Overview

Cuba Libre is a 1-4 player COIN (Counter-Insurgency) series game depicting the Cuban insurgency of 1957-1958. Each player controls one of four factions: the Government (Batista regime), the 26th of July Movement (Castro’s leftists), the Revolutionary Directorate (anti-communist students), or the Syndicate (organized crime). Players use military, political, and economic actions to influence the population, extract resources, and achieve their faction’s victory conditions. A card-driven system regulates turn order, events, and victory checks. Non-player rules enable solitaire, 2-player, and 3-player games.

Components

• 1 mounted game board (17” x 22”) showing Cuba divided into Provinces, Cities, and Economic Centers
• 52-card deck (Event cards and Propaganda cards)
• 86 wooden force pieces (Government Troops/Police, Insurgent Guerrillas, Bases/Casinos)
• 8 embossed cylinders
• 6 white and 6 black pawns
• Sheet of markers (Support/Opposition, Control, Terror, Sabotage, Cash, Capabilities)
• 3 six-sided dice (red, yellow, green)
• Sequence of Play sheets, Faction player aid foldouts, Non-player aid foldout

Setup

1. Place the game board. Set up forces per the setup chart: Government Troops and Police in cities and provinces, Insurgent Guerrillas and Bases per faction starting positions.
2. Place Support, Opposition, and Control markers per the setup chart.
3. Set faction Resources on the edge tracks.
4. Shuffle the deck. Propaganda cards are pre-mixed into the deck at set intervals.
5. Reveal the top card of the deck for all to see (the “upcoming” card).

Turn Structure

Cards are played one at a time from the deck. Each Event card shows:

• The order in which factions become Eligible (printed on the card).
• The Event text (which any eligible faction may choose to execute).

On each card:

1. The 1st and 2nd Eligible factions (in the order printed on the card) decide: execute the Event, perform an Operation (+ optional Special Activity), or pass.
2. Executing an Event or Operation makes that faction Ineligible for the next card. Passing keeps the faction Eligible.
3. At most 2 factions act per card. The remaining factions are automatically Eligible next card.

Propaganda Rounds: When a Propaganda card is drawn, all factions execute a special sequence: Victory Check, Resources, Support/Opposition shifts, Redeploy, and other maintenance.

Actions

Government Operations:

• Train: Place cubes (Troops/Police) in Cities or Provinces with Bases. May also build Government Bases.
• Patrol: Move cubes along adjacent spaces. May Activate enemy Guerrillas encountered.
• Sweep: Activate Underground Guerrillas in spaces where Government cubes are present.
• Assault: Remove Active enemy pieces (Guerrillas, Bases) where Government forces are concentrated. In Forest/Mountain terrain, need more Troops.

Government Special Activities:

• Air Strike: Remove Active enemy pieces in any space.
• Civic Action: Shift Population toward Support using Police.
• Govern: Collect Resources; shift Population toward Support.
• Advise (US): Various US-backed effects.

26th of July Movement Operations:

• Rally: Place Guerrillas and Bases in spaces with existing 26July presence.
• March: Move Guerrillas between adjacent spaces.
• Attack: Remove enemy pieces where 26July Guerrillas outnumber enemy cubes.
• Terror: Place Terror markers; shift Population toward Opposition.

26July Special Activities:

• Infiltrate, Ambush, Kidnap, Agitate.

Directorate Operations: Similar to 26July (Rally, March, Attack, Terror) with their own Special Activities (Student Protests, Kidnap, Ambush, Propaganda).

Syndicate Operations:

• Rally: Place Guerrillas and open Casinos.
• March: Move Guerrillas.
• Attack: Remove pieces where Syndicate forces outnumber opponents.
• Terror: Place Sabotage markers on Economic Centers.

Syndicate Special Activities:

• Bribe, Extort, Assassinate, Gamble.

Forces:

• Government: Troops (dark blue cubes) and Police (light blue cubes). Troops are strong in combat; Police enable civic actions.
• Guerrillas: Can be Underground (hidden) or Active (revealed). Set up and placed Underground. Certain actions flip them Active.
• Bases: Represent camps, administration, or casinos. At most 2 non-Casino Bases + 2 Casinos per space.
• Casinos (Syndicate Bases): Open or Closed. Cannot be removed by enemy actions (only closed, not destroyed). The Syndicate may voluntarily remove its own Casinos.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Each faction has a unique victory condition checked during Propaganda Rounds:

• Government: Total Support + Total Bases on map >= threshold.
• 26th of July Movement: Total Opposition + Bases on map >= threshold.
• Directorate: Total Population in spaces they Control >= threshold.
• Syndicate: Total open Casinos + Resources >= threshold.

If no faction wins during a Propaganda Round, play continues. After the final Propaganda card, the faction closest to its goal wins.

Key Terms:

• Support/Opposition: Markers on Provinces and Cities tracking population sentiment (Passive Support, Active Support, Neutral, Passive Opposition, Active Opposition).
• Control: A faction Controls a space if its pieces outnumber all other factions combined.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Eligibility: A faction that acts on a card becomes Ineligible for the next card. Passing preserves Eligibility.
• Underground/Active Guerrillas: Underground Guerrillas cannot be targeted by most Government actions (require Sweep or Patrol to reveal them). Only Active Guerrillas can be removed by Assault.
• Stacking: Max 2 non-Casino Bases + 2 Casinos per Province or City. Bases and Casinos cannot occupy Economic Centers.
• Casinos: Cannot be removed by enemy actions; they are only “closed” (flipped). The Syndicate can voluntarily remove them.
• Cash Markers: Special markers that stack with specific pieces on the map.
• Non-Player Factions: Detailed automated decision flowcharts allow 1, 2, or 3 human players by running non-player factions through prescribed priorities.
• Propaganda Rounds: Include: Victory Check, Faction Resource collection, Adjust Support/Opposition, Government Redeployment, and other upkeep.
• Events: Each card has a unique event that can benefit one or more factions, often with historically themed effects.

Player Reference

Faction	Forces	Victory Condition
Government	Troops (dark blue), Police (light blue), Bases	Support + Bases >= threshold
26th of July	Guerrillas (red), Bases	Opposition + Bases >= threshold
Directorate	Guerrillas (yellow), Bases	Population in controlled spaces >= threshold
Syndicate	Guerrillas (green), Casinos	Open Casinos + Resources >= threshold

Operation	Gov	26Jul	Dir	Synd
Train/Rally	X	X	X	X
Patrol/March	X	X	X	X
Sweep/Attack	X	X	X	X
Assault/Terror	X	X	X	X

• 2 factions act per card; executing = Ineligible next card
• Propaganda Rounds trigger Victory Checks
• Underground Guerrillas are hidden; must be revealed before targeting