Imperial Struggle - tournament play

 Imperial Struggle


Or the art of wearing a powdered wig. I am going to relate here a game in which i'm opposed to a player from Georgia, USA. This game is one of the many played during an email tournament. We are now in the second round.

The choice of sides

  In spite of a few "hardliners" who persist in asserting that the game is balanced, one can only note the high number of French victories ( 60 to 80 % according to the experience of the players ). As a result, a system of bets for the French camp is organized. Each player gives the number of treaty points he gives to his opponent to play the lilies. Strangely, nobody offers any points to play the perfidious Albion (as much for the "harliners" previously cited). It seems to be agreed that one treaty point is too few and three is too generous. Two points seem to be the right price.

Having suffered with England during the previous round, I pay this price and settle down to the destiny of France.

The ministers

The choice of ministers is varied. The Huguenots are considered to be really rotten, so there are still four possible choices. The Cardinal Ministers allow, barring chronic bad luck, to enjoy 6 points of free diplomacy over two rounds. They are broken, as the young people say.
John Law allows to reduce  debt and he is more efficient with one foot in Scotland. As a result, it is often used in combination with the Jacobites, who will see a necessary investment in the country of whisky and partridge.
Finally, King Louis XIV has two keywords, which makes it versatile for event cards. It also gives a bonus of victory points in Europe, which can be counterproductive (we'll see why later).


So I choose the Cardinals and the King. Let's make it historical. To hell the Protestants and the bankers. For the Jacobites, we'll see, it is possible to get the card for free at the War of the Austrian Succession by investing into it.

The rules (optionnal or not )

Unfortunately, we are playing with the Spanish rule, which imposes a loss at the diplomatic level for every conquest over Spain. This may be historical, but on a playful level it is distressing. We are witnessing a contest of under-investment in the War of the Spanish Succession, each one sending as few forces as possible in order to win nothing (and therefore lose nothing afterwards). This artificially freezes part of the board, which is a pity.

Another point that irritates me is the management of commercial resources. They are drawn at random at each round and can lead to large gaps between the two players. Anyone who has built up an advantage in a ressource will be able to make it profitable in the event of a lucky draw. I would prefer that, like the rewards of domination, commercial ressources are alternated every other turn.

The game


The investment tile draw is fairly balanced. I start with diplomacy and make sure of Savoy and Sardinia. My opponent is concentrated in Scotland and Ireland. A serious English player has to make sure that the Jacobites don't win too much.
I follow with the revelation of the cardinals and take Denmark, Prussia and, with a card, Russia. Here I am at the head of a beautiful collection of countries.

The Englishman retaliates in India by courting the Marathes. I counter him in my turn and recover this minor which gives a very interesting tile advantage.
In front of the few attractive investment tiles, my opponent will recover the Hurons and then secure the sugar trade in the Caribbean. For my part, I secure North America and scatter the world with conflicts with the advantage tiles gleaned at the beginning of the round.



At the countdown to victory, the English lead the way in trade. He wins sugar and tobacco, while cotton is tied. He also gains European prestige thanks to his  fleets sailing on the European coasts. At the end of this countdown, the cursor is at 10 Vps, quite low.

Fortunately, France's weapons will prevail in many theatres. We win in Europe and claim the Hudson Bay. We also win in Spain and choose to reclaim San Augustin, but this costs us an area of Spanish prestige. America and the Jacobites balance each other in terms of points.


It is useful to stay at 15 Vps or below for the choice of the initiative. Some rounds see a disparity in investment tiles and it is in my opinion during these rounds that the game can switch. It is useful to keep a good position on the board while not performing too well on the scoreboard.  



Commentaires

Enregistrer un commentaire

Posts les plus consultés de ce blog

DARK SUMMER - L'analyse d'un ami

Image
  The Dark Summer : du nouveau sur le théâtre de Normandie par Romain Ducoulombier   Merci à Romain de proposer cette analyse poussée et argumentée du dernier jeu de Ted Raicer sur la campagne de Normandie.    Le jeu de Ted Raicer consacré à la campagne de Normandie était pour le moins attendu. Auteur réputé de GMT, en particulier avec sa série récente des « Dark » ( Dark Valley sur la guerre en Union Soviétique 1941-1945 puis Dark Sands sur la guerre en Afrique du Nord), sa contribution ludique à la simulation du théâtre de Normandie se devait d'être originale. A nos yeux, le pari est tenu. Le choix de Raicer est d'abord de simuler l'ensemble de la campagne de Normandie, du débarquement lui-même à la percée de la fin août et la poche de Falaise. C'est un choix original qui le distingue des jeux stratégiques sur la campagne, comme l'excellent Liberty Roads des Français Yves Le Quellec et Nicolas Rident (Hexasim) ou du Normandy'44 de Mark Si
Lire la suite

The Dark Summer - el relato de un amigo

Image
The Dark Summer : novedad en el teatro de Normandía por Romain Ducoulombier Gracias a Romain por este análisis exhaustivo y bien argumentado de la última obra de Ted Raicer sobre la campaña de Normandía. El juego de Ted Raicer dedicado a la campaña de Normandía era cuanto menos esperado. Famoso autor de GMT, en particular con su reciente serie de "Dark" (Dark Valley sobre la guerra en la Unión Soviética 1941-1945 y luego Dark Sands sobre la guerra en el Norte de África), su contribución lúdica a la simulación del teatro de Normandía debía ser original. En nuestra opinión, el reto se cumple. La elección de Raicer es, en primer lugar, simular toda la campaña de Normandía, desde el desembarco propiamente dicho hasta el avance a finales de agosto y la bolsa de Falaise. Es una elección original que la distingue de los juegos estratégicos sobre la campaña, como el excelente Liberty Roads de los franceses Yves Le Quellec y Nicolas Rident (Hexasim) o Normandy'44 de Mark Simonitch
Lire la suite

The Dark Summer - analysis from a friend

Image
 The Dark Summer : new on the Normandy theater by Romain Ducoulombier Thanks to Romain for offering this argumented and in-depth analysis of the last Ted Raicer game on the Normandy campaign. Ted Raicer's game dedicated to the Normandy campaign was expected to say the least. Famous author of GMT, in particular with his recent series of "Dark" (Dark Valley on the war in the Soviet Union 1941-1945 then Dark Sands on the war in North Africa), his ludic contribution to the simulation of the Normandy theater had to be original. In our opinion, the job is done. Raicer's choice is first to simulate the whole Normandy campaign, from the landing itself to the breakthrough at the end of August and the Falaise pocket. This is an original choice that distinguishes it from strategic games on the campaign, such as the excellent Liberty Roads by Frenchmen Yves Le Quellec and Nicolas Rident (Hexasim) or Normandy '44 by Mark Simonitch, a commercial success of GMT that allows to pl
Lire la suite