THE BATTLE OF SEATTLE

v. 1.2, 3 February 2000

 

Dedication:  to violins in the streets.

 

1.0 Introduction

 

Battle of Seattle is a simulation of the popular demonstrations against the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks held in Seattle from November 30 to December 3, 1999. In the game, one player (representing the protesters) attempts to disrupt the WTO meetings and draw attention to the anti-free-trade cause, while the other player (representing the Seattle civic authorities) tries to contain the disruption.

 

2.0 Game Components and concepts

 

The game includes the following: a set of 96 counters, a map of the downtown Seattle area, some charts and tables, and these rules.  Sorry, you will have to color the counters (or “units”) in accordance with the Counter Manifest and mount them on cardboard. Players will also need two six-sided dice of differing size or color. (Abbreviations: 1d6 means the roll of one die, 2d6 means the sum of the roll of two dice.)

 

2.1  Units

Counters are provided for the two sides in the game: the Protester player and the Authority player. Each counter (unit) is rated for its Combat Factor (bottom left number on the counter), Morale Factor (bottom middle), and Movement Factor (bottom right). 

 

Protester units are divided into two types: Groups (small groups of 25 - 50 activists) and Crowds (500-800 demonstrators).  These can be told apart in that all Crowds have a Movement Factor of 1, and have representations of several people or icons on them. Or you could just remember that all Anarchist, Radical and Yahoo units are Groups, while the rest are Crowds. Authority units represent large platoons of 40-60 members of the Seattle Police Department (SPD), State Troopers, or National Guardsmen.

 

2.2  Map

The map is a network of areas connected by Transit Lines, superimposed over a representation of downtown Seattle. Each area in the "Downtown Core" is hexagon-shaped and has an Exposure Value marked in its borders: this is important for the Protester player. Other areas are circle-shaped. Units move from one adjacent area to another, using the Transit Lines, during the Movement Phase.

 

2.3 Game Concepts

 

Exposure Index (EI): The Exposure Index represents the amount of favorable publicity and "image leverage" a side has received. In a sense, it is a measure of how close one player or another is to "winning" the battle. Both the Protester and Authority players have their own Exposure Indices, maintained independently of each other, during the game.  An Exposure Index may not go below zero: if a player must subtract more EI points than he has available, the points 'beyond zero' are added to the other player's EI instead.

 

Protester Factions: The people who demonstrated in the "Battle of Seattle" were united in their opposition to the WTO, but divided on almost everything else.  Therefore, Protester units are colored in accordance with their allegiance to a (very approximate) ideological position:

·          Anarchists (white with black edges): Members of organizations like the Direct Action Network, the Ruckus Society, or the Eugene Brickthrowers Local 666, who want to literally "SMASH THE STATE!".

·          Radicals (red): A catch-all term for members of a panoply of anti-capitalist movements, fed-up students, etc. who value direct action over decorous demonstration.

·          Organized Labor (orange): Trade union members, mostly.

·          Liberals (pink): another catch-all for a variety of political non-governmental organizations: cultural or human rights groups, etc. . Also includes irate citizens (hundreds of whom turned out to "defend" their neighborhood of Capitol Hill when the police moved in there in force).

·          Environmentalists (green): Groups concerned over how WTO rulings allow corporations to damage the environment. These are the ones who dressed up like sea turtles and butterflies.

·          Yahoos (yellow): Not an ideological faction, these units represent unorganized youngsters who came out to loot in the downtown area when the TV news showed some extremist protesters smashing store windows and setting fires in the streets.

 

Authority Departments: Large numbers of people from different government agencies became involved in the conflict. All Authority units are colored blue, but they are differentiated according to their origin:

·          Seattle Police Department (SPD): These units represent ordinary “beat cops” equipped for riot duty.

·          State Troopers: these units are policemen normally under Washington State authority who were sent to Seattle to help the SPD.

·          National Guardsmen: When things got really bad, several small units of National Guard military policemen trained for crowd control were brought in as well.

 

2.4 Starting the Game

The two Players agree which side each will play. They set their units up on the map in the order and method described by the scenario instructions.  Play begins with the Morning, Nov 30 Game-turn and continues until end of the Afternoon, December 2 Game-turn at which point victory is judged (or, by mutual agreement, the players can extend the game to the end of the Afternoon, December 3 Game-turn - this was the historical end of the WTO conference).

 

3.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY

 

Each Game-turn represents four hours of daylight or twelve hours of night-time activity. In each Game-turn, there is a Random Events and Reinforcement Phase followed by two Player-turns (one for the Protester Player, who goes first in each Game-turn, and one for the Authority Player), and finally a Turn End Phase.

 

 

3.2  Random Events and Reinforcement Phase

One player (it doesn't matter who) rolls two dice in succession, reads the result from the Random Events Table, and applies the result. Both players then simultaneously add any reinforcements they are due this turn.

 

3.3 Player-turn

 

3.31 Movement Phase. All Protester units move within the provisions of the rules governing movement (5.0).

 

3.32  Enemy Reaction Movement Phase. Some Authority units may, to a limited extent, move or appear on the map.

 

3.33 Combat Phase. Combat between units occupying the same area  takes place, within the provisions of the rules governing combat (6.0).

 

This ends the Protester player-turn. The Authority player then moves his units, the Protester player does Reaction Movement, and the Authority player conducts combat . During the Combat Phases of both player-turns, certain adjustments will be made to either side’s Exposure Index.

 

3.4  Turn End Phase

Both players add or deduct Exposure Index points for various reasons (see the Exposure Index Adjustment Table). The Protester player then removes all Crowd units if the following Game-turn is a Night turn.

 

The next game-turn then begins with the Random Events and Reinforcement Phase.

 

4.0 RANDOM EVENTS AND REINFORCEMENT PHASE

 

4.1  Random Events

One player rolls 1d6 twice in succession and treats the first as the 'tens' number, and the second as the 'ones' (so a roll of 4 followed by a 6 would mean random event 46). He consults the Random Events Table and applies the result as directed.

 

4.2  Reinforcements

During this phase, both players simultaneously receive reinforcements. Protester reinforcements are placed anywhere on the map except in areas where there are only Authority units. Authority reinforcements appear in the Reserve Pool and move from there to the map in the Reaction Movement Phase of the Protester player-turn, or in their own Movement Phase.

 

4.21 Reinforcements Derived from the EI. Both players look at the Reinforcement Chart and, depending on the current level of their Exposure Index, add or remove units as directed. The Protester player draws his Group and Crowd units randomly from the units available off-board; the Authority player may choose only SPD units. Units that are removed due to a low or high EI are placed with the units available off-board: they are available to enter the game later if circumstances should change. If no units of the right type are available off-map, they are not received. A player may decline to add reinforcement units if he wishes, but he must remove units when directed to do so.

 

Example: The Protester EI is 46 and the Authority EI is 28. The Protester player therefore draws two Group and three Crowd units at random, and will be able to move two units in the Reaction Movement Phase of the Authority Player-turn. The Authority player adds three SPD units and will be able to move one unit in the Reaction Movement Phase of the Protester Player-turn.

 

4.22  Authority Emergency Reinforcements. In this phase, after he has taken any reinforcements due him in 4.21, the Authority player may decide to receive emergency reinforcements. (These units are made up of Washington State Troopers, National Guardsmen, or ordinary policemen pulled in from other areas of the city.) He decides what and how many reinforcement units he wants (up to the limits of the counter mix), and pays an immediate EI penalty for each unit taken: see the EI Adjustment Chart. SPD emergency reinforcements are placed immediately in the Reserve Pool, while State Trooper and National Guard units take two turns to arrive: place them on the space of the Turn Record track two turns after the current Game-turn (certain random events may speed up or delay their arrival). On the turn of their arrival, the units are placed in the Reserve Pool.

 

5.0  MOVEMENT

 

During the Movement Phase of his player-turn, a player may move all, some or none of his units. A given unit may move from one area to another area connected to it by a Transit Line, up to a number of areas equal to its Movement Factor (therefore a Group unit starting in International District could move Kingdome - Pioneer Square - Waterfront, but no further).  Units must stop when they enter an area with an enemy unit in it.  A unit beginning the turn in an area with enemy units may leave that area, but must stop in the first area it enters that contains another enemy unit.

 

Reserve Pool: In the Movement Phase of his player-turn, the Authority Player may move any number of his units to or from the Reserve Pool.  They may be placed in any area on the map.

 

5.1  Enemy Reaction Movement

Immediately after a player's Movement Phase comes the Reaction Movement Phase. The player whose player-turn it isn't may move a number of units equal to his Reaction Movement Limit, related to his current Exposure Index and found on the Reinforcement Chart. The Protester player may reaction-move only his Group units, and each unit may move a maximum of one area. The Authority player may reaction-move his units that are currently on the a maximum of one area, or he may move a unit from the Reserve Pool to any area on the map.

 

5.2 Stacking

Any number of units from either side may be present in a single area on the map with the following exceptions:

·          there may never be more than TWO Crowd counters in an area at any time; and

·          there may never be more than ONE Barricade marker in an area.

 

6.0 COMBAT

 

6.1  Combat Procedure

During the Combat Phase of a player-turn, a player may have combat with enemy units that are in the same area as his units. Combat is voluntary and simultaneous between units, and not all the units in an area need be involved. A given player's units may be involved in only one combat in a given Combat Phase.

 

To conduct combat, a player whose turn it is declares which of his units are attacking and which enemy units in the area are the target of his attack. He totals the adjusted Combat Factors (CF) of his attacking units, rolls 1d6 and cross-indexes the roll with the column on the Combat Results Table that corresponds with the total CF of his units. The player whose turn it isn’t then “counterattacks” by doing the reverse with those units that were just attacked. Both players then apply the specific combat results to their involved units.

 

 

6.2 Combat Factor (CF) Adjustments

 

Special Munitions: The Authority player may declare in any combat that he is using special munitions (tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, baton rounds, stun grenades, attack hamsters, etc. etc.). This doubles the CF of each Authority unit doing so, but there is an EI penalty for each unit. 

Barricades: If Protester units are involved in combat in an area with a Barricade marker in it, the CF of both sides’ units is halved (round up).  See 7.2 for more on Barricades.

Night: During night turns, the CF of both sides’ units is halved (round up).

Random Events: The “Angry Womyn” and “Pointing Fingers” random events, when in effect, will double some units’ CF in the proper circumstances: see the Random Events Table.

Escalation: All units double their CF if the Authority player decides to go to “Stage Three” escalation (see 7.3).

 

Combat Factor adjustments are cumulative: do all the doubling first, then the halving, rounding up each time you halve.

 

6.3  Combat Results

 

N:  No effect. Nothing happens.

MC: Morale Check. One enemy unit of the rolling player's choice that was involved in the combat must make a Morale Check.

A: Arrest. If the Authority player rolled the die, one Protester unit of the Authority player's choice that was involved in the combat is PERMANENTLY removed from the game and all other Protester units that were involved in the combat must make a Morale Check. Then any EI penalty or reward is given (see the EI Adjustment Chart). If the Protester player rolled the die, one Authority unit that was involved in the combat is temporarily removed to the Reserve Pool.

X: Dispersal. If the Authority Player rolled the die, all Protester units that were involved in the combat are PERMANENTLY removed from the game. If the Protester player rolled the die, all Authority units that were involved in the combat are temporarily removed to the Reserve Pool. (Note: at Stage One escalation (7.3), “X” results are treated as “A”.)

 

6.4 Morale Checks

A unit making a Morale Check rolls 1d6. If the die roll is less than or equal to the unit's Morale Factor, the unit has passed the check and is unaffected. If the adjusted roll is greater than the checking unit's morale, then the unit is TEMPORARILY removed from the game. Protester units are removed to the appropriate off-map pile, while Authority units are removed to the Reserve Pool.  Note that there is an EI change only when Protester units are permanently removed from the game due to Arrests or Dispersals, or when Authority units are temporarily removed due to combat results.

 

When the “Solidarity Forever” random event is in effect, all Protester units conduct Morale Checks as if their Morale Factor were one number higher (i.e., a 3 becomes a 4)

 

Example of Combat:

It is the Authority player’s turn, and in an area there are two SPD units, two 2-4-3 Protester Group units,  a 1-3-1 Crowd unit and a  Barricade. The Authority player decides to attack both Group units with both of his SPD units, and to use Special Munitions. 4+4 = 8, doubled to 16 for Special Munitions and halved to 8 for the Barricade. He rolls a 6, which on the 7-10 column of the CRT gives an  “X” result. The Protester player counterattacks with his Group units: 2+2 = 4, halved for the Barricade is 2. He rolls a 5  which on the 2-3 column of the CRT gives an “MC.”

 

Both sides then apply the combat results simultaneously. The Authority player permanently removes both Group units and adds four points to his EI, then deducts two points for the two units that used Special Munitions, for a net change of +2. Meanwhile, one of the SPD units must make a Morale Check: it rolls a 5 and fails, is removed to the Reserve Pool and the Protester player adds one to his EI.

 

7.0 SPECIAL RULES

 

7.1  Night

After the end of the Afternoon Game-turn of each day, night falls. All Protester Crowd units are removed from the map and set aside. All remaining units may continue to move and engage in combat, but all Combat Factors are halved during night turns. In the Random Events and Reinforcement Phase of the Morning Game-turn of the following day, all Crowd units that were removed at nightfall become available as reinforcements, plus any other Crowd units that may have entered the game as reinforcements during the Night turn.

 

7.2 Barricades

Barricades may be built by Protester units at Stage Two or Three escalation (7.3). A Protester unit may, instead of moving during the Movement Phase, declare that it is trying to build a barricade. Units attempt individually to build by rolling 1d6: Group units succeed if they roll a 1, Crowd units if they roll a 1 or 2. There may be only one Barricade marker in an area.

 

A Barricade marker gives protection to all Protester units in its area. All units of both sides involved in combat in an area with a Barricade in it do so at half their Combat Factor (round up).  If, at the end of any Combat Phase, a Barricade marker is in an area and there are no Protester units present, it is removed. Authority units may never build or benefit from Barricades.

 

7.3  Escalation

During the game, the Authority Player may “up the ante” in his attempts to clear the streets quickly. Escalation takes place in three stages, and may only go up, not down.

 

Stage One: The Authority Player may not use Special Munitions or take State Trooper or National Guard emergency reinforcements. The Protester player may not build Barricades. Treat all “X” combat results as “A”.

Stage Two: All conditions of Stage One are lifted.

Stage Three: All units may double their Combat Factor. Authority units may double it again if they use Special Munitions.

 

Consider that Stage One is in effect at the start of the game. The Authority Player may go to Stage Two at any point in the game after the first Authority unit has been removed due to a Morale Check, and must spend at least one complete Game-turn at Stage Two before going to Stage Three. If the Authority Player goes to Stage Three, he cannot win the game - if he ends the game with a higher EI than the Protester, then the game is judged a Protester Marginal Victory.

 

8.0 VICTORY

At the end of the Afternoon, December 2 Game-Turn, play stops and victory is judged. If both players agree, they may extend the game to the end of the Afternoon, December 3 Game-turn.

 

Authority EI higher than Protester: Triumph for the Forces of Capitalist Darkness. The WTO talks go on unhindered. What's that noise outside? Here, have some more champagne...

Protester EI 0-30 points more than Authority:  Protester Marginal Victory. The talks are somewhat disrupted; some delegates never make it out of their hotel suites. The Seattle PD takes a pasting in the papers.

Protester 31-60 Points more than Authority: Protester Substantial Victory. The talks are seriously disrupted, forcing a delay or change of venue. Delegates run scared in the streets. The Chief of the SPD resigns. This was more or less the historical result.

Protester 61+ points more than Authority: Protester Decisive Victory. The talks are completely canceled; the next round will be held in Novosibirsk or some other hard-to-reach place. The Mayor of Seattle is toast.

 

DESIGNER’S NOTES

 

A central concept in the game is the Exposure Index. This is a reflection of many things: a side’s relative freedom of movement or choice of options (the Reaction Move Limit); a perception of who is winning the day (the addition and subtraction of units - as the Protester EI goes up, their forces become less radicalized and more crowds join the ones in the streets but as the Authority EI goes up, patrol officers are released back to normal duties); and who ultimately wins the image “victory” (the Protester player wins bigger by getting a larger point spread, while the EI deductions for taking Authority emergency reinforcements or fielding too many SPD units represents the backlash from stripping most of the city of normal police coverage as well as the “shame” of having to call in State-controlled police and National Guardsmen).

 

When units in the game are temporarily removed due to Morale checks, it models confusion and distraction. A Crowd so removed is one that is temporarily scattered or stalled in the street: an Authority unit so removed is one that is temporarily ineffective and disorganized by chasing down vandals or carting off arrested people. Similarly, arrest or dispersal results don’t mean that all 500-800 people in a crowd are taken away in cuffs: rather, it means the Authority have fired enough tear gas or arrested enough ringleaders that the rest of the crowd disperses for its own safety, and decides to go home and stay there.

 

One more thing: although this game attempts to model some of what happened in Seattle, it is also partially a SATIRE on the events, perhaps best displayed by the irreverence of the Random Events Table. I remind all readers that SATIRE is intended to be HUMOROUS, and should be taken as such.

 

A note on the counter graphics

Most of the counter graphics and images in this game were found on the Internet. Many of these came from the Radical Image Archive (http://come.to/radikala-arkivet/), while others came from the shareware/freeware dingbat fonts Kersplebedeb, Devo Dingbats and Bobco. “Mr. Natural” is of course ÓRobert Crumb. The “Goofy with M-16” image is taken from a cartoon by Andy Singer. The images used for the SPD units and several of the Anarchist and Radical counter images are from rubber stamps I have made.

 

DESIGN CREDITS

Game Design:                  Brian Train

Development:                  Joe Miranda

Graphics:                  Brian Train

 

EXPOSURE INDEX ADJUSTMENT CHART

AMOUNT	WHY	WHEN
+/- ?	per specific random event	Random Events Phase
-4 Authority	for each Emergency Reinforcement unit taken	Random Events Phase
+2 Authority OR -2 Protester	for each Protester Group unit permanently removed by A or X result (Authority player's choice)	Combat Phase
-1 Authority AND -1d6 Protester	for each Protester Crowd unit permanently removed by A or X result	Combat Phase
-1 Authority	Authority player attacks using Special Munitions, per unit	Combat Phase
+1 Protester	for each Authority unit temporarily removed due to combat result	Combat Phase
+? Protester	equal to the Exposure Value of each Downtown Core area where the Protester player has at least one unit	Turn End Phase
+10 Authority	if there are no Protester Crowd units on the map (day turns only)	Turn End Phase
+20 Authority	if there are no Protester units at all on the map (exclusive of the above)	Turn End Phase
-1 Authority	for every five SPD units on the map (don’t count those in Reserve Pool, round fractions up)	Turn End Phase

 

EXPOSURE INDEX REINFORCEMENT TABLE

0-20	21-40	41-60	61-80	81-100	101+	Exposure Index
+2d6	+1d6	+2	+1	-1	-2	Protester Group units
+1	+2	+3	+1d6	+1d6	+2d6	Protester Crowd units
+3	+2	+1	0	-1	-2	SPD units
0	1	2	3	4	5	Reaction Move Limit

The number on the table is the number of units in that category that are added to or removed from the units on the map. Units removed are still available to enter as reinforcements.

 

RANDOM EVENTS TABLE

Die Roll	Random Event
11-16	Random Reinforcement. The Protester player rolls 1d6 and halves the result (round fractions up). If the Protester EI is equal to or higher than the Authority EI, he may choose up to that number of Group or Crowd units; if lower, then he may choose only Group units.
21	The Kids are Untied.  All Anarchist units may not move this turn while they discuss tactics.
22	Angry Womyn Unite! An incautious remark by a policeMAN enrages our sisters in struggle; all Radical units double their Combat Factor this turn.
23	Coffee Break. Organized Labor units may not move or attack in the Protester player-turn.
24	Folk Music Festival. Remove all Liberal units: they reappear in the Morning turn of the following day.
25	Uh-oh, My Costume Broke. All Environmentalist units may not move this turn.
26	Hey Beavis...  1d6 Yahoo units arrive as reinforcements (pick them out of the available units).
31-32	Transit SNAFU. All SPD, National Guard, or State Trooper emergency reinforcements the Authority player has on the way arrive one turn later.
33-34	Rapid Response. All National Guard or State Trooper emergency reinforcements the Authority player has on the way arrive one turn earlier.
35-36	Solidarity Forever. All Protester units this turn conduct Morale Checks as if their Morale Factor were one number higher than it is.
41-42	Faction Friction. Protester units of different factions may not combine in attacks in the Protester Combat Phase.
43-44	"This is a Nonviolent Protest!" Crowd units may not attack in the Protester Combat Phase.
45-46	Mainstream Protesters Point Fingers. This turn, the Authority player may double the Combat Factor of any units used to attack Group units in areas where Crowd units are also present (he may not attack any Crowd units in the area if he wants this advantage, but he can choose to ignore it and attack the Crowds too).
51-53	Attrition. Protester player must remove one Crowd unit of his choice (but no EI penalty).
54-56	Paperwork. Authority Player immediately removes one SPD unit from the game (but no EI penalty), so it can spend the rest of the game filling out forms.
61-62	Mayor Denounces Protesters. Add 10 points to Authority EI.
63-64	Bill Clinton Admits Protesters Have a Point. Add 10 points to Protester EI.
65-66	Lost Keys to the Ammunition Locker! Authority units can’t use Special Munitions this turn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMBAT RESULTS TABLE

(sum of attacking Combat Factors)

Die Roll	1	2-3	4-6	7-10	11-15	16+
1	N	N	N	N	N	MC
2	N	N	N	N	MC	MC
3	N	N	MC	MC	MC	A
4	N	MC	MC	MC	A	A
5	MC	MC	A	A	A	X
6	MC	A	A	X	X	X

 

Combat Factor Adjustments (cumulative)

Combat Factor DOUBLED: Authority Special Munitions attack; "Angry Womyn" or "Pointing Fingers” random event; Stage Three escalation.

Combat Factor HALVED: attacking or counterattacking with Barricade present; Night turn.

 

Combat Results

N:  No effect. Nothing happens.

MC: Morale Check. One defending unit (attacking player chooses) rolls 1d6: if roll<= Morale then OK, otherwise temporarily removed (to off-map piles if Protester, or to Reserve Pool if Authority).

A: Arrest. If the Authority player is attacking, one Protester unit of the Authority player's choice is PERMANENTLY removed from the game and all other defending units must make a Morale Check. Then any EI penalty or reward is given (see the EI Adjustment Chart). If the Protester player is attacking, one defending Authority unit is temporarily removed.

X: Dispersal. If the Authority Player is attacking, all defending Protester units are PERMANENTLY removed from the game. If the Protester player is attacking, all defending Authority units are temporarily removed to the Reserve Pool.

 

Setup Instructions (Authority player first)

Authority:  Place 1 SPD unit in the Convention Centre. Place all remaining SPD, National Guard, and State Trooper units aside off-map. Set Exposure Index to 30.

Protester: divide Group and Crowd units into two piles off-map.  Choose five Crowd units randomly and place them in any areas of the Downtown Core. Set Exposure Index to 0.

 

COUNTER MANIFEST (total 96)

Protester Units	Unit (factors)
Faction (color)
Anarchists (white and black)	8 x 2-5-3
Radicals (red)	12 x 2-4-3
Organized Labor (orange)	12 x 1-3-1
Liberals (pink)	12 x  2-2-1
Environmentalists (green)	8 x 2-3-1
Yahoos (yellow)	10 x 1-2-3
Authority Units (blue)
SPD units	15 x 4-4-3
National Guards	4 x 2-6-3
State Troopers	4 x 3-5-3
Markers (white)
Barricade	6
Protester EI markers	2
Authority EI markers	2
Turn marker	1

 

version 1.2, 3 February 2000