Ici, c’est la France! The Algerian War of Independence 1954 – 1962

About this board game

Ici, c’est la France! The Algerian War of Independence 1954–1962 is a two-player game about the Algerian conflict, with an approximate playing time of 300 minutes.

The game combines three connected challenges: a political game, an insurgency game, and a military game. The French player and FLN must compete for control of regions while influencing the population, political structures, settler sentiment, and French public and government support.

Politics are driven by chits drawn from a set of 28 possibilities. Each chit can only be played during a particular time span, and every political change may create both advantages and disadvantages. The game ends when French public support reaches zero and a referendum is called, after which the regions determine whether they will remain with France or become independent.

• Operation points: Spend them on recruitment, reinforcements, movement, combat, and insurgency or counterinsurgency actions.
• Regional control: Contesting or controlling regions affects mobilization, taxation, and the ability to conduct operations.
• Combat: Use combat chits, strength-based dice rolls, and quality differences to resolve fighting.

French units follow the road network, paying operation points when moving through enemy-controlled regions, while FLN units move off-road under their own restrictions. Recruitment also depends on factors such as population sentiment, FLN structure, population density, and regional control.

In Ici, c’est la France!, military superiority alone cannot decide the outcome. Players must weigh battlefield commitments against the struggle for hearts and minds, knowing that every decision carries a cost.