Re-Route: The Marching Season Game

by David Kershaw.

Description.

A game for 3 players: the game represents the struggle of three factions (Republicans, Loyalists, and the RUC) for the control of hearts and minds of the people of Northern Ireland/Ulster/The North of Ireland/The Occupied Six Counties (hereafter referred to as NI). The republicans and loyalists attempt, through the playing of cards, to place as many counters of their own colour (and remove as many of the opposite colour!) as possible on the map, the objective being to control as much of the six counties plus Belfast as possible. The RUC, through the playing of cards, attempts to remove as many of either colour as possible.

Game was previously a free download. Now available for US$3 from www.wargamedownloads.com

Game design notes.

Oh dear, who have I offended…. A few personal notes: I live in NI. I am not from NI originally. I am in a mixed-religion relationship. That alone probably offends even more people. But then NI is that sort of place. It is the sort of place where people meeting usually spend a while working out one-another’s religion and then subtly adjust their behaviour accordingly. People live in their own communities, socialise in their own communities, use tradesmen from their own communities and school their children in their own communities. This makes people fiercely traditional, uncompromising and unprepared for change. However, we have seen change – ceasefires, regeneration of cities and towns, political lampooning on mainstream TV, even an increase in ethnic minorities (real ones, not white people). On the other hand, there are signs of business as usual – the political mainstream is being squeezed out by the extremes, less people live in mixed communities and compromise is harder than ever.

So what is the purpose of this game? Firstly, it is not meant as a serious simulation or study of the goings on around the Twelfth. Secondly, it is not intended to push a specific political agenda – note that the Loyalists and Republicans have a shared deck, and the RUC don’t even exist any more. Thirdly, it does not glorify violence (in the same way that Axis and Allies or any other board/computer/miniature wargame do not glorify violence). The game was developed during the worst Drumcree standoff in 1998 (?) when roads were blocked, riots were nightly, and it seemed that there was a symbiosis of behaviour going on: The loyalists would march, the RUC would block them and the loyalists would riot, or else the RUC would let them through and the republicans would riot. That is what it seemed like at the time, and I thought it would be interesting to see what it would be like making the decisions of the 3 main protagonists – loyalist, republican and the RUC. The game also tapped into a strong sense of black humour that was evident at the time in those of us not directly involved in the general lunacy. I think that this is the essence of the game, and maybe a reason why it will not appeal outside NI. The game makes a heartfelt appeal to the cynicism of people whose lives are made more difficult by the behaviour of the protagonists. We can’t hit them back in any effective way, so we make the best of things and play a game to mock them all. If only everyone else did the same.