Game Objective

The Trưng system is an update to the non-player (NP) opponent system for the base game Fire in the Lake. It replaces the original flowcharts with a deck of cards and aid tables. The objective of this system is to allow you to play against non-player (NP) factions using the provided cards and tables to guide the actions of these factions.

Setup

To set up the game, follow these steps:

1. Select Scenario: Choose a scenario to play. For a greater challenge, Medium or Full scenarios are recommended.
2. Select NP Factions: Any combination of player factions and NP factions can be used. For each NP faction, collect its six corresponding Trưng cards.
3. Create Trưng Deck: Shuffle all cards from all NP factions into a single deck, with the cards face up.
4. Resource Cylinders:
   • The NP NVA never uses its resource cylinder; set it aside.
   • The NP VC resource cylinder should be set to 1d3 for its initial Agitate Total.
   • If both NP US and NP ARVN are NP factions, set aside the NP ARVN resource cylinder and the Econ marker.
   • If US or ARVN is a player faction, set up the NP ARVN resource cylinder and the Econ and Aid markers according to the chosen scenario's instructions.
5. NP US Policy: If US is an NP faction, set its Policy marker according to the scenario's instructions.
6. Finalization: Prepare the rest of the scenario normally, following the chosen scenario's instructions.

Game Flow

The game follows the base game's Sequence of Play. NP factions make decisions similar to players. The general flow is:

1. Eligibility Determination: First, the Eligible NP Factions determine if and how they will act on the current Event Card, using the NP Eligibility Table.
2. Action Execution: The deck of Trưng cards is used to select Operations and Special Activities. Priority tables guide the selection of spaces, movements, and affected pieces.
3. Events: Event tables guide the selection and execution of Events.
4. Pass: If an NP faction chooses to Pass, there is no additional effect (unless the NP COIN is passing when the other COIN faction is a player, which adds +3 ARVN Resources).

Actions and How to Play

NP factions use the Trưng cards to perform their actions. Each card has an face-up side (identified by a single letter) and a face-down side (identified by two letters).

Executing Operations and Special Activities

When using a Trưng card, follow these rules:

• Reading the Card: Start with the first blue box. If the condition is true, follow the green arrow; if false, follow the red one.
• Execution: Execute each numbered instruction in order, as much as possible. Bold text indicates which column of the Space Selection Priorities table should be used. Instructions with an asterisk (*) are executed last.
• New Cards and Flipping Cards: If an arrow points to the card icon, you must Draw a New Card or Flip Card to the hidden side.
• Inability to Act: If there are no legal spaces for the selected Operation, draw a new Trưng card to attempt a different operation.
• Special Activities: Execute a Special Activity from the list, following alphabetical order. If one cannot be executed, skip to the next. If none can, execute only the Operation.

The Activation Number

Many operations are limited by an Activation Number (indicated by a die icon on the card).

1. After executing an operation in a space, roll 1d6.
2. If the result is less than or equal to the Activation Number, the NP faction will not select any more spaces.
3. If the result is greater, the faction will select another space and repeat the process.

Move Priorities

To move pieces, use the Move Priorities table following the active faction's column:

1. Step A: Select the destination according to the card or priority table.
2. Step B: Select the origin (the space with the most movable pieces that is within range of the destination and has not yet been selected as a destination).
3. Keep/Move: Follow the Keep (keep pieces at the origin) and Move (move to the destination) instructions from the table.

Events

Events are determined by the Event Card table and Effective Events table.

• NP factions only execute actions that are considered Effective.
• NP US always selects unshaded text and NP VC always selects shaded text.
• NP ARVN generally uses unshaded text, unless the event is marked "C" in the table.

End of Game and Scoring

Victory conditions vary depending on the game mode:

• Solitaire: The player can only win during the final Coup Round. NP factions can win during the Victory Phase of any Coup Round or after the Redeploy Phase of the last round.
• Multiplayer (2 or 3 players): Any faction can win during any Coup Round.

Tips for Winning

Refer to the manual for details on this section.