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!
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!
Let me invite you to a great strategy article by Mark Herman for his Rebel Fury game. The main topic and focus area is the battle of Chancellorsville in 1863 – the so called Robert E. Lee’s “perfect battle”. The Confederates are standing in front of immensely difficult task, being flanked by multiple Union forces. What should be done in such case?
Let us see how the game depicts that conflict. Enjoy!
Typically, my strategy posts cover fairly long, heavy games. These are the ones that benefit most from my approach of three easy-to-remember strategy tips for beginner and intermediate players, as you get some guidance for a game which you might not play again very soon to apply the experience you gathered from the first game. This is not the case for Twilight Struggle: Red Sea (Ananda Gupta/Jason Matthews, GMT Games): This game plays in barely over 30 minutes, so you can easily play it several times in a row. I still want to cover it here not only because I think it’s a fun game, but also because of the fondness I have for its big sibling Twilight Struggle (Ananda Gupta/Jason Matthews, GMT Games) – after all, original TS was the game with which I kicked off this series, and I know how many of you love it too. Yet this little TS spawn plays decidedly different. And so I want to focus on a few things that might be new even to seasoned TS players…they certainly were for me.
Below you will find another fantastic article from Clio’s Board Games, this time discussing Protestant player strategy in Here I Stand. You can also find this article on Clio’s blog. The previous articles in this series can be found here, here, and here. Enjoy! -Rachel
The relatively simple rules of Manoeuvre leave plenty of room for stratagem, despite the card-fueled bouts of dice-chucking. Sometimes the game feels like chess as you feint, counterattack, and reinforce on a tight map. And while combat may be subject to the whims of fortune, your movement across the map is almost always in your control. Thus, thoughtful movement of your pieces and careful hand management are crucial pillars of a successful strategy. Here are five strategy tips to try out in your next game.
Hi everyone! I made this video to take a look at initial strategies in Mr. President. It should be helpful to you as you get your games over the coming weeks. I hope you all have a great time with Mr. President! – Gene
This article from Alan Ray is Part 3 in a 3 part guide to playing SPQR. If you would like to read Parts 1 and 2 first, you can find those here and here.
