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# Long Distance Emergencies
- URL: https://www.onlycastlesburning.com/long-distance-emergencies/
- Published: 2026-09-22T14:30:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T14:30:50.000Z
- Description: Exploring The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire (GMT Games, 2023) with an opponent on the other side of the country.
- Author: Keith Pishnery
- Tags: Board Games, COIN, GMT Games, The British Way

## Part I: Playing Remotely

My best friend moved to the other side of the country almost 15 years ago. Over the years, we've kept in touch and visited each other when possible. When we see each other, it feels like no time has passed, but it's still different. Text messages about random news or a few days here and there aren't quite the same as experiencing the same things at the same time on a regular basis. Friendships are built on routines to a degree. After a recent trip to visit him, I had a thought: maybe we could strike up a "play by mail" style two player board game as a way to do something together regularly?

I had already purchased *The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire* (GMT Games, 2023), intending to set it up in my office and play against myself as a break in the work day. Having a regular opponent would be even better! After explaining the idea and getting him to buy a copy, we dove in. Thankfully, he really dug it and had the same old guy reaction to playing a historical game. There's something about this that appeals to us now that probably didn't years ago. We decided to play each of the four scenarios twice, each getting to play both sides, then going back through the scenarios in the "End of Empire" campaign mode. Quite a lot of exposure to one game with one opponent!

*The British Way* covers four "emergencies" that the British experienced as their power waned post-WWII. They discovered that people did not love their prior colonization after all. Strange! This would require them to employ a somewhat new way of thinking: counterinsurgency, a combination of guerrilla warfare and trying to win over "hearts and minds." For the most part, they failed, because the desire for freedom won out over torture and corruption and table scraps. That said, most of these conflicts are mixed bags of results, and the linked campaign attempts to show the cumulative effect of the British trying to put down rebellions in multiple theaters consecutively or concurrently. 

Typically, turns progress as simple texts describing our actions with board state photos following to confirm. Once in a while we question an action and have a back and forth about rules. Then there are times where we schedule a little time to get on the phone and play "live." Usually this is when the Propaganda score tracking rounds come up (three times a game, usually). These are relatively short games once you know the rules, so we could just play an entire game over the phone. There's something nice about the intermittent contact, though. It allows us to think through our turns, then compare notes on what the other was thinking at regular intervals. Punctuated by some swearing at particularly devious plays.

![Images of Messages chats with turn details, board state photos, and some comments setting up a phone call.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/61/e9610d9f-1c04-4572-a1e2-d9e8ba85b367/content/images/2026/09/typical.jpg)

Typical turns and chat from games we've played.

These conversations are also where we discuss the subject matter of each emergency and share sources we've read or watched on them. If we were strangers, it's unlikely we would get on the phone and talk like this. Being long time friends, it allows us to catch up on what's happening in our lives as well as play. Comparing notes on how we fare as each side is interesting, too. We've been keeping track and certain trends occur. One scenario favoring one side through multiple plays, or seeing how the number of pieces, the relative resources, etc affect each faction. 

Since most of the game is open information (aside from some random chit pulls that are easily communicated), playing in this way is very smooth. It requires a little bit of personal responsibility to check and recheck your opponent's stated moves and their photo record, but the upside is that you really pay attention to the game you are playing. In-person play can sometimes be bogged down by both distracted players *and* overwhelmed players. Having the time to really study the board state and think through how the rules model the historical conflicts portrayed makes for a more immersive game. We always end up discussing how the actions and event cards reflect the history. While some historical nuance will always be lost, I'm glad to give the subjects the consideration they deserve. 

At some point during all these words, I imagine you may be wondering why not just play a video game or [Rally the Troops](https://www.rally-the-troops.com/?ref=onlycastlesburning.com) or [Board Game Arena](https://en.boardgamearena.com/?ref=onlycastlesburning.com) or [Vassal](https://vassalengine.org/?ref=onlycastlesburning.com)? 

There's a couple reasons. I really like playing with physical game pieces like most board gamers. They are fun little graphic design objects. The tactility makes me feel connected to the game. I've found most digital board game implementations feel clunky. Being away from a computer (phone camera/text aside) is nice. Mostly it feels more *personal* to play with physical pieces, texting and calling each other. I've talked to my friend more during this than I have in ages. Having to talk through rules or re-sync our boards after some confusion...it's something we are experiencing together. I hope to continue doing this for a long time to come. 

## Part II: After Action Report

We played the "End of Empire" linked campaign scenario twice. I was the insurgent side on the first play, the British on the second. Here's a summary of that first play. 

I would say this is more a way of tracking progress than a campaign mode (where each scenario affects the next in a progression). The pre-war table roll option did put an Irgun capability on the table immediately, which I would say helped me hold to the bitter end in Palestine (Thank you Palmach), although I still lost. My opponent let the overall Imperial Prestige drop instead of taking some of his troops off the board to deal with other far-flung emergencies. I did realize one thing about this scenario too late: let your Irgun gather and then travel to various parts of the map to sabotage many places on next turn. Getting the flow of Limited Operations is pretty essential to COIN and especially when you are just outgunned by the British. The British gained back two Imperial Prestige by Standing Firm.

Despite losing the first scenario, I felt it was a good play. I can't say the same about the next two. Malaya started out well with a lot of Opposition in the beginning, but once the British closed in on Kelantan, I was thrown in disarray. I remembered too late that Thailand should be my base of operations in Malaya. Once the bulk of my forces were destroyed and I started losing control, I decided to try pivoting and hunting the British for some permanent Political Will changes, but could not get that going before the second Propaganda resulted in an early victory. This brought Imperial Prestige to 10, the upper limit of the historical outcome. 

And that's when disaster struck. 

I say disaster but really, I just plain started Kenya wrong. As I mentioned above, getting the flow of Limited Operations is essential and I straight up flubbed this aspect at the beginning, resulting in the British crushing the Mau Mau in Nairobi and Kiambu for an early victory on the first Propaganda round. Two bases, control removal and a four point swing in the "Mau Mau contained?" step. I walked straight into it. And it brought Imperial Prestige to a whopping 12 going into the last scenario. I'd love to blame some random element or bad luck, but this was definitely a moment of just not thinking through the sequence of play. 

Cyprus was a much closer game as I was able to bring Political Will down to 3 in the end through some late game sabotage in Akrotiri. Unfortunately my attempts to control Nicosia were met with heavy crackdowns. Once I pivoted to other areas, I lost a few rolls and then my caches were eliminated before the end of the game. Propagandize seems to be fairly important in this one, but conditions sometimes make it hard to get to. In the end, I was able to force an Exit in Cyprus but Britain beat the historical outcome at 11\. 

I absolutely had some bad plays throughout the campaign, but still enjoyed the experience. I felt like the campaign event deck really helps give a sense of what this period of time was like for Britain. Slowly losing control, putting out fires, but still dominant in the world. The empire may have collapsed but the kingdom persists and the legacy of colonialism is still felt deeply the world over. In the history books, the stamp they put on the world has evolved over time. What was once considered a successful empire, is now seen as a crushing colonialist hegemony that warped everyone it touched. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/61/e9610d9f-1c04-4572-a1e2-d9e8ba85b367/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2637.jpg)