Cuba Libre 1

Castro’s
Insurgency
COIN Series, Volume II

T HIRD P RI NT I NG UP DAT E S
TO T H E

N ON- PLAYE R RUL E S

A N D N O N - PL AY E R E X A MP L E S

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308 • www.GMTGames.com
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
2 Cuba Libre

to open closed Casinos where possible.

8.0 NON-PLAYER FACTIONS • Place Police and Troops as evenly as possible, Police first.
This section modifies the above rules with priorities that govern
actions by any Factions beyond those represented by a player. The • Place Cash with own Underground Guerrillas before Active
Playbook features a 1-Player Example of Play illustrating these rules. (4.5.2).
In games with 4 players or 2 or 3 players and the No Non-Players • Target or remove enemy players’ before Non-players’ pieces,
Option (1.5), ignore this entire rules section! Bases (and Casinos) before other pieces, Police then Troops
NOTE: Non-player Factions do not act only in their own direct inter- evenly, and Underground before Active Guerrillas; otherwise
est. Like players, they sometimes help, sometimes hurt, one another. select randomly among enemy Factions. Remove pieces to be
replaced even if no pieces are available to replace them (1.4.1).
8.1 Non-Player Sequence of Play • Remove friendly Active before Underground Guerrillas, Troops
The Sequence of Play aid sheet summarizes the following rules in before Police. Transfer Cash about to be removed (4.5.2) to own
gray text. then another Non-player’s piece (Govt, then Syndicate, then DR,
then 26July), if possible. Voluntarily transfer nothing else.
• Event or Ops? Except as specified below and in any special Event
Instructions (8.4.1), a Non-player Faction when given the option • March so as to end up with as many Underground Guerrillas
(2.3.4) chooses the Event. as possible at the destination (3.3.2). Within that priority, move
Active first. Within those priorities for Guerrillas and in general
• 2nd Eligible. In some games, Non-players choose Operations for cubes, move Cash first if to non-EC, last if to EC.
and a Special Activity over Events when 2nd Eligible (2.3.2):
Syndicate and Government do so when the other of them is a MARCH EXAMPLE: A group of Non-player Guerrillas is to March
player; Directorio and 26July do so when the other of those two into an otherwise empty space with Support. If any Guerrillas were
is a player. Underground, only 3 of them would move, first those Underground
and without Cash.
• Momentum. When any Momentum Event (5.4, including shaded
“Raúl”) is in effect, Non-player Government chooses Operations PLAY NOTE: Players may transfer (1.5.1) to Non-player Factions
and a Special Activity. normally.
• Ineffective Events. Non-players only opt for Events that would
have an effect (something happens, including Capabilities, 5.3) 8.1.3 Reading the Flowcharts. The Second Edition Non-Player
and for Momentum Events (5.4) when the next card showing is flowcharts show priorities with circled numbers (e.g., , , , )
not Propaganda. and colored letters (e.g., , ) to indicate their order and nature:
• Operations Not Limited. Whenever a Non-player Faction is to • Numbered priorities (e.g., , ) are sequential priorities. Execute
execute a Limited Operation (2.3.5), it instead executes a normal the instructions in each sequential priority to the maximum extent
Operation and (typically) Special Activity. Ignore the Final Event before moving to the next sequential priority (8.3). Some top-level
Card restriction (2.3.9). sequential priorities (black circles; e.g., , ,) contain further
sequential priorities (white circles; e.g., , ) that are parts of
• Low Resources. When a Non-player Faction is to execute
and sequential steps to that top-level priority.
Operations but has too few Resources to pay for any in even a
single non-EC space, it Passes instead (earning Resources, 2.3.3). • Lettered priorities (e.g., , ) are nested priorities. Nested
If a Non-player Faction runs out of Resources while executing priorities act as tie breakers within the sequential priorities to
an Operation, it Operates in no further spaces that card (it may which they are ordained. Each nested priority further narrows the
execute a Special Activity). thus-far selected set of spaces or targets. For readability, nested
priorities have a shaded background.
• No Laundering. Non-player Factions may not receive Operations
from Cash (2.3.6). 8.2 Random Cities and Provinces
If several candidate spaces have equal priority for a Non-player
INEFFECTIVE EVENT EXAMPLE: Non-player 26July is 1st El-
Operation, Special Activity, or Event, select a City or Province using
igible for “Resistencia Cívica”. No Cities have Directorio pieces.
the Random Spaces table:
Because the text would have no effect, 26July executes Operations
and a Special Activity. • Roll the green and yellow dice and refer to the table: green shows
column, yellow row.
8.1.1 Operations, Special Activities, and Events. To execute a
• If the resulting space is not a candidate, follow the arrows until
Non-player Faction’s Operations and Special Activities or a specific
one is reached, if necessary from Oriente to Havana (or follow
Event, see the Non-Player flow charts and the relevant rules below.
the arrows on the Random Spaces Map).
GUIDELINES: Carry out whatever actions apply to the maximum • Carry out as much of the action as possible in the candidate
extent (such as with the most pieces allowed and only as long as reached, then roll again to select another, if needed.
needed pieces and Resources are available). Normal Resource costs,
requirements, and procedures still apply. NOTE: Players may agree to use an equal-chance die roll to choose
among a few spaces.
EXAMPLE: Non-Player Terror requires Activating an Underground
Guerrilla and costs 1 Resource per City or Province, per 3.3.4.
8.3 Random ECs
8.1.2 Procedure Guidelines. Unless otherwise specified, once If only ECs are candidates, roll on the Random EC table. Sabotage
spaces involved are selected, Non-player Factions: only unSabotaged ECs.
• Place friendly Bases whenever possible, including with Cash.
EXCEPTIONS: Government places only 1 Base per Province,
none in Cities; Syndicate if final Propaganda Round uses Cash
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 Cuba Libre 3

8.4 Non-Player Events • If Syndicate Resources exceed 35, Construct in 2 spaces, otherwise
NOTE: Events will not always benefit the executing Non-player in only 1.
Faction directly. • If the next Propaganda card will be the final one (2.4.1), open
closed Casinos, where Syndicate holds no Cash.
Halo • Then, or if the next Propaganda will not be final, place new closed
Casinos, first with other Casinos.
Then execute a Special Activity per 8.5.5.
IF NONE: If no Casinos or fewer than 5 Resources are available,
8.4.1 Event Instructions. Whenever any Non-player Faction is to instead execute Terror (8.5.4) or, if no Terror possible, Pass.
execute an Event and that Faction’s symbol on the card has a gray
halo, first check any special instructions for that Event at the bottom 8.5.4 Terror. If no other Operation’s conditions are met (8.5.1-.2),
of that Faction’s sheet. execute Terror (with Underground Guerrillas, 3.3.4):
8.4.2 Dual Use. Non-player Directorio and 26July executing a • First, if 26July is a player and at victory (7.2), in 1 space with
Dual-Use Event (5.2) use unshaded text, Non-player Syndicate Opposition.
and Government use shaded, unless otherwise specified in Event • Then, if Government is a player and at victory, in 1 space with
Instructions (8.4.1). Support.
• If neither applies, in 1 City or Province with either Opposition or
8.4.3 Placement. Place, remove, or relocate as many pieces (per
Support (not Neutral or EC).
8.1.2) as the Event, availability (1.4.1), and stacking (1.4.2) allow.
Then Bribe per 8.5.5.
8.4.4 Who and Where. Unless otherwise specified:
• When there is a choice of who gets Event benefits (such as placing IF NONE: If there are no Underground Syndicate Guerrillas on the
pieces or free Operations), select the executing Faction, then map, instead Construct (8.5.3) or, if that not possible, Pass.
another random Non-player Faction. 8.5.5 Special Activities. If Non-player Syndicate executed Rally,
• For free Operations or Special Activities, use that Faction’s March, or Construct, next execute Profit if possible per the follow-
priorities (8.5-8.8). ing, otherwise Muscle or, if that not possible, Bribe. If it executed
• Select Event spaces to ensure that as many Bases and then other Terror, Bribe.
pieces as possible are placed, removed, or replaced, then for the PROFIT: Place up to 2 Cash markers with Syndicate
greatest change in Total Support and Opposition. Guerrillas at open Casinos (4.5.1):
• Otherwise, select spaces randomly (8.2-.3). • First, where Syndicate holds no Cash.
• Once no such space, then where no other Faction has pieces.
8.5 Non-Player Syndicate Actions • Once no such, then in random spaces.
NOTE: It is not necessary to master the rules below for
specific Factions because they are summarized on the Non-player If no Cash available or no Syndicate Guerrilla is at an open Casino,
foldout. instead Muscle as follows.
8.5.1 Rally. If Syndicate could Rally to add a Guerrilla to a space MUSCLE: Move 2 cubes (Troops if to Province, Police if to City,
with a Casino (open or closed) but no Syndicate Guerrillas, Rally: 4.5.3) to a space with an open Casino and 26July Control or, if none,
• First place 1 Guerrilla in each space with any Casinos and no DR Control. Take the cubes from a space with the most cubes. If
Syndicate Guerrillas. there is no such Casino space, instead Bribe as follows.
• Then, in any spaces with an open Casino, a cube, and where all BRIBE: If it is possible to remove an enemy’s pieces to transfer Cash
Syndicate Guerrillas are Active, flip the Guerrillas Underground. to the Syndicate, pay –3 Syndicate Resources to do so, selecting
Then execute a Special Activity per 8.5.5. the space and then targeting randomly if several candidates. If not,
remove 26July then DR piece(s) (Base first, 8.1.2) from a space with
8.5.2 March. If Rally conditions (8.5.1) are not met and the priorities an open Casino. If there are none, instead remove 26July then DR
below would result in a March to an EC or with Cash, instead March: piece(s) from a space with any Syndicate piece (EC last, 8.2-.3).
• First, with 1 Syndicate Guerrilla each to all ECs that can be If the “Mafia Offensive” Capability is in effect (5.3), if possible
reached and are empty of pieces, first from spaces with the most Assassinate in a Terror space (per 8.1.2) instead of Bribing, using
Syndicate Guerrillas, then from where no open Casino, then the same priorities. If none of that is possible or if the Syndicate has
selected randomly. too few Resources, execute no Special Activity.
• Then, if the next Propaganda card will be final (2.4.1), with any
Guerrillas holding Cash in spaces with no closed Casinos to any
8.6 Non-Player Directorio Actions
8.6.1 Terror. If Directorio could execute Terror in a space
closed Casinos that they can reach.
at either Active Support or Active Opposition or Assassinate to re-
Then execute a Special Activity per 8.5.5. move a Government Base, Terror in these spaces (with Underground
Directorio Guerrillas per 3.3.4):
8.5.3 Construct. If neither Rally (8.5.1) nor March (8.5.2) conditions
are met and the number of Available plus Closed Casinos exceeds • First, where Active Support.
Cash markers out on the map, or if a Terror Operation was selected • Then, where Active Opposition.
but none of its instructions could be executed, instead Construct • Finally, at 1 (other) Assassination target, first a Government Base,
(where Govt or Syndicate Control): then any player’s Base, then any other target.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
4 Cuba Libre

ASSASSINATE: Then Assassinate in a space where Terror occurred total, selecting first those spaces with the most DR Guerrillas.
and Directorio Guerrillas outnumber Police (4.4.2). Select the space • Among spaces above with the same number of DR Guerrillas and,
and target to remove or close a Base if possible, then to take Cash, once the spaces are selected, within each space, target enemies
then some other piece. Within that, first target the Government so as to take any Cash (target Non-players only if they could not
(Police before Troops, 8.1.2), then any player, then any Non-player. transfer the Cash to another Non-player per 8.1.2), then to remove
• If there is no such space or no suitable target, execute no Special pieces belonging to any player at victory (7.2), then Government,
Activity. then Syndicate, lastly 26July (per 8.1.2).

8.6.2 Rally. If Terror conditions are not met and Directorio has at AMBUSH: Ambush (per 4.4.1, with an Underground Directorio
least 6 Guerrillas available or would place a Base with Rally, Rally Guerrilla) in the first Attack space selected above (against the
in these (Neutral or Passive) Provinces or Cities (3.3.1): Attack target).
• First, in any with Directorio Guerrillas all of which are Active, a • If none has an Underground DR Guerrilla, Directorio executes
Directorio Base, and any cubes, flip the Guerrillas Underground. no Special Activity.
• Then, in others with at least 3 Directorio Guerrillas and room for IF NONE: If no such Attack can target appropriate pieces, March
a DR Base (1.4.2), replace 2 Guerrillas with a Base. instead (8.6.3) or, if no such March possible, Pass.
• Then place Guerrillas in any others with Directorio Bases (Pop-
ulation plus Bases, 3.3.1), then with other DR Guerrillas, and 8.6.5 Caracas. If the “Pact of Caracas” Capability is in effect (5.3),
finally in 1 other (random) City or Province. 26July is a player and meeting its victory condition (7.2), and DR
has at least 2 Bases while executing an Operation or Event, remove
SUBVERT: Then Subvert (in a Province with DR Control, 4.4.1). 2 DR Bases from random space(s) to cancel “Caracas” (1.4.1).
• If 26July is at victory (7.2), in a Province to remove the most
Opposition possible. 8.7 Non-Player 26July Actions
• If not, to remove the most Support possible. 8.7.1 Terror. If 26July could execute any Terror that enables
Kidnap, Sabotage, or a shift in Support/Opposition, do so (with
• If neither possible, in the highest Population Province, first in a
Underground 26July Guerrillas, 3.3.4):
Neutral Province.
• If no Provinces are DR-Controlled, Directorio executes no Special • First, in 1 space where Kidnap against a Faction with Cash or more than
Activity. 0 Resources would be possible (where 26July Guerrillas outnumber
Police, 4.3.3)—first an EC, then a City, then at an open Casino.
IF NONE: If Rally is not possible (all Population is at Active Support • Then at all other unSabotaged ECs.
or Opposition), March. • Then in each City and Province that is at Support or Neutral.
EXPAT BACKING: During the Support Phase, free Rally (6.3.4) to • Then, if “Pact of Caracas” is not in effect (5.3), in each other space
place Guerrillas to gain DR Control of the most Population possible, at Passive Opposition.
a Base if none, or Guerrillas at random if not possible.
KIDNAP: Then Kidnap (4.3.3) in a space selected for Terror:
8.6.3 March. If neither Terror nor Rally conditions (8.6.1-.2) are • Take Cash if possible.
met and there is no space with DR Guerrillas where removing 1 or 2
• Otherwise, target a Faction with more than zero Resources,
enemy pieces would add DR Control, or a Rally or Attack Operation
Government if possible, then Syndicate.
was selected but none of its instructions could be executed, March
as follows without removing DR Control or the last DR Guerrilla • If the “Raúl” Capability (5.3) is in effect, reroll a Kidnap roll of
from any origin space (and per 8.1.2): “1” or “2” (only).
• If Terror spaces have no Kidnap targets, 26July executes no Spe-
• First, with just as many DR Guerrillas as needed to add DR
cial Activity.
Control to the highest Population City or Province possible, first
from spaces with the most DR Guerrillas. IF NONE: If the only Terror shift would be at Passive Opposition
• Then, from 1 space with most DR Guerrillas who could move but without “Caracas”, Rally.
have yet to do so, to a space closer to Havana (including Havana). 8.7.2 Rally. If no such effective Terror possible (8.7.1) and 26July
• If the “Morgan” Capability is in effect (5.3), March from within has at least 6 Guerrillas available or could Rally to place a Base, or
2 spaces. a Terror Operation was selected but none of its instructions could
Then Subvert per 8.6.2. be executed, Rally in Provinces and Cities (without Support, 3.3.1):
• First, in any with 26July Guerrillas all of which are Active, a
IF NONE: If such March possible, Attack. 26July Base, and any cubes, flip the Guerrillas Underground.
8.6.4 Attack. If neither Terror nor Rally conditions (8.6.1-2) are met • Then, wherever at least 3 26July Guerrillas and room for a 26July
and DR Guerrillas could Attack to remove 1 or 2 enemy pieces from Base (1.4.2), replace 2 Guerrillas with a Base.
a space to add DR Control (NOTE: DR could not Attack 26July if • Then place Guerrillas wherever 26July Bases, then with other
“Pact of Caracas” in effect), or a March Operation was selected 26July Guerrillas, and finally in 1 (random) City or Province.
but none of its instructions could be executed, instead Attack in up
• If “The Guerrilla Life” in effect (5.3), combine flipping and
to 3 spaces (with an enemy, 3.3.3):
placement wherever possible.
• Attack in just 1 space where at least 1 Underground Directorio
Guerrilla (if able), selecting first those spaces with the fewest DR INFILTRATE: Then Infiltrate (a space with a cube, without Support,
Guerrillas total. and with or adjacent to an Underground 26July Guerrilla, 4.3.1).
• Then Attack in additional spaces with at least 4 DR Guerrillas • At an EC, if possible.
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 Cuba Libre 5

• Within that or if not possible, to take Cash, if possible.

• Within that, to remove the last Police cube from a space, if 8.8 Non-Player Government Actions
possible. 8.8.1 Momentum. If any of the following Momentum
• Within that, in a random space. Events are in effect (5.4), a Non-player Government first follows
• If there is no space to Infiltrate, 26July executes no Special Activity. these priorities:
• Armored Cars. Always Assault if it would be possible to remove
IF NONE: If Rally is not possible (all Cities and Provinces have
a 26July Base or any 4 or more Guerrillas, moving Troops by
Support), instead March.
Sweep priorities, disregarding adjacency.
8.7.3 March. If neither Terror nor Rally conditions (8.7.1-.2) are • Sánchez Mosquera. Always Assault if it would be possible to
met and no space has 4 or more 26July Guerrillas and a Government remove a 26July Base or any 4 or more Guerrillas from Mountain.
piece, or a Rally Operation was selected but none of its instructions • Rolando Masferrer. Unless already executing Assault, Sweep
could be executed, March, without removing the last 26July Guerrilla and free Assault if it would be possible to remove a 26July Base
from any space (or violating 8.1.2): or Activate 4 or more Guerrillas.
• First, to get 1 Underground 26July Guerrilla onto each EC possible • S.I.M. If Sweeping (8.8.4), instead of first doing so where cubes,
that has none. do so first where no cubes and, if into a space, take in half (rounded
• Then, into 1 Govt-Controlled space, first 1 with Support, with up) Police, half Troops.
Guerrillas from all adjacent Opposition spaces and ECs. • Guantánamo Bay. If a Government Operation just undertaken
• If the “El Che” Capability (5.3) is in effect, reverse the above could add an Air Strike to remove 2 pieces, do so.
order.
8.8.2 Train. If any space with a Government Base or any City lacks
• Then, from 1 space with the most 26July Guerrillas who could either Govt Control, Troops, or Police, Train in spaces costing up
move but have yet to do so, to a space closer to Havana City to 9 Resources:
(including into Havana).
• Until there are fewer than 4 cubes available, place 4 cubes (per
Then Infiltrate per 8.7.2. 8.1.2) in each City and Government Base space, first where there
IF NONE: If no such March possible, Attack. is no Govt Control, then where there are no Police, then where
there are no Troops.
8.7.4 Attack. If neither Terror nor Rally (8.7.1-.2) conditions are met • Then, in 1 Province that has at least 2 cubes, no Government Base,
and there is a space with at least 4 26July Guerrillas and a cube, or and room to place one, replace 2 Troops then Police with a Base.
a March Operation was selected but none of its instructions could
• Finally, if no Base was placed, buy Civic Action in a Training space
be executed, Attack (with 26July Guerrillas in spaces with enemy
where a Civic Action shift is possible (6.3.2) for the greatest shift
pieces, 3.3.3).
possible, without dropping Government Resources below 9.
• First in 1 City or Province with an Underground 26July Guerrilla
(that is, where 26July could then Ambush). NOTE: Non-player Government will Train, Sweep, or Assault up to
• Then wherever 4 or more 26July Guerrillas. 4 spaces at a time when the US Alliance is Firm (6.3.1), 3 spaces
when Reluctant, a2 spaces when Embargoed.
• For all Attack spaces above, select first a space where and an
enemy which 26July could take Cash, if possible; if not, to Attack TRANSPORT: Then Transport up to 3 Troops from a City with
Government pieces; if no Government targets, to remove Control Govt Control and the most Troops beyond those needed for Con-
of the space from a player (not Non-player) Faction, if possible; trol. Transport them to a Province that has Police but no Troops; if
if not, randomly. none, to a space that has more Active Guerrillas than Troops; or,
• If the “Raúl” Capability (5.3) is in effect, reroll all failed Attacks if no such space, to a City or Province where another Faction has
(only). Control and would lose it with the arrival of the Troops; finally, to
add Government Control where no Faction has Control.
AMBUSH: Ambush (per 4.3.2, with an Underground 26July Guer- • If not possible, execute no Special Activity.
rilla as part of the Attack) in the first Attack space selected above.
• If none has an Underground 26July Guerrilla, execute no Special IF NONE: If no such Train possible, Garrison.
Activity. 8.8.3 Garrison. If the total of 26July and DR Guerrillas at an EC ei-
IF NONE: If no such Attack can target Cash or Government pieces, ther include Underground or exceed cubes there, or a Train Operation
Pass. was selected but none of its instructions could be executed, Garrison.
Move Police then Troops to equal Guerrillas at all ECs, then to add
8.7.5 Agitate. Non-player 26July Agitates (6.3.3) to the maximum Govt Control or a Police or Troop to any Cities without. Take each
extent possible. If 26July has too few Resources to Agitate every- cube from a space with the most of that type, without removing
where, it Agitates first where highest Population, then where Support, the last Police from any. Assault to remove the most 26July pieces.
then where fewest Terror markers, then randomly. Remove Terror
only if a shift would be achieved. AIR STRIKE: Then Air Strike, if possible to remove a Base or close
a Casino from a player who is at victory (7.2; if there is more than
8.7.6 Caracas. If the “Pact of Caracas” Capability is in effect (5.3), one such player, choose one at random); then to remove a 26July
the DR is a player and meeting its victory condition (7.2), and 26July Base, then a DR Base (even if those Factions are neither players
has at least 2 Bases while executing an Operation or Event, remove nor at victory); then remove a Guerrilla from a space with at least 1
2 26July Bases from random space(s) to cancel “Caracas” (1.4.1). cube, first from a player at victory, then 26July, then DR; and finally
remove a Faction’s last Guerrilla from a space, first from a player
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6 Cuba Libre

at victory, then 26July, then DR. Within all the above, strike targets with no Police. Take each Police from the space with the most
in Provinces before ECs. If Embargoed (6.3.1) or there is no such Police without losing any Control or removing the last Police
Air Strike target, instead execute Reprisal as follows. from anywhere.
REPRISAL: Execute Reprisal to move a Guerrilla where needed • Troops to distribute them as evenly as possible without losing any
and able to expose to accompanying Assault the Base of any player Govt Control.
who is at victory (7.2), then of 26July, then of the DR (only, without
preventing any adjacent Base from suffering Assault). Otherwise ex- 8.9 1-Player Victory
ecute Reprisal to shift the highest Population space with Opposition The player in a 1-player game (26July or Government) never wins
able (and move a Guerrilla from there, 4.2.3). Among Guerrillas, during Propaganda Rounds (7.2). To succeed, the player must avoid
choose Underground first, to a Neutral or Opposition space if pos- any Non-player win and have the highest victory margin (7.3) after
sible. If no such target space, instead Transport per 8.8.2. the final Round. If not, the Non-player with the highest margin (ties
to Syndicate, then Directorio, then 26July) wins Cuba:
IF NONE: If no such Garrison possible, Sweep. • If Syndicate—Viva Lansky! The Revolution is flickering out, as
8.8.4 Sweep. If Garrison conditions (8.8.3) are not met and no 26July is any semblance of Cuban sovereignty. Mob establishments span
or DR Base nor a total of 3 or more Guerrillas would be removed by the island. US law enforcement interest is intense, but the Cuban
Assault (alone), or a Garrison Operation was selected but none of its dictatorship, US-owned businesses, and organized crime are
instructions could be executed, Sweep spaces for up to 9 Resources: increasingly intertwined and their ability to defend their gangster
paradise interlocking.
• Select Sweep spaces to Activate Underground 26July or DR
Guerrillas, first at Support, then in Havana City, then where there • If Directorio—Student Revolution! People flock to the DR
are already cubes, then elsewhere. banner, draining the Army and the 26July of fighters. Supporters
of the old regime flee, the Castros are hunted down as suspected
• Also move in up to the Troops needed to Activate all Guerrillas Soviet agents, and the United States recognizes the new
able and (if not already Govt Controlled) take Control, but without revolutionary government as representative of Cubans.
losing Govt Control of any origin spaces.
• If Non-Player 26July—Castro Triumph! Collecting the disparate
• Activate all Guerrillas able in the above Sweep spaces, starting anti-regime forces around him, Fidel drives the old regime from
with those of any players at victory (7.2), then 26July, then DR, the island, then turns on and hunts down any and all competing
then Syndicate. rebels. A very different Cuban dictatorship is at hand.
Then execute a Special Activity per 8.8.3 (Air Strike, Reprisal, or • If Non-Player Government—Rearguard Ascent! The Revolution
Transport). has failed. The population loses hope in the hapless rebels and
IF NONE: If no such Sweep possible, Assault. helps the Army and Police hunt them down. The Mob stays in
Cuba but learns its place. The Castros return to prison—there will
8.8.5 Assault. If Train and Garrison conditions (8.8.2-.3) are not be no conciliatory release this time.
met and Assault with a Special Activity would add Govt Control
or remove a 26July or Directorio Base or at least 3 Guerrillas, or a PLAYER VICTORY: If the player does survive to the final Round
Sweep Operation was selected but none of its instructions could be with the highest victory margin, subtract the highest Non-player
executed, select spaces costing up to 9 Resources to Assault: margin from the player’s to find the degree of success:
• First execute a Special Activity per 8.8.3 (Air Strike, Reprisal, or • 1 to 4—Stalemate! The battle for the island will be all out.
Transport). A prolonged Cuban Civil War is drawing increasing US
consideration of military intervention.
• Then, if and only if the Syndicate is a player and meeting its
• 5 or more, Player as Government—Model Counterinsurgency!
victory conditions (7.2), Assault to close all Casinos able.
Against the odds, the Cuban dictatorship has shown how to
• Finally, Assault in spaces to remove the most 26July or DR Bases fight insurrection and foreign infiltration. Other Latin American
able, then to take any Cash possible, then to remove the most regimes study the success.
Guerrillas possible. Within these priorities, select spaces first to
• 5 or more, Player as 26July—Model Rebellion! The Castro-Gue-
target 26July then DR then Syndicate.
vara insurgent strategy has succeeded in Cuba’s divided society.
IF NONE: If neither any such Assault nor Special Activity is pos- Leftists look to Cuba as mid-wife to revolution in Latin America
sible, Pass. (If Government executed a Special Activity but cannot and beyond.
Assault per above, pay for Assault in one space without removing
pieces, to enable the Special Activity per 4.1.). EXAMPLE: A solo 26July player avoids Non-player victory over 4
Propaganda Rounds. At game end, with 6 DR-Controlled Population
8.8.6 Propaganda Civic Action. During the Support Phase, buy and 2 Directorio Bases on the map, DR has a –1 victory margin—the
all Civic Action (6.3.2) for the greatest shift in Opposition and highest of the Non-players. Total Opposition is 12 and 26July has
Support possible without dropping Government Resources below 4 Bases out, so the player’s victory margin is +1: 2 above DR’s for
9. EXCEPTION: In the final Propaganda Round (2.4.1), do so even a “Stalemate”.
if Resources drop below 9.
8.8.7 Redeploy. Redeploy (6.4) only:
• Police to ECs to equal 26July Guerrillas there; then to Provinces
where Troops are about to Redeploy out, up to the number of
Police needed to keep Control (including after Reset opens any
closed Casinos); then 1 each to Cities and Government Bases

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 Cuba Libre 7

randomly (8.2). Since there are only 2 spaces to choose between,

1-PLAYER EXAMPLE OF PLAY the player makes an equal-chance die roll: 1-3 Camagüey Province,
By Örjan Ariander 4-6 Oriente. (The player could have used the Random Spaces table
Once you have gone over the tutorial starting on page 2, try out this instead; that would have taken slightly longer.) The roll is a “5”, so
step-by-step run through of part of a solitaire game: it will help you the Non-player Directorio places a Guerrilla and a Base in Oriente.
learn how the Non-player Factions work for 2- or 3-player games as This gives it Control of Oriente, so its Victory Marker (DR Popula-
well. Follow along, referring to the illustrations, or set up the game tion + Bases) is moved to 4 (3 Population, 1 Base).
board and conduct the moves described. You can fish out each card The Government Non-player Faction is 2nd Eligible. Because the 1st
as it is named, or preset the deck with the card order provided be- Eligible Faction (DR) executed the Event, the Government as 2nd
low. A numbered paragraph begins each new card played. Italicized Eligible may only execute Ops and, if possible, a Special Activity.
shaded text adds comment. The player consults the Non-Player Government aid (8.8). The first
question on the flowchart is whether any City or Government Base
Preparing the Deck for This Example lacks Govt Control or Troops or Police. There are no Government
If you want to set up the game to follow along with this example, Bases on the map and all Cities are under Govt Control and have both
prepare the deck as follows: Troops and Police, so the answer is “No”. The next question asks if
26July Guerrillas at the ECs are either Underground or exceed the
Stack the following cards face down, in order from top to
cubes there (allowing them to Sabotage and/or Kidnap), but there
bottom.
are no 26July Guerrillas at any ECs so again the answer is “No”.
• Escapade The third question asks if an Assault would add Govt Control or
• Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo remove a Base or 3+ Guerrillas. The Government can only Assault
• Anastasia Active Guerrillas and Bases with no Underground Guerrillas to
• Ambassador Smith protect them. However, there are no Active Guerrillas on the map,
• Sierra Maestra Manifesto and the only unprotected Base in a space with Government cubes
• Larrazábal is the Casino in Havana; and although the Non-player Government
• Propaganda! could Assault that Casino, the flowchart shows that it will only
• Pact of Caracas deliberately target Casinos if the Syndicate is a player currently
• Sánchez Mosquera meeting its victory conditions (7.2). Since the Syndicate here is a
• MAP Non-player, the Assault would not remove any Base, so the answer
• Operation Fisherman is yet again “No”. Following the “No” arrow from the last question
• Batista Flees shows that the Government will Sweep.
• Santo Trafficante, Jr
Non-player Government Ops are limited to a maximum of 9 Resourc-
• Coup
es (8.8.2, 8.8.4, 8.8.5), and the cost of an Op depends on the level
• El Che
of the US Alliance (6.3.1). At the start of the game the US Alliance
• Vilma Espín
is still Firm so each space costs 2 Resources; the Government can
• Propaganda!
therefore Sweep up to 4 spaces for a total cost of 8 Resources before
Divide the remaining Event cards into 3 roughly equal piles and reaching the 9-Resource limit.
shuffle a Propaganda card into 2 of the piles. Stack the 3 piles
Per the Sweep priorities box on the Non-Player Government aid
face down under the above cards, with the Propaganda cards
(8.8.4), the Non-player Government Sweeps to Activate Under-
in the bottom 2 piles.
ground 26July or DR Guerrillas. Within that priority it will Sweep
In CUBA LIBRE, the solo player can play either the Batista regime first at Support, then in Havana City, then where it already has cubes,
trying to stay in power or the 26July revolutionaries attempting to then elsewhere. There are two spaces at Support with Underground
topple it while keeping the Mafia and rival Directorio at bay, or one 26July or DR Guerrillas: Havana City and La Habana Province.
of the other Factions. In either case, the Non-player rules (section Of these, Havana City takes priority so it becomes the first space
8) run the other 3 factions. This player decides to play 26July using selected. The player notes the selection with a white pawn at Ha-
no optional rules and sets up the board and deck. vana (3.3.1)

1) The player flips the first card to be played and reveals the next:
they are Escapade followed by Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo. The Direc-
torio is 1st Eligible for Escapade. Rule 8.1 states that a 1st Eligible
Non-player Faction will play the Event unless it has no effect or
the special Event Instructions (8.4.1) say otherwise. If the event is
Dual-Use (5.2), the Directorio will use the unshaded text (8.4.2),
again unless the special Event Instructions say otherwise. (The
Government and Syndicate Non-player Factions would both use the
shaded text instead.) The Directorio has no special Event Instruc-
tions, so it will play the unshaded version of the Event.
Escapade places a DR Guerrilla and Base in either Camagüey Prov-
ince or Oriente. Spaces for Events are selected to ensure that as many
Bases then other pieces as possible are placed (8.4.4, 3rd bullet), but Government sweeps within the contested cities and into La Habana
there is room for a Base in either Province, so the choice is made and Camagüey Provinces, supported by an air strike in La Habana.

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8 Cuba Libre

It would take 1 Troop to Activate the single Guerrilla in La Habana The Government has quickly gotten about the business of hunting
Province, and 3 Troops to establish Govt Control there, so in order down hidden guerrilla cells.
for La Habana Province to be eligible for a Sweep the Government
must be able to move in at least 1 Troop cube there. There are 6 2) Now Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo is played, and the next card is
Troop cubes in adjacent Havana City, all of which could leave revealed to be Anastasia. The Syndicate is 1st Eligible, and there
without losing Govt Control there (2nd priority bullet in the Sweep is a halo around the Syndicate symbol on the card, indicating that
box), so the Government selects La Habana Province as the second there is a special Event Instruction (8.4.1). The instruction says that
Sweep space (placing a pawn there to help remember) and moves Non-player Syndicate will play this Event if it has any Syndicate
3 Troop cubes there from Havana City. Guerrilla available, which it does, so it plays the Event. Rolling on
the Random Spaces table (8.2): the green die rolls a “3”, the yellow
The next Sweep priority after Support spaces is Havana City, re- a “4”: Matanzas. There is no DR Guerrilla in Matanzas, so the player
gardless of its Support or Opposition level, but it has already been follows the arrows to Camagüey Province where the DR Guerrilla
selected. The next Sweep priority is elsewhere where cubes. There is replaced with a Syndicate Guerrilla.
is one more space with both an Underground 26July Guerrilla and
cubes: Santiago de Cuba, which is duly selected and marked as the Note that, in this case, the Non-player Syndicate would have done
third Sweep space. exactly the same without the Event Instruction: the 1st bullet of 8.4.4
ensures that Non-player Factions will only select themselves or other
There is still one Sweep space to select, the fourth. There are Under- Non-player Factions to benefit from Events that place pieces. With
ground 26July and DR Guerrillas adjacent to spaces with Troops in 26July played by the player, the only non-Directorio Non-player
Camagüey Province and Sierra Maestra. (The 2 Troops in Santiago Guerrillas the Syndicate could place are its own. (This particular
de Cuba are available to Sweep into Sierra Maestra because the 2 Event Instruction is needed for Government solitaire games.)
Police also present there are sufficient to both Sweep the single
26July Guerrilla and maintain Govt Control if the Troops leave.) Only the 26July remains Eligible; it can do Ops with a Special
An equal-chance die roll selects Camagüey Province as the fourth Activity. The player chooses to Rally in Sierra Maestra (placing 4
Sweep space. This is a Forest Province, so it will take 2 Troop cubes Guerrillas), Las Villas, Santiago de Cuba, and Matanzas (1 Guerrilla
to Activate the single Guerrilla there (3.2.3). Those Troops could in each). This costs 4 Resources, one per space, so 26July Resources
either both come from Las Villas, or one each from Las Villas and drop from 10 to 6. The only 26July Special Activity possible with
Camagüey City. Another equal-chance roll selects Las Villas as the a Rally Op is Infiltrate, so the player Infiltrates one of the Police
first and thus sole origin space and moves two of the cubes there to cubes in Santiago de Cuba and replaces it with a 26July Guerrilla.
Camagüey Province. Finally, space Control is adjusted: the Govt Control markers in Las
Villas and Santiago de Cuba are removed, and a 26July Control
With all Sweep spaces selected and all necessary Troop movements marker is placed in Matanzas.
executed, the Sweep Activates all Guerrillas in the four spaces and
Govt Control markers are placed in La Habana and Camagüey Prov-
inces (removing the DR Control marker in Camagüey Province).
Government Resources drop from 15 to 7, and the DR Population
+ Bases marker moves from 4 to 3.
After the Sweep Operation is finished, the flowchart’s “then” arrow
takes us to the Air Strike box for the Non-player Government’s
Special Activity. The first priority is to remove rebel Bases, or if the
Syndicate is a player meeting its victory conditions, close a Casino;
but the Syndicate is a Non-player and well below its victory con-
ditions so the Government’s pilots ignore it, and both rebel Bases
on the map are protected by Guerrillas. Next priority is to remove
a 26July Guerrilla in a space with cubes, and there is one in La
Habana Province; it is promptly struck and removed from the map
and placed in the 26July Available box. The player also removes
the pawns that marked the Sweep spaces.

The gray halo tells the player to

check the special instructions
(8.4.1) on this Non-player’s aid The Syndicate exploits the DR’s internal divisions in Camagüey Prov-
sheet before the Non-player ince, while M26 infiltrates the Santiago police force.
Faction executes the Event.
3) The next played card is Anastasia, and after that comes Ambassa-
dor Smith. The DR is 1st Eligible, but the Event Instructions make
it ignore this event. Looking at the Non-player Directorio flowchart,
the first question is if DR can do Terror in an Active (Support or
Opposition) space or Assassinate a Government Base. Neither of
these are possible: there are no Government Bases on the map, and
the only DR Guerrillas in an Active Support or Opposition space
(Havana City) were Activated by the Government’s Sweep on the
first card, so they can’t do Terror.
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 Cuba Libre 9

Looking at the next question: DR has 6+ Guerrillas available, so it ber of pieces needed to maintain Govt Control (to use the formulation
will Rally per the following priorities: on the flowchart, they are “above Control”). An equal- chance roll
• First, flipping Active DR Guerrillas Underground in spaces with selects Santiago. The first “To” priority is a Province with Police but
cubes and a DR Base and all DR Guerrillas there Active. That is no Troops (there is none), then a space with more Active Guerrillas
nowhere: the only Active DR Guerrillas are in Havana City which than Troops (also none), and then any space where the Transported
has no DR Base. Troops would remove another Faction’s Control. Pinar del Río and
Matanzas meet that condition: a random roll selects Pinar del Río.
• Next, placing Bases wherever there are 3+ DR Guerrillas and Three Troop cubes move the entire length of the island from Santiago
room. That too is nowhere. to Pinar, replacing the Syndicate Control there with Govt Control.
• Finally, placing DR Guerrillas first at DR Bases (adds 3 Guerrillas
at the Base in Oriente), then with DR Guerrillas (Havana City,
but it is at Active Support so no DR Rally is possible there), and
finally 1 random space. This time there are many possible spaces,
so the player rolls on the Random Space table (8.2): a “2” and a
“5” gives Las Villas, so 1 DR Guerrilla is placed there. Finally
DR Resources go 5 to 3.
The DR Special Activity that goes with Rally is to Subvert. Since
26July is not at Victory (1st bullet in the Subvert box), meaning
that the 26July Victory marker is not at 16 or higher (the 26July
Vic- tory condition, 7.1), DR would Subvert a Province at Support The Government transports newly trained troops from one end of
if it Controlled any (2nd bullet). Failing that, it would Subvert the the island to the other.
highest Population it can, a Neutral Province if possible (3rd bullet).
The only Province it Controls is Oriente, which is at Passive Op- 4) Ambassador Smith is played; the Sierra Maestra Manifesto is
position. DR therefore Subverts Oriente, gaining 2 Resources (DR next. The Syndicate is 1st Eligible and plays the Event. US Alliance
Resources go up to 5 again) and removing the Opposition marker is already Firm and can’t go any higher, but Aid and Syndicate
in Oriente. Oriente has 2 Population, so the 26July Victory marker Resources both increase from 15 to 24.
is moved down from 7 to 5.
The Syndicate has helped itself but also its Non-player friend the
The Government is 2nd Eligible, and it too has an Event Instruction Government.
telling it to ignore the Anastasia Event. If it had been a player Faction
it would have been restricted to playing the Event or a LimOp, but 26July is now 2nd Eligible. The player chooses to Rally again, this
Non-player Factions get to do normal Operations and (usually) a time placing Bases in Sierra Maestra and Santiago (removing 2
Special Activity instead of LimOps! (See 8.1, 5th bullet.) This time Guerrillas from each space) and placing a second Guerrilla in Las
there is a City that lacks Govt Control (Santiago de Cuba), so the Villas. The player then Infiltrates the last Troop cube from Las Vil-
Government will Train for up to 9 Resources (but it only has 7 left, las, placing a third Guerrilla there and taking Control of the space.
limiting it to Training in at most 3 spaces): The new Bases increase the Opposition + Bases count from 5 to 7.
The Operations cost 3 Resources, reducing the 26July Resources
• First, while it has 4+ cubes available, at Cities or Govt Bases with from 6 to 3.
no Govt Control, then at those with no Police, then those with no
Troops. Santiago de Cuba has no Govt Control, so the Government 5) The next card up is the Sierra Maestra Manifesto (revealing
Trains there to place 4 cubes (2 Police and 2 Troops, as per 8.1.2 Larrazábal). DR plays the Event (but remains Eligible according
1st bullet). The other two Cities still have all of Govt Control, to the Event text). In the card’s Faction order, each Faction places
Police, and Troops, though, and there are no Government Bases 2 non-Casino pieces in a space where they already have pieces:
on the map; so the Government will not Train to place cubes in 26July is first out. The player only has one Base available, and places
any further spaces even though it still has 4+ cubes available. it along with a Guerrilla in Las Villas. (This is a bit risky since the
• Then to build a Base in a Province with 2+ cubes, no Government DR Guerrilla there might attempt to Assassinate the Base if the DR
Base, and room for one. Government has 3 Troop cubes in La turns to Terror, but until then it gives the 26July a very strong forward
Habana Province and 2 in Camagüey Province. An equal-chance base.) Since a Base was placed, Opposition + Bases increases to 8.
die roll selects Camagüey Province, so the 2 Troops there are
replaced with a Govt Base. The Govt Control marker is removed, Next in card Faction order is the Directorio. The 3rd bullet of 8.4.4 in
since the Base does not outnumber the Syndicate Guerrilla present the Non-player rules says that Non-player Factions select spaces for
in the space. Event execution first to place as many Bases as possible. Since DR
has three Bases available, it must try to place two of them if possible.
• Since a Base was built, no Civic Action would be allowed even Two of the three spaces with DR pieces already have a non-Casino
if the Government had had sufficient Resources for it. Base in them (Oriente and Las Villas), preventing stacking of 2 DR
These Ops cost a total of 4 Resources (2 per space), reducing Gov- Bases there. So the two DR Bases are placed in the other space,
ernment Resources from 7 to 3. Havana City, and the DR Pop + Bases score increases to 5.

The Government invests in an expanded military presence in the The Syndicate comes third. All of its Bases are Casinos, so it can
countryside. only place Guerrillas. Rolling on the Random Space table selects
Camagüey City, where there are no Syndicate pieces yet, so the
The “then” arrow from the Train box leads to the Transport Spe- cial player follows the arrows on the chart around to Havana City and
Activity. Havana and Santiago each have 3 Troops beyond the num- places two Syndicate Guerrillas there. There are now 7 Government

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10 Cuba Libre

Cubes (3 Troops, 4 Police), 4 DR pieces (2 Bases, 2 Guerrillas) and Resources. Government Resources go to 37, 26July to 5, DR to 8,
3 Syndicate pieces (1 Casino, 2 Guerrillas) in Havana City, so Govt and the Syndicate to 24. Almost all the Mob’s income was Skimmed!
Control of the City is removed. Per 8.1.2 1st bullet, the Syndicate then uses its Cash markers to place
new (open) Casinos in La Habana and Havana City.
The Government is last. It has a Base available and will attempt to
place it as per 8.4.4, but it is also guided by the first bullet of 8.1.2, Support. First the US Alliance is adjusted. Total Support is 16,
which says that Non-player Government only places 1 Base per which is “18 or less”, so the US Alliance goes down from “Firm”
Province and none in Cities. (After all, Cities are in effect indestruc- to “Reluctant” and Aid drops from 24 to 14.
tible Government Bases already!) The player therefore looks for
Provinces with cubes but no Government Base and finds two: Pinar Non-player Government then buys Civic Action per 8.8.6. It can
del Río and La Habana. An equal-chance roll selects La Habana, so afford to buy 7 Civic Actions without dropping below 9 Resources,
the new Government Base is placed there. The second Government but the other requirements—Control, Police, and Troops—are met
piece placed there is a Police cube per the second bullet of 8.1.2. only in La Habana Province (at Passive Support) and Camagüey
Province (Passive Opposition). The Government buys 4 Civic
The Event is over and the Government now does Ops. This time nei- Actions for 16 Resources and shifts both of these spaces to Active
ther Havana nor the Base in Camagüey Province has Govt Control, Support. Total Support increases to 19, Government Resources fall
so it will Train again. Its 3 remaining Resources are only sufficient to 21, and 26July’s Opposition + Bases drops to 7.
for one space. Since the two candidate spaces have equal priority
(both lack Govt Control), an equal-chance roll is used and selects 26July can Agitate in Matanzas, Las Villas, and Santiago, but shift-
Camagüey Province. Two Police and 2 Troop cubes are placed there, ing all of them to Active Opposition would spend all its Resources.
and Government Resources drop from 3 to 1. In addition, the player plans to do some Terror and Kidnapping in
Santiago (now that the Guerrillas there comfortably outnumber the
The Special Activity is Transport again. Havana City has 3 Troop Police), which will also cause shifts. 26July spends 3 Resources to
cubes but is Uncontrolled. Camagüey City and Santiago de Cuba shift Matanzas and Las Villas to Active Opposition, leaving Santiago
each have 1 Troop cube with enough Police cubes also present to de Cuba Neutral. 26July Resources go from 5 to 2, and Opposition
maintain Govt Control by themselves: each City has 1 Troop above + Bases to 12.
Control. An equal-chance die roll selects Camagüey as the “From”
City. Looking at the “To” priorities, there are no Provinces with Shifting Las Villas to Active Opposition would normally be a bad
Police and no Troops, nor any where Active Guerrillas exceed the idea since it would cause the DR Guerrilla there to Terrorize and As-
Troops present; but 26July Control of Matanzas could be broken sassinate the 26July Base, but the player sees Pact of Caracas ahead
by a single Troop cube. The Troop in Camagüey City is therefore and plans to use it to prevent such DR action against 26July’s interest.
Transported to Matanzas, and the 26July Control marker in Matanzas The only candidate space for the Directorio’s Expat Backing (6.3.4,
is removed. 8.6.2) is Oriente, as all other spaces are either at Active Support or
6) Larrazábal is played, and the next card will be the first Propagan- Active Opposition or Controlled by some other Faction. The free
da! 26July has no Bases available so can’t benefit from the Event, Rally places a Base in Oriente, removing 2 of the 4 DR Guerrillas
but the shaded text would both remove a 26July Base and hurt its there and moving the DR Population + Bases Victory marker from
Resources. The player decides to play Ops only, forcing the 2nd 5 to 6.
Eligible Syndicate to do Ops as well. 26July Rallies in Santiago de Redeploy. Per 6.4 and 8.8.7, Non-player Government must Redeploy
Cuba to place 4 Guerrillas, and in Matanzas to place 1 Guerrilla. Troops from all Provinces that lack a Government Base. One such
Santiago and Matanzas both fall under 26July Control, and 26July Province is Pinar del Río, with 3 Troop cubes. In order to keep Govt
Resources drop to 1. Control after the Reset, it needs to move in 3 Police cubes to replace
The Syndicate is 2nd Eligible, and finally gets to do its first Opera- the Troops. Per 8.8.7, it will take each Police from the space with the
tions! It has both Guerrillas available and Casinos without Guerrillas most Police at the time, without losing any Control or removing the
guarding them, so it Rallies a Guerrilla in each of Pinar del Río last Police from any space. Havana City has 4 Police, Santiago has
and La Habana Province for a total cost of 2 Resources (Syndicate 3, and the two Camagüeys have 2 each; so two of the three Police
Resources go from 24 to 22). There are no Active Syndicate Guer- going to Pinar del Río are taken from Havana City and the third
rillas that need to be flipped Underground. Following the flowchart, from Santiago. When the Police redeployments are all done, there
Syndicate then does a Profit Special Activity. All 3 Casino spaces are 3 Police in Pinar del Río, 2 each in Havana City, Santiago, and
have open Casinos, Syndicate Guerrillas and enemies, and none the Camagüeys, and 1 in La Habana Province.
of them have Cash yet, so they all have equal priority. The player The next step would be to Redeploy 1 Police to each City or Govt
decides to save time by using an equal-chance roll to determine the Base that doesn’t have any, but there is no such space.
space that will NOT get a Cash marker: the roll points to Pinar del
Río, so one Cash marker is placed with Syndicate Guerrillas in each Finally Troops all around the map are Redeployed as evenly as
of La Habana and Havana City. possible among Government-Controlled Govt Bases and Cities.
There are 3 Troops in Pinar del Río and 1 in Matanzas that have
7) Propaganda! (next is Pact of Caracas). The first Propaganda to relocate; and they need to be distributed as evenly as possible
Phase proceeds as follows: among La Habana Province (now with 3 Troops), Camagüey Prov-
Victory. No Faction has met its Victory Conditions. Even if the ince (2 Troops), and Camagüey City (none). Moving the Troop
26July had, the game would continue, since the player in a 1-player in Matanzas to Camagüey Province and the 3 Troops in Pinar del
game can only win at the end of the final Propaganda Phase (8.9). Río to Camagüey City leaves all three Govt-Controlled spaces
with 3 Troops each.

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 Cuba Libre 11

Government forces redeploy, seeking to maintain control of the whole island.

(Remember that 6.4 allows Redeployment of cubes FROM but not Looking at the Terror priorities, the first target space for the Terror
TO spaces that lack Govt Control!) is Havana City, since it is at Active Support (first bullet in the Terror
box); the second bullet cannot apply because the Pact of Caracas
Reset. All Factions are marked Eligible, all Active Guerrillas are Insurgent Capability bans DR Terror where there is Opposition. The
flipped Underground, and any closed Casinos would open. player then looks for Assassination targets as per the third bullet:
The Government and 26July have both made progress in the first a Govt Base (there’s none with any DR Guerrilla); then any
short Campaign. DR Bases in Havana have great potential but player’s Base (not possible due to the Pact—otherwise the 26July
are under regime threat. The Syndicate is lagging but has funds Base in Las Villas would be a prime target!); finally any other tar-
and new Casinos. get. There are open Casinos in Havana City, but there are too many
Police in the City.
8) Now the Pact of Caracas is up! This Event prevents 26July and
the Directorio from doing any Operations or Special Activities The DR therefore does Terror in Havana City only and no Special
that remove the other Faction’s pieces or reduces Opposition, but Activity: one DR Guerrilla is Activated, a Terror marker placed and
they can still harm one another via Events. It is possible to cancel the Support marker flipped to its Passive side (reducing Total Sup-
the Pact however, and Non-player Directorio will do so if player port from 19 to 13). The Terror costs the DR 1 Resource, leaving 7.
26July is too successful (8.6.5). The next card is also revealed:
Sánchez Mosquera.
26July plays the Event, and the corresponding chit is placed in the
Insurgent Capability box on the map. Per the Event, 26July will
stay Eligible.
The Directorio is 2nd Eligible, and since the Event was played, it
will do Ops. It has Underground Guerrillas in two spaces at Active
something (either Support or Opposition): two in Havana City (at
Active Support), and one in Las Villas (at Active Opposition). Due
to the Pact of Caracas, it can’t execute Terror in Las Villas, since
that would affect the Opposition marker there, but it can do so in
Havana. By the flowchart, the DR will therefore do a Terror Op with
Assassinate as the Special Activity. DR urban terror!

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12 Cuba Libre

9) Sánchez Mosquera is played, tive), and it can’t place a Base, so it places Guerrillas at its Bases.
and the next Event will be MAP. An equal-chance die roll selects Oriente first, so 4 Guerrillas are
The Government plays the Event; placed there; then the remaining 6 are placed in Havana City. The
being a Momentum Event, it has no Rally costs 2 Resources (down to 5), but DR then Subverts Oriente
immediate effect, but it will modify restoring its Resources to 7.
the Government’s Ops decisions
per 8.8.1 and also make it ignore The burgeoning urban guerrilla force gives DR Control of the capital
any further Events until the next and increases DR Population + Bases to 12—that’s a DR Victory if
Propaganda (8.1, 3rd bullet). The it can keep this Control until the next Propaganda, meaning defeat
card is placed off the northwest cor- for the M26 player as DR steals the Revolution!
ner of the gameboard as a reminder. 11) The next event is Operation Fisherman, to be followed by Ba-
The 26July can follow up with tista Flees. 26July is 1st Eligible, and the player decides to play the
Ops and Special Activity. Being Event to break into the Government-supportive western Provinces.
very low on Resources, the player Although no M26 pieces are available, a player Faction executing
decides to do a Terror plus Kidnap combination just in Santiago, Ops or Events may remove his own pieces from the map to available
where the Police have been infiltrated sufficiently to no longer stand (1.4.1, 2nd bullet; note that Non-player Factions do not do this).
in the way. The Terror Op flips a 26July Guerrilla, places a Terror The player removes the Base and one Guerrilla from Las Villas to
marker, and shifts the City to Passive Opposition (Opposition + the 26July Available box, and then plays the Event to place them in
Bases increases to 13). This costs 1 Resource (down to 1). A gen- Pinar del Río instead (removing the Govt Control).
erous Kidnap die roll of “5” then transfers 5 Resources from the The Government is up. Havana and Santiago both lack Govt Con-
Government (down to 16) to the 26July (up to 6). trol, so the Government will Train. A random roll selects Santiago
10) The Syndicate is 1st Eligible to play MAP, but the Event Instruc- as the first Train space, and 4 cubes (2 Troops, 2 Police) are placed
tions tell it to do Ops & Special Activity instead. There are already there: enough to regain Control. Only 1 cube remains available, so
Syndicate Guerrillas in all Casino spaces, so it won’t Rally. But it can no further Training is possible.
March to empty ECs: the Guerrilla in Camagüey Province Marches Training in 1 space costs 3 Resources, leaving 13, so Govt could buy
to the Factory EC, and a Guerrilla from either La Habana Province 1 Civic Action in Santiago before dropping below 9 Resources. But
or Pinar del Río will March to the Cigar EC (an equal-chance roll 1 Civic Action would only remove the Terror marker, not shift the
selects Pinar as the origin space for this move). Marching to ECs Opposition, so the Ops ends without any Civic Action (8.8.2). The
costs 0, so Syndicate Resources remain at 24. All the Cash markers Government then executes a Transport Special Activity. Camagüey
are available, so the Special Activity is Profit. As there is no Guer- City has the most Troops above Control, and the Pinar del Río
rilla left in Pinar del Río, that space is not a candidate, so the Profit has Police but no Troops, so the 3 Troop cubes in Camagüey City
activity places one Cash marker in each of Havana and La Habana. are Transported to Pinar del Río (incidentally also restoring Govt
The Directorio is 2nd Eligible. Per the 2nd bullet of 8.1, it always Control there).
chooses Ops & Special Activity over the Event when it is 2nd 12) Batista Flees is played, revealing Santo Trafficante Jr as the
Eligible and 26July is a player. There are 6 or more DR Guerrillas next card. Again, Non-player Event Instructions tell the 1st Eligible
available, so it will Rally. The first bullet in the Rally box doesn’t Syndicate to do Ops & Special Activity. The Casinos in Pinar del Río
apply (only one of the two DR Guerrillas in Havana City is Ac- have no Syndicate Guerrilla to protect them, so the Syndicate Rallies
its last available Guerrilla there (reducing Syndicate Resources to
23). It then executes a Profit Special Activity, first placing a Cash
marker in Pinar del Río where there is no Cash already and then
randomly selecting La Habana Province to receive the last Cash
marker. The Syndicate Guerrilla in La Habana Province now holds
2 Cash markers.

Syndicate special
instruction:
Ops & Special
Activity (8.4.1)

DR 2nd Eligible and

26July a player:
Ops & Special
Activity (8.1)

The Mob makes a grab for the tobacco industry and stacks its gam-
bling profits, while the DR builds for decisive control of Havana.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 Cuba Libre 13

The Directorio is 2nd Eligible, and, since 26July is a player, it too

ignores the Event for Ops & Special Activity.
Despite the threat welling up in Havana, Batista will not flee!
Following the flowchart, Directorio can neither do Terror in an Active
space nor Assassinate a Govt Base, it has no pieces Available, and
it can’t gain Control of any space by Attacking the Government or
Syndicate; so it will March.
DR’s first March priority (bullet) is to take Control of the highest
Population space possible without losing Control anywhere, but
this is impossible: the spaces adjacent to DR Guerrillas all have too
many pieces from other Factions. The second priority is to move
“from 1 space with the most DR yet to move, to a space closer to Directorio forces converge on the capital.
Havana.” The largest group of DR Guerrillas that hasn’t moved yet
is already IN Havana City and can’t move any closer, so DR will 13) The Santo Trafficante Jr Event is up, and the next card is
instead March the next biggest group: 5 Guerrillas from Oriente turned over: Coup. The player chooses to do an Attack Ops with
to Camagüey Province (leaving 1 Guerrilla in Oriente per the 4th an Ambush Special Activity to remove 2 Police cubes in Pinar del
March bullet). Camagüey Province is at Support and has 3+ cubes, Río (removing Govt Control again). The Ambush Special Activity
so the Marching Guerrillas all Activate. (Had there been fewer than allows the Faction to place a Guerrilla in the space, but there are no
3 cubes in Camagüey Province, Non-player DR would only March 26July Guerrillas available, so the player once again removes one
with as many Guerrillas it could slip in without Activating, per the from Las Villas in order to place it in Pinar del Río instead. This
last bullet 8.1.2.) costs 1 Resource, reducing 26July Resources to 5.

Marching into 1 non-EC space costs 1 Resource, but DR once The Government is 2nd Eligible. Although the Event is still avail-
again Subverts in Oriente for 2 Resources, so the DR Resources able, it will execute Ops & Special Activity, both because of the
increase to 8. Momentum Event played earlier in the campaign and because the
Event Instructions tell it to (an Event making it harder to Skim is
NOT in the Government’s best interests!). The Sánchez Mosquera
Momentum instructions (8.8.1) say “Always Assault if it would be
possible to remove a 26July Base or any 4 or more Guerrillas from

The regime garrisons Cuba’s cities and economic centers.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
14 Cuba Libre

Mountain.” Since this is not possible, the player instead uses the 14) Now the Syndicate plays
flowchart as usual to determine what Ops the Government will do. the shaded version of Coup,
revealing El Che as the next
Note that the 8.8.1 Momentum summaries on the Non-Player card. All DR pieces in Cities
Government play aid are abbreviated to fit. If there is any doubt as with cubes (that is to say, the
to their implementation, please always refer to the full text in the 8 DR Guerrillas and 2 Bases
Rules of Play as well! Havana City) are Activated and
There are Cities that lack Govt Control (Havana) or Troops the Government gets a free As-
(Camagüey), so the Government attempts to Train. However, there sault against them. Thanks to the
are only 3 cubes and no Bases left, so it can’t meet any of the Train Garrison Ops last card, there are
priorities. Following the flowchart’s “if none” arrow from the Train enough cubes in Havana City to
box leads to the Garrison box. remove all 10 DR pieces. The
US Alliance marker is moved
In a Non-player Garrison Op (8.8.3), each moving cube is taken one box down to “Embargoed”,
from the space that has the most of that type at the time, first Police and the DR Population + Bases
and then Troops, without removing the last Police from any space, score falls to 5.
but allowing loss of Control in the Provinces (and temporarily in
Cities as well). Government forces—informed by the Mob— preempt a coup
against Batista by Havana’s Directorio forces; they crush the
Per the second black Garrison bullet, the Government first moves rebels ruthlessly but at a high cost in foreign political support!
Police to equal Guerrillas at all ECs: one Syndicate Guerrilla at the
Cigar EC, and one at the Factory EC. Santiago begins the Op with The Directorio has the next move. It can’t do any Terror: the Guer-
4 Police, while no other space has more than 2, so both of the Police rillas in Camagüey Province (which has both Active Support and
cubes going to ECs are taken from Santiago (giving 26July tempo- a Government Base ripe for Assassination) are all Active, and the
rary Control of the City). Both Guerrillas on the ECs are Activated. Underground Guerrilla in Active Opposition Las Villas isn’t allowed
to Terrorize due to the Pact of Caracas.
Once the ECs are covered, the Government attempts to restore Govt
After the disaster in Havana, however, the DR does have plenty of
Control to all Cities and make sure that there is at least 1 Police and
pieces available, so it Rallies. It can’t build any Base (the only space
1 Troop in each. Camagüey City is under Govt Control but has no
with 3+ DR Guerrillas and room for another Base is Camagüey
Troops, Santiago is two cubes short of Govt Control since the Police
Province, where Active Support blocks DR Rally). So it adds 4
left for the ECs, and Havana City is a massive 10 cubes short of
Guerrillas at its Bases in Oriente. The other spaces where it has
Control. The Provinces have 9 Troops and 1 Police that are able to
Guerrillas are Active Support or Opposition, so it can’t Rally there
move, and Camagüey City can give up a Police.
either, so the lowest Rally priority—any random space—selects
This is 2 cubes short of everything needed, so the player makes a Havana City, placing a single Guerrilla there. Rallying in 2 spaces
random roll to determine which City will be short-changed: Santi- costs 2 Resources (down to 6). DR then Subverts, and this time it
ago. One Police from each of the two Camagüeys move to Havana can remove Support by doing the Special Activity in Camagüey
(leaving 1 Police cube in each); then 2 Troops from each of Pinar del Province (DR Resources to 7, Total Support to 11).
Río and La Habana and Camagüey Provinces follow them (leaving 1
Troop cube in each). Finally, random rolls send the last Troop cubes
needed to Havana from Pinar del Río and La Habana, and 1 Troop
from Camagüey Province to Camagüey City. La Habana Province
reverts to Syndicate Control.
All these Troop and Police movements cost the Government a mere
3 Resources (to 10). The DR’s Population + Bases score plummets
from 12 to a more normal 7 (losing Control of Havana City, but gain-
ing Control of Camagüey Province). By its flowchart, the Non-player
Government then executes an Air Strike: since the Syndicate is not
a player at victory and rebel Bases are all protected, it takes out the
Active 26July Guerrilla in Pinar del Río.
The Directorio rebuilds in the aftermath of the failed coup.
After using police to block Syndicate earnings from economic
centers, the Government reacts to the growing DR threat, pulling 15) 26July and Government are now Eligible. The player is eager
back forces from the provinces to protect the capital. to play El Che, but the next Event is Vilma Espín. Curses! El Che
is one of the best 26July Capabilities, but if the player takes the El
Che Event, the Syndicate will play shaded Vilma, which will wipe
out all the 26July forces in Santiago—a blow nearly as disastrous
as the one that just hit the Directorio, not least because it would
leave the Government in Control of all the Cities, placing it closer
to its Victory conditions and leaving it free to Sweep the countryside
again. No thanks!

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 Cuba Libre 15

latter would put 26July Opposition and Bases at risk from DR Terror
and Subversion; and removing the last two DR Bases would put the
DR out of the fight for a long time, leaving the 26July to face the
Government and Syndicate alone.
Instead the player blocks the event by executing Ops without any
Special Activity. In preparation for a Terror strike after the Propa-
ganda, 26July Marches one Guerrilla from Matanzas to La Habana
Province (staying Underground, since there are not enough cubes
in La Habana to Activate it), two from Sierra Maestra to Oriente,
and one from Sierra Maestra to the Sugar Cane EC. This costs 2
Resources (down to 4), and the 26July Eligibility cylinder is placed
in the “Ops only” box on the Sequence of Play chart.
The Syndicate can only do Ops and Special Activity. All Casinos
have Guerrillas to protect them and there aren’t any empty ECs
within reach (or at all, for that matter), so it will Construct. The first
Played card On deck Construct bullet doesn’t apply (the upcoming Propaganda! card is
not the final one), so per the second bullet it places a new (closed) Ca-
On the other hand, the Government won’t play El Che due to the sino. It would prefer to build in Pinar del Río alongside that Casino,
Momentum (and Event Instructions, too), so it is safe for 26July but that Province is uncontrolled; a random roll between Camagüey
to pass (26July Resources to 6), which makes the Government 1st City and Santiago de Cuba selects Santiago as the Construction site.
Eligible instead.
Syndicate then continues to the Special Activity: all Cash markers
The first question on Non-player Government flowchart still leads to are already on the map, and no Casino is in a space Controlled by
the Train box, but there still aren’t enough cubes available for that. the 26July or DR, so it won’t Muscle; therefore it will Bribe, paying
So once again it ends up at Garrison. The ECs are already covered, another 3 Resources (15 left). The top priority for Bribes is to take
but Santiago is 2 cubes short of Govt Control, so the Government back Cash if possible (it isn’t); then to remove 26July from a space
moves 2 Police from Havana City to Santiago for a cost of 4 Re- with an open Casino. Per 8.1.2, 4th bullet, the Syndicate removes
sources (down to 6) to restore Santiago to Govt Control. the 26July Base from Pinar del Río (Opposition + Bases to 11).
The “then” arrow leads to the Airstrike box, but—since the Govern-
ment is now under US Embargo—this Special Activity isn’t allowed.
Instead we continue along the arrows to the Reprisal box. The only
Opposition space under Govt Control is Santiago, so that City is
shifted from Passive Opposition to Neutral, and one Underground
26July Guerrilla is relocated to Sierra Maestra. The Reprisals also
place a second Terror marker in Santiago, and Opposition + Bases
goes down to 12.

The Mob continues construction apace, hoping that bribery will

hold the Revolution at bay.

17) The second Propaganda! card proceeds:

Victory. No Faction has met its condition.
Government Reprisals in Santiago.
Resources. The 26July Guerrilla at the Sugar Cane EC Sabotages
16) Vilma Espín is up: an Event any CUBA LIBRE solo player has it, since there’s no Police around to prevent it. The Factions then get
reason to fear, regardless of which side he or she plays. And after their Resources: Government Resources increase to 28, 26July to 7,
her, the 2nd Propaganda! is showing. The player would like to play DR to 11 and the Syndicate to 41. (This time, the Syndicate could
the Event, but using it on Santiago would be rather pointless because use its Cash marker in Pinar de Río to build a new Casino—taking
the Government would most likely do further Reprisals there to Syndicate Control of Pinar and raising Open Casinos to 6—and used
remove any new Opposition. And using Vilma to shift Oriente to the rest for Resources).
Active Opposition would be almost suicidal, since it would raise
26July to Victory (Bases + Opposition >15) and push the Directorio Support. The US Alliance is already Embargoed, but Total Support
per 8.6.5 into cancelling the Pact by removing two of its Bases! The is 18 or less so the Aid is cut from 14 to 4.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

16 Cuba Libre

With 28 Resources, the Government can buy 4 Civic Actions before

The Government has survived a major crisis with both its forces
dropping below the 9-Resource limit. The greatest shift it can achieve
and popular support intact. The DR has been driven to the east,
(its goal per 8.8.6) is by 2 Civic Actions in Havana City, removing
and the 26July is spread thin. But the regime’s finances are poor,
the Terror marker and shifting the space to Active Support, and then
its US ally has virtually abandoned it, and the 26July and DR re-
buy the third in Camagüey City, shifting it too to Active Support.
main poised to terrorize the country—their Pact still in effect. And
The 4th Civic Action could only remove Terror in Santiago and is
the Syndicate is finally developing into a power of its own, with
ignored. Total Support increases to 18, and Government Resources
coffers filled almost to the brim and new construction on the way.
fall to 16.
Had this been the final Propaganda Round, the Victory Margins
26July cannot Agitate anywhere: all spaces it Controls are already
would have been as follows:
at Active Opposition.
• Government 0.
With Camagüey Province now Neutral, the Directorio’s Expat
• Syndicate 0.
Backing can place a Base there in exchange for 2 Guerrillas, raising
• Directorio –3.
DR Pop + Bases to 6.
• 26July –4.
Redeployment. All Troops are in Cities, but unevenly distributed:
That puts the 26July last. The Non-player Government’s margin
11 in Havana, 1 in Camagüey and 3 in Santiago. The Government
would be 4 above the player 26July’s: the Revolution would have
therefore (by the 2nd bullet of 8.8.7) moves 2 Troops from Havana
failed badly, and Batista would have clung to the reins of power (8.9).
to Santiago and 4 Troops from Havana to Camagüey City—in what
looks like a preparation for a rescue expedition to its beleaguered Fortunately for the player, this was not the final round. Neverthe-
Camagüey Base! less, our Example of Play ends here, having sought to demonstrate
or discuss most of the routines and rules used in solitaire CUBA
Reset. All Factions are marked as Eligible, the Terror markers
LIBRE. You can flip the next card to continue from here, or start a
removed from the map, and Sánchez Mosquera is discarded to the
new game on your own. Best of luck!
played cards pile. All Active Guerrillas are flipped Underground and
closed Casinos are opened. The latter increases Open Casinos to 7.

Cuba, early 1958: The game board just before Reset of the 2nd Propaganda Round.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC