Zurmat: Small Scale Counterinsurgency

About this board game

Zurmat: Small Scale Counterinsurgency is a two-player game played in approximately 90 minutes, pitting Coalition forces against the Taliban in a remote Afghan district south of Kabul.

Zurmat is mostly Pashtun, and the government of Afghanistan maintains only a thin veneer of control. Taliban forces move along dusty roads at night, spreading fear with threatening night letters, while weapons and ammunition enter the district from the mountains of Pakistan by mule, motorcycle, and camel.

Against this backdrop, an American infantry company establishes a Forward Operating Base near the district center. The Afghan Army begins patrolling, drones pass overhead, and air strikes punctuate the ongoing conflict. Both sides pursue their commander’s objectives while seeking to win the people’s hearts and minds.

The game unfolds in month-long turns. Every month begins with a random event, followed by a Coalition turn and then a Taliban turn. During a turn, players take an action and play cards, responding to changing conditions as the struggle for influence develops.

• Players: 2
• Play time: About 90 minutes
• Opposing sides: Coalition and Taliban
• Core tension: Complete objectives while competing for the population’s support

Winter brings the conflict to an end, but its arrival is not fixed. Winter cards are included in the random-event deck, so the exact length of a game may remain unknown until the final turn. In Zurmat, every month can alter the situation—and the next event may determine how much time remains.