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From the publisher:

In July 1936, a failed coup d’état provoked a bloody civil war that would devastate Spain during nearly three years. The eyes of Europe turned towards a divided nation where not only armies fought, but also ideologies.

Crusade and Revolution is a wargame that uses the popular card-driven system to recreate the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) at strategic-operational level. Each player leads one side (Nationalist or Republican), and manages all the challenges that the actual combatants faced: mobilization, recruitment, movement and the combat of a nation at war with itself – and the political stage as well.

Crusade and Revolution (C&R) brings together the great hallmarks of our hobby—enjoyment, playability and historical simulation. It makes good use of the great virtues of the very popular card-driven system. Using this famous system and adapting it to the peculiarities of a conflict that has its own personality, Crusade and Revolution will seem both brand new and also familiar.

Each player has his own deck of 55 strategic cards, which are the heart of the game. Each card has four possible uses but the players must choose which use best fits their needs.

The possibilities are:

• Events: Each card shows a historical event that directly affected the course of the war. They can be political, military, economic or social events.
• Operations: Each card has an operations value that is used for activating units on the game map for movement, fortification or attack.
• Strategic Redeployment: Each card has a Strategic Redeployment value that is used for moving units great distances on the game map.
• Replacement Points: Each card has a value of Replacement Points that are collected and used for reconstructing damaged or destroyed units at the end of the turn.

The better the historical value of an event card, greater its number of Operations, Redeployment and Replacements. Players are faced with the constant battle of how to use their cards: use an interesting event, launch an offensive in a vulnerable zone, move units from one front to other, or accumulate replacements to recover from losses?

A complete C&R game is divided into three phases, which show the evolution of the Spanish Civil War from a small popular uprising to an international stage to determine what ideology will rein supreme.

The War of Columns phase begins with the outbreak of the war and finishes in February 1937. During this phase only small units are used. These small level armies fought from “columns” when forces numbered only a few thousand combatants a side. During this phase, maneuver and position will be the keys to winning.

The Great War phase lasts between March 1937 and February 1938. It is in this phase that the armies organized into major, army sized units and the full nation became inflamed with war. It is here that formal corps sized units are formed and players will fight from strength. There is still time to correct positional shortcomings form the earlier phase of the war but now it is through the use of force.

The final Decisive Phase begins in March 1938 and lasts until the end of the war in April 1939. During this phase, both sides fight to gain the final victory over their opponent and the forces of the larger European armies join in as the stakes become greater and greater. The fight is not only over the future of Spain but also will determine the future of Europe.

Both armies fought under different advantages and disadvantages – the player that forces his “style” of play on his opponent will find the route to victory far easier.

The Nationalist or the revolutionary side has to attack to win the war. Its forces are fewer units but they are qualitatively better. In addition, the Nationalist player must overcome geographic shortcomings and fight to stay positioned to win when his German and Italian allies can change the dynamic of the war. He must fight time as much as fight his enemy.

The Republican or loyalist side is in the stronger early position but with the weaker army. He must maintain a defensive posture but also to surprise his opponent by well timed counterattacks and strikes that will upset the fragile Nationalist position. The Republicans control the majority of the country and they can win by not losing. As the war progresses, he can look to the Soviet Union to help his cause and to balance out the Fascists.

Some of the historical events that the players will encounter playing Crusade and Revolution include:

• The Beginning of the War: Air bridge of the African Army, naval blockade of the Straits of Gibraltar, sieges of Nationalist enclaves, isolated zones, Nationalist lack of ammunition, Madrid as the rebels’ priority objective, Republican disembarkation in Mallorca and much more.
• The Foreign Intervention: International Brigades, Condor Legion, Corpo di Truppe Volontarie (CTV), Legionary Aviation, Italian, German and Soviet armor (CV-33, PZ-I y T-26), Italian submarines, opening and closing of the French border…
• The International and National Political Events: Changes of the Government of the Republic, Franco takes command, recognition by foreign powers, the Nyon Conference, the specter of French intervention, the Pact of Munich and much more.
• The Battle of Propaganda: White terror, red terror, intellectuals and artists in favor of the Republic, bombardment of Guernica, bishops’ collective letter, sinking of Nationalist battleships, Negrín’s 13 Points…
• The Internal Problems of the Republican Side: Reduction of the Republican Morale and its consequences, initial disorder, militias’ lack of coordination, the isolated and disunited Northern Front, communist interference, May Events in Barcelona, Pact of Santoña, famine, Casado’s Coup…
• The Military Operations: Nationalist Offensives (Northern Front, Aragón, Valencia, Catalonia…), Republican counterattacks (Brunete, Belchite, Teruel, Ebro…), fortified lines, bad weather, artillery concentration, air support, no step back!, disbanding, Winter turns…

For the first time, this epic struggle will be designed by Spaniards for a world wide audience. Using primary sources and first hand accounts, this struggle will be represented in a light that is impossible to anyone that isn’t Spanish and knows first hand what this conflict did to a country.

Crusade and Revolution Game Info:

• Game scale: Each space represents approximately 60 kilometers.
• Time scale: Two Months per turn (except for the very early phase of the war when turns are a month in length
• Units: From columns, regiments and brigades in the early stages of the war to great corps sized armies modeled in European style
• Scenarios: Three
• Playing time: From 4 hours to 12 hours to the full campaign game

For tons of information, images, and much more, CLICK HERE to visit the Boardgamegeek.com page for this game.