WHITE DOG GAMES
The Adventure of Board Game Development
"Very likely my WAR GAME OF THE YEAR. And, yes, that includes Skies Above the Reich." - Brooski
"...coherent, playable, enjoyable..: - Bruce Geryk, Quarter to Three
"The White Tribe is A GREAT GAME..." - Matt Thrower, There Will Be Games
"I love this game...it's just plain fun...a splendid effort....you'll be aching to give it one more go."
“The hardest lesson of my life has come to me late. It is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free.” – ZAPU founder Joshua Nkomo
THE WHITE TRIBE is a strategic solitaire (one player) game on the 1966-1980 civil war in the African nation of Rhodesia (today called Zimbabwe). Published by White Dog Games and designed by R. Ben Madison, it is the second game in Ben Madison’s Cold War Trilogy series. The player plays the forces of the White minority government (and its Portuguese and South African allies) against the “ZANU” and “ZAPU” guerrilla forces which eventually won the war with Chinese and Soviet aid. The game focuses on domestic and international politics as much as it does on the military conflict itself. Players should be aware that they are a tiny country fighting a war in a world beyond their control.
It’s not a detailed historical simulation, but is designed as a fun, challenging game that illustrates the general strategic course of the conflict and highlights important historical themes.
The White Tribe is a unique SOLITAIRE game with military and political aspects. You play the White government of Rhodesia, besieged by a Black guerrilla army, using your potent armed forces to hold it back while you try to persuade your colonialist voters to compromise and move to a system of Black majority rule. The balance of military and political factors makes for an intriguing and very different sort of game; you'll fight guerrillas, fight elections, and even pass bills with the same level of tension! Advancing generous policy positions, to win over African public opinion, can endanger you with the European voters you depend on for power. At the same time, you have to persuade foreign states that your reforms are moving forward -- they have different visions for Rhodesia than you do, and they can bring you down with economic sanctions or military strikes. And looming over you are the unstable Portuguese, whose empire in Mozambique is vital to your strategic safety! Your aim is to build a government based on justice and equality, while holding off extremists on every side using all your military and political tools.
"...an excellent game." - Christian S.
"The counters are colorful, attractive, easy to understand, and extra thick...the rule book is detailed, and--most important for me--the rules are clean...I love this game...a splendid effort...it's just plain fun...It's packed with historical detail and lots of little subroutines and events that tell a compelling story as you go." - Robert L. See the entire review on BGG.
"This is an actual political thesis in game form. It’s not a groundbreaking thesis (that an RF-led white minority government may have been able to institute a peaceful transition to a functional black-majority government by implementing liberal reforms while doing just enough to preserve white privilege to keep the electorate in line) but the way it plays out in the game is brill. This is a real politics-and-policy model that plays great as a game. It BLOWS SO-CALLED POLITICAL WAR GAMES LIKE COIN OFF THE MAP." - Brooski
The White Tribe is "...an excellent solitaire game where the player never tires playing another game." - " Pascal Toupy, Vae Victis #151
"...exquisite solitaire game play...just A GREAT GAME..." - Bruce Geryk. See the entire review on Quarter to Three.
"...complelling alt history...an unusual and engrossing meld of warfare, politics and history which handles its sensitive subject matter well..." - Matt Thrower, There Will Be Games
"I've been having a blast with the game and the mounted boards turned out great." - John E.
The result is a tremendous piece of design, both masterfully crafted and unflinching in either its judgment or intermarriage of the real and the ideal. As both a game and a historical musing, The White Tribe excels. - Dan Thurot, Space Biff
Select format and destination from the drop down menu below. Formats are boxed or folio (plastic bag) or print-and-play. Domestic is a USA destination. Shipping and handling are included in the price.
"...truly excellent game...I would recommend without reservation..." -- C.F. Kane's Solitaire Games
Photo from Brooski.Review
Get the canvass map for The White Tribe.
"Thanks to the game and a booklet of rules filled with historical annotations, we learn a lot about this part of the Cold War which still has repercussions today in Africa that still exist. Here is an excellent solitaire game where the player never tires playing another game." - " Pascal Toupy, Vae Victis #151
Dice are not included with the game due to postal regulations.
"I wanted to say that I am very pleased with the quality of the materials and the detail and quality of the rule set...a great game..." - Ron L.
"I am absolutely “stunned” at the research and intricate details that have gone into this game.The detail is unbelievably accurate and incredibly well thought out.The military part is somewhat abstract but in the context of the game that is understandable.I have other COIN games which are clever and intricate....this one ranks up there if not above them...All in all a “remarkable” game!" - Stan H.
While some game rules may state that dice are included with the game, due to the cost of new postal regulations regarding dice, we are no longer shipping dice in WDG games except for special size or color or type of dice that may be required by a game.
