Farmers vs Empire: The Second Boer War & Bloody veld

The game presents the struggles that took place during the Second Boer War between 1899 - 1902. The game consists of four phases, each of which is divided into 22 rounds. During rounds, players perform certain actions. The first and second phase of the game reflect the regular phase of the war. The third and fourth phases are constructed differently, because they represent a specific phase of guerrilla warfare.



The game uses the point to point system, six-sided dice and a deck of battle cards. The game map represents Cape Colony, Natal, Orange Free State and Republic of Transval. Each game phase corresponds to 3-9 months of real time. Military units (infantry, cavalry, artillery, tribals, machine guns, trains) are represented by abstract battle cards.
During the game the players will carry out a series of operations (move, fight, events, special actions) using random actions (1 to 3 on the turn of the game).
The introduced game events directly relate to historical events, directing the moves of players during the game.



Battle cards are used to resolve combat in situations when contact between commanders of military formations is established. In "The Second Boer War 1899 - 1902" the military units involved in the combat are presented on cards. Depending on the phase of the game or the commander involved the combat may be a battle or a skirmish.
During the battle, players use six cards, although this number may be increased with the rules on the Boer trenches or British garrisons. Individual characteristics of commanders are also important.
The British player can choose the cards that he intends to use in battle, but the Boer player draws them randomly – this describes the voluntary nature of the Boer army.
The battlefield is divided into three sections - the right wing, the left wing and the center.
The Defender begins the battle and places one card on each section. Then the attacker puts two cards for each section and performs troop morale checks. If the check fails, the card does not participate in the battle.
Defender reveals the cards and adds one to each section, testing their morale. If players have a surplus of cards, they can use them on the sections of the battlefield, where there are less than two cards.
Players compare their strength for each section. The player who achieved 2 or 3 successes, wins the battle. The opponent suffers losses - British cards goes into the reinforcements pool, and the Boer commandos cards are eliminated.



A skirmish is a smaller combat – the card limit is 3, but can be increased by the individual characteristics of the commander, the Boer fortifications or British garrisons. The British player can choose the cards he will use in a skirmish. The Boer player can choose one card, but he must randomly draw the other.
The Defender places one card on each section of the battlefield. Then the Attacker does the same thing. For each card, he performs morale checks – a negative result means that the unit is not taking part in the skirmish, and can be replaced with a card from the surplus, if the player has it.
Both players add the “Strength” value of their cards. The winner of the skirmish is the player, who achieved a higher score. If the loser is the Defender, he must vacate the occupied area.

Contents:

2 map sheets (821 x 574 mm)
432 die-cut counters
1 deck of 32 battle cards
2 rulebooks
1 scenario booklet
1 scenario chart
2 players aid charts
1 6-sided die
1 10-sided die