It’s been a very exciting few weeks for the development of Order & Opportunity.
Over here in Europe, the Essen Spiel Fair 2024 took place in early October. With a little bit of help from a friend, the Estonian designer and publisher Aigar Alaveer, I was able to get some table space and demo Order & Opportunity at the fair this year. It was great to see many gamers stop by ranging from those who said they had already backed the game as well as curious folks who seemed not to have played a historical game in their lives.
Aigar accommodated me at one corner of his booth space, for which I am extremely thankful. Be sure to check out Aigar’s games at https://www.2d6.ee/. Among others, I got the game Arabella published by Aigar and 2d6, billed as an “18xx roll and write” set in Estonia, which sounds absolutely fascinating.
In the previous article, we covered the Production phase of each Season and saw the differences between Summer and Winter. In this final installment, we’ll explore the Propaganda phase of the Season and conclude with some strategic thoughts for how each faction can maximize their chances of victory.
Hope is born in [the people’s] hearts, and let us remember that if exasperation often drives men to revolt, it is always hope, the hope of victory, which makes revolutions. – Peter Kropotkin
Introduction byCongress of Vienna Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: Game Designer Frank Esparrago continues his InsideGMT exposition of CoV Major Power Strategy pieces, the last presented through Part 2 of 2 of “Strategies for France”: How to Play with Each Major Congress of Vienna Game Power: France (2024 Edition) Part 2 of 2, Emphasis on War | Inside GMT blog. Attention is now given to Austria… whose Hapsburg players have challenges quite different from those in the role of the French emperor, Napoleon, as well as the two Allied Major Powers of Russian and Britain. Yes, different indeed!
In the last article, we examined Combat in the game. This time, we’ll discover why the game is titled Hammer and Sickle as we look at the economy.
By themselves, the soldiers stopped the [Great War], while the peasants took over the land and the workers the factories. Lenin had only to sanction the accomplished fact to make sure of the sympathies of the soldiers, the peasants, and the workers. – Pavel Milyukov
But with this article’s Part 2 of 2, CoV Designer Frank Esparrago takes a deeper dive into how a French player could succeed with emphasis on what the game offers France militarily… and it is substantial!
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 CampaignGame, 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:
: The Congress of Vienna Gameboard is divided into two sections. To the left is its Military Map Section where battles and the advances of armies takes place… which for the Allies of the 6th Coalition during a full game’s 1813-1814 period means converging upon and capturing Paris to force Napoleon’s abdication!
The right side of the Gameboard is its Diplomacy Section… where conflicts of a less deadly nature are resolved. Both Sections contain various tables and administrative aids for players’ easy reference. Please note this illustration can be expanded for more detailed viewing by “double clicking” it.
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!
In the final article in this series on the Enemy of My Enemy expansion, I’ll focus on the expansion content that extends or changes the original games featured in The British Way. Each of the original conflicts (Palestine, Malaya, Kenya, and Cyprus) in the base game gets new components and rules that add additional strategic trade offs enhancing the gameplay and historical fidelity. The new components include additional cards for each game and new types of Cell pieces in the Palestine and Cyprus games. Furthermore, the expansion adds new ways of playing campaign scenarios. New rules allow players to link the prequel expansion conflicts (Arab Revolt and Japanese Occupation) to their respective conflicts included in the base game (Palestine and Malaya). By linking the conflicts, players can now experience two “short” campaign scenarios that can be played on their own or added to the broader End of Empire campaign. Speaking of the End of Empire campaign, new “Insurgent Policy” cards give the insurgent player greater agency in the scenario. Together the new content for The British Way offers players even more reasons to come back and further explore the nuances of British counterinsurgency.
In the last article, we explored the Event and Action cards. This time, we’ll dive straight into Combat.
The revolution must either prevail or perish, Russia would either survive or cease to be. Each side, in effect, imagined itself leading a crusade against the apocalypse. We are pure, our cause is just. Our enemy is evil incarnate. To defeat him is not enough. He must be destroyed as well. – Willard Sunderland
Last game’s end of the Sexennium saw Rome (George) in the Hand Size Lead with 9 versus Carthage (Perry)’s 6. Rome only grows stronger over the passage of time, getting more resources and better available leadership from the Senate, so that game did not bode well for Carthage’s chances for ultimate victory. Now, in Game #2, it would be George’s Carthaginians versus Perry’s Rome. Will Carthage fare better this time around?
Before reading this AAR, for additional Hannibal’s Revenge background, please reference this InsideGMT article for a general overview of the game, albeit with utilizing an early playtest version of the gameboard lacking Mark Mahaffey’s transformative graphic talents: Meet the Leaders & Gameboard of Hannibal’s Revenge | Inside GMT blog.
Furthermore, for historical background regarding this epic conflict, perhaps this under thirteen minute video will be of interest: The Second Punic War – History of the Roman Empire – Part 4 (youtube.com). The paths of the Carthaginian and Roman armies’ marching across this video’s maps are nicely relatable to the Hannibal’s Revenge gameboard.
