Opponents Wanted

Find Gaming Opponents!

Another new feature for Grognard.com, "Opponents Wanted" provides a quick and easy way to locate gaming opponents with similar gaming preferences. Requires site registration. Grognard.com Opponents Wanted



Spotlight Articles

Outstanding articles that are not necessarily linked to one particular game, but may have broad appeal to gamers.

Epic Revolution (AWI)

Spotlight Article Graphic

"Another instalment in Warlord Games’ Epic series has just been released..."! Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, checks out the latest figures/ruleset package in this series. "... a lot of work has gone into this rule set to make it AWI specific - well done that team."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 6/30/2025


War reaches northern Italy, 215 BC

Spotlight Article Graphic

"Hannibal has come over the Alps..."! Prufrock and his friend Ian P bring us an intense Punic War clash that doesn't look too promising for the Romans, when they "...win the first move and mostly freeze."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 6/26/2025


Interview with Robert Phaneuf Designer of Secession 1861: The American Civil War and The Armada from Fortress Games Currently on Kickstarter

Spotlight Article Graphic

"...there are few more fertile areas for educational, simulation-ai gaming." Grant Kleinhenz, in The Players' Aid, interviews designer Bob Phaneuf about his two upcoming games. See why he thinks that "...Secession 1861 will mature as a classic solitaire nail-biter."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 6/18/2025


Battles of Heraclea Lyncestis, 219 BC and Emporiae, 218 BC (Med Campaign 9)

Spotlight Article Graphic

"Reports are in of a battle in northern Macedon between the invading Illyrians and a force scrambled together to meet them...". Prufrock continues with two more nicely photographed AARs in the ongoing Med Campaign! "...in Nearer Spain, Proconsul Aaronius Dubius Scipio Calvus, having landed a force near Emporiae, was engaged by an alliance of indomitable Iberian tribes...".

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 6/9/2025


My pre-orders analysis – what is new and coming!

Spotlight Article Graphic

Michal, in The Boardgames Chronicle, covers his current game preorders, and why he is anxiously awaiting them. See which game has him commenting that "...we are getting so many new elements – from graphical representation, to add-ons and optional rules – that this it will be a great, refreshing comeback to fantastic classic!"

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 6/6/2025


My Top Solitaire Wargames: New Designs and All-Time Classics

Spotlight Article Graphic

Michal, in The Boardgames Chronicle, reveals his favorite recent and all time solitaire classics. Check out the game he describes as "...probably the best small units combat simulation ever created, which has fantastic planning phase and unfolds completely differently each time.", and the one that challenges you to "...harness a brilliant mind, titanic energies, and a sometimes terrifying charisma to leave your mark on history?"

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 6/4/2025


Soviet 12mm WWII Pocket Army

Spotlight Article Graphic

"My second WWII Pocket Army is now complete..."! Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, brings us a Pocket Army update pictorial.

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 5/26/2025


More Spotlight articles...


Gaming Conventions

Gaming Conventions

Another new feature for Grognard.com, the Gaming Convention calendar will make it a snap to keep up with all the latest gaming conventions in your area. But we need your gaming convention information, so please contribute.



Grognard News

Grognard Challenge - Expanded Room for Comments! (6/25/2023)

The Comments entry area has been resized to 512 characters.

Grognard Originals

In addition to our links to great content all around the internet, expect to see more Grognard.com "originals" in the future.

Malaya (v2.5) War Game Review

Pat La Pella reviews this post-card sized game and its computer editions. Can the UK Commonwealth prevent the Japanese from occupying Singapore in 1941?

Malaya Player Aid (pdf)

Pat La Pella created this player aid to clarify special movement rules for the Japanese player for Amphibious Movement and Reinforcement beach landing hexes. Computer versions of the game show eligible hexes automatically when the Japanese player selects a unit for movement.

PE TANG 1900 Q&A with Marco Campari

Some Q & A between myself and Marco Campari, designer of Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Strategy Tips

This is the strategy I developed after playing Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

More Grognard Originals...


Grognard Challenge

Latest Challenge

Have a look at the graphics for the latest Challenge and see past solutions and contest winners.

Recommended (archives)

Wargaming - General Info

Board Wargames

Miniatures Wargames

Computer Wargames

Academic Gaming

Board Games

Internet Based/PBEM Games

Individual Wargamer Blogs

Wargaming Magazines

Asst Software/Player Aides

In Memoriam

Grognards Lost


A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z '-9

Game: Westphalia



(w10042)
 
 




Publisher: Hollandspiele
Game Type: Board
Designer(s): Tom Russell
Search for this and related games with Noble Knight


Description:


Westphalia concerns the diplomatic negotiations and military campaigns that brought an end to the Thirty Years War and Eighty Years War. The question isn't a matter of who "wins" the war - that was decided a long time ago. Instead, each player seeks to arrive at a settlement that meets their own political, confessional, and economic goals. These goals are not mutually exclusive: if multiple players meet their victory conditions, they all win. The trick is, if all six players manage to meet their goals, then the game goes to a scoring round, and only one player wins. The result is a mix of cooperation and competition between six asymmetric factions (Austria, Bavaria, Spain, France, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic). The game unfolds in alternating Diplomacy Phases, in which anything and everything is up for negotiation, and Military Phases, in which tense cat-and-mouse chases give players the leverage they need in talks. There is no money in the game, only Debt, and you only ever seem to get more of it. At the end of the game, your Debt is reduced according to your accomplishments, and the remaining Debt is compared to faction-specific benchmarks to check for victory. Additionally, two factions must each ensure that two other specific factions meet their goals in order to meet their own: Austria must ensure victory for Bavaria and Spain, while France must do the same for Sweden and the Dutch Republic. This isn't mutual, however; once Bavaria gets what it wants, for example, it can hang Austria out to dry. This is a game for exactly six players: no more, no less. It cannot and does not scale to suit other player counts.


Articles


Article ID
Pub Date
Article Description
Source
1
Date: 11/25/2019
Poster: Doug Holt
Interview with Tom Russell Designer of Westphalia from Hollandspiele

"...an irreducibly complex multi-party conflict centered around the irreducibly complex Holy Roman Empire." Grant Kleinhenz, in the Player's Aid blog, interviews Hollandspiele's Tom Russell about his Westphalia, a negotiation game covering the close of the Thirty Years Years War. Tom has some fascinating design insights about a situation that's "…sad and horrifying but also very interesting, and it was that essential tension that really drew me to the subject."
Web Link