Introduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Editor, Fred Schachter – To familiarize the InsideGMT audience of what designer Frank Esparrago created with his fun and exciting Congress of Vienna game, now a GMT P-500 offering which has “Made the Cut” (thank you patrons!); 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”, and “Congress of Vienna Goes Electric with VASSAL”. We here present an example of how the rules and game components come together with this series entitled “Congress of Vienna Detailed Sequence of Play”. Use this link to access copies of the preceding-referenced articles: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-850-congress-of-vienna.aspx .

This series is based on a four player “across the Atlantic” VASSAL game narrated by game designer Frank Esparrago: two players were in Spain and two located in the USA. It will hopefully provide readers insight into how enjoyable, thought-provoking, and entertaining Congress of Vienna is! 

Kindly note the following text and ensuing increments of this series of articles is, with some editing, eventually intended as content for the game’s Playbook.  As such, there will be ready reference to the Rulebook to explain related details as needed. For now, please accept our apologies for having the rules behind this example of play remaining implicit.

With that, 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.

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Introduction to the Players and the Major CoV Powers each Chose

We conducted this four player CoV game through VASSAL. The participants were our developer Dick Sauer and lead USA play-tester Jim Gutt. They are both located in Arizona. The other two players were Marina Castaño and Jesús Gordillo, a marriage of Eurogamers who reside in the southwest of Spain. They’ve been testing Congress of Vienna for two years and contributed greatly to the simplification of the rules, speed of play, and therefore shorter game length.  Here’s a bit more regarding our four players:

*_ Jim Gutt is an extraordinary player with a sixth sense to finding bugs and inconsistencies in game rules. He plays very fast and has a seemingly photographic memory for the cards and rulebook content. Jim sits in a comfortable chair, curls up with his legs crossed beneath him forming a ball, and really ends up “conducting” a game and offering solutions to any problems which may arise during play. We Spanish, who like to affectionately provide our American gamer friends nicknames, call him The Maestro.

*_Dick Sauer is a veteran “grognard” wargamer who has played all kinds of games since the 1960’s. He normally prefers extraordinarily complex and long-to-play wargames. So with Congress of Vienna, Dick had to make a double effort to appreciate a multiplayer Euro-style game with relatively limited play length to his usual fare (5-6 hours average for a full face to face CoV Campaign Game). In addition, he continuously improves the rules and updates the different versions we have been creating. His beatific smile, with its calm and good-natured appearance is only a façade: for he is a fierce and determined competitor with a marked obsession for victory. Here in Spain we have nicknamed him Dicksaurus, in tribute to Dick as a gaming Tyrannosaurus Rex who crushes you with his toothy smiling jaws (really something terrifying if you play against him!).

*_Marina Castaño is a calm logical woman responsible for the financial department of a new software programming company in the southwest of Spain. But above all these day-to-day concerns she is a great Eurogame player and judge of Magic-the-Gathering card games. Her foray into our wonderful wargaming hobby was limited as she had only played Churchill and Twilight Struggle a few times; but Marina participated in numerous CoV play testing sessions over the past two years with thorough enjoyment and the good insights an organized businessperson brings to game development. 

*_Jesús Gordillo is an official of the Spanish Government. He is the husband of Marina, and in addition to being a novelist and prolific writer, he is a passionate Eurogamer who likes to try new games, especially ones that last less than three hours. Furthermore, his contributions during CoV playtesting have been essential to simplifying the game’s mechanics, especially those of the War Phase (the game originally had a deck of Battle Cards, reminiscent of the Tactical Combat Cards used in Avalon Hill’s venerable 1776 game to resolve every engagement). This contributed to making the campaign game length its current 5-6 hours while fulfilling Jesús’ desire for shorter playing scenarios.

Supervising the game were both Enrique Trigueros, the person in charge of play testing in Spain who carried out exhaustive examination of the game’s VP scoring system to ensure Congress of Vienna is balanced, and myself, to help resolve any problem which could arise during this VASSAL game

The CoV VASSAL module was created by Joel Toppen in a very short time and without asking for much help from both myself (designer) and Dick (developer)… a tribute to Joel’s talents and experience. This module has been a fundamental and vital tool for coordinating the American and Spanish task forces play testing the game. The only thing the magnificent Joel has not been able to solve is the time zone difference between players on opposite ends of “the pond” (8-9 hours depending on the time of year). That is, when in Arizona players awoke in the morning for breakfast; we had just eaten lunch in Spain (and in Spain it’s usually a lunch very late during the day).

Fortunately, by being a gamer as well as a wonderful programmer; Joel left the CoV VASSAL Module flexible. We are able to change cards, pieces on the mapboard, Issues setup, aid charts, as well as different scenarios during game development without concerns of clock time. For me, who never used VASSAL before for any gaming, I remain amazed and bemused that someone in Europe draws a hand of cards while someone almost simultaneously is getting cards in Arizona from the same virtual deck. Wow!  I am also still surprised that VASSAL dice are virtual, in a kind of “hyperspace”, and we can instantly see the dice roll of any player despite miles of separation. The other essential tool to our VASSAL CoV gaming enjoyment has been Skype: for it allows us to video conference communicate instantly. Ah, the spirited and fun negotiations that medium makes possible! Skype is essential in a multiplayer game with continuous action-interaction between players, for it enables maintaining a game’s progress at adequate pace.

Choosing Sides for this Congress of Vienna Game

In this CoV game Jesús Gordillo is France. Playing France demands great powers of mental calculation (well, it’s an attribute that certainly helps!) and ability to tolerate tension throughout the game as the world, in the form of the other three players, seem to be conspiring against you: and in most cases they likely are! But Jesús is an experienced gamer who has played many times as Napoleon and feels fully identified with him and France’s challenges.

Dick decided to act as the Russia-Prussia player; in fact, this CoV Major Power has been his usual choice during the development of the game; as he is an aggressive and Blucher-like pugnacious player: I think that role fits Dicksaurus like a glove.

Jim Gutt, The Maestro, plays Britain, which requires a mix of careful diplomacy and conducting very interesting targeted military operations with limited resources. A fact Jim knows all too well having collaborated with Enrique and the team in the VP scoring design for the different Congress of Vienna Issues.

Finally, Marina Castaño chooses Austria, a player role for whom diplomacy is vital during the first game turns while Austria is neutral. Although Marina is a great Congress of Vienna player and is the one who has achieved the most record of victories with other Major Powers; she decided to play Austria to experiment and experience diplomatic affairs ala the historic Metternich.

Setting the Congress of Vienna Electronic Stage

The advantage of VASSAL is that the game setup is already complete. You just have to open the Module and start playing: in our case the Full Campaign Scenario (10 turns)… although for this article series we’ll only be dissecting turn one. Dick opened the program and the players electronically connect by choosing the Major Power they each had chosen to play.

STEP 1) Next, we conduct the Initial Phase, specifically reading the first turn’s initial event card for the scenario (March-April 1813). This provides the cards and Issues that will influence the game turn and the players decisions about diplomacy, government and military affairs.

In the Congress of Vienna game there are three initial event card sets available labeled A, B and C. A is the historic event situation. B is a slightly alternative initial event and slightly favors the Allies and C is a little more inclined to the French player’s advantage. Therefore, players can decide to play the historical card (A); choose randomly among the three; or choose the B or C card (to balance play as best they see fit).

In this game our four competitors have decided to play the historical situation deck (that is, choose each turn to use card A). Jim Gutt digitally draws that card and reads the text: always starting from the card’s top, so the Russian player (background green) is always the first to perform indicated actions through executing the specified event:

To do this[1], take the two “Russian Military Operation” issue markers from the Diplomacy Display and places them in space 2 of the Russian Track 1 and 2.  Dick then looks in the single deck of 59 Character & Event cards, and selects the Blucher card (# 21) 3 and places it in his hand along with his Tsar Alexander Leader card and the Kutuzov card (# 22), that is as long as the old general does not die, it always appears in Russia’s hand. The ‘if Russia is resolving in the Initial Environment Table’ paragraph is not taken into account until executing a die roll for the Environment Table.

To finish the procedure with the Russian player you must check that Kutuzov is alive. Dick throws a die and gets a 3. His well-known Dicksaurus half smile is accentuated! (Remember, we’re playing this game via Skype and can see one another!). Kutuzov remains alive! He can be used for the upcoming Diplomacy or War Phase. (Had Dick rolled a 1, Kutuzov would have died and his card permanently removed from the game.)

It should be noted this is a unique occurrence during game set-up insofar as the aged Kutuzov’s mortality is concerned. Thereafter, whenever this card is played, he can die on a die roll of 1 or 2 (see image of the Kutuzov card to the right).

The Austrian player then executes her initial instructions (background white) ‘Austria begins its mobilization: Place the “Austrian Recruitment” at the Negotiation Table’; These are simple and easy to execute: from the Diplomacy Display the “Austrian Recruitment” Issue is placed on the Negotiation Table  1 . In fact, this is not the best position for this marker since it can be easily moved by other players; but who, other than Marina, is interested in this Issue? This is especially so since each player has more important Issues to act on or defend.

Then it is the turn of the British player (background light red): ‘Britain agrees to arm a Russian-Prussian army: a “British Financial Aid” Issue is placed at a distance of 1 on the Russian Track. Liberated convoys in the Iberian Peninsula, place a Fleet (without cost) in America.’ The “British Financial Aid” Issue is placed in space 1 of the Russian Track from its initial location on the Diplomacy Display 1. If it ends up on another player’s Track, and that player can move the Issue along upon the Track to win it, the British player must deliver one of his precious resource markers to that player.Jim thinks if that resource helps kill French, that is a welcome occurrence; but if France wins this issue, this means their strategy of breaking the British naval blockade has been successful for this turn, and one British resource marker is received for the French, the worst British nightmare! He also takes a Fleet from his Force Pool and places it in the War of 1812 Box   2.

Finally, it is the turn of the French player (background light blue): ‘Napoleon begins the creation of a new “Grande Armée”: Place one French Mil. unit (from Force Pool without cost) in Paris, and “French Recruit” issue on the Negotiation Table. Place “Hanover” issue at a distance of 1 on the French track. Napoleon is unavailable for War Phase this turn’. These are humdrum developments which the ambitious Jesús is not particularly excited about. First the “French Recruitment” Issue is placed on the Negotiation Table 1, then the “Hanover” Issue on its French Track (space 1) 2; in addition, a French military unit (cube) is placed in the Paris space from the French Force Pool 3;(Initially there are 22 French military units available to be built there. The disastrous 1812 Russian Campaign has virtually destroyed almost all of the once magnificently proud and powerful Grande Armée!).  “Well, it’s a start”, thinks Jesús.

STEP 2) Initial Environment Table – This is the last sequence of the Initial Phase, see screen shot of this table below: Jim, as Britain, throws the first die and rolls 5, but as this table’s Bonus card row indicates “Russia” in green, the die must be rolled again since the initial event card said ‘If Russia is selected in the Initial Environment Table; re-roll’. 

Oh well, an honest mistake easily corrected by this somewhat superstitious group who believe the correct player should obtain the result, so Russia rolls a die and now gets a 6 (Nuts! is weakly heard Coalition expletive as a murmur of protest), for a 6 indicates in the appropriate column that “France” is the player who receives a Bonus card, “Wow! That’s a lucky break for France! A one-out-of-six chance with the virtual die!” thinks Jesús Gordillo, who wisely says nothing, but the other players can see his happy face via Skype. Jesús has doubts about which card he should choose, but after some hesitation he selects the Davout card (# 10). It is a most powerful French card (5-value) and also an excellent battle card. The French card hand now has the Napoleon (Leader) and Davout cards.  

For this particular upcoming turn the Davout card (# 10) is a good choice because it is a high French value card (5-value) with a +2 modifier for some Issues. It also has a +3 DRM in defensive battle, which is normal for the Prussia space where predictably a battle will likely be fought between an attacking Northern Army (Russian/Prussian) and the Army of Elbe (French).  

Another good choice would be the Eugene card (# 23). Although it is only a 3-value card, it has +4 DRM in battles before the Armistice (as is the case). But Jesús is planning ahead since, while the Davout 5-value card could serve better than the lower value Eugene card during the Diplomacy Phase (if that became necessary), after the Armistice, Davout gets an additional +3DRM for an impressive +6 DRM defensively… making him all the more valuable.

In this turn, as the Initial Event card indicates, the Napoleon card cannot be saved for use during the War Phase (Historically he was in Paris preparing the creation of a new Grande Armée.); so a good option is to use the emperor for the “French Recruitment” Issue since the special characteristics of that Leader make that Issue impossible to debate. Furthermore, Napoleon receives an additional French military unit at no cost.

But obtaining that remarkable roll of 6 in the first die roll continues producing good news for France! The following rows indicate 4 US Militia are placed in the War of 1812 Box: the maximum increment for US involvement to kill British! For this mandatory order, four US military units (light blue cubes) are moved from the French Force Pool to the War of 1812 Box. Furthermore, the next row of the 6 Column indicates a US Military Operation marker is placed there… the Americans move against Canada! Jesús believes if he receives good cards such as Andrew Jackson or some other pro-French event cards along with a military support marker (taken from another front) he’ll not only weather the USA attack but reap a good crop of VPs.

Next is the second die roll for the Environment Table to determine the status of the maritime war between France, the United States and Britain. Another high roll will imply a more favorable result for the French player. On the contrary, a low die roll favors the British player. Jim Gutt virtually throws the die and throws a… 2. That’s not the optimal Coalition result, a “1” would have been better, but Britain receives an additional resource marker that’s added to the five already available at the turn’s start.

STEP 3 – The Initial Phase of the turn is over. Now the Diplomacy Phase begins with the deal of Character (Personage) & Event cards for each player. The remaining 57 cards are shuffled by the VASSAL system (once the Blucher and Davout cards have been removed; since they were previously placed in the Russian and French hands while the Kutuzov card is always placed in the Russian hand while he is alive). A unique deck of Character & Event cards is thereby formed.

Dealing the Cards…

The French player receives 14 cards; nine as a minimum hand of cards, and five more for having the following spaces under French control: Castile, Italy, Saxony, Hanover and Prussia. Jesús is well aware of how important retaining these map spaces are to the French cause since cards mean power and more play options. These new cards are added to the Napoleon Leader and Davout (#10) cards.

The Austrian player receives 10 cards; nine as a minimum hand of cards and one more because Austria is at Peace. In order to go to war a two-step process is required: the “Armistice” Issue must first occur and then the transcendental “Austria at War” Issue; which usually occurs during the summer of 1813. These cards are added to Marina’s Metternich Leader card.

The Russian player receives 9 cards; nine from the minimum hand of cards, since Dick does not yet control any space granting an additional card. These cards are added to the Tsar Alexander I Leader, Kutuzov (# 22), and Blucher (# 21) cards.

Finally, the British player receives 11 cards; nine from the minimum hand of cards and two more for controlling the Portugal and Southern Spain spaces (these spaces are always British controlled). These cards are added to Jim’s Castlereagh Leader card.

The Stage is Set!

Note how many cards were dealt the players. There are many cards available to each of them and only six diplomatic rounds per turn! In fact, this is a premeditated design element. It’s intended that the game allows you to move and debate Issues, trade cards, and have options under an overall environment encouraging hand management without players constrained to controlling a hand of cards whose quantity is limited to the number diplomatic rounds. It’s nice having a reserve of cards and fun having a challenging puzzle to card optimization which alters each turn.

In this series’ next chapter we’ll describe what happens during the Diplomacy Phase and the alternatives each player faces: taking into account their respective card hands and analyzing the pros and cons of alternative strategies… that is, what’s going through each of our four players minds as they play this turn of Congress of Vienna.

Until then, please feel free to pose any question you may have in the space InsideGMT provides for that purpose at conclusion of this post.

Footnotes

[1] We indicate in colored square the mandatory orders as they are shown in the explanatory figure.

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