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.

Gaming Clubs/Organizations

Gaming Clubs and Organizations

Please check out our new (and growing) database of gaming clubs and organizations world-wide. Please let us know of your gaming club, or any other clubs that you know about so we can make this a truly useful resource.

Spotlight Articles

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

First Draft of History: Designing a Military Simulation of the Russo-Ukraine War 2022-2023

"A book? A movie? An HBO series? How about a military simulation ('wargame') of the heroic struggle of Ukraine? ... Wiser men and women would avoid. But not us fools." Designers D. B. Dockter and Mark Herman discuss their approach to creating Ukraine 2022!, addressing an ongoing conflict! Check out the insights and quips as they forge ahead: "Ukraine 2022! should go on preorder in December 2023, and, with any luck, be published in 2024. ... Or some other event on the Richard Berg random events table could pop up."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 12/1/2023

First figures painted in five years

"...I'm just pleased to be back on the horse - or elephant, if you prefer." Prufrock happily relates his recent painting efforts, which means he "...will now have enough Carthaginian elephants to be able to stage Bagradas in Lost Battles...!"

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 10/23/2023

Hail Caesar Ruleset Test

Check out why Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, says "...I think I am already preferring the Hail Caesar set." Norm sets out to see how the recent extension of the rule set does in covering a Wars of the Roses clash. He finds lots to like, to include fact that he didn't feel "...that any of the outcomes were a given. If the scenario were replayed again, a different outcome could easily be possible.

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 10/16/2023

Taming the boardgame collection.

"I am very conscious of just having far too many different rulebooks, too many different systems...". Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, striving to stay true to his "wargaming in small spaces" motto, discovers a way to maximize the value his collection brings to him. Check out the approach he develops, and the titles that contribute to it, when "...out of the blue, I was hit by one of those tidy-up and reorganise moments, the planets were aligned and I threw myself behind a proper game cull..."!

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 10/6/2023

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.

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.

PE TANG 1900 Introductory War Game Review

My review for this great introductory war game concerning an obscure siege of a cathedral during the Boxer Rebellion. Use this game to recruit new war game players.

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

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Game: Congress of Vienna

(c10078)		Publisher: GMT Games Series: Great Statesmen Series Game Type: Board Designer(s): Frank Esparrago Search for this and related games with Noble Knight

Description:

We are pleased to announce an exciting new P500 offering: Congress of Vienna (CoV). Congress of Vienna is a diplomatic Strategy CDG for one to four players. It is based on Churchill, the superb, award-winning Mark Herman design, and was well received during GMT’s Spring 2019 Weekend at the Warehouse and June’s CSW Expo in Tempe, Arizona. It is the third game after Churchill and Pericles in GMT’s “Great Statesmen” series. CoV creates an enthralling gaming arena. It allows players to become the main characters of the dramatic, titanic struggle between the struggling Napoleonic Empire and the coalition of Russia, Austria, and Great Britain (with their Prussian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish allies). The game starts after Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 retreat from Moscow, covering the decisive years of 1813 and 1814. The abstract game map involves a strategic theatre portraying Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the boundaries of Poland and Prussia. It also includes the secondary front of Italy, an area for depicting maritime warfare and the British/American War of 1812. This game by designer Frank Esparrago and developer Dick Sauer (with much appreciated input from Mark Herman) has been created to be played as both a diplomatic and strategic military conflict without losing the taste of the Napoleonic era’s great battles.

Articles

Article ID	Pub Date	Article Description
9	Date: 11/18/2022 Poster: Doug Holt	Designing the Congress of Vienna Solitaire Game, Part 1of 2: Diplomacy and The French Bot "Challenge: How to retain some of the variability four independently minded players seek in attaining personal victory?" Frank Esparrago and David Schoellhamer begin a series looking at solitaire adaptation for GMT Games' Congress of Vienna. Check out why they make the claim that "We found the Sorcerer’s Stone to solve our game’s Diplomacy Phase challenge!"
8	Date: 12/10/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	Congress of Vienna’s Tactical Battle Matrix Option Part 2 of 2 – An Example of Battle "...players will regret not having withdrawn, not using a military card which was held back for another battle, a bad tactical chit choice, and of course, the inevitable final dice rolls! Oh the pain hindsight can bring!" Frank Esparrago and Fred Schachter continue discussing the tactical expansion for GMT Games' Congress of Vienna, this time with an example of play. They demonstrate the richness the expansion brings with a well laid out example, and then point out that "…readers should be reassured that the game time this takes in actual play is very fast."
7	Date: 12/8/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	A Congress of Vienna Option: Adding Tactical Flavor to Battles (A Tactical Battle Matrix) Part 1 of 2 "Some play testers wanted an option to study what could happen if they decided the big tactical choices in a decisive battle...". Frank Esparrago and David Schoellhamer begin an effort to make GMT Games' Congress of Vienna more grognard friendly. Check out the results when they "…could not resist the opportunity to address their desire!"
6	Date: 10/20/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	War or Diplomacy? The Struggle Between the Wargamer vs Eurogamer Soul in the Design and Development of Congress of Vienna "When you create a game like Congress of Vienna with its major political and diplomatic elements; you know some of the 'certainties' of a standard wargame which must be exceeded...". Frank Esparrago and Fred Schachter discuss the character of GMT Games' Congress of Vienna card driven game, in terms of how players view it. There seems to be a classic divide, in which it's "…almost like Designer Frank had two angels perched on his shoulders as he labored on his game creation… one a 'Wargamer Angel' and the other a 'Eurogamer Angel' each whispering their imprecations into his ears. Whom did he heed?
5	Date: 9/22/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	Congress of Vienna Standard Game After-Action-Report: “The Clash of Armies” Scenario (Turn 1 of 4 – Aug. 1813) "...the more experienced of our Congress of Vienna Play Test Teams already know that when there is disunity among Allied players France may prevail!" Frank Esparrago and Fred Schachter begin a scenario AAR for their GMT Games' Congress of Vienna card driven game. Check out how this first game turn delivers a lopsided result in which "…the Allied bed has been made. Will they be able to recuperate from this turn’s set-backs or will Napoleon go on to victory?"
4	Date: 4/5/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	Congress of Vienna: Designing Its Solitaire Game "...how can a good solitaire system be devised?" Frank Esparrago begins a series describing efforts to create a solitaire system for GMT Games' Congress of Vienna. Things look promising, in that Jim Gutt has already been creating flowcharts that "…sometimes generate better play results by his [Congress of Vienna] Bots than an average human player can accomplish!"
3	Date: 8/26/2020 Poster: Doug Holt	Interview with Frank Esparrago Designer of Congress of Vienna from GMT Games "With this title, I want players to be reminded that Clausewitz’s maxim 'war is politics with other means' is very true...". Grant Kleinhenz interviews designer Frank Esparrago about his GMT Games' Congress of Vienna, a card driven simulation of the close of the Napoleonic wars. Frank is clearly focused on both a sound design and fun: "…you have to endow the cards with characters containing 'soul'…"!
2	Date: 7/27/2020 Poster: Doug Holt	Congress of Vienna July 2020 Development Update "...the effort to edit and 'professionalize' Congress of Vienna‘s Rulebook is well underway...". Frank Esparrago and Fred Schachter relate the progress being made on GMT Games' Congress of Vienna, now that it has made the P500 "cut". Updates include changes to the map board, combat balancing, the card deck and the solitaire game system. Looking good!
1	Date: 1/31/2020 Poster: Doug Holt	A Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period Part 2 of 4: Napoleon Resurgent (Spring 1813) "At the beginning of April 1813, the French withdrawal in Central Europe caused the Allies to acquire a false sense of security...". Designer Frank Esparrago continues a series of articles familiarizing readers with the historical background for his GMT Games' Congress of Vienna, which covers the intense dynamics of the period after Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. Check out some awesome history intended to whet your appetite: "…it was time to spring Napoleon’s trap."

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