The opening stages of a civil war are typically confused, with many opportunities that are usually wasted because of the uncertainty and fluidity of the situation. The Spanish Civil War was no exception, with hostile forces uncertain whether to stage bold attacks or just try to hang on to what they had. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, a curious situation existed in Gijon and Oviedo: although these cities are adjacent to each other, Gijon remained loyal to the Republican government while Oviedo joined the Nationalist Insurgents. Now, early control of both of these cities would dramatically swing the situation in Northern Spain in the owning player's favor. We therefore have the following No-Prize Contest:

Under the current rules the Insurgents indeed have a good chance of taking Gijon by the deadline. This, of course, was not design intent because, historically, the shoe was on the other foot: Not only was Gijon the last city of the northern gobernitos to fall, but the Nationalists in Oviedo were isolated and barely held out until relieved. Various rule fixes have already been proposed to set this right, and no doubt one will be implemented in the next errata or revision. Learning through TEM of the perfect plan to take Gijon will therefore not do you much good in the long run. Were this not so, I would not have suggested the contest! In fact, we might follow up by a contest seeking the best rule change to foul the Gijon plan.