The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire is the first of several COIN multipacks. What does that mean? Simply, it contains four (!) separate wargames, exploring a series of thematically related insurgencies. In this case, it tells the story happening between 1945 and 1960, when the British fought four major “emergencies”, as they referred to their counterinsurgency campaigns, each trying to manage their retreat from empire.

All materials (so far) in the series:
1) First Look at COIN The British Way
2) How to Play COIN British Way - Palestine
3) How to Play Solo COIN British Way - Malaya

The British Way: Malaya focuses on the British counterinsurgency effort against the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) from June 1948 through to the official end of the Malayan Emergency in July 1960 – although by the middle of the 1950s it was already becoming clear that the MCP had little chance of winning, and so the game can be considered to focus primarily on the earlier stages of this conflict. The game details the counterinsurgency aspects of the conflict in rural areas of the Malayan Peninsula, and does not directly model the suppression and struggle of militant trade union movements that took place at the same time in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

This is definitely by far one of the most “typical” COIN games in this multipack – you have control of areas, support and opposition, troop, police, insurgents, etc. Could be a good and logical continuation for the new players to COIN after Palestine.

Enjoy!