Cuba Libre

To set up Cuba Libre, consult the rulebook's setup guide, which provides clear instructions for placing all game components. Each region on the board indicates which faction's pieces (troops, police, bases, or guerrilla cylinders) and support/opposition markers should be placed there at the start. The board also features available forces boxes with piece counts, allowing players to verify that all components are correctly deployed. Additionally, the US Alliance and resource trackers are initialized according to the standard setup, with the Government and Syndicate starting with 15 resources each.

Cuba Libre is an asymmetric game where each of the four factions has distinct victory conditions. The Government aims for its support to be greater than 18 and to have active support in all cities. The Syndicate seeks to have more than seven open casinos and over 30 resources. The 26 July forces win by having their opposition plus bases total greater than 15. The Directoria's objective is to control areas such that their population plus bases total above nine, pushing regions towards neutrality rather than support or opposition.

Each round begins by revealing the current event card and the upcoming card, providing players with foresight. The sequence of play is determined by the faction symbols printed on the active event card. The first eligible player (the first faction symbol on the card) chooses to perform either an operation (Op), a limited operation (LimOp), or the event on the card. This choice restricts the second eligible player's options, who can then choose from the remaining available actions. Players can also choose to pass, remaining eligible for the next round and gaining resources.

Scoring in Cuba Libre is tied to propaganda rounds. Four propaganda cards are shuffled into the event deck at setup, roughly evenly distributed. When a propaganda card is drawn, it triggers a check for victory conditions. Each faction assesses whether they meet their specific objectives at that moment. If a faction successfully meets its victory conditions during a propaganda round, the game ends immediately, and that faction wins.

The game concludes when a faction achieves its victory conditions during a propaganda round. If, however, all four propaganda cards have been played and no faction has met its victory conditions, the game proceeds to a final scoring phase. In this phase, each faction's final score is calculated based on their specific objectives, and the faction with the highest score is declared the winner. This ensures a definitive end to every game, even if no immediate victory is achieved.