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- 7.6
Colonial Twilight: The French-Algerian War, 1954-62
- 1–2 players
- 90–300 min
- Complexity 3.9/5
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,397
- BGG rating
- 7.8
A Distant Plain
2013
Rules assistance for A Distant Plain
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 180–300 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.9/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for A Distant Plain
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
A Distant Plain is a board game released in 2013 for 1–4 players, 180–300 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Volko Ruhnke and Brian Train and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
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About the game
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.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- GMT Games
Questions and answers
A Distant Plain supports 1–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for A Distant Plain is 180–300 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists A Distant Plain for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
A Distant Plain has a complexity rating of 3.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a heavy game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
A Distant Plain belongs to these categories: Wargame and Modern Warfare. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of A Distant Plain are: Volko Ruhnke and Brian Train. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists A Distant Plain as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.