Designer Edward Catronova, in the Overview of 2040: An American Insurgency (Compass Games, 2023), is up-front with the first goal of the game:
2040: An American Insurgency simulates a civil war in the United States in the mid-21st century. The game uses mechanics that will be familiar to players of COIN-style games. However, it adds new mechanics to deal with the internet and social media. Driven by these new communications technologies, the conflict provides interesting challenges and opportunities for both sides.
1.0 Overview, p. 2
As I played the different scenarios of 2040: An American Insurgency1, I asked myself how well—or not—the new game mechanisms show the relationship of the internet and social media to political violence,2 or what Matthew Ford and Andrew Hoskins call “Radical War” in a book by that same name3:
Radical War is the immediate and ongoing interaction between connected technologies, human participants and the politics of violence.
Radical War
Bottom Line Up Front – New game mechanisms in 2040: An American Insurgency do a reasonably fair job of showing how a Radical War fought using the internet or social media can be incorporated into COIN-style4 games.
New COIN
To show the internet and social media in a COIN-style game, designer Edward Castronova uses tailored events, introduces rules for the news cycle, and adds three new operations (two Rebel Operations and one General Operations). The specific rules used in 2040: An American Insurgency to show the internet and social media are:
- 5.0 Event Cards and especially 5.4 Discards and Social Media: “In the internet age, social media campaigns can be used to “spin” bad events, blunting their effects.”
- 7.3.1 Social Media Track; Social Media Edge: “In the 21st century, all conflict lives online. Social media strategies have outsized influence.”
- 7.3.3 Rebellion Power Track: “…indicates the current strength of the rebellion…”
- 7.4.2 HQ [Headquarters] Boxes: “…represents each sides’s information technology capabilities.”
- 9.0 Cycling the News (supported by 6.0 Story Cards): “…the ‘active news’ determines the status of the Rebellion Power track.”
- 10.1 [Rebel Operations] Internet Operations (Net Ops): “The Net Ops mechanic reflects the unpredictability of operations in the internet age.”
- 10.4.2 [General Operations] Social Media: “Gain Social Media edge, influence news, avoid an enemy event.”
- 10.4.3 [General Operations] Hack: “Inhibit the enemy indirectly.”
Setting the Event Cards (5.0) discussion aside for the moment, the next three items (7.3.1, 7.3.2, 7.4.2) are actually tracks and not new game mechanisms, yet are important to note as they are tangible expressions of the game state of the internet or social media on the board. The later four items (9.0 with 6.0, 10.1, 10.4.2, and 10.4.3) are actual rules showing the internet and social media game mechanisms in action.
MSM in 2040
In 2040, the effects of media are expressed by the Story cards on the News Cycle display. The display has three slots for Active News. Each slot is numbered. Slot 1 is the newest story, the one that has come to public attention most recently. Slot 3 is the oldest story; it has been around awhile and will soon be forgotten.
9.0 The News
The next-to-last step in the Administration Phase at the end of every round is to Cycle the News (9.1). When cycling the news, the Story Card in Slot 3 is discarded and the other Active Stories flow down (Slot 2 to Slot 3, Slot 1 to Slot 2). Looking at the Story Cards in the Story Pool, the story with the highest Virality Factor (i.e. the most “viral” story) is moved to Slot 1 and a new Story card is drawn and placed in the Story Pool. As explained in 6.0 Story Cards, “The Virality Factor [VF] affects how rapidly the story comes to public notice. Stories with high VF are more likely to jump from the pool of unknown stories to mainstream attention…”
In addition to the Virality Factor, each Story Card has a Rebellion Factor (RF). Per 9.2, the stories in Slots 1-3 determine the status of the Rebellion Power Track (7.3.3).
Again, 6.0 Story Cards again explains: “The Rebellion Factor is how much the story adds to the Rebellion Power Track. If the number is high, it is better for the rebels (see 10.1 Internet Operations). If it is low, things are better for the federals.” As the design note at the end of 6.0 states: “The timing of news stories, their virality, and their persistence in national attention, all effect the ability of rebel leaders to execute operations like fundraising and recruitment.”
Pirate radio, 2040-style
The first rebel operation found in 2040: An American Insurgency—10.1 Net Ops—is not really an operation like those found in COIN-style games but more of a check. If the Rebel player wants to use the Rebel Operations of Fundraise (Increase resources), Recruit (Put more Militia or Bases on the map), or Unrest (Change the status of a space from Order> Anger> Defiance> Revolt) a Net Ops “check” is first made. Simply put, sum the Operations Points spent and Rebellion Power Factor. Choose city, suburb, or region. If the rebel player has the Social Media Edge then choose one space of that type and roll randomly for rest; if no Social Media Edge roll all spaces randomly.
The design note following 10.1.2 explains the designer’s thinking:
The Net Ops mechanic reflects the unpredictability of operations in the internet age. Requests for funding and recruits that go out over the internet can land anywhere; the person sending the request does not know in advance where the money and recruits will come from. At the same time, savvy political operators can impose some targeting of the requests by tailoring the message to suit different populations and tastes. In the game this is represented by targeting cities, suburbs, or regions which, in America, have very different cultures. The ability to target is further enhanced by effective social media operations, which can exploit tight social networks to get specific sets of eyes. This is represented in 2040 by the social media edge effect, allowing the Rebels to choose a specific space.
Design Note following 10.1.2
The Elon-Zucker edge
Changing the Social Media Edge track in 2040: An American Insurgency is accomplished by using the Social Media operation, a General Operations available to both players. The operation, as explained in rule 10.4.2 Social Media, consists of two parts the second of which actually goes beyond changing just the Social Media track:
- Move the Social Media marker one (1) space on the Social Media track and then,
- Choose social media attacks whose total ops cost is <= Operations Points played.
There are six possible “social media attacks:”
- Feed – Draw a Story Card and place in Story Pool if desired or discard.
- Censor – Discard a Story Card from the Story Pool; do not replace.
- Persuade – Move the Social Media marker one space.
- Distract – Cycle the News (9.1) but discard story in Slot 1 and replace with any card ignoring the Virality Factor.
- Enrage – Shift any one space from Defiance to Anger or vice versa.
- Convert (note the Ops cost is found in rule book but not on Player Aid card) – Replace 1 enemy unit with friendly.
Hack ‘n sack
Both players in 2040: An American Insurgency have access to a second General Operations that directly portrays the internet: 10.4.3. Hack. After dicing off against a target number, the hacker (?) can activate one of six effects:
- Intelligence – Inspect opponent’s hand.
- Theft – Steals resources.
- Denial of Service (DOS) – Places a Hacked marker on an opponent’s HQ (moves Rebellion Power Track one space in direction of the hacked HQ).
- Restore Service – Removes a Hacked marker from your HQ.
- Secure – Places a Shield marker on your HQ.
- Invade – Removes a Shield marker from opponent’s HQ.
(Annoyingly, again, the thematic effect names are found in the rule book but the Player Aid Card doesn’t use them. Space limits? There is no graphic artist credited in the rule book; Ilya Kudriashov is credited for artwork which I believe means the game board and card backs only. GET A GRAPHICS ARTIST TO HELP WITH RULE BOOK AND PLAYER AID…AND AN EDITOR!)
Internet of…events
COIN-style games live and/or die on the Event Cards (5.0), and 2040: An American Insurgency is no exception. The events on the cards are the thematic flavor of the game that make or break enjoyment. By my rough estimate, about 15% of the nearly 100 Event Cards in the game are directly related to the internet or social media. Here is where you will find Trolls (Rebellion 45) or the Dark Web (Rebellion 42) or Narrative Shift (Neutral 84) or Tech Giants (Neutral 67) or State Media (Federal 12) or Internet of Things (Federal 20).
The most powerful Event Cards are Momentum cards (see 5.2). These cards are persistent in the game until they expire as directed. Importantly, more than a few have no “expiration” and thus remain in effect until game end. I’ll just throw these two out as examples:
- Analytics (Rebel 44) – “Big data message targeting. During Net Ops, Rebel may choose 2 spaces (not 1) if social media edge is Rebel, 1 space (not 0) if Federal.”
- Internet of Things (Federal 20) – “Objects are spies: Activate all Militias that move.”
Mechanically, the play of an Event Card and a Social Media operation are also connected. As rule 5.4 directs:
Generally, players must play every card in their hand. There are no discards, unless called for by a card event. However, the first time in each round that you use a card for the Social Media action (10.4.2. Social Media) you may ignore any enemy event.
5.4 Discards and Social Media
The design note that follows explains: ” In the internet age, social media campaigns can be used to ‘spin’ bad events, blunting their effects.”
The internet of 2040
Returning to Radical War, Ford and Hoskins propose a map of political violence across the internet that has three dimensions: Data, Attention, and Control (Ford 20-21):
- Data – “Involves the intense connectivity and datafication [everything is online quantifiable datapoints] of battle.”
- Attention – “Reshapes the relationship between knowledge, understanding and the battlefield.”
- Control – “Demands new information infrastructures and techniques of surveillance.”
In a Radical War, connected technologies enable humans to engage in political violence for Data, Attention, and Control over one another (Ford 20-21). This battle is reflected, to one degree or another, though the new game mechanisms introduced in 2040: An American Insurgency.
Data hacks
The General Operations Hack in 2040: An American Insurgency is a narrow representation of Data. Hack has elements of Exploit, Defend, and Attack but it is all directed against only two locations, the respective players HQ’s. As Ford and Hoskins show in Radical War, the fight over Data will likely be widespread and certainly fought beyond just these two server enclaves represented in the game.
Social media attention
The General Operations Social Media is a fair representation of the battle for Attention in the Radical War of 2040: An American Insurgency. The ability to Feed news stories, or Censor (downvote?) others as well as Persuade or Distract audiences all too often leads to Enrage and possibly Convert people or groups. As such, the Social Media action is a very good representation of how social media “reshapes the relationship between” knowledge and understanding.
Net negative ops
I believe the randomness of Net Ops in 2040: An American Insurgency is not only an inaccurate representation of the internet, but also takes away too much player agency—in Radical War terms it argues that the internet of 2040 has limited Control. Having a social media edge is but one manifestation of control over the internet. Fortunately, there are other game mechanisms that show Control, as we shall see shortly.
MSM is dead
The News Cycle in 2040: An American Insurgency is a fair example of how Data, Attention, and Control all come together. The Data in this case are the News Stories, Attention is denoted by the Virality Factor, and Control is the players ability to Cycle the News through events or operations.
Trolling your opponent
Many Event Cards in 2040: An American Insurgency represent Data, Attention, Control, or are some combination of several. Using the previous noted examples, Trolls is a combination of Data and Attention. Dark Web combines Data and Control. State Media strives to show Data, Attention, and Control in one entity. The Internet of Things is a great representation of a disruptive Data/Control technology.
Radical COIN
Credit where credit is due; I strongly believe the Social Media operation and its effects are probably the most true-to-life of any of the internet or social media game mechanisms in 2040: An American Insurgency. The multiple different effects are a reasonable selection of how one can use social media to support political objectives. Likewise, the internet or social media-related Event Cards are second-only to the Social Media operation in “realism” and are major contributors to immersion in the game. The new game mechanisms also show a version of a Radical War.
Ford and Hoskins point out in Radical War that:
War is no longer about compelling enemies to do the will of the state. Now war is principally about managing the attention of populations and different audiences where the will of the public is a constantly churning spectacle of opinions and perceptions that spill out and feedback into each other, irrespective of whether they are expressed online or not.
Ford 11
2040: An American Insurgency does a better-than-fair job of portraying the constant churn of opinions and perceptions through the News Cycle, the Distract action in the Social Media operations, and some Event Cards.
Ford and Hoskins go on to explain:
Radical War is ‘radical’ in that it distorts perceptions of the relationship between media, the military and war’s political effects. Radical War is always seen through a prism of information infrastructures that are themselves opaque and poorly understood, even by those who have built them. Radical War is ‘war’ in that it is concerned with political violence; often with unforeseen outcomes.
Ford 11
2040: An American Insurgency is a radical title for a game using new mechanisms to portray a Radical War fought across the internet and social media. The game model captures some of the distorted perceptions between the media and the two sides, but uses a very simple model of the effects of political violence as seen in the rules for status (Order, Anger, Defiance, or Revolt) of a space to show the impact (see 7.1.1. Features of Spaces – Status) . The unforeseen outcomes of those effects are exactly why one plays these sorts of games; to explore how the narrative of how the battle develops and make decisions to drive the outcome in a manner favorable to your side.
- There are two scenarios provided in the rule book for 2040: An American Insurgency:
- 13.1 #Patriot Scenario: “This scenario depicts an uprising based in rural areas.”
- 13.2 #Resistance Scenario: “This scenario depicts an uprising by urban areas.”
- Technically, there is a third scenario, 13.3 Build Your Own Scenario, which is actually a guide to building your own scenarios.
- Ford and Hoskins cite an OECD Publishing report from 2016 called “States of Fragility: Understanding Violence” which defines political violence as, “the use of force to achieve a political end that is perpetuated to advance the position of a person or a group defined by their political position in society” (OECD, 2016 in Ford 11).
- Ford, Matthew C., and Andrew Hoskins. Radical War: Data, Attention and Control in the Twenty-First century. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2022.
- Per GMT Games via BoardGameGeek wiki: “This series features Volko Ruhnke’s game system presenting modern (Andean Abyss, Cuba Libre, A Distant Plain, Fire in the Lake, & Colonial Twilight), historic (Liberty or Death), and ancient (Falling Sky & Pendragon) guerrilla warfare and COunterINsurgencies around the world.” COIN games are not specifically limited to just those published by GMT Games; see my post “Boardgame Bulletin 23-6: Reconstructing COIN with Robotech: Reconstruction (Strange Machine Games, 2023)” for an excellent third-party publisher example.
Feature image courtesy istockphoto.com
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