There is no doubt that Fire in the Lake is my favorite COIN Series game! It is always a great experience sitting at that table for 4-5 hours and playing through the whole of the Vietnam War. To me, the inter-factional dynamics and loose alliances really makes for a tense and interesting experience as you see people work together for a few turns and then turn on each other near the end when victory is in sight. I also have enjoyed the expansion to Fire in the Lake called Fall of Saigon that just came out this past year. With that being said, Stephen Rangazas, who had helped with the research on Fall of Saigon and is now finalizing the design for The British Way, the first COIN Series Multi-Pack, is now designing a prequel of sorts for Fire in the Lake called Sovereign of Discord, which was added to the P500 last year.

Once the game was announced, we reached out to the design and development team to see if we could do a series of Event Card Spoilers and Stephen Rangazas and Joe Dewhurst agreed to provide those. We will be hosting a series of 6 of these Event Card Spoiler posts over the next several months and appreciate the effort that both Joe as developer and Stephen as designer have put into these short write ups intended to share the history of the card as well as their game play effects.

*Please keep in mind that the artwork and layout of these cards is not yet finalized and is only for playtest purposes at this point. Also, as this game is still in development, card details may still change prior to publication.

#P72 Thich Quang Duc

In the weeks following the beginning of the Buddhist crisis, Buddhist leaders such as Tam Chau tried to reach an agreement with Diem to resolve the crisis. However, inflammatory public declarations by Madame Nhu worsened the crisis. After the breakdown of negotiations, the Buddhist leaders acquiesced to a proposal by Thich Quang Duc to carry out his self-immolation as a protest against the regime. The self-immolation occurred on June 11 and was famously covered by the American journalist and photographer Malcolm Browne, who had been tipped off to the event. Thich Quang Duc’s own writings indicate that he hoped the burning would lead to a quick resolution between the regime and the Buddhist community. However, further instability followed the event, including additional self-immolation protests (several Americans, most famously Norman Morrison, would carry out their own self-immolations in protest against escalating US involvement two years later). In response to the continued protests, Diem launched raids of twelve pagodas, further worsening the crisis and his relationship with the United States.

Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation is one of the most vivid images of the Vietnam War, and will often prove to be a pivotal moment in Sovereign of Discord games, just as it was for Diem’s regime historically. If Diem (represented by the ARVN player) can successfully negotiate with Buddhist leader Tam Chau to avoid further escalation of the protests then his regime is likely to survive, granting ARVN an additional 6 Patronage at the end of the game. However, if the self-immolation protest goes ahead then his fate is quite likely sealed, and the US player will also lose crucial Support. This card seems like a suitable place to end this series, and we hope that you will all enjoy exploring the rest of the new Events once Sovereign of Discord is released later this year.

As in life, all good things must come to an end and this is the end of our Event Card Spoilers for Sovereign of Discord. I really am grateful for Stephen’s effort in putting this series together and appreciate the great insight that the Event Cards give into the history of the period as well as a look inside the different mechanics and additions to Fire in the Lake from the COIN Series.

If you missed the previous entries in the series, you can catch up on the posts to date by following the below links:

#P17 Law 10/59

#P22 Exterminate Traitors

#P41 Robert Thompson

#P37 Operation Sunrise

#P71 Madame Nhu

We posted an interview with the designer Stephen Rangazas on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/03/20/interview-with-stephen-rangazas-designer-of-sovereign-of-discord-a-fire-in-the-lake-expansion-from-gmt-games/

Finally, if you are interested in Sovereign of Discord: A Fire in the Lake Expansion, you can pre-order a copy from the P500 game page on the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-966-sovereign-of-discord-a-fire-in-the-lake-expansion.aspx

-Grant

Note: Sovereign of Discord is compatible with the First and Second Edition of Fire in the Lake, as well as the Second Edition Upgrade Kit. The Solitaire System included in Sovereign of Discord is for Sovereign of Discord only, and cannot be used to play the scenarios included in Fire in the Lake. A copy of Fire in the Lake will be necessary to play the Sovereign of Discord expansion.