When Martin Kanfer entered the halls of Europa trickery (TEM #19) with his trick concerning Rule 39C (Finnish participation), I don't think he knew the nature of the labyrinth he was entering. Rick Gayler himself seems to have underestimated it, and who knows? Although I think I've explored its deceptive passages completely...

At its core, the entire structure of the Neutral Finland trick rests on a huge rules assumption: that deception concerning Finland's belligerent status is legal. When using Rule 32, there is no problem since each nation's status is clearly and unalterably defined, with no allowance for deception.

However, Rule 39C allows Finland one of several different postures based on a random card draw--and it is the card draw of a 7 that opens the door for our big assumption.

If a 7 is drawn, Finland is neutral. However, the crucial sentence, for our purposes, in that case description is, "The units of Army Norway may be deployed in Norway (as a deception measure so that the Soviet player will not be certain that Finland is neutral)" [my italics].

It is true that in this case deception is being allowed to feign belligerence, but having set the precedent, logic demands the converse be possible (i.e., deception be allowed to feign neutrality).

Therefore, by agreeing to play with Rule 39C, the Soviet player must concede both the possibility and legality of being deceived. That said, however, I will show that actually carrying out the deception as described by Martin is in fact very difficult to accomplish due to a variety of pitfalls and loopholes overlooked in TEM#19. The good news (for Soviet players) is that having opened the door to deception, the rules also provide several doorstops and, as you are about to read, a major door slammer.

Evidently, many people are unaware that bringing reinforcements into play is not voluntary (i.e., units may not be withheld from play voluntarily). The general case of Rule 34A clearly states that only if a unit is specifically prohibited from entering play may its entry be delayed-and that's the rub.

You see, the German 163rd Infantry Division enters play during the Jun II 1941 turn, which provides the Soviets with direct evidence concerning Finland's actual status due to rule 31B. That rule states that the 163rd must strategically rail into Finland from Sweden, and since no German units are allowed in Finland if it is neutral, Finland's belligerence is immediately and undeniably established if this event occurs.

What can stop this from happening? Only a card draw of 2,3,4, or 5. Such a draw allows the 163rd to arrive as an Arctic reinforcement on the Jul I 1941 turn instead of railing through Sweden on Jun II.

However, such a draw represents only 16 cards out of 52 possible (or 31%). Therefore, 69% of the time Axis deception will be nullified by the mandated actions of the 163rd Infantry Division on the first turn of the game. Admittedly, it's still possible to dupe the Soviets 31% of the time, but several other obstacles remain for the Axis player to overcome. Sadly for the Soviets, these obstacles rely on human error, but it is a long game...

Besides the ever-present danger of an Axis verbal slip (or espionage coup, if you're the Soviet player), there's always the possibility of an inadvertent German overflight or naval-transport mission. But these are passive measures from the Soviet perspective, requiring only vigilance and a forgetful opponent. Are there any active measures that can foil Axis deception and treachery? Indeed there are.

Rules 6B and 7A2 deal with administrative and strategic rail movement respectively. Both of these rules state that friendly units moving by either of these methods may not start, move adjacent to, or end their move next to an enemy unit. This provides the crafty Soviet player with some interesting options.

If any Finnish units are deployed next to the border along a transportation line or clear terrain hex, the Soviet player need only move administratively (or rail strategically) next to said blundering Finns and the veil of Axis deception will be lifted. Why? Because if Finland is truly neutral, the move will be allowed to stand since neutrals are not enemies. But if the Finns are shamming, then they must disallow the Soviet move.

So, let's say that the Axis player has done everything right so far: a lucky card draw; no inadvertent slips; Finns deployed off the border. There is a last- gasp ploy that offers a risky ghost of a chance "the Hango maneuver".

If the Finns have set up next to Hango, and if you (as the Soviet player) can somehow get supplies to the troops there, and if you can get a ship there and back to Leningrad with said troops and not get sunk in the process, then you can use the administrative movement rule again to the Axis player's chagrin. The supplies are needed because administrative movement may only be used by units that begin their movement in supply.

Well, there you have it. I think that tricks involving Finland are quite probably the most devious in all Europa. I, personally, have run into several others just as bizarre, if not more so than Neutral Finland (which I might share with you at a future date). But for now, my advice is to limit your shenanigans to other places, and keep it simple and straightforward in Finland. Lastly, thanks again to Martin and Rick for providing the chance to share with you a glimpse inside "Finndora's Box".