Strategy in 'Soldier Raj':
The First Mysore War
By Doug McNair
April 2006

Having recently completed my cycle of strategy articles on Soldier Kings, I begin today a new series on the game that picks up where Soldier Kings leaves off. Of all the “Soldier” games published to date, Soldier Raj is the best value for the money because it’s got eight wars in one box. From 1767 to 1848, a list of kingdoms too long to fit in one sentence fought war after war for dominance of the Indian subcontinent. Soldier Raj devotes a separate scenario to each war, presenting players with a different mix of major and minor powers and a different military and diplomatic situation every time.

Soldier Raj plays very differently from Soldier Kings for many reasons. First, players are vying for long-term dominance rather than short-term gain, so the Automatic Victory rule (where a player wins as soon as he gains a certain number of victory points) doesn’t apply in most scenarios. Players must fight the entire war, over the span of years it lasted historically. In addition, money is much harder to come by in Soldier Raj than in Soldier Kings, so diplomacy and treachery come to the forefront when money for attacks peters out.

The most important (and fun) result of this is that allies have a much greater incentive to backstab each other. Rather than ganging up on an enemy, hitting him hard, and trying to grab the most enemy land for a quick victory, players must decide when to show mercy. If you destroy an enemy, all you can do is take his land. But if you just take some of his land and then offer him an alliance, you can use his armies to outflank the ally who just helped you crush him. This keeps everybody else weak and squabbling, while you keep racking up land, money and VPs.

But timing is everything. Players must backstab allies only when it will net them the greatest gain and do the most damage, with minimal risk and expense. Luckily, event cards are excellent tools for creating backstab opportunities (and other assorted chaos), and backstabs happen so often in Soldier Raj that by the end of the game, everyone will have probably made and broken alliances with everyone else.

The First Mysore War: Spring 1767 to Winter 1770

Per the background notes to Scenario #1, Britain emerged from the Seven Years War as the dominant European power on the subcontinent. Made arrogant by Britain’s triumph over the European powers, the British East India Company decided to take on the Indian kingdoms and bring them under its sway. It targeted Mysore, a small, powerful kingdom in the far south of India that had captured the British coastal territory of Tellicherry.

The Company made alliances with Peshwa Madhav Rao of the powerful Maratha Confederacy (which stretched like a belt across India’s midsection) and with the Nizam of Hyderabad, a small kingdom just north of Mysore. But Mysore’s genius king Hyder Ali used diplomacy and bribery to subvert the alliances, inducing Madhav to sit out the war, and getting Nizam to switch sides. Hyder and Nizam handed John Company a stunning defeat, and set back British plans in India more than half a century.

Major Power Strategies

The major powers in Scenario #1 are Britain, Maratha, Hyderabad and Mysore. Britain, Maratha and Hyderabad all start as allies, but each power must follow a very different set of plans to achieve victory.

Mysore

Hyder Ali begins with two Mysore home territories plus the captured British territory of Tellicherry on the southwest Indian coast. He starts the game with five armies of good quality, but only 6 Manpower. So he can’t build any new armies right away, since that would leave him almost no manpower for repairing damaged armies. He must wait to collect Money and Manpower from his territories on the first summer turn (the second turn of the game), and then use the increased resources to build more armies. He does start with 10 Money, however, so he can attack Britain and Hyderabad aggressively to gain more territory. His threshold for victory is 6 VPs, so just a couple of choice territories will win him the game (if he can hold onto them).

Britain

Britain starts with 15 Money (the most of any power), three East India armies, one British army, one East India fleet and one British fleet. This is a powerful and diverse force with lots of money to back it up. However, Britain starts with only 6 Manpower. So like Mysore, she can’t afford to build new armies right away, and must give part of her money to her allies so they can do the dirty work of fighting Hyder Ali. The Nizam of Hyderabad is in good position to hit Hyder’s great fortress of Seringapatam, so Britain should give Nizam money at start to make that attack as strong as possible.

But Britain has a 10 VP threshold for victory, so she needs to do more than just conquer Mysore. She must also conquer as much peripheral territory as possible, using her fleets to transport armies to unguarded spots for quick sieges. Her almost unopposed status as a sea power (Maratha has one weak fleet) makes this easy. She should, however, concentrate on land areas that belong to powers that are already her enemies, and on neutral land areas with no armies to defend them. Attacking French, Dutch or Spanish possessions would just bring in those nations’ military forces as allies of enemy Major Powers, so attacking them should be a last resort.

Hyderabad

The Nizam’s small kingdom is surrounded by other Major Powers, and he has only 5 Money and 6 Manpower to support his four armies at start. So, he must play the role of the loyal ally to Britain, but demand Money at start to finance his campaigns, and always find more opportunities to wring money and concessions from Britain at crucial moments in the game. Nizam should judiciously use the threat of treachery (breaking an alliance or turning coat and joining Maratha or Mysore) as leverage in his dealings with Britain. Nizam only needs 4 VP to win and he has strong armies, so if he can gain territory with British help through negotiation and threats, he can use his armies to hold onto those territories, and win despite his limited resources.

Maratha

Madhav Rao’s confederacy is huge, rich and powerful, and strangely united at this period in history (the “Maratha Infighting” event cards don’t apply). He starts with 13 Money, 11 Manpower, 7 armies and 1 fleet. He is also positioned north of most other Major Powers’ territory, with only the British possessions of Calcutta, Dhaka and Assam to the east and northeast. The rest of India is neutral at game start, so there are rich pickings to be had if Rao sends his armies northward and lets Britain, Hyderabad and Mysore beat each other up to the south. But he does want to make a show of supporting his allies (as long as they remain useful), so he should send an army or two south to threaten Mysore but not actually attack it. He wants Hyder Ali to inflict all the damage he can on Britain, so that when the British are sufficiently weakened, Rao can backstab them. He can then besiege British-controlled Bombay and reclaim it for Maratha, and then march east on Calcutta, etc.

Rao’s only concern is that Britain, Hyderabad or Mysore will play a Minor Country Alliance card and bring the powerful northern kingdoms of Rajputana, Afghanistan or Nepal into the game. If that happens, Maratha will be outflanked from the north and will have a much harder time attacking the southern kingdoms when they become weak.

Game Summary

Here’s what happened in a recent game:

Force Draw

Britain draws two 3/2 East India Company armies, plus a 3/2 fleet, so she’s in a strong position at start. Maratha’s force draw is average to high in strength. Hyderabad’s is average to low, while Mysore draws two 3/2 armies and is in a good, strong position at start.

Setup

Madhav Rao concentrates his forces to the west, in and around the port of Surat, so that the Maratha fleet can take armies south for amphibious invasions near Mysore, while another army can head south to make a show of threatening Mysore by land. But he also sets up a string of armies running east all the way to the border with the British coastal possessions of Calcutta and Circars. This implied threat will give the Brits pause before they send all their forces south to crush Hyder Ali. Odds are, they’ll keep some forces at home to protect their coastal possessions against a Maratha backstab, thus giving Hyder Ali a better chance of beating them in battle.

Hyder Ali concentrates his armies in Seringapatam to oppose the imminent invasion from the British General Goddard at Madras and the Nizam at Hyderabad. Britain strings its forces along the east coast. The Nizam has only Hyderabad in which to set up.

In the initial Diplomacy Phase, Britain gives the Nizam 4 Money in exchange for a promise to send a Hyderabad army eastward to British Circars to guard it against a Maratha backstab. This will free up the British forces there to attack Hyder Ali at Seringapatam, plus take ship around the point of India to besiege Mysore-held Tellicherry on the southwest coast.

Turn 1 — Spring 1767

Maratha builds one army (draws a 2/2 army and places it in the Fall 1767 box). The others don’t have enough Money/Manpower to build without shortchanging upcoming maintenance requirements.

The players roll for initiative, which ends up Mysore-Britain-Hyderabad-Maratha.

Mysore: Haidar Ali decides to hit the Nizam hard at Hyderabad before he can link up with the British General Goddard at Madras. The Nizam is weaker than Goddard, and Goddard can’t bring his powerful fleet inland to help the Nizam at Hyderabad later. Haidar orders one army guarding Mysore’s northwestern territory of Sudassir to move southwest to guard coastal Tellicherry from the expected British amphibious invasion. He then moves with two 3/2 armies up to Hyderabad and spends 3 Money to Assault the Nizam for two turns.

But just before battle starts, the Nizam plays the “Destroyer of Worlds” event card, which lets him attack first and inflict losses on Haidar before Haidar can attack. The Nizam rolls 2 sixes on 13 dice, scoring one step loss on a 3/2 Mysore army and forcing it to retreat back to Seringapatam. Haidar then attacks with his 6 remaining strength points (3 for himself and 3 for his army). He rolls one 6, forcing a 2/1 Hyderabad army to flip and retreat. It retreats to British Caircars, thus fulfilling the Nizam’s promise to send an army there to defend against a Maratha backstab. (The Nizam sends his compliments to General Goddard, saying he’s sure the half-strength Hyderabad army is worth several Mysore armies because of their great fighting spirit. . . .)

Haidar could attack again in the second round he paid for, but he’s at a huge disadvantage now and withdraws. He does play the “Recruit Prisoners” card before he goes, and gains 1 Manpower from the one step loss he inflicted on the Nizam’s forces.

Britain: Goddard asks the Nizam to join him in an all-out assault on Haidar Ali at Seringapatam. However, the Nizam asks “Ah, but what is in it for me, Sahib? Surely you will not give me control of Seringapatam, yes? I believe I will go west, and attack the smaller Mysore force at Sidassir. This way we crush them both, you and I, and when you destroy Haidar Ali you will take Seringapatam, and I will take Sidassir. This is good, yes?” Goddard cannot deny that the Nizam’s plan has merit (at least not to his face . . .), but he also cannot hope to defeat Haidar Ali alone at odds of 7 to 14. So, rather than beg for the Nizam’s help, he opts to postpone the attack on Seringapatam, and instead ships forces out of Madras to hit Mysore-occupied Tellicherry on the southwest coast.

The British spend 3 Money for a two-round assault on Telicherry, attacking with 6 dice to the defenders’ 4. The Brits score one hit and force the sole Mysore defending army to retreat northeast to Seringapatam (they take no damage in return). Britain then pays 1 Money for two rounds of siege at Telicherry, and they do 1 hit only, while the defensive fire does 2 hits and drives out the British fleet with a step loss. The army remains to continue the siege later.

Hyderabad: The Nizam moves through Portuguese Goa to Sidassir, and pays 3 Money for two rounds of assault against the one Mysore army there. In the first round, the Nizam rolls two 6’s and destroys the 2/1 Mysore army, taking no damage in return. He then pays 1 Money to besiege Sidassir for two rounds, but both he and the defenders inflict one hit, and one of Nizam’s armies must retreat north to Goa.

Maratha: The time is not yet right for a backstab of Britain, since Maratha’s armies need quick passage through Bombay so they can hit rich Delhi to the north. They also need to sail past the British fleet at Telicherry without being intercepted so they can invade the neutral territory of Travencore at the southern tip of India (this will be a perfect base to harass the Brits and Mysore later). So Rao mounts both efforts, moving armies into Delhi, Travencore, and also Jats to the east of Delhi. All are undefended so the cost of the sieges is negligible. He spends 3 Money for unlimited siege rounds at Travencore, and besieges the other two for one round for free. He conquers Travencore (the fleet takes a hit and must move offshore), and does 2 hits at Delhi. However, his army at Jats does no damage but takes a hit from defensive fire and has to retreat south.

Summer 1767

Nobody has enough money for anything but repairs, so after that they go straight to the initiative phase. The initiative order is: Britain-Hyderabad-Maratha-Mysore.

Britain: Goddard is worried, since all of Mysore’s armies are at Seringapatam now, and they will move after Britain and Hyderabad have moved. Britain doesn’t have the strength to attack them, but they can attack in any direction they want after Goddard and the Nizam have taken their moves. Also, Rao’s peripheral land-grabbing does not bode well for Maratha’s helpfulness (to say nothing of treachery). So Goddard decides to continue besieging Telicherry for the extra Money it’ll give him this turn, and also secure his home areas vs. invasion. His fleet sails back into Telicherry to support the siege. Everything costs double in a Summer turn, so he spends 2 Money for two rounds of siege. But he fails to conquer it. He does only 1 hit, and Telicherry holds out.

Hyderabad: The Nizam sends his reduced army from Portuguese Goa back to Hyderabad. The other army spends 1 Money to besiege Sidassir for one round. It doesn’t score a hit.

Maratha: Maratha pays 1 Money for one round of siege at Delhi and gets 1 hit — it’s still holding out.

Mysore: Haidar Ali moves northwest to Sidassir to relieve the siege there and spends 2 Money for one round of combat against the Nizam. Neither side gets any hits, but since Haidar has an army there he can collect the money and manpower from Sidassir this turn. He also sends an army down to Telicherry for the same reason, not attacking the too-powerful British but still collecting the Money and Manpower this turn.

With movement and combat done, all players collect Money and Manpower (nobody died due to attrition or lack of maintenance), and end up with the following totals:

• Britain: 14 Money, 13 Manpower
• Mysore: 8 Money, 10 Manpower
• Maratha: 10 Money, 10 Manpower
• Hyderabad: 3 Money, 5 Manpower

Fall 1767

Maratha receives the army it purchased in the spring, and places it in the port at Surat on the west coast. Britain buys a new East India army and repairs units. The other powers just repair units. They then roll for initiative, and the order is Maratha-Mysore-Britain-Hyderabad.

Maratha: Rao decides this is the perfect time to backstab Britain. He can strike hard against the Brits in the east at Calcutta, and Haidar Ali can hit them immediately afterward in the south. If Haidar does enough damage, the British invaders at Tellicherry will find themselves outflanked by two unallied but powerful enemy forces in Seringapatam and Travencore. This will hopefully induce them to withdraw from Telicherry and sail northeast to save Calcutta. Maratha’s forces in Travancore (reinforced by the new army sailing in from Surat) can then march into Tellicherry and take it. Finally, Hyderabad has no Money and can’t participate in any British-led attacks, so Maratha must backstab the Brits now before they give money to the Nizam and make him combat-ready again.

Rao plays the “Cholera” card on the British army at Calcutta, inflicting a step loss on it. He ships the new army from Surat to Travencore, then moves armies into Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi. He pays 3 Money for a two-round assault at Calcutta. The British player plays the “Local Assistance” card and rolls a 6, increasing his combat strength by the maximum possible. But the British player scores only 1 hit on 10 dice, while Maratha scores 2 and wipes out the half-strength British army. Maratha then besieges all three areas, takes control of Delhi, does 2 hits on the fortifications at Calcutta, and none on Bombay.

Mysore: Haidar Ali leaves one army to oppose the Nizam at Sidassir, then takes the rest of his forces southwest to hit the British at Tellicherry. He pays 3 Money for a two-round assault, but there’s no damage on either side.

British: Goddard does what Rao hoped for and abandons the siege of Telicherry. But instead of sailing to Calcutta, the forces from Telicherry sail to Sidassir, and tell the Nizam that they’ll attack the Mysore army there, drive it out, besiege and take Sidassir and then give control of it over to Hyderabad. In exchange, they need the Nizam to send armies east from Hyderabad to take up guard positions in the British east-coast possessions of Circars and Madras. The Nizam agrees.

Then Goddard, freed of the need to guard the east coast, heads straight north from Madras through Hyderabad and hits the weak Maratha army guarding Indore. At the same time, the East India Fleet and army at Circars sail north to relieve the siege of Calcutta. The Brits spend 1 Money for a one-round Probe of the 2/1 Mysore army at Sidassir, and score one hit on it, driving it out. They then besiege Sidassir and take it, giving it to Hyderabad as agreed. Then Goddard up at Indore spends 1 Money for a Probe on the 2/1 Maratha army there. He rolls three sixes on four dice, wiping it out. But the Maratha army rolls two sixes on four dice (he gets two extra for the Indore fortifications) and inflicts one step loss on Goddard’s 3/2 army, driving it back south to Hyderabad. This leaves Indore empty, so there will be no siege. Then the British relief force at Calcutta spends 1 Money and rolls two sixes on four dice, inflicting a step loss on the 2/2 Maratha army there and ejecting it, lifting the siege.

Hyderabad: The Nizam moves his armies to guard the British possessions at Madras and Circars as agreed . . . but decides the British should return the favor. His remaining 2/2 army marches north from Hyderabad, telling Goddard and his half-strength army to guard the palace in the Nizam’s absence. He moves to Indore and starts besieging it for himself (the British tried and failed, so it’s only fair someone else should have a turn). They score one hit, dropping its fortification value to 1.

Winter 1767

Everyone spends money repairing units, except Hyderabad, which has no money. Initiative rolled is: Mysore-Maratha-Hyderabad-Britain.

Mysore: Haidar Ali in Seringapatam is outflanked by Brits and Hyderabad armies to the north, the Nizam and a Hyderabad army to the northwest in Sudassir, and Marathas to the south in Travencore. He has no money for attacks (he must keep his 2 remaining Money for the next Maintenance phase), so he just consolidates his forces.

Maratha: Now that Mysore has taken its move, the Maratha fleet takes one army from Travencore up to the western port of Surat. The army disembarks and moves east to help with the siege of Bombay. The fleet then goes back to Travencore to help defend it. Madhav Rao then goes with a 3/2 army to attack the Hyderabad army besieging Indore, while another Maratha army moves northeast to besiege British Dhaka. Rao spends 1 Money for a Probe of the Hyderabad army at Indore, attacking at a strength of 6 to 2. There’s no damage on either side, and the British defensive fire at the siege of Bombay scores 2 hits and drives out a 2/2 Maratha army.

British: Goddard would like to move north from Hyderabad to hit Madhav Rao at Indore, or relieve the siege of Bombay, but to do that he’d have to leave Hyderabad empty. That would mean the Hyderabad troops guarding British Circars and Madras on the east coast would withdraw and go home to Hyderabad, leaving the British east coast possessions open to invasion by Haidar Ali from the south. So, Goddard stays in Hyderabad, and the British fleet and East India army ship out of the Nizam’s newly-gifted land at Sidassir and sail north to relieve Bombay. They spend 1 Money for a Probe on the 2/1 Maratha army there, but it withdraws before combat and moves north to protect Delhi (the more valuable possession). The Brits have lifted the siege of Bombay.

Hyderabad: The Nizam has no money, so none of his armies can attack. The Siege of Indore has been stopped by the arrival of Madhav Rao, so no further action is possible.

At the end of the first winter turn, the victory point totals are as follows:

• Mysore: -2 (has lost Sidassir and gained nothing)
• Maratha: 5 (has conquered Delhi and Travencore and lost nothing)
• Hyderabad: 2 (has gained Sidassir and lost nothing)
• Britain: 0 (no gains or losses)

This puts both Maratha and Hyderabad halfway to victory.

In the Diplomacy phase, Maratha and Mysore agree to an alliance so that both can focus on fighting Hyderabad and Britain rather than squabbling over Travencore. Haidar Ali agrees to leave Travencore alone if Rao withdraws his forces from there and sails north to fight the Brits.

Spring 1768

Everyone with money repairs units, and the new British East India army arrives at Calcutta to support the other two British East India units there. The Intiative is Mysore-Britain-Maratha-Hyderabad.

Mysore: Haidar Ali moves northeast to attack the Hyderabad army guarding British Madras, while the newly-allied Marathas ship out of Travencore and launch an amphibious invasion against the other Hyderabad army guarding British Circars just north of Madras. Haidar Ali plays the “Destroyer of Worlds” card to hit the Hyderabad army in Madras before it can hit back. He rolls four 6’s and wipes them out. But then the Nizam plays a “Destroyer of Worlds” card himself on the Marathas invading Circars — but neither side does any damage. Haidar Ali then launches one round of siege for free in Madras, and rolls 3 sixes on 7 dice, conquering Madras!

Britain: Before Goddard can move out to help anybody, Rao plays the “Vacillating General” card, meaning Goddard can’t move anywhere this turn. This leaves the rest of the Brits in the west of India outflanked at Bombay. They can’t go anywhere without leaving Bombay open, so they stay put. Both British fleets then embark an army and hit the Maratha fleet in the coastal area at Circars. The Marathas get the wind gauge, but do no damage, while the Brits roll 2 sixes in the first round and wipe out the Maratha fleet. They then land the British army there.

Maratha: With Goddard immobilized, Rao and 3 armies attack the one East India army guarding Bombay. The rest of the Marathas withdraw north from Circars to their home areas to avoid combat with the powerful Brits there. Rao has only 1 Money left so he spends it on a Probe at Bombay, but the Brits score the only hit.

Hyderabad: Nizam has no money, so he does nothing.

Summer 1768

No purchases. Initiative is Mysore-Hyderabad-Maratha-Britain. It’s a summer turn, and it costs money to do anything but move (including sieges), and only the Brits have money. So nobody does anything much, except for the Brits moving a fleet and army to unoccupied Travencore to prevent Maratha from collecting Money and Manpower there. They don’t besiege it because of the extra cost.

In the Summer Attrition Phase, all Hyderabad and Maratha armies take step losses due to no money for maintenance. Mysore is able to maintain one army, and the Brits are able to maintain all but one army. They then collect money and manpower, and end up with the following:

• Britain: 8 Money, 10 Manpower
• Mysore: 8 Money, 11 Manpower
• Maratha: 11 Money, 15 Manpower
• Hyderabad: 5 Money, 7 Manpower

This is bad for Britain. She’s normally rolling in dough, but the Mysore capture of Madras and the Maratha occupation of Dhakha robbed her of a lot of money and manpower this year, her wonderful Hyderabad allies notwithstanding . . .

Fall 1768

Everybody repairs units, but nobody has money for new builds. Britain ends up last on the initiative roll, but plays the “Dharma Chakra” card to rearrange the initative order. She puts herself first, followed by Hyderabad, Mysore and Maratha.

Britain and Hyderabad: They launch an all-out attack to retake the British east-coast possessions, plus take Travencore for Britain and Indore for Hyderabad. Britain spends 1 Money for a Probe at Indore, but the 2/1 Maratha army there retreats before battle and goes east to Najpur. Then Hyderabad and Britain both spend 1 Money to attack Bhubaeshwar (just west of the British east coast possessions), but the only damage is one step loss to the British East India fleet, which retreats to Circars. The sieges of Travencore and Indore do no damage. Hyderabad then allows the British to continue to besiege Indore, and moves its army back south to Hyderabad since the British abandoned it to move north to Indore.

Mysore: All of Haidar Ali’s forces attack north and northwest, hitting the Hyderabadis at Sudassir and Hyderabad. Haidar spends 1 Money on each attack, and plays the “Local Assistance” card to get 4 extra combat strength in Sidassir. There’s no damage at Sidassir, but he ejects the Nizam’s army at Hyderabad (one of Haidar’s armies is ejected too). The Hyderabadi flees north to Indore, and Hyder Ali’s siege of Hyderabad scores 1 hit.

Maratha: Rao takes 4 armies from Surat, Bombay and Najpur to hit the Brits and Hyderabadis at Indore. He attacks with a strength of 12 vs. the Brits and Hyderabadis’ combined 8. He spends 3 Money for a two-round Assault. Maratha scores a step loss on the first round, and since the British have two armies there to Hyderabad’s one, the Brits must take the first loss. A British East India 3/2 army flips and retreats south to Hyderabad (there’s only one Mysore army there, so it can go). Then before the second round, the Hyderabad army pulls out and retreats south to Hyderabad, and the hung-out-to-dry British army follows it south in retreat. This is all very convenient for the Nizam, since there are now plenty of armies in Hyderabad to oppose Mysore’s siege there. But the British seem to be getting nothing but the short end of the stick from the Nizam no matter how nicely they treat him.

Winter, 1768

Everybody repairs units, and the initiative is Maratha-Hyderabad-Britain-Mysore.

Maratha: Rao takes 4 armies from Indore down to Hyderabad, where Haidar Ali is waiting with the besieging Mysore army. Both Maratha and Mysore spend 2 Money for a two-round Assault. The first round will be 17 dice for the Maratha/Mysore vs. 12 for Britain/Hyderabad. The British want to retreat to Circars, but the Nizam tells Goddard that if he abandons Hyderabad, he breaks the alliance. The Nizam is annoying, demanding and unreliable, but he’s the only ally Britain’s got, and Goddard can’t fight all three Indian kingdoms at once. So, Goddard stays and fights . . .

. . . and is very glad he did, because he and the Nizam roll 4 sixes on 12 dice in the first round. Haidar Ali’s army takes a step loss and retreats to Madras (where it can threaten British Circars later), and one Maratha army takes a step loss and retreats north to Indore. The Brits and Hyderabadis take no damage in return! But the Marathas fight on, and in the second round they score a step loss, causing the British (who once again have more forces and must take the first loss) to flip an army and retreat it to Circars. But the British and Hyderabadis do another step loss to a Maratha army in the process, and Hyderabad holds out!

Hyderabad: The Nizam is out of money again, so he can’t attack, but moves an army into Hyderabad to help with the defense.

Britain: Goddard counterattacks, hitting Haidar Ali at Madras with troops and fleets from Circars. He also presses the siege of Travencore. The siege does no hits, but the British armies wipe out Haidar Ali’s army and capture him! But Haidar does a step loss to a British fleet in return, and the British siege of Madras is unsuccessful.

Mysore: Mysore has no money left (she blew it all on the failed joint attack at Hyderabad) and her leader is in captivity, so she just reinforces her remaining territory at Seringapatam.

The Victory Point totals now stand as follows:

• Mysore: 1 (has lost Sidassir but gained Madras)
• Maratha: 5 (has conquered Delhi and Travencore and lost nothing)
• Hyderabad: 2 (has gained Sidassir and lost nothing)
• Britain: -3 (has lost Madras)

In the Diplomacy phase, Goddard arrives to greet the captive Haidar Ali and dictate terms of peace. But Haidar Ali is way ahead of him. He says that Goddard can’t afford to make peace, and must make an alliance with Mysore instead. Goddard, stunned at Haidar’s cheekiness, tries not to choke on his tea and crumpets, but then listens as Haidar explains the situation. The British are down to 1 Money, meaning they can only maintain one army in the Maintenance Phase of the upcoming Summer turn. Most of their forces are at reduced strength due to combat losses, so with no maintenance, at least two British armies/fleets will be eliminated. That will leave Goddard with a maximum of 4 units with which to take on the Marathas. Goddard counters that Rao is also low on money and will lose armies for lack of maintenance, but Haidar responds that Maratha is much richer and will have lots of money and manpower to build more units after the next Summer turn, while the British will not.

But if the British ally with Mysore, then Haidar will give Madras back to Britain, promise to leave Travencore alone, and also promise to actually fight beside Britain, rather than making demands, acting contrary, and milking Britain for everything he can. Haidar can back up that promise with two 3/2 armies, which are much stronger than the Nizam’s. And all of Haidar’s points are valid. So, choosing to ignore the fact that Haidar has just wrapped him around his little finger, Goddard accepts the Mysore/British alliance. The British-Hyderabad alliance is broken, and so is the Maratha-Mysore alliance.

Spring 1769

Everyone is broke except Britain. Initiative is Maratha-Mysore-Hyderabad-Britain.

Maratha: Rao abandons well-defended Hyderabad and moves northwest to besiege Bombay. His other forces pull back west from Dhaka to protect against Brits coming north. He rolls 7 siege dice at Bombay and rolls 4 sixes, taking it! Bombay defensive fire scores one step loss on a Maratha army.

Mysore: Haidar Ali fulfills his promise to Goddard and goes south from Seringapatam with two armies to help with the siege of Travencore. No hits.

Hyderabad and British forces stay put.

Summer 1769

Everybody’s still broke except Britain. Initiative is Hyderabad-Maratha-Britain-Mysore.

Hyderabad: The Nizam’s forces stay put.

Maratha: Rao’s forces move to occupy British Circars so the Brits can get no Money or Manpower from it this turn.

Britain: Goddard has a British army move out of Hyderabad to Circars so the Brits can collect from it this turn after all.

Mysore: Haidar Ali moves up to Seringapatam to threaten Hyderabad (now vacated by the Brits).

In the Summer Attrition Phase, Haidar Ali plays the “Famine” card on Hyderabad, causing it to be able to support only one of the two Hyderabad armies there. One of them takes a step loss from attrition. Then in the Maintenance Phase, nobody has any Money for maintenance except Britain (which has just 1 Money), so Hyderabad loses the army that just took the step loss from famine and flips the other army. Everybody else loses their half-strength armies and flips the rest. Britain ends up with 3 armies and 1 fleet, Mysore and Maratha end up with 3 armies each, and Hyderabad ends up with 2 armies.

In the Money and Manpower Phase, the Nizam gets vindictive on his former ally Britain, (surprise, surprise) and plays the “Drought” card, causing Britain to get one less Money from each of her land areas this turn. The Money and Manpower totals after the phase are as follows:

• Britain: 6 Money, 19 Manpower
• Mysore: 5 Money, 11 Manpower
• Maratha: 14 Money, 23 Manpower
• Hyderabad: 5 Money, 7 Manpower

Fall 1769

Everyone repairs units, and Maratha buys two new armies. Britain has only 2 Money left after repairs because of The Nizam’s Revenge, so she can’t buy any more armies. Initiative is Hyderabad-Maratha-Mysore-Britain.

Hyderabad: The Nizam plays a Minor Country Alliance card, and attempts to ally with France. Britain and Mysore have no Money available to bribe France not to make the alliance, but they do have armies next to Pondicherry to give Intimidation bonuses. But Maratha gives France a substantial bribe to join the Nizam (the more chaos to the south the better . . .), and the Nizam rolls a modified 10, causing France to join the game as Hyderabad’s minor country ally! A French 3/2 army, a French Colonial 3/2 army and Debussy all start in Pondicherry. Then the Nizam and Debussy hit Haidar Ali simultaneously from the northwest and southeast. They pay for two rounds of combat (the Nizam blows his whole wad), with a strength of 12 dice to Haidar Ali’s 10 on the first round. Haidar Ali’s army takes a step loss and is ejected, their only choice being to flee east to Madras to join the British. The Nizam and Debussy then besiege Seringapatam and get 3 hits, dropping its fortification value to 1.

Maratha: Rao, ecstatic to see Mysore being overrun and Haidar Ali running to the Brits for help, decides not to distract the Nizam from his task. He doesn’t invade Hyderabad, but marches through it with three armies to attack Goddard at Circars. He spends 3 money for two rounds of combat, with a strength of 10 to the Brits’ 7 on the first round. He rolls 6 sixes on 10 dice the first round, wiping out a British 3/2 army and capturing Goddard! He then besieges Circars and does 2 hits, leaving it with 1.

Mysore: Haidar Ali, getting the news that the British have been annihilated at Circars, turns right around and marches back to Seringapatam, knowing that he and he alone can save his kingdom now. He brings in all three of his armies and spends 1 money for a Probe, attacking with a strength of 7 to Nizam and Debussy’s 12. He gets a step loss on the French Colonial army and ejects it with no hits in return, and plays a “Recruit Prisoners” card to get 1 Manpower from the step loss on the French.

British: The British in Madras are outflanked and can’t move without exposing Madras to invasion. But before Britain can send a fleet out to pick up the East India army in Calcutta to relieve the siege of Circars, Maratha plays the “Doldrums” card, meaning the fleet can’t move this turn. The Brits in Calcutta can’t head south overland or they’ll lose Calcutta’s fortification bonus and get cut to pieces by Marathas in enemy territory. They stay put, and can do nothing this turn . . .

. . . except sue for peace. In the Peace Phase, Goddard surrenders to Rao. Maratha takes possession of British Circars and sends Goddard back to what’s left of his army. Maratha rolls a 3 and can’t attack the British for three turns.

Winter 1769

France repairs its Colonial army, and no other purchases are made. Initiative is Maratha-Mysore-Britain-Hyderabad.

Maratha: Having beaten Britain, Rao turns his army around and heads out of Circars to besiege uninhabited and defenseless Hyderabad. He pays 1 Money for a two-round siege. He gets two hits, dropping its fortification value to 2. But the defensive fire gets one hit, ejects one Maratha army, AND KILLS MADHAV RAO! (A roll of 11 + 1 for the step loss = 12 = death.)

Mysore: Haidar Ali spends his last Money to attack the Nizam and Debussy at Seringapatam. His attack fails, and he takes one step loss.

Britain: The Brits take their entire land and naval force to attack the French Colonial army at Pondicherry. They spend 1 money for a Probe but do no damage, taking one step loss in return.

Hyderabad: The Nizam and Debussy switch places, with the Nizam in Pondicherry and Debussy in Seringapatam. The French army goes north to contest Hyderabad with the Marathas but doesn’t attack them.

The current victory point totals are:

• Mysore: -2 (has lost Sidassir and no longer has Madras)
• Maratha: 10 (has conquered Delhi, Travencore, Circars and Bombay)
• Hyderabad: 2 (has gained Sidassir and lost nothing)
• Britain: -2 (got back Madras in the alliance deal with Haidar Ali, but lost Circars in the peace with Maratha)

There is no diplomacy — nobody has any use for anyone else at this point . . .

Spring 1770

Maratha gets the two armies she purchased in the fall, and puts them in Indore, just north of Hyderabad. Britain spends her last money to repair an army. The initiative is Maratha-Hyderabad-Mysore-Britain.

Maratha: The Marathas can’t continue the siege of Hyderabad because of the French army that moved in from the south. So, they attack it. They bring in the two new armies from Indore and spend Maratha’s last money, but there’s no damage.

Hyderabad: Debussy sends one army from Seringapatam to attack the weak Mysore army guarding Telicherry on the west coast. He spends France’s last money on the attack, but the Mysore defenders eject the French.

Mysore: Haidar Ali takes his armies down to Maratha-controlled Travencore to besiege it, and gets one hit.

British: They leave Pondicherry aboard ship and sail to the French island of Mauritius in the West Indian Ocean. They besiege it and get one hit.

Summer 1770

Everyone’s broke again, and even sieges cost money in the summer, so nobody does anything. Two half-strength Mysore armies are eliminated due to lack of maintenance — Haidar Ali is now down to one army, and the death of his army at Travencore lifts the siege there. Maratha loses one army, but still has 4. France loses its half-strength Colonial army, and all other armies flip. Then everyone collects money and manpower, and the totals end up at:

• Britain: 9 Money, 13 Manpower
• Mysore: 5 Money, 11 Manpower
• Maratha: 18 Money, 26 Manpower
• Hyderabad: 5 Money, 9 Manpower
• France: 2 Money, 11 Manpower

Fall 1770

Everyone repairs units, and initiative is Mysore-Maratha-Hyderabad-Britain. But the Nizam plays a “Karmic Shiva” card and switches in initiative order with Mysore.

Hyderabad: A Hyderabad army leaves Pondicherry and goes to Seringapatam to maintain the siege there, while the French army attacks the Marathas at Hyderabad along with the Nizam and his Hyderabad army. But the Marathas play a “Bribed Army” card and spend 3 Money to get the French to turn coat on the battlefield, attacking their ally the Nizam. But the Nizam then plays “Local Assistance” and gets 3 more strength points, and the final total is Nizam 6, Maratha/French 13. The Marathas and the French score a step loss on the Nizam and force him to retreat back to Seringapatam. One Maratha army also takes a step loss and retreats up to Indore.

Maratha: The Marathas quickly turn on the French (who would have reverted back to their alliance with Hyderabad next turn) and pay 5 Money for unlimited attacks on Debussy’s army. They roll 7 dice to Debussy’s 6, and get 5 sixes on 7 dice the first round, annihilating the French and capturing Debussy. They then pay 1 Money for two rounds of siege, and successfully take control of Hyderabad!

Mysore: Haidar Ali spends 3 Money for a two-round Assault on the Nizam and his two remaining half-strength armies at Seringapatam. He eliminates one army on the first round, and the Nizam retreats before the second round. The siege of Seringapatam is lifted, and the Nizam has only one half-strength army left.

Britain: They move armies down from Madras to besiege unoccupied Pondicherry while the fleet and army continue to besiege Mauritius. They spend 1 Money for two rounds of siege at Mauritius, and 3 Money for unlimited siege rounds at Pondicherry. They conquer and take control of both with no losses.

Winter 1770

Everybody who can makes repairs. France has been conquered and has no units on the board. Initiative is Hyderabad-Maratha-Mysore-Britain. But Maratha plays the “Dharma Chakra” card and rearranges the initiative to Maratha-Britain-Mysore-Hyderabad.

Maratha: Three Maratha armies move south to Seringapatam and attack Hyder Ali to give the ghost of Rao some peace. There is no damage on either side.

Britain: Perfidious Albion breaks the peace, and moves armies from Pondicherry to besiege Maratha-controlled Travencore, and also sails a fleet and army in from Mauritius to besiege uninhabited Tellicherry. They conquer and take control of Telicherry only.

Mysore: Haidar Ali spends the last of his money on a tworound Assault on the invading Marathas. There is no damage.

Hyderabad: The Nizam heads back home to try to recapture his kingdom. He spends his last money and attacks with a strength of 3 against 6, but his final army is destroyed and he is captured by the Marathas.

The war is over with the end of the Winter 1770 turn, and the final victory point totals are:

• Mysore: -4 (lost Sidassir and Tellicherry)
• Maratha: 13 (conquered Bombay, Delhi, Circars, Travencore and Hyderabad)
• Hyderabad: -1 (gained Sidassir but lost Hyderabad)
• Britain: 1 (lost Bombay and Circars, but gained Tellicherry, Pondicherry and Mauritius)

Maratha’s VP threshold is 10, so she wins a new empire and a glorious victory in memory of the Heroic Peshwar Madhav Rao.

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