Niepodległa (2018)

Overview

The First World War is coming to an end. It had a devastating impact on Habsburg Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which over 120 years earlier partitioned and wiped the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the maps. But this global conflict that exhausted the partitioners of Poland gives the opportunity to restore Poland and regain independence. Now, go back to the time of the First World War and join the key statesmen of the era. Responsibility for the existence and the future shape of Poland lies on your shoulders. Only through cooperation may you revive your homeland and protect it from its enemies. Are you brave enough to undertake the mission?

Niepodległa, which is Polish for "independent", is a board game published by Poland's Institute of National Remembrance to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the rebirth of Poland. The game illustrates the events that led to the restoration of Poland's sovereignty. This co-operative game played with dice and cards is for 2–4 players aged 12 or over and has two variants: basic, mostly aimed at education (30 minutes) and advanced for intermediate or experienced players (90 minutes).

The scope of the gameplay are the events of the years 1910–1920 with an emphasis on the period between the outbreak of the First World War and the restoration of Poland's sovereignty in 1918. The board represents the former and — eventually — future territory of Poland. The players immerse themselves in the operations undertaken by the key characters of the battle for the independence; they try to spread the ideas of independence, seek a national consensus, and strengthen Poland's position in the world. If they fulfill certain conditions, Poland will regain sovereignty in the grand finale in 1918.

However, despite regaining independence, if the players fail to meet decisive challenges — the Peace Conference in Paris, the development of a new state administration, the struggle over Poland's borders as well as the uprisings in Greater Poland and Silesia and the Poland-Bolshevik war — Poland may well cease to exist.

Niepodległa has 50 wooden pieces (including 19 special dice), 110 beautifully illustrated large playing cards and 24 smaller ones, as well as 88 cardboard pieces, 2 instruction leaflets (for both variants) and a richly illustrated booklet with a historical essay.

—description from the publisher