The Scramble for China

BackgroundIt is the middle of the 19th Century, and China is about to descend into a period of chaos and rebellion. Weakened by a decade of humiliation from foreign powers following the Opium War, the Qing Imperial Government is at odds with itself about how to rule the country. One side argues that China should adopt Western practices and institutions in order to level the playing field abroad. The opposition claims that China must continue to stand defiant of foreign influence and forge its own path. At the same time, a failed Confucian scholar in a desolate region of the South has recently proclaimed himself a high place in a foreign religion--the younger brother of Jesus Christ.

So moved by his visions, he begins gathering followers to act against the government whose Confucian ideals had ranked him so poorly. The pool he draws from consists not only of those who had been downtrodden and forgotten by the massive and corrupt governmental bureaucracy, but also wealthy families who believe a Han Chinese national could lead their people much better than the foreign Manchu from the North, who had conquered China almost two centuries before.

This prophet's name? Hong Xiuquan

His mission? To expunge the Manchu demon rulers from the Han kingdom and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity on Earth.

The eventual death toll? Over 20 million.

Welcome to the Heavenly Kingdom of Greater Peace--Taiping.

				Game InformationThe Scramble for China is a two player war-game set in the most destructive period of the 19th century, the Taiping Rebellion.  You either play as the Taiping, a pseudo-Christian movement that is sweeping South and Central China and wishes to topple the Manchu-run government and create a new culture for China, or the Qing dynasty, an incompetent gigantic imperial administration that is trying to hold the country together and stop the momentum of the Taiping.

Players progress through the game using cards drawn into their hand; the cards either have an event written on them or a number of Action Points, and players take turns playing cards one at a time. Action Points allow the players to recruit armies(colored blocks), form up troops into different types of units and attack the enemy. During the course of the game both players can call upon foreign soldiers to get the edge in battle, and the Taiping will try and meet up with rebels in nearby provinces to add manpower into their army. Victory goes to whichever side has the most victory points at the end of the game. Most victory points are earned by holding red city spaces at the end of turn 8, but the Qing player gets bonus points for every city never lost, and the Taiping player for every rebel piece picked up.

A third Non-Playable faction exists in the game through 'The West'. 'The West' steals points from the Chinese players for every foreign unit on the board at the end of the game, randomly receives points for how much attention it is paying to China through 'The West' deck, and earns points from player card events and Chinese casualties. It is very possible that both Chinese players will lose and the West triumphs, so Chinese players must be weary in how they utilize foreigners...