/pic1733403.jpg)
Game Info
Year
2013
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
This volume in Volko Ruhnke's COIN Series takes 1 to 4 players into the Afghan conflict of today’s headlines, this time in a unique collaboration between two top designers of boardgames on modern irregular warfare. A Distant Plain teams Volko Ruhnke, the award-winning designer of Labyrinth: The War on Terror, with Brian Train, a designer with 20 years' experience creating influential simulations such as Algeria, Somalia Interventions, Shining Path: The Struggle for Peru, and many others.
A Distant Plain features the same accessible game system as GMT's recent Andean Abyss and upcoming Cuba Libre but with new factions, capabilities, events, and objectives. For the first time in the Series, two counterinsurgent (COIN) factions must reconcile competing visions for Afghanistan in order to coordinate a campaign against a dangerous twin insurgency.
A Distant Plain adapts familiar Andean Abyss mechanics to the conditions of Afghanistan without adding rules complexity. A snap for Series: COIN (GMT) players to learn, A Distant Plain will transport them to a different place and time. New features include:
Coalition-Government joint operations.
Volatile Pakistani posture toward the conflict.
Evolution of both COIN and insurgent tactics and technology.
Government graft and desertion.
Coalition casualties.
Returning Afghan refugees.
Pashtun ethnic terrain.
Multiple scenarios.
A deck of 72 fresh events.
... and more.
As with each COIN Series volume, players of A Distant Plain will face difficult strategic decisions with each card. The innovative game system smoothly integrates political, cultural, and economic affairs with military and other violent and non-violent operations and capabilities. Flow charts are at hand to run the three Afghan factions, so that any number of players—from solitaire to 4—can experience the internecine brawl that is today's Afghanistan.
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video 1vE6V0ZdB8o
3 Minute Board Games Top List at 5:26 sentiment: positive
video_pk 91734 · mention_pk 246183
Click to watch at 5:26 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Profoundly influential
- n poorfully recreates counterinsurgency and terrorism theme
- good teaching tool for the conflict in Afghanistan
- intriguing factions with competing objectives
- captures the grey areas of insurgency
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Counterinsurgency and terrorism
- Afghanistan
Comparison games
- Concordia
- Caverna
- Orléans
- Russian Railroads
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- coin system — part of the coin series and the first coin game I got to play
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Hunter is another one of those games we ended up playing a lot at University mostly while drinking
- Hunter has several problems it takes a lot longer to play than it should for what it is especially when you're doing the coup those can drag on quite a long time and also fundamentally it's pretty racist
- I think the hunter idea of a Banana Republic itself is pretty dated but the idea of a corrupt government where players of different office members competing for positions and stockpiling money definitely has potential just there's got to be a better way to interpret it
- Cosmic Encounter is still going strong and that is an achievement and a half
- it's core idea of a simple gameplay element Modified by a whole bunch of variable Powers has had a profound influence on all of gaming and unlike a lot of designs from this period it still holds up pretty well today
- so happy birthday to me for 42 years old today here's to 42 more
- if you want to do the same thing yourself just go to board game geek click on advanced search and search by year published range and just fill in the year and feel free to post your list Below in the comments
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video mPoUGq54Esw
The Board Gaming Doctor Top List at 7:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 88091 · mention_pk 231304
Click to watch at 7:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful game
- Unique flow
- Thematic integration
- Autobiographical heritage
Cons
- Can be regarded as very repetitive
- Little variation in setup buildings can lead to a chess-like feel
Thematic elements
- Farming
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Farming Simulation — Features a farming simulator aspect.
- Module Integration — Combines different gameplay modules.
- Worker Placement — A big box worker placement game with distinct seasonal phases.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this game for how quick it can play for like a medium to medium heavy weighted Euro game is just really unique and or at least feels unique to me and feels varied and enough that I love coming back to it time and time again
- it doesn't surprise me that this game has been so well received by the community as a whole as it is the number one game played on board game arena
- Glass Road is one of the most unique games I've ever played when it comes to I guess Euro games
- it creates a very interactive game as a socially interactive game in a euro game which is very to me unheard of
- this game is one of the most deeply played games I think it's one of the most competitive games and lifestyle games amongst board games of all time
- the ability to create something out of very little and to become good at this game has been the most rewarding thing that I have one of the most rewarding things that I have done in board gaming
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video WheXbUX6n9g
Zilla Blitz Top List at 5:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86357 · mention_pk 223117
Click to watch at 5:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Introduced the magic of the COIN series
- Memorable experience
Cons
- Can be difficult to grasp initially if goals aren't understood
Thematic elements
- Counter insurgency, vying for geographical control
- Afghanistan, post 9/11
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- COIN (Counter Insurgency) — A game series where a number of factions or groups are playing, vying for some kind of geographical control over a region or a country.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- these are the games that I played in 2024 they could have been released in 1978 the games that I enjoyed over the past year.
- I Define War Games somewhat broadly so some of these games are more conflict simulation than they are necessarily tanks battering against each other.
- this is I think the best educational game I've played in the past two years.
- I think that's where a lot of the richness of alliances and deception and kind of the tabl talk would really really level up this game.
- the mechanics the rules and how to get those two things to work together just all clicked and the game transformed and that magic of the coin experience it was like this epiphany.
- it's got a nice mix between complexity and accessibility so not as hard as like an advanced squad leader or perhaps a lock and load tactical combat system but but still got a lot of meat to it and good decision making.
- this game is both simple it matches it molds in Euro Concepts hand management so you're managing your deck of cards messing up your opponent's cards and yet it's got this tactical accessibility and subtlety of depth that gives it really The Best of Both Worlds.
- this might have been one might very well have been my most singularly enjoyed wargaming experience over the past year.
- it's a gritty complex tactical combat system that takes a while to play into but there's just so much there and yet once you get it down the gameplay seems to really really flow.
- the map is one of the most stunning maps in all of War Games.
- an absolutely beautiful spectacular gameplay experience.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video BxT5Y_w4WGQ
Shelfside Top List at 5:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 60599 · mention_pk 152987
Click to watch at 5:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong sense of historical simulation
- High replayability for coin-game fans
Cons
- Accessibility can be challenging due to length and complexity
Thematic elements
- Array
- Vietnam War COIN series-style politics/societal conflict
- historical conflict reenactment with strategic decision points
Comparison games
- Fire in the Lake
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- COIN-style card-driven mechanics — Indirect control and influence through faction actions and regional control in a historical setting.
- Long, interactive play — Games emphasize extended campaigns with deep tactical and strategic layers.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like the one versus many gameplay of it.
- The Rebels and the Empire player also changes over time as they get more experience points too.
- If the empire player is picking a different doctrine, the way you have to approach the campaign can actually be quite different.
- you can change history.
- the Europe scoring card, having painted all the battleground countries of Europe red on turn two and win the game immediately.
- this game is wonderful. I've played it over 40 times now, and every game is a blast.
- the card drawing and the two card limit per region mechanisms
- the gods, they bicker amongst themselves. Sometimes in an alliance, sometimes in a state of total war.
- I've spent many hours arguing over who is and is not a Sylon.
- I would basically want to play this game all the time if I could.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4