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Spotlight Articles

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

The Origins of the AVALON HILL GAME COMPANY 1952-1963

Spotlight Article Graphic

The Avalon Hill Game Company is 72 years old this year and time to chronicle the history of Avalon Hill. In Part 1, Origins, we will look at the story of not only the establishment of a game company, but an industry and a hobby. Thanks to Legendary Tactics YouTube Channel for this great series.

Poster: Robert Holifield
Post Date: 4/18/2024


Tributes pour in after death of award-winning veteran wargame designer Dean Essig

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Mike Didymus-True, in BoardGameWire, brings us the sad news of the passing of designer Dean Essig.

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 4/1/2024


Alumwell Wargame Show 2024

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"...I actually enjoyed this show more than any other that I have been to in the past couple of years." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, regales us with sights and surprises from this show, along with some great pictures! And check out the source of an insight that led Norm to conclude "It made me realise that considering these things went into the air in their thousands, the financial investment in longbow archers must have been huge."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/22/2024


Fields of Corn & Rye

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"...I was pretty sure that I had found something that might do the job." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, discusses a way he's found to address an old itch, namely adding texture and/or crop fields to tabletop settings. Check out what he finds to be a reasonable, cost-effective approach, considering that "...sometimes I think we have made ourselves a picture perfect world and lost something along the way."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/11/2024


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 Opponents Wanted (9/14/2022)

New Opponents Wanted function. You can now set your ad expiration date, up to one year. Requires site registration.

Gaming Conventions

New Gaming Conventions calendar. You can see all upcoming gaming conventions worldwide.

If you are sponsoring a board gaming convention of some type, or know of one that is not listed on Grognard.com, then please contact us and let us know!

Gaming Clubs/Organziations

New Gaming Clubs/Organizations listing. You can search for existing gaming clubs worldwide.

If you belong to a gaming club, or know of one, please drop us a line and let us know so we can get it listed on Grognard.com!

New Search Features

Now you can search for specific games (or games by publisher) using the new Game Search feature, located at the top right corner of the this page. In addition you can now harness the power of Google to search the entire Grognard.com site for any specific information you'd like. Just enter a search word or phrase into the Google box labeled "Search All of Grognard.com" and click magnifying glass button. Search features will continue to be improved and enhanced going forward so check back often to see the latest stuff.

Grognard Originals

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

Fast, simple, not expensive, little errata, but only reasonably fun. (War game Review)

In his review on BoardGameGeek, Brendan Whyte first turns a critical eye towards the components and rules and lists their shortcomings. Game play fares better: “…the game is fast and quite fun”. Whyte then goes into comprehensive details covering game mechanics and spares no criticism for the game opponent (AI). His discussion concerning solitaire board games vs solitaire computer games is very interesting.

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.

PE TANG 1900 Optional Line of Sight Table

Here is an optional table to make it a little more difficult to eliminate the Boxer artillery.

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

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Computer Wargames

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Board Games

Internet Based/PBEM Games

Individual Wargamer Blogs

Wargaming Magazines

Asst Software/Player Aides

In Memoriam

Grognards Lost

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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
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."