Introduction by 7YW:FG Game Developer – Fred Schachter
Mark McLaughlin and my designer/developer partnership span a number of fine GMT games: but since my business career took me away from the Northeast; it’s been all too rare that I could visit with my friend Mark and enjoy a good fun time gaming. A recent trip to New York City, however, provided opportunity for a side trip to Mark’s home.
During this visit, I re-introduced Mark to Greg Ticer’s The Seven Years War: Frederick’s Gamble, which we last played a few Impulses of during WBC 2014 when GMT introduced us to Greg. As InsideGMT content for this game indicates; there’s been considerable progress and improvements made to this design since that WBC.
It was a genuine pleasure to share the latest iteration of 7YW:FG with Mark. Mark had such a grand gaming experience he was inspired to write this After Action Report for InsideGMT. I wrote the photo captions and the end game victory calculations. However, this article’s photos would be better appreciated if a reader references a copy of the 7YW:FG play test map. Enjoy!
The Seven Year’s War: Frederick’s Gamble (or 7YW:FG) design by Greg Ticer takes many of the systems and concepts of my Napoleonic trilogy (The Napoleonic Wars, Wellington, Kutuzov). This is no slavish port over, however, as Greg, transports these concepts and systems back 50 years prior to the Napoleonic Period, to central Europe, North America and India. He then switches out my intentionally bloodthirsty combat system for a (usually) far less sanguine one. The result is more of a dignified chess match than a no-holds barred rugby brawl; and one that faithfully recreates an 18th Century warfare feel for the era.
As someone who spent summers at Ft. Ticonderoga and Ft. William Henry (one year as a uniformed tour guide fully attired in French La Marine garb) and who has been painting and pushing little 18th Century French miniature troops around war game tables for 40 years; I know something is right when I see it — and Ticer’s 7YW:FG is just that.
Fred Schachter, who developed the second edition of my Napoleonic Wars, and was my developer and editor for Wellington and Kutuzov (as well as Rebel Raiders on the High Seas and the forthcoming Hitler’s Reich) sat down with me in October to play Greg’s game – for which, by the way, Fred is the developer.
Fred gave me choice of sides. While he graciously offered me the Coalition Camp of Britain and Prussia, with the brilliant Prussian soldier king mine to command; I, true to my roots, my upbringing (and with 1,000 little pairs of metallic 25 mm eyes of French troopers longingly staring down at me from my display shelves) chose to play the French and their allies: Austria, Russia and the Holy Roman Empire who constitute 7YW:FG’s Imperial Camp.
1757-1758: It’s Good to Be the French (at least in North America)
The Prussians are the boys to beat in this game, as they were in the actual war. They have good leaders, including the superlative Frederick II himself, and a strong central position. They start the game in the lead as they hold Saxony as well as their native lands. They are made even stronger as they are paired with the English, most of whose generals, once they get into play, are better than those of anyone they are likely to face in Hanover. Consequently, Prussia’s western flank is fairly secure. The English, of course, also have the best navy and an inherently strong overseas position in the Colonial Areas of North America and India.
These central powers are opposed by the French, whose pitifully poor generals along the Rhine and in India are little more than shepherds herding their sheep to the slaughter. They can put pressure on The Coalition, however, and with some luck in dice and cards can make progress – at least until even better generals show up to lead the British-Hanoverian troops. If there is one bright light of hope for French fortunes, however, that light shines in North America, and it shines brightest on their best general: Montcalm. Quickly realizing that (as well as drawing on my own proclivities and interests to lead his army down the beloved lakes, rivers and forest paths of my youth), I decided that Montcalm would be the point of my Gallic spear.
France Triumphant in North America: The French North America campaign was brilliantly conducted. Montalm (2-4)’s Army defeated Abercrombie (0-4)’s “Severe Winter” weakened Army in Albany then besieged and eliminated him (placed into the Honors of War Box) when Boston fell. Montcalm’s Army then moved on to besiege and capture Fortress New York from its 2 Colonial SP garrison. This photo is the end game positions in North America. A British force of Colonials and Indians, the last organized British resistance in the Colonies, impotently remains in S. Alleghany. When it became possible for a new British Army of 4SP under Wolfe (2-8) to amphibiously return to North America, that daunting prospect was declined and the British devoted those resources to Europe instead, where they were used to good effect. But for North America, it was France triumphant!
While over the five turn course of the game we played, the Austrians would three times cross the mountains to contest Saxony and Silesia (only to be repulsed each time by the Prussians), the Russian hordes would plod ever so sluggishly along the Baltic to besiege and finally capture Konigsberg, and the rather pathetic collection of foppish French marshals crossed the Rhine (only to be tossed back each time).
Ah, but the youthful Marquis de Montcalm marched out of the Canadas with all the force he could muster: a hand full of regulars at the core of his swarm of colonials and Hurons (as well as other tribes), Montcalm boldly drove south – brushing aside with ease every force, fort and army Fred put in his path. By the end of 1757 the French were in Albany (my home town), and were laying siege to Boston – which fell, as did Fortress New York, in early 1758.
Oh if only the game had ended then and there! For Montcalm, actually, it did, as he would sit unchallenged master of all he surveyed for the remainder of the game, holding fast to his triumphs. Even a brief period of English naval superiority which allowed Fred to take Louisbourg and threaten an invasion of Canada by the back door came to naught, as the French fleet (with a little help from their friends) redressed the Naval Control Track situation, thus locking up the continent for La Belle France.
However, the period of French Naval dominance did come to an end during 1760 when Parliament finally got ready to dispatch Wolfe and his British Army to North America. Fred took one look at Montcalm’s powerful Army ready to pounce on any amphibious attack, threatening a kind of 18th Century Dunkirk, that the British redeployed those military resources to the European Theatre of Operations.
Unfortunately for the French (and their allies) the situation elsewhere in the world was not so bright.
Win Some/ Lose Some – North America Gained, India Lost
Clive overran Bengal during the first year of play and annihilated the French Nawab. By 1759 he was transferred to Mysore, joined by Eyre Coote and his British Army, and after a mutually painful attritional campaign against a French/Sepoy Army under Nally; the last French presence in India was eliminated.
Britain Triumphant in India: These are the final positions of Britain’s forces after Nally (0-4)’s Sepoy/French Army was ground down by attritional battles to the point of being thrown into the sea. Early during the game, Bengal was swiftly overrun by Clive (2-4), who captured Chandernagore, crushed the French Nawab, and then transferred to Mysore. Nally (0-4) was able to forestall him; but when Coote (2-6) with 4SP of European troops arrived, that proved too much for the French to contend with and Pondicherry was lost.
So it was a draw in the Colonies: France gained the Keys of Boston and New York in North America; but lost Chandernagore and Pondicherry in India.
For the French, the Rhine is an Unkind Mistress
The French did fairly well in North America – and horribly everywhere else. Except for North America, their armies were led by uninspired fops who consistently walked into ambushes (such as that at Rossbach during the actual Seven Years War, where an entire army was smashed by Frederick’s cavalry genius, Seydlitz) or hurled themselves headlong and often uphill against British, Hanoverian and Prussian troops who rather predictably sent then tumbling back down into the valleys below.
History was faithfully recreated in this game in terms of which Camp won, as the French not only lost every single battle they fought along the Rhine, including one memorable Rout (which gained the British a Resource for eliminating 5 French SPs for a loses of only a single British SP) but also failed to relieve or hold on to the fortresses in the Austrian Netherlands and elsewhere on the far side of their own border. The British even succeeded in ending their “Caribbean Foray” Foreign War with the needed “6” die roll.
During 1760 Fred got “His Britannic Majesty’s Army”, which brought the formidable Ferdinand and his soldiers into the fray. They captured Venlo and by the following year seized the Austrian Netherlands fortress Keys of Roermond and Antwerp.
A second British Army under Sporcken joined Ferdinand; but the French rallied with Armies of their own. They did bleed their foes, and did keep the sacred soil of France sacrosanct for the most part, and in that took some small comfort (especially after the English swept them out of India).
Happy Austria Holds On
Our game of the Seven Years War went on through five of those seven years. Austria repeatedly tried to pry a fortress each in Saxony and Silesia from the Prussians, and even managed to win a few battles – including repulsing Frederick himself (the little general counter in the game as well as the other Fred – Fred Schachter) twice.
Late Game Positions – An Austrian Perspective: This photo encompasses the west, where France and its Coalition antagonists vied for supremacy (see “Final Positions for the “Western Front” photo #5 text for details) and, the Austrian positions as well. Although the Austrians had no Trained Troop Reserves remaining, all their Armies on the map are at full strength. In Prossnitz is Loudon (2-6’s) Army screening the adjacent Austrian Duchies against Schwerin (2-6)’s Prussian Army which is not shown. Loudon (2-6) had crossed the pass to initially defeat Schwerin and besiege the Prussian Silesian Key Fortress of Schweidnitz… but the Prussians counter-attacked and drove the Austrians back to their side of the mountains. In Pirna, Saxony, is an Austrian Army under Charles (1-8). He is confronted by a mixed Danish (!) / Prussian force in Dresden. Had the game continued, a battle between them could have proved interesting. Finally, there’s Daun (3-8)’s Army in Nurnberg where it intercepted and defeated Frederick (4-8)’s Prussians in their attempt to take Augsburg and conquer the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick turned his Army to break the French siege of Frankfurt and that’s where he ended the game. The final turn of the game approaches. Note the British Foreign War, “Caribbean Foray” is still in play and the Honors of War Box is filled with pieces: including France’s Nally (0-4) from India and Britain’s Abercromby (0-4) from North America.
A large Austrian Army under Daun rumbled into Saxony, got beat, retreated to back to Austria for refit and then advanced once again. The end of the game saw Daun facing a combined Danish (!) / Prussian defensive force guarding Dresden. For Denmark had joined The Coalition’s cause.
Austria, however, could gain nothing and barely held on to its own lands in Austria and half, but not all, of the Holy Roman Empire’s Keys (Augsburg). Frederick took a city there early on (Frankfort), and despite twice being threatened, once from France and once from Austria, held that ill-gotten gain for the whole game.
During the last year we played, Frederick’s Army even made an attempt to seize Augsburg and conquer The Holy Roman Empire. This failed due to Austrian intervention, an Army under Charles who outnumbered the Prussians. Frederick ended the game in Frankfort, in coordination range of Sporcken and Ferdinand’s British Armies for a kind of stalemate of three French Armies vs. three Coalition Armies.
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming…Slowly
Other than Montcalm in North America, the only other bright spot for the Allies came from the East. The Russians, plodding slowly, eventually took Konigsberg. They only get two cards a turn, and almost every draw was a weak one. Twice the French gave them cards as Foreign Aid; but as the French were fighting for their lives (and losing) on the Rhine and India, these were not the best tools in the French toolbox.
Late game in the East: With play of “Russia Fully Commits”, Mark receives Saltikov (3-8)’s powerful Russian Army and in coordination with a smaller Army under Fermor (2-6), who was already in East Prussia, smash a small Prussian Army under the lamentable Lehwaldt (0-4). Lehwaldt’s survivors are forced to retreat into Poland. Saltikov then goes on to besiege and capture Konigsberg from its 2SP garrison. To the south, another Russian Army under Apraxin (2-4) advances to seize Warzawa. Mark then uses “Engineers Get to Work” to build a Level One Temporary Fortress to prevent Coalition play of a Kleiner War Event to remove Warzawa’s Flag. Had the game gone on, Russia’s next hand of cards, reaping the benefit of this successful offensive, would have been three cards for holding 6 Keys: Their original four plus Konigsberg and Warzawa.
The Russians were plagued by “The Sultan Marches” Foreign War which, thanks to low dice rolling, absorbed 7SPs over its three years. Bad enough… but it could have been worse, much worse.
Still, Russian armies defeated the Prussian forces before them and took Konigsberg from Prussia. They also in 1761 seized the previously neutral Warsaw (then placed a temporary one level Fortress upon it), and although these victories bolstered their card draw from two to three, this was not enough to turn the tide of the war. The Russian arrival on Prussia’s eastern border came too late.
It Ends with a Card: Mercifully
The game came to an end after five years thanks to a card (“Europe Exhausted”) and a die roll, and although I lost, I did not feel bad about it. This was a really fun game to play. After all, I had done better than the Allies had done – especially the French, whose conquest of North America may have made the ghosts of Montcalm and his soldiers smile.
Final Positions for the “Western Front”: At game end, the French, who were bled white by their cumulative losses battling the British and Prussians, had no Trained Troop Reserves remaining. Their three Armies were D’Estrees (1-8) with 4SP in Mainz, Soubise (0-6) an Army without any SP in Metz, and a full-strength Army under Broglie (1-8) in Paris. These French forces were faced by Prussia’s Frederick II (4-8) and 5SPs in Frankfurt, just returned from their ill-fated foray to Augsburg, with two full strength British Armies confronting their Imperial antagonists: Sporcken (1-6) in Koln and Ferdinand (3-8) in Picardy. Unless luck with dice or cards come to their rescue; things look grim for “La Belle France” had the game continued.
Could I have done even better? Could I have won? Of course. Had the French won ANY of their battles on the Rhine, or the Austrians been able to remain on the far side of the mountains in Silesia and Saxony, the results would have been far different – especially with the Russians breathing down the Prussian neck. Perhaps next time, the dice and cards will fall that way, and Frederick’s Gamble will fail.
Game End VP Tabulation
The Coalition: 8 VP
Britain: lost two Keys in North America (Boston and New York), gained Keys in India and Europe: Chandernagore, Pondicherry, Venlo, Roermond, Antwerp for 5VP), 0VP for the Naval Track, which ended the game at four, 1 VP for a Resource and 1VP for having Denmark as a Pact Ally: 5VP
Prussia: lost the Konigsberg Key, -1VP, but gained 1 VP for a Resource, up 2 Keys for holding Saxony (Leipzig and Dresden for 2 VP) and +1VP for Frankfort: 3VP
The Imperial Camp: (-1) VP
Austria, Pact Ally with the HRE and no Resource, lost two Keys in The Austrian Netherlands (Roermond and Antwerp): -1 VP
France: No Resource remaining. Gained two Colonial Keys (Boston and New York) and a Pact Ally with Russia. This was offset by loss of the Keys of Chandernagore, Pondicherry, and Venlo: 0 VP
The Coalition wins 8VP to (-1VP). Britain gained the most of the two Coalition Camp Major Powers and is therefore sole winner of the game.
Incidentally, it took approximately 45 minutes to an hour for each of our 7YW:FG Turns (comprising a year).
A Post 7YW:FG Game “Selfie”: A picture of Fred (left) and Mark (right) at conclusion of their fun time playing Greg Ticer’s The Seven Years War: Frederick’s Gamble.
Author: Mark McLaughlin
Sounds like a great game, with very credible scenarios and outcomes. I was also impressed by the feeling of fun that the game engendered; surely the best yardstick of all.