| Game | Guerilla | Complexity | Low |
| Company | Avalon Hill | Time | 1.5 - 2 hrs |
| Period | Modern | Solitaire | Nil |
| Type | Card | Rating | 6 |
Players control forces of both factions in a revolution torn country. Forces score victory points for both their faction and their player when they attack and destroy/capture enemy forces/installations.
Each player have an allegience which is known only to the player himself. This allegience can be "Government", "Rebel" or "Mercenary". At game end, Government faction VPs are compared to Rebel faction VPs to determine the victorious faction. Players whose faction loses gets his points halved. Mercenaries VPs get halved if any side wins decisively (>25 VP difference.)
90% of the components of the game comes in the form of high quality playing cards.
Unit and leader cards form the basic units of the game. The former represent groups of soldiers of varying strengths (1-7). The latter depict individual commanders, and must be combined with units. Leaders have a combat modifier, which represents his tactical competence. They also allow two or more units to form groups. Units in groups combine their strengths, and are therefore more effective in combat.
Each of these cards is split into two halves, indicating the faction to which the card owes its loyalty. When the card switches loyalty, the card is inverted to reflect its new loyalty.
A large number of cards have special abilities that add spice to the game. Each gives the player some special ability that alters play in some way. Most of these, like the complex cards offer a free action to do a specific activity or special attacks. Others include Ambushes to double defence strength, Combat Patrols to steal a card from an opponent. There is even a Revolution card that can switch the faction loyalty of players!
The game is played in turns with players moving in sequence. Each player is given 2 actions with which to perform a wide variety of activities, such as deploying/withdrawing troops leaders and complexes, launching attacks, drawing/discarding/trading cards, and repairing damaged complexes.
Activities are performed in a strict sequence, as listed on the cards.
Combat is simple. The attacking strength plus a die roll is compared to the defending strength plus a die roll. The difference is the amount of losses suffered by the losing group.
Basic game mechanics are altered by the large number of "chrome" cards. (See above)
Guerilla is a great game to introduce novices to the gaming hobby. The mechanics are simple enough to teach within 15 minutes. The special rules for the "chrome" cards can be read up along the way as players draw these cards.
This one has little to offer to the serious gamer. There is simply too much chrome and too little substance to hold the attention for long. As a Beer & Pretzels game, it rates quite favourably though. It can play a reasonably large number of players, and does not take too much effort to teach or learn. For that matter, it does not take much effort to play either!
One comment on the packaging. I have no idea why Avalon Hill packaged this one in the standard bookcase sized box. Everything can fit easily into a third the size.