Introduction by Congress of Vienna Assistant Designer & Editor – Fred Schachter: First to our InsideGMT readers… the CoV team is flattered, thrilled, and more than a bit bemused at the outpouring of support this addition to GMT’s “Great Statesmen Series” has garnered since its initial P-500 announcement. We appreciate all the patronage Congress of Vienna has received to date through those who’ve placed orders for the game.

This April 2021 update conveys designer Frank Esparrago’s latest modifications to the game’s map, an image of which accompanies this narrative. As play testing continues, and it will continue until the happy day GMT advises production efforts may commence, the team will make adjustments based on the feedback of our international playtest teams, who consist of both Eurogamers and hard core grognard wargamers. What fun it is to be participating in these efforts!

For more regarding Congress of Vienna, there’s a host of material available from GMT’s site for the game: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna. With that, take it away Frank!

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An apparent problem which arises when you carry out a game’s extensive playtest program is that participants contribute many ideas both in the development of the rules, variants of victory conditions, and in the components of the game itself often with their very first playing! Of course, the core design/development team takes a considered approached to weighing the merits of all this much appreciated input; and in the case of this April 2021 update, it concerns Congress of Vienna’s map symbols and rule references upon the gameboard.

This means we make numerous small, but interesting, game board modifications as play testing proceeds. With this article, we present the latest gameboard which incorporates a variety of aids intended to facilitate play of both the Standard Game and its Wargame Flavor Version for players with a grognard soul.

We do not have this latest gameboard excessively tested since most playtesting is conducted by Vassal. This is because our testing teams are in Europe and the States; above all for self-protection measures against COVID-19. We incorporated those modifications that Vassal players found help them avoid need to take time to reference certain key rules during a game. We hope in a short while we’ll recover our normal lives and resume the joys of face-to-face gaming!

Map References to Wargame Flavor Rules

The most outstanding modifications of the gameboard are violet colored labels included when a space has a rule applicable only to the Wargame Flavor Rules (WFR). In this visually striking way, players know where to look for the texts and rules indicated on the gameboard if they need to do so.

An example at the top of the board is the violet label within the Norway/Denmark Box. Remember, this section of CoV’s map is only used when player(s) agree to use WFR 15.5. This is a point we highlight, because hopefully CosimWorld 2021, WBC, GMT’s Weekend at the Warehouse etc. are approaching (oh, if only they were!). During the pre-COVID Cosimworld 2019 in Tempe (AZ), where we presented the game and had some memorable playings, for CoV can be quickly taught to experienced gamers, the Norway/Denmark Box was a complicated rule needing special explanation to numerous gamers – now it is only an option.

Modifying Victory Point Effects for the Vital Map Space of Prussia

In the same way, some other small map modifications to how a player earns or loses VP have been incepted. In this figure we show the Prussia space, which had to be expanded in size to accommodate the different labels associated with this so important historical space. We included reference to WFR 15.10 to make the game more balanced when all WFRs are employed as well as for historical reasons. In this way, Russia is rewarded during each game turn with 1 VP while Prussia (Berlin) is Allied-controlled after Austria enters the War.

This creates a game facet difficult to predict when it will occur. The Austrian player receives 2 VP each turn while at peace and therefore the Russian player, who also represents Prussia, does not receive 1 VP for Berlin until then: this makes for a frightening and player stressful situation!

Modifying Victory Point Effects for the Vital Map Spaces of Venice and Italy

This latest map includes some adjustment to spaces generating Victory Points (VPs). In Congress of Vienna, a VP indicator in black color causes the original Major Power in control to lose its VP value when that space is conquered through battle while the new owner gains them. If the VPs are color-coded to a particular Major Power, that Power gains the VP without any VP loss to the original controller.

Our play testers found that Northern Italy could be made “more historic” and even more important, game balancing. On previous CoV gameboards, two VPs were gained/lost by the Venice space. Italy provided an additional card for each turn, either for France or Austria (depending upon which controlled that space). Also indicated by a triangle symbol is a French one military unit replacement in Milan (the Italy space in CoV) which is available every other turn while France controls the space as well as a star to show Italy is a Minor Country Issue subject to Diplomatic play.

We thereby increased the significance of the key space of Italy while preserving the relative importance of Venice!

Clarifying Map Rule Cross-References for Toulouse and Environs

Recent playtesting focused on achieving an historical, excitingly contested and balanced endgame! Some play testers found the rules and gameboard had minor discrepancies for the Toulouse, Gascony and Catalonia spaces.

These were solved through the provided map notations shown by this illustration. Furthermore, we believe the game now quite well simulates Wellington’s final and painfully slow advance into France during 1813-1814.

Clarify Map Rule Cross-References and VP for Paris (and a Question for Readers)

The next matter to confront was the space of Paris and Napoleon’s final defense of it during early 1814. Above all, we wanted the Allies to have comparable likelihoods of achieving victory and of course that Napoleon could attain a reasonable peace which could preserve his imperial throne (a victory for France in CoV).

Some play testers pointed out loopholes in the game’s original Paris rules. Those loopholes’ correction required more explanatory text to prevent biased or unclear interpretations.

We here provide a detail of the text-packed French Capital space of Paris as presented by this April 2021edition – which we hope will be the definitive and final version of Congress of Vienna‘s gameboard!

All the preceding described map modifications may have created a problem which seems difficult to satisfactorily solve for all who’d play the game. Is the gameboard now appearing too complex with so many rule cross-references, labels, and symbols?

There are some on the CoV Team who express concern that if a gamer walked by this board with a Congress of Vienna game underway at a convention, drawn to the table by how much noisy animated fun and boisterous conversation the players were having, they’d glimpse the map with its numerous counters and wooden pieces and keep going past the table thinking “Oh my! What a complicated-looking game! It must be quite difficult and time-consuming to learn how to play it!” That, of course, is not the case, but it could be a negative and unjustified first impression.

There are others on the CoV Team who swear by the April 2021 CoV board as being highly functional to facilitating quick play of the game. They like how it curtails need to open the game’s rulebook when a question arises regarding certain matters. It also makes it easier to swiftly teach newbies with the player aids, short Rules Summary, and other game components near at hand.

Within that group there are a few who maintain that once one learns how to play the game, full text rule extracts become unnecessary and could be dispensed with. Only a reference to the related rule case need be made upon the map. For example, in the Toulouse space delete all that text and simply map-indicate in parenthesis “(See Rule 13.6.1.3)”.

Simplicity and cleanliness versus perceived complexity and precise labels? It would be very interesting and helpful for the CoV Team to receive feedback from InsideGMT readers with common sense and experience with other games regarding these vital CoV gameboard design and layout matters. Thank you very much in advance for that input!

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