).
 Special Forces: any area on the map (including
Belarus or Moldova, regardless of whether the
Event Cards involving these countries have been
played)
 Irregular:
o Ukrainian: any area within Ukraine.
o Russian: any area in the pro-Russian
Ethnic Zone that contains a non-
neutralized Russian Regular or Special
Forces unit.
6.13 Redeploying units. Once deployed to the map,
units do not move in the pre-Invasion Phase.
However, a player, may expend 1 RP to remove a unit
from the map and replace it in the Mobilized Section
of the Unit Box, from where it may be re-redeployed
to the map later.
6.2 Moving Countries on the Foreign Relations
Display
A player may expend RP and Prestige to attempt to
move the counter representing a foreign country on
the Foreign Relations Display. The Ukrainian player
will want to move the counters towards the Support
or Intervention Zones on the display, while the
Russian player will want to move them towards the
Neutral Zone.
The required number of RP for an attempt to move a
country’s counter “up” or “down” one Zone on the
Display is equal to the Multiplier for the desired Zone
to move to. Players may try to move a given country
only one Zone in a given attempt. A player may
divide their RP as they wish in order to influence
more than one country, and may make multiple
attempts to influence the same country, paying the
appropriate cost each time.
To make the attempt, a player will expend the
required number of RP (1, 2 or 3 RP). They may at
this time voluntarily expend Prestige points to affect
the die roll: one is subtracted from the die roll for
each Prestige point expended. They then roll a
number of d6 equal to the country’s Rank, and take
the total. If the adjusted roll is equal to or less than
the RP expended, the country’s counter is moved to
the new Zone; otherwise, nothing changes and the RP
are lost.
Example: To attempt to move Great Britain, a Rank 2
country, from Support to Intervention the player
spends 3 RP (since the Multiplier for the Support
Zone is 3). He also expends 3 Prestige to get a -3 die
roll modifier. He rolls 2d6 (because Great Britain is a
Rank 2 country) and gets a “5”. Subtracting 3 from 5
gives a result of “2”: this is less than the 3 RP
expended, so the country will move to Intervention.
6.22 Positive effects of Allies. It’s good to have
friends:
 In the beginning of the Card Play and Resolution
Segment of each Strategic Round, the Ukrainian
player receives a total of “at large” RP equal to
the Rank of each country whose marker is
currently in the Intervention Zone. These RP may
be added to the resolution of card play in any one
area of their choice.
 At the end of the Final Segment of each Strategic
Round (except the sixth one), the Ukrainian
player will gain total Prestige equal to the Rank
of each country that is in the Support or
Intervention Zones.
6.23 Belarus. When the “Belarus” Event Card is
played, its marker is removed from the Foreign
Relations Display regardless of the outcome: the
country has either decisively declared for Russia, or
is determined not to take any further part in the crisis
while continuing to declare verbal support for
Ukraine.

6.3 Reducing the enemy’s Prestige
If a player chooses to reduce the enemy’s Prestige
through exercising that option in the Information
area, he must roll the die or dice twice, reading off
the row of the Effort Chart corresponding to the
Resource Card played: first to reduce the enemy’s
Prestige, then again on the same row to reduce his
own Prestige (this represents a range of activity not
limited to economic threats, trade sanctions or
boycotts and can backfire).
6.4 Truces
One or both players may choose this option. If both
players want a truce, then it happens – they skip any
Operational Turns and go straight to the Final
Segment of the Round. If only one player wants a
truce, after determining the RP obtained from the
Effort Chart from his card play in the Diplomatic
area, and adding any number of Prestige points he
wants to expend (the Ukrainian player at this point
may also add “at large” RP due to alliances, see
6.22), he throws 2d6. If the roll is equal to or less
than this total number, then players skip the
Operational Turns Segment and go straight to the
Final Segment of the Round.
Example: The Ukrainian player wants to get a Truce
to get some breathing room. He plays a Moderate
Effort in the Diplomatic area, rolls “4” on 1d6 on the
Moderate row of the Effort Chart and so gets 4 RP.
He adds 1 “at large” RP and 4 Prestige (he really
wants this). That’s a total of 9 so if the Ukrainian
rolls “9” or less on 2d6 he gets his Truce.
6.5 Starting the Invasion Phase
After the players have placed their cards face down in
the three areas of the Card Matrix, but before they are
turned up and resolved, either player may at this
moment declare the start of the Invasion Phase. The
game is in the Invasion phase from that moment
onward. Remember that an Invasion does not have to
be declared!
7.0 OPERATIONAL TURNS SEGMENT
If the game has moved into the Invasion phase, the
card a player plays in the Military area of the Card
Matrix in the Strategic Round may be used either to
mobilize and deploy units as in 6.1, or to determine
how many Operational Turns he will get during that
Round, and how many of his units may move or
recover from Neutralization in each Operational Turn
during that Round.
 The two variables must add up to the number of
RP derived from play of the card (the Ukrainian
player may also add any of his “at large” RP
gained from alliances, see 6.32).
 There must be at least one, but no more than six,
Operational Turns.
 the number of units to move or recover in each
Operational Turn may be zero (in this case no
units would move or recover, but would only
conduct Combat in each Turn).
 If a player uses his Resource Card for
mobilizing/ deploying units instead, he gets one
Operational Turn during which he may move one
unit.
Example: the Ukrainian player plays a Moderate
Effort card in the Military area of the Card Matrix.
He rolls 1d6 on the Moderate row of the Effort Chart,
rolls a “5” which gets him 4 RP, and adds 1 “at
large” RP from his alliances. That is a total of 5, so
he may choose to have 2 Operational Turns during
each of which 3 of his units may move or recover
from neutralization, or 4 and 1, or anything that adds
up to 5 (though there must be at least 1 Operational
Turn).
7.1 Operational Turns
During the Operational Turn Segment, players will
take a given number of Operational Turns, during
each of which a given number of units may move or
recover from neutralization. After this, opposing units
in the same area may then conduct combat. The
Russian player takes an Operational Turn first, then
the Ukrainian player, alternating until one side runs
out, then the other player runs his remaining
Operational Turns in succession. After the
Operational Turns are done, go to the Final Segment
of the Strategic Round.
Example: the Russian player has decided for 3
Operational Turns. The Ukrainian used his card for
mobilizing/ deploying units, so he gets a minimum of
1 Operational Turn. The sequence will run Russian –
Ukrainian – Russian – Russian.
7.2 Movement and Recovery
During each Operational Turn, a given number of
friendly units may move from area to area on the map
or, instead of moving, recover from neutralization.
7.21 Movement. Normally, a player may move one
unit from one area to an adjacent area (that is, the two
areas share a land border). Any number of units may
be present in an area, and enemy units do not block a
unit’s passage through it.
 Irregular units do not move.
 The Ukrainian player’s units may never enter
another country.
 The Russian player may be able to deploy his
Regular units in or move through Belarus or
Moldova, depending on the outcome of the
related Event Cards; otherwise he may not use
these countries. He may never enter Romania.
 Russian Special Forces units may move into or
through any area or country at all times.
 Airborne movement: a Parachute or Special
Forces unit may move from an area in its own
country that contains an airfield (triangle
symbol) to any other area on the map.
 Amphibious movement: any Regular unit may
move from an area in its own country that
contains a port (anchor symbol) to any coastal
area on the map (that is, any area touched by the
Black Sea).
7.22 Recovery from neutralization. Instead of
moving, a neutralized unit may recover from its
neutralized state. Simply flip the unit back over to the
side that doesn’t have its Combat Value in
parentheses. A unit may not both move and recover in
the same Operational Turn.
7.3 Combat
When a player has completed all movement and
recovery, they may engage enemy units in the same
area in combat. There are three types of combat, but
each type of combat is resolved simultaneously in the
same way, with all combat results being applied at the
end of resolution. The player whose Turn it is is
called the Attacker, and the other player is the
Defender, no matter what the overall strategic
situation. Combat is voluntary on the part of the
Attacker, but if attacked the Defender must defend
himself.
7.31 Combat procedure
 Pre-Combat Grouping Step. The Attacker
examines his Regular and Irregular units in the
area and declares which unit or units will attack
which defending units. He may now group the
attacking and defending units how he likes; he
does not have to attack every defending unit, nor
does he have to use all of his units to attack.
 Combat Type Determination Step. The
attacker chooses the type of combat, but his
choice is determined by the troop type of units
present in the attacking and defending groups. If
half or more of the units in a given group are
Regular, the whole group is considered Regular.
A group that is attacking a group of the same
troop type may choose Symbolic or Kinetic
combat. A group that is attacking a group of the
opposite troop type may choose Symbolic or
Asymmetric combat.
 Combat Resolution Step. Each player
simultaneously throws a number of d6 equal to
the total Combat Value of the troops in the group,
then applies the result to the enemy group. A “5”
or “6” scores one Hit. The effect of a Hit depends
on the type of combat:
o Symbolic combat: each Hit reduces the
enemy’s Prestige by one.
o Kinetic combat: each Hit neutralizes
one enemy unit (inflicting player’s
choice; flip the unit over to show its
Combat Value in parentheses). A second
Hit on an already neutralized unit
eliminates it, and both players lose one
Prestige. Eliminated units are placed in
the Reserve section of the owning
player’s Unit Box in a non-neutralized
state; they may be mobilized later.
o Asymmetric combat: each Hit by a
group of Irregular units will reduce the
enemy’s Prestige by one. Each Hit by a
group of Regular units will neutralize
one enemy unit; however, units may not
be eliminated.
o Excess neutralizations: If, through
Kinetic or Asymmetric combat, a player
has inflicted more neutralizations on the
enemy group than are able to be
absorbed by the group, then the player
loses one Prestige for each excess
neutralization (this represents collateral
damage to the civilian population and
infrastructure).
7.32 Special Forces. Special Forces units cannot be
engaged in combat. They do not form part of
attacking or defending groups.
7.33 Neutralized units. Neutralized units may move
but may not initiate attacks. They may defend
themselves, of course. They are eliminated if
neutralized again in Kinetic combat. A neutralized
unit may recover in an Operational Turn if the
owning player desires it to; see 7.22.
Example: The Russian player has decided to have his
group of two Regular units (each of CV=4) attack a
mixed Ukrainian group of two Irregular units (each
of CV=1) and one Regular unit (CV=2). One of the
Irregular units is neutralized from a previous combat.
Because the two groups are different types, the
Russian can choose Symbolic or Asymmetric
Combat. He chooses Asymmetric and rolls 8d6,
getting two “5”s and a”6” for a total of 3 Hits. The
Ukrainian rolls 4d6 and gets one “5”. Both players
apply results simultaneously: the Russian neutralizes
the remaining Irregular and the Regular units, but
there is one Hit left over (because in Asymmetric
combat units cannot be eliminated) so his Prestige is
reduced by one. The Ukrainian reduces the Russian
Prestige by one.
8.0 FINAL SEGMENT
At the end of the Card Play and Resolution Segment
(pre-Invasion phase of the game) or the end of the
final Operational Turn (Invasion phase of the game),
players check to see if the game ends.
 If either player’s Prestige is zero, or the sixth
Strategic Round is about to be completed, the
game ends. Both players judge victory according
to section 9.0.
 Otherwise, both players discard any Resource
and Event Cards played, the Ukrainian player
may receive some Prestige points depending on
the state of his alliances (6.32), and players begin
the next Strategic Round with the Event Card
Segment.
9.0 GAME END, VICTORY POINTS AND HOW
TO WIN
At the end of the game, each player totals his Victory
Points as follows:
 His Prestige (round up) PLUS
 If and only if the game entered the Invasion
phase, the Victory Point value of each area where
he is the sole player with non-neutralized units
(that is, the only one with at least one non-
neutralized Regular or Irregular unit there;
Special Forces units do not count either way).
9.1 Levels of Victory
If the Ukrainian player ends the game with the same
or more points than the Russian, he wins a Moral
Victory. (While Ukraine may or may not have won
the war, it has managed to survive with its
government and some territory intact, and likely the
firm support of Western Europe and the United
States.)
If the Russian player has more points than the
Ukrainian player, he wins some variety of victory:
1-15 points more: Draw (The crisis has stabilized for
now, but the advantage will be to Russia should it
resume.)
16-25 points more: Tactical Victory (Russia will
continue to be the primary influence in Ukraine’s
decision calculus.)
26+ points more: Smashing Victory (Russia has
effectively annexed the parts of the country it finds
most useful, has probably evaded most of the
damaging diplomatic and economic repercussions,
and now dominates the government of what is left of
Ukraine.)
10.0 OPTIONAL RULES
10.1 Using Playing Cards
To treat this game as a deterministic exercise, you
may play this game with a deck of ordinary playing
cards. Remove the face cards from the deck; these
become Event Cards – refer to the Event Card chart
to see which are which. Discard the four 10s. The
remaining red cards (two sets of A-9 each) become
the Russian player’s Resource Cards; the black ones
are the Ukrainian player’s. There are no Critical
Incidents. In situations where the card is played in the
Information area of the Card Matrix and is being used
to reduce the enemy’s Prestige (6.4), the player will
roll a die or dice on the Effort Chart to determine
randomly the amount of Prestige he will lose: on the
Minor Effort row if he played a card with a value of
A-3, the Moderate Effort row if he played 4-6,
Maximum Effort row if he played 7-9. (This will give
a higher-powered game, as the 18 cards give a total
of 90 Resources to allocate during the game, versus
the average expected total of 63 with the randomized
cards.)
10.2 Completely Deterministic Version
If you really hate those noisy clickety-clackety dice,
or can’t stand the feeling that your fate may be
subject to the whim of a random, uncaring universe,
you may try to play the game without chance events.
Use a deck of playing cards as described in 10.1. In
situations where a card is played in the Information
area of the Card Matrix to reduce the enemy’s
Prestige (6.4), each player will lose Prestige equal to
the number on the card the other player played in that
area.
In situations where one player is trying to move
countries on the Foreign Relations Display, the
player’s attempt is judged successful if he expends a
combination of RP and Prestige points equal to twice
the sum of the target country’s Rank and the
Multiplier of the Zone moved to (so to move Great
Britain, a Rank 2 country, from Neutral to Support
would require 2 RP and 6 Prestige points).
In Combat situations (7.31), Hits are awarded
depending on the players’ relative total CV values:
 If the attacker has fewer CV than the defender,
he receives two Hits and the defender receives
one;
 If the two groups have equal CV, the attacker
receives one Hit;
 If the attacker has more, but less than twice as
many CV as the defender, both sides receive one
Hit;
 If the Attacker has twice as many or more CV as
the defender, he receives one Hit and the
defender receives two Hits (however, if the
defender has only one unit, the attacker receives
no Hits).
In the case of the “Belarus” and “Moldova” Event
Cards, the events are resolved in favour of the player
who played the higher value card in the Diplomatic
area this turn (Russian wins ties). In the case of the
other event cards where a player rolls 1d6, the die roll
is assumed to be “3”.
10.3 Altering Play Balance
This game is simple and free-form enough that
players should be able to alter such game parameters
as the opposing orders of battle, opening Prestige
scores, VP scores for areas, or arrangements on the
Foreign Relations Display to make the game more or
less difficult for either player, or to better reflect their
view of how the crisis played out in real life, or could
have done. So feel free.
11.0 DESIGNER’S NOTES
This game was initially designed in the middle of the
crisis itself, over a weekend in March, with little
indication as to its ultimate outcome though a
Russian invasion of Ukraine seemed very likely at the
time. Think of it as the result of a one-man “game
jam”, or an attempt to conduct journalism in the form
of a wargame.
Either player, not just the Russian, may declare the
start of the Invasion phase of the game. The thinking
behind this is that the Ukrainian player may want to
do this in order to carry out a violent crackdown on a
large presence of pro-Russian Irregular units created
by Russian SF units (the SF counters do not always
literally mean the presence of detachments of
Spetsnaz troops, but also represent autonomous pro-
Russian groups taking up arms in response to local
provocations, Russian propaganda and
encouragement, or covert supply of weapons and
trainers). This could provoke an automatic Russian
military response, so beginning an invasion of
Ukraine itself.
The Victory Point values for the map areas were
assigned in rough proportion to the number of people
in each oblast, about one per million, adjusted
upward for each area in the pro-Russian Ethnic Zone
(each area of which has 40-80+% ethnic Russian
population, a large enough pool of people to create ad
hoc ethnic militias of either ethnicity). The thinking
here is that the avowed casus belli for a Russian
incursion is to protect these people, and not to
conquer Ukraine completely – which is why one-
third of Ukraine, containing about eleven million
people but only a small minority of Russians, was left
off the map. Similarly, the Ukrainian player is
motivated not to accept a partition of his country and
therefore to fight for its eastern areas.
Meanwhile, it is possible to play the game to a
conclusion without going to the Invasion phase. Both
players have an ability to reduce the other’s Prestige
to zero, through adroit card play on the Diplomatic
and Information fronts while the other’s main effort is
spent on mobilizing for war; however, as in the
military arena most of the advantages lie with the
Russian player, who may also be reverse-provoked
into an invasion if he sees the Prestige clock winding
down too fast on him.
“Hey, there are no NATO units!” Yes, that’s right; no
military formations from NATO member countries
appear in the game. In the designer’s opinion, it is
highly unlikely that troops from any country that is a
full member of NATO would be placed in a position
where they would potentially be shooting at Russian
soldiers. The governments of NATO’s member
countries seem to be firmly of the opinion that while
Ukraine should be supported against Russian
aggression, it is not worth starting World War III
over.
CREDITS
Design: Brian Train
Development: Brian Train
Graphics and Production: Brian Train (using
graphics found on Internet, freeware fonts from
mapsymbs.com)
Playtesting and suggestions: Neal Durando, Alan
Emrich, Lance McMillan, K. Roust, Akito Train
 CHARTS AND TABLES
STRATEGIC ROUND SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Event Card Draw Segment
 Both draw one Event Card
Card Play and Resolution Segment
 Ukrainian gains RP = Rank of each country at Intervention (6.22)
 Each player puts 1 card of their choice in each of the 3 areas of the Card Matrix (Military, Diplomatic and Information), face down.
(Either player may, at this moment only, declare start of the Invasion phase (6.5).)
 Player with higher Prestige (Russian wins ties) chooses which area of the Card Matrix to resolve. Both turn up cards and roll on the
matching row of the Effort Chart; may add RP from applicable Event Card and/or Ukrainian may add RP from alliances (6.22). Area
by area, player with more Prestige (Russian wins ties) either goes first to choose and implement option, or tells the other player to go
first. See 6.1 to 6.4 for details on how to resolve actions.
Operational Turns Segment (Invasion phase of game only; skip if Truce) (7.0)
 RP = (#Operational Turns + #units moved/recovered each Turn). 1 Turn and 1 unit if card played to mobilize/deploy units. Russian
Operational Turn first, then alternating until lower # of Operational Turns reached. Movement/ recovery, then Combat
 Movement: Irregulars don’t move; all others to adjacent area except Airborne (from airfield to anywhere, Parachute/ SF only) or
Amphibious (from port to any coastal area). Units can recover from neutralization instead of moving.
 Combat:
 Pre-Combat Grouping Step. Attacker arranges attacking and defending units in groups of his choice. SF do not count participate.
 Combat Type Determination Step. Attacking group of same troop type: choose Symbolic or Kinetic combat, otherwise Symbolic or
Asymmetric. Half or more units Regular = Regular group.
 Combat Resolution Step. Simultaneously throw #d6 = total CV: “5” or “6” = 1 Hit. Apply Hits simultaneously. Hit effect depends on the
type of combat:
o Symbolic: enemy Prestige -1
o Kinetic: neutralize one enemy unit. Second Hit on neutralized unit eliminates it (move to Reserve section), both players’ Prestige
-1.
o Asymmetric: each Hit by Irregular group = enemy Prestige -1. Each Hit by Regular group = neutralize one enemy unit, units
may not be eliminated.
o Excess neutralizations: (Kinetic or Asymmetric) -1 Prestige of inflicting player for each neutralization enemy group cannot
absorb .
Final Segment (8.0)
 Check for game end (one player has Prestige = 0, or ending 6th Strategic Round)
 Discard Resource and Event Cards
 Ukrainian player receives Prestige from alliances (6.22, but not in 6th Strategic Round)

Area Pre-Invasion Phase Invasion Phase

Military  Mobilize/ deploy units @ 1 RP each
Diplomatic  attempt to move countries on Foreign Relations
Display (expend RP = Zone Multiplier; may
expend Prestige for matching –DRM, roll #d6 =
country Rank; success if roll <= RP)
Information  reduce enemy’s Prestige score (roll once for each
player) OR
 add to Prestige
 Mobilize/ deploy units @1 RP each OR
 determine # of Operational Turns this Round, and #
of units to move/ recover each Turn
 attempt to move countries on Foreign Relations
Display OR
 attempt to get a Truce (2d6 vs. total of RP + Prestige
expended)
 reduce enemy’s Prestige score (roll once for each
player) OR
 add to Prestige

EFFORT CHART
Die roll/ RP gained 1 2 3 4 5 6
Minor (1d6) 1 2 2 3 3 4
Moderate (1d6) 2 3 3 4 4 5
Maximum (2d6) roll 2d6 and take the total
Critical Incident if player rolls doubles (events are one-time):
double 1 = Détente. Players move immediately to Final Segment; do not resolve any more cards.
double 2 = Sanctions Bite. Subtract Russian Prestige = USA’s Rank multiplied by the Multiplier of the
Zone the USA counter is currently in.
double 3 = I’ll Turn Off the Gas! -1d6 Ukrainian Prestige.
double 4 = NATO Makes a Move. A few troops and planes are deployed to Poland. No game effect.
double 5 = Secession. One area adjacent to Russia (rolling player’s choice, remember Sevastopol is
Russian territory) is now an independent republic; any Ukrainian units there are neutralized. The area is
still treated as part of Ukraine and both sides may enter it (remember Sevastopol is Russian territory).
double 6 = Union with Russia. One area adjacent to Russia (rolling player’s choice, remember
 Sevastopol is Russian territory) is now Russian territory; any Ukrainian units there are removed to
Reserve section. Ukrainian player may not enter the area and the Russian player does get VP for it at
the end of the game.
EVENT CARDS CHART
Card Title Effects
J spades Svoboda Shakeup Must play. Ukrainian government becomes unstable; -1d6 Prestige.
J clubs Paid Demonstrators Enemy loses 1-3 Prestige (1d6 halved, round up).
J hearts Moldova Must play. Roll 1d6:
1-3 = Moldovan Army moves against Russian “peacekeeping” detachment in
Transnistria; -3 Russian Prestige.
4-6 = Moldova declares neutrality; deploy one Russian Regular unit in
Moldova from the Reserve section of his Unit Box, immediately and for free
(but may not deploy more units to Moldova later).
J diamonds Belarus Must play. Roll 1d6, + 1 if BY is at Support, + 2 if BY is at Intervention:
1-3 = Russian may deploy and move units in Belarus
4+ = nothing
regardless of result, remove BY marker from the Display.
Q spades Economic All countries in Support or Intervention zones deduct Russian Prestige = their
Sanctions Rank.
Q clubs Screwed Thumbs Any one EU country (DE, FR, GB, PL, RO – player’s choice) in the Support
or Intervention Zones moves one Zone towards Neutral; deduct Russian
Prestige = country’s Rank.
Q hearts “F**k the EU” Each EU country in the Support or Intervention Zones moves one Zone
towards Neutral; add Ukrainian Prestige = USA’s Rank multiplied by the
Multiplier of the Zone the USA counter is in.
Q diamonds A Terrible Resolve Player holding this card cannot attempt to get a Truce this SR, and must play
it to cancel a Truce if the other player attempts one.
K spades Spontaneous Player deploys 1 Irregular unit anywhere in his ethnic Zone from the Reserve
Mobilization section of his Unit Box, for free.
K clubs Spontaneous Player deploys 1 Irregular unit anywhere in his ethnic Zone from the Reserve
Mobilization section of his Unit Box, for free.
K hearts Rally to the Player receives 1-3 Resource Points for mobilizing, deploying or recovering
Motherland! units (1d6 halved, round up).
K diamonds Unit Not Ready/ 1-3 enemy units of player’s choice move from Mobilized to Reserve section
Disloyal Conscripts of his Unit Box (1d6 halved, round up).