As “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare” moves toward publication, it has been my task to research the backgrounds of those who made up the crews of the “fishboats.”
I am fascinated by the amount of information that is still available on many of these individuals. Census records gathered before, during and after the American Civil War are very informative. When combined with newspaper reports, tax documentation, church attendance records, even civil and criminal arrest warrants, the gathered information will, as Shakespeare once said, “Hold the mirror up to nature.”
The 19th century was not only a century of intense political and economic change, but also great intellectual and ideological oppositions which sustained and accompanied them. The French Revolution moved the Enlightenment ideals from a handful of intelligentsia salons to the center of the political landscape across Europe, and as it did so new counter revolutionary and anti-Enlightenment ideas rose in opposition.
Indeed, the wars of the Revolution and the Empire were significant as much for plunging Europe into intellectual turmoil as for their military implications. After Napoleon was defeated in 1814 and 1815, it was the hope of the crowned heads of Europe that the Congress of Vienna could mark the end of these ideas as it ended the wars, but even through the repression and censorship that marked the postwar era, the new ideas kept on progressing among all parts of the population. It was from this ferment that the premises of modern ideologies such as nationalism and socialism arose.
We tied our third-best attendance record for Battles of the American Revolution at the WBC this year with 31 players participating. Among those were eight new, unrated players which speaks to the continued popularity of the series. Also participating this year were six of the top ten AREA rated players which made for good leavening within the field.
I conducted a scheduled demo (since AGM Rob “Cappy” McCracken was an unfortunate late-scratch and couldn’t attend) as well as two 1:1 tutorial for individuals who couldn’t make the demo. Among these folks, two showed up to play.
We ran six Heats to qualify eight players for the single elimination quarterfinals. In-all, 52 separate games of BoAR were played from Heat #1 through to the Final match. It was a long week for those players who committed wholeheartedly to the event, including the three players who had selected BoAR as their WBC team game. On the other hand, the Swiss-Heat format provided others with maximum flexibility to come and go as their overall schedules allowed. It was a nice mix.
Hi to the followers of the development of my game Tanto Monta. There are several of you who have asked me why the game is called “Tanto Monta” and not “Tanto monta, monta tanto”; so I have decided to explain everything around this and I hope I know how to answer the question.
Both expressions have their depth and justification in the history of the period that the game relates and that has come down to our time. The title of the game has its origin in the expression that Ferdinand first, then Isabella, adopted for their joint monarchy and this is recorded in many writings and remains of the time. Ferdinand, as king of the Crown of Aragon, adopted this personal motto as his own, alluding to the Gordian knot that Alexander the Great cut instead of untying: “it’s as easy to cut as it is to untie”. In other words, no matter how it is done, the important thing is that it is achieved. And indeed this motto was presented on the arrows, with a loose string (cut) around it.
However, the monarchy of the couple Ferdinand and Isabella is articulated as a monarchical union where both monarchs are of the 2 kingdoms, Castile and Aragon and consequently act on them; although the character of involvement of Ferdinand in the affairs of Castile is more marked than Isabella in those of Aragon. In the end this was translated in an impression of the citizenship that both she and he were in charge, and that together with the motto of Fernando ended up becoming dual, inverting the order indicating that both had decision in the reign and from there the well-known popular motto “tanto monta, monta tanto Isabel como Fernando” (both Isabel and Ferdinand are so much alike) being reduced to “Tanto monta, monta tanto monta”.
In the game I used the popular motto to name the third natal card of the Spanish player because it is a powerful card that can be used indistinctly with both Aragonese and Castilian units, thus departing from the norm of the rest of the natal cards but at the same time allowing me to represent this dual character of the monarchs over the subjects of both kingdoms.
Here the designer of Levy & Campaign Volume IV, Plantagenet (shipping as we post this), gives us a quick rundown of how this new entry alters certain game mechanics from the Series’ first three titles, Nevsky, Almoravid, and Inferno, to better represent unique aspects in the Wars of the Roses. (Be sure as well to catch my video take on the history and mechanics in the game.) Enjoy! -Volko
One of the biggest differences, and most important additions, that 1848: The Springtime of Nations (1848) makes to the classic Twilight Struggle/1989: The Dawn of Freedom system is the addition of armies which can be placed on the board. Like in many wargames, these pieces can be moved across the different spaces of the map, and engage in combat. However, in 1848 they are not the main focus of the attention but rather just an important part of the game of political influence that 1848 and its illustrious predecessors portray.
Many of the more experienced players of historical games have fond memories of Pax Britannica, a game published by Victory Games in 1985. According to its rules, “Pax Britannica recreates the dynamics of the colonial era, from 1880 to the outbreak of the Great War”. However, many players feel that Pax Britannica has not aged too well, and it is a difficult game to bring it to the table today. It requires detailed bookkeeping and players need to fill in meticulous tax-like forms to reflect income and expenses. Also, the action phase lacks structure, without any specific player order, so that players may interrupt and compete for actions without clear rules. When wars break out, a separate game system opens where only the involved players act, with the rest just looking on for what can be rather lengthy periods of time. Accommodating up to seven players, a game of Pax Britannica usually lasts a full day, often longer. There are other issues regarding diplomacy, asymmetry, and agency, but these are not relevant to the topic of this article.
Some weeks ago, a new game named Order & Opportunity: Making of the Post-Cold War World Order entered GMT Games’ P500 list. This is the seventh in a series of articles covering different aspects about the game.
In this and a number of following installments, we will follow along a strategic, multi-turn example of how to play Order & Opportunity.
The year is somewhere early 2000’s and a new US administration — controlled by us! — has taken the helm. In this example, the EU, China, and Russia turns will be played by the bot system contained in the game, but we will abstract those turns away to allow us to focus on the US turns.
In Europe, the year 1848 was defined by a series of revolutions that swept the continent from west to east, from France to the eastern borders of the Austrian Empire and Romania. Obviously, therefore, a game about this series of events must make an effort to simulate the multiple revolutions of the era as core part of the game, and in a CDG based on the system originating with Twilight Struggle this means revolutions need to arise from the players’ efforts – from gameplay – rather than just the “deus ex machina” of event cards.
Fortunately, there is an existing model to draw from. Players familiar with 1989: Dawn of Freedom (henceforth 1989) will quickly understand that Revolutions in 1848: The Springtime of Nations (henceforth 1848) are very similar to the Power Struggles in that game. In 1848, Revolutions are the most prevalent source of VPs, and most of the actions players take are aimed at setting up an advantageous position for these showdowns that take place across the nations and empires depicted in the game.
Note: All game images are of Vassal playtest art and not final
Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns featuring The British Army – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.
