Monthly Archives: May 2020

Posted on

The Battle of Leipzig in Congress of Vienna (CoV)

by

Introduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Editor, Fred Schachter: “ To familiarize the InsideGMT audience of what designer Frank Esparrago accomplished with his fun and exciting Congress of Vienna game, now a GMT P-500 offering which has “Made the Cut” (thank you patrons, thank you so very much!); previous InsideGMT articles presented “Designer’s Notes”, “Game as History: An Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period (CoV)”, “Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna”, “Congress of Vienna Goes Electric with VASSAL”, and “Congress of Vienna Detailed Sequence of Play” which explained how players approached the game (their thoughts and reactions) as well as how the rules and game components come together to facilitate an enjoyable time for all. Parts 4 & 5 of this series, concerning the War Phase, are of particular relevance to best appreciate this Battle of Leipzig piece. Use this link to access copies of the preceding-referenced articles: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-850-congress-of-vienna.aspx . As I was drawn into this fascinating game, there was something I wondered about: how can Congress of Vienna, which is a high level strategy game appealing to both Eurogamers and traditional wargame “grognards” such as myself (and many of our play testers) translate its game terms to explain an historical epic such as the massive and crucial 1813 Battle of Leipzig (and by doing so, demonstrate its simulation mettle)? Well that was a challenge designer Frank Esparrago could not resist! Consequently, here’s his exposition of CoV and the historical Battle of Leipzig. We have indicated in italics some rulebook excerpts and combat cards bullets; other rules will unfortunately need to remain implicit: a restriction an article format such as this compels which readers will hopefully appreciate. That said, take it away Frank! Note: If you would like to view any of the below images in a larger size, you can click on the image and it will point you to the full image file.
Posted on

Mío Cid: Almoravid Testers’ Replay – Part II

by

Welcome back—we return to the pageantry of medieval Spain! In this second of three parts drawn from a live Levy & Campaign playtest, Phil Dreher reports on his Muslims’ climactic year against John Campbell’s Christians in the 1085-1086

scenario of Almoravid, via Vassal magic by Miguel Ángel Sánchez Galán and Peter Wagner.

Who will break the stalemate of the Zaragoza border war? Is Rodrigo El Cid Campeador—back in King Alfonso’s grace—bound for great deeds or merely the menace of Muslim shepherds? Will León, Castilla, and Aragón develop the military pressure to extract tribute gold in Parias dinars? Or will the emirs bow to call in to the Almoravids of Africa? And then what great clash of arms might smash or reset the Taifa mosaic of al-Andalus?

Phil’s thoughts mainly relevant to playtest rather than narrative appear in italics. [Volko adds explanatory and design-related comments in brackets.] All art is playtest only and all game details provisional not authoritative. In Part III to come, we will sample the testers’ observations and reactions to the gameplay.