Europe in Turmoil II: The Interbellum Years 1920-1939

The game begins with influence markers placed on various countries across the European map, representing initial political alignments. Each player also has 15 Extremist cubes of their color, which can be deployed to specific spaces on the map. The Power track is set to 10 for the Left player and 12 for the Right player. The Moderation track starts at 10 for the Left and 12 for the Right. The Tension track is set to 0. Players receive a hand of 7 cards for the first four turns, representing the 'Roaring Twenties' period. Scoring cards for France, Germany, and Italy are included in the initial deck.

The primary objective for players is to reach 20 Power points before their opponent, which grants an immediate victory. Alternatively, players can win by triggering World War II, which leads to a final scoring round where the player with the most Power points wins. The game also ends after 10 turns if neither of the primary victory conditions has been met, with the player having the highest Power points declared the winner.

Each turn, players receive a hand of cards and take turns playing them. A card can be used for its Operations Points (Ops) to place or remove influence, perform Support Checks, or move Extremists. Alternatively, a card's event can be triggered, which often has a significant impact on the game state. Players can also use a card to attempt to rearm a country, which involves a dice roll modified by the card's Ops value and other factors, with the goal of advancing on the Rearmament Chart. During the 'Great Depression' period (turns 5-6), players receive 9 cards and play 8. During the 'Appeasement' period (turns 7-8), players receive 9 cards and play 8. During the final period (turns 9-10), players receive 9 cards and play 8.

Scoring is initiated when a scoring card is played. The player who plays the scoring card may first perform a Support Check in a space within the scored country or an adjacent independent country. The value of the Support Check varies by country (e.g., 1 Op for Italy, 2 Ops for France, 3 Ops for Germany). After the Support Check, the country's Presence, Domination, and Control are scored, adding Power points to the respective player's track. Events played earlier in the game can affect scoring, and these are often noted on the scoring cards as reminders. Unlike the previous volume, there are no separate Stability cards; Support Checks are integrated into the scoring cards.

The game concludes under several conditions: if a player reaches 20 Power points, they win immediately. If the Tension track reaches a specific threshold (indicated by a '+' symbol on the track), World War II is triggered. When World War II is triggered, a dice roll is made, and if the result (dice roll + Tension track value) is greater than 6, the war begins, and a final scoring round is initiated. The game also ends after 10 turns, with a final scoring round determining the winner. During the final scoring, players compare their Moderation track values; the player with lower moderation receives Sanction markers, each penalizing their final Power score by 2 points.