The Wars of the Sun King: Lace Wars Series - Volume I

by

Serious Historical Games

 This is an expanded edition of the game that was first issued in Vae Victis in 2019. Below is what the designer Philippe Hardy has to say about the game:

"This the Deluxe and augmented version of “Les Guerres du Roi Soleil 1667-1713” (The Wars of the Sun King) published in 2019 by Cerigo Edition.

This the first opportunity to play, with a single set of rules, the five conflicts led by France under the reign of Louis XIV the Great and the great rebellion called “La fronde”.

La Fronde rebellion (1648-1653) – taking advantage of the weakness of royal power while Louis, the future Louis XIV, was still a minor, the parliament of Paris and the nobility revolted at different periods and to different degrees against the regency ensured by Anne of Austria (widow of Louis XIII) and Cardinal Mazarin, hated by all. This weakening of France is a boon for Spain, still at war with France, to recover territories (Catalonia, Roussillon, the North of France).

The War of Devolution (1667-1668) - Spain’s non-payment of the Infanta of Spain’s dowry at her marriage to Louis XIV was used as a pretext for a war of conquest. This was the first conflict initiated by Louis XIV against a militarily and economically weakened Spain.

The Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678) - France wants to bring the Dutch Republic to its knees. This fierce commercial competitor, too tolerant as a state, opposes France’s expansion toward the Spanish Netherlands. This war for glory pitches against each other living legends of the Thirty Years War like Turenne, Condé et Montecuccoli. As a result of this conflict, the King of France earns the nickname Louis the Great.

This is the game map along with some of the counters

The War of the Reunions (1683-1684) - Spain does not accept the annexation by France of enclaves and surrounding areas in the Spanish Netherlands, stating their boundaries were poorly defined by the international treaties ending the War of Devolution and the Franco-Dutch War. Vauban recommends limiting the territorial enclaves, leaning against the mountainous area and securing the enclaves by constructing strongholds; it’s a matter of turf.

The War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697) - The Habsburg’s victory against the Ottomans diverted the Empire’s attention on the French territorial gains following the War of the Reunions. In 1687, Louis XIV wanted to transform the Truce of Ratisbon into a permanent accord and send an ultimatum to the emperor who refused. The German princes and the great European powers form an alliance to counter France’s politics of expansionism and religious persecution. France finds itself diplomatically isolated.

The War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713) - King Charles II of Spain dies with no descendants. The two principal reigning families of Europe, the Bourbons (France) and the Habsburgs (Austria), are both related to Charles II and claim the throne. The principal stake is the domination of Europe by seizing the enormous heritage of the Spanish Habsburgs. France is confronted with its fiercest military enemies: Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy.

This is the back of the box

Maximise your resource points to recruit armies, build strongholds, lead sieges and battles and win glory points.

Will you be able to vanquish Montecuccoli, Eugene of Savoy or Marlborough with Turenne, Condé, Villars and impose the Sun King’s will? Or Vauban will be the nemesis of all enemies ‘citadels?"

The game includes :

• One 59 x 85 cm MOUNTED (!) map

• 324 double-sided, pre-cut counters and markers

• A scenario booklet and a rulebook

• Many player aids

 I never played the original. However, I am a self-professed ultra fan of the history of Louis XIV's wars. This is a game that has been needed for a long time.

 You can order the game here:

 https://www.payfacile.com/serious-historical-g/s/the-wars-of-the-sun-king-1648-1713

 This is the link to the website of Serious Historical Games:

SERIOUS HISTORICAL GAMES

 This is about the wargaming company Europa Simulazioni

This is their newest release

 The following is in their own words:

  "Eighteen years have passed since 2006, when we founded Europa Simulazioni for the publication of the first game “All is lost save honour”. That game and the whole ES enterprise was a successful bet, we can say now. The Italian wargame market was languishing. The golden age of the 70s and 80s, when wargames were very popular in Italy, were far away. I myself was not sure that this hobby would last for many more years. I was colossally wrong!

I have been playing wargames since the late 80s, my first real wargame was AH War and Peace. A very sweet and indelible memory of passion for the Napoleonic epic and for that game, a great game still to this day to tell the truth.

But my viaticum towards simulation game design was the meeting with Kevin Zucker and his OSG. Napoleon at Bay changed my perception of how a historical simulation should be built. In short, the theme is to combine in-depth historical research and a game system that reflects as accurately as possible the dynamics and results of the campaign or battle you intend to simulate. It is a true art, of which Kevin is the undisputed master.

Added to this was my interest in a period of history that is very little covered in games: the early modern era and in particular the Renaissance period. The period is fascinating: it is mainly remembered, even in Italy, for the magnificent heights of artistic expression achieved by the greatest exponents of figurative art of all time. But from a military point of view, that era truly represented a turning point. Compared to the previous medieval period, armies began to grow, causing logistical and supply problems to grow out of all proportion. The ancient medieval way of conducting battles remained, but a new way of fighting soon emerged, bringing battle to the place and time deemed most suitable by the commander in chief. In the meantime, we see the use of firearms and the use of mercenary troops emerge. In short, a true revolution, which brought, it must be said, innovation, but also, unfortunately, greater destruction and death, for soldiers and for civilian populations.

Making a game, the first, about the campaigns in northern Italy in the early 1500s, the main phase of the so-called Italian Wars, yes, it was truly a gamble, also due to the serious problems of finding historical sources to draw on for the necessary research.

From there we moved on to build games set in different historical periods, always driven by a passion for History and the consequent desire to bring back to light pieces of our forgotten history. The soldiers, men and women of the past are our fathers and mothers, something of them is in us and we cannot forget them.

What are the “ingredients” of the recipe we use in ES to make a game? The first is a large dose of historical research. This starts first and never ends completely. On the contrary, after each prototype that leads to the final game, we go back and partially reread the sources to verify if they are respected with respect to the dynamics and results of the game. Then we need a system that is respectful of the historical period and the simulation that we want to create. How? A trivial example that I always give: there cannot be, in our opinion obviously, a game system based on the “fog of war” if in that historical period/moment the fog of war was not possible!

The beauty of the graphic components, the choice of materials and the ergonomics of the game are other determining elements. Finally, a monstrous dose of patience is needed: if you are a designer, you will have to put up with the requests of the publisher; if you are the graphic designer, you will have to put up with the requests of the designer and the developer; if you are the publisher, you will have to put up with everyone and everything. Step by step, over the years we have released a dozen games, and more will follow.

And here we are at Caporetto 1917, the last son of the family.

This is a game of considerable size, with a very detailed order of battle. The number of counters around a thousand and the detail of the maps included give an idea of the historical research that was done to complete it. But a game is not a treatise, and it is of no use to anyone if it remains gathering dust on a shelf. So, we have worked very hard in recent months to improve its usability and playability.

Caporetto is a challenge for a designer. This is the most catastrophic battle in Italian history, which has also entered common parlance, and given the initial historical conditions and with a good supporting game system, the Italians cannot win. So, the question arises spontaneously, why a game about this battle? We thought of a historical scenario with two paired players, each one holding a part of the Austro-German deployment and the opposite side to the Italian player's opponent. The player who does better wins. The historical scenario has the initial historical setup and this, as the player can easily understand, makes a big difference. In the free setup scenario we have given a limited possibility to deploy the Italian units in slightly different positions, at the player's choice. In this second scenario, things are completely different, and the German player will have to work hard and not a little to win the same battle!

In this way, players can follow step by step what happened. But also, they can verify that, with a few precautions and a more rational Italian defensive disposition, the battle would have had a very different outcome.

Caporetto setup

Caporetto Map close up

A true historical simulation must allow for historically reliable results. We think that Caporetto achieves this goal and really allows us to analyze in depth the real reasons for the greatest Italian military disaster, outside of any prejudice about the ability and commitment of our troops and finally looking at historical facts as they happened. And also, allow me, having fun, because this is still a game."

 Below are the links to their website and the Caporetto game itself. I have the game, and it is both big and beautiful. I will be posting a review of it in the future. While you are there, do yourself a favor and look at all of their other games.

 Europa Simulazioni

Caporetto 1917