Introduction by Congress of Vienna Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: As previously mentioned and lamented in other InsideGMT articles, space prohibited including in the published game several “goodies” Frank and the Congress of Vienna (CoV) Team wrought to enhance players’ appreciation of this fun and exciting game inspired by Mark Herman’s renown Churchill. Many of these pieces may now be found in GMT’s CoV site: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna. These articles, particularly the Quick Start Rules, should provide readers with background concerning the game as well as a foundation for understanding what is presented herein.
This article, the first of a 4 Part Series (one for each of CoV’s Major Powers: Russia, Britain, Austria, and France). It is intended to convey the team’s experiences in successfully meeting the challenges in playing Napoleonic France, which is seeking during the game’s 1813-1814 period to recover from the disastrous and calamitous 1812 invasion of Russia.
These recommendations/observations for the game’s prospective players in the role of the French emperor Napoleon are for Congress of Vienna’s Full Campaign Game, without Optional Historical Rules (OHRs), or use of the game’s Solitaire Rules and/or Bots. Contending with one or more of those have unique considerations all their own. For readers curious to learn of these options, kindly reference the above link to GMT’s CoV Site.
To additionally set the stage, here is an image of the Congress of Vienna Production Gameboard:
With that and this link to the game’s Quick Start Rules Summary Booklet InsideGMT article: Congress of Vienna Quick Start Rules (Bi-Lingual: English & Spanish Versions!) | Inside GMT blog, Frank, CoV’s Designer, will hopefully entertain you with this “How to Play” piece for Congress of Vienna’s Imperial France, through which he shares some “tricks of the trade” in surmounting the challenges faced by France, who is not without resources of its own, as it’s pitted against powerful enemies coming at it from every point of the compass. So here is Part 1 of 2 of this “French Strategies” article, enjoy!