Volko’s replay of Levy & Campaign Volume III gets underway. All art shown is merely for playtest, not final. …
Cavallata per Cortona – INFERNO Scenario Replay, Part 2
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Tag Archives: Levy & Campaign Series
Cavallata per Cortona – INFERNO Scenario Replay, Part 1
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Please enjoy this detailed replay, as Levy & Campaign Series creator Volko Ruhnke runs his test set for Volume III, Inferno, through a full scenario.
Almoravid Vassal Module in Action
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Here is a peek into the cutting-edge Vassal module engineered by the great Brian Reynolds for Levy & Campaign Series Volume II, Almoravid, from a solo game that Volko played to test out module operation. Have a look!
Almoravid: A Quick Look at Forces
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Here from the game’s designer with its researcher is an at-a-glance introduction to the units in the soon upcoming second volume of the Levy & Campaign Series, Almoravid—Reconquista and Riposte in Spain, 1085-1086, with comparison to the forces used in volume one, Nevsky.
The Christian Kingdoms of Almoravid
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We turn after our recent tour of Muslim al‑Andalus to the 11th-Century Spain of the Christians. Like the later Teutonic and Danish crusader states of the Levy & Campaign Series’ previous volume, Nevsky, the Christian lords featured in Almoravid seek to expand their realms at the expense of neighbors of a competing religion. Albert and Volko introduce us to these Christian kingdoms and counties along with their depictions and roles in the game. All game art in this article is playtest only and game details are provisional.
The Taifa Geography of Almoravid
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Our Almoravid research and design team take us on a guided tour of 11th-Century Muslim Spain—a patchwork of middling to tiny “taifa” emirates. Al‑Andalus in the Levy & Campaign Series’ second volume presents players a far different political geography to exploit and maneuver across than that of Nevsky. Here we visit each 1085 taifa state and its ruler in turn, with a quick word on their likely roles in the game. All game art in this article is playtest only; all game details are provisional not authoritative.
Mío Cid: Almoravid Testers’ Replay – Part III
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Saludos, damas y caballeros—We arrive at our final installment of Phil Dreher’s full-length scenario replay of Levy & Campaign Series Volume II, Almoravid. In this final chapter, Phil’s opponent on the Christian side John Campbell joins him for their wrap-up reflections on Volume II, their campaigning, and strategy lessons. As before, all art here is playtest only and all game details described provisional rather than authoritative.
Mío Cid: Almoravid Testers’ Replay – Part II
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Welcome back—we return to the pageantry of medieval Spain! In this second of three parts drawn from a live Levy & Campaign playtest, Phil Dreher reports on his Muslims’ climactic year against John Campbell’s Christians in the 1085-1086
scenario of Almoravid, via Vassal magic by Miguel Ángel Sánchez Galán and Peter Wagner.
Who will break the stalemate of the Zaragoza border war? Is Rodrigo El Cid Campeador—back in King Alfonso’s grace—bound for great deeds or merely the menace of Muslim shepherds? Will León, Castilla, and Aragón develop the military pressure to extract tribute gold in Parias dinars? Or will the emirs bow to call in to the Almoravids of Africa? And then what great clash of arms might smash or reset the Taifa mosaic of al-Andalus?
Phil’s thoughts mainly relevant to playtest rather than narrative appear in italics. [Volko adds explanatory and design-related comments in brackets.] All art is playtest only and all game details provisional not authoritative. In Part III to come, we will sample the testers’ observations and reactions to the gameplay.
Mío Cid: Almoravid Testers’ Replay – Part I
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Join us for a saga out of medieval Spain! We present here only lightly edited an internal playtest report from Levy & Campaign Series’ Volume II, Almoravid. Phil Dreher authored the report, playing the Muslims against John Campbell as the Christians.
They ran through the full-length scenario over several days in April 2020, entirely via a playtest Vassal module created by Miguel Ángel Sánchez Galán and Peter Wagner.
While it may be challenging to follow every detail of the action below without full knowledge of the game, the replay gives vivid insight not only into decisions and consequences over the epic course of Almoravid’s two-year scenario but also into testers’ inputs to and impact on the game’s ongoing development. Phil’s thoughts more relevant to playtest rather than to the after-action narrative itself appear in italics. Volko adds explanatory and design-related comments [italicized in brackets]. All art is playtest only and rules provisional not final.
A New Wargamer’s Insights and Impressions from Nevsky: Teutons and Rus in Collision, 1240-1242
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Below is an article featuring Nevsky insights and first impressions from first time player and InsideGMT contributor David Wiley of Cardboard Clash. You can also find this article on David’s blog. Enjoy! -Rachel