Last year saw the release of Field of Glory Empires from AGEOD and Slitherine. It represented a new chapter for AGEOD, best known for their deep, yet infamously difficult to get into, series of historical grand strategy games. Empires took most of their best ideas, added a few new ones, and combined it all with a much more user friendly interface. Another interesting twist was linking traditional grand strategy gameplay with the tactical battles of Field of Glory II. This allowed the player to assume direct command of any battle if they so chose, by launching FOG II, an entirely separate game, playing out the battle, then sending the results back to Empires. This was a bold decision that worked quite well, though you certainly wouldn't want to play out the majority of your battles this way, as it would take ages. All in all, I really enjoyed the game and how it encouraged the idea of civilizations rising and falling over time, allowing the player to "win" even after their glorious empire had faded into a has-been. 

The recent release of Persia 550-330 BCE, steps the game start further back in time, and as the title suggests, features the rise of Persia as a central highlight. The player can step into the shoes of Cyrus II, aka Cyrus the Great, and see if you can match his conquests. Although your neighbors at the start, Babylon and Media, are massive, they are old and worn down empires that have rotted from the inside. It won't take you long to overrun their lands, but after that you will find yourself facing stiffer resistance from the Greek city states. Lucky for you, this DLC also introduces some new features in addition to the new campaign.

Regional Decisions will be immediately familiar to any fans of the older AGEOD games. These are essentially bonuses or special powers that you can apply (for a cost) to qualifying regions. They represent all sorts of historical events and realities, but do so in a simple and abstract way that doesn't over complicate things. For example, you can invest resources in attempting to turn the Greeks against one another so they don't have time to ally against you. You can federate barbarian warriors on your borders to improve relations and sap their manpower, or you can invest in building up newly conquered lands. There are many different regional decisions, and all have a cost and potential benefit. Some are unique to certain civilizations, while others can be employed by anyone. This is a perfectly natural addition to the game that makes things more interesting without adding any additional complexity.

Another new feature adds a bit of randomness and replayability to the game. Impediments and Boons are, respectively, bad or good features of any given region that you may find as you go about painting the map your color. Things like an impenetrable forest or a bandit infestation which can slow down development in a region until you find a way to deal with the issue. Occasionally you can also find an especially good boon that makes a region far more important than it might be the next time you play the game. This feature isn't quite as meaningful as the Regional Decisions, but anything to mix up strategy and increase replayability is a win in my book. Both of these features are also added into the original campaign timeline, in case you were wondering.

Special effort was also made to add extra flavor to playing as the key nations of the time by giving them unique events, missions, and more, so that playing Persia won't feel anything like playing as Athens. So far, I've only played a campaign as the Persians, and I have to say it was a new experience compared to my plays of the base game as Rome, and then as various barbarian tribes. I happily found that, much like in Europa Universalis IV, playing as the big names and the little names of history can be fun in different ways. Playing as Persia was a delight. Finally, a chance to play as a rapidly expanding and wildly successful (for a while) empire not named Rome! That said, you can play this campaign as Rome if you wish, though you will be starting from very humble beginnings. Dozens of other tribes and empires are available to play as well, from the Picts up in the far North, to a still powerful Egyptian state, or perhaps you'll lead the Spartans in kicking people into wells all over the Mediterranean. 

Field of Glory Empires might not have dethroned the Paradox grand strategy games, but I maintain that it is still a very strong contender in the genre. As I discussed in my original review, the combination of multitudes of trade goods, semi-random construction options, and deep but accessible empire management make it a great choice for anyone interested in the genre. Being able to play out your battles in tactical turn based combat is a cool twist, though entirely optional. The Persia DLC seamlessly strengthens that gameplay with its additional features, and the timeline chosen is perfectly suited to the core theme of the game, the never ending balance between progress and decay.

Field of Glory Empires - Persia 550-330 BCE can purchased from Slitherine directly, or found on Steam.

- Joe Beard

What happens when you take a developer known for their deep, yet utterly arcane historical strategy games, and link them with a publisher known for making wargaming accessible to the masses? You get Field of Glory Empires, a rich grand strategy title that carves out its own space in the genre. 

At a glance, one could quickly draw comparisons to the Total War or Paradox grand strategy games, but Empires sets itself apart with multiple mechanics that address some of the shortcomings of those series. One wholly unique feature of Empires is the way it integrates with a completely separate game, Field of Glory II, to allow you to play out the battles in that game. Though I must immediately point out that having Field of Glory II is by no means necessary to enjoy Empires. In fact, you probably won't want to command every battle personally, since that would add hours and hours to a campaign. However, if you already own Field of Glory II, and enjoy grand strategy games, it makes a whole lot of sense to get Empires. Suddenly, those fun tactical battles, the results of which were mostly inconsequential, take on significant weight. Now you are defending your capitol from an invading army, or fighting to claim a critical new province for your empire. Some may balk at the idea of needing two different games to get the "full" experience, but each can be had for much less than a typical $60 game, and both are worthwhile on their own, so I think it is reasonable enough.

Now, back to Empires itself. The basics of the grand strategy genre are mostly here. You begin the game by selecting one of dozens of different ancient tribes and civilizations. All your ancient favorites are here, from Rome and Carthage to the Greek city states and the "barbarian" tribes of Europe, and many more. The map spans all of Europe, North Africa, and stretches east to cover a portion of India. The standard campaign runs from 310 BCE to 190 CE. This is a lovely starting point just after the death of Alexander the Great and before the Punic Wars. Rome is on the rise, but many older civilizations are still lingering, their historical decline still a bit in the future. And that concept of rise and decline is a core theme of the game.

Unlike in many other similar games, simply painting the map your color will not lead to victory in Empires. As the Romans and many empires before and after them can attest, growing too large leads to many problems. In many cases, an empire that reaches a certain size will inevitably experience a rapid and sometimes total collapse. However, despite their complete collapse we still discuss and often think highly of the Romans today, almost 2000 years later. They left quite the legacy, didn't they? That is how victory is measure in Empires - how many "Legacy" points you are able to accumulate before the end of the game. Legacy points can be gained in many ways, and only lost in one or two ways. However, many of the ways you accumulate Legacy will also earn you "Decadence" points. This can be countered by focusing your resources on things that generate "Culture" points. Too much decadence leads to unrest, revolts, civil war. Countering those problems gets more difficult as your state grows larger and gets older. 

The Emerald Isle makes for a nice "Tutorial Island" to learn the basics.

It's a bit difficult for me to explain succinctly, but the long and short is this: Empires uses several core mechanics to capture a story that has played out so many times in history. Powerful states tend to rise out of obscurity, build themselves up to great heights, and then collapse more from internal rot than from outside aggression. I definitely recommend cracking open the player manual and reading through the relevant sections, as it's a bit obscure how it all works at first. The game does have in-game tutorials and a helpful glossary that will teach you everything else without much trouble. However, you will initially be at a loss as to the importance of progress/decline tokens, Culture-Decadence Ratios, Loyalty, and Legacy points if you don't at least skim through the manual. The manual also has a lengthy strategy guide section and designer's notes that explain the reasoning for the mechanics in the game, so it's well worth your time.

As an example, winning battles and raiding enemy provinces will sometimes net you slaves that you can distribute into your provinces. These slaves will naturally have a high level of unrest and always be a potential source of rebellion. Likewise, taking control of peoples who are ethnically different from you will lead to them being less than happy with their new rulers. The larger your population in a region, the greater their unrest will become as well. Much of this can be mitigated by building things like circuses and gladiator arenas, but these buildings grow your decadence score. As you slide from, let's say, a meritocratic republic built on duty and honor, into a bloated empire dependent on bread and circuses to keep people happy while slaves do all the work, the risk of revolt and civil war will grow despite your best efforts. It's a wonderful system that naturally responds to your actions and pushes your empire into the logical consequences.

As to the less abstract and more "day-to-day" mechanics of the game, any veteran grand strategy player will easily be able to hop in and get going with minimal fuss. The map is broken up into hundreds of provinces, and depending on who you are playing as, you will start with anywhere from one province to a couple dozen under your control. Within each province there is a population under your control. Population is represented by blocks of manpower that you can shift around to focus on food, infrastructure, money, or culture production. You can also construct buildings that will enhance production of those four resources. One interesting note in Empires is that you can only construct one building a time in a province, and you can only select what you want to build from an ever changing pool of options (one building per resource). If you don't like your current pool of options, you'll have to waste several turns rolling a new one. This creates an interesting strategic dilemma. I only have a very limited number of building slots in this province, and I really want to build XYZ, but it hasn't come up as an option yet. Do I spend several turns to see if it comes up next time, or do I go with Plan B right now? I'm not sure how historically accurate the concept is, but I found it refreshing to not use the same cookie cutter build order in every province like you would in other grand strategy games.

Each icon on the map indicates a special trade good in that province.

Many of the buildings require trade goods in order to function efficiently, or to give a bonus to their production. There are a ton of these trade goods, some examples being horses, iron, wine, fish, and many more. Some of these are available in certain provinces from the start, while others are produced by buildings. You can trade for these goods internally and with other states. Trade is another area where the game functions differently than you might expect. Unlike in say, Civilization, you don't make a direct agreement to import some good from another state and have it be available for your own use wherever. Rather, in Empires, trade goods are moved around in an organic way, with the buildings you construct creating a demand that can be met by any trade good containing province within range. If you control the source of the good, you'll make a little cash even when trading with yourself. If you have to import it from elsewhere you'll pay full price, and vice versa, you can make money by exporting your goods. This is all only indirectly under your control, and creates a neat living economy as demand for goods appears in regions depending on the buildings constructed there, and buildings are constructed depending on what goods are available.

The military side of things should be familiar enough to most strategy gamers. If you have ever played an AGEOD game before, you will immediately recognize the how all of this works, but be relieved to find that things are very simple this go around. Various unit types (skirmishers, infantry, and cavalry of all variety are available) are built in a region and then combined to create an army. Every unit has strengths and weaknesses, special perks like performing better in specific terrain, and each individual unit has an experience level that rises as they survive battles. On your turn you assign an army to move here and there, and give them a "stance" such as simply moving about, or immediately assaulting any forts they come across, or to go raiding neighboring provinces. Units don't actually move until you hit the end turn button, at which time ALL units from every state move at once. This means you could miss that enemy army you were targeting, or blunder into one you weren't aware of. 

When two armies meet, a battle commences. As I mentioned above, you can opt to take direct control if you own Field of Glory II, and play the battle out there. This is a mostly seamless process, as Empires closes, Field of Glory II opens, and you hit a button to import the battle. Then the reverse occurs and you are right back in Empires with the battle result. Otherwise, the battle plays out in Empires with no real direct input from you. Your input is in how you decide to compose your army, and where you send them to fight. Army composition is far more engaging than in something like Europa Universalis, as unit types are far more distinct, and your army will very much reflect the empire you have built. Most units require that you have access to particular trade goods or meet other requirements. Additionally, almost every province can produce some variety of unique unit, that is better than its standard counter-part and often has extra perks, but is also more expensive. I really liked this feature, as it gives historical flavor to an army raised in any particular region.

So that hits all the highlights, but don't be mistaken, there are plenty of additional nitty-gritty details that I didn't get into, but you can learn about as you play. I want to reiterate how genius the victory point system is in this game. Because your legacy points remain in place even if your once great empire collapses, it's entirely possible to win the game while NOT being the biggest blob of color on the map. You can play through the rise, the golden age, and then the decline and fall of an empire, and still win the game. A fall is not guaranteed, of course, but the mechanics of the game will push you further and further in that direction unless you prove yourself a very capable leader.

The deep and interesting designs of developer AGEOD have finally evolved into a game system that anyone can play (without an excessive amount of head scratching), and it is a great moment that bodes well for their future. Despite going up against some of the most popular grand strategy games out there, I think Field of Glory Empire really shines as a fresh take on the genre. The Culture and Decadence system fleshes out an idea that is usually relegated to a simple "happiness" score in other games, and makes it the core of the gameplay loop. This completely changes how you think about building and managing your empire, and makes the plausible scenario, that your empire eventually crumbles, still be a fun part of the game.  I give a strong recommendation to Field of Glory Empires, and it's a real no-brainer if you already own Field of Glory II, as both games benefit from combining the two. 

Field of Glory Empires can be purchased directly from Slitherine, as well as on Steam and GoG. 

(As of this writing it's 10% off, go grab it if you are interested!)


- Joe Beard

Wars of Succession by Ageod

Distributed by Slitherine 

 It looks like we are back in the 1980's again. There is enough 'big hair' in this game to fill the places of a few hundred rock bands. It was an age of mighty giants, and some rather important short people (Peter the Great was 6' 8", and Louis XIV was 5'4"; it is amazing what heels and a tall wig will do). This game has it all for military history nuts: Marlborough, known as 'Corporal John', and the 'last Viking', Charles XII. Charles XII being one of the few to push back against the coiffures of the day. Battles from this time resound through the centuries. Poltava and Malplaquet, to name two among the many others. Well, enough of the history. What about the game?

 Ageod wargames have the ability to make gamers swear by them, or some to swear at them. I for one have never understood the latter. Ageod puts out obscure games that many others wouldn't touch. I like the engine and have never really had an issue with their games. Many people say that the AGE engine does its best work with wars earlier than the 20th century. I do not know if I would agree with that statement, but I have read many write ups praising this game, and I am in complete agreement with them. We can finally play not only the 'Great Northern War', but also the 'War of The Spanish Succession' on the computer, and as a bonus all in one game. 

   The game comes with five different scenarios. They are:

1. Grand campaign 1700 Great Northern war

2. Italy Scenario 1701-1702

3. Grand Campaign war of The Spanish Succession 1701

4. Spanish Succession 1706 Campaign

5. Spanish Succession 1709 Campaign


 The Italy scenario acts in some ways as the tutorial scenario, but only because of it's small size. So there really isn't a tutorial to play. Although to be honest the AGE engine has been around for a good long time, and there are plenty of YT videos and writes up about how to play Ageod's games. 

 Warfare, in this age and later, was much different than the late 20th century. Many more soldiers died of disease than in action with the enemy. Straggling and just plain running away from armies was rampant, even though if caught the punishments inflicted were draconian. If there is one thing that this game can teach you about 18th century warfare it is that your army, even if you are successful, can melt like an April snow storm. As the old adage goes, 'professional soldiers study logistics, amateurs study tactics'. It doesn't make a bit of difference if you have the greatest plan in your head for an offensive if you arrive at your destination with 1/2 of your army wasted from the ravages of dysentery. An old joke between American Civil War soldiers was 'how are you?' the answer was invariably 'passing well'. The weather in this game also plays a crucial part, as it should. In the 1709 campaign in Russia, birds died in the air mid-flight from freezing. You could also ice skate from Germany to Sweden across the Baltic. The world suffered from the 'Little Ice Age' from the 16th to 19th centuries.

  The game's scenarios do not play or seem like they were cut out by a cookie cutter, meaning that it actually feels like you are commanding an army and nation in this age. This is not a nation builder simulation, so do not confuse it with Ageod's 'Pride of Nations'. This is meat and potatoes for a wargamer and the AGE engine; even if it is long in the tooth, it still gives the wargamer a great experience. 

 The map is beautiful, and fits right in with the previous Ageod maps. The game turns are thirty days, and the form of the game is WEGO. This is where both sides command their forces to move etc. for the next turn, and then both sides move simultaneously. This means that each side does not have a clue of what the other is planning. You may attempt to attack your opponent, and then find he has moved in another direction. This means that this game has a very high 'fog of war'.

 The icons or pictures of the various commanders are very well done. I have to knock the game for one thing. The 'Wild Geese' (Irish Fleeing English Rule), and the Swiss are not in their red uniforms.

 The AI is good enough to keep you on your toes, and if you find the game much easier than some of us, the AGE engine has a ton of preferences to be changed to make it more of a challenge.

 The above shows the situation as it was in early 1709. The French had constructed a system of defense called 'Ne Plus Ultra' (literally 'no further'). The French nation was also on its last legs. They had been fighting wars for almost all of the last forty years. Crop failures and losses had meant that this was actually the last army they had to put in the field versus Marlborough. Marlborough determined to take the city of Mons. This set the stage for the greatest battle of the War of The Spanish Succession Malplaquet. Marlborough won the field, but at such a cost that Villars was able to report to Louis XIV "If it please God to give your Majesty's enemies another such victory they are ruined".

 The story of the campaign of Poltava in Russia where Charles XII finally faced defeat is just as thrilling. 

 

 The above screen shows the results after a battle.

 I am an unrepentant Ageod fan boy. I have every game that is in the long line of antecedents of this one. I still enjoy playing them, and this new beauty is one of the best as far as myself and many others are concerned. 

Robert

The English Civil War

by

 Ageod/Matrix/Slitherine

 Before the Second Battle of Newbury, the Parliamentary General the Earl of Manchester said "The King need not care how oft he fights... if we fight 100 times and beat him 99 he will still be king, but if he beats us but once, or the last time, we shall be hanged, we shall lose our estates, and our posterities be undone".

 The game 'The English Civil War' also has another title: 'A War Without An Enemy'. As in most civil wars, the word 'civil' was dropped pretty much at the start of hostilities.

 The English Civil War was actually a series of three conflicts. The first was fought from 1642 to 1646. The second was fought between 1648 and 1649. Both of these were fought between Parliament and King Charles I and his followers. The third part of the civil war was fought between the adherents of King Charles II, and the 'Rump' Parliament, King Charles I having been beheaded on January 30th 1649.

 This game is about the first part of the conflict, July 1642 to December 1646. The game comes with three tutorials and three campaigns, The tutorials are:

Basic Rules

Recruitment, Production, and Decisions

Advanced Concepts and Tips 

The three campaigns are:

Marston Moor

Naseby

The Great Civil War

 Just like 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', Charles I lost his best chance to end the war by swiftly moving on London. In Charles I's case this was after the battle of Edgehill in 1642.

 As in real war most Ageod games show that controlling land and cities is the key to winning wars. Without a proper amount of area under your control, you will die a slow death. As an army commander you need a population large enough to to recruit soldiers from, and also tax, and grow crops etc. to keep your army intact.

 The system used in the game is 'WEGO', meaning that both sides plan their moves, and the computer shows the outcome of your decisions.  The 'Athena' engine of most Ageod games works best with a smaller number of units in play. So the 'English Civil War' and its older brother the 'Thirty Years War' are a perfect fit for the engine. The turns are fifteen days long. This game, again like TYW, has regional event cards that the player can utilize to influence the war.

 In the campaign game, the king starts with slightly better forces and controls the north of England. The Parliament controls the south and London. The Parliament also gained control of most of the English naval forces at the beginning of the war. As keeping control of areas and gaining new ones is so important, sieges play a large part of the game. This really puts us budding generals on the horns of a dilemma. Do you parcel out your forces over a large area to keep control all of your cities, or do you keep a large army intact for use in both offense or defense? Remembering that, keeping a large army supplied is not easy. This is 1642, not 1942, and there are no trucks or railways.  So everything you need moves by wagon, with the horses that are carrying your supplies probably needing more than your army does. So warfare in this era is a lot like the later rounds of a boxing match. Both opponents have to try and rest, and then pick and choose when to attack. So there is usually a flurry of activity followed by both sides resupplying etc. 

 The Marston Moor campaign is pretty much a toss up between the King and Parliament. The Naseby campaign is, as it should be, tilted heavily in Parliament's favor. I have learned the hard way not to attempt battle early on playing as the Royalists.

 The Ageod 'Athena' engine has always had its detractors and its fan base. The area movement and lack of player input during battles has left some of the micro-management players out in the cold. To me and most others, the 'Athena' engine does a great job of showing how pre-20th century warfare really worked. The system is a bit hard for brand new players. Now however, there are plenty of 'how to' videos for Ageod games, and the tutorials have only gotten better.

 Now we have to move on to one item. For those of you with small children or grand kids, Dora can help us out "It's the map, it's the map, it's the map". Some parts of the map are not correct. From what I understand it is where some cities are compared to the counties or areas on the map. In reading the various posts and then looking at the map I understand these peoples' chagrin. The good news is that it really does not affect the game play at all.

 In May a patch (version 1.02) was posted about. It was supposed to include the following:


-- Some text Issues fixed.
-- Logbatch consumes a lot of memory issue fixed.
-- Leaders dont recover their stats after forming a group fixed.
-- Patch number does not show up fixed.
-- Issue regarding the construction of troops. Fixed, now you can build in the regions you have loyalty over 51% and if you have the assets needed.
-- Reg Southminster tooltip now shows ‘Clear’.
-- More WS for the Parliamentarian. Some structures generates more WS each turn. 

 Per the forum, it looks like it is taking longer than expected to release it because more fixes were going to be added to it. I was trying to hold off until the new patch was released to start playing, but time waits for no man.

 On another note, I love the movie Cromwell. Here are some quotes from people about him that I found:

Robert Leckie in 'A few Acres of Snow' called him a "hymn singing swine".

Clarendon called him a "Brave Bad Man".

An Irish Prime Minister in London is supposed to have said "I am not going to talk until you take that picture of that murdering bastard down"




Robert

                                                       Ageod's The Thirty Years War


  Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, and the Great Conde, oh my. It also has Tilly, Wallenstein, Horn, Pappenheim, and the Cardinal-Infante, plus the whole gang of kings and princes and generals that we love to read about.

 This is a Slitherine/Matrix/Ageod game of the Thirty Years War. The game has actually been released by the Ageod part of the gaming triumvirate. They have also released such titles as, The Wars of Napoleon, The Rise of Prussia, Revolution under siege etc..

 This war was caused by the Bohemians offering their crown from the head of the Catholic Hapsburg Ferdinand II, to the Protestant Frederick V of the Palatinate, a small part of the Holy Roman Empire. The empire was once described as neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Frederick V is called the 'Winter King', because that is how long his reign of Bohemia lasted.  The Bohemians, in a fit of religious rage, threw two of Ferdinand's councilors out of a window to land seventy feet below into a dung heap. Miraculously they both survived, thus proving that politicians, like cats, usually land on their feet.  This was the spark that set off the greatest conflagration since the reformation began. On the outside it was a religious war. In reality at times Catholic fought Catholic and Protestant fought Protestant, depending less on the states' religious views than their own policy.

 The war was a high mark in man's inhumanity to man. The devastation and desolation this war caused in central Europe affected it for the next few hundred years. The sack of Magdeburg was that centuries 'rape of Nanking'. The scale was smaller, but the savagery was just as intense. The woodcuts and printed sheets of the horrors were the first large propaganda outpouring to hit Europe.

 The Thirty Years war saw the change from completely rigid linear tactics to the reforms of Maurice Prince of Orange. It also was the watershed between countries moving from half trained militia and mercenary armies, to having fully professional standing armies. 

 Enough of the history, now let's get to the game. This review is of the 1.01 version.

  The game has three tutorials and five scenarios these are:

  Tutorials:

  1. Basic Rules
  2. Recruitment, Production, and Decisions
  3. Advanced Concepts and Tips

  Scenarios:

  1. The Bohemian revolt 1618
  2. The Danish Phase 1625
  3. The Paladins 1622
  4. The Swedish Intervention 1630
  5. The Thirty Years War 1618

  The scenario of the whole war, 1618-1648, is a whopping 369 turns.

 The player chooses to play either the 'Protestant powers' or the 'Empire'. You are the leader of your coalition and control diplomacy, economics, and of course your military.

 The map is of the whole of middle Europe, with some of the scenarios focusing on smaller portions of it.

 You are given four pages of options to tweak the AI and other parts of the game to your desire. For those not faint of heart you can also tweak the 'scripts' that the game runs on.

 This game, like all of the newer Ageod games, has the decision card system to help or hurt you and to add historical flavor. It is also dripping with historical events that further the historical depth of the game.

  Your forces' supply and attrition will be your main focus.  The troops under you will melt away like ice cream in the hot sun. As Spain was described during the Napoleonic wars "a small army is defeated and a large army starves". Your armies are much like a chained bulldog, formidable only in a small area and useless out of it. You will be continually juggling your meager purse between all of the different choices that you can or have to make. Mutual exhaustion between the contending forces at times, resemble the fourteenth round in a championship boxing match (oops showed my age), or for the uninitiated, the last round of any Rocky movie. The turns are in the WEGO mode, that is you and your opponent both decide on your moves and actions and then it is played out simultaneously on the map.

 Your forces have to be integrated with leaders, with that and all of the myriad of choices you have as a coalition leader for economic,etc. It is good to see that there are so many tutorials and also that they are set up not to overwhelm the new player with too much information at once.

 The game is a grand scale work of the Athena engine. For those of you who already own Ageod games, its purchase is a no-brainer. For the gamer who has not played any of their games, there is a bit of a learning curve to overcome, but well worth it in the end. The Athena game engine is particularly well suited for time periods where the action of armies is more fluid and not stagnant as in World War I.

 This screenshot shows the landing of Gustavus Adolphus, the king of Sweden, landing in the HRE in 1630.

 Hopefully,(hint hint, nudge nudge) Ageod is already working on another of the 'holy grails' of wargaming: an operational rendering of the English Civil War. The time period almost exactly overlaps the time period in TYW. You would get the added attraction of commanding the 'Winter King', Frederick V's, son Prince Rupert as a royalist commander. Oh, and while you're at it, The Campaigns of Marlborough.

 For The Thirty Years war game might I suggest a little light reading, specifically Thomas Hobbes 'Leviathan'. Removing my tongue from its firm position in my cheek. Try this, 'The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy', by Peter H. Wilson. If you are like me, and like pc and board games take a look at GMT games.



Robert

Game: Thirty Years War
Developr: Ageod
Publisher: Slitherine
Steam Release: 6/9/16
Review Date: 6/20/16

Wars of Napoleon Review

 Napoleon and Ageod should go together like milk and cookies. Who but a French wargaming Company should get a Napoleonic game right?  Ageod has entered the fray again with The Wars of Napoleon. Their other fine games include Revolution Under Siege, Alea Jacta Est and Rise of Prussia, to name just a few. They have also produced the game Napoleon's Campaigns. Napoleon's Campaigns was never received with the enthusiasm of most of their other games. It almost seemed like Ageod's red haired stepchild on their forums and other places. It just never seemed to fit in. Let's look at their new Napoleonic game, which was just released on Steam, and see if it is a child of love or an also ran.

 May I suggest a run to YouTube, to listen to Edith Piaf sing " La Marseillaise ". If the Sparrow's rendition doesn't get you into the mood to conquer Europe, nothing will.

 With all of the Ageod games you have to invest the time to actually learn the system. Fortunately, once you have learned it with one of their AGE ( Athena game engine ) engine games, you should be all set to play the entire series. There are a few excellent YouTube videos on how to play.

 Let me state that the Ageod/Matrix/Slitherine group is one of the few on the web where you can get actual answers to your posts and questions almost immediately, and more than that, sometimes answered by the management. Their professionalism and caring show with the answers you will receive. Not too long ago, I bought an older game from the group, a 2008 game to be exact, that is still being patched and worked on. I received help promptly in trying to run the game.


 Wars of Napoleon is bought either through the Ageod/Matrix/Slitherine stores or is available on Steam, as is most of their catalog now. The installation is straightforward with either option.  The version reviewed in this game is 1.02A

 The maps are the standard Ageod eye candy. The map is absolutely huge, from Great Britain to the Persian gulf, and the Urals to Morocco. Their are tons of insets for the Americas and Asia. Fortunately, you have a mini map for quick movement. You can play seven nations in the larger scenarios. These are Great Britain,  France,Spain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and the Ottomans.

 There are numerous ways to get the information you need, sometimes just by hovering the mouse, or clicking on the myriad of tool tips to help the budding conqueror within you.

 There are six campaigns you can choose, with the first Waterloo used as a tutorial. The complexity of the campaigns is graded on a one to five scale with five being the hardest. The Last flight of the eagle scenario   (Waterloo) is a 2/5 on the scale. The two Napoleon's campaigns scenarios are the hardest, listed as a 5/5. These campaigns add the complexity of production, policies, and diplomacy.

This is a screenshot of the start of the 1806-1807 Prussian campaign. This is includes the part of the campaign where you will have to fight the Russians. So you not only get a chance to re-fight Jena, but also Eylau, and Friedland. Just to be clear, you are fighting the whole campaign, not just the separate battles. Even the Waterloo scenario is the whole campaign in Belgium.

 Movement takes place through various regions, like all of Ageod's AGE engine games. The units are division, corps and armee (army), with attached artillery, engineers and your trains. Your units of movement will mostly be corps, separating to be able to forage etc. and combining at or right before a battlefield. Blue lines will show your intended moves. Units will also have "posture" as in aggressive or defensive with varied amounts of each. It is simultaneous movement with a seven day time span for turns.

  Your units deal with a "command cost" and "command points" system. The units' orders cost "X" amount of command points and their leader has only a certain amount of points to be able to move and fight etc.. Some units also have special abilities.

 Playing as the French, you have an edge in the beginning of the longer scenarios because of your leaders' command points and overall ability. As the years progress, the other nations leaders will reflect their growing capability and learning of how to deal with the new tactics and strategies of Napoleonic warfare.


 The key to victory is in your national morale compared to your enemies. Victory points are won or lost by the capture or loss of cities and the destruction of enemy formations. Pretty standard fare for a wargame of this type.

 In the longer scenarios you also have to deal with your nation's diplomacy, economy, and other regional decisions. These, while not as deep as some of the other nation building simulations available, are a welcome touch for a game of such breadth.

 If you so choose, you can put Europe of 1805  into more of a sandbox mode. You can opt to have randomized leaders, fog of war, and even increase the force pools. Some of these can change the entire game and make it non-historical. Players might enjoy playing by rewriting history, and others would like to follow it more closely. I am among the latter.

 I would like to see a DLC with more campaigns, i.e. Russia in 1812, Spain by itself, or the 1813 German campaign. A well done 1813 campaign is on my bucket list.

 There had been earlier reports of CTDs while playing. They seem to have been cleared up with the latest patches. I did not experience any. AI turn speed is fine for a game as complex as this one.

 So, how does this stack up compared to its predecessor? I believe His Imperial majesty would be pleased, and it fits nicely in the pantheon of other great wargames from Ageod. If you are in the mood to march to Moscow and see your army destroyed by typhus, by all means, go for it.

Robert


Game: Wars of Napoleon
Developer: Ageod
Publisher: Slitherine/Matrix games
Steam release date: 8/5/2016
Review date: 14/5/2016