need quotation to verify] Edward Ingram proposes that The Great Game was over at the end of the First Anglo-Afghanistan war in 1842 with the British withdrawal from Afghanistan. After the disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812 and the collapse of the French army, the threat of a French invasion through Persia was removed. After the signing of the Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1873 that was followed by Russia's occupation of Khiva, Gorchakov wrote in the Gorchakov Memorandum of 1874 that "Although .

Be aware though, that these counters can be moved (stations opened) after gameplay starts if a player rolls a 6, or picks up a Hazard Card that gives instructions to re-open a station. In the same year, Lieutenant Richmond Shakespear of the Bengal Artillery was successful in negotiating the release of 416 Russian captives, whom he escorted into Russia. After two British representatives were executed in Bukhara in 1842, Britain actively discouraged officers from traveling in Turkestan.Russia launched an attack in 1839–1840 but it failed to reach Khiva because of the tough terrain and weather. The report of the Commission proved the absolute impracticality of any Russian invasion of India through the Pamir mountains. In April, a punitive expedition was dispatched and recaptured Kabul and freed the captives in September. There, the King of Shambhala would, following the Maitreya prophecies, make his appearance to fight a great battle against all evil forces on Earth. Blavatsky would also refer to Russia's double-layered conception of itself as a European power in contrast to Asia as well as an empire based in Asia; meanwhile, she would also "consciously appropriate" British rhetoric on Russia in labelling herself a "Russian savage".

They suggested that China, Russia, and the West could have mutual interests in regional stability in Central Asia.From 1869 to 1872, Mir Mahmud Shar was able to gain control of the Khanate of Badakhshan with the help of Afghanistan's new ruler, Amir Sher Ali Khan, and by 1873 Afghanistan governed Badakhshan. The use of the term "The Great Game" to describe Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia became common only after the Second World War. The mission was turned back as it approached the eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass, triggering the Second Anglo–Afghan War. In 1807, Napoleon dispatched General Claude Matthieu, Count Gardane on a French military mission to Persia, with the intention of persuading Russia to invade India.

A constantly shifting British policy on China from pro- to anti-Qing protectorates by Britain, as well as the shift from opposition to Russia to the 1907 Convention, led the Qing Dynasty to decide on a forward policy in the Himalayas. The notes defined British and Russian spheres of influence east of Lake Sari-Qul by defining the northern boundary of the Wakhan Corridor east of the lake. Players all start at London and plan the quickest most efficient route around the network to see all their destinations and be the first back to London.British fears ended in 1907 and the Great Game came to a close in 1907 when Britain and Russia became military allies (with France). In 1870, the Indo-European Telegraph Line was completed and it provided a communication link between London and Calcutta after passing through Russia. Britain had been exploring territories north of India by recruiting " Pundits", native Indian explorers, among them Nain Singh, who reached Lhasa, Tibet, in 1866.