Cuba: The Splendid Little War

About this board game

Cuba: The Splendid Little War is a two-player simulation of the 1895–1898 Cuban War of Independence, designed for a 120-minute play time. One player commands the Spanish colonial government, while the other leads the Cuban rebels seeking independence.

The game focuses on the major insurgency and counterinsurgency operations of the conflict. Both sides must make important strategic decisions, manage their resources, and hinder their opponent’s plans. Spain must retain control of the island, sustain its economy, and keep the United States out, while the Cuban player aims to take control and establish independence in the face of U.S. annexationist plans.

Event cards can help or hinder either side, bringing historical pressures and battlefield dangers into play. Disease, ambushes, assassinations, and the responses of the American press and government all have a place in this struggle. Steamships, railroads, and telegraphs support the period setting, while newspapers and magazines represent a world where print was “king.”

Cuba: The Splendid Little War presents the final conflict in Cuba’s three liberation wars, following the Ten Years’ War and the Little War. Its components include a mounted, jigsaw-cut game map, 67 action cards, history cards, information markers, unit pieces, dice, and player aids.

• 16-page rule book and 11” x 17” game map
• 67 action cards, one setup card, and seven history cards
• 39 information markers and 43 unit pieces
• Four six-sided dice and a two-sided player aid

Take command of a pivotal struggle and discover whether Spanish control or Cuban independence will prevail.