1212 Las Navas de Tolosa
by
Draco Ideas
The year is 1212 and El Cid has been dead for thirteen years. The deadly conflict between the Muslims and Christians for Spain is still going on. In fact, the Reconquista will continue for almost three hundred years. The tide had turned and the Muslims, commanded by their Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir, were taking a good number of Spanish fortresses. It had gotten so bad that the pope, Innocent III, had called for a crusade in Spain. I am simplifying the historical tale. Both the Christians and Muslims were a loose group of smaller states that fought each other as often as they fought against their supposed enemies. The crusaders and a number of Christian states banded together to fight against a similarly made-up army under the Caliph. This is the backdrop behind the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
This is an excerpt from a written account of the time:
"They attacked, fighting against one another, hand-to-hand, with lances, swords, and battle-axes; there was no room for archers. The Christians pressed on." – (The Latin Chronicle of The Kings of Castile)
This is what comes with the game:
Board
54 Unit Markers
9 Combat Cards
6 help cards
12 special cards (6 from each side)
This is what Draco Ideas has to say about the game:
"1212: Las Navas de Tolosa is an asymmetric, two-player wargame in which Almohad and Christian troops face each other, reliving the emblematic battle of the Reconquista.
Fast games and a very contained deployment, in which the battle is decided in about 30 minutes, with a card engine to determine the initiative and the outcome of the combat.
Although small in size, 1212 Las Navas de Tolosa perfectly integrates the theme in a reduced number of components, placing special emphasis on the asymmetry of the sides to revive the different strategies that took place in the battle that would change the course of the Reconquista.
Among other features, Christian units receive bonuses if they are activated by cards with their King’s shield, adding a further decision to the player on when to play the cards in his hand.
For his part, the Almohad player can use a free ‘Tornafuye’ (karr wa-l-farr) action, which allows him to make a counterattack after a Christian cavalry charge, and also has special units such as the Black Guard protecting the Caliph an-Nasir, or the Jihad Volunteers, fanatical troops that will throw themselves into combat advancing if they manage to create a breach in the Christian defense."
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| A Muslim Counter |
I know it is a cliche, but sometimes good things do come in tiny boxes. Most of the parts of the game are small. The board is a mounted one. It measures around 11 3/4" x 8". It consists of eighteen rectangles (nine for each side). It is pretty much made up of open terrain with a few trees and the Caliph's stockade on the edge of one side. The counters are large at 18mm and come pre-rounded. Each counter comes with a very nicely done picture in the middle of it. The designer/artist (Pablo Sanz) has drawn them to look like period pieces of the battles' time. The Rulebook is small, about half the size of a normal Rulebook. It is however, done in full color. It is only twenty pages in length with the last page being a quick reference for the rules. The regular rules are fifteen pages in length. Then there is a two-page Advanced Variant for the rules. The game comes with two Rulebooks: one in English and one in Spanish. Next up are the Victory Conditions and a Historical Context. The Cards come with six cards for quick refence. On one side is English and the other is in Spanish. There are nine regular cards to be played with the normal game. A further 12 cards (six per side) are used with the Advanced Variant. That sums it up for the game's components. Draco Ideas does put a lot into the physical presentation of their games.
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| One of the Cards for the Regular Game |
The game was designed to take up a very small footprint and to be played in about thirty minutes. Draco Ideas has succeeded in both of these endeavors. This is a quick playing fun game that also has both strategy and tactics built into it. The addition of the Advanced Variant makes it so the game does not get stale or boring. The regular game is a good game, but it might get too repetitious for some people. The Advanced Variant Cards are either commanders in the game or units. These Cards give the player either Action Points or extra attack power when played.
This is the Sequence of Play:
Initiative Phase: 1 card from each player. The highest wins the initiative and ties go to the Christian player.
Action Phase: 2 cards for Action Points, playing alternative turns.
Exhaustion: Tilted units (exhausted units) can neither attack or rally. They recover at the end of the turn.
These are a few of the rules:
Ties in the standard attacks = 1 damage per side.
If there are no cards left in the game deck, turn over the discard pile Without Shuffling.
Action allowed per turn:
Maximum 3 units per board zone
Maximum 2 combat actions per turn
Maximum 1 archer attack per turn
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| Christian Counter |
The Victory Conditions are:
The Christian Player wins if Caliph al-Nasir's unit is eliminated.
The Muslim Player wins if the Christian Player is not occupying any of the nine Muslim zones and there are less than four Christian occupied zones.
Either side wins if they control twice as many zones as the other side.
1212 Las Navas de Tolosa was designed to be a fun short game that can be setup and taken down with ease. The price point of the game is also easy on the player's wallet. This is not just a beer & pretzels game. It is certainly not as deep as some wargames but to win you have to put on your thinking cap.
Thank you Draco Ideas for allowing me to review this game. This game and their SCOPE series of games are built on the same premise. Please take a look at their War Storm series of games. They are tactical gems of games. Their two games on the Spanish Civil War (A las Barricadas! and Help Arrives) are two of the finest tactical games on the subject.
Robert
Draco Ideas:
1212 Las Navas de Tolosa:
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